It takes nearly two full weeks before all the plans fall into place. The easiest part of the plan was getting Hikmet settled. The trip to the doctor was a success. He had a full and thorough exam this time, including an examination of his wound with the results sent to the police as evidence of foul play. After the doctor signed off on the travel, Emir, Reyhan, and Melike flew with Hikmet on a friend's private jet to the clinic. Emir and Reyhan stayed a few days and made promises to video chat daily and to visit as often as the pregnancy would allow before leaving Hikmet and Melike to settle in.
When they get back home, they're met with news from the lawyer that everything is ready to deliver to Cavidan. The time to get her out of their lives for good has finally come.
"Did the realtor get the house as well?" Emir asks. He may be putting Cavidan out, but she's still his mother. He can't leave her homeless. She'll have a home with food delivered weekly and a small allowance for living expenses. It wouldn't be the type of life she has grown accustomed to as a Tarhun, but it would be decent. And it was more than her divorce settlement had given her.
"Not the house you picked," the lawyer reports. "As you guessed, when your mother saw that you were getting a house, she assumed it was going to be for Reyhan hanim. So she changed your selection to something a bit less .... desirable."
And by "less desirable" Emir guesses the lawyer means the most broken down and disgusting house Cavidan could find.
Emir sighs. Again, he wished he had been wrong about his mother. But he's not surprised to find out he knew exactly what she would do.
"Serves her right," he says wearily. "She's going to have to live in the house she picked out thinking it was going to be for Reyhan. I would hope she'd learn her lesson, but somehow I doubt it."
Every day he can't help but ask himself how he could have missed this side of his mother for his whole life. So many have paid the price of his ignorance.
"What about the other matter?" he asks, hoping for some good news finally.
"No problems with this, Emir bey," the lawyer says with a smile. "The private investigator was able to track down Zeynep's stepmother and get the document to relinquish parental rights signed. The adoption papers have been drawn up and are awaiting your signature. Everything will be official as soon as we file the petition and go before a judge."
"She'll be ours officially?" Reyhan asks, tears in her eyes. But Emir can see that they are happy tears. He wraps an arm around his wife and holds her close.
Everything is falling into place just how they want it. The only thing that worries him is his mother. She won't be happy when all of this unfolds and she's left with nothing and no one. What she'll do after that is anyone's guess.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Emir goes to the mansion to pick up Cavidan. He thought long and hard about how to break the news to her about her new living situation. At first he considered just letting the lawyer tell her. But he quickly realized that wouldn't work. He has to be the one to tell his mother about the choices he's made. The choices that she has made him make.
He decided to take her out to eat. And while they're gone, he'll have her things moved to her new house. He'll tell her about everything once they get to the house. She definitely won't be happy, but she won't have any other alternative once she's at the house. She won't have any place else to go.
Emir goes inside the mansion and finds Cavidan sitting in the salon. Along with two other women. One woman was about Cavidan's age, the other a bit younger. Probably her daughter.
"Good evening," he greets, his training kicking in. "How are you ladies doing?"
"Wonderful now that you're here, Son. Have a seat here next to Nehir."
Cavidan moves from her spot next to the younger woman - Nehir, Emir assumes - and goes over to the smaller sofa. She motions for Emir to sit down before calling for Nigar to bring more coffee.
"No. No coffee," he refuses, looking at his watch. "I'm actually just here to pick you up for dinner."
"Was that tonight?" Cavidan asks, exaggerated and faux surprise in her voice. "I had completely forgotten."
A sly grin crosses her face and Emir doesn't know whether to be annoyed or afraid.
"I have a great idea! Esma and Nehir can join us," Cavidan suggests. "That way, we can all catch up and Emir and Nehir can get to know each other better. Oh! Even their names sound good together."
Emir's eyes go huge at his mother's less than subtle actions. Is she actually trying to match make him with this girl?
"Cavidan, Darling. How about you ride with me and we can let these young folks have a little privacy," the older woman says, pulling Cavidan by the hand and moving towards the door.
