The Wedding Night...

Trust needs to be earned...

Dilan felt Baran's arm on her, just as she was going out the door. "I don't like this, Dilan. I don't want you to get upset. And I'm sure you will. Let me go instead... I will say that you feel unwell..." She turned to him. "Baran, please..." His eyes told her he was preparing to insist. "Trust me. I won't let anyone disturb me or the babies." He held her hands and caressed them. He was thinking. "I will go with you." She felt she needed to face this by herself. "Baran!" She was getting upset and he noticed. "Fine! Fine! I will walk you there and wait for you inside..." She thought about it. "This is me compromising, Dilan. Don't ask me more than that." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Overprotective maniac." She resumed walking and he caught up after which he held her hand. "When it comes to you and my family, yes. And I'm not at all sorry about it." She took her free hand to her belly. "Children, This is the father you will have to deal with, sorry for that. I'll try to compensate you for it. I promise." He said nothing but rolled his eyes. Dilan would not admit it to her husband. But feeling his hand as they walked towards the gazebo, ease some of her nervousness. Soon she saw her, the woman she grew up knowing as her mother. She had no idea why Ms. Hanife wanted to see her, but she was determined to meet her. When the woman realized they were coming, she stood from the chair. "Dilan, we can still turn back." He must have noticed her tension. "No, it's fine. I'm fine." She reassured him. She could get a better view of the woman as they reached the gazebo. She looked as nervous as Dilan was. "Ms. Hanife, how are you?" She didn't look at Dilan when she replied. "As well as I can be under the circumstances, child. You? Cevdet told me. Carrying two babies can't be easy." She glanced at Baran who seemed not to have the intention of leaving.

Dilan motioned for Ms. Hanife to sit, as Dilan sat in a chair opposite her. In Baran's face, Dilan read apprehension, but she was relieved when he left. Once alone, she and Ms. Hanife fell into awkward silence. "Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee?" The woman was quick to answer. "No need for that child... You must be wondering what I'm doing here." She was. No matter how hard Dilan thought about it, she could not figure out the reason for Ms. Hanife's visit. "There is something I wanted to say to you before I lose my memories..." There was a long pause. "I'm sorry, child. I'm sorry for everything I did to you. No matter what, I shouldn't have taken my anger out of you..." Dilan was stunned. "I don't expect you to accept my apologies. I wouldn't if I were you." For Dilan, it was not hard to forgive. That was not the issue. But she really wanted to know why Ms. Hanife hated her so much. "Why? Was there a reason?" Hanife looked beyond Dilan. "What is the use? Everything I say would seem like an attempt to justify the unjustifiable." Dilan insisted. "I need to know." Another long pause. She was surprised when Ms. Hanife began talking. "I didn't know your mother, but I heard of her. Everyone in Mardin talked about her. About her beauty and all. Honestly, I didn't think much of the woman. I minded my own business even when everyone started criticizing her for being a single mother..." Dilan felt sad for her mother. How hard it must have been for her. "When Seyit brought you home... When Seyit... No one believed Hikmet was your father. So everyone started talking about us. They said Seyit was your biological father and that I was raising his daughter with another woman... I knew that was not the case, Seyit has never been that type of man, but I hated it to feel their judging eyes on me, and I hated you. I felt it was too much. I had Cevdet and Zümrüt. We were barely surviving and with you... The rumors... It was too much." Dilan didn't know what to think as Ms. Hanife kept talking.

Baran was pacing the entrance hall back and forth. First, Ms. Gözde, and now, Ms. Hanife. "Son?" His father was coming down the stairs. "You seem worried. Is everything okay? Dilan?" Baran didn't stop. "Dilan is at the gazebo with Ms. Hanife." His dad seemed as puzzled as he was. "Hanife? Why?" Baran had no idea and that bothered him. "I don't know." He walked towards the door and grabbed the handle. "Son. You need to calm down. I don't think she would come all this way to upset Dilan." His father sounded confident but Baran was not sure. "We can't never know with that woman. Until this day she has done nothing but mistreat Dilan... How can someone hate her? How can someone not see the innocence and purity in Dilan's heart? How could she deprive her of love?" His father put his hand on Baran's shoulder. "Some people can't see beyond their problems, son. They could have a diamond in front of them, and miss its beauty and value... That woman... The Demirs... They lived in fear not only of the family but also Hassan." Baran was losing it. "That does not justify her actions." His dad agreed. "It doesn't. However, people react to circumstances differently than what you would expect." Baran didn't care. "They should have been grateful. Seyit was free because the man they knew as her father took the fault. They should have been grateful. Instead..." The door opened interrupting the conversation. "Dilan!" Baran noticed the tears in her eyes. "What did she do? What did that woman say to you?" Baran launched for the door to go after Hanife. "Baran!" Dilan grabbed his arm stopping him. "She came to apologize." He turned puzzled. "Apologized?" The nerve of that woman knew no limits. "Like her actions could be forgiven." He did not try to hide the hate in his voice. "Baran... I forgave her. I don't want to live with resentment in my heart. I don't want our children to grow in the shadow of that..."