"Have you seen Suna, Anne?"
Emir figures he should start with an easy question. Or rather, a question that should be easy. He stares at her, carefully trying to gauge her reaction. He notices her eyes widen slightly at his question, but she quickly covers. That must be one of her tells. He's always trusted his mother. Never had the need to detect her lies. But now, he's realizing that nearly everything out of her mouth is a lie of some sort. He knows that whatever she's about to say about Suna will also be a lie.
"Suna? She isn't in her room?" Cavidan asks innocently before her face shifts into feigned outrage. "You mean to tell me that girl hasn't gotten home yet? Shame on her."
"So she went out?" Emir tries to clarify. "Alone? Since when does she do that?"
"She went to see some friends," Cavidan explains. "And she's been doing that more and more since you abandoned her to go to Ankara."
Interesting move, Emir notes. He lifts an eyebrow at her deflection. She's trying to bring his guilt into this. He has to admit, his mother is a master manipulator. If he didn't know what to look for, he wouldn't know he was being played. But fortunately he takes after her. And he can play this game better than she can.
"I didn't abandon Suna. I didn't abandon anyone. I took my wife to get the care she needed very much. Which brings me to my reason for asking for Suna," he tosses out, trying to change the subject. Trying to keep her off balance in hopes that she'll let more clues slip. "But her being gone might be for the best. I have news and she may not like it. It's about Baba."
"What about your father?" Cavidan asks him, genuine curiosity in her voice. Not really concern, he notes. Or care. Just curiosity. Maybe even mild annoyance. And for the first time, he begins to wonder what his mother feels for his father. Is it love? Or hate? Could she have hurt him?
"The doctor recommends a care facility for him. A place where he can get constant care and therapy. And I happen to agree with her," Emir tells her.
"Does the doctor think your father will recover?"
A warning bell goes off in his head. Maybe it's the possibility Reyhan had introduced about someone being responsible for his father's accident. Maybe it's the slow acceptance that his mother had Reyhan locked in a freezer. But for some reason, her question about the recovery doesn't seem innocent. So he takes a page out of her book ... he lies.
"No," he says, adding a note of sadness to his response. "Narin says chances of his recovery are slim. But being at the care facility will stop any further decline. He may not get better there. But he also won't get any worse."
Only the partial truth. What Narin had actually said was that the chances of a full recovery for his father are slim. But with a proper protocol of therapy, medication, and possibly surgery, Hikmet could get back to being close to his old self. It had been good news to hear. News that he initially couldn't wait to share with the rest of the family. But now, he's not so sure he wants his mother to know. Not when she's looking suspiciously satisfied with the thought of Hikmet never recovering.
"So he'll never speak again? Oh, my Hikmet. My poor, poor Hikmet."
Her tears are plentiful. But fake. She's putting on a good show, but Emir can see right through her. It breaks his heart. Oh, Anne. What are you afraid of him saying?
Just then, Melike comes in to give him a report on Reyhan.
"She's awake now," Melike tells him. "I've convinced her to have a little soup. I'm getting it for her now."
He smiles his thanks to her and then turns back to his mother when she asks him a question.
"Is Reyhan sick?"
"She had a bit of an incident earlier," Emir says cryptically. "Maybe you know something about it?"
"An incident? With Reyhan? Why would I know anything about that?"
More lies. Emir is starting to get really angry now.
"The freezer? Does that ring a bell?" he asks, unable to hide his anger. "Where's Cemre, I wonder? Is she still here? Maybe she knows what I'm talking about."
"Listen, Son. You must have gotten the wrong idea. I have no idea what that girl told you, but I can guarantee you it's not what actually happened."
"She said she was locked inside the freezer."
"And I'm guessing she's blaming me? Saying I did it?"
"No. She says Cemre did it," he tells her, deciding to keep to himself the suspicions that Cavidan plotted it all and set the whole thing in motion. "But thankfully Suna was there to let her out. That's why I'm trying to contact Suna. To find out from her what happened."
