Forbidden E-Book

Ambera Jakupi

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 323

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Ashley, a Turkish woman, who came to Switzerland to fulfil her dreams and in search of a happy and calm life. Hudson, a singer who is trying to make his name and be famous. As opposite attracts, they both, one who wants a peaceful life and another who strives for a famous, starry life, fell in love with each other. Meredith, Ashley`s friend and Hudson`s sister was the reason they met and the story started. Life had other plans, Ashley`s marriage is already fixed by her family, who happens to be Meredith`s love. How would Ashley fight her family and reunite Meredith with her crush? Ashley strives hard and convinces her family. The wedding day appears and she is on the ninth cloud. but where is the groom? With the bride waiting on the altar, the groom disappeared. Will their love survive when they meet each other after 5 years? Will Ashley be able to love him again or will she find support in her loneliness? Will Hudson be able to justify his reason for running away from his own wedding or would a sweet love story end up in another despair?

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Ashley's POV

Chapter 2: Ashley's POV

Chapter 3: Ashley's POV

Chapter 4: Ashley's POV

Chapter 5: Ashley's POV

Chapter 6: Ashley's POV

Chapter 7: Ashley's POV

Chapter 8: Ashley's POV

Chapter 9: Ashley's POV

Chapter 10: Ashley's POV

Chapter 11: Ashley's POV

Chapter 12: Ashley's POV

Chapter 13: Hudson's POV

Chapter 14: Ashley's POV

Chapter 15: Ashley's POV

Chapter 16: Ashley's POV

Chapter 17: Ashley's POV

Chapter 18: Hudson's POV

Chapter 19: Ashley's POV

Chapter 20: Ashley's POV

Chapter 21: Ashley's POV

Chapter 22: Hudson's POV

Chapter 23: Hudson's POV

Chapter 24: Hudson's POV

Chapter 25: Ashley's POV

Chapter 26: Hudson's POV

Chapter 27: Hudson's POV

Chapter 28: Ashley's POV

Chapter 29: Hudson's POV

Chapter 30: Ashley's POV

Chapter 31: Ashley's POV

Chapter 32: Hudson's POV

Chapter 33: Ashley's POV

Chapter 34: Hudson's POV

Chapter 35: Ashley's POV

Chapter 36: Ashley's POV

Chapter 37: Hudson's POV

Chapter 38: Hudson's POV

Chapter 39: Ashley's POV

Chapter 40: Hudson's POV

Chapter 41: Ashley's POV

Chapter 42: Ashley's POV

Chapter 43: Ashley's POV

Chapter 44: Ashley's POV

Chapter 45: Hudson's POV

Chapter 46: Hudson's POV

Chapter 47: Ashley's POV

Chapter 48: Hudson's POV

Chapter 49: Hudson's POV

Chapter 50: Ashley's POV

Chapter 51: Ashley's POV

Chapter 52: Hudson's POV

Chapter 53: Hudson's POV

Chapter 54: Ashley's POV

Chapter 55: Hudson's POV

Chapter 56: Hudson's POV

Chapter 57: Hudson's POV

Chapter 58: Ashley's POV

Chapter 59: Hudson's POV

Chapter 60: Ashley's POV

Chapter 61: Hudson's POV

Chapter 62: Hudson's POV

Chapter 63: Hudson's POV

Chapter 64: Ashley's POV

Chapter 65: Ashley's POV

Chapter 66: Ashley's POV

Chapter 67: Ashley's POV

Chapter 68: Hudson's POV

Chapter 69: Ashley's POV

Chapter 70: Hudson's POV

Chapter 71: Hudson's POV

Chapter 72: Hudson's POV

Chapter 73: Hudson's POV

Chapter 74: Ashley's POV

Chapter 75: Hudson's POV

Chapter 1

Ashley's POV

It's Monday. A day hated by most people in the world. I didn't use to like Mondays either, but since I finished my apprenticeship as a daycare worker two weeks ago, I'm not stressed anymore. Now I can follow my real dream and become an English teacher.

