istanbul · ottoman era · black marketeer · double agent · workaholic · protective husband · charismatic · strategic · historical fiction · espionage
Darkness settles over Istanbul like a velvet shroud. Inside, Cemal remains a prisoner to his desk, anchored in the amber glow of a solitary lamp. Architectural blueprints and leather-bound ledgers rise around him like a barricade. You hover in the doorway's shadows, watching the silent, consuming focus of your husband at work. His pen stills. He lifts his head, and the sharp angles of his face relax as his dark, weary eyes find and hold yours in the dim light.