The ringing phone wakes her from a deep sleep and when she rolls over to check it, she moans when the motion leaves her body wracked with pain. By the time she gets the phone in her hand, the ringing has stopped and she sees a Missed Call notification on the screen.
"Emir!" Her eyes widen in shock at the caller ID, but even that movement causes pain. So she hits the button to listen to the voicemail and closes her eyes against the ache.
"Listen, Reyhan. I just want to apologize. I was unfair to you and I'd really like to discuss everything. Can we please talk? I'm on my way home now. We can go to dinner or something. We can get out of the mansion so that we can be alone and get everything out in the open."
Dinner? He wants to take her out? She's a little excited, but also a lot wary. The last time he took her to dinner, they ended up at the beach. And that didn't end well. At all. It was a disaster, actually. And he's spent the past four days hating and avoiding her. The idea of going out to dinner again worries her more than a little. Can she trust he won't make her feel like a fool again?
But he is right about getting out of the mansion. Something about this place confuses his mind and makes it hard for them to connect. Every time they seem to take one step forward in building trust in this marriage, something happens to make them go four steps backwards. That 'something' is usually his mother. Cavidan hated her from the moment she saw her. Nothing has changed. Reyhan has a bad idea that whatever happened this last time is also because of Cavidan. But as usual, there's nothing she can do except try to prove her innocence to Emir and pray that she can get through to him.
But to get through to him, she has to see him. He's been conspicuously absent of the past few days. She has to admit, though, that she hasn't exactly made herself available either. If she's honest with herself, she's been hiding in this room almost since she walked into it. He hurt her. And he disappointed her. All in all, everything just made her so tired. Getting out of bed was the last thing she wanted to do. But it's time now. Time to face him. Time to put this behind them. And hopefully, time to try taking another step forward. No matter how afraid she is, she has to go to this dinner with Emir.
She sits up to get out of bed and her head starts spinning. She takes a few moments to try to get her balance before attempting to get up again. She started feeling tired a few days ago. She thought she was just a little down about what had happened with Emir. She just wanted to stay curled up in bed wallowing in self pity for a while. The more he avoided her, the more upset she got and the more she stayed in bed. She didn't even notice that she's actually sick.
She puts a hand to her forehead and wonders if she has a fever. It's hard to tell. Her skin has that achy feel it gets when she gets a fever, so she probably does. Her body also aches, especially her head. She's had a headache that hasn't gone away for two days. And her heart feels like it's about to beat out of her chest. She catalogs her symptoms, but can't make a diagnosis. She probably just has the flu.
"Bathroom," she decides. She'll go to the bathroom and get the thermometer and pain reliever. If she has a fever, she'll just tell Emir dinner will have to wait. If not, the pain reliever should help with her headache.
When she finally pulls herself out the bed and makes her first step, pain shoots from her foot all the way up through her whole body.
"Ouch!" she winces, sitting back down so that she can take a look at it. She sees several cuts on the bottom of her foot. Angry and red cuts that she vaguely remembers getting on the beach that day. She had cleaned and dressed them, but not immediately when she got home. She was too preoccupied with trying to figure out why Emir was angry. It wasn't until after she returned home from her aborted runaway attempt that she'd thought to take care of them. They must have gotten infected.
"This is the last thing I need," she mutters to herself as she limps to the bathroom, trying to ignore the edges of darkness attempting to creep into her vision. She gets about halfway to her destination before she realizes she isn't going to make it. Her body starts swaying and it's a struggle to keep her eyes open. She barely has enough time to make out the figure approaching her before she loses the battle completely and the darkness finally takes her under.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Reyhan?"
Emir makes a running dive and manages to catch her as she faints. His heart stops at the sight of her unconscious body in his arms. What's happened to her in just a few days? Her skin is so pale that it's almost translucent. It makes the dark circles under her eyes stand out all the more. He brushes her hair out of her face and notices how hot her skin is. He presses his lips to her forehead just to be sure.
"Fever," he mutters to himself before carefully lifting her up into his arms. She's burning up and she's collapsed. This isn't good. He realizes he has to get her to a hospital.
"Hold on, Sweetheart. I'm going to get you some help."
He yells for Sefer to start the car. There's no time to wait for an ambulance. He has to get her to the hospital immediately.
"Oğlum? Kızım? What's going on?" Melike asks, running into the room at the sound of Emir's shouts. She stops abruptly, in shock at seeing an unconscious Reyhan in his arms. "What's happened to her?"
"I don't know. She just passed out as soon as I walked into the room," he explains as he races towards the door."Was she like this earlier? How long has she been sick?"
"I don't know," Melike shrugs. She falls in step right alongside Emir, taking one of Reyhan's hands in hers. "She's so warm! When did she get this fever? She's been closed up in the room for the past few days. She hasn't left the bed much. I should have checked on her sooner."
Emir can't help but think the same thing. This is all his fault. He let his pride keep him away from her and now she's paying the price.
"Emir? What's happened?"
A panicked Suna meets them at the door. Emir doesn't have time to explain. He just tells her that Reyhan is sick and that he's taking her to the hospital. After promising to keep her updated on their status, he runs to the car Sefer has pulled around.
"Hang on," he whispers to Reyhan. "You are not leaving me. I won't let you."
