Summary: Ignoring her instincts won’t be an easy task for Daphne
Based on the music prompt: I’m Not Okay
Winter season is a busy time at Edgewater, but unlike the other members of her family, Daphne didn’t join any social events with nobility. After she stepped down from public activities as a noblewoman, her father was encouraged to choose between Edmund and Harry so one of them can rule the county. With this decision, things became less complicated for the Viscountess, who concentrated her efforts on what she likes doing: volunteer work as an art teacher for elders, drawing and taking pictures and, of course, spending quality time with her loved ones.
“Did you find brown sugar?” Daphne asked as she took her pug for a walk near the lake. The faint sound of things falling and her boyfriend’s hoarse morning voice cursing under his breath in Turkish made her giggle. “Everything all right?
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just too bright in here and it’s a bit hard to find sugar. I found honey though.”
“Use honey then. Add as much as you want and turn on the blender.”
“Okay,” Hamid replied.
She continued her walk, listening to her boyfriend talking in Turkish to somebody. “Are you making the juice? I can’t hear the blender.”
“The housekeeper showed up to clean the mess and save me from that awfully bright and noisy kitchen,” he explained.
“Aww, you poor baby,” Daphne cackled. “You’ll feel a lot better once you drink the detox juice and have breakfast.”
“Well, I hope so. I have an appointment today.”
“An appointment?”
“Yeah. And unfortunately, there’s no way to postpone it. I have to go.”
“Sounds serious.” Her lips curled up in a smile.
“It is.”
“Beşiktaş is playing tonight, isn’t it?”
“Uh…”
She giggled as the mental image of her boyfriend scratching the back of his head and instinctively averting his gaze. “I knew it.”
“Crap… ” He let out a chuckle. “Was it that obvious?”
“I was with you when you rescheduled all your activities to January, Hamid. Plus, it wasn’t that hard to figure out with all those tweets and posts on Pictagram. But I thought you were going to watch the game on TV.”
“Why would I do that if I watch it from the luxury box I got at the stadium?”
“Because unless you’re planning to spend all day resting and catch a flight later, you won’t make it in time for the game.”
“Of course I will. We’re leaving after lunch.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re hungover. You can’t drive today.”
“May I remind you that I’ve been making this trip for almost ten years? I know these roads like the back of my hand.”
“It’s 9 AM out there! There’s no way you’re going to be well enough to drive from Bursa to Istanbul in four hours if you can’t even stand being in a well-lit room now.”
“I’ll be just fine. I’m not taking the road on my own. I’m traveling back with the guys and we always look out for one another.”
“Oh, sure! A bunch of hungover dudes who barely slept six hours driving on motorcycles with my boyfriend, who’s clearly hanging out of his arse today. That’s so damn comforting,” Daphne fumed.
“You know, if I really concentrate, I can almost see those lovely eyes shooting daggers at me from up here,” he smirked.
“What do you expect?” She snarled, one hand balling into a fist around her dog’s leash as she stopped walking. “You’re putting yourself in a risky situation just to watch a football match! Don’t you think I haven’t researched about Turkish traffic and drivers’ behavior on the road? Don’t you realise your senses aren’t as good as they usually are because you’re hungover? This is madness! You should—”
“Daphne.”
“WHAT?” She spat.
“Breathe.”
The lady closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. But as rage slowly was pushed out of her body with every exhale, it gave space for worry to grow inside her.
“I appreciate your concern, but it’s already decided. All the bags are packed, my friends and I know the road pretty well and it’s a two hours drive. I’ve done this trip several times and the roads are pretty calm this time of the year.”
Daphne sat down on a bench, head hanging low as she took deep breaths to calm down. Her pug jumped on the bench and lied down next to her, placing his head on her lap.
“Daphne? Are you there?”
“Please don’t drive today.” Her voice was so little it almost sounded like a sob.
“Do you trust me?”
“I do,” she uttered.
“Then believe me when I say I’m fully capable of driving today.”
Daphne bit down her lip. Of course she trusted him and she wanted to believe what he was saying, but she couldn’t contain this tightening inside her chest.
“I may be hanging out of my arse now, but I swear I’ll be a lot better after breakfast,” he teased.
A small chuckle escaped her lips.
“Aşkım, don’t worry about me,” he said softly.
She frowned. “Don’t call me that.”
“Why?”
“Because I know you’re using it right now to appeal to my soft side.”
“I had to. You can be ruthless when you’re mad,” Hamid taunted.
“I’m sorry…”
“You’re forgiven, aşkım,” he smiled.
“Can you stay in Bursa for one more day? Please.”
“If I stay, everyone will leave anyway. Don’t you think it would be a lot worse if I leave tomorrow on my own?”
