She sucked in a breath, worried that she’d messed up, but she explained anyway. “Well, if you want to get married quickly, then where will I get my dress? Who will we invite? You haven’t even allowed me to talk to my family. Will they come to my wedding? I’ll be heartbroken if my father isn’t the one to walk me down the aisle.”

At first, she seemed to get through. He looked thoughtful, pensive, like he was contemplating what she’d said. It was better than she hoped. If she could somehow convince him to bring her family to Turkey, then she could get them to help her. They wouldn’t rest until they had her safely back with them.

Then he did what she feared he would do. He shut her down. Pulling away from her both physically and emotionally, he said, “You’ll get over your disappointment. We’ll be married as soon as I can arrange it.”

Yasmin blinked away the tears and turned her back on him, pulling her legs up so she could curl into her seat. The flight no longer held her attention. Instead of a glamorous private jet, it now felt like a flying cage that was taking her to her new prison.

The flight from London to Istanbul took slightly less than four hours, and by the time they arrived, Yasmin was a pile of nerves. It was a very weird thing to meet her kidnapper’s family, yet that was what she was about to do.

She half expected Volkan to lecture her on what to say and not say to his family as he escorted her to a waiting car on the tarmac, but he was silent and preoccupied with his own thoughts.

They travelled to the Kartel family villa in silence. It took about half an hour and each minute that passed sent Yasmin’s anxiety higher. She was a bundle of vibrating nerves by the time they arrived. The car pulled into a long, curved driveway lined with trees. As the trees broke, Yasmin gasped, catching sight of the ocean beyond a sprawling white house that looked like it could fit ten of the family home she’d grown up in.

The grounds were huge and she could see men in suits patrolling the area. As the car came to a stop, someone opened Yasmin’s door and reached a hand in to help her out. Before she could take it, Volkan dragged her out the other door and forced her to stand with him. He glared at the man on the opposite side of the car.