I don't know how long I sat in the garden; I had smoked three cigarettes. I no longer knew what to do or what to think. My mental state wasn't good anyway, and no matter how much I told myself I wouldn't let things get to me anymore, it wasn't working. I heard the door open, but I didn't turn to look. Footsteps approached me. "You've really taken to smoking lately; you're smoking too much these days." It was, of course, Sarp. I ignored him and didn't even turn to look at his face. He grabbed my arm, pulled me up from the chair I was sitting on, and drew me towards himself. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he said, "Come on, it's late. Let's sleep." Without looking at his face, I tried to free myself from his arms. He let me go without objection. When I went inside, he was following behind me. The countless emotional states I had experienced today had exhausted me, and I was very sleepy. When we got upstairs, he pointed to the room where I had changed my clothes. When we entered the room, I turned and looked at his face. "Come on, you get out. I'm going to sleep," I said. The corners of his mouth curved up as he scanned my face. "Unfortunately, my future wife, from now on we will sleep together." My eyes widened like saucers at his words. Any sleepiness I had was gone.
"What nonsense are you talking? I would never sleep with you! Get out!" I shouted. "And what marriage are you talking about? I won't marry you. Enough already! I want to be rid of you." As he took heavy steps towards me, he said, "Did I kidnap you for nothing? You're mine now." He grabbed my arms and pinned me between the wall and himself. He held my arms tightly, leaned over me, and kissed my cheek. What was he doing? I tried to push him away, but I wasn't strong enough. "Let me go," I said, but my voice came out hoarse. I was scared of him and his closeness. My tears started to flow. As he buried his face in my neck, I started sobbing. He breathed in my scent, kissed me, then pulled back and looked at my face. "Don't cry," he said, removing his hands from me and raising them as if surrendering. "Okay, my Ceyda, I won't touch you, just stop crying." But I was pressed against the wall, unable to stop crying. Gently, he took my hands and led me to lie down on the bed, covering me. "I'll sleep on the couch. I won't touch you until our wedding," he said and lay down on the chair by the window. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But how could I sleep? I couldn't help but sob and cry. As soon as I wiped my tears, new ones flowed. How am I going to marry this man? He says our wedding is soon. I don't believe he loves me; if he did, he wouldn't be so rough. Most importantly, he was the son of my mother's killer. *****************
(The Author's Perspective) Sarp regretted what he had done to Ceyda. As he lay on the couch, he thought, "I know I went too far with you, my Ceyda, but tomorrow I will talk to you about everything." "I know you hate me. I will fix everything. If only you knew I fell for you at first sight," he said to himself. He could still hear Ceyda sobbing. He thought if he talked now, Ceyda wouldn't understand him. It would be better to talk in the morning. ****** Mr. Aziz was in a meeting with Atlas and company employees when his phone rang. It was his father, Mr. Ahmet. He immediately answered the phone. "Yes, Father." "Son, you need to come home immediately." His voice sounded panicked. "What's wrong, Father? Is something the matter?" he said. "Sarp and his men raided the house. They kidnapped Ceyda." Aziz was furious at what he heard. Frowning at the employees at the meeting table, he said, "Get out." After everyone except Atlas left, he continued talking to his father. "What do you mean, he kidnapped Ceyda?" At this, Atlas stood up abruptly. "Did I place all those men there for nothing? Where were they when Sarp was taking my daughter?" he said angrily and hung up. When Mr. Aziz and Atlas quickly left the company and arrived home, the men working in the house bowed their heads and explained the incident. They said two of their men were injured and taken to the hospital, and that Cem and Erdem were Sarp's men. Mr. Aziz was furious.
