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Everything.
I felt.
Everything.
I choked.
On everything.
Tears shot to my eyes as I drank in a picture of Neri. She stood on The Fluke. Her face was drawn, her eyes full of sorrow. In her arms, she held a heavy wreath made of pretty flowers. They were moored off Low Isles. The island where we’d married beneath the moon and consummated our vows beneath the stars.
He’s been spying on her.
All this time.
“Do you see the similarities, Aslan?” Cem said softly. “My men zoomed in as much as they could, but it’s enough to see the truth.”
My wet gaze tore from the love of my life and locked on the little girl tucked in Jack’s arms beside Neri. A little girl with chocolate hair, blended skin, and such a serious little mouth.
Mine.
The truth slammed into my chest, making me woozy.
Mine.
I knew that in every cell, every atom, every nucleus, and breath.
I couldn’t look away from her.
My heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
“You have a daughter, Aslan,” Cem whispered, slotting into my side. “I joked to Neri on the phone recently that perhaps I would make your daughter my heir, seeing as Neri still believes you’re dead.” He tapped the photo. “In fact, this was taken a couple of years ago. They held a funeral out to sea for you. The flowers floated long after they’d gone, all while fish nibbled at them from below. But your daughter never threw her wreath. She gripped it tightly and took it home with her.”
He pried the photo out of my seized hand. “You’ll get to meet her soon enough. I’ll ensure my men bring both girls to you. Won’t that be nice? Your girlfriend and your daughter. We’ll have a family reunion, just the four of us.” His voice filled with undiluted joy. “I will finally get the chance to have a child running around.”
He’s a psychopath.
He truly believed we could be happy after all of this.
That I would let him trap them just like he’d trapped me.
I’ll kill him.
Tonight.
Before he kidnapped Neri and my...my daughter.
Fuck.
My chest spasmed, and my hand slipped on my cane. “W-What’s her name?”
Cem finished locking the photo away before turning to me and grinning. “Nerida named her Ayla. I must admit, I like that she chose a Turkish name. She will make a good partner for you. I see that now.”
I blocked him out.
My ears buzzed. My head swam.
Ayla.
