The flames still danced in the background as Arda tightened his arm around my waist. My lungs were filled with the stench of soot, and a panic attack was knocking at my door, but I found myself entirely focused on the dark ocean of his eyes.
"I have to go," I whispered, trying to pull away from his consuming heat.
Arda frowned deeply. "Don't be ridiculous. You're not going anywhere in this condition".
"Let me go, Arda," I demanded, my voice finally finding its steel. He paused, a strange, unreadable emotion flickering in his eyes before he slowly withdrew his arm. "Fine," he said, his tone icy. "Go. But remember, Lara. I am not done with you yet".
I ran without looking back. Murat was waiting outside the perimeter, his face covered in soot. We sped away in his car, my mind echoing with Arda's final, threatening promise.
"What happened in there, Lara?" Murat pressed, sensing I was hiding something.
I couldn't tell him I was pregnant with the enemy's child. Instead, I told him the other horrifying truth. "My sister's death was no accident," I said, my voice trembling. "She was testing a new perfume for Arda's company. It contained highly addictive, lethal chemicals. That's why she died". Murat's face flushed with pure rage, and he vowed we would make Arda pay.
Back at my hotel room, I stood under the scalding shower for minutes, desperately trying to wash Arda's scent and touch from my skin. But the dangerous man had already seeped into my mind and body.
Later that afternoon, a knock at my door made my heart stop. I opened it to find Arda standing there, his infamous mocking smile in place. "I wanted to check on you, Lara," he murmured.
He stepped inside, closing the distance between us. "You're investigating me, aren't you?" he asked, his eyes pinning me down.
My armor cracked. I couldn't lie anymore. "Yes," I said boldly. "Because my sister died working for this company. Elif Demir".
Arda's face turned to absolute stone. The dark shadows in his eyes deepened. "I knew Elif," he said coldly. "I was saddened by her death".
"Saddened? Or relieved?" I shot back, a bitter smile on my lips. "Did you have a hand in her death?".
His eyes flared with a lethal fire. "You are going to regret asking that question, Lara," he warned, his voice as cold as a glacier.