Selin was in deep thought as she tapped a fingernail on her phone, making a ticking sound. She rang Serkan's phone again.
The call went straight to voicemail. She gripped her phone tightly and took a deep breath.
—------
Serkan opened the door to his house and found Selin sitting on the couch. He quietly took a deep breath as she stood up to meet him straight in the eyes.
"Where have you been, Serkan?" asked Selin but Serkan didn't respond. "I've been trying to call you for an hour now." He had turned off his phone before going to Deniz's store—he didn't know why but he just did.
"Are you just gonna stay silent?" Selin was getting irritated at Serkan's silence.
"Selin. I'm tired. I had a long day." he said as he sat down, closed his eyes and massaged his forehead.
She raised her eyebrow at him and took a deep breath. "Peki."
"Will you be staying?" he asked, looking up at her.
"Yok. I still have some stuff to do." She grabbed her bag, signaling that she was leaving.
"Tamam." He stood up to bid goodbye as she was headed for the door but she suddenly turned around to look at him.
"Did you have dinner already?" she asked, curious.
"Evet. I've eaten."
"Peki." Selin looked at him with speculating eyes but he did not notice. She kissed his cheek and he reciprocated. "İyi geceler, Serkan."
"İyi geceler, Selin." He closed the door and went to his room.
—-------
As soon as Selin arrived home, she opened a bottle of wine and poured some on a glass before sitting on the couch and staring at the fireplace. She took a sip while lightly thumbing the side of the glass.
Earlier that afternoon...
Selin entered Serkan's office looking for him but he was not there. "Leyla?" She called out.
"Efendim, Selin Hanim?" Leyla responded.
"Serka nerede?"
"I am not sure...he does not have anything scheduled for this afternoon." she responded after looking at Serkan's calendar.
"Peki." Selin was about to walk away when Leyla spoke again.
"Ama...Serkan bey did ask me earlier where Eda Hanim went."
Selin, intrigued, asked. "...and where did Eda go?"
"She mentioned going to Deniz's store." Selin lightly snorted at this information.
"Teşekkürler, Leyla." said Selin as she walked away.
"My pleasure." Leyla suddenly realized that she just gave out where Eda and Serkan are, and possibly lost the chance of giving them a time together.
She put a hand on her head, disappointed at what she had done, then looked at Erdem while flinging her hand. "Ya Erdem, this is because of you!"
Erdem, who had no idea what was going on and what had happened, asked her. "Ne?"
—
Selin rode a taxi to Deniz's store and indeed saw Serkan's car parked on the side. She took a deep breath and tried to ring his phone—it went to voicemail. She threw her phone on the passenger's seat with frustration as she looked at Serkan talking to Eda, who smiled at something he said or did.
She asked the driver to park on the side so she could get a better glimpse inside the store. Serkan was about to leave but closed the door back and took a seat next to Eda. Selin snorted at the sight. She stayed the whole time Serkan had been there because she wanted to know where he'd go or what he'd do next—-she needed to be one step ahead.
Selin sat up as she saw Serkan exit the store, he was talking to himself when Eda called after him. She must've asked for a ride home, Selin thought as Eda also entered Serkan's car before he drove off.
"Are we going to follow them, ma'am?" asked the taxi driver.
"Lütfen." she answered.
The taxi followed Serkan to Ayfer's house but Serkan, who was a keen observer, actually did not notice this because he was too mesmerized by Eda's charm. Serkan slowed down nearing the house so Selin instructed the driver to park a little further from them.
She saw Eda immediately go out of the car, but was surprised when Serkan had gotten out and called after her. Selin didn't know what their conversation was about but seeing Serkan go inside with Eda infuriated her.
Enough is enough. She thought to herself, before asking the taxi driver to drive off.
The event repeated in Selin's head over and over again. She was so interested in what Eda and Serkan might have talked about or did, but she knew that Serkan would not tell her anything. Especially after she had asked where he had gone, and he did not care to respond.
Oh you'll see what I'm made of Eda. I'll make sure of it. Selin smirked and took another sip of wine, plotting.
—-------
The following morning, Selin and Serkan were having a conversation inside the office when Eda came in.
"Günaydın." She greeted them both.
"Günaydın." They both responded before continuing their conversation.
"So I was thinking..." she looked at Serkan adoringly as he continued typing on his laptop, trying to get his attention. "...what if we have an engagement party at your house?"
The question made Serkan finally look at her and away from the laptop, brows raised. Eda's eyes widened as she heard it, making her stop what she was doing. Oh she was sure that Selin intended for her to hear it.
"...maybe tomorrow?" Selin continued.
With this, Eda made an obvious reaction to their conversation by coughing. Two pairs of eyes looked at her and she waved at them as if saying not to mind her.
