Dinner was fantastic, as always. Ekim didn't mind the calories because her mother's meal always made her feel better. It had the magical ability to make her feel better, whether she was unhappy or angry.
Perhaps Melisa just informed their mother of her bad mood and persuaded her to prepare her favourite cuisine. Ekim believed that the second alternative was more plausible than her mother suddenly be in the mood for Ekim's favourite food.
"Sister?" Her younger brother Ali asked when he saw she didn't smile during the supper.
"Yes." Melisa sent him a warning gaze not to say anything inappropriate about their school day. The small kid immediately shut his mouth, causing his mother to glare at her daughter.
"Ekim daughter, I prepared your favourite dessert. Do you want it?"
Ekim was now convinced that Melisa had forewarned her mother about the event that occurred that day. "What's the matter with you today, teddy bear?"
Ekim's father gave her a teddy bear when she was a small child, which she slept with until she was thirteen. Nevertheless, she still kept him and hugged him when she was upset. He was always sitting on her bed ready to comfort her anytime.
"Nothing." She lied while drinking some of her water.
"You are lying," her father said before being slapped on the arm by his wife and given an eye roll by Melisa.
"Why can't you leave me alone?" Ekim smacked the table and dashed to her room. "You are so tactless, dad. I'll take the sweets, Mom."
Melisa replied as she followed her sister, holding two sweets in her hands. "Come with me, Ali." The small kid leapt from his seat and raced to his sister. "What did I do?" Süleyman inquired about his wife, who only sighed at his obliviousness.
"We're coming in." Melisa warned her sister while Ali unlocked the door to Ekim's room. "We took panna cotta with us." Ali said joyfully before sprinting to Ekim's bed.
"Wait, I'll help you." Ekim offered, then placed her hands under his armpits and hoisted her brother into bed. "Alright, Dad is dumb. He simply couldn't see the elephant in the room. I'll tell him to evict this ungrateful bi..."
"Mel" Ekim cut her sister off before indicating with her eyes that their brother who was present.
"Ali, you're lucky that Ekim saved you from a vengeful sister who was about to bathmouth a rat."
The little boy didn't understand what Melisa was talking about, while Ekim only shook her head at Melisa's behaviour.
"I don't want to ruin their future over something so insignificant." Ekim told after eating something from the dessert. Ali opened his mouth to signal his sister that he, too, needed some panna cotta. Ekim used her spoon to chop one piece and placed it in his mouth.
"Meaningless? What exactly are..." Melisa ceased speaking due to her brother's phobia of loud sounds, which caused him to cover his ears. She had forgotten how sensitive he was to loud sounds.
"She has been claimed, therefore she will suffer. You will not help her and will not tolerate their actions. I'll wreck their life if I witness something like that again."
Ekim fed her brother, then ate her dessert, while Melisa sulked since she couldn't expell this girl from school.
"Fine." Ekim agreed, and Melisa handed Ali her spoon with the dessert. He ate some of Melisa's spoon and smiled happily at his sisters.
"I want like to play cards." Ali spoke before bolting from the room, only to return with three games. The sisters immediately rose up and assisted him in carrying the games to Ekim's bed.
They spent the entire evening playing together, and Melisa even caught Ekim and Ali cheating a few times. Yeah, that was a funny day.
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School was typically annoying, but Ekim woke up from the right side of the bed, especially since she knew she wouldn't be followed by the new students any longer.
When she arrived at school and saw her boyfriend, she immediately ran to him and gave him an embrace while he was waiting for her in front of the school gate. After he let go off the hug he suddenly got on his knees facing her with his back face. He knew that treating her like a child always made her happy. Ekim joyfully embraced his neck, then hugged his waist with her legs while he put his hands beneath her tights to have a better hold on her.
Everyone who knew Ekim well enough knew how much she enjoyed being carried piggyback.
When Melisa witnessed the spectacle in front of her, she attempted to hold back her laughter, as did Hazal, who approached them with a smile on her face.
"You're like a child." Hazal made a remark after observing her closest friend contently being carried.
"I am. Now I'd like you to take me to the cafeteria. I'd like a cup of coffee. "
Melisa tried to maintain her frigid queen persona by remaining serious which was an incredible difficult thing to do, and Hazal couldn't take it any longer. She just laughed at her friends hilariousness.
"As you wish, your majesty." Kanat stated this in the manner of a butler before sprinting to the cafeteria with his laughing girlfriend on his back.
