It's all a little confusing. A little bit amusing. But it really just mostly leaves Emir scratching his head. How they got to where they are now is the story they're waiting on Defne and Zafer to tell. It had started a few hours ago when Zafer had called.
"Hey man, you busy? I need a huge favor," was all Zafer had said. So imagine Emir's surprise to arrive at the location Zafer had sent to discover he and Reyhan were to be witnesses.
Wedding witnesses.
His friend, the man who held onto his bachelor status even more firmly than Emir did, was getting married. And Emir could hardly believe even though he was seeing it with his own eyes.
"Did you know about this before?" Reyhan whispers to him. "I didn't even know Defne and Zafer knew each other this well."
"You know what I know," Emir says with a shrug. "You were there when I got his call. But Zafer promised to explain it all as soon as everyone left. That's happening now."
He nods towards the front door where Defne and Zafer were escorting the last of the guests out. From what Emir gathered, the oldest man is Defne's father. He came with another man who spent the entire wedding glaring at Zafer. Someone named Fatih. Emir isn't sure who he is. Defne's boss was also a guest. But they're all leaving now. So whatever explanation Zafer has, those people apparently don't need to hear.
The only people still in attendance, aside from Emir and Reyhan, are sitting on the couch opposite them holding a sleeping Ayla. The older couple, Emine and Murat Yilmaz, are the Ankara clients Emir and Zafer have been working with this whole time. Emir isn't sure why they were even invited in the first place, but hopefully he's about to find out. Not that they aren't nice people. They came and treated everyone like family. Ayla especially enjoyed the attention from the older couple, as evidenced by her sleeping comfortably in Emine hanım's arms.
Emir gives Reyhan a look and nods in the direction of Ayla. She gets his silent message.
"Would you like us to take her?" Reyhan asks the woman. "I'm sure Defne has a place we can lay her until we leave."
"No, no, no, Canım. She's more than fine," Emine hanım says with a gentle smile. "We never had any girls, and our sons live so far away with our grandchildren. Little Miss Ayla has been a treat."
"She's fine," Murat bey echoes, taking Ayla's hand and pressing a little kiss there. "She's such a sweet child. Defne tells us she helped place her with you two? I remember you talking about her a few weeks ago when your wife was still in the hospital. I'm so glad to see the situation worked out for everyone. She's a lucky little girl."
"We're the lucky ones," Emir smiles, looking at Reyhan again.
In the end, Zafer and Emir end up taking Ayla to the spare bedroom so she can sleep uninterrupted while Defne and Reyhan go to the kitchen to make coffee. Emir can't help but pepper his friend with questions.
"You know I'm going to ask ... what is all of this, Zafer? I mean, come on. Dude, we asked you to take the girl some tea. Not marry her!"
Zafer just laughs, patting Emir on the shoulder.
"I promise you'll understand in a minute," Zafer assures him. "You will probably understand more than anyone why we did this."
At Emir's confused look, Zafer just leads him back to the living room with the others. It's time for the long awaited conversation.
"First of all, let me just thank everyone here for what they did for us today," Zafer starts. "I know this was a surprise, to say the least."
"We had to move quickly," Defne adds. "And I'm just grateful Zafer has good enough friends to do this for us, no questions asked. So again, thank you. Thank you all so much."
"But, you all deserve to know the truth of what's happening here." Zafer takes over the story again and explains everything to them.
"Defne's ex left her when he found out she was pregnant. Her father has been pressuring her to marry the guy anyway. He even went so far as to tell her boss about her situation and her job was on the line. She was given the choice today to either marry the ex or lose her job and end up having to marry the ex anyway."
"Zafer happened to be there at my office and overheard the whole situation. He gave me another option. He offered to marry me." Defne gives Zafer a shy smile before continuing. "But even still, my dad didn't make it easy. He still wanted the tradition. Zafer had to come with his elders to ask for my hand before he would agree to the marriage. Even though he was the one insisting. Stubborn man."
At Defne's grumbling words, Zafer reaches over and gives her hand a gentle squeeze, causing Emir to raise his eyebrows in surprise at the tender move.
"Emir, you know how my father is," Zafer says. "He's probably somewhere in South America with wife number four. Or is it five? I've lost count. So that's how Murat bey came into the game. I had actually called him to postpone our meeting until later and when I told him why, he graciously offered to do this for us."
"We were more than happy to do this, Oğlum," Emine hanım says. "Like I said, our children are so far from us. This has been a pleasure for us to take on a new son and his bride."
When Emine hanım gets up to hug the new couple, Reyhan gets up to clear away the coffee. She manages to keep her hands from shaking until she's safely in the kitchen and away from the others. But once she's alone, the sadness hits her. Such a weird situation, but everyone else seems to be happy enough, if the cheerful chatter that continues in the other room is any indication. Reyhan doesn't want to bring anyone down with her mood.
"Reyhan?"
She jumps when she hears Emir's voice behind her.
