After hanging up the phone, we continued on our way. He hadn't given me any explanation and was focused on the road. Gathering all my courage to rid myself of the doubt inside, I spoke. "What did you talk about with your father? And why did you look at me like that?" I said, feeling uneasy. "How did I look?" he said, turning to me. "You're still looking at me like that. As if I were your enemy. You need to explain things to me." Suddenly, his facial expression changed. "My beauty, I'm sorry if I scared you. I was a bit upset, I'm not aware of how I was looking." "Well, what did you talk about with your father? You said, 'No power can take her from me now.'" "It's nothing, my beauty. The Atlas men are looking for us in Urfa, everywhere. That's why I said that. You are my wife now, no one can take you from me. Did your father think all problems would vanish just because we kissed his hand?" "Why are they looking in Urfa?"
"Because your family and my family are from Urfa, my beauty. Haven't they ever told you about that?" "No. Sarp, I'm so scared. Look, this can't go on. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I want to talk to my brother." "Not yet, my beauty. We're returning to Istanbul tomorrow anyway." "I miss my mom so much, you didn't even let me call her," I said, and he handed me his phone. "You can talk, my beauty, but don't mention where we are," he said. As soon as I took the phone, I started calling my mother. My hands were trembling with excitement. I hadn't heard her voice for days. "Hello?" When I heard my mother's voice, my eyes welled up, and I was struggling hard not to cry. "Mom." "My Ceyda, is that you, my daughter? Where are you? I've been so worried about you." My dear mother started sobbing and crying as soon as she heard my voice. "Aziz Bey is having you searched everywhere. It's been days without any news from you. Tell me, my dear, where are you?" My throat tightened. I couldn't hold back my tears and spoke with difficulty. "I miss you so much, Mom." "Me too, my daughter. Your father and I have been going crazy for days, wondering where you are, what condition you're in. Did that bandit Sarp kidnap you? What does he want from you? Are you with him?" "Yes," I said with difficulty.
"Where are you, my dear? Tell me, let us come and get you right away." The moment she said that, I heard my father's voice. "My daughter, my angel, where are you? Did that bastard harm you? Tell me your location, my daughter, I'll come get you right now." "Dad, I'm fine, don't worry. We're coming tomorrow anyway. No one needs to search for me." "What do you mean 'we're coming'? Are you coming with that scoundrel? Let him come, then. It's time to teach him his place. What does he mean by keeping my daughter, harming my daughter? I'll show him." "He didn't harm me, Dad. Don't worry about me. We'll talk when we get there. I'm hanging up now, I love you, Dad. Tell Mom not to worry." "Wait, Ceyda, where are you? At least tell me your location." "We'll talk when we get there, Dad, I'm hanging up now," I said. I handed the phone back to Sarp. Ignoring the gaze he was fixing on me, I turned forward. I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. The phone started ringing while in his hand. He put it in his pocket without answering. I think it was my father calling. "Don't cry, my beauty, I don't want you to be upset," he said with a sigh. "Everything will be fine now. Let me take you for a little walk, my wife." He was looking at my face, smiling. His smile was so beautiful; looking at his face had lifted my spirits. When we reached the city center, he parked the car in an available spot, and we walked hand in hand. Sarp was greeting all the shopkeepers. We entered and sat down in a restaurant that I learned was famous for its büryan kebab. I was surprised it was so crowded early in the morning. Sarp had ordered büryan kebab and soup for us.
