10 Minutes

"I can do anything for you"

The morning sun was engulfed in clouds and would only peek out occasionally as the minutes ticked by. He hadn't moved a muscle from his place on the chair because his head throbbed from the liquor he had hammered the night before. It hadn't occurred to him then but he knew that there was always a risk involved but he hadn't cared then. Now he was concerned and now that he knew the full ramifications of it and he marveled at how similar they were in their thinking. She hadn't been in contact with him since Italy but since the news of his arrest was announced she had made contact. Part of him revolted from the news but the other part relished in her plans for it. As he sat their he allowed his mind to reminisce. Not on a beautiful life that he had succinctly ruined but rather a life of pain and emptiness.  He had been given away like a piece of old clothing. Not wanted and not considered. He had been raised with wealth and luxury but not with love. Simply tolerated. When his "mother" lay dyeing she had called for him. He had been shocked at first since they had little to no interaction. It wasn't recent. It had always been that way. She was a loving mother but just not to him. His siblings had received the benefit of her love and devotion but he had received her unbending tolerance but not love. Never love. Now as she lay on her deathbed she had called for him but non other. Secretly he hoped it might be to finally ask for his forgiveness. To tell him what he had never heard from her. That she loved him and that she had always loved him. Instead he was told a truth that would torture him, haunt him until he had done something about it. She told him she hadn't regretted anything in her life except for taking him in as her own. That she regretted it bitterly but even now as she lay there dying before his eyes she asked for his forgiveness. She told him that she had begun to fall in love with the newborn that had been placed in her arms when she had been motherless but that her heart had turned to stone and she had then been unable to love him when she had found out his origins. She had never been lied to but she hadn't known until much later how he had come to be born. She tried to explain that it had been too late for them to build a relationship because by then he was a grown man no longer living at home and too much resentment had been built up between them. She actually begged him to forgive her and to try and live a life that would honor his real mother but he had stopped listening by then. He had looked at the woman in the bed who had aged poorly because of her illness and remembered the regal and tall beautiful woman that he knew as mother. She had been the socialite of the town and most women had found her intimidating and feared her wit. She was spontaneous and boisterous and loving but not with him. With him she had been strict, hard and unforgiving of any mistakes or carelessness. His father had never intervened on his behalf, when he died and she remarried and everything got worse. A new husband and the arrival of his siblings separated him even further from the woman he knew as mother. He wanted love desperately but it would never come. He had grown up in a home where he watched love be poured out but never on him. Now as she reached for his hand with her pale and withered one he backed away and straightened himself up to his full height. He was surprised that his voice was strong and clear but hollow when he finally spoke "I will offer you nothing more and nothing less than what you gave me all the years I was under your care. You have my contempt, my tolerance and my resentment but you will never have my forgiveness. The only good thing you leave me is the knowledge that you are truly not my mother and for that I thank you. Goodbye Huma, may Allah grant you all that your deserve". With that he walked out of their family home for the last time and never looked back. He was almost eighteen then. It seemed so long gone ago. He had learned a hard truth but he needed to know more and when he finally discovered his very roots he couldn't have been more surprised or more enraged by what he had missed out on. He couldn't understand why he had been the victim of these ruthless people but he would become their punisher. None would be left unscathed until he no longer felt the pain of an unloved child.

