**Sarp Soykan** I took a deep breath and started descending the stairs. This place was no different from a dungeon. It was my first time seeing this torture room in the basement. I call it a torture room because that's exactly what it was. Apparently, my father-in-law was even crazier than me. I had a lot to learn from him. And they called *me* crazy. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, my surprise increased even more. This place was made up of separate compartments surrounded by iron bars. In the last compartment was the scumbag we had caught, and Atlas was waiting for me there. He had roughed up the guy pretty good. "Dear brother-in-law, I told you to wait for me. But it seems you've enjoyed this pleasure alone?" I said. Smiling, he said, "I would have waited for you, but I couldn't stand this unlucky face any longer." The man, his face battered and bruised, lifted his head with difficulty and looked at me with pleading eyes. "Brother, please, whatever you want, that's enough, I'll talk. Just make him stop hitting me," he said. "Okay, talk. Who hired you? Who wanted you to kill us?" I asked. "Brother, I swear our intention wasn't to kill you. We were just going to shoot out your tires and leave." I grimaced and looked at the man's battered face. I really didn't feel like hitting this bloody face. The coward was ready to talk just to avoid a beating. "Who gave you the order?" I asked.
"Cemil. Cemil gave us the order. We followed you and set up an ambush. Brother, I swear our intention wasn't to kill you." Cemil. Was this bastard asking for trouble from me? This was the second time he'd come after me. I had looked for him, but he had left his house, taking his kids and wife. I didn't pursue him further. We had worked together on some construction and gallery jobs in the past. When I realized he wasn't honest, I never did business with him again. I didn't think that was the reason for him holding such a grudge against me. I needed to get to the bottom of this. Let's see what his problem was. "Where is this Cemil dog?" Atlas's shout pulled me from my thoughts. "Brother, he gave the order over the phone. I really don't know where he is. He's not staying at his house anymore." "Where's this scumbag's phone?" I asked Atlas. He pointed with his head towards a table in the distance. I walked over to the table and picked up the phone. "What's Cemil's number saved as?" I asked. "Saved as 'Boss,' brother." "Damn you and your boss..." I cursed. I immediately went to the contacts and called Cemil. He didn't answer. I called a second time. He didn't answer. I called from my own phone; after one ring, it said unreachable. The coward hung up when he realized I had his man. They were all cowards. If they had any courage, they would confront me directly. I threw the man's phone on the ground. "Damn, everyone involved in this will pay, one by one," I said, kicking the man. As he groaned, I turned to Atlas. "This guy is all yours." I turned back to leave this place. I blocked my ears to the man's screams. I looked around. There was also a door leading to the garden. My father-in-law had thought of and placed every kind of torture tool. Wow.
Before leaving, I called out, "Atlas!" He turned and looked at me. "Your father did a fine job," I said. ************ I hadn't been able to find a trace of Cemil for days. Either he was hiding somewhere out of fear, or he would confront me with a bigger, more treacherous plan. No matter where he was hiding, I would find him. I would make him regret being born. Forget about me, how dare he harm my loved ones? I would make him pay dearly. As if our problems weren't enough, I was also dealing with my crazy sister. She kept finding ways to sneak out of the house and meet that guy Kaya. I really didn't like this guy. He was harmless, actually, but every time he hugged and kissed my Ceyda, I felt like I was going to have a crisis. I would kill the bastard. Because of my busy work schedule, I was coming home late every day. My beautiful wife would fall asleep waiting for me on the couch or the balcony. The weather was cold now. No matter how much I told her not to wait in this cold, she still waited. It was very late again. When I got home, the guards opened the large garden gate. I left my car at the garden entrance and walked towards the door. So no one would wake up, I took the key from my pocket and opened the door. I quietly went upstairs and entered my room. Again, the balcony door was open, and my Ceyda was sleeping, sitting on a chair with her head resting on her arms on the table. Even though she was dressed in long sleeves, she was very cold. Oh, my Ceyda, you're breaking my heart. She never listens; she'll freeze out on the balcony. I immediately picked her up in my arms. As I was walking towards the bed, she started mumbling with her eyes closed. "Darling... you came?" "I came, my love, I came," I said, laying her on the bed. "Oh, darling, you never listen to me?"
