Regret - Part II

Regret - Part 9

"What is it brother? " Ayhan asked Osman as he disconnected the call, "Who called?"
"Sanem... " Osman answered distractedly.
"Is she ok,  did something happen?" Ayhan asked anxiously.
"No no!  She just wanted me to come over for a little chat,  that's all... " Osman tried to reassure Ayhan.
"Then why do you look so worried?  I will come with you too.. " Ayhan persisted.
"Oh Ayhan, I have a shipment arriving in the shop today.  I need you to be there in the store. That's what has me worried. Nothing to do with Sanem... " Osman smiled reassuringly at Ayhan who seemed to accept the lie.
" I must be becoming a really good actor.. " Osman thought darkly.
Since he was already dressed, he picked his new car keys,  perks of becoming an actor, and drove towards the Divit house.
" I will have a word with Leyla about this constant tug of war between Sanem and Can. She needs to know everything too.  Sanem had made him promise not to divulge all the gory details to anyone but this secrecy wasn't helping anybody,  specially not Leyla who thought the world about Emre Bey. She needed to know just what kind of a man he was... " Osman kept having these thoughts while driving towards Can's house.

"How could Emre have done that to me?  Did he hate me that much? He knew very well what being a photographer meant to me. The camera was like an extension of my body...and he wanted that part of me excised? When did he turn this cold blooded?" Can kept pacing in his room, bombarded with these agonizing thoughts.
" And to involve Sanem in this fiasco, to turn her into an accomplice, albeit an ignorant one,  but... " Can was stopped dead in his track by the piercing noice of the calling bell.
He went to the door and opened it to find a harrowed looking Osman. He opened the door wider and started to speak only to be rendered speechless when Osman asked, " Sanem and Leyla have finished packing? "
Can looked stupidly at Osman without comprehending the question.
"Packed?  For what?  How can Sanem travel in her condition?" answered a disgruntled Can.
" Yes but she called me an hour back... speaking of Sanem where is she?" Osman poked his head inside Sanem's room only to find it empty. He turned just in time to catch a glimpse of Can dashing out towards the gazebo.
" Just what the hell is going on?? " Osman thought a little angrily. He followed the path taken by Can and came out in the open courtyard. The tablue before him halted him in his tracks. Can had a semiconscious Sanem in his arms. One look at her confirmed three things at once,  she was cold, she had been crying and currently she was in immense pain,  of what sort though was really up for debate.
Can ignored Osman and carried Sanem to her room. Osman followed shortly but going by Can's demeanour refrained from asking the obvious.
But he couldn't hold himself for long.
"What's going in Can? Why is Sanem left all alone like this and where is Leyla? She should have been back from office by now... " he didn't get to finish his last question when Can literally dropped the bomb on him,
"Leyla is away on a business trip with Emre. She entrusted me to look after Sanem and I have been committing one blunder after the other since... " Can replied his eyes fixed on Sanem's pale face. He kept touching her face. Her hands were freezing almost and he began to rub them to ward of the chill.
Osman felt like his heart break into a million pieces. He was astounded that no body heard the agonizing sound of his heart being decimated. He stood there like a statue and didn't immediately respond to Can's query about Sanem's phone call to him.
Can looked back at Osman and found him staring at nothing in particular with a soul destroying look in his eyes. He felt remorse at having dropped the news about Leyla's whereabouts on him this way. Osman was an intelligent man. He was adept at understanding the ramifications of that which was left unsaid. Can stood up from his crouched position and walked towards Osman. He laid his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it to gain his attention. "Can you be with Sanem while I call the doctor? I think she is in shock and the doctor must be consulted... " Can left the room to make the call.
Osman walked towards Sanem and sat down on the only chair beside her bed. He looked at her and realized that she was now awake and looking at him with a keen understanding.
" Sometimes things happen, that too not the way we want them to.."
" She couldn't have phrased it better" Osman thought miserably. He wanted to ask about Leyla but instead asked the second most pertinent question, " Why did you want to leave Sanem? What just happened?"
"I told Can about my involvement in the near loss of his photography license.."
" Near loss. He never lost it thanks to you Sanem" Osman pointed out immediately.
" Yes. But had it not been for me,  those pictures would have never reached Emre Bey.." Sanem replied brokenly.
" But you never knew what he was planning to do with them. You never knew he would use them nefariously."
"No, I didn't know about his exact plans but I did realize he wouldn't be doing anything good with them either. After that magical night in the cabin I was sure that Can felt something for me too. But then Guliz mentioned about Polen and I lost my mind. I became so angry. I thought he was playing with my feelings inspite of having a steady girlfriend...I feel so ashamed now Osman..." Sanem broke down and began to cry.
" And all this while you kept it hidden and allowed it to fester like a vicious wound?" Can spoke into the ensuing silence.
Both Sanem and Osman turned to look at Can standing by the open door.
"How much did he hear?" Osman and Sanem thought simultaneously but with different expectations.
Can slowly walked into the room and crouched down beside Sanem. He took her slightly trembling hand in his steadier ones and kissed her knuckles slowly.
" All I ever wanted Sanem was for you trust me and let me in on your secrets.  I realized there were things that you were holding back from me,  things that were holding you back from being yourself." Can spoke softly.
" I believed that you would never forgive me and would send me away...I couldn't bear that! " Sanem replied with tears in her eyes.
"I was a hard man Sanem and found it difficult to forgive people.  But you changed me. You made me realize that my heart is capable of loving someone immensely. That forgiveness is a virtue borne out of love. A love that is as beautiful and pure as the heart that nurtures it within itself. Your heart.... " Can kissed Sanem on the forehead before continuing..
"I wouldn't say it will always be easy to be with me, but we can learn to walk this path together. All I ask you Sanem is to trust me. To tell me everything that worries you and I promise to do the same with you. No more secrets... " Can finished passionately.
Osman felt like a voyeur while being captivated by the poignant moment unfolding before him. He realizd that inspite of all his faults Can truly loved Sanem and she loved him too. Their love for each other was strong and real. He wiped an unruly tear from his eyes and cleared his throat in an attempt to gain their attention.
" I don't think Sanem is leaving anytime soon?" Osman smiled mischievously.
"Not if I can help it..." Can replied not looking away from Sanem who looked back at him with all the love in her eyes.
Osman smiled at the happy couple before him one last time and silently slipped out of the room.  He walked towards the door and opened it noiselessly only to come face to face with a very tearful Leyla...

To be continued....