Chapter 185

The hum of the car’s engine filled the space between them, an invisible wall of silence stretching wider with every passing second. Ayleen sat in the backseat, her hands folded in her lap, her heart heavy.

She stole a glance at Murat, who sat beside her, his fingers tapping against his phone screen, his expression blank, distant. He wasn’t really busy, she could tell. He was pretending. Purposely showing himself occupied, as if avoiding a conversation.

The car moved smoothly along the highway, part of a long caravan of vehicles escorting the entire Khan family to Alpines, where Zohreh’s engagement was set to take place. The excitement in the other cars was palpable, laughter, chatter, a sense of joy filling the air. But inside this car, between them, there was only a silence so heavy it felt suffocating.

Two days had passed like this. Two days of stiff conversations. Two days of Murat avoiding her eyes, of him nodding absently whenever she spoke, but never engaging