Daphne didn’t respond. She simply stayed in silence, shaking her head. Even though she couldn’t quite explain why, all her instincts were telling her to convince him to stay.
“What if I promise to stay here resting and leave in the afternoon instead of this morning? Will you try not to get so anxious about this?”
“No.”
“Aşkım…” he pleaded, using his best alluring tone as he enunciated the endearing pet name.
Daphne ran a hand through her head. What else could she say to him at that point? “Ugh… Fine.”
“I’ll convince the guys to stay a little longer so we can rest before driving, okay?”
“Okay…”
A familiar male voice called Hamid in the background and they chatted briefly. “It seems that my detox juice is ready.”
“Is that Yusuf?”
“It’s his younger brother, actually. Yusuf never learned how to drive motorcycles.”
“That sounds about right. Besides, I don’t think Yusuf would be so reckless to drive to the mountains during winter in a motorcycle.”
“Uh oh… Mean Daphne is back,” he joked.
“Oh, shut up!”
The diplomat guffawed. “I should go now. I’ll call you before I leave.”
“Get some rest.”
“Yes, ma’am. Bye, Daphne.”
“Bye,” she replied and hung up, staring at the lake when a soft wet tongue licked her hand. “Sorry, Drake. I didn’t forget you. You must be hungry after waiting for so long, right?” She scratched the pug’s belly before standing up and waiting for her pet to follow. “Come on, boy. Let’s go back.”
…
After Hamid’s call, worry clouded Daphne’s every thought. To keep herself occupied, she joined her grandmother on the knitting club, tried to draw something on her sketchbook and gave her dog a bath. Yet, her most effective distraction was getting out of the house and spending some of her time thinking about anything but her own problems.
“Look down,” the young lady said as she delicately pressed a pair of false eyelashes on Mrs. Sinclaire’s eyes, adjusting them with tweezers. “Let’s wait until the glue finishes drying out and add something sparkly.”
“I don’t know, dear,” the older lady simpered. “Isn’t it going to look a bit much?”
“No. If we apply some creamy highlight in the right places,” the Viscountess rubbed a fluffy brush on a glittery stick and dabbed it on the woman’s cheekbones, bridge of the nose and cupid’s bow area. “Your complexion will get that Hollywood glam effect. Now onto the hair,” Daphne placed the light brown wig over the woman’s bald head and smiled, admiring her handiwork. “Perfect.”
Turning to face the mirror on her vanity, Mrs. Sinclaire’s eyes went round. “Oh, dear!” She touched her face, moving her head from side to side. “I have eyelashes!” The woman grinned.
“Yes, you do,” the younger lady beamed, eyes starting to glisten with tears.
“These look better than my real eyelashes.” The woman batted her lashes. “I am never taking them off.”
The two of them laughed, brushing away tears from their eyes.
“Thank you so much for taking some time to come to help me with this. You just made my day.” The lady squeezed Daphne’s hand.
“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Sinclaire. You look as beautiful as you always did, I simply used the products you have and added a little bit of color.”
“Aren’t you sweet?” Lydia cupped the Viscountess’s cheek. “Are you sure you can’t stay a bit longer?”
“Yes, ma’am. I agreed to join Harry and Edmund on pizza and movie marathon.”
“Well, now I want to go with you.”
Daphne giggled. “I hope you still enjoy dinner at the Holloways manor.”
“Thank you, dear,” the older lady smiled and pulled the young woman into a hug when the door opened.
“Mother, are you— Oh!” Ernest stopped on the threshold as he spotted Daphne pulling away from the hug.
“Hello, sweetheart! How do I look?” Lydia grinned, posing elegantly on her plush chair.
Ernest’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at his mother. “You look stunning, mother.”
“Thank you. Daphne was so kind to help me with the lashes and the wig,” the woman beamed.
“I can see that. You both did a great job,” he smiled fondly at his mother then looked at the Viscountess. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” she stood up and turned to Lydia. “I have to go now. Have a good evening, ma’am.”
“You too, dear,” Mrs. Sinclaire waved.
“I’ll walk you out,” Ernest informed, opening the door for Daphne and guiding her outside. When they reached the wooden fence separating, he cleared his throat before speaking. “I have to thank you again for spending some time with my mother. I haven’t seen her smile like that in a while. What you did today… It was really nice of you, Daphne.”
“You already thanked me before, Ernest. And don’t worry about it. I’m glad to help her.”
“I still wish I could return the favor somehow.”
“You don’t have to. I’m doing this because I like Mrs. Sinclaire and I think she deserves to feel good and be proud of herself. I’m happy to help with her that,” Daphne replied.
He nodded.
“I should go. Harry and Edmund are waiting for me. Have a good evening, Ernest.”