"Hello," she greeted to the woman behind the counter. "I'd like a cup of coffee. What do you want, baby?"
"Tea."
"And a turkish black tea, please." She requested.
The image in front of her made the woman smile. She had known this couple since the day they got together, and their love for one another never failed to impress her. They'd been together since they were about fourteen years old, and yet they still did silly things together like small kids.
"Here." She placed the drinks on the counter. To pay for the drinks, Ekim pulled out her purse. Kanat then gave her her coffee while he sipped on his tea.
They walked to her classroom, or most likely, he walked with Ekim on his back. The whole class looked surprised to see the couple. They were frequently absent for the first two classes, especially when Ekim was being carried around. Melisa smiled as she noticed her younger sister's peaceful demeanour, while Ozan laughed his head off when he saw Kanat as Ekim's horse. The new student, Ayşe, grinned as she observed the bizarre scenario in front of her. It was always amusing to see people who relished their childhood. Leyla, however, believed it was wrong to act in this way at school, while Bekir just marvelled at Kanat's strength in carrying the girl for so long.
"Mel, here." Ekim offered Melisa her coffee so she could wake up as well. Süleyman did not warn everyone that the electricity would be shut off for the night due to various issues. Therefore everyone slept in. When they woke up their mother immediately stuffed croissants into their mouths before hurrying them to the car. So, as the result neither of them had had their morning coffee.
"Thanks." Melisa thanked her before sipping her coffee. Kanat gently placed Ekim on her seat's table, making Ekim upset at how quickly the time passed away of being carried around.
She then kissed him on the cheek and expressed her appreciation for treating her like a princess. Kanat kissed her on the head and said his farewell to her and his friends.
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Ekim groaned as she worked on her schoolwork at the library. She wanted to go home or go shopping with Hazal. She was in desperate need of a new outfit for Melisa's birthday.
"Why are you sighing, beautiful?" Her boyfriend inquired, while he stroked her cheek.
"I hate math. Literature is so much better."
Kanat grinned at her response. She simply stated so since math was her least favourite and literature was her best subject.
"Teacher Selim would appreciate that comment." He spoke when she softly hit her head on the table.
"Shut up," Ekim advised. Kanat stroked her on the head, like he had done with her puppy, which he had given her for her sixteenth birthday.
"Stop," she murmured, with a smile on her face. She was always like this. She said one thing and meant something else. He had to learn it to understand her and after a while he managed to comprehend what she wanted. He was now a professional who knew Ekim like the five fingers on his hand. Therefore, he continued to pat her head.
"Let's ask Melisa or Ozan for giving me the solution. I'm not going to do it anymore." Kanat laughed lightly. "Okay, gorgeous, we'll do it. Let's go."
Those words made Ekim leap up and toss her belongings into the bag.
"Let's go home. Ah, I forget to tell you that my father agreed to let you sleep at our place."
Since learning about his domestic situation, she has attempted to find any reason to allow him to sleep over. Süleyman Bey was sceptical at first, but after a while, he realised Kanat was a decent guy.
"Can I drive your car?" He pulled his key from his pocket and flung it at her, which she managed to catch.
"Brother Kanat!" Ali shouted when he returned home from daycare and spotted his sister's boyfriend playing video games with Ekim, Melisa, and Ozan.
"What about me, huh?" Ekim pretended to be gasping. "Me too?" Melisa added.
"Hello, Sister Ekim and Sister Melisa." He sounded so sarcastic that Ekim wondered whether her younger brother was truly six years old.
"Oha. And me? " Ozan said who pretended to be hurt and emphasised it by placing one hand on his chest "Did you bring my chocolate cupcakes with minions on them?"
"I did."
"Brother Ozan I really missed you. " Ali hugged and kissed Ozan on the cheek, making everyone laugh at his actions.
"Why are you laughing? You're the same." Kanat gestured to his childhood friend and girlfriend. "I agree." Ozan confirmed Kanat's comment, while the sisters rolled their eyes.
"Either you strike your brother Kanat or I tell mum you're taking muffins as payment, which means you won't have anything sweet until New Year's Eve." Ekim threatened her younger brother, who leaped off Ozan's lap and smacked Kanat across the chest with his small fist.
"Ozan, as well." Melisa spoke out swiftly before Kanat had to accept being put under the bus.
"I thought we were partners." Ozan expressed his disappointment when he was hit by him.
"Were you born yesterday? Do you not know my sisters? " Ozan laughed at Ali's fear. He swore the Gerçek siblings were all the same. Ekim said the same thing about Melisa, and the other way around.
