Maybe this Time

Maybe This Time - Chapter One

Hi guys!

After a hiatus of #IlCey fan fiction, we're finally back. This time I am not sharing much about the plot to keep it a surprise! You guys have voted and chosen angst, so here it is. 

Let's do this!

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"I no longer remember what our beginning was. I know we didn't start by the beginning. It was already love before it even was."     - Clarice Lispector.

Maybe This Time - Chapter One

Someone was following her.

Ceylin peered over her shoulder, convinced she'd seen that same face before in the crowd as she walked through the busy streets of downtown Istanbul. The man in the dark brown overcoat with heavy eyebrows that converged above the bridge of his nose held her gaze for a split second before turning his face toward a restaurant sign.

The lawyer shook her head, censoring herself for being so paranoid. She was starting to see threats everywhere, an alarming behavior, to say the least. But Ceylin knew there was good reason for it.

About a month ago, she'd had the scare of a lifetime.

After leaving her office late one afternoon, Ceylin had gone to meet a customer at a busy restaurant in Ankara. She vividly remembered ordering appetizers and sparkling water. Shortly after, the man who had hired the services of the firm she worked for arrived. And then the next thing Ceylin recalled was waking up bruised and sore in a dark shed, the guy she'd shared a meal with passed out next to her.

It didn't take her long to realize he was dead. The next fifteen minutes had been the longest of her entire life. Ceylin was confident she would meet the same fate as her client when a striking pair of amber eyes and a face hidden behind a dark mark obscured her vision before she lost consciousness again.

At that moment Ceylin had been absolutely sure she'd died. But she woke up the following day on the couch inside her own apartment. The many bruises on her body and the agonizing pain she felt in her muscles were all the proof she needed to be convinced she was still among the living.

That terrifying experience had been the final straw for Ceylin to convince herself that staying in Ankara any longer had proven unfeasible. That same afternoon, the lawyer presented her resignation letter to the prestigious company where she had been employed for the past two years.

Now, back in Istanbul, she was having a hard time readjusting to her new old life.

"What took you so long?" Aylin's grumpy voice distracted Ceylin from her own thoughts. "I was starting to worry."

"I lost track of time," Ceylin answered evasively. The lawyer couldn't tell her sister that she'd spent the past twenty minutes inside the home improvement store around the corner because she'd had the impression she was being followed. "Shall we?"

Aylin frowned at her questioningly, but Ceylin pretended not to notice it and stepped forward to pull a shopping cart before they entered the busy supermarket. It didn't take long for the older sister's mood to improve. The focus of the conversation shifted to Parla and then to the list of groceries Ceylin needed to get.

"I can't believe you're going to live in your office again," Aylin said in dismay. "You could stay with me, Parla, and Mom. The house has plenty of space."