“Likewise.”
Turning on her heels, the lady marched towards the gate that led back to Edgewater and for a moment, she felt as if he stood there watching her walk away, but she didn’t look back. Among all the things she learned after she went to university, one of her most valuable lessons was to let the past stay in the past.
…
Hours passed by slowly for Daphne once she returned home for the movie marathon. Despite her brothers’ best efforts to get out of her head with comedy and trashy movies, her thoughts eventually found its way back to Hamid.
“Will you stop looking at your mobile? You’re missing the best part!” Harry nagged.
“Sorry, I—” Daphne glanced down at the notification on her phone, which was merely a Pictagram post of a college classmate.
“Alright, give me that!” Harry grabbed the phone from his sister’s hand.
“Harry!” Daphne shouted, trying to reach for her phone whilst her younger brother dodged her every attempt to get it back.
Edmund paused the movie and glared at them. “I don’t know if you both noticed, but I’m trying to watch a movie here.”
“Sorry, Ed,” she smiled sheepishly at him then glowered at Harry, who replied with a smug grin.
To avoid causing more trouble, Daphne walked out of the room to have a glass of water. On the way to the kitchen, she spotted the lights still on her father’s study and knocked on the door.
“Come in, sweetheart,” Vincent said from his office.
The Viscountess entered the room and sat on the couch across her father’s desk. “Hey, dad. I didn’t know you were still up, but I’m not going to bother you if you’re busy. I’ll just pick a book and kiss you good night.”
“I’m not that busy, my dear. You can stay here if you want. Though now I’m wondering what happened to the movie marathon.”
“It’s still happening, but I wasn’t paying attention to the movie. I couldn’t stop checking my mobile and Harry got annoyed and nicked it. Edmund gave us his deadly stare, so I left,” Daphne fiddled with one of the sleeves of her jumper.
The Earl chortled softly, stood up and sauntered over to her direction, sitting beside her. “Hamid hasn’t called you yet?”
“His mobile isn’t even on…” She chewed on a nail.
“Maybe he arrived a little late, went straight to the stadium to watch the game and forgot to turn it on. It happens.”
“Yeah, maybe…” the young lady frowned.
“Is there any other reason why you’re so worried?”
“Not really. I just… I have this weird feeling that something is wrong.”
“Ah, that weird feeling…” He acknowledged with a smile.
“Do you think it’s silly?”
“No. It’s wonderful to see how you grew so fond of him since the first time we talked about him.”
“I didn’t expect to feel this way about him. Sometimes he drives me nuts, like today when he insisted on traveling back home on that stupid motorcycle he adores so much. But at the same time, I love that about him.”
“Love?” Vincent raised an eyebrow, gaping at his daughter with a hint of a smile on his lips.
Daphne blushed as she realized what she said, but made a face to brush it off. “Don’t try to read between the lines. It’s just an expression. What I meant to say is that I like him because he’s so unique. He makes me see things from a different angle. When I’m with him, it feels like everything is new and we’re exploring the world together.”
“It seems like he’s keeping you on your toes.”
“Oh, he is,” Daphne pursed her lips.
“I understand your impatience, but you can’t try to tame a free-spirited person like him. If he reciprocates your feelings, he will come to you.”
“But what if he’s putting himself in danger?”
“All you can do is hope for the best and let him learn from his mistakes regardless of happens next.”
“That’s not very comforting, Dad.”
“Believe me, I know. But if you’re patient, greater things can happen.”
“Are you speaking from personal experience, my lord?” Daphne smirked.
“I certainly am. Winning over Wang women’s heart wasn’t easy and I’m sure your boyfriend agrees with me,” he gave a knowing smile and kissed the top of her as her cheeks flushed one more time. “Do you want to try calling him again?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know… I don’t want him to think I’m possessive or overbearing.”
“You’re simply worried about him. He’ll understand.”
“No… His mobile was off.”
“You can call a friend of his.”
“I thought about it, but I only have Yusuf’s number and my phone is with Harry.”
“Lucky for us, I also have Mr. Konevi’s contact. You said his brother was with Hamid, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Will you do the honors?” The earl offered his phone.
“It’s a quarter to one there. I’ll send a text.” Daphne received the phone and quickly began texting. “Sent.”
A couple of minutes later, the door to the study opened. “Hey, Daph. Phone call for you,” Harry handed her mobile back.
“Thanks.” Daphne stood up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before answering. “Hello?”
Noticing Harry shifting uneasy on his feet, Lord Vincent gestured for his younger son to approach. “You seem nervous. Is everything okay?”
Harry shook his head, eyes watching his sister’s lips going slack and tears pooling down her eyes. “Hamid has been in an accident.”
