Flawed Hearts

Chapter XIII: Progress?

He paced the length of his office, clutching his cellphone in his hand. His fists clenched and unclenched, the veins in his neck popping. Things were not going as planned, he had everything set out beforehand so why was it not going as planned?

His hands balled into fists as he spoke in rapid Turkish, his voice rising to a pitch as his anger escalated. He slammed his fist onto the desk, muttering profanities in Turkish. He sighed loosening his tie a bit then pushed back the strands of hair that fell over his face, pondering over what to do to remedy the situation.

He had two options, it was either to stay or call Lale in.  The situation would've been more favorable if he stayed but he didn't want to spend another day in Istanbul so calling her in would be his only option.

How do I approach her considering how much she hates these meetings?

He picked his office phone and punched in a few numbers, waiting impatiently for the person to pick up.

"Hold off all my calls and cancel my meetings for the day, forward all essential calls to Lale's home office," he spoke into the phone, hanging up before he got a reply.

He picked his bag and slung it over his shoulder, then left the office, making a call to his sister.

{••}

Her gaze fell on a painting behind the doctor's chair, trying to remember where she had seen it before. It looked like one of Aslan's paintings but maybe she was wrong.

She laid down on the sofa, making herself as comfortable as ever. She plugged her earphones in her ear, humming softly to the music and chatting with the few people on her w******p list.

The door opened and the doctor walked in, clutching her notepad to her chest. Seeing Najmah there startled her and she checked her wristwatch for the time. A smile danced on her lips, seeing that her patient was there earlier than her supposed time but she was always glad to see her; their therapy session was one of the most interesting ones she's ever had and she enjoyed every second of it.

"You're here early," Dr.Arzu walked towards her desk, keeping her notepad down.

"Yeah, it was getting boring at home," Najmah replied, plugging out the earphones.

"Well the earlier, the better," she replied observing Najmah a little bit. She picked Najmah's file then sat down on her desk, reading through it. Occasionally, she would raise her head and stare at Najmah then return back to her reading.

"Can we begin now?" she queried, turning over to a new page.

"Yeah sure," Najmah replied, swinging her legs off the sofa. "How long is this therapy gonna take?"

"For as long as you want," Dr.Arzu replied.

″That’s reassuring. So if I said I wanted to end my sessions now, you′d let me go?″ Najmah tilted her head backwards and regarded Arzu thoughtfully.

″I can not force you to stay but I can tell you that staying is for the better, I am here to help and if you decide otherwise then that is your choice.″

"I have only two and a half months left here."

"We shall worry about that later but for now, let's talk about you. Tell me, how do you feel around you? Do you feel in touch with the world or your environment?" She questioned, turning her serious face on.

Najmah sighed, wondering where to begin. She closed her eyes, searching through her mind the right words to describe her feelings.

"Sometimes I feel cut off from the whole world, out of touch and sometimes things don't feel real. Sometimes I feel... I feel like..." she pursed, biting her lip. "...I feel like a robot at times."

Arzu nodded, scribbling down the information in the file. "How about now? Are there any changes?"

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "My life sometime feels like a movie you know? Like I'm standing and watching everything happen from the sideline and things just pass me, life passes me."

"I see. What about Aslan? What emotions do you feel when you're around him?"

"I feel neutral," she frowned, pursing her lips. "He makes me smile and I feel comfortable around him but there are no strings attached, he's like a friend I'm getting used to being around with."

"You spoke about having only two and a half months here, care to tell me more about that?"

"I uhm will be going back home when the time elapses."

"But aren't you two married?" Arzu questioned, a frown settling on her face.

"Yeah, we are uhm...getting divorced then," she replied uncomfortably, squirming under the scrutinizing gaze of the doctor.

"Do you know what that means?" Arzu questioned, folding her arms and dropping her pen on the file. "Attaching yourself and detaching like that? Whatever your reasons are for that, I recommend that you settle your differences and work it out."

"I know the risk of what we're about to do but it's the best option for both of us."

"It is going to hinder with your recovery," she countered, shaking her head. "If this is about your condition, you both can work it out."

"You wouldn't understand Doc," Najmah uttered, her voice laced with disappointment. "No one does."

"That's why I'm here," Arzu placed her hand on Najmah's, her face softening. "...to help you. Help me understand so I can help you, that is why we are here today."

"If I stay..." she gulped down, trying to keep her emotions in check. "...I'd drag him down. Aslan will eventually tire of me and my apathy then throw me away, I don't want that to happen to me."