Here in Zurich, it's very difficult to graduate from grammar school. And to be honest, I wasn't a very good student at all but I liked the English lessons. My dream was always to do a language exchange in London and continue my education to become an English teacher in my high school.

I have just one problem. My parents won't allow me to leave Switzerland for even one day, so I do not think seven months will be okay for them. I haven’t told them yet, but I want to and I think I'm going to do it today. The sooner the trouble, the easier they’ll get over it.

So, I’m lying on my bed right now, but I want to gather the courage and stand up. I feel like my whole body has lost the power to tell them. I start to count until three.

"One. Two. Three!" I lift my head up but it immediately falls back against my pillow. I can't. I'm too afraid to disappoint my parents, or worse.

"Ugh, Fuck!" I sigh loudly. I hear my mom’s steps coming near my bedroom door.

"Yavrum, iyi misin?" She's asking me if I'm fine in Turkish.

"Evet, Anne iyim ben," I told her everything's fine but actually, it's not. I hate lying to my parents, but I hate disappointing them more. She opens the door and I sit up while she enters my room.

"I am your mother. I get it when you have something on your mind that is bothering you." She says. I knew she would get it, but I tried to hide it. I'm a bad liar.

"Mom, I finished my apprenticeship now and you know I wanted to become an English teacher, remember?” My heart is pounding loudly.

”Yes, honey.”

”Before I can get a job as an English teacher, I have to study English but there is another way to become an English teacher too... I could go to an English country for half a year and learn their language and culture, so I have almost the same experiences as English students from the university."

"Are you crazy? Another country? Did you think about your family? You can't even stay one week alone in Turkey and half a year in a country you don't even know?! You’d better talk with your dad about this. I'm not messing with him about your stupid decision!" She almost screams.

"I knew you're going to say this." I sit disappointed under my comforter.

"But please don't tell dad about it. I want to ask him first." I beg. My mom is not a very good keeper of secrets.

"Ok. But don't put me in this fight."

"Ok. Thank you, mom."

"Come on I made lunch ready", she says. Ignoring my thanks.

My older brothers Amar and Samir aren’t present, so I’m just here with my mom and dad at the table. My mom and I swap glances while my dad enjoys the food, not noticing our eye contact.

"Osman, Senin kizin sana bir sey söylemek istiyor." Shit, my mom said that I want to tell my father something. Why can't she just wait until I tell him by myself? And why exactly at lunchtime?

"Hayir, söylemek bir sey yok," I said I don't have anything to tell.

"She wants to leave us." My mom snaps. I feel like my chin is falling on the floor. My dad let his spoon drop loudly on the plate.

"What?!"

Chapter 2

Ashley's POV

My dad looks so confused but not as angry as I expected him to be.

"Anne, are you serious right now? I didn't say I'm going to leave you. This kind of stuff is called a language exchange." I try to explain it to my mom.

Now my dad starts to glance at me like I'm used to. My mom wasn't that good of a secret keeper but she kept it for longer than I thought she would.

"And why do you want to do this?" My dad snaps.

"Because I always wanted to be an English teacher as you know but here in Switzerland I don't have many opportunities to do this unless I was a grammar school student. A language exchange in an English country could be my last chance to make my dream come true, Baba."

"This girl has lost her mind, Nermin. You’d better watch out how she behaves!" My dad is almost screaming at my mom. He stands up and walks angrily through the kitchen into his room and closes his bedroom door loudly.

"Look what you've done, Asli!" Disappointment is in her voice. I look ashamedly down at the plate in front of me.

"Wash the dishes and clear the table." She frowns at me. She stands up and joins my dad in the bedroom. I didn't expect it to happen like that. I knew they'd be angry at me but a part of me just hoped they would understand me.

After I washed the dishes and cleared the table I wanted to join my dad in the living room to watch TV. I almost pushed down the door handle but when I heard my parents talking about me I stopped and secretly listened.