"Suna won't be confirming Reyhan's story because it just isn't true. Son, I don't know how to tell you this, but your wife is a liar. She's trying to make you hate Cemre because she's threatened by Cemre. She's blaming Cemre for locking her in the freezer when in fact, it was Cemre who saved her from the freezer. Suna was the one who locked Reyhan in there."
"Suna did it?" Emir asks incredulously, not even pretending to believe her. "Suna? Are you for real with this?"
"Son, I wish I weren't. But it's true. Suna doesn't want you knowing, but I can't let Reyhan put the blame on Cemre. Suna has been having problems for awhile now. What I said earlier about you abandoning her is true. She resents Reyhan because you chose to stay with her in Ankara instead of coming back home. She even blames you for your father's illness. She feels it wouldn't have happened to him if you had been here."
"This is ridiculous. Let me talk to her. We'll get this straightened out now. Where is she? Which friend did she go with?"
"You won't be able to speak with her. Like I said, she doesn't want you knowing. She's too ashamed. She asked to go away for a while. She realizes she needs help. Help that she won't get here. She'll be back once her doctors feel she's gotten better. She'll be in touch with us when her doctors feel it's the right time. But for now, we shouldn't interfere with her treatment."
Emir just stares in shock.
"You sent her away?"
"Son, she begged for help. This was for her own good."
"You are unbelievable. You really expect me to buy into this lie you're telling me. You really expect me to believe Suna locked Reyhan in a freezer and that Cemre saved her. And that you had nothing at all to do with any of it."
"Emir!" she gasps in shock. True shock. She genuinely can't believe he's outright blaming her. She can't believe her lies aren't working.
"Save it, Anne. The only thing I believe out of your mouth is that maybe it is for the best Suna is away. Away from you and your lies and your games."
"That woman has twisted your mind so much," Cavidan says, shaking her head. "You trust her more than me? You believe her lies more than my truth?"
"And what is your truth, Anne?"
"Son, she's no good. She's a liar and she's just using you for your money. She's brought nothing but trouble into our lives from the moment she stepped into this house. Admit it ... none of these problems happened to us before she came. We'll be better off without her. We'll be able to be a family again. She's driven Suna away. You're sending your father away. Who's next, me?"
"Anne, don't be dramatic. None of this is Reyhan's fault. You are the only one with a problem with Reyhan. So maybe the problem is you. This hatred you feel for her is only going to come back to haunt you. You are going to only regret your actions one day."
"Is that a threat?"
"No, Anne. A warning," he says with a tired, resigned sigh. "Why can't you see how much I love Reyhan? How much she loves me? How right we are for each other? You are about to miss out on so much just because you've decided to make her your enemy. What about your grandchildren?"
"That little street child is not my grandchild. And nothing you say will make me accept her."
"What about this baby?"
Emir turns around quickly when the quiet voice speaks up from behind him. He immediately goes to Reyhan's side and puts his arm around her.
"Sweetheart, I thought you were resting."
Reyhan has her hand on her stomach and walks towards Cavidan.
"Are you going to deny him the way you deny Ayla?" Reyhan asks her, tears in her eyes. "My children deserve to be happy. I won't allow you to treat them the way you treated me. I won't allow that kind of negativity into their lives."
"Ah, so you're pregnant. It was only a matter of time, I suppose," Cavidan sneers at her, rolling her eyes. "You think trapping him with a baby is going to keep him? I'm not going to let you and your brats steal from this family. You will end up broke and alone. Just you and that girl. We'll keep this baby, if he actually turns out to be my blood."
"Anne!" is all Emir can say, too horrified at his mother's words.
Reyhan just gasps, holding on to her stomach tighter. She takes an involuntary step back. And then another, her instincts telling her to run far, far away. She stumbles back to the bedroom and barely makes it to the bathroom before becoming violently ill. She never had a big problem with morning sickness, but even that went away days ago. This is all a reaction from the pure evil in this house. She has to get her uncle out of here. She has to keep her children away from here. She knows she was the main one encouraging Emir to not give up on his mother. But Cavidan is too much. She's gone too far.