"I love this soup, it's so good," I said, smiling. "Is there any of this in Istanbul?" Sarp laughed out loud. He wasn't eating his soup, he was watching me. "There is, my beauty. We can go whenever you want. If I had known it would make you this happy, I would have taken you for büryan in Istanbul sooner." "You eat too, you'll make me uncomfortable by staring," I said, smiling. "I can't take my eyes off you when you eat so cutely, my wife." "Actually, I really love food, but I haven't had much appetite lately because of what I've been through," I said. "I will make it up to you, my dear wife." It felt strange every time Sarp called me 'my dear wife.' I guess it would take me some time to get used to it. After we finished our meals, we walked around the bazaar. For some reason, I was very happy. After walking around for a while, we entered a jewelry store. We picked out and bought a pair of wedding rings. Sarp placed the ring that belonged to me on my finger. As I held his hand and put his ring on, my hands were trembling with excitement. Sarp chose a necklace with white stones, like a snowflake, and put it around my neck. "My beauty, if you don't like it, we can get another model," he said. I looked at it in the mirror; I really liked it. "I love it, it's very beautiful," I said. He looked at me, smiling. After he paid, we left the jewelry store. I lifted my hand and looked at my ring; it was so beautiful. It was hard to believe, but I was a married woman now.
"My dear wife, we've put on the rings, now all that's left is our wedding, and we'll do that as soon as possible, my beauty. Come on, get in the car, I'm taking you somewhere else," he said, opening the car door. On the way, I kept looking at my ring and the necklace I adored. When we arrived at a seaside, I was very surprised. "Where is this?" I asked in astonishment. "Tatvan, a district of Bitlis, a beautiful district overlooking Lake Van." We got out of the car and walked hand in hand along the shore. Lake Van was before us with its unique beauty. "Let's have our coffees here, my dear wife," Sarp said. I looked where he was pointing. It was a garden café with an entrance gate decorated with flowers. We passed through a short path covered with flowers. In the garden, each table was surrounded by a transparent, dome-like branda. It was amazing. "Sarp, this place is so beautiful," I said admiringly. "Can we sit in one of those dome-shaped places?" "Of course, my beauty, sure," he said. He opened one of the brandas and we went inside. There was a table and four chairs; we pulled the chairs out and sat side by side. It was as if we were inside a dome. Sarp hugged me and kissed my head. "It's so nice to see you happy like this. From now on, you will always smile for me, my dear wife. I don't want you to pull away from me. I would do anything for your happiness, my beauty." I smiled and hugged him too. I was so happy; I loved Sarp. After drinking our coffees and sitting for a while, we hit the road. We occasionally looked at each other and smiled. When we got home, there was something strange at the garden gate. There were a few men at the gate whom I hadn't seen before. I turned and looked at Sarp. "Who are these men?"
"I took a small precaution, my beauty." When we entered the garden, a large crowd greeted us. "Is this what you call a 'small precaution'?" "Yes, my beauty, it was necessary." "Well, what is this precaution for?" He sighed and said, "We'll talk, my beauty." "No, I want to know right now. What's going on? What are all these men doing here?" I said. He stopped the car and looked at me. "Atlas and his men are close to finding us," he said, and my eyes widened in fear. Had he hired all these men to use against my brother? "They're searching for us everywhere in Urfa. I will do everything I can to prevent any problems. It's just a precaution. Maybe we'll have already left here before they even come." "You won't harm my brother, right? Let me talk to him. I'll tell him we're married now, let this enmity end. My brother will understand me; he's not a bad person." While I was talking, Sarp was listening to me without taking his eyes off me. Every time he looked at me like that, butterflies fluttered in my stomach. "I'll tell him that Sarp and I love each other, I don't want to leave him." Sarp's eyes shining as he looked at me. He smiled sweetly, pulled me close, and hugged me. He kissed my hair, my cheeks, and smelled me. "Is what you're saying true, my dear wife? Do you love me?" My heart was pounding wildly. I was experiencing emotions I had never felt before. Yes, I had fallen in love.