"This girl is now old enough to get married but she still is dreaming like a school kid!" My dad frowns at my mom.

"I know, Osman but she is too stubborn to listen to us." My mom was always trying to get me engaged to some Turkish sons of my father's friends but I declined every time and said that I'm still too young. Why does my family want to marry me off all the time when I'm happy to be single? It feels like they want to get rid of me.

"I won't ask her anymore. Let's get her engaged before she decides to move to some other country." My dad says harshly. NO! I don't want to get married! And of course not to some guy my dad chooses for me! What am I going to do?

Chapter 3

Ashley's POV

What am I going to do? My dad wants to force me into a marriage that is not of my choosing! How can any parent do this to their child? Marry her off and know that she's not going to be happy with it! I could say I hate my family, but I can't. I have a good bond with them, even if they're not very understanding of my dreams.

While I'm lying on my bed and thinking desperately about how my parents are treating me, I've got an idea. It's a little too risky but I don't have any other ways out of this mess. So, I'm going to call Meredith my best friend and tell her about this. I don't have an idea, I just thought Meredith is going to help me. She has been my best friend since middle school but she moved back to her hometown London one year ago. Now we just contact each other through calls or chatting.

"Hello, Mer! I need your help..." I immediately say when she answers my call.

"Yeah Ash, I'm fine too thanks for asking!" She snaps sarcastically.

"I'm sorry but it's very urgent! My dad wants to engage me to some guy I don't even know!!"

"He did WHAT?!" She shouts so loudly I had to quickly put my phone away from my ear.

"Yes, I know that sounds very weird. That's why I called you. I need your help to find a way out of this disaster." I explain to her.

"Oh, ok I'll help you but let me think a second..." I can imagine her, stressed, walking through her room and biting on her lips while thinking. Suddenly, I hear the steps of my mom coming to my bedroom door.

"Mer, my mom is coming! I'll call you later so tell me then what you've got." I quickly end the phone call, lie on my bed and pretend to be asleep. She opens the door the second I hide my phone under my pillow.

"Asli, are you sleeping?" She comes near my bed and puts a blanket on me.

"I'm so sorry, honey." She whispers and gently strokes my right temple. When she gets up sobbing and leaves my bedroom, I also have tears.

After I felt one hour of sadness, Meredith finally calls me. I need to choke down a sob, before she realizes that I’ve been crying.

"Hi, Mer. Did you get anything?"

"Actually yes, I’ve got something, but I don't know if you're going to like this... I thought you could perhaps run away and come to Hampstead...?" She carefully asks.

"Are you crazy? I should run away from my own family?" I harshly ask. She is dumb if she thinks that my parents wouldn't kill me if I do this.

"Yeah, I know you'll say you might as well commit suicide but please listen to me first. I just asked my mom if it's ok for you to live in our house, here in Hampstead, while you're doing your language classes and she said yes." She explains her plan.

"And you think this is going to end well?" I scowl at her. Meredith always had good ideas but this one is bullshit. My parents are going to kill me.

"No, I’m not saying this will have a princess fairytale happy ending, but while you're here they will have time to chill out and maybe they'll reconsider their decision to marry you off. And honey, you can finally make your dream come true!" Now that she explained her idea like in this way, it doesn’t sound so bad.

"Tell me first what your plan is."

Chapter 4

Ashley's POV

Before Meredith could continue telling me more about her plan, I heard my brothers at the front door. I immediately began to panic because I knew they would enter my room as soon as they had said hello to my parents.

"Meredith, call me tomorrow, because Amar and Samir arrived at home, bye!" I say, and turn my phone off.

As soon as I hid my phone under my pillow and pretended to be sleepy, they opened my bedroom door. I lifted my head with heavy eyes and saw my brothers entering my room.

"Oh hi, Amar and Samir. Where have you guys been all this time?"