She feels a cool cloth on her face, the hand holding it belonging unmistakingly to Emir. She falls back into the strong arms she knows will be there to catch her.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, pulling her into his lap. "Baby, I'm so sorry. Let's get out of here. Let's just go. We'll have my father moved to Amca's house until his spot in Italy becomes available. We won't ever have to come back here again. You won't ever have to see her again. I'm not going to let her hurt you anymore."
She wants to refuse, not wanting to give up on the idea of being a part of this family. But she can't. She just doesn't have the strength to fight Cavidan anymore. Her baby is more important. And she's just tired. So she just nods and lets him lift her into his arms. He carries her out of the bathroom, out of the bedroom. Out of that house. Hopefully for forever. But the glare Cavidan gives her as they walk out the door leaves a sinking feeling on the inside that this is far from over.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
She drifts off into an uneasy sleep on the way home. But he knows she needs the rest so he's actually thankful for the heavy Istanbul traffic that time of day. She'll have plenty of time to get the sleep she needs.
His brow crinkles in concern when she suddenly starts to stir. He reaches over to take her hand and finds it cool and clammy. She clenches him tightly and starts moaning.
"No," she cries, still in her sleep. "Don't. Mine. You can't have him. No!"
She screams one last time as her eyes fly open in a panic. She's clutching her belly. As quickly as he can, he pulls over and stops the car.
"Reyhan? What's happening? Are you okay? Are you in pain? Talk to me sweetheart." He pulls her into his arms when she starts to tremble.
"Give me a minute," she pants, burying her face in his neck, trying to calm down.
"Bad dream?" he asks. But that only makes her cry.
"She can't take my baby," Reyhan sobs, unable to get Cavidan's earlier threats out of her head. She knows the threat was empty, her fear irrational. But she feels the panic nonetheless. The dream was too real. "Don't let her take my baby, Emir."
"Never," he promises. He lifts her head from his shoulder so that he can look her right in the eyes. "You know I will never let that happen."
He continues to stroke her back and murmur promises. She eventually settles down. But he knows he can't take her home like this. Emine and Murat would have his head over her condition. An idea comes to him and he smiles at the simple brilliance of it. They may not be in Ankara anymore. But nothing says he can't bring a little Ankara here for her. He shoots off a couple of text messages and sets his plan in action.
"You just relax," he says to her, setting his hand on top of hers as it rests on her stomach. She lets their fingers intertwine.
"I'm okay," she tells him. And she means it. The dream had shaken her, but the longer she's awake, the more she can put it away and forget. "I'm not going to let your mother hurt me anymore."
"She can't hurt you, Baby. She won't," Emir swears. "I won't let her. Your parents won't let her. You're not alone against her anymore. Always remember that."
She smiles.
"I have you right here," she says, bringing his hand up to her heart. Then she places it back on her belly. "And here."
He's right, she realizes. She isn't alone anymore. She's surrounded by so much love and support.
"You've been too stressed lately," he says, interrupting her thoughts. "I know my dad is sick, but we're finally making moves that should lead to him recovering a bit of his old self. This clinic will be good for him. And he'll be out of the house so we won't have to see my mother."
"It shouldn't be this way," Reyhan sighs. "You shouldn't have to leave your home and your family for me."
"Reyhan, you are my home. My family." He turns to look at her, stroking her cheek. "My everything."
And just like that, the rest of her stress melts away. Sure her life isn't perfect. But it's beautiful. It's full of love and happiness. It's full of family and friends. Her children. Emir. And now, all she has to do is embrace it and live in it. The situation with Cavidan is what it is. She realizes now there's nothing she can do to change it. She can't make the woman love her. All she can do is live her life as far away from the woman as possible. All she has to do is trust Emir to keep her safe.
