Sanem was in her bedroom, looking at her reflection in her vanity mirror and couldn't help but admire how well her new red dress flattered her figure. She hoped Can would like it. Even though he seemed to like her in whatever she wore, it was clear he did appreciate her in a more elegant dress.
She had just finished applying her lipstick when Leyla came rushing in, wearing a bathrobe and with a towel in her hair, frantically looking for a pair of purple earrings. Sanem had to calm her sister's nerves, which were not just due to the missing jewelry, but also because of the gathering that evening.
The time for Leyla and Osman's engagement was fast approaching and Sanem realized that Leyla's supposed panic over a pair of earrings was masking the true reason for her anxiety.
She wanted a chance to talk to her sister. Really talk to her. But so far that evening their mother had kept them too busy with preparations to afford a few minutes for some serious talk about life choices.
While her mother was occupied downstairs in the kitchen, Sanem saw an opportunity and opened Leyla's bedroom door to see a vision in lavender.
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"Abla! How beautiful you look!"
"Thank you, Sanem." Leyla did a few turns as she looked at herself in the mirror. She took a quick deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling quickly, and held her stomach which seemed to be filled with butterflies.
Sanem sat on Leyla's bed and patted the mattress next to her, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine." Leyla said simply as she joined her on the bed.
Sanem recognized the fake smile on her sister's beautiful face, and it broke her heart to think about how long it had been since she had seen a true smile there.
Sanem placed a hand over Leyla's and it felt cold to the touch, "'Fine' isn't exactly the word you want from a bride-to-be." Another fake smile appeared but before Leyla could protest, Sanem cut her off, "Leyla, are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure."
"But what about...Emre...?" He may not have been Sanem's favorite person in the world, but she couldn't deny that the last time she had seen a real smile from her sister was when she was with Emre.
"What about him? Emre doesn't want me and Osman does. Emre couldn't even be with me for a week before he gave me up. Osman has been in love with me his whole life and has never given up on me. Not once."
"Can gave me up once and he was about to do it again. Our relationship hasn't been easy...the lies, the sneaking around, the cultural differences. And it will continue to take work. But it will be so worth it. Osman is the easy choice, I get that. But the easy choice may not be the right one."
"Are you telling me to choose Emre over Osman?"
"No. I'm telling you to choose you. You don't have to have one or the other. Since when has having a man been a priority for you?"