"We went to a shisha bar. Asli, what did mom and dad say? Do you want to go to an English country?" Samir frowns at me.

"Oh God, let me just wake up a little before you ask..."

"Shut up! You can fool mom but we know when you're pretending." Amar snaps.

"Fine! Yes, I want to go to an English country, but mom and dad want to get me engaged." I smirk.

"WHAT??" Both say loudly with wide eyes. They didn't know about it. I suspected as much, so I told them now. Maybe they would talk to my parents and support me.

"Yes, and you two are still single so why do I get the whole marriage stuff on my neck. I'm only 20!" I whine. For my parents, 20 is the perfect age for women to marry. My brothers have time till 30 and it's so unfair.

"I didn't expect that either, actually. I thought maybe they were just angry and wouldn't let you go, but arranging an engagement for you is unbelievable, even for our parents." Amar agrees with me.

"Amar, we have to talk to them. That's insane." Samir said.

"Yeah, you're right Samir. We will talk to them don't worry Asli." Amar assures me. I'm happy to have such understanding brothers. I love them so much.

"Thank you. I love you guys." I almost cry. They recognize my glassy eyes and both bend over and hug me.

"We love you too little sister, that's why we make sure dad is not making any wrong decisions without asking you," Samir assures me this time.

"Ok. I'm so thankful to have brothers like you."

After they leave my room and go talk to my parents I am getting so nervous. And now I realize that I'm going to disappoint them when I run away. And now I notice I have to call Meredith back. I grab my phone under my pillow and pick out Meredith's number. As soon as I go to dial her number, she calls me, and I pick up.

"Hi, I just wanted to call you." My voice cracked a little.

"You cried again? What happened?" She worries.

"Nothing, my brothers are just talking to my parents and I got emotional when they stood up for me even though I'm going to leave them. I feel guilty about it." I admit.

"Oh sugar, you don't have to feel guilty for catching your

dreams before they fly away. They will understand you and maybe it's not right now, but someday they will, I promise." Meredith reassures me. Everyone is reassuring me and now I’m starting to get paranoid that things are not going to go well.

"I hope, Mer. Thank you." She was always the wisest best friend I had but also the craziest who had those ideas that got me into trouble. I still trust her because Meredith takes responsibility for her actions when things go wrong. That's why we still are in contact and act like we never got distanced.

"So Ash, when do you want to fly to England?" She randomly asks and scared me.

"Uhm actually, I want to spend some time with my family first. I want some good memories before I leave." I tell her. It's going to be so hard to leave them I can already feel the pain.

"Oh sure cutie, don't hurry – you’ve got time." Mer comforts me.

"What about next week? Can you organize a flight?" I ask her. I hate asking people to do something for me, but Meredith knows much more about airport stuff than me.

"Of course, and I already have something. I searched before I called you and found a flight from Zurich to London. It's not even very expensive." She tells me. I know she is more organized than me. She always was.

"Oh, ok perfect! Send it to me by chat."

After I saw the booking, it only really dawned on me how difficult it would be.

Chapter 5

Ashley's POV

I did a lot with my family just to make sure I have enough memories when I leave. I'm pretty sure they're going to be angry, but I’ve already booked my flight.

So, it's the day of the flight. The last day I'm going to be here in Zurich. I fly at midnight so I can sneak out while they're sleeping. I feel so bad about going, but they have forced this situation.

My brothers talked to my parents, but they didn't even listen to them. They stood in their way. My dad wants to engage me with Kerem, the son of my father's best friend. He was also my friend at one point, and I suppose enjoyed hanging out with him, but we lost contact a long time ago.

Oh and by the way, we were in the same high school, so we spent a lot of time together. His best friend once told me that Kerem used to have a crush on me, but I didn't believe him. I still don't think that he had a crush on me because we were like brother and sister. But now it feels so uncomfortable to become engaged to a guy you once saw as a sibling. I am doing Kerem a favour too so he can find the right girl for himself and doesn't have to marry me. I know that when I leave, Kerem's family would never want me as their gelin, which means "bride" in Turkish.