"Where are we going?" she asks when she finally looks around and notices they're no longer headed towards home. It's been a long day and all she wants right now is to hold Ayla and let the little girl's infectious happiness seep into her soul.
He just gives her that wicked little grin that tells her he's up to something.
"Just a little surprise," he says, turning into the parking lot of a cute little diner that reminds her a lot of their favorite restaurant in Ankara. Ayla had loved it and they went often. Her mouth begins to water when she realizes how much she missed the food.
"It's just like that place in Ankara," she says with a smile. "How did you find this place?"
"It's a family chain," he explains as he helps her out the car. "Owned by some brothers. They have locations in Ankara, here, and also Izmir, I believe. But I thought since this was one of our favorite places there, that it would be nice to bring a little bit of Ankara here for you. So we never forget how happy we were."
"This is perfect! I'm actually starving."
He just laughs. There's that healthy appetite he loves.
"The only thing that would make this better is if Ayla were here too. She loves ..."
She stops mid sentence, letting out a gasp when she sees Ayla running towards them. Emir intercepts the enthusiastic little girl and lifts her up into his arms before she can go crashing into Reyhan. Reyhan gives him a watery gaze.
"You always know how to make me happy," she says, amazed at the depth of his love for her. "You always know exactly what I need."
Emir waves to one of the drivers from Emine's home. One of his messages earlier arranged to have Ayla brought here to meet them for dinner. He knew it's what Reyhan would want. And he was right. He can't stop his smile. He loves when he can make her happy. It's one of his daily goals. Nothing makes him happier than seeing this look on her face and knowing he put it there.
"Let's go eat," he tells his girls, wrapping his free arm around Reyhan as he leads them inside the restaurant.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I spoke with Kemal today."
Cemre just rolls her eyes at her mother's words. Cemre has managed to successfully avoid the weekly summons from her mother for months now. But this time, the summons came with threats Cemre couldn't ignore. So here she is sitting across from the woman having dinner.
"Kemal said they found a place to send Hikmet," her mother continues. "So it looks like you won't be needed at the mansion anymore. You can come home now. Especially now that Emir and Reyhan are back. Let that family have some privacy."
"Family? Reyhan isn't family. She's only been around for five minutes. If she's not going to be a true daughter of that house, then I will."
"No, Cemre. You won't. And you never will be," Suheyla says, her heart breaking for her daughter. "You need to realize that Emir is married. To Reyhan."
Cemre rolls her eyes again. Her mother doesn't understand. She never has and Cemre sees now that she never will. Cemre was born to be with Emir. And if she's patient enough, he will come to realize that fact. She was so close before. With Cavidan teyze's help, she had nearly sent that peasant girl running back to her little village. And then Emir would have been hers. Their wedding would have been the social event of the year. Their story would have been talked about by everyone. They would forget about that insignificant nobody named Reyhan. Emir never wanted to marry her anyway. He'll thank Cemre for getting rid of her.
"No, he won't thank you," Suheyla says, giving Cemre a strange look making Cemre realize she must have said that last part out loud.
"He will," Cemre insists. "He doesn't love her. Doesn't want her. I have to save him."
"Cemre," her mother sighs impatiently. "Stop. Just stop this now. You and Emir grew up together. But he's never seen you as anything other than a friend. Maybe even as a sister. Whether he loves Reyhan or not isn't your business. But you have to accept that he's married to her. And there's nothing you can do about it."
Cemre just shrugs and takes a sip of her wine.
"I guess we'll see which one of us is right about this," she says smugly.
"Cemre," her mother sighs, growing impatient with her. She closes her eyes and rubs at the tension in her temples. She's starting to feel as if she's leading a lost cause. But when she opens her eyes, she's met with a sight that could save them.
"Suheyla teyze!"
Suheyla smiles at Emir, pleased to see him with Reyhan. Even happier to see him with his arm around her. Maybe this is the reality check Cemre needs.
