SerCem: Unrequited

Old Habits Die Hard

Serap took a tub of cookies and cream ice cream with her up to her room. If there wasn't a knock at her door, she'd have eaten through the whole thing without realizing it. It was Faruk stopping by to tell her he'd be out for a few hours. She found the strength to replace the lid on the ice cream, then slipped into the shower after she did so. Trying not to think about Cem, she returned to reading a few chapters of the book that failed to capture her attention for the last two months. She dozed off and when she woke up, it was noon. It was as good a day as any to send out a few job applications, she decided. But her mind inevitably came back to Cem.

The night before her wedding, Ipek showed Serap documents suggesting Cem had paid in full for a two-week stay at the Özel Çapa Hastanesi Hospital last year. The problem was that Serap knew Cem was never hospitalized because she was still his emergency contact. But there his name was, listed on the paper as 'patient.' The moment the facts registered in her mind; her heart sank. Since then, she's kept an ear out around the mansion for anything that gave the impression that anyone in their circle was recently ill. And because she was reluctant to ask her mom straight up, she was no closer to finding anything out thirty-six hours later.

**

After walking away from Serap earlier that morning, Cem paced the length of his house. He wasn't sure if he was angrier he didn't have a plausible reason for his return ready to throw in Serap's face that didn't involve her, or because she'd guessed correctly that he and Nisan had a falling out over her. He was supposed to be calm and detached in Serap's presence. Cold even. But he couldn't even manage lukewarm. He was nothing less than hot-headed around her these days. And his plan fell apart because of it. Surely, she understood the grip she still had on him from his emotional fit just now.

When the sun was close to setting, he set out for the mansion to see if he could find Nisan to apologize for his outburst. Instead, he ran into Mürvet and the woman was smug, more than usual. She walked past him like he was invisible. He remembered Nisan's words on how quickly she adjusted to being the Gencer family mother-in-law.

"Good evening," Cem said.

She stopped and took a few steps back in his direction, trying to hide her annoyance. "Didn't see you there, Cem. How have you been?" she managed cooly.

Yeah, right. "How have you been? Better yet, what have you been up to?"

"Excuse me?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Look at me." Cem came forward to tower over the older woman. "I've been considering it, and it suddenly doesn't seem too far-fetched to think that you're at the centre of what transpired here these last few days."

She didn't back down. Instead, she stretched her neck to look up at him. "Serap is no damsel. You'd be better off trying to find someone else to save. Someone who suits you."

It was the first time she had verbally hinted at his relationship with her daughter. "And here I was convincing myself you've become a better influence over the years."

"You've forgotten your place, son." There was nothing motherly about her tone.

Maybe he was out of line, but Cem dropped his lips to her ear and showed his hand for the second time that day. Only this time, he did so deliberately.

"If I ever find out that you, in any way, encouraged Serap in this direction, hinted at anything close to this, or even insinuated the possibility, you had better fear me."

He walked away before she could get in a last word. Feeling suffocated, Cem got into his car and started driving.

**

Serap's investigative luck changed when she saw Ayça in the kitchen that night. All she had to do was guide the conversation in that direction and the girl did the rest.