It's 8 p.m. already and I feel very emotional. My family and I sit in the living room together and watch a Turkish series. In the series, a girl starts to cry because her lover cheated on her so I just can't stop my tears falling through my cheeks.

My parents are not very surprised by my emotional breakdown. They are used to it. I lean on Samir's shoulder and can't stop crying.

"Asli, it's not even real. Stop crying so much about it." He harshly says. Oh, if only he knew why I’m crying.

"Yeah, I know Samir. Thank you. I love you, my big brother." I say and wipe my tears off.

"Ehm... Ok? I love you too..." He says, confused, but softens. I will miss him probably the most. He was like a twin to me. Maybe just because he's just 2 years older than me and we used to hang out a lot. Amar is 5 years older than me, so we never really go out together. Not like Samir and I. I will miss them both.

Time has never flown so fast. It is already 10pm and my whole family has gone to bed. I hugged everyone before they left in their bedrooms and told them I loved them. They were so confused but ignored it because they were tired.

I start to pack my stuff in my bag and got my passport. It feels like I'm dreaming and this is like a Turkish series where things aren't even real. When it's 10:30pm, I sneak through the lobby outside the door. Before I close the main door, I look back to my apartment and start to cry.

"Please don't be angry with me..." I whisper and close it very slowly. When I arrive at the airport it's 11pm and I look for the check-in. When the monitor shows “London” my knees feel like jelly. I am very nervous, but I'm not going to stop now. It's too late anyway.

I sit on the flight and luckily I don't have anybody next to me. I put on my AirPods and listen to my playlist. I'm not very nervous anymore. I'm more excited.

Chapter 6

Ashley's POV

"Ma'am, please wake up we've already arrived in London." A women's voice says. As I open my eyes, I see the stewardess who served me drinks and meals on this flight. I probably fell asleep right after listening to some songs. I can still hear my playlist in my Air pods.

"Oh, ok sorry and thank you," I say sleepily and immediately stand up. When I look at the time on my phone it's 3 am. I forgot to call Meredith in Zurich but I doubt she will have forgotten to pick me up. I'm going to connect with the airport internet so I can text her. As soon as I connect, my phone starts to ring. She is calling me right now.

"Hi Mer, where are you?" I ask while I'm on my way outside the airport.

"I'm waiting outside for you." She says and then I see her.

I immediately put my phone away and run into her arms. I’ve missed her so much. It’s been 10 years without her in Zurich.

"Omg, hi Ash!! I’ve missed you soo much!" I can hear her voice cracking. She hugs me more tightly and I can't say anything. I just start to cry and hug her. Meredith moves me a little so she can look me in the eyes.

"Ash, please don't cry, it's going to be fun, ok?" She promises, but tears roll down her cheeks.

I hug her again and after a moment we sob and she shows me her car. She has a pink car of course. Meredith was always the barbie even back in our school days. She has light blond hair and blue eyes like Barbie’s have, so she herself always felt like a Barbie too. She noticed the obvious look I give her Barbie car.

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!" She sings and smiles at me. In school days we had this joke between us that we always sang this Barbie song together. One of us would start to sing this verse and the other person continued.

"Ah, ah, ah yeah!" I sing but a little demotivated. She frowns at me now for messing up our joke we haven’t done for so long. We get in the car wordlessly and drive to her house.

"Did you sneak out without getting caught?" Meredith chuckles.

"Would I be here if I got caught?" I sarcastically ask.

"Haha right. Your mom would get a heart attack and your dad would say every bad word he knows to you." She giggles but apologizes immediately, because she thinks it was too mean.

"No, it's ok. You're right, that would happen…or even worse." I start to giggle too. I don't want her to feel bad for me. As soon as she feels bad, she blames herself for this. And it isn't true. It's my fault that I ended up here. It's not even something to blame anybody for. I decided to come here, so if my family wants to blame somebody then they have to blame me.

