The Price of Pride

Chapter 28

But that's a problem for later. Right now Cavidan is more concerned with the party Emine Yilmaz is throwing today and how she can be there. She didn't get an invitation. Which is odd because it appears to be a fundraising event. The Tarhuns have money. So why would Cavidan be left off the list like this? If she didn't didn't know better, she would think the slight was intentional. But she can't figure out why she's being blacklisted like this.

The doorbell rings and shakes Cavidan from her deep thoughts.

"Emir?" she wonders aloud, thinking her son has come to see her unprompted. Her heart fills with joy ... until she sees Nigar lead Cemre to her. "Oh. It's you."

"Don't sound so disappointed," Cemre scowls at her. "Especially when you hear what I've managed to secure."

Cemre pulls an envelope from her purse and fans herself with it. Cavidan's eyes widen.

"Is that what I think it is, Cemre?"

"It is if you are thinking this is an invitation to what everyone is already calling the party of the season," Cemre smiles.

"How did you get this?" Cavidan reaches out for the invitation, but scowls when Cemre continues to hold it out of her reach. "I heard the guest list is pretty exclusive."

"My mother," Cemre explains. "She was invited, but told her secretary to decline because she's away at a conference. Fortunately, I managed to get my hands on the invitation before the secretary could decline. I'm going and you're my plus one."

"You beautiful, crafty girl," Cavidan says with a smile, the pride in her voice evident. "Excellent work."

Cavidan all but runs to get ready for the party. Finally she's making that all too important step. Once she gets Emine Yilmaz on her side, nothing will be able to stop her from taking her place in society. The place she deserves to be. Her power will be almost limitless. The Tarhun name will be a name spoken on everyone's tongue.

"Everyone is about to know your name, Cavidan Tarhun," she says to her reflection in her bedroom mirror. "Get ready to be the most powerful woman in Istanbul."

Maybe even more powerful than Emine Yilmaz, if she plays her cards right. Why stop until she reaches the top?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The party is a success and Reyhan is a hit. The women all wonder why they had never seen her before. She demures and says that she wasn't married to Emir long before needing to go to Ankara for her illness. That explanation seemed to appease them. She didn't get into how cruel Cavidan had been and the way the woman practically hid her away. And to be honest, she probably wasn't in the frame of mind back then to have been so public. But being in Ankara changed her. It changed her relationship with Emir. She became a true wife. She became a mother. She got a best friend. Parents. So many people who have become more to her than almost anyone has ever been before. She learned how to navigate this kind of life. She gained confidence in herself. And while she may not completely belong to this world, she can exist here.

But she is tired. She's been standing and walking and talking with so many people and she needs a bit of a break. She sneaks off to the veranda and leans back against the railing, taking a minute for some time alone.

"Having fun?"

She jumps and barely holds in a scream when Emir pops up suddenly in front of her.

"Emir! You scared me!"

He laughs when she gives his chest a playful shove.

"What are you doing here?"

She tries to give him a stern glare, but all that falls apart when he pulls her into his arms and presses his hands to the base of her spine. He finds the perfect spot that basically leaves her purring.