The Price of Pride

Chapter 10

"I can make it so your marriage never existed."

The words of his father took the breath out of him when he heard them. Her silence afterwards shook him to his core. Does she want to leave? Does she want to be free? He didn't have the courage to wait for the answer.

He had gone to the room on the way to see about Ayla just to give Reyhan a heads up. He didn't expect to hear his father trying to destroy his marriage. But can he blame the man? Can he blame either of them? Emir is afraid he may have irreparably ruined any chances of being with Reyhan. She probably won't ever trust him again.

But he won't give up. He'll give her the time and space she needs to figure out how much he loves her. But he's definitely going to have to keep his pride in check. He can't allow his ego to ruin his chance at happiness with Reyhan. He'll check on Ayla first and then go back to Reyhan and pray he can convince her to stay.

"She's this way," the nurse tells him, pointing to the room where Ayla is. The nurse inside the room looks up when he walks in.

"Can I help you?" she asks, giving Emir a strange look.

"I just came to check on her," Emir says. "How is she?"

"Emir abi?" Ayla opens her eyes when she hears his voice and reaches for him.

He takes her tiny little hands and kisses them before leaning over to kiss her forehead.

"How are you, Bir Tanem? What are you doing back here?" he asks her. "Did you miss me so much that you had to come back?"

"No silly," she giggles.

He winks at her before turning his attention back to her nurse.

"What happened to her?" Emir asks again.

The nurse tells Ayla they'll be back in a minute before ushering him outside.

"Sir, I'm not sure who you are, but she seemed happier to see you than she was to see her foster parents. And for that, I'm grateful. Seeing you made a big difference in her attitude. But I still can't tell you anything about this patient. Not without consent."

"Please," Emir begs her. "My wife is a patient here and I met Ayla one day by chance. When she got really sick, I paid for her surgery. I just want to know how she is."

The nurse lets out a sigh and then gives a look around to see if they're alone.

"She's fine now," the nurse says in a low voice. "But she's back here because her foster parents took her out the hospital way too soon and then didn't take care of her the way they should. Rumor has it, one of the other foster children in the house called and reported them and called the ambulance for Ayla. The foster parents are with the doctor and the police now."

The nurse nods her head at the group of people at the end of the hall. Emir clenches his fists in anger as he gets the first look at Ayla's foster parents. His feet are moving in that direction before he even realizes he's made the decision to go to them. He just wants to have a few words with them.

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Reyhan is suspicious when her nurse gets strangely quiet when she asks where Emir is. It takes some pushing, but the nurse finally agrees to take Reyhan. She doesn't explain. She just says that Reyhan has to see it for herself. That makes Reyhan even more suspicious.

The nurse helps Reyhan get into a wheelchair and takes her down to the emergency room.

"Why would Emir be down here?" Reyhan wonders aloud.

"To see her," the nurse says, pointing to a room.

Reyhan's heart stops. Her? Her husband is here to see another woman? If anyone were to ask Reyhan if she was a jealous person, she would have denied it. Until now. Reyhan is surprised at the feelings of possessiveness rising up on the inside. She takes a deep breath to tamp down on the urge to rush in there and punch someone. She's not a violent person.