We arrive at her house and she shows me the guest room where I can sleep. It's very big and nice. Also, the bed is so big, 3 people would have room to sleep in it. Meredith seems to be very tired, so I don't ask for too much and let her go to sleep. I put on my pajamas, I lie on this big bed and fall asleep immediately.

While I'm sleeping, I feel something touching my stomach. When I open my eyes, I see a stranger sleeping beside me. His hand is on my stomach and my leg was on his leg. When I realize what’s happening I immediately scream and push his hands away from me. He wakes up and sees me as if he saw a ghost.

"Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my house?" He yells with wide eyes at me.

Chapter 7

Ashley's POV

I stand up from the bed and he does the same. I remember that I have my pajamas on and feel a little embarrassed.

"Your house?" I say with a confused look. I am very confused. Who's this guy yelling at me that I'm in his house?

"Yes, exactly: my house! Who are you?" He snaps. Then I figured out what is happening. Meredith once told me about her elder brother who lives in Washington, D.C. It's probably him, but why didn't she tell me?

"I... I'm Ash-... Ashley... Meredith's best friend from Switzerland." I stutter. I'm very nervous, but I don't know why.

"What are you doing in my room Ashley?" He frowns. Why is he so unsympathetic? Meredith told me she loves him because he's the nicest guy she knows. This guy doesn't seem nice to me at all.

"Meredith said I could sleep in this room. She didn't tell me that her brother would be coming tonight." I say harshly and cross my arms over my chest.

"Well, she didn't know I'm coming, because I wanted to surprise the family. But now I feel more surprised that she lets a stranger sleep in my room without my permission." He snaps. Excuse me? A stranger?

"I told you who I am. So, I'm not a stranger. But don't blame Meredith! You wanted to surprise them and they weren't ready for your arrival." I say now, a little more friendly. I don't want to fight with him because Meredith and her parents are still sleeping. He stares at me from head to toe but doesn't say a word anymore.

"You didn't tell me your name...?" I break the awkward silence.

"I'm Hudson." He says. He's talking a lot nicer to me now. Hudson? I can't remember Meredith ever telling me his name, but I heard it from somewhere. Maybe I heard it on TV or something.

"Nice to meet you, Hudson." I smile and hold out my hand to greet him. I don't want to fight with the brother of my best friend. And by the way, he's kind of good-looking.

"Nice to meet you too, Ashley." He shakes my hand and smiles. Wow, I admit he has a handsome smile. Wait, no. Stop. I can't say the brother of my best friend is handsome. That would be awkward. Hudson lets go of my hand and I come back to reality.

Hudson's POV

I woke up with this weird girl beside me and find out it's Meredith's best friend. The one time I want to surprise the family, she invites her friend and she even sleeps in my room. Gosh, Meredith! But while I'm staring at her I realize how cute she is. Meredith is 20 so she's probably 20 too. She said her name is Ashley and she's from Switzerland, but she doesn’t look Swiss-German at all. She has dark brown curled hair and tan skin but ocean blue eyes.

Woah, wait. No, she's the best friend of my younger sister! I can't say she's pretty. That would be awkward. But that doesn't mean I can't ask her where she’s from, right?

"Where are you from other than Switzerland?" I finally ask.

"I'm from Turkey. I’ve just lived in Switzerland since I was born." She answers with a smile. Now everything makes sense.

"So, you met Meredith in Zurich?" I ask. I probably shouldn't ask her so much. She seems a little tired.

"Yes, we were even in the same class from middle school onwards," Ashley says proudly.

"Oh cool," I say a little nervous. I don't even know why I'm nervous yet.

"Yup." She says uncomfortably.

"You seem to be tired. D’you wanna go to sleep?" I ask and regret it. Where should she go to sleep though? With me on my bed or what?

"Yeah, actually I am tired, but you can sleep in your bed, don’t worry. I'm going to Meredith's room," she says and is on her way to the door. Before I breathe out in relief, she turns around to face me.