Metin sat in his chair with phone in hand prepared to contact Can but his heart wasn't in it. He just couldn't be the one to bring bad news into his life when he had heard how happy the man was again. He had survived nearly being killed in a car crash and he was recovering well with the love of his life whom he had just been reunited with. How could he possibly burst in with this news that would surely make a terrible impact on whatever it was he and Sanem were living. He wasn't even sure if it was true although the evidence was mounting. At first when he had received the message he had been resistant to believe it was true. Then when he had made inquiries it seemed that it might be possible but that there could be no certainty until further proofs were provided. They came in the form of pictures that were all to incriminating. He suspected that Can had been un unwitting participant. Too sorrowful and or drunk to remember anything. The photos bothered him as well. Why would there have been a need for photos at all? None but a few knew he was there. Then there was the question of timing. Why was this all coming out now. Why hadn't it been made public knowledge sooner. Something was wrong and he wasn't willing to ruin something without concrete evidence. They had been resistant to provide it but when it had finally come he had been surprised to learn that he might possibly be wrong. Although he would need to prove that this wasn't falsified his gut told him that there was something wrong but he had yet to discover it. He set the handset back down on the cradle and thought for a moment. He pressed the intercom and asked for his legal assistant to come in. When she walked in the room he was once again taken by the lovely beauty that he had been so lucky to hire away from the competition. She was a redhead with a face and figure that left him wondering why in the world she hadn't been married or taken. The thought had occurred to him that she might not be into men, not that he judged people that way, but she didn't have any type of a love relationship with a man or a woman. He then cursed himself lightly for considering that those attributes were the only reason she would have a relationship in the first place. The twenty first century man that he was still had caveman wiring to straighten out. He nodded his head slightly as she made her way to the work table where all the information was laid out. He knew she lived with her sister and had been orphaned along with a younger brother and sister and that they had been raised by an elderly aunt in Capadoccia. He only knew this because she was very proud of her efforts to put her self through school as well as her sister and brother and it was part of her file when she formerly applied. The brother had earned a scholarship in basketball and was playing for a top team in Spain. The sister was still in school, in her last year and studying chemical engeneering. She herself had dropped out of law school in order to manage the tuition for her siblings. She had secured herself an internship and then gained employment in a law office in order to keep learning but wouldn't go back to school until her sister graduated. He had been impressed with her sharp mind and assertiveness when it came to the cases they worked on but when related to anything personal she would become quite withdrawn and cautious. It was clear to him that she had had a difficult childhood but that the woman who now stood before him was built with character and determination and a great deal of love for her remaining family. He had paid her well to steal her away from the smaller firm and had given her a promotion when her first year had come around.  Now as she stood in his office eager to assist him he watched her as she went over the information before them. The accusation, the investigation, the proofs and then his misgivings. He kept from her that it was regarding his closest friend. They had never met and he couldn't remember a time when he had mentioned Can. Now as she sat next to him going over his notes and writing her own he again felt a sense of happiness steal over him. He had never been much of a ladies man. He had been involved once before but she was into his status and money more than himself. It hadn't put him off relationships really but he wasn't a player and he only wanted to get involved if it meant something lasting would come if it. He parents had a true love match and he wanted the same for himself. His family came from generations of money but he had established himself on his own without the help of his parents money or influence by moving away to England as a young man. He had returned five years ago and set up his own firm and it had been growing ever since. When he had first learned about Cans relationship to Sanem he was curious and not convinced his friend would finally be settling down but when he met Sanem he understood why. Beautiful, intelligent, open and a friendly to all, she was a delight. Soon he discovered she was headstrong and determined and more than a match for his aloof and too good at everything friend. He couldn't deny he had been somewhat envious of what Can and Sanem had as well as Leyla and Emre. He had gotten to know them very well and he admired them. He had also seen things blowup and stood by while his friend suffered and his new friendship with Sanem became that of a protector. He shook his head wondering where all that had come from. Elif was concentrating on what was before her as he looked at her profile and it suddenly struck him that what he was feeling could no longer be called admiration or a silly crush, it was more. It was soft and warm and it enveloped him with a feeling he hadn't known before. She turned just then and caught him staring at her and before he could think of something to say she surprised him. Really surprised him. "Metin Bay, I believe you want to ask me something?" Her eyes shone bright and her smile was soft with her lips turned up slightly at the edges. When he didn't answer quickly enough she proceeded "alright, then let me do the asking, Metin Bay would you care to dine with me this evening. My treat, but don't expect anything grand, my boss is generous but I'm on a budget". He felt his stomach lurch and then he laughed. A full and hearty laugh before he settled down with a smile that made him feel right with the world. "Yes Elif Hanim. It would be my pleasure. Something traditional, perhaps in the old district? I feel like that would be in order". When she smiled this time, it was fully and he got another punch to the gut that nearly made him uncomfortable. He thanked Allah for giving him the wisdom to hire this woman and perhaps if he was generous Allah would give him so much more than what he dared hope for.