“I suppose if I must take the money,” she said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes that had him smiling.

“It’s all yours, my love. Spend it on something outrageous,” he said indulgently.

In that moment, the past faded and Yasmin saw a future with Volkan, one where they smiled and laughed like they did on their wedding day. Maybe if she let go of her resentment and fear, she might learn to enjoy living in Turkey.

But to do that, she would need to forgive Volkan for hurting her and taking away the future she’d envisioned for herself, and she wasn’t quite ready to do that.

Besides, now she had someone else to consider and having only spent four weeks with Volkan and his family, she wasn’t sure she could trust them to do right by her… or her baby.

She slid a hand over her stomach just as the ribbon enveloping her and Volkan was removed. He took her hand and held it high as their guests cheered for them, then he led her onto the makeshift dance floor, a platform set up on the lawn, and took her in his arms for their first dance.

She stared up at him, trying to picture him as a father. Would he be as gentle and loving as he was with her when she was following his wishes? Or would he fly into a rage, as he’d also done with her when she wasn’t obedient to his wants? Could she risk that he might yell at, or worse, harm their child?

She was developing feelings for Volkan, but trust wasn’t one of them yet and every time she thought of the tiny brand-new life growing inside her, she could no longer imagine what her future was going to look like. She couldn’t imagine Volkan as a father, but neither could she imagine taking his child away and raising it by herself.

Despair threatened to ruin what had otherwise been an amazing day, but she pushed it away with help from an unexpected source; Zeynep. The other woman was revolving on the dance floor in the arms of her husband when she caught Yasmin’s eye. At first, her expression was concerned, but then she smiled warmly and winked at Yasmin.

Yasmin smiled back, accepting the silent support.

Zeynep was the only other person besides herself that knew about the pregnancy.