"Tamam." answered Serkan. Eda clenched her jaw and closed her eyes.
Selin grinned as her eyes sparkled with joy. "O zaman, I'll start organizing!" She and Serkan stood up to share a hug as she kissed him on the cheek but as she left, she made sure to give Eda a smug look.
Eda rolled her eyes at Selin then looked at Serkan who had his back towards her. She glared at him as if trying to throw darts at him, just like at the photo of him she has in her room. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. This made Serkan look.
"Do you want something to drink?" Serkan said sarcastically. Eda squinted her eyes at him as a warning. "Leyla!" he called out.
"Efendim, Serkan bey?" Leyla immediately came walking in.
"You should probably get Eda some water, she's been coughing lately." he said with sarcasm in his voice.
"Yok, Leyla. I'm fine." She closed her laptop and glared at Serkan before walking away.
Eda walked to Melo's desk and grabbed her to the recreation room where Ceren had been drinking coffee. "Eda, ne oldu?" asked Melo as Eda let go of her hand.
"Selin and Serkan are having an engagement party tomorrow!" Eda broke the news to them.
"Ne?" Melo exclaimed.
"I know, I know..." Eda paced back and forth, her hands on her head, trying to think.
"Maybe he really does wanna go through with it..." Ceren commented, making Eda look at her as if she was crazy. This also earned her a nudge to the side from Melo.
"Are you sure Serkan really agreed?"
"Evet." She paced even more. Erdem and Leyla came in looking for Eda.
"Ah Eda, Serkan bey is looking for you." Leyla said.
"He said something about changing the designs you made." Erdem explained and winced because he knew what was about to come.
Eda's eyes widened in anger and she took a deep breath before walking out of the recreation room and storming inside Serkan's office.
"What do you think you're doing, Serkan?!" She exclaimed entering the room, getting the attention of everybody in the entire office.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" He gave her the same look and sarcastically continued. "...Eda." again, with the sarcasm.
She took a deep breath and braced herself for an argument. Someone has, again, pressed the reset button on this robot! She screamed in her head.
"This is my design..." Eda exclaimed, putting a hand on the papers in front of Serkan. "...my design that the client liked...my design that they have approved...and my design that will be on the final blueprint for the project."
"But I am here now and I will review all designs and make changes as I see fit." Serkan said sternly, standing up to look Eda straight in the eyes.
"Why can you just run along with your fiancée and plan your engagement!" She answered back, annoyed.
"Öyle mi?" Serkan asked sarcastically as he put his hand inside his pockets.
"Öyle!" Eda closed the gap between them and looked at him in pure rage. As he stared at her, a memory flashed in his head.
It was raining hard and Serkan was chasing Eda, calling after her, but she didn't stop walking away from him. He called out again, "Eda!"
"Ne Eda?! Ne?!" She mocked him as she turned around to face him. "What do you want from me?!"
Eda pushed him away but he held her arm and pulled her towards him, slamming her body onto his. The tip of their noses touched but he didn't move, nor did she. He looked at her as she closed her eyes—they could feel the heat that their bodies emitted.
"What is going on here?" Selin exclaimed, rushing inside the office. "Serkan?"
The mention of his name snapped him out of his memory flash. He looked around and found that everyone had witnessed his argument with Eda. Just like the memory flash from yesterday. Serkan thought. He looked at Selin then at Eda, who was still giving him an angry stare.
"Uhh...Serkan bey?" Leyla entered the room, breaking the tension in the air. "Omar bey called and agreed to review new presentations for the project." She said lightly and in somewhat fear, not wanting to anger Eda more.
"Harika!" Eda sarcastically reacted and walked out of the room.
"Dadam!" Melo lightly exclaimed as she ran after Eda who was stomping her way to the office upstairs.
Selin turned to Serkan, wanting answers. "Ne oldu?"
"Selin, I'm busy." He flatly answered and motioned Leyla to give him the files as he sat back down to study Eda's designs.
Selin just stared at Serkan intently, then left. She walked back to her office and looked at her phone. Whatever message she had received, made her really really smile.
—---------
Serkan heard someone come inside his office and looked up. Selin had entered, her bag in hand—she was obviously going somewhere.
"Serkan..." she walked towards him.
"Efendim?" He responded, looking back at his laptop.
"I won't be able to go with you to meet Aydan Hanim. I have a meeting to go to."
"Tamam." Serkan looked at his watch and said, "I'll meet her sometime this afternoon."
"Peki. Görüşürüz." She replied before leaving.
Selin hopped on a cab before making a call. "Alo?" She waited for the person on the other end to respond. "I'm on my way."
The taxi cab stopped at a café quite far from Art Life. Selin got out and looked around before going inside. She smiled as she found the person she was meeting.
