Losing Control

Chapter 4

Eda Yildiz stared at the floating money pit in front of her, why her husband thought that this had been a good idea she didn't know but she was so far invested in the damned thing that in order to sell it she had to put more money into it. Today she had paid to have a new bilge pump installed in the forty-four foot cabin cruiser. More money that he had spent without asking her opinion. Berat Kaya had been very good at spending every dime he made and many of the ones that Eda made.

Everything with the man had to be a grand gesture, he didn't understand the meaning of simple, quiet, down to earth. He liked flashy. Berat hid all of these tendencies when they were courting, it wasn't until four months into the marriage that the cracks began to surface. Eda had just found out that she was expecting, she was nervous, she had only just finished law school and gotten her first job, the timing was terrible, but a faulty condom was all it had taken. No, the timing wasn't terrible it was abysmal. Calling their marriage rocky was an understatement.

She loved her daughter more than anything, Kiraz was the sun and the stars and she was all that Eda lived for these days. That and fixing up this floating sinkhole it seemed. The boat had been her first wedding anniversary gift, 'Yıldız Kovalayan', 'Star Chaser', in honor of her last name. Eda looked at it with a mixture of dread and horror, she was seven months pregnant and he thought that a yacht was a good idea? Eda loved being on the water as much as the next person but owning a boat and spending an afternoon on one were two very different things. Instead of a quiet celebration of their anniversary they had a fight, not a tiny one but a big one and Berat left the house angry.

He returned two days later, having spent the night on the boat he said, but Eda had her suspicions. She had her doubts for months. The fights continued and escalated when Berat missed the birth of their daughter because he had decided to take a work trip. She tamped down the bitterness when she thought of him, Berat's work trip was named Dilara, the firm's lawyer. Lawyer her ass, the woman got her degree in correspondence school. Eda knew her type, always looking for something that wasn't theirs to have. Their marriage had deteriorated so badly once Eda realized that Berat was cheating that when he and his lover were killed in a crash of the corporate jet she was hard pressed to shed a tear. The company compensated her on the loss of her 'beloved' husband and they compensated three month old Kiraz on the loss of her 'hard-working and loving' father. What a joke. Eda took the money, with a tight smile and invested for her future and Kiraz's.

The idea that Eda Yildiz was now a widow brought out all the vermin from the neighborhood that they lived in, that she was a wealthy widow even more. She couldn't help her looks, if you asked Eda she would say she was average but to the casual observer they saw a stunning brunette who was more beautiful than any model and now she was rich too.

With the new funds Eda moved and bought a townhouse closer to the courthouse near Sultaniye Park. The place was large enough for her to move in her father's sister. They had their own space without bumping into each other. Ayfer had been a God send for Eda when Kiraz was born, she stepped in and took the role of mothering Eda, helping her through her post-partum period and then taking care of Kiraz when she was ready to return to work. A nurse by education and training Ayfer was loving and giving of her time but wasn't afraid to speak her mind or discipline Kiraz as she got older. Eda laughed internally at that, Kiraz wasn't the only one that got disciplined, sometimes she got it too.

Eda loved her job as a family law attorney, she was able to be the advocate for the children in difficult situations or for the parent that should have custody. Eda knew how important her job was when Berat's parents sued her for custody of Kiraz four months after his death. They didn't want Kiraz, they wanted the financial settlement that the company had made on her. Eda represented herself in court and managed to point out the greed of her former in-laws in the process.