"Are you angry with me?" "I am angry." "Don't be angry with me, don't ever be angry," she said, opening her eyes and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Do you know, sometimes I'm very afraid of you." "You're very afraid?" I said, surprised. "Yes. Sometimes you get very angry. I wonder if you're angry with me, and I get scared." "I will never get angry with you. I won't get mad. You are my everything," I said, burying my head in her wonderfully scented neck. My everything, my home was right here. "Will you always come back this late?" she said. "You know, my love, my work is very busy." "I understand. Just say I'm going to freeze on the balcony this winter." "I forbid you from waiting on the balcony anymore, my beautiful. Wait for me in our bed. I don't want you to catch a cold and get sick." Smiling, she tightened her arms around me. "I'll wait for you anywhere, as long as you come back to me at the end of the day," she said, starting to kiss me. I promise you, my beautiful wife. ******
Sibel didn't come to the table while we were having breakfast. She had a stomach ache. My father's morale was better. My mother was cheering up the atmosphere with her usual cheerfulness. "Did you find the man?" At my father's question, I turned my gaze to him. "Not for now. But he's bound to show up somewhere," I said. Ceyda held my hand and said, "Sarp, I don't want you getting into trouble. I'm scared something will happen to you. Whoever these men are, please stay away from them." I smiled and looked at her beautiful face. This woman mesmerized me. What a lucky man I am. I have such a beautiful, kind-hearted angel. "Don't worry, my beautiful. Nothing will happen to me," I said. "I will find them. I will find out whatever they want from us. I will make them all pay for what they did. Don't bother your head with kthese things." "Son, if you don't have work today, you should take our Ceyda out," my mother said. "You never spend any time together? How are you newlyweds?" She was right. My busy work schedule, the Cemil issue, and my father's recent psychological state meant all the work had fallen on me. My father was better now, but I couldn't just leave all the work to him immediately. "You're right, dear mother. But I need to sort out some work a bit. I want to spend time with my wife too," I said, turning to my father. "Father, are you coming? Let's go." "Yes. I'm bored of sitting around idle at home enough, let's go," he said.
As I got up, I said, "Let me check on Sibel first." I had taken a couple of steps when I heard a voice behind me saying, "Brother." It was Cem coming in and walking towards me. "Brother, Sibel has sneaked out of the house again." My eyebrows involuntarily began to furrow. My anger inevitably took over me again. I didn't understand how this girl managed to evade all the guards and escape. "Damn, this time I'm going to kill them," I shouted. I kept saying I wouldn't get angry, but this girl drove me crazy every time. "Where are they?" I said. "They're drinking coffee at the shopping mall." As I walked quickly towards the door, Ceyda said, "I'm coming too," and got up from her seat. My mother said, "Son, don't rough up the kids. They love each other." I didn't understand how this woman accepted it so quickly. ****** When we entered the shopping mall, they were sitting intertwined at a cafe, laughing. Without waiting, I quickly walked towards them. It seemed they weren't going to listen to reason at all. As soon as I reached them, shouting, I grabbed Kaya by the collar and pulled him up from his seat. "You bastard, the more we tell you to stay away from my sister, the more you stick to her," I said, punching him. As Kaya fell onto the table, Ceyda suddenly intervened. My second blow was almost going to hit her. I was looking at my Ceyda with shocked eyes, while the shouts of Sibel and the people around started reaching my ears.
Ceyda and I were eye to eye; she was looking at me with pleading eyes. She was saying 'don't'. But I solved every problem with my anger. I was about to punch my wife, my everything. And then would I ask for her forgiveness? Even if she forgave me, how would I forgive myself?I took a deep breath. As she looked at me with those beautiful hazel eyes, I lowered my fist, which was hanging in the air, and pulled her to me. I hugged her tightly. "If," I said in a low voice. "If I had hurt you, I would never have forgiven myself." "Sarp, please control your anger. You can't solve anything like this. Kaya is my closest friend. My brother," she said, taking my face in her hands. "They love each other. It seems they've fallen in love. Just like us. If you showed a little understanding. Apologize to Kaya, make peace." I looked at her beautiful face for a short while. "Okay," I said. First she was surprised, then she showed me her smile that made her even sweeter. "Remove the word 'apology'; I'll do whatever you want," I said. "Okay, we agree to that too. Then we expect an impressive speech from you," she said. I pulled her to me and started kissing her. I know doing this in public embarrassed Ceyda a lot, but when her beautiful face was this close to me, I couldn't help it. I ignored the voices coming from behind me. I think the cafe manager was demanding an explanation. My men would handle it, after all. "Look at them. Somehow everything is allowed for you, but when it comes to us, you always rough up Kaya. Enough already. I'm sick of it."
