Girls and prison

The meeting

The elegant woman sat at one of the tables, her gloved hands folded neatly in front of her. She hadn’t ordered anything. She wasn’t here to eat.

“Sit,” she said, not as a request — but as a command.

Aya stood frozen behind the counter.

Judy? Already at her side, like a shadow.

“She’s not sitting anywhere,” Judy said, stepping in. “Say what you want and leave.”

The woman didn’t even blink.

“You always were loud, Judith.”

Judy crossed her arms.

“And you were always good at pretending to care.”

Aya touched her arm lightly.

“It’s okay. I’ll talk to her.”

“Aya—”

“I can handle her.”

Judy hesitated, lips tight… but took a step back. Not far — never far.

Aya walked toward the table and sat. Her hands were a little cold. But her eyes? Calm. Curious.

The woman studied her in silence.

Then finally spoke.

“You’re not what I expected.”

Aya tilted her head.

“You came all this way for… expectations?”

The woman smiled.

“You think I came here for you? No, dear. I came for what you’ve done to my son.”

Aya blinked slowly.

“Done?”

“Demir doesn’t change for anyone. But you? You walked into that compound like a mouse… and left it with the lion watching your every move.”

Aya swallowed, but stayed quiet.

“He’s been unstable since you left,” the woman continued. “Distracted. Unfocused. He doesn’t eat. He doesn’t sleep. He stares at the gate like you might walk back in.”

She leaned forward.

“Tell me, Aya. What is it about you?”

Judy bristled, stepping closer.

“Back off.”

The woman held up a hand — graceful, gloved, commanding.

“No. I want to understand. Is it your silence? Your defiance? The fact that you dress like purity in a world built on blood?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not like the women in his world. You’re not seductive. Not loud. You don’t beg. You don’t fear. And that… intrigues him.”

Aya finally spoke.

“And does that scare you?”

The woman smiled.

“Nothing scares me. But I don’t like what I don’t control.”

Judy stepped forward again.

“Then leave. Because you won’t control her.”

The woman rose slowly.

“I don’t need to. I’ve seen what I came to see.”

She turned to Aya one last time, voice almost... soft.

“You’re the quiet fire he never saw coming. And one day, if you're not careful… you’ll burn him from the inside out.”

With that, she walked away — heels clicking softly against the tiled floor.

Judy let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

Aya?

She just sat there, heart pounding, eyes wide.

Because for the first time…

She realized how deep she had gotten into the world of monsters.

And one of them? Had just called her fire.

...........somewhere...........

The compound was unusually silent that night.

Demir stood in his office, reviewing files on a tablet — clean lines, clean deals, no errors.

Until his phone lit up.

A message.

From one of his guards.

“She visited the girl. Today. The restaurant.”

He stared at the words.

Once.

Twice.

Then his jaw clenched. Slowly. Dangerously.

“Who?” he muttered.

A second message came in.

“Your mother.”

The tablet slipped from his fingers — crashing to the marble floor with a shattering c***k.

Demir didn’t flinch.

He simply stood there, fingers curling into fists, a storm tightening behind his cold eyes.

“She went,” he said through gritted teeth.

“She went without asking.”

He turned slowly, rage coiling under his skin like fire wrapped in ice.

Yavuz was leaning against the doorframe, holding a glass of whiskey, eyebrows raised lazily.

“Something happen, brother?”

Demir looked up sharply.

“Did you know?” he snapped.

“That she went to Aya?”

Yavuz paused.

“...She what?”

Demir's voice dropped — deadly calm.

“My mother went to her. She sat with her. She spoke to her.”

The glass in Yavuz’s hand stilled.

“Wow.”

Demir didn’t move. Just one sentence:

“Did you tell her where Aya was?”

“Of course not.”

Demir exhaled — sharp, controlled.

“She crossed the line.”

Yavuz stepped forward, trying to measure his brother’s temper.

“It’s our mother. She probably just wanted to understand—”

“No,” Demir cut him off coldly.

“She wanted to test her. The way she tests everyone I let near me.”

He turned toward the window, watching the city breathe below them.

“Aya's not from our world, Yavuz. She's already seen too much. And now… now Mother’s dragged her deeper.”

Yavuz studied him carefully.

“You’re really losing your mind over this girl, aren’t you?”

Demir didn’t answer.

But his silence said everything.

Then Demir called his mother to come and talk to him, and Yavuz had already run away.

The room was dim, the walls covered in shadows from the flickering fireplace.

