The Business Trip Part 2

Confrontation and Confession

Just before she hits the floor, a quick Murat rushes to hold her, trying not to panic, he lifts her up and takes her to the sofa in the reception and the receptionist quickly brings him a glass of water. Murat sprinkles some water on her face, and she comes around after a couple of minutes. " Are you Ok? How do you feel? Is anything hurting? Should we go to the hospital? Hayat are you alright?" he barrages her with questions. Hayat's head is still spinning, but she manages to sit up straight and regain her composure, holding her head in her hand, she assures him she is feeling fine, and that there is no need to worry. " Just give me a few minutes, it must have been the heat" she murmurs not wanting him to guess what had caused her to get so upset."Hayat, we are going to the hotel and you are staying back, I think you are overdoing this, you are clearly exhausted, and you can cause harm to yourself and the baby. You have to rest...", "No" she cuts him off, "I'm perfectly alright, in my condition this is quite common, I just need to eat something and rest a bit and I will be ready for the evening." She reassures him and starts to get up from the sofa, Murat quickly helps her up and they slowly start walking towards their hotel which is a block away.Hayat is lost in her thoughts, and Murat, still not convinced with her reason for passing out, still trying to figure out a way to broach the topic of the showstopper, "Hayat...", "Murat..." they both start at the same time, " You first" says Murat, and she asks him hesitantly, "Is Cagla your showstopper?" Murat is surprised by the question, and asks her, "Why do you care, Hayat? I thought you did not want to have anything to do with my show, why are you interested now?" he counters. "No, I was just making conversation, I saw her before I came down to the reception...", she replies, "is that why you blacked out? Did she say something to you, tell me the truth Hayat, it's about time I took care of Cagla and her interference in our personal life." he cuts her off angrily. Hayat is once again surprised by Murat's reaction at the very mention of Cagla's name. She thinks it would be best to avoid the topic, but something was bothering her, the conversation between Cagla and Emre kept playing in her mind, how was Cagla going to destroy Murat? She mulls over it for a few seconds and decides to tell him what she had overheard, "she came to meet Emre in his dressing room", Murat was expecting this, Now, what more could she want from Emre? He waits for Hayat to continue, "and... she seemed to be very angry and said something about destroying you." there, she had told him what she had heard, deliberately not mentioning the photos which confirmed Murat's version of what had happened in New York. Murat's face hardens listening to Hayat. "Its OK Hayat, the only person who needs to worry after today, is Cagla herself, tonight will be the end of Cagla's games." They reach the hotel, as they enter their room, Hayat sees the dress that he has designed for her, laid out on the bed, she looks at him questioningly, "I had them deliver it to the hotel earlier." he answers. " And there's something else..." he searches his coat pocket and pulls out a jewelry box and opens it, in it is the most delicate and intricate diamond necklace she had ever seen. " This is for you..." he pauses to see her reaction"... and please don't refuse Hayat, I have only given you grief from the time you have gotten pregnant, this is for my baby and for you, for making me the happiest man alive, for gifting me something so invaluable that no diamonds can compare with... for the precious treasure that you carry inside you." he finishes putting his hand on her stomach. This was exactly how she had wanted it to be, how she had imagined he would react when she would have given him the news of her pregnancy, this was what she had longed for, but it was too little too late, although she was glad that he had nothing to do with Cagla, the fact still remained that he had put her through so much these past couple of months with his head strong behavior and with his refusal to acknowledge her opinions and decisions, with keeping everything bottled up inside him, what if he would once again leave her with a note and ignore her existence until he realizes his mistake? She wanted him to share not only his joys but also his problems with her.Hayat is at a loss of words, although her heart wanted to give in, her mind feared the repetition of the same behavior, the thought of enduring the pain and heartache that she had been through all over again, makes her wary of committing to Murat again, as she stands still, letting his hand rest on her bulge, feeling reassured and secure in his touch but apprehensive and anxious at the same time, she tells him quietly, "I cannot accept this gift Murat, I have what I want, this baby will tide me through my tough times, I don't need these expensive gifts Murat, all I needed was your love and trust, all I need is for you to take me and my opinions seriously, to not judge me because of the one lie that I had told you. I want you to let me in on what's troubling you as well. When will I be able to free myself from the burden of that lie? Why do you not see that I was desperate and said that lie to get that job for my future or else we would have never been together like this, never met, you forget that had it not been for that lie, there would be no "US". I want you to free me from the shackles of that lie, I want you to stop judging me because of that one lie and until you do that, there will be many other Caglas trying to rock our marriage. I want you to take my opinions seriously, only when I am convinced that you have really changed will I accept your gift." Her words tear though his heart, he finally realizes how much he had hurt her, he is shattered by her refusal but still not willing to accept defeat. He asks her, "Put yourself in my shoes Hayat, how would you feel if you could not provide for the most important person in your life? Do you know how helpless I have felt these past few months to have to put you through what we have been through? " He tries to explain his behavior and why he did not call her, the excuse sounding petty even to himself. "You decided to work with Emre, do you know what that did to me? Emre, the guy who everyone knows, has been after you from the moment he laid his eyes on you, did I not trust you? How do I know he has not tried to take advantage of this situation, but have I once asked you to stop working for him?" he continues softly, Hayat is stunned that he could even bring that up after Cagla, "Ha" she lets out a sarcastic laugh, " And how do you think I felt asking the person who has been hitting on me from day one, for a job? Do you think I was left with any choice? Who would employ an inexperienced person like me? I tried to get a job but it barely paid anything and only when I managed to get this job, I was able to get by on my own, that note that you left me just killed me Murat, ashamed and broken, all I wanted that night, before you were to leave, was to share the news of our baby, but you had an even better news waiting for me, I did not want to steal your thunder and your good fortune of working alone...." she pauses, holding back tears, " .. with Cagla, thousands of miles away from me, I did not want to burden you with having to stay back because of me. All this while, I have been living in a bubble, and only when you left me with that note next to me did I realize my worth - nothing! Heck, I couldn't even provide for myself, that's when I realized how dependent I was on you, but not anymore Murat, I will not put myself in that position ever again." she cries, unable to hold back the tears, making him realize that he would be really really lucky if she even spoke with him, leave alone getting back together, making him realize the extent of hurt his childish behavior had invoked.

Completely broken, Murat has nothing more to say, his actions had left no room for his words to undo the damage. It would only take some divine intervention for Hayat to forgive him.  Dejected and heartbroken, he turns around and leaves her alone in the bedroom, walking away into the bathroom. He stares at himself in the mirror, a tear escaping his eye, unable to forgive himself, he silently changes into a tuxedo, just wanting to get done with the evening. It did not matter any more, it did not matter if Murat Sarsilmaz would become the next big name in the fashion world, it did not matter if the world falls in love with his designs....all that would matter was that the one person who meant the most to him, would not be there to stand beside him and bask in the glory of his success!