10 Minutes

"You can be sure of that".

Sanem thanked the entire board for all the work that had been done on behalf of the children. She addressed each member and offered her sincere thanks and reinforced the bonds that had been made when they first accepted her into their fold. They had seen something in her that she had barely caught a glimpse of herself and they had supported her then just as they did so now. "We will miss you señorita Sanem. What will we ever do without you?" Sanem smiled as the tears welled in her eyes but she bravely held on to her composure unlike her complete and utter breakdown with the children earlier in the day. "You will all be just fine. You taught me to find my wings and now it's your turn to find your own. Without you all their would never have been this foundation to worry about today. I promise that I will not abandon you and that the endowment that I set up will be there for you and all those that follow you. I will make sure if it". It took a while to get through the room as they all had become a family. Each member took their time in saying their farewells but when it was all over she felt a sense of freedom and a her spirit renewed. It was time to go home. To build her life with Can. She would be an aunty soon and she wanted to be their for her brother and Leyla. Can still had legal issues to contend with but he would face them head on and she would be there to support him. She walked out of the elevator and into the parking structure only to find herself face to face with the last person she wanted to see today. She had intended of saying her goodbyes but not here and certainly not alone. She knew he was resentful still but she didn't fear him. What she was though was somewhat embarrassed of her behavior with him even though she had allowed the intimacy then because she wanted to forget Can Divit in his arms. Now as she stood looking up into the green eyes of this tall, handsome and proud man she knew she had no choice but to just get it done and over with. She owed him a great deal, he had saved her when she nearly crumbled into pieces. She had loved him in a way but Cans arrival had only crystallized to her that it wasn't the kind of love that she could form a marriage and a lifetime with. She had idealized him as a child and then crushed on him. He had been her rebound of sorts even though she hadn't realized it until later. She had hurt him and for that she was truly sorry. It was time to face it and so she did. "Alejandro Karaja, fancy meeting you here".

Can had waited patiently at home and nearly jumped out of his skin when the phone rang. She sounded emotional but happy and for that he was grateful. She told him that she had a few things to wrap up but that she would be home to have dinner and a late night swim. He told her he loved her and that he would be impatiently waiting for her to do just that. Since his father and their family had left less than a week before, they had spent every minute together. She was his miracle and he knew that whatever might come their way he would never let her go. Never. He walked out onto the wrap around porch and stared out to sea. His minds eye brining back the look in her eyes when he proposed to her and she had finally accepted. He had crushed her to himself, lifting her off the bed in his hurry to call her his own. She was nude but for the sheets wrapped around her. It took a nano second for them to fall into each other's arms and make love as if though it was their first time. It had been raw, emotional and truly an act of selflessness. She aimed only to please him as he did her. When they finally rested in one another arms she slowly and through tears told him her story of love, hope and loss. Each word left it's mark on him. She stopped and held him when his pain at learning of her own was just too much. Even in her own grief she still sheltered him. He could never deserve her but their was just enough selfishness left in him to never let her go. He had begged her forgiveness but she had stopped him before he could express thoroughly his sorrow. She told him emphatically that she hadn't blamed him as much as she had blamed herself for being so foolish as to have allowed herself to become a pawn for Yigit. The mere thought of that man's name even now as he recalled that day made his blood boil. She had suffered because someone hated him, was so jealous of him and his family that they would try and ruin a person who was innocent of any blame. She had calmed him then when he had wanted to fly home and tear the man's heart out but she had told him that there was still much to unravel between them. Trust was key to their new life and so was loyalty. Without it they would falter again. They mutually decided that it would be best to go home, talk with her parents and right the wrongs of the past. Together, as one. When she told him that she wanted to tell the board herself, alone he had tried to prevent her but soon realized that the woman who stood before him needed to do that alone. He accepted her choice and supported her even though he hated to let her face the emotional upheaval that he was sure it would bring her. Now as he stood at the railing looking out toward the horizon he had only one thought. He would marry her, father her children and live a life only to make hers better. That was his goal and purpose and he knew he would achieve it.