Demir stood by the mantel, his back rigid, one hand gripping the edge like it might snap beneath his grip.

She entered like a queen — her heels echoing across the marble. Calm. Composed.

Unbothered.

“You summoned me?” she said, removing her gloves slowly, almost lazily.

Demir didn’t look at her.

“You went to see her.”

She smiled faintly.

“I did.”

He turned sharply. His eyes were burning.

“Without. My. Permission.”

She raised a single brow.

“I didn’t know I needed permission to speak to a waitress.”

“She’s not just a waitress.” His voice rose. “And you know it.”

The air thickened.

His mother walked closer, her expression amused.

“Ah,” she whispered, circling him like a lioness. “So it’s true.”

“Stay away from her.”

She chuckled — soft, dangerous.

“My son. My cold, calculated son. Angry. Protective. Jealous.”

Demir’s jaw tightened.

“You think this is a joke?”

She stepped closer until they were face to face.

“No, darling. I think this is pathetic.”

“What?”

“You’ve built empires,” she said. “You’ve destroyed men with a word. But one hijabi girl with kind eyes and a sharp tongue walks into your compound, and suddenly you’re breaking tablets and skipping meetings.”

Demir’s hand slammed onto the table beside him — a loud, cracking sound.

“Don’t talk about her like that.”

His mother blinked, the faintest smile on her lips.

“You don’t even recognize yourself anymore.”

“Maybe because for once, I’m not playing a role.”

“No,” she said coolly, “you’re playing with fire.”

Silence.

Then — Demir’s voice, low and dark:

“You don’t get to come into my world and mess with what little peace I’ve found.”

She looked at him, her little son now trembling not from fear — but fury.

“Peace?” she whispered.

“She’s your peace?”

Demir met her eyes, unflinching.

“Yes. And I will protect her. From anyone.”

His mother stared at him for a long moment.

Then… she laughed.

A quiet, eerie sound.

“God help the girl who thinks she can save a man like you,” she said, picking up her gloves again.

“Because when you fall in love, Demir… people burn.”

And with that, she walked out.

Leaving him breathing heavily in the silence —

— with fire in his chest, and her words ringing in his ears.

after one day

The soft bell above the café door rang.

It was early. Quiet. Only a few sleepy customers sipped coffee in the corner.

Judy sat at a back table, hoodie up, sipping a steaming latte, scrolling aimlessly on her phone.

Until—

The café fell silent.

The cold breeze from the door still hung in the air.

Boots. Black. Polished. Familiar.

She looked up—

Choked on her drink.

“Cough— what the—”

She slammed the cup down, eyes wide.

Demir stood in front of her.

Dark coat. Unreadable eyes.

He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down without asking.

Judy blinked.

“Are you serious right now?”

“Where is she?” he said quietly.

Judy folded her arms.

“Not here.”

“Obviously.” His tone was calm. Too calm.

“Where?”

“Why?” she snapped.

“So you can suffocate her with your confusing mafia love language again?”

Demir’s brow twitched.

“I just want to see her.”

“Well, she doesn’t want to see you,” Judy said, voice cold.

“And I swear, if you’re the reason she’s been weird lately—”

“I’m not here to hurt her.”

Judy leaned forward, glaring.

“You already did. You locked her in a damn compound like a criminal.”

“I protected her.”

“You kidn*pped her.”

“She was safer there than she is out here.”

“Safer? From what? You? Your mother who just casually shows up at her workplace trying to sniff out if she’s ‘worthy’ of her son?!”

Demir’s jaw tightened.

“That… was not supposed to happen.”

“Well, it did,” Judy snapped. “And Aya? She doesn’t owe you a second more of her life. So get up. Go. Before she walks in here and sees you sitting here like you belong.”

A tense silence.

Then—

Demir leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, voice low.

“I came here because I can’t stop thinking about her. I dream about her voice. Her laugh. Her silence. Even her anger.”

Judy blinked.

“...That’s not romantic. That’s stalker behavior.”

“Call it what you want,” he said.

“But if she walks through that door right now, I won’t look away.”

Judy narrowed her eyes.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

“Maybe,” he murmured.

“But I did. And now I’m here. Waiting.”

Judy scoffed, pulling her hoodie lower.

“You’re impossible.”

“Only when it comes to her.”

And then… the café bell rang again.

Both of them turned.

Aya.

She stopped in the doorway, holding a brown paper bag, staring at Demir—

Eyes wide.

Heart caught.