The two women have escaped before Emir can protest and Emir finds himself left alone with Nehir. He opens his mouth to start an apology when he notices a look on Nehir's face that's anything by embarrassed. She seems like she's a part of this whole fiasco. His suspicions are confirmed when she walks to him and slides her hand up and down his arm.
"Shall we go?" she asks flirtatiously, her eyes blinking seductively at him.
He takes one giant step away. Then he takes another one for good measure. What has his mother gotten him into?
He just shakes his head and lets out a deep sigh. He knows exactly what his mother has gotten him into. He's just lucky he had advance warning. Otherwise her plans might have been successful in causing him some serious trouble.
This particular plan involves this girl and the mass of reporters he knows is waiting outside the mansion gates. He isn't sure what his mother planned to gain by having him caught alone with this woman, but he knows it won't work. Not when he has his own secret weapon.
Emir and Nehir leave the mansion and they walk towards his car. He can see the surprise on her face when he opens the back door for her. She slides inside anyway and he has to hold back his laugh when he hears her gasp of shock. When he slides into his own seat, he makes introductions.
"Nehir, this is Reyhan ... my wife."
Her cheeks turn red and she has the decency to feel embarrassed by what she's done. He rolls his eyes. What did Cavidan really think was going to happen here?
"If my information is correct, then the paparazzi is waiting for us," Emir says as he drives towards the gate. "Too bad they're about to be disappointed."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The situation at the gate with the media was as Emir expected. And was warned. One of the journalists there is an old friend of Emir's and called to give him the warning.
"Just as a heads up," she had said when she called him. "Your mom is setting you up to be caught with your pants down, so to speak."
She had gone on to explain how several of the different press outlets had been leaked the information about Emir possibly being free in the very near future and stepping out with who could possibly be the next Tarhun daughter in law. Right then, Emir realized his mother was planning a surprise for him for when he got to the house to pick her up. So he decided to have a surprise for her instead. He brought Reyhan along to put an end to any potential rumors.
As payment for the warning, Emir and Reyhan decided to give the journalist a hint about Reyhan's pregnancy. He didn't come out and make an official announcement, but he did give a hint about a couple of stores they visited while in Greece with Hikmet. Emir expects to see pictures of him and Reyhan going to baby and maternity stores posted soon. And with Reyhan's once trim waistline being replaced by a small bump, he suspects the pregnancy will be revealed soon anyway.
Once they got away from the house, and the paparazzi, they dropped Nehir off and made her catch a taxi to wherever she decided to go next. She was no longer Emir's problem. And Emir and Reyhan went out to celebrate the crisis averted. He can only imagine what Cavidan's reaction will be to seeing the pictures of his intimate, romantic dinner with Reyhan in the news instead of the scenario she attempted to set up.
"What do you think she's going to do now?" Reyhan asks later that evening when they've made it to bed.
She's facing away from him, laying in his arms so that he can hold her and her belly. But he can hear the worry in her voice even without seeing it on her face. Or in those huge, expressive eyes. She puts her hands on top of his and they both cradle their babies.
"Let's not worry about her," Emir suggests, leaning over to give her a kiss on the shoulder. "How are you? How are the babies?"
"My belly is starting to poke out," she says, a little giggle in her voice.
He knows she's still worried. But he doesn't want that for her. He wants this time to be nothing but happiness for her.
"I think we can strike Nehir off the baby name list," he quips. "I still can't believe that actually happened today."
And he cringes, realizing he reminded her again about his mother and her antics. She turns around so that she can face him. She puts a hand on his cheek and smiles at him.
"Even if you weren't warned beforehand, I hope you know that I trust you, Emir. I know the kinds of games and tricks to expect from your mom and from Cemre now. Clearly nothing is off limits to them. This isn't the first time they've tried to make me believe you'd cheat on me. I guess I should be grateful this time they didn't put another woman in your bed."
It doesn't sound at all like the joke he believes she tried to make. It's sad and it's sick. And it lets him know more than ever that it's time to get his mother out of their lives.
"Tomorrow," he promises with a kiss. "This will all be over tomorrow."