At Sibel's shrieking, I reluctantly separated from my Ceyda. I cleared my throat and straightened my clothes. "First of all, no disrespect towards your brother." I moved my eyes over Sibel and Kaya. "Kaya, since you love my sister so much, you will come to ask for her hand. You will get engaged. You won't meet in secret. And I won't have to leave my work and run after you every time." Both their eyes shone with happiness. Just as Sibel was about to hug Kaya, I stopped her. "Whoa, no hugging until the formal proposal." "But brother," she said, and I frowned. "But you used to get close to Ceyda whenever you wanted." "It was my mistake, I didn't punch you in the face too. I just handed my sister over to you like that," said Kaya. "If you want, you can keep talking, Kaya. I can change my mind at any moment," I said. Ceyda took my hand and looked at me with her usual sweet smile. "Let's go, darling," she said. With just one smile, she captivated me. ****** Only two days had passed since the day I punched Kaya, and today they were coming to ask for my sister's hand. I didn't know why they were in such a hurry.
As I was buttoning the sleeves of the black shirt I was wearing, my eyes were on Ceyda. The backless dress she was wearing was very daring. I couldn't take her out among people like that. "My beautiful, you look very beautiful," I said. She was sitting on the stool at the dressing table, doing her makeup, and turned to me. That sweet smile was on her face again. When she looked at me like that, I couldn't refuse her in any way. "Did you like it?" she said. "Yes, I liked it. But I like it when you wear these kinds of dresses for me." She got up from where she was sitting and said, "But my dress is very beautiful and covered." "I guess you can't see your back, my beautiful. I don't want you going down like this among men. Choose a more covered dress." The dress was sleeveless, the front completely covered, but the back was almost entirely open. "But Sarp," she said, pouting. "You bought these dresses for me. I didn't buy any of them." She was right; I had bought them all. "My beautiful, I didn't imagine it would be this revealing on you. Change your clothes before I become a murderer. Let's go down now." She went to the closet and put on a thin jacket, then turned her back to me. "Am I covered enough now?" Her back was covered. Smiling, I said, "It's more beautiful now." She smiled, linking her arm with mine.
"Let's go then." The guests weren't too crowded. There was Kaya and his parents, his sister, her husband, and their child, and a few close relatives. After the proposal ceremony, we had put on the rings. The bastard had brought the rings too. It was as if he was rushing things.If it were up to me, I would have made them suffer, but Kaya Bey should thank my Ceyda. The moment he took the rings out of his pocket, I had gotten angry and shouted again, but Ceyda had calmed me down. And they wanted the wedding date to be very soon. Just as I was about to object, my Ceyda pointed to Sibel and begged me to be understanding, saying how happy she was. Anyway, my father, like my mother, had welcomed it and accepted. It seemed they were pleased with the in-laws. My beautiful sister was wearing a yellow dress, just like her hair, and she looked very beautiful. She was very happy. I hoped this useless guy would make my sister happy for a lifetime. When Sibel turned on the music and started dancing, my Ceyda started joining her. It was supposed to be a proposal, but we had practically thrown an engagement party. ****** **Ceyda Soykan** Finally, we got my dear sister-in-law her wish. It was a bit rushed, but what can you do, it's his brother's sister. The wedding would be soon too. What really surprised me was Kaya. Deciding to get married so quickly. It seemed when you're in love, you can't see anything else. My dear sister-in-law looked like a princess in her yellow dress. The dress I was wearing was very chic too, but because Sarp made a fuss, I had to wear a thin jacket to cover the backless part. It had gotten very hot when Sibel turned on the music and forced me to dance with her. Later in the evening, Kaya and Sibel pressured Sarp to go out somewhere to have fun. We had invited my brother and the girls too. When we were leaving the house, Sarp called Aytaç, so I called Cem and Erdem too. Sarp was surprised by this but didn't say anything.