"Did I put you here as figureheads? How could you allow such a thing?" he shouted. The men were too scared to respond. He drew his gun and aimed it at the men. "Shouldn't I just finish you off?" he said. Just then, Mr. Aziz's father came out into the garden and was watching them. "Aziz, stop," he said, walking towards them. "There were too many of them. Let the boys go. Now is not the time to be angry. Go find Ceyda immediately." "Why did you delay informing us, Grandpa?" said Atlas, unable to control his anger. "Son, after Sarp took Ceyda, his men stayed with us for a while. I couldn't call. I only managed to call after they left. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect my granddaughter," he said sadly. Atlas turned to the men. "Damn it! I'm going to kill that Sarp!" he shouted at the men. "Get ready; we're going to raid his house." Atlas and his father gathered their men and got into their cars. When they arrived at Mr. Aslan's house, the garden gate was empty, which was strange. They tried to open the door, but it was locked. Atlas shot the lock, and they all entered cautiously with their guns drawn. As soon as they entered, they saw the garden was also empty and realized no one was home. Still, to be sure, they entered the house and spread out, but the house was empty. Atlas started shouting as if he was about to have a nervous breakdown from anger. "Damn it! Damn it! Sarp, I will find you sooner or later. Your death will be by my hand!" "Atlas, pull yourself together. Let's not waste time; let's go," said Mr. Aziz. They raided all of Sarp's and Mr. Aslan's houses and workplaces but couldn't find them anywhere. It was already night. Mr. Aziz decided to call Aslan as a last resort. The phone rang once or twice before Aslan answered immediately. "Oh, Aziz, would you ever call me?" His voice sounded cheerful.
"I see you're in a good mood," said Aziz, maintaining his calm while speaking. "Why wouldn't I be? I have a beautiful daughter-in-law like Ceyda," he said, laughing. "Cut the nonsense. Give me back my daughter. I'll give you whatever you want in return." "Aziz, accept it now. You and I are in-laws from now on." "You took my wife from me, but I won't let you sacrifice my daughter's life. No matter what hole you and your family hide in, I will find you and make you pay heavily for what you've done." Aslan's mood suddenly soured, and he started speaking angrily. "I told you so many times that I didn't kill your wife, but you didn't believe me. But now you're pushing the limits, Aziz. You're going to make me do things I don't want to do," he said. Aziz didn't want to hear Aslan's voice anymore and hung up on him. He turned to his son, sighed with worry, and said, "That's enough for today. Gather the men. Let's go home and rest to think more clearly." **************** When Ceyda woke up in the morning, she looked around. Sarp was still sleeping on the couch. Not wanting to wake Sarp, she quietly got out of bed. She went to the mirror; her eyes were swollen from crying so much during the night, and her hair was a mess. The clip in her hair was hurting her head. She took off the clip and placed it on the nightstand. She thought about Sarp forcing himself on her last night and closed her eyes. "This is too much. I can't stay here another minute," she thought. "I have to get out of here as soon as possible, no matter what. I have no money on me, but I can ask for help from the neighbors," she said to herself. She picked up her sports shoes from the floor.
Walking on tiptoe, she quietly opened the room door. She took one last look at Sarp's face; he was still sleeping. As she left the room and walked towards the stairs, she heard voices from downstairs. She stopped to listen. "You're good at this, son." This was the voice of one of the men waiting outside. "Of course, son, preparing breakfast is my job." Ceyda thought this was Erdem's voice. "The girl who gets you is lucky. Is there someone you like?" "Haven't found that lucky person yet." When Ceyda heard Erdem's answer, she thought, "Look at that bastard, how he lied to me. So he doesn't have a girlfriend. The person on the phone was probably Sarp. He was reporting for the raid on the house, that's why his face turned red. My suspicion of him wasn't for nothing." "Anyway, two of the men are in the kitchen, three are left. I need to get out without getting caught by them," she thought as she quietly went down the stairs. She entered one of the back rooms, opened the window, and looked around. No one was in sight. She put on her shoes and looked for something to climb on. But there was no chair or stool-like object. She saw the large cushions from the couches, stacked a few on top of each other, climbed onto them, and jumped out the window. She started running without being seen by anyone. The house they were in was a bit distant from the other houses nearby. She needed to ask for help from the nearest house. The path was full of greenery and trees. Finally, she saw a two-story house ahead. When she reached the house, she paused to catch her breath, then entered through the garden. Wonderful smells were coming from the garden. An elderly woman was sitting next to a tandoor (clay oven), shaping dough and sticking it inside the tandoor using a small pillow in her hand. When the woman noticed Ceyda, she smiled and said, "Come on, my girl." Encouraged by the elderly woman's friendly face, Ceyda went to her and immediately started talking. "Auntie, can I use your phone?" She was still out of breath. The woman said, "Come, sit here first. Let me see, catch your breath. Why are you so out of breath, my girl? Who are you? Who are your people?" "Look, Auntie, I don't have much time. I need to call my father." "Who is your father? I know everyone here." "Auntie, I'm not from around here. I'm in a very difficult situation. A man forcibly brought me here from Istanbul. I need to call my father immediately."