"He wouldn't," Arzu tried to assure her.

"How sure are you?"

Arzu sighed, not knowing the answer to Najmah's question. They were making progress and she feared the day Najmah and Aslan would get divorced. If her evaluation was correct, Najmah had grown too attached to Aslan even though she hadn't realized it yet. Detaching herself from him would be detrimental, she could fall into severe depression or schizophrenia; each of which is dangerous. She only hoped they would realise it before it is too late, she'd do everything in her power to see that the two stayed together.

"Arzu," Najmah spoke, bringing her out of her reverie. "I gotta go."

"Alright, we shall meet tomorrow."

"Cool," Najmah replied, standing up from her seat.

"On our next session, we shall talk about your relationship with the people around you," Arzu uttered, making Najmah groan.

"I'm definitely not looking forward to it," she mumbled under her breath then ambled out of the office, heading straight towards the exit. She hopped into the awaiting car, greeting the driver who returned her greeting with a smile.

{••}

"You're back early," Aslan uttered, tearing his gaze away from his laptop screen.

"Yeah, would you rather I didn't?" she rolled her eyes, hanging her bag on the hanger then discarded her veil on the sofa. She went towards her bag and unzipped it, taking out a smaller scarf, under the watchful eyes of Aslan whose expression turned into a deep scowl.

"Why haven't you unpacked yet? You've been here for more than a month doesn't it feel like home to you?" he questioned, crossing his arms.

"I figured since I'd be leaving in a few months, why bother unpacking then pack up again? If you hadn't noticed, I'm a little bit lazy," she replied not glancing at him.

Her words hurt him, he wanted to reach over and grab her then shake her till she came back to her senses. Why can't she see that he doesn't want her to go? All she ever talked about was leaving and it pained him a lot to know that she didn't feel the need to stay.

"Anyway, what was the big emergency you were talking about? I hope it was worth leaving my session early," she stated, moving towards him.

"Oh it's nothing," he shook his head. "We shall talk about it later."

She gaped at him, wondering if he had somehow lost his mind. How could he call her and tell her to come ASAP then tell her that it was nothing?

"How can you say that it's nothing?" she frowned, assessing him. "It didn't sound like nothing to me. You sounded kinda jolly like you won an award, so tell me what the good news is."

"I told you we'll talk about it later okay?" he responded, trying not to snap at her. He counted to ten inwardly then took a deep breath before sliding off the bed.

"Suit yourself," she shrugged nonchalantly. "If I knew it wasn't serious, I wouldn't have come back."

Aslan was on the verge of snapping at her when he remembered Dr.Arzu's words; be patient and never let her rudeness get to you, she doesn't realize the impact of her words on others but with time and therapy, she would.

"Are you traveling?" Najmah queried pointing towards the tickets she saw on the bedside table, breaking him from his line of thoughts.

"Yeah, uh...it was the reason why I called you, thought you might use a bit of a change of scenery," he forced a smile.

"Oh wow," she squealed, turning from moody to elated. "How very thoughtful of you. Where to?"

"Paris."

"Paris? The Paris? Eiffel Tower, Disneyland Paris?" she questioned, her eyes widening up.

"Yeah," he chuckled at her childishness. "The one and only."

"Woo-hoo," she squealed, jumping up and down the bed.

"Careful there, we don't want any broken bones."

She stuck her tongue out at him, continuing her dancing on the bed.

"When do we leave?" she questioned, stopping midway through her happy dance.

"Two hours from now," he replied, checking his wristwatch for the time.

"I'll get to packing then," she slid off the bed, heading towards her luggage.

"I already did that and don't worry," he raised his hands up. "I had Lale pack up your lady wears and all, I didn't touch anything."

"Aww, ain't you the gentleman. I'll go say my goodbyes then," she replied heading towards the exit, not waiting for his reply.

{••}

Paris freakin' Paris, he was taking her to Paris of all places in the whole world. The city of love, what if...what if they fell in love there? What if their relationship changed in the course of their journey? Would she ever stand a chance against her if Aslan fell in love with her?

It was high time she stepped up her game, she wouldn't let anyone take what was hers. No one dares to take what was hers.

"Enjoy your relationship while it lasts, I'll surely get back what is mine. I'll do whatever it takes to separate the two of you, no matter how long it takes. I won't let your happiness last, even if it is the last thing I do," Afet vowed, her face breaking into a sinister smile as she watched the couple get into their car.