Chapter 32: A Ghost From The Past

Lale sat back in her chair, watching as her team of designers walk out of the conference room with the blueprint of their new fashion line.

She waited till she heard the door click shut before she turned her gaze to her phone, checking for any missed call or message from Asil with a smile on her face.

Her smile deflated when she noticed none. Tucking the phone into her purse, Lale strutted towards the door and pulled it open. Her phone vibrated against her side, causing her steps to halt.

She released the handle before shuffling through her bag for said object. Glancing at the ID, she bit her lip in an effort to hide her disappointment before she pressed accept.

Placing the phone against her ear, she pulled the door open then walked towards her office.

"Lale!" the caller shrieked through the speaker.

"My God Nisan!" Lale yelped, inching the phone away from her ear.

"My order just arrived and I love them so much," Nisan replied with ecstasy.

"I am glad that you love them Nisan," Lale responded, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Thank you for patronising us."

"You're welcome," Nisan raved. "I will be dropping by your office sometime again. Maybe by the end of the week."

"Alright, that'd be great."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye," Lale replied hanging up the call.

She stared at the mannequin in her office holding an unfinished dress, speculating over what to use for its bodice; it was a dress she was making for Najmah as an Eid gift.

The rumbling of her stomach snapped her out of her thoughts, alerting her that she needed to be home before iftar.

•••

Brushing a strand of hair away from her face, Najmah took off her gloves then proceeded to take off her apron.

Checking her wristwatch, she dashed out of the kitchen to take a shower before the adhan for magrib prayer was called.

She quickly took a shower then donned on an abaya before heading back down to the kitchen to see to the preparation of iftar.

When she arrived, the table has already been set. Seeing that there was no more she could do, she headed out into the garden to pick out some fresh flowers.

{••}

Afet stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror, smoothening the curves of her dress.

At 5'8, she stood with a slender figure which made men drool over her. She had model-like features, every lady would kill to have and every man would wish to have on his arms.

None of the men stood any chances with her except for one - Aslan Faik Sadek. She had loved him for as long as she could remember. They had once been friends, they were the anchor to each others world until one day they were not. He shut her out of his life with no reason at all.

She knew all his secrets and she'd be damned if she didn't use them to her advantage. Fair playing was over, it was time to play dirty.

Najmah had overstayed her welcome in the Sadek manor and it was now up to her to see that the gold digger was out of their lives. Five and a half months were enough memories for her to hold on to. Now, she simply has to go.

{••}

"Would you go out with me?" Aslan questioned, placing a hand on Najmah's shoulder.

"But tarawih will soon begin," she replied quizzically.

"We could pray out, there's something I want to show you."

"Alright," she consented. "I'll just grab my hijab, be right back."

"Where are you both going to?" Afet queried, her gaze snapping towards Aslan.

"The square," he responded.

"Interesting," she mused. "Your relationship?"

"What of it?" he furrowed his brows.

"Does she know?"

"Know about what exactly?"

"Oh you know," she shrugged nonchalantly. "The deed."

"Can you stop talking in riddles?" he all but groaned. "Just get to the point."

"Does she know about your past?" she raised an eyebrow, causing Aslan to pale. "The juicy one. The one where you were..."

"I'm ready," Najmah announced cheerfully, stepping into the living room.

"What happened here?" her eyes widened, taking the paled expression of Aslan and Afet's mocking expression.

"Oh it's nothing," Afet waved her off. "Aslan and I were just talking about the poetry session you're about to go see."

"Is that so?" Najmah responded, not believing a word she said.

"You guys should get going," Afet drawled, gesturing at the door. "Traffic gets bad during these nights."

"You sure you're okay?" Najmah questioned, once they hit the road.

"I am," he responded, momentarily taking his gaze off the road. "Why do you ask?"

"I dunno," she shrugged. "You just seem a little bit off."

"I'm just tired." The lie rolled off his tongue smoothly. He wasn't okay. Afet knew all his secrets and by the looks of things, she wouldn't hesitate to tell Najmah about them. He just had to make sure she kept her mouth shut, whatever force he had to use, Afet needed to keep those secrets what they were; secrets.

It wasn't time for her to know about his deeds. He would eventually tell her when the time came but for now, those deeds would stay locked away.

"We will first pray tarawih then we will explore the square," Aslan stated as they alighted from the car.

"Every time I see the blue mosque, I get awed by its beauty. It's more beautiful in the night," Najmah raved, gazing at the mosque.