We had come to an elite nightclub. Slow music was playing inside. Everyone was sitting quietly, chatting and sipping their drinks. We also settled at a large table. Sarp pulled me to him and hugged me as if I was going to run away from his side. When I turned to my right to look at him, he started smiling. I couldn't take my eyes off his smile. How did this man manage to be so handsome? "I see you can't take your eyes off me?" he said, smiling even more. "Do you smile like this at the office too?" I said. His smiling face took on a surprised expression. "I smile when it's necessary," he said. I was still watching him seriously. "Don't smile from now on." "Why?" he said, even more surprised. "Because you become even more handsome when you smile. I don't want anyone else to see your smile," I said. First, he looked into my eyes seriously. Then he let out a laugh. I couldn't help but start laughing like him. I hugged my husband tightly. I love this crazy man. We all turned to her at Sibel's shrieking. "Aytaç brother, what kind of music is this? Today is my happiest day, one should play something lively." "Okay, my beautiful, we'll arrange it right away," Aytaç said, getting up from his seat. Sarp leaned in and said, "This place is Aytaç's."
"Really? Doesn't Aytaç work with you?" I asked. "Yes. He's been working with us for years. This is his hobby. He loves this place very much. He's not just my employee, he's also my friend. We grew up together. We've known his family for years." "But I never warmed up to Aytaç. He's very cold. And he doesn't like me anyway," I said. "Don't be so prejudiced, my love. He's expressionless, sometimes he speaks rudely, but at heart, Aytaç is a good man." When an upbeat song started playing, Sibel said, "Come on, everyone get up for some belly dancing," and pulled us up by our hands one by one. We were dancing like crazy on the dance floor. The first to give up were the men, who went to sit down. We girls, meaning Sibel, Yasemin, Elif, Aslı, and I, continued dancing. When we returned to our seats, I was really feeling hot. Without Sarp noticing, I took off the jacket I was wearing. I hoped he wouldn't notice. He was already deep in conversation with the men while sipping his drink. Aytaç had prepared light cocktails for us girls, and we were drinking them. When a beautiful dance song started playing, I looked at Sarp; he wasn't paying any attention. Seeing he wasn't going to turn to me, I pinched his arm. He immediately stopped talking and turned to me. "Will you take me dancing?" I said innocently. Smiling, he said, "Come." He took my hand and led me towards the dancers. We started dancing eye to eye. Sometimes I was thankful I met Sarp. Okay, I faced many difficulties. He caused them. And maybe I would continue to face them, but I would always keep my love for him fresh like this. While we watched each other throughout the dance, Sarp's hand was caressing my bare back when it suddenly stopped. His eyebrows began to furrow slightly. I realized he had noticed. He was going to be angry now. I started to get nervous.
"Ceyda." Yes, here we go. He was getting angry again. "Where is your jacket?" "It got too hot, I took it off," I said. "My first task when we get home will be to shred the dresses in your closet. I told you to change this dress. You could have at least changed when we left the house." He wasn't shouting, but his tone of voice was enough to break my heart. He was scolding me as if he hadn't bought the clothes himself. We hadn't gone shopping at all since we got married. My mood immediately plummeted. I pulled my arms away from him and, without saying a word, left him and returned to the table. As I sat on the leather couch, I wrapped my arms around myself. Only Aytaç was at the table. "Did you argue?" he said. I was about to say 'none of your business' when my eyes caught the cigarette in his hand. "Give me a cigarette?" I said. As he took a cigarette out of the pack and handed it to me, he was smirking. He lit my cigarette with the lighter he took from his pocket. As I took a drag, I said, "You liked it, I guess." "Why would your argument please me?" he said. "Could it be because you don't like me much?" I said. "You've misjudged me, Ceyda. Or sister-in-law. Sarp is very valuable to me. Anything valuable to him is valuable to me too. Okay, maybe I don't show my emotions, that's why you think that. But believe me, sister-in-law, I have no problem with you."
I turned my gaze to the dance floor, but Sarp wasn't where I had left him. I started fidgeting in my seat, wondering if he had left. I looked around; I couldn't see him. Our friends were in high spirits; everyone had taken their partners and was dancing. "Don't worry, he didn't leave. He's getting himself a drink by the bar," Aytaç said. When I saw Sarp talking to the bartender in the distance, I felt a sense of relief. "Do you think he would just leave you like that? The things he endured for you. What happened to him. He was shot," he said. I frowned and looked at Aytaç. "He almost died." "That's why I don't like you," I said, to his face. "Did I want him to get shot? Do you have any idea how my heart aches every time I see the bullet wound on his chest? Do you know about the guilt I feel even though I'm not at fault at all? I blamed myself so much, I was devastated, othinking my brother's men shot him. I wish that moment had never happened." "Ceyda," he called, but I continued without listening to him. "I am the most innocent in all these events we've experienced, you know that too. From the very beginning when I entered that mountain house, to the years-long feud with my family, to Sarp kidnapping me, to my family shooting Sarp." My eyes filled with tears; I wanted to cry. Was it the effect of the cocktail I drank, or Sarp's attitude? Or Aytaç talking as if he was blaming me? I didn't know. I felt suffocated. I got up from the couch and, ignoring Aytaç calling after me, pushed through the crowd. I went into the restroom and wet the back of my neck. I dried my flowing tears with a tissue. Now was not the time to cry. I tried to calm down by looking in the mirror for a while. When I left the restroom, a short-haired woman stood in front of me, smiling. "Miss Ceyda," she said, smiling. I didn't remember ever seeing this girl before. "Who are you?" I said.
