The Price of Pride

Chapter 32

"Cemre, what are you doing here? Where's Reyhan?"

The worried looks between Cemre and the nurse have him nervous. It's as if they know something he doesn't know. What's going on? Is it about Reyhan? Why aren't they saying anything? At their continued silence, he repeats his questions.

"Cemre? Don't make me ask again. Where's Reyhan?"

He's really starting to worry now. Questions about where he is and why he's strapped to this bed can wait. He needs to know how Reyhan is because nothing else matters otherwise.

"Is he still having the memory gap?" the nurse asks Cemre. No. Not a nurse. Emir's opinion on who this woman is changes when she pulls out a tablet and starts taking notes. Must be some kind of doctor. Or maybe a detective. Has he been in some kind of accident?

"What's going on here?" Emir finally asks, before repeating the one question he's already asked multiple times. "Where's Reyhan?"

"Calm down, Askım," Cemre says, coming next to Emir to take his hand when his terror becomes evident. "I know this is scary for you. But you're going to hurt yourself."

Her touch makes his skin crawl. He doesn't want her. He wants Reyhan. But since he's still strapped down, he can't pull away from her.

"Your wife is right, Emir bey."

Did she say wife?

"This isn't my wife," Emir roars, starting to pull against his restraints when he realizes something strange is going on. He doesn't know what's happening, but he needs to go. "Let me out of here. Who are you people? What are you doing to me?"

"This is a counselor, Emir," Cemre explains. "You had a bit of an ... incident so we brought you here for help. And it's okay. It's fine. We're going to get you the help you need."

Emir continues to struggle against his restraints. He has to get out of here. He still doesn't know what's going on, but it seems like something crazy. He wants no part of it.

"Listen, there's clearly been a mistake," Emir says to both of them. "Let me up and we can talk about it. I need to check on Reyhan."

"Reyhan is the ex-wife?" the counselor asks Cemre, jotting down more notes when Cemre nods.

"Ex-wife? No!" Emir yells. "Reyhan is my wife. Cemre most definitely is not my wife."

"Emir bey, you really need to calm down," the counselor says. "Given all the drugs in your system when you came in, we can't give you a sedative or anything right now. Hence the restraints. You need to calm yourself before you hurt yourself."

"Drugs?"

"Your overdose," the counselor explains, as if he's the one not understanding. "You're lucky your wife here found you and brought you in."

"Overdose?"

Nothing is making sense. But he knows who to blame. Emir glares at Cemre. This is her doing. He doesn't know what she's plotting, but he'd bet his life she's done this. But the counselor is right. He needs to calm down if he wants to get out of here. He just needs to explain the situation - making a few phone calls if necessary - and get away from this madhouse.

"Listen," he says, trying to sound reasonable. "This is all one big misunderstanding. I don't know what you think is happening, but here is the truth: my name is Emir Tarhun. I'm from Istanbul. My wife's name is Reyhan Tarhun. My mother's name is ..."

"Cavidan Tarhun. Yes," the counselor says, checking her notes. "We've already spoken with your mother. She confirms everything your wife Cemre is saying."