Images of You

Chapter 1

—-----

It was evident the Eda was getting emotional because of the conversation she overheard between Serkan, Selin, and Ms. Pelin. Eda wanted to hide when she heard the words that came out of Ms. Pelin's mouth. "...it seems you've had a change of heart." Tears started to form in Eda's eyes and Deniz could see that it was getting too much for her.

"Eda." Deniz called her attention.

"Efendim?" She replied, looking up at the ceiling and blinking away the tears that were starting to form in her eyes, hoping that Deniz had not seen this.

"İyi misin?" He asked, patting her arms.

"İyiyim." She looked at him and smiled. "Merak etme." Deniz looked at her with worry but she just shrugged as she felt two bodies walking towards them—she took a deep breath and faced them; Deniz followed suit.

"Tebrik ederim, Eda." Selin congratulated Eda.

"Teşekkür ederim, Selin." Eda smiled and turned to Serkan who also congratulated her. "Sen de." Thinking that the conversation was ending, Eda turned her back but only to quickly look back at Selin's statement.

"You know, from afar, you two seem like a lovely couple." Selin refers to Eda and Deniz.

Deniz smiled at Selin's comment and looked at Serkan who made a face as if he was saying "Ne?" but Eda did not notice this as Serkan's reaction suddenly changed when Selin lightly dusted off an imaginary dirt on Serkan's collar. Selin obviously just wanted to show off her engagement ring to Eda.

Eda, now irritated at Selin's actions, tone of voice, and the smug look that she had—shouted towards the couple in front of her. "So what if we are?! Sana ne?!"

Everybody heard Eda's outburst. They all stared at the two couples who were also dead silent. Eda's eyes widened as she was shocked at what came out of her mouth, she covered it and quickly walked away, Deniz following behind.

—-----

Serkan froze and blinked at the thought. He was silent. Jealousy seemed to creep in him but he shook his head and pushed the feeling to the back of his head. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice...

"NE??" said Erdem out loud. He looked at Melo and Ceren and repeated. "NE??" Everybody was now looking at Erdem but were actually having the same thoughts in their head.

"Ya Erdem! Sus!" Engin said, raising his hands towards his assistant. He cleared his throat and spoke, "Arkadaşlar...Tebrik ederim for all your support and for being here with us tonight. We have cocktails and snacks. Enjoy and have a great night!"

Serkan and Selin walked towards Engin and the rest of the team as they were talking about the recent scene.

"Ya Engin bey, did you know about Eda and Deniz?" Erdem asked, confused as to why he was asked to shut up earlier.

"Hayır!" Engin exclaimed. "I told you to shut up because it was not our place to say anything."

"I was only voicing out what everybody had in mind." Erdem said as he sulked. With this statement, some of the team shrugged as if to agree with Erdem.

"Melo! Ceren!" Erdem called them out. "What is this relationship?"

Ceren with her arms across her chest, rolled her eyes but no one saw it—she was irritated at the thought of Eda and Deniz together. She had liked Deniz ever since they were little and with him being back, it brought back her feelings for him. Ferit looked at Ceren who was just silent and avoided his gaze.

However, Melo spoke. "Ya Erdem, I have no idea what you are talking about!" She whipped her hand in the air, matching her expression. "Go bother with someone else's life!"

Serkan examined Melo and Ceren as they left their table and walked to Ayfer and Alex who were both confused at what was happening. He had been silent since Eda's outburst and seemed to be in deep thought.

"Serkan?" Selin lightly asked. "İyi misin? You have been quiet since—"

"İyiyim. İyiyim, Selin." He answered, cutting her off from what she was about to say. He knew that she was going to mention Eda and the incident. He didn't want to think about it—he didn't wanna ask himself why he was suddenly quiet.

He let out a deep breath and looked at his friends. "If there's no one that needs anything from me anymore, I'm going home." He turns to Selin and says, "I'll drop you off at your place."

"Tamam." Selin nods to Serkan then turns to their friends, "İyi geceler."

—----

Eda had walked out and went to the conference room where she opened the door to the balcony to get some fresh air. She looked at the flower pot where she had planted the seeds that her mother gave her.

'...my mother told me to plant these seeds where I am most happy.' She smiled at Serkan.

She closed her eyes at the sudden memory, fighting back tears, and sighed. "I still want this to be one of the places where I am most happy. But now, it kinda feels unbearable." She said to the seeds that were starting to sprout.

Deniz lightly knocked on the glass door that led to the balcony, not wanting to scare Eda. "Eda?"

She sighed. "Deniz..."

"İyi misin?" This made Eda smile. He sat beside her on the sofa and put an arm around her, as if to comfort her.

"How many times have you asked me that, just tonight?" Eda lightly laughed, which made Deniz smile.

"I just wanted to know if you are okay." He said sincerely.

"I guess that's what everyone has been wanting to know." She sighed as she looked up into the sky, into the stars and found the brightest, Sirius. She smiled and looked at Deniz. "I'm fine. This is just a bump in the road. I'll flatten it out." Eda stood up and motioned to go inside as Deniz joined her.

The party had subsided as the presentation had already ended and the client had left. As the people slowly started leaving, Eda and Deniz approached their friends.

"Hi guys. Sorry about the sudden outburst earlier." Eda apologized to her friends but did not offer an explanation.

"It's okay, Dada." Melo said as she smiled at Eda and looked at a silent Ceren.

"We understand. Merak etme." Pyril gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Ah-ah! I forgot to congratulate you!" She exclaimed, talking about the pregnancy announcement that they unexpectedly made earlier. "Tebrik ederim. I'm so happy for you." Eda held Pyril's hand and she squeezed it, reassuring Eda that it's okay.

"Teşekkürler, Eda." said Engin.

Everybody said their goodbyes and went home. During Eda's drive home with Melo, she was already anticipating Melo to ask questions.

"Dada..." Melo started.

"Melo, not now." Eda responded. Melo understood, Eda didn't want to talk about what happened tonight and she respected that. She kept silent the whole drive.

Arriving home, Eda was glad that her aunt was not home yet or she would be met with more questions. She didn't have the energy to explain anything. She just wanted to cry all night long—in Serkan's comforting arms—but this will never happen.

She went up to her bedroom, trying to shake whatever hurt feeling that she had while getting ready to go to bed but nothing worked. She laid on her bed and hugged herself then cried to sleep...hoping tomorrow would be different.