"Fatma." She said as she sat down.
"Selin Hanim." Fatma smiled back. "It's been a long time. I believe you have something good for me." With this, Selin smirked.
—-----------
Serkan looked at the time and realized that he should be going to his mom's by this hour so he stood up and called Leyla. "Leyla?"
"Efendim, Serkan bey?" Leyla came in.
"Where's Eda?" He asked.
"She is at the office upstairs."
"I will be leaving early today. Can you give these papers to her?" Handing the files that had laid on his desk. "These are notes and suggested revisions for the project." He knew that if he'd face her himself, they'd just argue.
"Tamam, Serkan bey." He looked up at the direction of the office and nodded at Leyla, before leaving.
Serkan got in his car and drove home to meet with Aydan. He had agreed to have an engagement party tomorrow. Although he was in no rush of getting married to Selin, he knew that he did her wrong by going to Eda yesterday and lying to her so he decided to agree with her request of having a party.
He parked his car on the driveway and proceeded inside the house. "Serkan bey, hoş geldiniz." Greeted Seyfi.
"Ay bebeğim." Called out Aydan as she entered the living room, where Serkan was.
"Anne." He responded.
"Are you not gonna hug your mother?" Aydan asked sarcastically. Serkan hugged her before sitting down on the couch. "I'm glad that you decided to visit me. I haven't seen you in a while, although we live in the same compound." She started complaining as she sat down beside him.
"Anne." Serkan flatly said, making Aydan look at him with a face, as if saying 'ne?'. "I came here to tell you that Selin is planning to have our engagement party here, tomorrow."
"NE?!" This made her stand up. "Are you joking?!"
"Anne. I am not joking. We will have a party tomorrow, here, with all our family and friends. So, if you could please help Selin organize this, that will be fantastic." He said sternly.
"Serkan, what about Eda?!"
"Ne? What about Eda, what?" Serkan asked, annoyed.
"She loves you. She will be devastated if you go through with this. I also believe that there is still hope in getting your memories back, Serkan." Aydan reasoned. "Lütfen, bebeğim." She pleaded.
"Anne—I don't think you understand the situation. I do not remember Eda. I do not remember loving Eda." He looked at her sternly, moving his hand to express his annoyance. "I proposed to Selin. Therefore, I am engaged to Selin. Thus, the engagement party."
"Serkan, I also don't think you understand." Aydan crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked at her son seriously. "I have witnessed everything, Serkan, and I will not agree to this. I will not condone this." She looked away from him and said, "You do not have my blessing."
Serkan did not want to fight his mother, nor upset her, so he took a deep breath and pursed his lips. "Peki." They can reschedule it anytime anyway, he thought. His mom just needed some time to adjust to things.
He stood up and bid goodbye. The engagement party was canceled before preparations had even begun. Serkan hoped that Selin would understand, but in the back of his head, he knew she'd be mad.
"Alo?" Selin responded as she picked up the call from Serkan.
"Neredesin?" He asked.
It took Selin a good second to make an excuse. "I'm quite far, Serkan, but I'll be on my way back to the office in a few minutes." She avoided the question.
"Tamam. I'll see you there." Serkan ended the call and drove off.
—----------
It was 8 in the evening and Eda was still at the office. She stretched her back and sighed. She had been inside the office, upstairs, avoiding Serkan and making revisions to the designs based off of the notes he gave.
Melo had gone home already and it was only Eda that was left in the office...or so she thought. She was about to leave when she realized that she had left her bag in Serkan's office.
"Ah-ah..." Eda reacted as she entered the office room. The table was decorated with flowers and candle lights; and food had been prepared for two people.
She looked around and saw Serkan looking at her and he quickly said, waving his hands, "Yok, yok." Serkan felt the need to immediately say something as Eda might think that he had prepared dinner for her. "I was gonna have dinner with Selin but she did not show up."
Eda rolled her eyes, but deep down, it hurt her. It would have been for me if you could only remember. She thought. "No need to explain yourself, Serkan. You always made it clear that there's nothing between us." Eda teased.
This response caught Serkan by surprise. He was used to Eda pinning the idea about how great their love was or when she's screaming at him for not remembering anything about her. "İyi misin?" He asked.
"Evet. Why wouldn't I be?" She playfully asked. "It just makes sense that you had dinner prepared for your fiancée, Serkan." Eda smiled halfheartedly.
"Well, I just thought that—"
"Ne, Serkan?" Although Eda was on the other end of the table, Serkan could feel her eyes intently looking at him. "...that I'd wait for your memory to come back? A woman can only take so much, Serkan Bolat." And with that, Eda took her bag and walked out.