"Are you okay?"
She should have known she couldn't get anything past him.
"Can we go?" she asks in a shaky voice. "I'm getting pretty tired."
Her gently grabs her shoulder and turns her to face him, needing to see her eyes. He can hear that she's upset, not tired. And needs to know why.
"What happened to you out there?"
She just sighs and falls into his arms, letting her arms go around his waist.
"Tell me," he begs her. "You're starting to scare me."
"Emine hanım," is all Reyhan says.
Emir tenses, preparing to go defend Reyhan if the woman offended her in any way.
"What did she say?" he asks coldly, not willing to let anyone, even a client, get away with mistreating his wife.
It actually makes her feel better to realize what he's willing to give up for her. She rubs his back to calm him down, her own soul calmer now because of his care for her.
"It's not what you think," she says, pulling away from him so that she can see him. "Emine hanım is amazing. Ayla has really taken to her. What they did for Zafer and Defne today was amazing. That fact that she would do that ... that she could go to Defne and embrace this woman she's barely known a day and treat her like a beloved bride ..."
Reyhan lets out a deep, sad sigh.
"Emir, do you know what your mother said to me on our wedding day?"
And now he understands why she's so upset. He closes his eyes to hide the shame and anger she would see there.
"Reyhan, I ..."
Reyhan continues as if Emir didn't even say anything at all.
"She said 'I warned you. You're responsible for what happens now. Welcome to hell.' Then she looked at me with this smile." Her eyes take on this far away, distant look as she remembers the near past. "It was the smile that really scared me. That smile gave me chills."
Silence from Emir. He doesn't know what to say to make this better for her.
"She kept her promise, too," Reyhan nods. "She made sure my every day in that house was a nightmare. She said that a village girl like me didn't deserve to be her son's wife or the daughter in law of the mansion. She made sure I knew I didn't belong. That I knew I wasn't welcome or wanted, especially by you. She made sure you wouldn't get close to me. I had to nearly die to escape. For you to really see me."
He's looking down now, shoulders sagging at the heavy truths she's laying on him. This isn't what she wanted. In the end, she has what she's always wanted. And that's thanks to this man standing before her now. She puts her hand on his cheek and brings his eyes to hers.
"But you know what?" she asks him. "You did see me, despite all that she did. And the fact that you did, makes what we have here that much more special."
She adds her other hand to his other cheek and brings his face to hers for a sweet kiss.
"I see the way you love me, Emir. And it makes me love you even more than I thought I already did. More than I thought possible."
A mix of emotions fly across his face, but he lands on happy. She said she loves him. He has the biggest smile on his face when he wraps his arms around her, lifts her up and spins her until she's giggling and almost dizzy. But when he sets her down, he turns serious.
"Reyhan, I'm not going to let my mother hurt you anymore," he promises. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you anymore. You and Ayla are my life now. You two are my family. You're everything to me. And if my mother is too blind to see that, then it's her loss."
He gives her one more hug.
"Let's get you home."
She happily agrees.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She watches as they come home. She's still confused at what Emir sees in a girl like this. This little nobody seems to have captured his heart in a way she never realized was possible. Not too long ago, Melisa had dreamed of becoming Emir's wife. She was raised to be his wife. Their families had encouraged the pairing from the time they were in high school. And for a while, Emir had cooperated. He was the good and obedient son and played the perfect boyfriend. But as time passed, he grew more and more distant. Nothing she did could bring him back. Until the day she had lost him for good. She knew he only needed time. They were both so young and he felt he had a life to live. So Melisa had let him live that life. But enough is enough. It's time he takes his rightful place as her husband. Her mission won't be as easy as she thought it would be. But in the end, she will win. She refuses to believe otherwise. Emir will be hers again. But first to get rid of this distraction. She needs to find a way to send this girl scurrying back to whatever little hick village she came from.
"Show her how out of place she is. Show her she has no business being with a man like Emir," Cavidan hanim had advised. "Do whatever you have to do to get her away from my son!"
Melisa would almost feel bad for Reyhan if she weren't the enemy. But this is war. And there's no time for sympathy. Reyhan has no idea who she's up against.
When Emir and Reyhan go into the house, Melisa drives away. She'll let them have tonight. Because tomorrow, the real fun will start.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Reyhan gets ready for bed while Emir puts Ayla down for the night. She had so much fun at the wedding that she hasn't woken up since earlier. She doesn't even budge when Emir changes her into her pajamas.
On his way to the room, he stops by the kitchen for some water, still semi processing the crazy evening they just had. He just can't believe the turn of events. Zafer married. To a pregnant woman he barely knows. After hearing the explanation of everything, Emir can understand how Zafer would have made such a decision. And can Emir really judge anyone else's reasons for getting married? His own marriage didn't have such a traditional start either. But it's turned out to be the best thing he's ever done. Maybe it will be the same for Zafer. It would be nice if he fell for Defne the way Emir has fallen for Reyhan. It would be nice for his friend to know the same peace and happiness Reyhan has brought into his life.
