Set You Free (CANEM)

XXIV

He would fight for what he loved.

The man stood like a tower. As Can would use his size, Emre stood tall and reigned over him. Displaying his position on the hierarchy. His jaw was firmly snapped shut as you could see the bones grind together in anger and pure hatred of the man.

Emre never knew why he despised Osman so heavily but now it was evident. The worries he had before had now been clearly labelled. The man was in love with her and only now did she see it. Osman had come storming in, no greetings and Emre had had to spring out of his office to the sight of her being handled by the man. 

His girl had been held firm in the arms of another. 

And she had not looked at all comfortable.

He had jumped out of his chair to query what was happening and that was when the conversation had clearly turned. 

Onto him.

Both sets of eyes watched him as he approached, one smaller pair begging him to stay away.

The foreigner in their midst stood like a stone, immovable. Everything about him solid. His personality, his persistance, his love for the woman that Emre loved.

"You're not good enough for her, you know that?" Osman spat. "You don't stand a chance."

There was a brief period of time and the look of fear in her eyes that encouraged him to not just stand there and take it.

"Is that right?" He taunted.

Leyla tried to stand between the two men, like wolves ready to attack. But like in nature, it was common to see the female wolf hide underneath the male she wanted to protect. To the onlooker, she appeared frightened but her true incentive was to cover his throat from the attacker. In this case, she was protecting the one whom she loved.

The comments and the threats originally bouncing off the non affected pride that Emre had built up but it was only when he hissed about their relationship, with Leyla stood in full view, that the anger built up inside of him. Emre couldn't deny it, it was obvious that Osman knew her better than he did. They were old friends but his feelings couldn't be mutual, could they?

"She doesn't love you. She loves me." Emre stated firmly, a tad of fulfilment in his words. 

He wrongfully enjoyed the express on anger he got from the man's face in response. 

It was an unfortunate state of events. Osman had always been a kind heartened soul and his love for Leyla was untainted, void of any negative attachments. But in a world such as this, with pathways planned, his had not crossed with Leyla's. She had loved him, but loved him like a brother. 

She did not want to see him hurt, but Emre was the one.

"Emre please." She whispered, trying to not entice the pugnacious men to fight.

Osman ignored her and looked straight to Emre with fire fuelled eyes. He was injured by the jagged words of the man who stood against him, fuelling his pugnaciousness. He stood ready for battle. 

"She couldn't fall in love with somebody like you."

There was a stillness on both sides. If hatred was visible, the air would have been scarlet. It glowed from their eyes as Emre grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. A crowd forming around them.

How dare he come into his business and start spouting these comments?

Emre knew he was somewhat right. He did, wrongly or not, feel a little smug about how flustered Osman was getting. It told him that he knew he was losing.