"Come on, my beauty, I need this. I want to hear if you love me or not." I lifted my head and looked into Sarp's beautiful eyes. I took a deep breath to suppress my excitement, nodded my head in affirmation, and said, "Yes." He laughed out loud. "What 'yes'?" he said. "Come on, my beauty, I want to hear it." I was embarrassed again; my cheeks were burning. "Yes, I love you," I said. Afterwards, with the feeling of embarrassment, I bit my lip. Sarp was in high spirits. He was laughing heartily. "I knew it, my dear wife, I knew you loved me too," he said, kissing my cheek loudly. "I'm in love with you, woman, I'm in love with you," he said. Now I was laughing with him. Suddenly, his laughter stopped, and he slowly moved closer to my face, which was already very near. His eyes were on my lips; when I realized he was going to kiss me, I tried to pull away. "The garden is full of men, let me go," I said. He moved his head around, looked at the crowded men in the garden, and then pulled back. "You've only escaped for now, my dear wife. You said you love me, so there's no escape for you now. Come on, let's get out of the car." "Sarp, you didn't say anything about me talking to my brother." "My beauty, not now. We're going tomorrow anyway, I'll talk to your family face to face."
I didn't object when he said that. We got out of the car and walked hand in hand towards the house. When we entered the house, Aytaç and Cem's loud voices could be heard. As we approached the living room, we began to hear Aytaç's voice more clearly. "No, brother, and you're even marrying the girl? How long has it been since we met? I don't believe you fell in love in such a short time." When I heard Aytaç's words, my feet stopped. My heart began to tighten. It was as if I was nailed to the ground; my hand holding Sarp's loosened. "The men have scoured every corner of Urfa. If they find us, they won't leave any of us alive." Sarp understood my state and held me by the waist. He made me walk with him. "First and foremost, they will eliminate Sarp." "A person who is in love risks everything. I don't think like you. Sarp is crazy in love with Ceyda." As soon as we entered the living room, Cem, who was speaking, suddenly fell silent and stood up. Since he was facing us, he saw us first. Then Erdem, Levent, and İbrahim noticed us and jumped up from their seats. Aytaç was standing tense with his back turned. He slowly turned around and looked at us. Sarp, with his eyebrows furrowed and teeth clenched, began to speak. "You have nothing better to do than gossip about me here?" "Sarp..." Aytaç tried to speak, but Sarp didn't let him and continued. "Ceyda is my wife. It's no one's place to question the whys and wherefores of this. Besides, I'm not forcing anyone to stay here. Anyone who wants can leave right now." "You misunderstood me, Sarp. No one is going anywhere," said Aytaç. Sarp was very angry, breathing heavily through his nose.
"I understood what I needed to understand. Now get out." Without letting the men hesitate, they left the living room. Sarp held my hand and had me sit on the couch. He sat down next to me, cupped my cheeks with both hands, first examined my face, and kissed my head. Then he pulled me close and hugged me. "Don't let that beautiful face of yours frown, my beauty. Aytaç talks nonsense when he's tense. I married you because I'm in love with you. We talked about this and decided, remember? You trust me, right?" "Yes, I trust you," I said sadly. "Is my brother that bad? Would he harm you?" "Don't think about these things, my dear wife. Everything will work out. Just don't be sad," he said, holding me tighter. Late at night, we went up to our room, changed our clothes, and lay down on our bed. This time, I snuggled up to Sarp. I slipped into his arms and lifted my head enough to see his face. I looked at his beautiful eyes, his handsome face. He was watching my movements with surprise. I placed a kiss on his cheek and smiled. He was smiling with me too. I held him tightly and let myself fall asleep in his peaceful arms. ********** I woke up with a start from a noise. I was in Sarp's arms. He woke up with me. Then the same sound was heard again. We both sat up quickly in bed. Then, one after another, the same sound came again. These were gunshots. Sarp suddenly got out of bed, grabbing his gun from the nightstand while talking to me. "My beauty, you will absolutely not leave this room, okay?" Terrified, I quickly got out of bed and hugged Sarp.