"Hello, guys." Neşe enthusiastically greeted the teenagers. She was delighted to see them together. It always warmed her heart to watch kids having so much fun doing anything. It has been like this for years, since they were nine years old.
"Hi Mom."
"Hello, aunt Neşe."
"I hear you're staying, Kanat."
"I'm hoping that won't be an issue." Neşe smiled at him, telling him that staying over was no issue.
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Kanat wanted to ask Ekim something while he lay alongside her on her bed, but the fear of hurting her was too strong.
"Tell me."
Kanat held her and placed her head on his chest. He didn't want to watch her cry. He despised seeing anything but a grin on her face.
"My father wants me to graduate in America," he stated unequivocally. Ekim wrinkled her brows, puzzled as to where this sudden change had come from.
"What are you talking about?" She raised her head to meet his gaze.
"I believe he is aware that you are aware meaning uncle Süleyman is aware."
Ekim sprang to her feet and dashed out the door to her parents' room. Kanat quickly followed her, not wanting to cause a scandal late in the evening. She stormed into her parents' room, where her father was talking with somebody on the phone.
"What's the matter, teddy bear?" When Ekim gazed at her father, she was overcome with emotion. "Dad, Kanat is going to graduate, but not in Turkey."
Süleyman hurriedly excused himself before cancelling the call and hugging his daughter.
"Why?"
"Because of his father," she explained. Kanat approached them with a troubled expression on his face, which Süleyman saw.
"Kanat, son, I need to talk to you alone." He signalled to his daughter that she needed to go and not spy on them by putting her ear to the door.
"Fine." She left them alone and went to Melisa's room. "Do you realise it's eleven o'clock?" Her sister inquired as she tucked her iPad behind her blanket.
"Stop acting like I bothered you. We both know you watched TV. " Melisa rolled her eyes and took the iPad from her the blanket.
"What brings you into my room?"
"Dad and Kanat talk to each other." Melisa chuckled in response to her sister's explanation. When their father spoke to Kanat, she knew it meant something serious. Yes, Melisa was aware of his situation at home, too since she overheard her sister and father arguing one evening because their father was apparently too slow, and the lives of two people were in danger.
Melisa also knew that Ekim lost all respect for Kanat's mother after learning what happened behind the Günay family's closed doors. She had never told Kanat this in person, but everyone could tell by her attitude that she had lost all respect for his mother.
"That's going to take a while." Melisa groaned and put the iPad on her knees. "Come on, let's watch something enjoyable." She touched the area next to her king-sized bed. Ekim leapt onto Melisa's bed like a toddler. Melisa switched on Pretty Little Liars while she rested her head on her sister's shoulder. "We're not going to watch PLL." Ekim paused the stream and switched to an other TV show.
"Law & Order."
"Why..."
"Because I believe in justice."
Melisa groaned as she heard the familiar sound of the programme.
Ekim was confused when she woke up in her bed, but she recalled distinctly dozing off while watching Shadowhunters with her sister. Her sister changed the show mid-stream, which enraged Ekim so much that she chose to just sleep.
"Kanat?" She asked as she turned to greet her boyfriend. But he was nowhere to be seen. She sprang out of bed and dashed to the living room, where she spotted her younger brother playing video games with her boyfriend.
"Good morning." Ekim was relieved that it was a Saturday and not a another day. She couldn't go through another day of school. It was quite exhausting, especially since their final exams were approaching.
"Hello and good morning."
"Hi, sister." When Ali saw her, he grinned and displayed the teeth he had recently lost. She recalled how worried her mother was when she saw him without teeth. The poor woman assumed it had been fought out.
"Ali, may I play against Kanat?" She questioned her brother, who handed up his controller without hesitation. Then he dashed upstairs.
"What did you and Dad discuss yesterday?" She questioned him as she began the game.
"My father was arrested yesterday thanks to your father's help. And he's not getting out any time soon. Thank you so much, love. " He kissed her on the cheek when she was killing him in the game.
"I won!" She exclaimed eagerly, then kissed him on the lips before cheerfully continuing the game.
Then she lied in his arms as they played against each other all morning.
"Kanat?" She inquired as she brushed her teeth. "Yes, love," he inquired as he splashed some water on his face.
"I love you." She confessed with her mouth coated with foam. He got some water and splashed it on her.
"I love me too." He said with a smirk on her face as she rolled her eyes. She would really do anything for him.
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