"Okay, my girl, just tell me the name of the person who kidnapped you. Does he live around here?" "Oh, Auntie, you're so curious. I'll tell you, but you have to let me use the phone immediately. His name is Sarp." When Ceyda said this, the woman smiled. "Sarp from the Soykan family? I love Sarp like a son." Ceyda was surprised. "You know him, Auntie?" she said. "Of course I know him. Before you, your son Cem came and asked if I had tandoor bread. I said no, it's all gone. He said, 'Look, Sarp's fiancée has arrived too. Make some for us so the new bride can taste your famous bread.' So you're the new bride?" she said. Fearing being caught because of Cem, Ceyda said, "Please don't mention me, Auntie! You haven't seen me, okay?" As she hurried towards the garden gate, the woman called after her. "Wait, my girl!" Ceyda stopped at the woman's call and looked back at her. "Sarp is a good boy. Don't run away. Make things right with him." "You're going to get me caught, Auntie!" Ceyda muttered as she quickly tried to get away from there. The woman's voice still followed her. "You could have at least eaten some warm bread, my girl!" Ceyda pretended not to hear and left the garden, trying to get away. "It smelled so good too, but if I linger any longer, I'll get caught," she muttered. Ceyda ran into a street. There were many houses around, but the streets were quiet because it was still early. She stopped in the middle of the street, turning around to look at the houses, wondering which door to knock on. ****** (Sarp's Perspective) I kept opening my eyes throughout the night to check on Ceyda. When I opened my eyes again, Ceyda wasn't in her bed. I got up in a panic and checked the bathroom in the room; she wasn't there. I saw the white-stoned clip on the nightstand; it looked so cute on her. Smiling, I picked it up and put it in my pocket. I would put it in her hair myself, but first I had to find her. I quickly left the room and called her name in the hallway; she wasn't on this floor. When I went downstairs, I first went to the kitchen because I heard voices. Erdem was preparing breakfast. "Erdem, have you seen Ceyda?" I asked.
"No, bro, I haven't." Thinking she might be outside, I quickly headed for the front door. She wasn't in sight. I gestured for Cem, who was standing near the garden gate, to come to me. He ran over with quick steps. "Have you guys seen Ceyda?" "No, bro, she never left the house." "Never left?" I said, a panic starting to grip me. Was she in one of the upstairs rooms? "Gather the boys; search the entire house," I said. Cem immediately informed Ibrahim and Levent without wasting any time. They each took a floor. Where was Aytaç? Was he still sleeping? I remembered making Ceyda cry last night; she had cried for a long time before falling asleep. I started feeling uneasy; I was just standing frozen in the middle of the living room. I raised my arms and put my head in my hands. I closed my eyes and sighed with distress. "Ceyda, where are you? God, please let her be in the house." I opened my eyes at the sound of Cem's voice. "Bro, you need to see this." I immediately entered the room he pointed to. The room's window was open. The couch cushions were stacked on top of each other. "Ceyda has escaped, bro," Cem said. Pulling myself together from the shock, I shouted, "Let's go out!" Aytaç came down the stairs and said, "Sarp, what happened?" "Ceyda has escaped. Spread out, search everywhere. Don't come back without finding Ceyda!" I shouted. We all left the house and scattered in different directions. "I have to find Ceyda. Where are you, Ceyda?" I muttered to myself as I walked quickly with long strides. Mutki was a small place; we would find her eventually. But the fear of losing her was inevitably making me anxious. I ran through the streets. Had she entered one of the houses? I asked a few people I saw on the road, but no one had seen her.