"Who are they? Is it my brother? Don't you go out either, please. What if something happens to you?" He cupped my cheeks and looked into my eyes. "Calm down, my beauty, nothing will happen to me. Just don't leave the room," he said, kissing my forehead. "Let nothing happen to my brother either," I said with a tearful voice. "I'll do what I can, my beauty," he said and quickly left the room. Gunshots were still coming like crazy. I sat on the floor, pulled my knees to my chest. I covered my ears with my hands. I started to cry. What if something happened to Sarp, or to my brother? I was sobbing with fear. Even though I covered my ears, I could hear a lot of noise from outside. I couldn't just sit like this; I had to do something. I quickly stood up and ran out of the room. When I went down the stairs and reached the outer door, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Outside was like a scene of chaos—a large crowd, gunshots, shouting. At that moment, I forgot my fears, forgot myself; my eyes were searching for Sarp around. Neither he nor my brother was visible. I moved a little away from the door; my tears were flowing, but I felt numb. What was happening here? What were we experiencing? Around me, there were wounded men who had fallen to the ground. Maybe I had been shot too, but I couldn't feel anything. Finally, I saw him; he was across from me. I started running towards him. Suddenly, the gunshots stopped; I didn't know why. Or maybe it just seemed that way to me. My only focus now was Sarp. I was just a few steps away from hugging him when he turned to me. He called out, "My Ceyda!" I was just two steps away from hugging him when another gunshot was heard. "Sarp!" I shouted, hugging him. He hugged me without making a sound. Suddenly, his arms went limp; I pulled back and looked at his face. He looked at me unresponsively and collapsed to the ground before my eyes. I collapsed to the ground with him. His eyes were glazing over and starting to close. "Sarp, are you okay, Sarp?" I screamed. I brought my hands to his face, held his cheeks. My left hand was covered in blood. I examined his body to understand where the blood had come from. He had been shot right in the chest.
"Help!" I screamed, crying. Sarp opened his eyes with difficulty. "My Ceyda," he said, and his eyes closed. "Help!" I screamed again, looking around. "Please, open your eyes, Sarp. Don't let anything happen to you." I was wailing on one hand, and on the other, I was holding Sarp's hand and kissing it. A few men were attending to Sarp while a hand pulled me back. When I stood up, I met my brother's eyes. "Let's go, Ceyda," he said, pulling me by the arm. "Brother, save Sarp. Brother, please," I said, but he didn't listen to me and kept pulling me, making me walk quickly with long strides. I turned to look at Sarp; a few people were lifting him from the ground. I screamed, trying to free my arm from my brother's grip. "Let me go, brother, let me go. Sarp is dying; I can't leave him. Let me go; he needs me." Without listening to me, he kept pulling me almost as if he were dragging me by force. He forced me into a car and sat next to me. "Brother, I need to be with Sarp. Let me go," I said, but he didn't care at all. I tried to force the door handle, but it was locked. I turned and started punching my brother. He looked at me with an expressionless face. "Let me go, brother, let me go. Why don't you understand? I love Sarp. He is my husband; we got married. If something happens to him, I can't live." My tears wouldn't stop; my throat was burning. When he heard what I said, his eyebrows furrowed. He grabbed my arms and started shaking me.
"What nonsense are you talking?" he said. "If you're saying this to drive me crazy, you're succeeding, look, Ceyda." "It's not nonsense. Sarp is my husband; we got married yesterday. Let me go; I need to go to my husband now." He started shaking my arms even more. "Don't drive me crazy, sister or not, I might cause an accident now. Be quiet and sit properly. How did that scoundrel deceive you? He married you for revenge. How could you believe him? How can you love him, my daughter? Are you naive?" "Believe it or not, Sarp and I are in love with each other," I said. We argued the whole way; at one point, he raised his hand to slap me but then changed his mind. I used to think my brother was merciful; I had misjudged him. No matter what I said, he wouldn't let me go. We had gone to the airport by car and from there to Istanbul by private plane. I couldn't stop crying the whole way. I was going to lose my mind. Were they able to get Sarp to the hospital in time? What was his condition? Thinking about it was driving me insane. My heart was burning; it was a burning sensation I had never felt before.