Remorse- Yaman realises all his sins.

Chapter 3

"If ever I was running, it was towards you."

-Jennifer Elisabeth

The bus reached Izmir around 2 PM. Seher felt an aching tiredness deep down to her bones, one that is the result of a long-drawn battle with inner demons and not one caused by just a few hours of travel.

She felt melancholic and depressed all the time and felt like giving up but a sane voice in her head would stop her every time, whispering that she was stronger than her problems. She HAD TO LIVE FOR HER YUSUF!! He could not lose the people he loved anymore. He had already seen too much strife and loss for such a tender age.

Seher found her friend Zeynep waiting at the bus station. The moment Seher got down from the bus, her friend hugged her without saying anything. Seher found solace in being embraced and pacified this way, rather than being constantly questioned and humiliated, like she was in that mansion. It was this pure human touch full of empathy which was her undoing. She started sobbing in her friend's arms.

Zeynep quieted her and asked her to take a seat on a nearby bench. She then asked what had occurred that had made her leave home. Seher told her everything. Zeynep was puzzled. Seher and Yaman had been like a couple in love when she had seen pictures of their wedding on the social media. She felt that there was something somewhere that was off. There had to be some misconception somewhere which was causing such a rift between the couple.

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It had been 8 hours since Yaman had been searching for Seher nonstop, like someone possessed. There was no trace of her at any of the bus stations. He had entered and checked each and every bus one by one, but it seemed that she had already left by the time he had got there. His men were also tracking all the buses that had left since the first early morning bus service.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed and Yaman picked it up frantically without wasting a moment. "Yes Nedim, any news?"
Nedim instantly replied, " Yaman, we are tracking all the taxi stands and bus stations. We are also checking if any female passenger travelled this morning by the name of Seher Kirimli or under any other alias. Don't worry, we shall have her whereabouts very soon. "

Yaman roared on the phone," Get her number traced. Track her last known location!"

Yaman felt he would go berserk with trepidation, anxiety, and longing. He wanted to find Seher and hold her close. He wanted to put his ears close to her bosom and hear the rhythmic beating of her heart. He wanted to assure himself that she was hale and hearty and doing fine. He was pining for her and it was crushing him. It was as if someone had put a heavy boulder on his heart and he was suffocating.

Finally, after half an hour Nedim came and forcefully took him home. He reasoned that all the information would be relayed to them asap, as soon as his men found out something from the bus or cab drivers and it was no use sitting at the bus station like this.

It was late evening by the time Yaman reached home. He went to his study and sat down in his chair. In a gesture of resignation, he put his head in both his hands and cried his heart out. He felt that his life had lost all its meaning. He did not want to even enter his bedroom without Seher's presence. Her smell had permeated each and every corner of the room. He craved for her like oxygen.

Cenger knocked on Yaman's door twice but there was no response. He carefully peeped inside, only to see him sitting at his table quietly and tears trickling down his face. He had never seen Yaman like this. He came inside soundlessly and stood next to him and said somberly, "Yaman Bey, you don't look well. Is there some way I can help? Do you want to talk?? This is about Seher, isn't it?"

When Yaman did not respond, he continued, "You cannot find her if you lose your equilibrium like this. You cannot leave her when she needs you the most." Yaman looked despondently at him and said, "I hurt her so much Cenger. I cannot sleep anymore. The moment I close my eyes I can hear her cries. Instead of becoming the mountain she could lean on, I became the volcano that melted all her dreams and hopes in its wake. How will I ever atone for my sins?" There was a note of defeat in his voice that Cenger had never ever heard before. This warrior who never gave up despite the most desperate of circumstances, had given up hope of ever winning Seher back.

Cenger said," If you love her, atone for your sins honestly. Let her know that your love for her is greater than anything that comes in the way. Once she believes you, you both will find a way back to each other surely. She loves you as much as you love her. This wildfire you have lit is burning both sides equally. "

Hearing this, Yaman felt the first signs of hope surging inside him anew. He realised Cenger was right. He had to win over Seher with love and patience and make her believe that he was penitent and very very sorry for what he had done to her.

He called Nedim to his study immediately. Once he arrived, Yaman instructed him to get the complete CCTV footage of the jewelry shop where Seher had gone shopping before the wedding. He had a hunch that this would reveal her innocence to start with. He then called an old contact for a favour and asked Nedim to take the voice recording and content of the files to that person to get it checked again. He emphasised that this investigation had to be done under utmost secrecy and no one in the house or outside should know anything about it. This time he had a feeling that the results would be vastly different.

Yaman then asked Nedim to check if there were any updates on Seher's location. He called one of their men and was informed that the last known location of Seher's mobile phone had been tracked to a place in Izmir. The man sent the GPS location of the place.

Yaman decided to leave for Izmir right away and informed Nedim that he will be in touch and keep him updated.

Within fifteen minutes, Yaman had packed a small travel bag. He then called Cenger and Adalet and informed them that he was going to bring Seher home and it may take a few days. He detected the hint of a smile on Cenger's face. He further asked them to take care of Yusuf and the house in his absence.

Yaman then went to see Yusuf and seeing him fast asleep, kissed him on the forehead. Yusuf groggily opened his eyes and said, "Amca? " He replied, " Yes my piece of fire. I am here. I came to tell you that I am going away for a couple of days to bring your teyze back. She has gone to see some friends. I promise to come back very soon with her. In fact, she just called and asked me to kiss you good night on her behalf."

Saying this he kissed Yusuf on both the cheeks. Yusuf hugged him back and said, "Please bring my Teyze back as soon as you can, Amca. Can you also kiss her on my behalf and say I love her?"
Saying this he kissed his Amca on both the cheeks. Yaman had a lump in his throat and simply nodded his head. He then asked Yusuf to close his eyes and go to sleep.

Yaman then went to search Ziya Abi. He was coming from the terrace garden and had a flower pot in his hands. Yaman walked up to him and said quietly, " Ziya Abi. I am going away for a few days and will be back very soon. Call me whenever you need me, okay? " Ziya looked at him and said, " You are going to bring back Seher, right Yaman? I know that she's not in the house. The peace of this house is disturbed. You are unhappy, Yusuf is unhappy, I am unhappy and these flowers too. Look, they don't seem to bloom."

Yaman looked at his brother for a long time and hugged him. He said," Don't worry Abi. I will bring the sunshine of this house back. Everything will blossom again.The sun will rise again and the flowers will smile and sing again. It is a promise."

To be continued.

Our lead couple's reunion coming up soon !!