Chapter 5 Return the Ring on Your Hand to Me

Julian's eyes were locked on the two people in the office, the air around him turning to ice.

He never expected this. Sibel wasn't coming home, wasn't answering his calls, because she was with this man!

And the way they were sitting together. That wasn't work. That was two people picking up where they left off.

"Sibel!" Julian couldn't hold it in anymore. He shoved the office door open, his voice burning with barely-contained rage.

Sibel and Rayn both looked up at the same time. When they saw Julian and Wendy standing in the doorway, they froze.

"Mr. Logan, what brings you here?" Rayn recovered first, his tone steady.

He'd figured Julian would come looking for Sibel. He just hadn't expected it to go like this.

Julian ignored him. His eyes were fixed on Sibel, like he could see straight through her. "Weren't you the one who wanted a divorce? What's the matter. Couldn't wait a few days before lining up your next option?"

His voice was low and cutting, laced with contempt.

The color drained from Sibel's face.

"Julian, what are you talking about?" Sibel shot to her feet, glaring at him.

"What am I talking about?" Julian let out a cold laugh. His gaze swept over the papers in her hand, then landed on Rayn. "You think I don't know about the two of you? Doctor, in case you forgot. She's a married woman."

Rayn's jaw tightened. He felt the force of Julian's presence pressing into the room like a wall.

But he didn't back down. "Mr. Logan, watch what you say. Sibel is my colleague. We were going over work."

"Work." Julian scoffed. "Right. More like a reunion. The 'work' is just cover."

Wendy had slipped into the room by then. She leaned against the doorframe, pale-faced, looking shaken by Julian's outburst.

She coughed lightly and spoke in a weak voice. "Julian, don't do this. Sibel just needed someone to talk to."

It sounded like she was trying to calm things down. It wasn't. She'd just handed Julian exactly what he was looking for. The suggestion that Sibel had come here for comfort, for Rayn.

Julian's expression went stone cold.

He looked at Sibel with something that sat between disappointment and disgust. He'd told himself she was just throwing a fit. He hadn't thought she'd actually do something like this.

"Sibel." He said her name like each syllable cost him something. "You never cease to surprise me. You want a divorce? Fine. I'll give you one. But don't come back crying when you regret it."

Sibel saw it clearly in his eyes, not just anger, but contempt. Raw and unguarded.

It felt like a knife twisting in her chest.

She knew it didn't matter what she said. He'd already made up his mind. In his version of this, she was the one who'd thrown the marriage away, the one with no shame.

"I won't regret it." Sibel pulled in a slow breath, trying to hold herself together. Her voice still shook. "You've shown me exactly who you are, Julian. I just hate that it took me this long to see it."

The words landed like a slap.

Then, almost without meaning to, Sibel's eyes drifted to Wendy.

Wendy was still leaning against the doorframe, one hand pressed to her chest, performing fragility. And there, on that pale, slender hand, something caught the light.

A ring.

Simple band, old style, a round diamond set in a soft golden-green stone. Sibel recognized it immediately.

It had belonged to her grandmother. The only thing she'd left behind.

Sibel's blood went cold. Her chest seized.

She kept that ring tucked away in the innermost compartment of her jewelry box, in the master bedroom. She'd put it there after the wedding, afraid daily wear would scratch it. She'd never mentioned it to anyone, not even Julian.

And now it was on Wendy's finger.

Whatever rage or grief she'd been feeling a second ago disappeared. Something colder took its place.

She stopped looking at Julian. Her eyes went straight to Wendy, sharp and direct.

"That ring." Her voice came out flat and even. "Take it off. Give it back."

Wendy startled, pulling her hand back instinctively. She looked at Julian with wide, innocent eyes. "Julian… what is Sibel talking about? I don't understand."

"What is wrong with you now?" Julian snapped. "She's wearing a ring, so what? You want it? I'll buy you a hundred."

"I don't want a hundred," Sibel said. Her eyes hadn't moved from Wendy. "I want that one. It was my grandmother's."

That stopped Julian cold.

Before anyone could say anything else, Ethan pushed out from behind Wendy and planted himself in front of her like a small, furious guard dog.

"You're lying!" he shouted. "You gave it to me! You said you didn't want it anymore! It's mine, and I can give it to whoever I want! I want Aunt Wendy to have it!"

Sibel almost laughed, not from amusement, but from sheer disbelief.

When had she ever said anything like that? This kid lied like it was nothing.

She remembered now, Ethan had once made a fuss about playing with her jewelry. She'd let him look at the outside of the box. That was it. She'd never touched the ring herself that day.

He must have gone back and taken it on his own.

"Ethan." Sibel looked at him steadily. "I never gave you that ring. It's the most important thing I own. Tell Wendy to give it back."

"No!" He lifted his chin, standing his ground. "You don't want me anyway, so I don't care about your stuff! I love Aunt Wendy and I want to give her the best things I have!"

"Sibel, don't take it out on the child…" Wendy's eyes went glassy, tears threatening to spill. She reached up and began slowly, carefully sliding the ring off her finger. "If it means that much to Sibel, of course I'll give it back… Ethan, don't fight with your mom. This is my fault."

She eased the ring off and then didn't hand it to Sibel.

She set it gently into Ethan's palm instead.

"Ethan, sweetheart. This belongs to your mom. Give it back to her."

Clean. Calculated. She'd stepped out of the line of fire and handed the whole thing to a five-year-old.

And it worked exactly the way she knew it would.

Ethan felt it like a vote of confidence. His grip on the ring tightened, and whatever hostility he'd been holding toward Sibel surged to the surface.

"I'm not giving you anything!" he screamed. "You're a bad person!"