The bedroom door opens and he turns to see Reyhan walking towards him, taking his breath away like she usually does. Even scrubbed clean and wearing flannel pajamas and fuzzy slippers like she is now. He can't believe he got so lucky. He can't believe how empty his life would be right now if she hadn't come into it.
"Tonight was fun," he says to her as she comes to get water. He gets another glass down from the cabinet for her. "Strange, but fun."
She smiles at that.
"It's not every day we're invited to a surprise wedding," she laughs. "I really didn't see that coming. Did you?"
"Never in a million years. I hope Zafer knows what he's doing. I hope they both do. This is something that will change both of their lives forever. Even if they only did it because of her father, a marriage is something that changes things between people. We know that better than anyone," he points out. "We may have gotten married because of my father, but our hearts didn't get that memo."
Another smile from her.
"Do you really think they could fall for each other?" she asks wistfully. "They do make a good couple if you think about it. Did you see when they danced together? There were sparks."
"You are so cute," he tells her, pulling her into his arms and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He starts to sway with her to a tune he hears in his head. "Speaking of dancing, we didn't do nearly enough at the wedding. I love having you in my arms like this."
She just sighs and closes her eyes, resting her head on his chest. She loves it as much as he does.
She doesn't know how long they dance, but when he stops and looks down at her, she feels almost like she's in a trance. When he kisses her, it feels like a dream she doesn't want to end. Her knees buckle and he tightens his grasp around her to keep her on her feet, gently kissing her cheeks while she tries to catch her breath.
"Don't stop," she pleads, trying to pull him closer. "Don't let me go."
He stops breathing for a second, not believing what he's hearing. Hoping she's saying what he thinks she's saying. But the heat blazing in her eyes leaves no doubt. She wants him as much as he wants her.
"I won't ever let you go," he promises, bending to lift her in his arms. He kisses her again as he carries her into the room to prove he's a man of his word.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
He kisses her bare shoulder the next morning, smiling when she makes a cute little grumbling noise and swatting him away.
"Sleep," she mutters. "I need sleep."
He smiles again. He knows exactly why she's so tired. They didn't get a lot of sleep the night before.
He, on the other hand, feels refreshed and energized. He's tempted to pull her to him again, but he decides to show her some mercy and leave her alone. Giving her shoulder one last kiss, he gets out of the bed and ambles to the bathroom for a shower. As the warm water pours over his body, he thinks back to the night before. Having her in his arms felt right. They fit together perfectly, almost as if they were made for each other.
He's not sure what changed with her. But he's grateful for whatever it was that convinced her of his love for her and made her decide to be so open with him. To be with him. The first time they were together - on their wedding night - it was strange and awkward, but beautiful in its own way. Despite his reputation, Emir was never one to be random and indiscriminate with his choice of bed partners. So his wedding night had meant something to him. But not more than his pride, unfortunately. His pride cost him months of happiness with this woman. Months of mornings just like this of waking up in each other's arms. Months of soul stealing kisses and tangled limbs that entwine their bodies as their souls are doing the same. A mistake he'll never make again. Just like he promised her last night ... he's never letting her go. Not anymore.
He finishes up in the bathroom and quietly gets dressed, smiling when she doesn't even budge. She looks like an angel. He almost gives into the temptation to just crawl back in the bed with her when the doorbell rings. He doesn't want to risk her waking, so he goes to quickly answer it. And instantly wishes he hadn't.
"What are you doing here?" he asks, scowling at the visitor. He takes a quick peek over his shoulder to make sure Reyhan isn't there and steps out on the porch, pulling the door closed behind him.
"You aren't going to invite me inside?" Melisa pouts. "And here I thought we were old friends."
"We're nothing, Melisa. Now what do you want?" he asks again. "What are you doing here? And most importantly, how do you keep finding me?"
Emir has his suspicions that his mother is somehow behind all of this. But he's keeping that theory to himself for now. The thing he needs to worry about now is getting Melisa out of here before Reyhan sees her. She doesn't need to deal with any more of his mother's games. She's happy here in Ankara. Safe. Emir won't let Melisa take that happiness away from Reyhan.
"We need to talk. I have something important to tell you," Melisa says. "And I'd rather not do it out here on the porch."
Emir's scowl returns and then he lets out a big sigh. He's not getting rid of her any other way.
"Fine," he spits out. "But not here. Meet me where we met earlier, at the food court at the mall. I'll be there in 2 hours. Now go. And don't come back to my home, Melisa. I mean it. I don't want to see you here again."
She gives him a wink before turning and walking away. He stands there until she gets into her car and disappears down the street.
"That girl is gonna be trouble," he tells himself, wondering what he's done to deserve her level of crazy in his life again. He's gotten rid of her once, but clearly it didn't stick. This time, he will have to make sure she stays gone.