Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three
"Then why didn't you tell her that?" Markus pushed.
Ahmet did not answer. What was he supposed to tell her?
Markus did not press. Not yet.
The tension stretched between them, brittle and silent. Until finally, Ahmet let himself sink into the nearest chair, hands rubbing through his face like he was trying to erase it.
Markus watched him, really watched him. This wasn't just a comrade who had missed a shot. This was a man unraveling under the weight of a truth he couldn't dodge anymore.
Markus was watching Ahmet fall in love for the first time and that too with the woman forbidden to them.
"She thinks I'm like her father," Ahmet said quietly.
"Using people. Brutal. Controlling. Cold."
"And are you not?" Markus sincerely wasn't judging. Using people. Brutal. Controlling. Cold. Those were who they were.
"No," Ahmet snapped. "I am not like him. He is a rpist, kills innocent people. He is more than a monster."