"You…" Lale's voice trembled. Words were knotted in her throat, her mind a chaotic mess from Rüzgar's confession. "You killed him? You killed my… my fiancé?"
Rüzgar's face remained expressionless. His eyes locked onto Lale's, darkening like a deep sea. "Yes, Lale. I killed him."
Lale stepped back, as if Rüzgar's presence itself was burning her. The pain of losing the man she had loved three years ago surged back with Rüzgar's admission. Tears streamed down her face as a storm brewed inside her. *How can this be? The man assigned to protect me is the cause of my greatest pain?*
"Why?" Lale whispered. Her voice was so weak, she wasn't even sure she heard it herself. "Why did you kill him? For what reason?"
Rüzgar stepped closer. Unlike Lale, there was no trace of emotion on his face. He was like a death machine, devoid of feeling, existing only to complete his mission. "Those were the orders. I didn't question them."
*I didn't question them…* These words echoed in Lale's mind. Her fiancé's life was taken just by an order? Did he mean nothing? Tears flowed faster, sobs tearing at her chest.
"Who gave that order?" Lale asked, her voice now firmer. "Who wanted him dead?"
Rüzgar paused for a moment. The darkness in his eyes intensified, his jaw clenched. "I can't tell you that."
"Why?" Lale's voice rose. "You said you would tell me everything! I have the right to know who killed my fiancé!"
Rüzgar's patience seemed to be wearing thin. "I'm here to save your life, Lale. Not to change the past."
"Save my life?" Lale let out a bitter laugh. "You're not saving my life, Rüzgar. You're locking me in a cage. And the warden of that cage is my fiancé's killer."
Rüzgar said nothing. He just looked at Lale with deep, unfathomable eyes. Lale tried to discern whether she saw regret in those eyes or just professionalism. But she couldn't see anything.
"I can't trust you," Lale said, her voice resolute. "I won't cooperate with you. I won't help you until I find out who sent you here and what you're hiding from me."
Rüzgar's lips curled slightly. "Then you're in for a tough time, Lale. Because I won't give up."
Lale gritted her teeth. "We'll see."
The tension in the room was palpable. Two strangers, two enemies, trapped under the same roof. They had engaged in a relentless battle to learn each other's secrets. But there was something Lale didn't know: Rüzgar's secrets were just the tip of the iceberg. And beneath that iceberg, the true face of the Dark Guardian was hidden.
Rüzgar's inner voice chimed in. *I have to protect her. At all costs. But I mustn't touch her. Otherwise, everything will spiral out of control...*
Lale turned and started walking towards her room. Her heart was broken, her mind in turmoil. But there was a spark of hope inside her. Perhaps, by unraveling Rüzgar's secrets, she could learn the truth behind her fiancé's death and bring justice.
As she opened the door and stepped inside, the coldness of the room chilled her to the bone. Looking out the window, she saw the turbulent waves of the Black Sea. Just like her life, dark and unpredictable.
She took a step into the room and flinched at the envelope she saw on the floor...