'I will find you even if the ground splits open, my Ceyda. Just when I had decided to confess to you, you disappeared. But I deserved this.' My thoughts were interrupted by my phone ringing. I quickly took my phone out of my pocket and answered. It was Aytaç calling. Had he found her? "Tell me you found her, Aytaç." "I found her, I found her! Come to the market in front of the park." I hung up and quickly walked towards the place he mentioned. It was very close anyway, just on the next street from where I was. When I reached the market, the guys had also arrived and were waiting for me in front of the door. When I entered the market, Ceyda was sitting on a chair, her head bowed, looking at her clasped hands. Feeling relieved that we had found her, I took a deep breath. "My Ceyda, are you okay, beautiful?" I said, taking her hands. She lifted her head and looked into my eyes with fearful eyes. Her hands were trembling. I lifted her from where she was sitting and hugged her tightly. I buried my nose in her hair, breathing in her familiar scent. "You scared me so much," I whispered in her ear. Then I let go, took her hand, and said, "Come on, let's go, beautiful." I turned towards the market owner when he called out. "Sarp, is that you? It's been a long time," he said, smiling and extending his hand. I also extended my hand and shook his. "Yes, İhsan, it's me. It's been years since I've been here." "Is this young lady a relative of yours? She said she needed to call someone in a panic. I had just opened the market, and your friends came. I hope there's no trouble." "No, brother. My fiancée is a stranger here. She panicked when she got lost." "So you're engaged? Congratulations." "Thank you, İhsan. Have a good day," I said, and we left the market. Ceyda and I walked hand in hand all the way home without speaking. When we got home, as we were entering, I told Erdem to bring our breakfast to the room. We went upstairs and entered our room. I held both of Ceyda's hands and made her sit with me on the three-seater couch in the room. She sat with her head bowed, like an innocent, guilty child. I reached out, held her chin, and made her lift her head to look at me. There was still fear in her eyes. What had I done to the one I love? I
couldn't resist her beautiful eyes. I held her shoulders, pulled her towards me, and hugged her tightly. "My Ceyda, I don't want you to be so afraid of me. We will talk about everything, beautiful," I said, sighing. She smelled like spring, like a rose. Stroking her back, I said, "I know you hate me, and unfortunately, I deserve it. I should have talked to you sooner." A knock on the door made me separate from Ceyda. "Come in," I said. The door opened, and Erdem entered with a breakfast tray. He placed the tray on the coffee table in front of us. "Do you need anything else, bro?" he said. "No, Erdem," I said, and he left, closing the door. "Come on, eat something, beautiful," I said, but she didn't look like she was going to eat, even though I could guess how hungry she was. Without waiting, I broke off a piece of bread, spread jam on it, and brought it to her mouth. She ate while looking at me questioningly. She was waiting for me to talk, but I didn't know where to start. "Ceyda, first I have to tell you this: my father did not kill your mother," I said. "Then who killed her?" she said. I thought, 'Thank God.' For a moment, it seemed like she wouldn't speak at all; she hadn't said a single word since we found her. "I don't know, but I promise you I will find your mother's killer, and he will pay the heaviest price for what he did." While talking, I continued feeding Ceyda breakfast items. "Okay, I can eat by myself. Stop," she said. I didn't object. While she ate her breakfast, I continued talking. "The first day you came to the mountain house..." I said, pausing to breathe. "Your beauty caught my attention." She was looking into my face without blinking. "The person who poisoned and killed your mother when you were born also made a deal with someone working in your father's house to have you killed. The man couldn't bring himself to kill you and gave you up for adoption. Three years ago, this man was poisoned, just like your mother. While dying, he told your father everything, but he died before he could say who the killer was. When he died, he had photos of you that he took every year. The men working under my command told me about the incident and brought your photos—of course, I had copies made of all of them. I didn't recognize you at first in the mountain house until one of my men showed me your photo on his
phone screen. Your father and I have had a long-standing enmity for years, so I had to use the opportunity that came to my feet to take revenge on him," I said, sighing. "But I couldn't bring myself to harm you. I mean, I couldn't use you for my thirst for revenge. After your father found you, you also realized I was after you for revenge, so you never even considered that I could love you." "But how could you know that I fell for you at first sight?" As soon as I said this, the bite she was eating seemed to get stuck in her throat, and she started coughing. I immediately reached for the glass of water on the tray and started giving it to Ceyda to drink. When her coughing stopped, she fixed her beautiful light hazel eyes on me. I couldn't contain my excitement and smiled. Unable to hold back my feelings any longer, I said, "I love you, my Ceyda. Will you marry me?"