Though Yasmin was eager for time alone with Volkan, she had to talk to her parents. She chose Zoom rather than simply calling, needing to give her explanation and apology face-to-face. She told Volkan that she was done lying to her family, that it was a precedent she refused to set with them. Surprisingly, he agreed, letting her control the call, standing just out of view and pacing behind the laptop.

Yasmin told her parents that Volkan’s brother had her kidnapped to get her out of the way while he tried to take over the family business, and that she’d ended up on the family island for a few days. She left out the part about Volkan being the one to leave her on the island when he thought she’d betrayed him. She also left out her confrontation with the mercenaries. There were some things she would never tell them.

“Oh sweetheart, we’re just glad you’re okay,” her mom said, her eyes luminous with unshed tears. “We didn’t know what was happening, other than that we were rushed away and told that you’d already left for the honeymoon.”

“Which we thought was an extremely rude thing to do,” Aisha piped in, shoving her face into the screen. “When I thought you were just being an asshole, I was gonna fly out there and kick some entitled booty. But now that I know you were kidnapped, Ima fly out there and murder somebody's little brother, which is not a great way to start off our cross-Atlantic family relations.”

Volkan cough-laughed from behind the laptop and shook his head at Yasmin’s sister. Yasmin laughed too, but it was because of Volkan’s expression. She continued to chat with her family until everyone was satisfied that she was safe and no harm had come to her. When she finished, she closed the laptop with a contented sigh and looked at her husband.

“Thank you for letting me tell them the truth, or at least part of it. I’ve never lied to them before and I really don’t like the way it makes me feel.”

Volkan came around the side of the desk and sank to one knee next to her chair, folding her hands in his. “Your honesty was one of the first things about you I fell in love with. It took me a while to realize that by forcing you to lie, I was destroying that part of you. I can promise that this will not happen in the future. I will never again give you reason to lie for me.”

She smiled and kissed him, her lips lingering against his. “Thank you, Volkan. It means a lot to me when you say things like that. I feel hopeful for the future.”

He nodded, then asked, “Why didn’t you tell your parents about the baby?”