His Substitute Wife

Ex-Lover

Aleena walked around the Bazaar with a large grin on her face. Although the market in Mardin wasn't as big as the ones she was used to, it still reminded her of her childhood. She used to love going to the markets with her father to shop for fresh fruit and vegetables. However, her favourite stall was the sweet stall. She felt her heart ache when all the childhood memories flashed before her eyes. She remembered herself begging her dad for some Turkish lokma, which mini doughnuts covered in sugary syrup, and her father lecturing her about how bad they were for her only to buy her a small tub every time. She remembered feeling sick afterwards each time but hiding it from her father because she knew that if he found out he would never buy them for her again. 

"Do you want to eat anything, sister-in-law?" Mesut asked as he followed her closely behind. He had noticed her staring at the lokma in the dessert stall and assumed she had wanted some. 

"No, thank you," Aleena said before she reminded him to call her by her name next time. She had already told him multiple times to call her by her name, but he had insisted on using "sister-in-law" as a form of respect to his boss. It was going to take a while for her to get used to it, but she decided to just go along with it. She had a feeling he wouldn't be the only one to refer to her as sister-in-law in the future. 

Aleena gave one last look at the lokma before she continued to explore. In all honesty, she really wanted to nod her head 'yes' but she was still waiting for Miray to arrive. She decided she would eat some together with her new friend. 

Mesut simply nodded as the two continued to explore the market, walking from stall to stall. Aleena felt so joyous upon seeing the purity of the people and she felt enlightened by all the culture around her. She was sure that the street bazaar would be one of her favourite places in Mardin. 

The two of them walked around until Aleena felt exhausted. She wasn't sure how long it had been since they arrived but it felt like hours and Miray still hadn't arrived. 

"There is a tea garden close by," Mesut suddenly said upon seeing his lady's tired face, "would you like to wait over there?" 

Aleena sighed in relief and nodded her head. Once they were settled in, Aleena decided to call Miray and ask her where she was. They had promised to meet almost an hour earlier. 

"Get rid of Mesut," Miray said the moment she picked up the phone. She didn't even wait for Aleena's greeting. "Once you do, meet me at the Star Cafe in the next street." 

Aleena looked around since it was clear Miray was somewhere near them, but she could not see her at all.  However, knowing that Miray must have been craving some alone time without the pressure of her family around her, she decided to do as she said. 

"I'll see you soon," she said before she hung up the phone and turned to Mesut with a smile. "Miray said she will be here in a few minutes. "Do you mind ordering some tea for us?" 

"Of course," Mesut said before he stood up to order. Aleena felt guilty for lying to him but she cared more about Miray's feelings in that moment. So once Mesut was completely out of sight, she stood up and made an escape. 

It took her about fifteen minutes to find Star Cafe because she got lost, but after asking some kind people, she was there in no time. 

She entered and automatically felt her nerves calm down once the smell of the coffee hit her senses. She hadn't had good coffee in a long time so she was excited to try some again. 

Aleena looked around for Miray only to feel her heart drop to her stomach when she saw her sitting with a man. The man's back was to Aleena so she couldn't see who he was, however, Aleena knew that hanging out with an unrelated man was strictly forbidden in the Arslan family. And Aleena had a feeling that if they were to get caught, somehow Rezan sultan would turn this around and hold her responsible. 

For a few moments, Aleena contemplated whether she should just walk back outside before someone sees them and reports them but Miray suddenly caught sight of her and waved her over. She had no choice anymore. 

Aleena forced a smile out before she walked towards her sister-in-law, praying that no one would see them and no one would report them to her husband, or worse yet to Rezan sultan. 

"You're here," Miray shamelessly grinned, not feeling guilty at all for tricking Aleena into breaking one of the biggest rules the Arslan family held dear. She had used Aleena to meet up with another man knowing very well that it would literally get them both killed. 

"Sorry it took me so long," Aleena told her with another forced smile. "I got lost again."

"It's no problem at all!" Miray said as she pulled out a chair for Aleena. "I want you to meet someone special."

Aleena internally sighed before she moved to sit in the seat Miray had pulled out for her, only to freeze when she finally saw the face of the man sitting across from Miray. 

"This is my boyfriend," Miray said, making Aleena feel as if someone had stabbed her heart with a hundred knives at once, "Deniz." 

Deniz, the man Aleena was deeply in love with was sitting across from her looking up at her with a horror filled expression. Aleena's breath caught in her throat upon hearing the words Miray had just said. Her entire expression fell and her eyes filled with unshed tears. 

"Deniz meet my Aleena," Miray cluelessly said, "my brother's wife." 

Both Aleena and Deniz stared at each other, neither of them reacting at all. They were both too shocked to say anything. After all, it wasn't every day that you find out that you lover had a partner that wasn't you. And although both of them had betrayed each other, Aleena couldn't help but feel devastated. 

After all, Aleena was married to help out her best friend. There were no feelings involved in her marriage at all. Miray on the other hand seemed to be extremely in love with Deniz and he didn't seem to be rejecting her feelings either. He was genuinely two-timing Aleena and Aleena felt the world around her break down. She had plans to marry the man before her, to build a family with him and live happily ever after. However, while she was making such plans he was dating someone else behind her back. She couldn't believe it. 

"Why aren't you sitting?" Miray suddenly asked, still seemingly clueless despite the fact that the emotions on both Aleena and Deniz's faces were very telling. 

Aleena's lower lip trembled, forcing her to bite down on it before she cried out from heartbreak. She did not need anyone to see her cry over the bastard before her. 

However, she also could not bring herself to look away from him. She continued to stare at him with hopes that the face she was seeing before her was just an illusion. She was hoping that the face of the man she was deeply in love with would vanish and instead the face of a stranger would appear, however, it didn't. Deniz's face did not disappear. It stayed staring up at her with horror filled eyes. Neither of them could take their eyes off each other, both too shocked to react at all. 

In fact, Aleena was so focused on Deniz that the world around her had completely disappeared. Aleena was so focused on Deniz that she didn't even notice when Miray suddenly jumped up from her seat in, with a horror filled gasp escaping her lips. In fact, she didn't even notice the livid figure stalking towards them with a guilty looking Mesut following closely behind. 

It wasn't until she suddenly felt the icy cold aura surround her that she finally removed her eyes away from Deniz and looked up into the midnight dark eyes of her husband, who was glaring deep into her eyes. 

Aleena felt a lump grow in her throat upon seeing such a dark look in Zayd's eyes and the tears that she was forcing away suddenly dropped down her face. 

Before she could wipe them away though, Zayd's callous hand suddenly lifted and ever so lightly, he wiped the stray tears away with his thumb. Had they not been in the situation that they were in, Aleena would have moved away and made a distance between them. However, in that moment, she felt immensely comforted by his presence so she subconsciously rested her head in his warm hand. 

"Who is he?" Zayd asked, his voice filled with venom. Despite the anger he clearly felt, Aleena couldn't bring herself to feel anything but comforted by his presence. 

Another stray tear dropped down her face before she truthfully told him, "My ex-lover."