Eda had been suffering for a month now. She could no longer push herself towards Serkan when every time something good happens, something worse replaces it. Should I just start trying to accept the reality? This was what ran through her mind over and over again since last night.
Although last night's events with Serkan were lovely, their conversation made her decide to stop trying or maybe just put a pause to it as it was not doing any good to her mental health and well-being. She had been sleepless, exhausted, hurt, and had even lost weight. Hearing about the engagement party did not make everything better...but it made her decision clearer—to let go.
Serkan ran after Eda and held her hand to stop her. A memory flashed in Serkan's head.
Eda was in a beautiful red dress, her hair neatly tied up and it showed a blue butterfly that rested just below her nape. She was walking towards a group of journalists and paparazzis when Serkan grabbed her hand and led her away from them.
He did not let go and kept walking away from the chaos as he felt the need to protect her. He carried her to the beach where a yacht had been waiting for them—Serkan had actually rented it for the team to celebrate—but he felt the need to use it to save Eda from everything bad that may happen. I will not allow her to get hurt. He thought.
They rode on the yacht and drove off into the sunset. Serkan felt that being there with Eda felt right—nothing could ruin the moment.
Serkan blinked away the memory and looked at Eda—she was staring at their hands. He quickly let go and cleared his throat. "Uhh...I was gonna ask if you wanted to join me for dinner?"
"Umm..." Eda was confused and didn't know what to say.
"I mean, it'd be such a waste to just throw it." Serkan was hoping Eda would say yes. He put his hands in his pocket so he wouldn't look like he was anxiously waiting for her answer.
"Tamam." Eda, still confused at Serkan's offer, followed him back inside his office.
The plates were placed next to each other, one on Serkan's side of the table and one on the side next to him. They both took a seat and started eating and as the night went, Eda suddenly smiled.
"Ne?" Serkan asked, confused at why she was smiling.
"This was actually very sweet of you—to do this for Selin."
"Well, I felt the need to." Indeed he did. The engagement party that Selin wanted was not gonna happen so he wanted to break the news to Selin in a better setting—a romantic dinner.
He suddenly had a question in his head that he was itching to ask Eda. "Did I take you to these types of dinners before?"
Eda was surprised at this question—she looked at Serkan and smiled lovingly. "Evet, you did." She did not break her stare as her smile grew bigger. "You'd organize surprises, which I really really loved. You did so much that it made me fall in love with you even more...but that's all in the past now."
Serkan did not expect to hear this from Eda. He looked her straight in the eyes, trying to read her, but he did not expect what he saw—she was empty. He was used to seeing her full of joy or in raging fits of anger. This was different and he did not know how to react to it.
Eda broke their eye contact and looked down at her now empty plate then spoke, "The food was delicious. Teşekkürler, Serkan bey." She looked at Serkan before grabbing her bag. "I have to go home now, Halam will start calling me if I don't go home soon."
Serkan lightly chuckled. "Tamam. Teşekkürler for joining me."
He stood up as she headed for the door, but before she left, she turned around to give Serkan a genuine smile. "İyi geceler, Serkan Bolat."
"İyi geceler, Eda Yildiz." He stared at her as she walked away from him, leaving him puzzled.
—-----------
The following day was pretty normal in Art Life—oddly enough, Eda and Serkan did not argue. Eda spoke to Serkan professionally which earned weird reactions from their friends and colleagues. Although Serkan did now show it, but this bothered him.
He couldn't stop thinking about the emptiness in her that he saw last night. This made Serkan restless. Selin's reaction to the canceled engagement party did not help. As he expected, she was not pleased.
"Abi, iyi misin?" Seeing Serkan's restlessness, Engin entered the office to check on him.
"Bilmiyorum, Engin." Serkan responded, holding onto his head, as he was starting to get a headache with all the thoughts running in his head.
Engin gestured, telling Serkan to tell him. Serkan looked at him then pursed his lips before starting. "Something...something about Eda is bothering me and I can't pinpoint as to why she is like that. Plus, Selin hasn't been much help in my mood today..." He paced. "Oh! And I still have to review the revisions Eda made on that project!"
"Abi, weren't you the one that asked for the revisions? And now you're complaining that you have to review them?" Engin asked and Serkan shot him a look. "Tamam." He raised his hands in defeat. "Why don't we take a breather? So you can relax. Come with me, let's take a walk at the park."
Serkan looked at him like he was crazy. Their conversation got interrupted when they heard Eda shout. "NE?!"
—---------
A/N:
Hello guys! I'm sorry if I ever made you angry about this chapter. I know it's mostly Selin but hear me out...it goes with the story line.
I promise I will immediately post the next chapter so that I don't leave everyone angry about this one. Hahaha!
Again, thank you for your wonderful support!