Closer Than Kismet

Part 2

"Eda?"

Serkan was smiling at her. The sun was shining. She was surrounded by beautiful flowers. Her heart was full. And the man she loved most in the world was just a few feet away.

As she reached for Serkan, her dream faded and she slowly woke up. Tears pooled the corners of her eyes. Just another dream. A wet tongue and furry face leaned over the bed to comfort her.

"Thank you, Sirius. How about today we get away for a little bit and go to the woods?"

******
Eda drove out of Istanbul to get some fresh air with Sirius. Her laughter filled the empty forest as she played with Sirius. Then, the dog suddenly stopped and stared off in the distance. Eda stopped too. Her heart pounding. She spun around and looked in every direction. She breathed in heavily. Serkan, her heart called. No, there was no one around.

"Let's go, Sirius."

*******
He didn't even grab a jacket or hat. He just knew he had to go outside. He looked around. There was no one there. Just him and the woods. His heart was beating so fast. Get a grip, Serkan. He needed to prepare and go back to Artlife. He looked back one last time before going inside.

********

"Good morning Eda. Here are your messages and calendar. Also Deniz is here to see you."

"Thanks, Leila."

Eda walked through Artlife to Serkan's office/conference room, nodding and telling everyone good morning. She could see Piril and Engin in his office so she waved a quick hello as she walked by. Melo and Erdem were in the corner arguing. And everyone else was working hard on an upcoming project. The troops had definitely rallied since Serkan's disappearance. She knew he would be proud.

Deniz was sitting at the conference table with coffee; he was her childhood friend and private investigator.

"Eda, I'm sorry but I think this is a lost cause. It's been two months and we have no new leads," he told her as he slowly sipped his coffee.

"I can't give up, Deniz. Serkan would never give up on me. He's out there, I know it. I feel it."

******
A black SUV pulled up to Artlife. Selin stepped out first. They could do this, thought Selin. She had informed Serkan about who was who and got him up to speed. He knew that Eda was a manipulator. She was no good for him. Selin was the right choice for him. Selin was the one who knew him better than anyone else. They would be back together soon, she thought. Everything would work out. But Serkan had to get the shares back first.

"Serkan, you know what you have to do. You have to convince Eda that you still love her. You have to convince her to marry you and sign the prenup we made. Then you can have a quick annulment once the shares are signed back over. She can't know that all your memory is gone," Selin reminded Serkan.

Serkan looked at the blonde with his jaw clenched. Of course he knew. The best lies are the ones closest to the truth, so he would tell Miss Eda Yildiz that his memory was hazy. He had head trauma (true) and had trouble recollecting specific details (also true), but he could never forget her (lie), and he was still in love with her (bigger lie). He wanted to get married to her still (as if). But he would play the role convincingly. Soon order would be restored.

"Are you ready?" Selin asked.

He nodded and instinctively held his hand out. As she took it, he felt that icy chill down his spine. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. This was wrong. He pulled his hand away instantly.

"Sorry, that's definitely not a good idea. I have a role to play." He could see Selin's face fall as she tried to play it off. He was suddenly reminded of a dinner they shared.