As she grabbed my arm, she said, "A secret admirer." What nonsense was this woman talking? As I tried to pull my arm away, I quickly freed my arm from her grip. "What are you doing? Who are you?" I said, when someone firmly grabbed my other arm. I looked to my left; a large man, pulling me, started forcibly taking me towards the exit with the short-haired woman. 6"Who are you? Let me go!" I shouted. But they neither answered nor stopped. The people dancing around didn't notice my screams. I shouted at the top of my lungs. The music drowned out my voice. When we reached the outer door, I saw two men lying on the ground. They were the two guards who had been standing at the door when we arrived. Were they dead? Just as we were about to go out the door, "Stop!" At the voice from behind, the people dragging me suddenly stopped. As I tried to free my arms, before I could understand what was happening, the large man holding me wrapped his arm around my neck and turned me around with him. Ok One arm was tightening around my neck while the gun in his other hand was pressed against my head. The short-haired woman also aimed her gun at the three men in front of us. One of the three men said, "Let the sister-in-law go, or I'll shoot you." Did these men know me? Were they calling me sister-in-law? "If you don't back off, the woman dies," said the man holding me. Oh, what was I in the middle of again? I closed my eyes. I was going to die in a shootout this time. "Let the girl go, damn it!" shouted a familiar voice. I immediately opened my eyes. I didn't know whether to be happy or cry. Aytaç was aiming his gun at the people next to me, looking at them angrily. "If you don't back off, I will take great pleasure in killing the woman," said the large man, pressing the gun harder against my forehead. I closed my eyes again in fear. The arm around my neck was also very tight. I could barely breathe.
Aytaç would rescue me, wouldn't he? At that moment, a gunshot rang out. Was I dying? Another gunshot. The arm around my neck loosened. As the man holding me and I collapsed to the ground, another gunshot rang out. My breath was stuck. Was I the one who was shot? There was a weight on top of me. Screams and commotion all around. Someone was calling my name. 'Sister-in-law.' Some people were trying to lift the large man piled on top of me. Then that man, whose voice I was so familiar with, called out to me. "My Ceyda." Sarp lifted me up and hugged me. I was okay. I wasn't shot. I was okay. Even though I was so sure I had been shot. "My Ceyda, are you okay?" He was checking me all over. He was very panicked. "I'm fine. I wasn't shot, I'm fine," I said. I hugged his neck tightly.. "What's happening here? Who are these people? What do they want from my sister?" My brother came running, shouting, pushed Sarp aside, and hugged me. 'Are you okay, sister?" "Brother, I'm fine, calm down," I said. As my brother let me go and straightened up, he suddenly started radiating anger. "Who are these people?" he said, kicking the dead man on the ground. Then he grabbed Sarp by the collar. "Answer me, who are these men? What do they want from you? Find these men, damn it." He let go of Sarp's collar and grabbed Aytaç's collar.
"Damn it, how dare they come into your establishment and try to kidnap my sister? What if she had died? What if she had died, what would have happened?" He was shouting like a madman, shaking Aytaç by the collar. I couldn't stand it and got up from the ground. I stepped between them and tried to calm my brother down. "Brother, calm down!" I shouted. "It's not Aytaç's fault or anyone else's. If Aytaç and his men hadn't rescued me, they would have either killed me or kidnapped me by now. Don't blame anyone." He was trying to regulate his rapid breathing. I hugged him tightly. Without hesitation, he hugged me back. He kissed my hair. "No one here wishes me ill, brother. Please calm down. We are all very scared. We are very tense. Look at Yasemin, she looks very upset too," I said. He turned his gaze to Yasemin. He took her by the arm and pulled her to him too. He hugged us both tightly. I had gotten through this day cheaply too. I wanted a quiet life now. But I didn't know if that quiet life would find us.