Erkenci Kuş: Bad For Me

Chapter 15: In Which Things Start to Unravel for Yigit

Author's Note: I thought it fitting to give you a gift with today being Christmas Day - Yigit served his just deserts. Merry Christmas! 

***

Can's fingers clenched around the cool rim of his coffee mug, the dark liquid inside mirroring the turbulent storm brewing within him. Morning light spilled into the kitchen, but Can felt engulfed by an inescapable shadow. Across from him, a stack of unopened mail loomed like an indictment, every envelope a potential clue that might unravel the tangle of lies spun by Yigit and Huma.

Can's mind went back to a few days ago when Polen had dropped by.

Polen, her face pale and drawn, entered the room. She handed a set of photographs to Can—pictures of Yigit living a lavish lifestyle, documents with figures that tallied up to grand theft.

"Yigit fled Canada after swindling people out of hundreds of thousands," Polen revealed, her voice laced with regret. "I'm sorry, Can. I didn't know the depth of his deceit."

"Polen, this..." Can began, but no words followed. Shock painted his features as he absorbed the gravity of the situation.

Polen's voice trembled as she continued, her eyes welling up with tears. "I'm so sorry, Can. I never meant for any of this to happen. Huma approached me with a plan to separate you and Sanem, and I was foolish enough to believe her lies."

Polen's apology hung in the air, heavy with the weight of her guilt. Can stared at her, his eyes filled with a mix of betrayal and disbelief. The room seemed to spin around him as he struggled to process the truth that had been unveiled before him.

"You...you were working with Huma?" Can choked out, his voice faltering. "To split us up?"

Polen nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Can. I thought...I thought I was doing the right thing. But I didn't realise how far they were willing to go. They manipulated me, just like they manipulated you and Sanem. Yigit convinced me to 'invest' in one of his schemes, and now I've lost everything, including my business."

Can's fists clenched tighter around the coffee mug as anger surged through him. The realisation that his relationship with Sanem had been torn apart by calculated schemes fuelled a fire within him. He took a deep breath, desperately trying to regain his composure.

"Tell me everything," Can demanded, his voice laced with determination. "I want to know every detail of their plan."

Polen buried her face in her hands, tears slipping through her fingers. "I was lonely, Can. Vulnerable," she admitted, shame colouring her words. "I wanted someone who would love me genuinely, and I wanted you back."

She wiped away her tears, her voice trembling as she recounted the events leading up to this moment. She revealed how Huma had approached her with promises of reunification and happiness for her and Can if she played her part in their separation.

"Enough," he muttered through gritted teeth, the decision solidifying in his core as if it had been forged in steel. He set the cup down with a decisive clink, the sound cutting through the silence of the room. He could not, would not, allow their treachery to fester in the shadows any longer.

"Time to shine a light on the truth," Can whispered to himself, his jaw set in determination. He reached for his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found the number he never thought he'd call. The weight of betrayal sat heavy on his chest, but it was the resolve to expose it that propelled him forward now.

"Kemal," he spoke into his phone with urgency. "I need your investigative skills." Can's voice was calm, belying the undercurrent of emotion threatening to surface.