Cemre takes a deep breath as she steps into the front doors of the mansion. She lets it out as a huge grin grows on her face. She is finally free of the bane of her existence. She is finally rid of that peasant who stole Emir from her. Her life is about to get so much better now that Reyhan is gone.
Cemre wanders around the house for a few minutes before finding Cavidan in with Hikmet, the woman pretending to feed her bed ridden husband.
"I'm stuck with Hikmet duty since that peasant isn't here taking care of him. I clearly didn't think this plan through," Cavidan says, frowning at the bowl of mush in her hands. She intentionally lets the contents of the spoon fall onto Hikmet's chest.
"Isn't that hot?" Cemre asks her.
"Probably," Cavidan shrugs, unbothered by the possibility of Hikmet being burned by her carelessness. "What does it matter? It's not like he's going to say anything."
"True," Cemre nods, stopping in front of the mirror to check her make-up. "But we do have to be careful for awhile, so Emir doesn't blame us for anything happening to Hikmet amca. We don't have a scapegoat now that Reyhan is gone."
"Gone?" Cavidan asks, her mood perking up. "You got rid of her?"
"Gave her to the guys myself," Cemre laughs. "She's probably halfway to Izmir by now. Hopefully they'll dump her out at sea. Or sell her to the highest bidder. I don't care anymore. As long as she doesn't end up back here."
Cemre frowns at the mess Cavidan continues to make. And she begins to wonder if this is what she wants for the rest of her life. She and Emir would probably be happier having the mansion to themselves.
"Once I'm the lady of the house, I think you and Hikmet amca might be more comfortable in a smaller home of your own. I'm sure I can get Emir to find you two someplace nice. With a nurse to take care of Hikmet amca for you."
"You're crazy." Cavidan laughs. "If you think I'm going to let you take my place as lady of this manor any more than I let Reyhan do it, then you're insane. I run this place. I am in charge. And don't you forget that. And if you do manage to forget, then maybe I'll forget about helping you get Emir. He's my son. He'll do what I say. And if I tell him some of the things you have done, he wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. You can forget about marrying him."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Cemre, take it however you want to take it," Cavidan snaps. "I don't have time for you or your foolishness. You should go home. You've worn out your welcome."
Cemre's mouth falls wide open in shock.
"And now you're sending me away?" she asks in disbelief. "You use me to pay for your shooter so you can frame Hikmet amca. You use me to force Reyhan to divorce and leave Emir. But now that you've gotten all you wanted, you're just through with me?"
"Cemre dear, it's not like that. We had a useful partnership," Cavidan says. "But at the end of the day, I can tell my son anything I want and he'll believe me. If you're not careful, you'll be permanently out of his life. Just like that stupid little woman he married."
"So you don't think Emir will believe me?" Cemre gives her a challenging stare down before nodding. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and shows the screen to Cavidan. "He may not believe me. But he'll believe this."
Cemre presses play on the recording.
Cavidan: Every day in that rat hole, I only thought about how I would punish this kept woman who had created so many troubles for me. Every day, every night. I thought of everything, to the smallest detail. I kept waiting for the day when I could take revenge on her. How do you think I was able to stand living in those slums?
Cemre: What did you come up with? Tell me! What is your plan?
Cavidan: Until today, we have always tried to separate Emir from Reyhan. But the bond between them always bound them together. This time we will do such a thing that this kept woman, even if she wants to, will not be able to go a step closer to Emir. Watch and see.
Cemre: She clings to him like a tick I can't tear off and throw away. How do we get rid of her? I don't understand.
Cavidan: You're in a hurry, Cemre. We will act patiently, step by step. Look at her.. She's happy as long as Emir is beside her. Because she is in love. The weakest point of a woman in love is her heart. We'll hit her right there.
Cemre stops the recording and gives Cavidan a victorious grin.
"So you see, Cavdian teyze, we're in this together. If I go down, then you will too. Emir wll hear this recording and the police will get the recording of him killing that man. If I don't get what I want, then nobody will have what they want."
"You're really willing to reveal everything to Emir just to expose me? You'd really risk sending him to prison?"
"It's like I told Reyhan," Cemre says. "I'd rather see him rot in prison than have to see him look at her the way he looks at her. She doubted I would actually give that recording to the police at first. But I convinced her and she divorced him. So unless you want Emir to find out what you've done, especially to poor Hikmet amca, you better find a way to get me what I want. I've waited long enough."
"Cemre," Cavidan impatiently sighs. "I can't force Emir to marry you."
"Why not? Hikmet amca forced him to marry that peasant! You promised it would be me," Cemre reminds her. "Now that we've finally gotten rid of that girl, it's time you kept your word."
"Cemre ..."
"This is my last warning," Cemre says, before turning to walk out the room.
Cavidan grabs her head and plops down in the chair next to Hikmet's bed.
"Now look what you've caused," she snarls at him. "You should have just died already. Next time, I'll have to do a better job."
"Nigar!!!" she calls out, before remembering she sent Nigar away and that only Melike is home. "Melike!!! Bring me my pills. I have a headache."
She doesn't even wait for Melike to answer. She goes to her room to wait for the pills there, desperately in need of a quiet place to think. Cemre is turning out to be as much of a problem as Reyhan. Cavidan will cooperate with her for now. But the minute she can get rid of her, she will. Cavidan has worked too long and too hard for her plans to fall apart now.
"Melike!" she screams again.
Melike hurries into the room, pills in one hand, a glass of water in the other.
"Here you go, Cavidan hanim. I'm sorry it took so long. I was opening the door for Emir. He just got home. He's out front talking to Cemre now."
