Tears of love

06 | 𝐍𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞

Nehir fought her tears. She couldn't cry. Not there. Not now.

She barely threw a look at the restaurant. It was enough to be able to tell that it hadn't been her mother who decorated it. It lacked the extravagance Neslihan loved.

She stood on the terrace from behind the restaurant, knowing her mother would come soon enough. And she shouldn't let Neslihan see her crying.

"Here."

Fidan handed her a napkin, and Nehir wiped her tears. Her sister-in-law wore a long purple dress with a modest V-neckline. Her red hair was wavy, and she wore simple pearl earrings.

"Thank you," Nehir said.

"You're welcome. It's just an engagement. It can still be broken."

Nehir shaked her head. She knew her father. He wanted so much to work with Davut and then with Ahmet from Istanbul. He won't break the engagement.

"You know my father."

"Unfortunately," Fidan answered.

Nehir hesitated. She hadn't spoken a lot to Fidan. Her sister-in-law hadn't been too eager to spend time at their house. They barely talked at the wedding, and nothing more than just some pleasantries.

Normally, she would talk to Ayşe. But her sister wasn't there and Nehir couldn't call her.

"How can I do this? How can I accept to marry someone I don't love?"

Fidan sighed, and only then did Nehir realise what she had said.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be," her sister-in-law said. "I'm the best person to give advice on this. I did it, didn't I?"

Fidan seemed to be thinking for a few moments. "Think about the people you love. About what will happen to them if you refuse. And do it for them."

"Does it make it easier?"

"No," Fidan said, surprising Nehir with her sincerity. "I'm not going to lie to you. It doesn't make it easier. I can't tell how you'll feel, but it didn't make it easier for me. I felt as if someone was twisting a knife in my heart, as if everyone I loved looked at me and hated me for betraying them."

They stood in silence for a few moments. Or maybe minutes. Nehir couldn't tell how long it had passed.

"If you love someone else," Fidan said finally, "then it's harder. Because you will feel as if you're betraying him. As if you're stabbing the one you love again and again and you can't stop."

Nehir rose her gaze and looked at her sister-in-law. There were no tears in Fidan's eyes, just a deep sadness. Did... Did she love someone else? Maybe someone from the place she came from?

"Did you..." Nehir trailed off. She knew Fidan might not want to tell her. She had no reason to share something like that with Nehir.

"Yes. I loved someone else. I still love him, and that's why I hate your father."

Nehir sighed. It was what her father did. Ayşe escaped, but she had no idea who else could. Hakan and Fidan failed. Nehir had no idea how things would turn for her. And Bora... her brother changed. Or maybe he had always been like that, and Nehir didn't notice.

"It's just an engagement," Fidan said again.

"Can you help us?" Nehir asked suddenly. "Ayşe said you could."

"Us?" Fidan asked. Nehir didn't answer, and she knew her sister-in-law understood. Fidan sighed. "It's risky. But I can try. There are very few things your father can do to me. I'm not afraid of him."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Maybe Fidan could actually help. Maybe they actually had a chance. Maybe it was possible, after all.

"Nehir, you have to tell them. If you want to have a chance, you have to tell everyone you don't want to marry Yavuz."

Nehir sighed. Her mother would do something bad. She knew Neslihan. Her mother would make Nehir regret. She would do anything to punish her.

"Will it make a difference?"

From all she knew, they didn't care. Her father couldn't care less than she didn't want to marry Yavuz. She didn't know if Davut or his son would care. She had her doubts.

"I know Davut," Fidan said. "He too has a daughter. She's still in Ankara, studying. I know he wouldn't do something like this to his own daughter. Neither would Dilek."

But why would they care about Nehir? She was no one to them. They didn't know her. Why would they care what she wanted when her own father didn't?

Nehir heard footsteps and turned around to see her brother. Bora was dressed in a black suit, and he did not seem to care that she was miserable.

"Mom said Davut and his family will arrive in a couple of minutes. And Dilek wants to see you. She said to smile and look happy."

Nehir scoffed. She wasn't a good actress. How did they expect her to look happy when she was dying inside?

"Mom said to tell you to stop crying. She doesn't want you to embarrass us further."

"We got the idea," Fidan said. "Get lost, Bora!"

"Fidan–"

"We got the idea. Now get lost! People have better things to do than see you following Neslihan's orders like a loyal dog."

"Stop it or–"

"Or what? You'll hit me? You'll hit your sister? What do you think Hakan would have to say about that? How happy do you think Metin would be to see his son embarrassing the family in front of Davut? Get lost already!"

Nehir turned away from her brother, but she didn't have to see Bora to know he was angry. Fidan didn't even seem to care about what Bora would do. She was right, though. Metin wouldn't like to see Bora embarrass the family at the engagement.

She heard Bora walk away and ignored him. A few moments passed before Fidan rose her gaze.

"Neslihan and Dilek are coming," she whispered.

Nehir took a deep breath and rose from her chair. Her mother came towards them with a short woman. She wore a blue blouse and a black shirt, her black hair caught in an elegant bun.

"You know Fidan," Neslihan said. "This is my daughter, Nehir."

"Welcome," Nehir muttered, earning a glance from her mother.

"Thank you, my dear," Dilek said. "I wanted to meet you, but I didn't have the chance. I only arrived this morning, and I was busy with the preparations. I have to admit your mother surprised me when she said we should have the engagement earlier."

"Well," Neslihan said, "Metin and I decided it would be better. Why wait another week?"

Dilek seemed to completely ignore Neslihan's words, looking at her watch. "Look how late it is! We should get started."