His heart pounding in fear, a small part of him wonders just when Reyhan became so important to him. He has no answer. Just like he has no answer to the question of what he would do without her. If he had only figured this out four days ago, then Reyhan wouldn't be in the situation she's in right now.
But she's alive, he reminds himself. As long as she's breathing, there's hope. He'll be able to make it up to her. And if she ever forgives him, he has no plans of losing her. Not now that he realizes how much he lo-....
He has to stop that train of thought. He's not ready to admit what his heart has known almost since the moment he first met her. He'll just admit that he cares more about her than everyone realizes. A lot more. And the thought of losing her terrifies him.
When they get to the hospital, Reyhan is immediately taken for an initial examination. After what seems like forever, a doctor comes out to speak with Emir and Melike.
"Our first priority was the fever and getting it down," the doctor starts. "We've started her on some intravenous fluids and medication to lower her temperature and to help with her dehydration. But the temperature is an indication of some sort of infection. We found infected cuts on her feet. Has she been to the beach recently? We found sand in the cuts."
"A couple of days ago," Emir explains. "We had dinner and were barefoot for awhile. She must have gotten the cuts there. I should have paid more attention. She's not used to the beach. It was the first time she had ever been to one. I should have made sure she was more careful. This is all my fault."
"It's not your fault," Melike tells him, trying to comfort him.
But Emir can't make himself believe her. She doesn't know how he just left Reyhan at the beach all on her own. He should have made sure she got home safely.
"She's right, Emir Bey," the doctor agrees. "Things like this just happen. But unfortunately in this case, the infection set in quickly and then moved into her bloodstream. That's going to make it harder to treat. Once sepsis sets in, which it has in your wife's case, it's no longer a simple matter of antibiotics."
"I don't understand," Emir frowns. "What are you doing for her?"
"Treating the fever and infection as best we can for now. And keeping her comfortable," the doctor adds. "If the sepsis progresses, she may start to lose function of her vital organs."
Emir pales visibly as his knees buckle. It takes everything in him to stay on his feet. Melike isn't as lucky. He catches her as she begins to lose her balance. It's his reminder that he has to stay strong.
"Can we see her?" Emir manages to ask after clearing his throat, the words getting stuck for some reason.
"She's still unconscious, which is probably for the best. And we need to limit her exposure to anyone until we can get the infection under control. In a few hours if she's more stable, we'll allow a short visit. Geçmiş olsun."
The doctor leaves Emir and Melike there in shock. Reyhan is usually so vibrant, so healthy. It's hard to imagine her as sick as she is now.
"She'll be fine," Melike says, patting him on the arm. Emir is disheartened to realize she doesn't sound so sure of that. "All we can do now is pray."
"This is all my fault," Emir says again, still blaming himself. "I'd been avoiding her. Being my usual stubborn self. Why didn't I make sure she got home from the beach safely? Why didn't I notice she had cuts on her feet? Four days, Melike abla. I didn't speak to her for four days. And all that time, this was happening to her."
"Emir ..." Melike starts, intending to comfort him. But she's interrupted when a pale Hikmet steps from around the corner.
"What have you done to that girl?" he asks, wide eyes staring at Emir. "What have you done?"
"Baba, I ..."
"No, I heard you. She's been sick for days and you didn't notice?"
"Baba, if you just ..."
"How could you be so cruel? How could you be so heartless? So irresponsible? You haven't learned anything in these past couple of months. I thought you would grow up and learn to take responsibility for your actions. But you've learned nothing."
Emir can't really say anything to defend himself. His father is right about almost everything he's saying. Emir was cruel. He was heartless. And he was irresponsible. He let his pride stop him from realizing a truth that is now slapping him in the face.
"You're right, and I'm sorry," Emir admits. "But this has been a wake up call. I need to be a man and step up. I may not have been there before, but I'm here for her now. Reyhan is my wife and I accept that."
"Oh how big of you," Hikmet says, the sarcasm dripping from his angry words. "But you're about two months too late. I see now that I made a mistake in bringing Reyhan here to you. There's no saving you."
The verbal jabs feel almost like a physical punch to Emir and he's stunned into silence.
"Get out of here. I can't even look at you anymore."
"Baba?"
"Go! It's what you've been doing for the past four days anyway. She doesn't need a husband like you. You don't deserve a wife like her."
The look on Hikmet's face leaves no room for an argument. And it's clear he has no idea he's breaking his son's heart.
"Emir," Melike says to diffuse the situation. "Come with me."
She takes him by the arm and pulls him down the hall, away from Hikmet. Emir goes easily, still too much in shock to resist her.
"Listen, Oğlum," she says quietly. "Things are tense. Your father is just worried about Reyhan the same way we are. Give him some space."
"I'm not leaving my wife," Emir insists.
"I'm not suggesting that. Just some time and space. Go home and rest for a bit," Melike suggests. "Reyhan is going to be here for awhile. So maybe get some things from the room for her that will make her feel more at home. Things like her favorite sleep shirt. And her mother's photo. That will make her happy when she wakes up."
Emir doesn't want to go, but Melike is right. And if he's honest, his father is right too. He really doesn't deserve a wife like Reyhan. But from this moment on, Emir is determined to come to terms with how he feels about her and to be a man that she can love. This sudden illness has opened his eyes to the gift he's been given. And for the second time that day, he makes a vow to himself not to lose her.