"does she know that?" he kept his eyes fixed on her, a teasing glimmer beneath his dark orbs. for one night, they didn't feel like the divorced couple that caused one another more heartache than not. there were no angry voices, no arguments or cruel words to be spoken. it reminded him of how things had been early on, before he'd made a mess of their life for a legacy he no longer claimed. "if there's anything i can do to help, please," he started, brows rising, the corners of his mouth following suit, "i've got nothing but time on my hands these days." when he wasn't in his motel room, or preparing the apartment he'd signed on a lease on for a move-in date, he was at the casino or picking food off a menu elsewhere. he hadn't touched the outlook app on his phone and he had no future plans to either. what he'd left behind was no longer his burden to bear.
ozan stood with a breath held in his lungs. he watched her, the way she refused to look away. it made his heartbeat thunderous and he wondered if she could hear it too. when she ended with a question, he nodded just to enough to acknowledge that he'd heard it roll of her tongue, but he didn't trust himself enough to speak. his jaw tightened and the flutters low in his belly burned hot. how many times had tyler told him that he was a good man at heart? that he could be better? plenty. but nothing landed like her words did. "i..." he trailed off, voice threatening to break. he cleared his throat and exhaled the breath that had been sitting, stubborn and impatient, in his chest. he chuckled bitterly when the words just didn't come to him. it was nerves that made his tongue feel heavy like lead. how could he accept such kindness from a woman he'd pushed out, even when she'd given him a million reasons not to? "i'm sorry." he nodded slowly, her words still echoing between his ears.
the california branch had been entirely ozan's creation. what had been a test run from his father's point of view had bloomed into something great, something that hakan eldem had wanted his hands on the moment he realized such. "he won't. he doesn't see me as a good fit any longer." by that, it meant that his father knew that the control over ozan was done, which meant he'd prefer having another puppet in place until he could no longer pull the strings. he needed someone like himself, and while he'd tried molding his only heir, he'd failed. "he can't control me any longer and that isn't something he can accept." his father would give him another chance if he went back, but that wasn't happening. going back meant losing what little progress he'd already made with repairing his relationship with their son. that, and ozan wasn't sure he could push her out again, even if that seemed the easier option than navigating whatever this was. "this version doesn't seem terrible to me," he muttered softly, his gaze daringly searching for hers. out of every version they'd seen of themselves, this one was as close to peace as they'd known in a long time.
his mother had delivered the only warmth in his life up until he'd met nadia. she'd been a breath of fresh air and she'd shown him that there was more to life than the family firm his name was tied to. what he'd deemed love and happiness, his father had labeled a distraction, a tempory thing that pulled his only heir's focus from what mattered. ozan had hoped it would change after the birth of their son, but it had fueled hakan to push harder. "i don't think i did that well enough." not while she'd been alive. it was only after her passing that he'd stood up against the man. "i am," he breathed, his voice surprisingly steady for a man who'd felt something crack when she pulled away from him. "it's late," he finally added, noting that maybe he'd crossed a line when his lips brushed against her skin. "you'll let me know about that dinner?" it was light, but it felt like the whole world was pushing in on him.
romaincrisis
izzy806
dailybridgerton
germansingergirl
jacobvanloon
tangentwithtanner
kaledo-art
gummygunk