Cavidan tries not to panic, but she can't help but wonder what Cemre will do.
That crazy girl better keep her mouth shut, Cavidan thinks to herself. Or else she'll make a murderer out of me.
Cavidan will kill Cemre if necessary. She's come too far. Nothing is going to stop her now.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cemre is there to greet him when he walks in the door.
"You're home early," she says with a smile. "I thought you had meetings all day."
She tries to kiss his cheek, but he manages to duck out of the way.
"I do. I left an important file here," he explains. "I'm just running in and out. And while I'm here, I figured I'd check on Reyhan. She was kind of out of it last night. I wanted a doctor to come examine her."
"Reyhan?" Cemre asks, playing dumb. "I'm pretty sure she isn't here. I think I saw her leave earlier."
"She left?" Emir decides to also act surprised. Acting as if he doesn't know exactly what happened to Reyhan. And what Cemre did to her. "To go where?"
"I don't know," Cemre shrugs. "But she had her suitcase. I assumed you put her out after learning about the way she treated your mother and father. Good riddance, I say. Who knows who else she could hurt. You may have been next."
Emir stares at her for a while and can't believe how easily she's lying to him. But he lets it go. For now. Now that he knows that this is all a big game to Cemre and his mother, he can be patient until their treachery is revealed. He won't stop until he knows the whole story and has the proof to back him up.
"Okay," he says calmly, trying to hide what he's really feeling at the moment. Not two hours ago he saw Cemre hand Reyhan over to her kidnappers. He saw it happen with his own eyes. If he hadn't just so happened to have been there at the exact right moment, Reyhan could be lost to him forever. The fact that Cemre is standing here lying to his face about Reyhan leaving on her own infuriates him. And it really makes him wonder how many other times in the past Cemre has lied to him. But it downright terrifies him what could have happened to Reyhan if he hadn't been there to stop her kidnapping. Knowing that she's safe now is the only way he can keep up this facade.
"I'm going to go get that file now."
He heads towards the office, but stops when she calls him again.
"Will you be late?" she asks. "Do you want me to keep some dinner warm for you?"
He shivers in disgust at how she's trying to sound like his wife, knowing good and well she just sent his actual wife to what could be her death. All without blinking an eye. Cemre is crazy in ways he never before realized.
"Don't worry about me for dinner," he tells her. "The meetings will run late and after, I'm going to head over to Zafer's to watch the big match. I'll just stay there tonight."
"Aww, I'll miss you, Canım" she pouts. "But I'll make sure we have your favorites for dinner tomorrow when you get home."
She leans in and tries to kiss him again, but again he's able to avoid her. He's really starting to get a clearer picture of what's going on in Cemre's head. She has fantasies of becoming his wife. And he's starting to really believe his gut is right ... that she had something to do with his divorce. Now, all he has to do is find out the truth and prove it. And hopefully get his wife back in the process.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
When he finally manages to get out of the house, and get away from Cemre, he drives straight to Zafer's. He told Cemre the meetings would be running late when they actually ended up being postponed to a later date. Work can wait. What's going on with Reyhan can not.
"How is she?" he asks when he arrives at Zafer's house.
Zafer takes him to a guest room to look in on a sleeping Reyhan. He has to remind himself that she's safe for now. And for now, that's all that matters to him.
"She was a little shaken at first," Zafer explains. "Really confused. Whatever she was drugged with still had her out of it. She fell asleep shortly after you left."
"She seems to be okay," Emir says softly to avoid waking her. But it's as if she sensed him. She sits up abruptly and calls out to him.
"I'm here." He says running over to the bed and takes her hand.
She looks around, confused, and frightened. Zafer leaves quietly and closes the door to give them privacy.
"You're safe," he assures her. "You're fine. We're at Zafer's now. I found you and brought you here."
"Those men ... " she starts, her face paling at the memory.
He cups her cheek and gently strokes the soft skin there.
"They're taken care of. The police have them now. They can't hurt you anymore."
She breathes out a sigh of relief that is short lived. She suddenly panics again.
"Police? No police!" she sobs. "Don't call the police. Don't let Cemre talk to the police!"
Emir is confused, but more worried about her being so agitated.
"Calm down, sweetheart," he says. She doesn't even notice the term of endearment he uses. She doesn't notice when he pulls her into his arms. But she melts into him anyway and begins to calm.
"Reyhan ... listen to me," he starts, pulling back a little until he can focus on her eyes. "Cemre handed you over to kidnappers. I don't know what she had planned for you, but it couldn't have been anything good. I know that now. I know she's done things to you. Terrible, unspeakable things. But I just don't know what those things are. I need you to tell me what's really going on, okay?
"Whether you like it or not, the police are already involved. So it's only a matter of time before everything comes out anyway. You need to tell me whatever it is I need to know. You need to tell me what has you so frightened that you would leave me."
Reyhan lowers her eyes, unable to look at him.
"I can't," she says softly, tears coming to her eyes.
"You have to," he counters. "It's the only way I can protect you."
"Don't you get it? I'm not worried about me," she sobs. "There's nothing more Cemre can do to hurt me any more than she already has. She's broken me, Emir. She's broken me down to my very core. But I won't let her hurt you. No matter what happens to me, I won't let her hurt you."
"Oh Baby," he whispers, pulling her into his arms again. "What did she do to you?"
His softness, his touch, his love ... it's all too much and it tears down the last of her defenses. She cries until she has no tears left. The whole time, he just holds her.
Defeated, Reyhan tells him everything.