Alejandro watched as she exited the elevator and slowly stood up tall, away from the wall he leaned against. She was as beautiful as ever but the images of her lovemaking with Divit crowded his favorite memories of her and his mood threatened to become morose and even nasty. He cleared his mind as best he could and smiled. Try as he might he couldn't hate her. She had never lied to him and she had never encouraged him until he had begun to seduce her. Divit had been the fly in the ointment. That was something he should have seen coming but it was too late for that now. "Sanem. When we're you going to tell me you were leaving us? Leaving the foundation and the children? Did I have to hear it from the members of the board? Do you really find me so distasteful that you wouldn't come and say goodbye in person?" He watched her eyes as her brows came together in worry. He had struck home as he had wanted to. "Why Sanem? Is your obsession for this man, this man that devastated your life so much so that you would break your promises?" He knew he was hurting her but once the words were out of his mouth he couldn't stop. His own pain filled him with anger as he spoke. "I can barely accept that you are the same woman who bared her soul to me and who allowed me to believe in a future with you and ....". He had pushed her to her breaking point and while it hurt him he couldn't look away. "Alejandro please.
Don't do this. You and I both know that I never lied to you. I never intended to have feelings for you stronger than those of a teenaged girl, but... it happened in the midst of a torrent of emotions. I am sorry that I hurt you. I'm sorry that I ruined our friendship and that I..." He watched her and all he felt was disgust at himself for humbling her this way but he couldn't stop. "I nearly bed you. On more than one occasion if you'll recall. Have you told him that. Have you told him how you offered yourself to me. How you accepted my kisses and caresses and that...". He saw her face flush with anger and humiliation and it felt good for a moment. "Enough....that's more than enough. We're adults Alex. Both of us. I never forced you to do anything or be anything to me but I am grateful just the same for the friendship you gave me because you did save me. I will never forget it.....but that doesn't give you the right to denigrate the emotions and feelings of a beautiful memory to the point of vulgarity". He watched her stand straight and tall and it made him hate himself a little more. "I had love for you Alejandro. That was all true but not the love you deserve. You are a wonderful man, please don't make this the way we remember each other. I don't want that". He looked down at his feet and then away before suddenly rushing toward her and pulling her into his embrace as he lowered his mouth to hers, inches away from her lips. She pressed her hands to his chest but he persisted nonetheless. "You would have loved me enough Sanem had it not been for..."....
"Me....if it had not been for me?" The voice of the man now standing less than a six feet from them made his jaw set in a hard stance. Sanem shoved at his chest just as Divit took a step forward and said "take your hands off of my fiancé". He released her then. His face felt the rush of blood that rose from the very depths of his heart. He hadn't taken his eyes off her until then. "No more. There is nothing left to say Alejandro. I'm leaving. I'm leaving with Can back to Istanbul. I've said my farewells and no matter what you may think I wasn't going to slink away in the night. I had planned to speak with you tomorrow but....but now there's no point". She had moved beside the proud and angry man who had wrapped a protective arm around her waist as he stood boring holes into his skull from a distance. He shook himself and tried to keep calm as he reigned in his emotions. He had only allowed himself the freedom of emotions with her but now she was lost to him. "And what of your baby Sanem? Huh? Will you so easily leave her behind here in this country that gave you refuge and love from a pain so great you nearly died". He saw how that hit home as the man closed his eyes and fisted his hands but he didn't move while she held him closer yet. "Did you tell him how it was for you all those days as you cried yourself to sleep? Or that you could scarcely get out of bed or feed yourself? I wonder, will you ever be able to truly forget what he did to you or will you just end up resenting him when you can't have children as a result of your miscarriage". It was too late for him to retaliate as the man lurched forward and struck him. It knocked him to the ground in no small way. He was as big as him and as powerful as well. He knew it would hurt worse tomorrow than now. Sanems screams and pleas for them to quit only made him more furious. "Go then. Go and be with this person who wrecked havoc on your life but know that even now I will welcome you back into my arms when he breaks your heart again Sanem, because he will, you can be sure of that".