"Emir! Reyhan! It's good to see you!" Suheyla rises to greet them both with hugs and kisses. She glances down at Ayla and becomes even more curious. "And who is his little angel?"
Emir smiles and reaches down for the little girl, swinging her up into his arms.
"We just adopted her. This is our daughter Ayla. Ayla, can you say hello to Suheyla teyze?" he prompts the little girl. She just gives a shy wave before leaning her head on his shoulder.
"A daughter," Suheyla exclaims, turning to look at her own daughter. "Look Cemre. Emir and Reyhan have a daughter now. Isn't that wonderful?"
Cemre just ignores her and rolls her eyes before going back to glaring at Reyhan.
"And Reyhan, motherhood looks beautiful on you," Suheyla notes. "You're practically growing."
Reyhan blushes and subconsciously places her hand over her belly.
"Ayla is a wonderful child," Reyhan says. "She's brought us nothing but happiness. She's made us a family."
Suheyla watches the way the two look at each other and can feel the love coming from them. Why can't Cemre see it? She turns back to her daughter and is taken aback at the hatred in her eyes for Reyhan. That hatred is blinding her. She doesn't see the love because she doesn't want to see it. For the first time, Suheyla is starting to understand how broken Cemre is. This isn't just some crush she has to get over. Cemre is obsessed and Suheyla fears nothing will be able to stop her.
"You're on your way out?" Suheyla asks, realizing now it might have been a mistake to let Cemre see this.
"We are," Emir confirms. "We just came a little while ago for an early dinner. But we need to get home now. I don't want to tire out my lovely wife. She needs all the rest she can get."
"Tired?" Cemre asks when she finally joins the conversation. "Are you sure she's tired? Maybe she's just a bit ... frozen."
Reyhan tenses and goes pale at the not so veiled threat from Cemre. Emir is livid, understanding what Cemre is trying to do. He takes a step towards Cemre and no one knows what he's about to do. But he stops in his path when Reyhan lets out a pained gasp. Immediately he turns back to her. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her hand is on her stomach. She's bent over and is holding herself up on the table.
"Reyhan?" he asks, panic making his heart race. "What's wrong, Sweetheart? Are you okay?"
He sets Ayla down and instructs her to stay right next to him. Suheyla takes the little girl's hand in her own and holds onto her, not wanting her to be scared.
"I'm okay," Reyhan says, trying to catch her breath. She takes another breath and lets it out slowly. And then another before the pain finally dissipates. She rubs her belly and a look of relief spreads across her face. "I'm fine. We're fine."
"Sit," he orders, kneeling down next to her. He reaches across the table and grabs an empty glass for some water. "Drink."
"Emir, I'm fine," she assures him, cupping his cheek with her hand. "It was just a twinge. The doctor said this would happen. Your baby is going to be as big as you are."
Teasing him helps calm him down a bit.
"Baby," Cemre gasps. "You're pregnant."
"And isn't that wonderful news?" Suheyla asks, giving Cemre a warning look. "Congratulations to you two. Your family is getting even bigger. Children are such a blessing. I wish you nothing but happiness."
And she means it. And not just because she needs for Cemre to see this happiness and understand she has no chance. But also because she can feel the genuine love and affection between the young couple. She watches Reyhan cuddle Ayla, giving the small girl some comfort, and can see the mother/daughter bond there. She watches Emir hover over them both, protecting his wife and daughter as if they're the most important things in the world to him. They're a solid unit. It both warms and breaks her heart. She's happy for the little boy she watched grow up alongside her own daughter. This is the family he deserves. But her heart is broken for Cemre because she also deserves this. But it's something she won't ever have until she realizes it's not going to happen with Emir.
"Oh Cemre," she thinks to herself. "Please let go of this obsession with Emir."
But that look in Cemre's eyes tells her she's not letting go. And that scares her more than anything. She shakes her head and calls for the check. Dinner is over. But she feels this just may be the beginning of the end of her daughter.