"Where is her room?" She shyly asks. It seems like it's her first night here.

"The next-door left," I answer and show directions with my index finger.

"Oh, ok thank you." She says and walks out of my room. After she closes the door behind her I lie on my bed and see her phone on my nightstand. I hope she doesn't come back to get it. Ok, no, to be honest, I kind of hope she’ll come back, but she doesn't.

Chapter 8

Ashley's POV

When I enter Meredith's room I remember that I forgot my phone in the guest room. I mean... Hudson's room.

"Fuck!" I mumble. I don't want to wake Meredith up. I want to get my phone, but I don't want to enter his room again, that would be embarrassing. But I need my phone. When my parents find out that I'm not present at home they’ll be calling me a thousand times, though. Damn it! What should I do now?

I am still standing at the door and look in the darkness while Meredith is snoring. After some minutes of thinking, I decided to grab all my courage and go get my phone. It'll be much more embarrassing if Hudson's wakes up because of my phone ringing. Or even worse, if he judges me in front of Meredith and her parents tomorrow.

I walk silently out of Meredith's room and want to knock on Hudson's door. I hold my fist ready to knock but I'm stuck. I can't just knock and want my phone back like a little dork. He probably is annoyed enough by me. And anyway, my phone is on mute.

I go back to Meredith and lay beside her. But I cannot shut even one eye because I'm still thinking about him. Hudson was at the beginning like a... how can I say this? Dumbass. I don't know Hudson so I can't judge him. But what I know is that he's kinda hot. I was always curious about what Meredith's brother looked like, but I never thought he could be that good-looking. He has green eyes and light-brown hair and his body looked very trained. His British accent was so cute. Omg. Ashley, stop adoring the brother of your best friend. I’d better go to sleep now.

Hudson's POV

I wake up in my bed in Hampstead and have completely forgotten about last night until I see her suitcase. I look at the time on my phone and see it's 10am, so my parents are probably already awake. When I dress and walk out of my room Ashley is silently walking out of Meredith's room. Damn, I didn't expect her to be already awake. Meredith could sleep till noon and still need to be woken by mom. When Ashley turns around, she looks startled. I am still staring at her like a freak.

"Omg, I didn't recognize you behind me." She whispers and holds her hand on her chest.

"Good morning to you too." I sarcastically say. I regret my mean greeting and start to smile as reparation.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Good morning." She nervously joins my smile. I feel myself getting nervous too. I don't even know why I'm nervous right now.

"Can I get my stuff from your room? I don't want to meet your parents in pyjamas you know?" She nervously says and smiles.

"Oh yeah... sure... of course." I stutter like a dork. What is wrong with me?

"Thank you. So, see you later!" She says and heads to my room.

"Yeah, see you," I say quietly and in relief.

In the living room, I meet my parents and they are surprised. They tell me how much they’ve missed me and all the things I missed. But they don’t tell me about Ashley yet. And I'm not going to spoil anything about our embarrassing meeting yesterday in my... bed. I wait till she comes and introduces herself in front of my parents and we act like we never met before.

As I was thinking about her, she enters the living room. But she has styled herself and I have to admit that she looks even better than before.

"Oh my God, Ashley! You have grown into a woman!" My mother almost shouts and hugs her immediately. I even think she is more surprised about Ashley's presence than mine.

"Thank you, Marie-Anne! I've missed you so much. Zurich is not the same without you." She says. Wow, sounds like they were very close to each other.

"Oh honey, we missed you too. How are your parents and brothers?" My mother asks her. So she has brothers?

"Fine, thank you for asking." They are still smiling at each other.

"Ashley, have you already met Meredith's older brother Hudson? He lives in Washington right now but came to surprise us." My mother announces. I try to act like we never met before and hold out my hand to greet her.

"Oh yeah, we already met." She smiles at me while I stare surprised at her not knowing what to say.

