The Price of Pride

Chapter 24

"Emine anne? Can we talk?"

After his last conversation with Cavidan, he realized something needs to be done about his mother. Reyhan must be protected at all costs. So bringing her pseudo adopted parents up to speed is a no brainer. They will have her back if there's ever a time he can't.

"Emir, Oğlum. Come in," she offers, giving him a huge smile. "How's your father doing?"

"The same," he says with a sigh, unable to hide his sadness. He falls into her arms when she offers a hug, feeling a twinge of guilt at the way she treats him. She treats him like he's really her son. Reyhan has never received this kind of love from his mother.

"He'll be fine. We'll make sure of it," Emine says. "Just let us know if there's ever anything you need from us and it's yours. You know that, don't you? You're our son too, as much as Reyhan is our daughter. As much as our own natural sons. So Hikmet is our family now."

"Thank you," he nods. "We may be looking into sending him to a clinic. He hasn't gotten any worse, but he also isn't getting any better at home. A clinic may be better for him."

"But that's not what you want to talk about," Emine guesses.

"My mother is out of control," he spits out before he loses his nerve. "She has it out for Reyhan and nothing I say or do seems to be able to stop her. She's trying to publicly disgrace Reyhan to force her to leave me to protect my career."

"Ah. So that's her game." Emine takes a moment to think about what Emir just told her. She can't say she's surprised that Cavidan has some sort of plan. But this is more ambitious than Emine could have imagined.

"I mean, I talked to Reyhan on the way home. So at least she'll be on the lookout for my mother or Cemre trying to trick her. And hopefully she won't believe anything they say to her. And hopefully she knows that I would gladly leave the company before I let her leave me. She's far more important to me than the holding. But what about what they're saying about her? What about them purposely spreading lies and rumors that will hurt her?"

"You let me worry about that. No one is going to hurt my child. And you know Murat won't let your holding suffer. The only thing for you and Reyhan to do is to stay patient. Your mother will get what's coming to her."

Patience is not what he's known for. Not when it comes to Reyhan and keeping her healthy. Happy. Certainly not when it comes to his children. But he'll be patient for now. For now, he'll let his mother believe she's getting away with her latest game. But if anything happens to Reyhan, then all bets are off. If any of this touches Ayla or the baby, his mother will regret the day she gave birth to him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Finishing his conversation with Emine, he seeks out his wife. The past week or so has been stressful for Reyhan. Stressful for them both. But she's pregnant and has the extra hormones. So he knows this has been extra hard on her. He's never been more grateful for Emine and Murat. They've been better for Reyhan than Emir ever imagined. He knows Reyhan loves him. And he loves her with everything in him. But he wasn't enough for her. He doesn't think she realizes how complete she has become from having loving parents support her. Yes, they would have been perfectly happy if it was just the two of them. But each addition to their family has increased their happiness exponentially. First Ayla. Then Emine and Murat. Zafer, Defne, and baby Daniel. Reyhan is truly and well loved. And he couldn't be happier for her. She deserves it all.

He smiles when she stretches herself awake from her nap. When they got back from visiting his dad, he sent her straight to bed. Seeing how comfortable she is makes him wish he had joined her. But it's time for her to get up. She needs to eat.