HANA There is a glint of amusement in the way Bash is looking at me. "What?" I asked him slowly. He leaned on my bedroom door and shook his head. "How did you hack his account?" "It is possible to use malware that redirects their text messages and phone calls to a phone number I own," I explained to him, feeling ashamed of what I did. I had training in ethical hacking until I met a friend online who helped in enhance my skills. I felt my cheeks burn when he handed over a cup of coffee. "I am sorry," I muttered. "No. My doubt is why would you cry after hacking his account?" I shrugged. "It always happens with me. I did things first. and they regret them later. I have always been like that. It's like a defect in me." That made him chuckle. I couldn't see why. "That's your overthinking." I held his gaze, a small smile lingered over his face and he shook his head, slowly walking towards me. He placed a kiss on the side of my for
HANA "I have a deployment again." Shalini sighed, slumping into her seat. I looked at my watch. "It's 6:30. We gotta go home." "Yeah. But Asli asked me to do the deployment after working hours, so." She casually shrugged as if it was not a big deal. "I will help you," I tell her, opening my laptop. "No yaar. It's fine. I can..." "Shalini," I put a finger on her lips. "It will be less burden for you if we do it together. If I am unable to do it, I could keep your company." She smiles, giving me a thumbs up, "You are the best." Shalini got up excusing herself. "If you are free, then why don't you work on Riyad's escalated issue?" I heard Asli say from behind. I turned around to watch her coming our way. "Work on that issue, today instead of doing someone else's work. Stop acting like a Mother Theressa. It's unbecoming." "I am sorry. Is something wrong?" I asked her, perplexed by her behaviour. I know that Asli likes to dump h
HANA "I have a user story, two tickets, three KT sessions and one hotfix." Shalini stared at her Team's calendar and said. "What about you?" "Just double what you have," I said, looking at my calendar on the system. We both blankly stared at the screen for fifteen minutes. "Can I go back in time and kiss her ass?" I asked her without turning to Shalini. From the corner of my eye, I saw her shaking her head. "Too late," She says. "If only we had let Bash fire her." She murmured. "If only I nodded my head instead of raging like a spitfire." "If only we hadn't discussed about sharing the work loudly." We both looked at turned towards each other, our faces grimacing as a low scream erupted from our throats. Shalini did a fake cry. and I touched my temple. "This is our doom," Shalini cried. "It is," I agreed. Asli started to retaliate in the way she knew by dumping all the work on us. "Mommy," Shalini cried. "I s
HANA I stayed up all night, scrolling through i***a, waiting for Bash's message and trying to reach Violet. This is something Bash asked me not to do. I looked no less than a zombie when I went to the office with dark circles and messy hair because I was late to straighten it. "Do you happen to have a Band-Aid? ‘Cause I scraped my knees falling for you." "Shut up, Mateo." I chided him. "I am not in the mood for it." "Wow, how do you even manage to look worse than yesterday?" Shalini asked me, wide-eyed. She linked our hands while Mateo tried to do the same. I swatted his hand away. "Come on, what did I do? You should have gone with him." I know I should have. It has been two days since he left for New York. I don't know what's happening there. I don't know how he is dealing with the death of his only family member, if he has eaten, if he needs help or if he needs me. I knew nothing. I felt like such a useless person when he somehow c
HANA A faint glow of light was cast into my room when I opened my eyes. I remember closing the curtains of my bedroom because of the street light that stood across my apartment. I couldn't tolerate the faintest beam while I slept, especially when I couldn't sleep. I turned my head, taking in my surroundings. His watch rested on my bedside table. A smile tugged my lips. It's just a watch but it gives me such a sense of safety. I groaned, covering my face. "What did you do to me, Bash?" "I don't know. You tell me." My eyes cracked open, searching for the sound of the voice in the low-illuminated bedroom. I gasped looking over the stretched hand across my waist. I almost screamed if he hadn't covered my mouth with his palm. Panic started to grip me. I bit his hand to escape. "Hush," He says, drawing his hand back. His frame was backlit by the beam of a street light passing through my window before he moved closer. He smiled at me, his hand caressing
HANA I remember the time when I held a stone in my hand, ready to fight the boys who bullied my sister. I used to be fiercely protective of people I love until I was made into someone I don't recognise because of Leo. That protectiveness emerged out of nowhere. In many ways, Bash is just like me. He stared at everything silently because he was so proud of me. But the moment a stranger called me a whore, he broke his nose. I didn't know what that word meant for Bash to react like that until Shalini translated it. We would make such a perfect couple if we weren't what we are. I quickly packed my bag. Now that Bash has clarified that all we had is two months, I don't want to waste a minute of it. When I went to Bash's apartment, Bash was in nothing but a trouser. He is cooking. "If I hadn't known that you are a very bad cook, I would say, what a sexy sight it is." I watched his shoulder shake as he burst into laughter before he turned towards me. He held hi
HANA "You just asked me to suck you clean." My eyes widened and immediately drew my hands back. "No," I yell at him, throwing a pillow on his face. I have been trying to learn the sign language for months now. Every time I made a mistake, Bash used it to his advantage. His calloused hands circled my ankles and he pulled me to him in one soft movement. "Not fair," I protested. "I could never win against you." I pouted. That made him smile. He leaned to me to kiss me on my pouted lips which he has been doing a lot these days. I bit him, making him flinch so that I could get away. But he is too fast. Before I crawled back, he pulled me by my waist. Both of us slumped on the bed, giggling and breathing hard with him above me. I felt him remove the strands of hair off my back. The top raised up, and the next second, he was placing a wet kiss on my bare back. I moaned, relishing in his touch. It has been ten days since he return
HANA I stayed late today. Something about what Asli said this morning doesn't sit with me well. "I'll help you," He said or I heard him say to her during the leisure. It can be any help. But it doesn't hurt to know more. I want to complete the work Bash gave me. A part of me wants to make him feel proud of me. I've never had a person whom I call mine. Even if it's just for a short period of time. I don't think it's possible to have someone like that, someone with whom you can share anything and rely on everything, someone with whom you can be weak without having to feel vulnerable. Damn, Bash has his way of making people feel.. I heard a distant laughter followed by footsteps into our ODC. Soon, Asli and Demir walked in. "sen benim kurtarıcımsın, (You are my saviour). Thank you for always being there." I heard Asli say. "Come on. I know the workload. I can't unsee the hard work you do." Asli gave him a grateful smile before they both sat at her desk.