"Oh, so you already met? When?" My mother asks curiously. Fuck.

Chapter 9

Ashley's POV

"Uhm... yes, we met in the lobby this morning but again, nice to meet you." I shake Hudson's hand and smile. Phew, that was close! Why am I such an idiot?

"Me too, Ashley." He says kind of nervously I think. Of course he's nervous! I almost told his parents the embarrassing part of our meeting.

I love Marie-Anne like my own mother. She's so sympathetic and nice. I love my mom of course but sometimes I wish she could be as understanding as Meredith's mother is.

"Honey, breakfast is ready on the balcony," Marie-Anne says.

"Ok, mom I am coming," Hudson answers her.

"Sweetheart, I told that to Ashley but of course you can come too." She smiles like it was obvious. I have to giggle and hold my hand in front of my lips to stop it. But I like the thought that she respects me like a daughter. And I like her sense of humour.

"Good morning!" Meredith walks down the stairs. When she sees Hudson she widens her eyes and opens her arms.

"Oh my God, Hudson!! What are you doing here?" She screams and runs to hug him tightly. That's so sweet. While I stare at them, I start to miss my brothers. I wonder how they're feeling right now about my running away.

"I’m on vacation and wanted to spend my time with you, little sister." He says. And I have to admit that this is very cute.

"Oh, hehe don't be cross big brother but I invited my friend Ashley already. But hey, please don't be angry: you know her. She is like my little sister!" She says and comes to hug me.

"Hey! I'm older than you." I playfully say and hug her back. "Whatever! I love you both." She says hugging me tightly.

"Aww, I love you too," I say. I'm going to get goosebumps if she continues saying such nice things.

"I love you too, little sister," Hudson says and stares at us. Now I'm feeling uncomfortable.

"Come on, breakfast is ready!" Marie-Anne interrupts the awkward silence between us and yells from the balcony.

"We're coming, mother!" Hudson turns to her and yells back. He's already on his way and as I wanted to join Meredith stops me.

"Is everything fine? You look like something happened. I can smell that." Meredith stares mysteriously at me.

"I'm fine because nothing happened. That's probably the French toast you're smelling." I giggle and maybe lie a bit.

"You're right, I'm very hungry. Let's get some breakfast!" She says and grabs my hand to head to the balcony.

I don't know where I have to sit, so I just sit next to Meredith. But next to me sits Hudson. Isn't that a little awkward to sit next to him?

"Ashley, what are you waiting for? Come sit next to me." Meredith interrupts my thoughts and solves a little of my problem. Now Hudson is staring at me like he saw a ghost. And I get nervous. As soon as I sit next to him, I let my spoon fall under the table. How clumsy of me. When I look down to get it, Hudson already grabs it.

"Uhm... Thank you." I smile in embarrassment, and he gives it to me.

"I should thank you for not telling the truth before." He mumbles and smiles nervously.

"What do you mean?" I ask. I'm confused.

"Thank you for not telling my parents how we met. I think this should be left between us." He says and I recognize how embarrassed he feels. But he's right. I didn't even tell Meredith about it. The first point, because it's her older brother and the second, it's way too embarrassing.

"No problem." I smile embarrassedly. We stare at each other for so long I didn't even recognize how long it was. He is still smiling at me and I can't help but smile too.

"What are you two whispering there? Did I miss something?" Meredith interrupts our staring. She said it so loud even her parents are now staring at us as we got caught at something.

At the same time, my phone starts ringing on the table and I immediately answer it to avoid this uncomfortable moment. As I realize the voice of Samir at the other end of the line, I hold my breath.

"Asli, where are you? What is this letter on your pillow? Are you stupid to run away from your own family? Shame on you!" He yells at me. I feel so bad I could cry but at the same time, I hope Meredith's family couldn't hear him through my phone. I stand up from the table and apologize to them. While I head into the living room where they can't hear me, I start to cry. How am I supposed to explain this to them?