Aslan chuckled, guiding them into the mosque. After tarawih and isha prayers, Najmah and Aslan strutted into the square hand in hand; Aslan explaining Turkish ramazan culture to her.

"What was it you wanted to show me again?"

"The Turkey Book and Cultural Fair," he chuckled, coming to a stop near a large stall. "You can get your hands on a lot of Turkish and International books here."

"Oh that is so amazing," Najmah clapped her hands together, inching towards the clerk. She bought a couple of books before they head towards one of the many stalls offering traditional ottoman cuisines.

"Are your taste buds good?" Aslan quirked his eyebrow, holding her hand in his.

"Why?" she responded, mirroring his expression.

"You are about to taste the sensational ottoman cuisines," he boasted.

"Any good?" she giggled.

"Only the best," he replied with a cheeky smile.

"Who would've thought that you would be so merry about food," she teased.

Aslan chuckled, facing the vendor to place their order. "A plate of vegetable kebab for the lady and harem sultan for me. We'll have dolma tabağı and zeytinyağlı enginar as appetizers." They found a table and sat down, waiting for their food to arrive. The appetizers came first, and Najmah picked the plate of dolma and placed it in front of her.

"It is delicious," she stated, tasting the delicacy in her mouth. "A little bit spicy, sweet and...my God, it has different kinds of flavor."

He grinned at her in an i-told-you-so way. She gave him a thumbs up, taking a spoonful of her food.

Their main courses arrived and Najmah was more than ecstatic Aslan had taken her out. It turned out that she was starving as she shoved the first spoon of the kebab into her mouth. Within a few moments, her plate was cleared and Aslan ordered a new plate of vegetable güveç for her.

After eating, they walked around the square for a few minutes to help digest the food per Aslan's request which Najmah rolled her eyes at but still complied to; she loved the feel of her hand in his.

After their walk, they headed to their car after Najmah ordered a takeaway of the kebab she ate.

"It's delicious," she defended when Aslan teased her about it. "You're just stingy with your money."

He chuckled, paying for the food before they set to return back home.

"I had a lovely night," Najmah smiled at him, heading over to her bag.

"Me too," Aslan spoke from behind the closet.

"We should do that often."

"Are you talking about going out with me or the food?" Aslan stuck his head out of the closet.

"More like the latter," she smiled cheekily unzipping her bag.

A frown settled on his face as his gaze fell her on bag which was yet to be packed into the closet. Shaking his head, a smile appeared on his face.

"I'm wounded," he placed a hand on his chest where his heart was supposed to be.

She stuck her tongue out at him, zipping her bag. She took her pajamas and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

She emerged from the bathroom clothed in her pj's, ready for bed when her phone began to ring.

'Who could be calling me by this time of the night?' she mused, heading towards the dresser where she kept her phone.

The caller had no ID, but the number identified the person to be from Nigeria. Wasting no time, she slid her finger on the answer button and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Habibti," the caller drawled. "How have you been?"

That voice...she could recognize it anywhere, even in her sleep but it couldn't be. That person could not call her, it couldn't be who she was thinking.

"Who...who are you and what...what do you want?" she stuttered, clutching the phone tightly.

"Ramadan mubarak habibti," the caller chuckled. "We shall see each other soon."

The line went dead before she could reply, leaving her frozen in place. There was no mistaking who it was that called her but how he got her number and how he was able to contact her was something akin to mystery to her.

'No no no,' she screamed in her head. 'This is bad.'

"Najmah are you okay?" Aslan materialized behind her, startling her out of her trance. The phone slipped away from her grasp and hit the floor, causing the screen to crack.

She bent down to pick it, but Aslan stopped her.

"Stop, you will hurt yourself. I will get you a new one tomorrow." But it wasn't the damaged phone she was worried about, it was the person she was on the phone with; his sudden reemergence into her life and what it would mean.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aslan questioned, once they were seated on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm just sleepy."

"Alright," he nodded, laying on the bed. He tugged Najmah closer to him, switching off the lights with his free hand.

"Good night," he whispered into the dark night.

"Good night," she replied weakly, knowing that she would never be able to sleep not after the phone call she had. Sleep was the last thing on her mind as she twists and turned on the bed before finally finding the courage to slip out of bed, careful not to wake up Aslan.

She was on for a long night as she padded to the balcony and stared into the dark night with one thought swirling through her mind; he was back.

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