Artemis (CanEm Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Nine

When Leyla arrived at work the next morning, she had a spring to her step. Nobody else knew it yet but the agency was no longer going to be in trouble. The morose atmosphere that had taken over the once cheerful workspace would soon disappear, and that thought was refreshing. She walked past sad looking people and she smiled inwardly, aware that her and her sister had helped save their jobs. In the matter of hours, everybody's secret worries would vanish.

"Good morning, Leyla, Mr. Can and Ms. Deren have just left for a meeting. Deren asked if you could go over the files for the meeting at lunch." CeyCey informed her as soon as she got in.

"Hello, CeyCey. I'm on it." Like the efficient worker that she strived to be, Leyla got straight onto her task as soon as her coat was off, and her lunch was placed down onto her desk.

She first looked around for it in Ms. Deren's office but to no avail. She couldn't find the file anywhere and so she chose to head to Mr. Can's office next. She began to rummage around the cluttered desk until she found something ... something that wasn't the case files but something as equally as important.

Leyla had stumbled across Mr. Can's flight confirmation.

"England?" Leyla voiced her disbelief out loud, her mind subconsciously aware of the fact that there was no confirmation of a return flight back to Istanbul.

It was in that moment that Leyla felt her heart sink for her sister. She had her fair share of experience with heartbreak and she didn't wish that on anyone, let alone her baby sister. And of course, like it had been for the past few days, Leyla's first instinct was to call Sanem. Sanem needed to know if Mr. Can was just going to pick up and disappear from her life.

"Hello, Abla." Sanem sounded like she was busy on the other end of the line and Leyla felt her heart sink further. "Leyla?"

"Sanemcim-"

"What's wrong, Abla?" Sanem had been dealing with some finances for Osman's upcoming business ventures but pushed those aside once she heard her sister's worried tone.

"I found some flight details for Mr. Can." Before Sanem could even react, Leyla hit her with some more gut-wrenching information. "He's leaving for England tonight."

"England?" Sanem chocked on nothing, her throat suddenly growing tight. She knew Can had always been a free spirit – an albatross – who loved to travel. However, Sanem knew what was in England ... or who – Polen. Despite everything, Can and Polen had both stressed how they confided in each other. It was the reason it had taken Can so long to break up with her. They had both spent so much of their lives relying on one another and it seemed Can was returning to the comforts of his ex-girlfriend.

"I'm so sorry, Sanem." Leyla knew how hard Sanem had worked recently to help save the agency and to regain Mr. Can's trust and it hurt to think that her efforts would go to waste ... that she wouldn't get her happy ending.

"It's okay, Abla." Sanem tried to sound as calm as she could on the phone but in reality, the silent tears were already streaming down her face. She had won this battle with Fabri, but she had lost the war. She was truly losing Can and it hurt more than it had when she'd had to admit to all her lies the first time. This is what Sanem had feared when she'd left the agency – seeing Can move on. She knew it would happen one day, but she hadn't expected it so soon. She hadn't expected things to get so messed up and have Can running back to Polen. She thought they'd gotten over that – that he'd gotten over her, but it seemed that he hadn't. It seemed that Can would always have a soft spot for Polen and that hurt more than Sanem thought it would. "I'll speak with you later-"

"Sanem, I can come home if you like?" Leyla thought back to the days where her and Sanem would argue over a bowl of popcorn and binge watch tv shows. "It could be like the old days in front of the tv-"

"No, Abla, you stay at work." Sanem swiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "I'm just going to go for a walk. Clear my head."

"Just call me when you get home, okay?"

"Okay, I will." Sanem hung up and dismissed the paperwork before her. She knew she'd be unable to work on boring finances when her heart felt so heavy. So, Sanem took to wondering out of her neighbourhood and towards the sea. There was something about the sea that was so calming when her world was collapsing around her.

Leyla, on the other hand, whilst still worrying about her sister's wellbeing, tucked the flight confirmation back where she found it and turned her attention to the task she had been given. She completed it with great precision, like she always did, and handed Deren the folder as soon as she and Can walked through the door.

"Good morning, Leyla." Can had always been friendly to his staff but today, Leyla couldn't even stomach looking at him. This was the man responsible for her sister's heartbreak and today, of all days, Leyla didn't want to exchange pleasantries.

"Ms. Deren, is it possible for me to leave work a little early today?" Even though Sanem had said she was okay, Leyla just wanted to make sure. If she finished work a little earlier, maybe her, Sanem, Ayhan and Osman could head to the cinema or maybe just have dinner by the shore.

"If you complete your tasks on time ... okay." Deren nonchalantly answered the question before screaming at somebody to make her coffee.

Can tried to catch Leyla's attention again but she simply ignored him. Whether he was her boss or not, Leyla smiled bitterly at him before rushing towards her. In response, Can thought Leyla's behaviour was strange and he spun around and watched her walk away, a look of curiosity plastered across his face.

These Aydin girls were something else ...

Before Can could head back to his office, he was side-lined by something else.

"Mr. Can, there's a delivery for you at the front desk." A run-around boy declared that post had arrived and Can walked down to where CeyCey was standing with a large letter in his hand.

"Thank you, CeyCey." Can, not thinking much of the letter, opened it freely. His finger sliced through the seal and he read the item in his hand over and over until he was sure he was imagining things.

This couldn't be right ... The envelope had a cheque in it, signed by Fabri, that was enough to save the company. It didn't make any sense ... Can had kicked Fabri out of the house just days before. Why was he receiving this money now?

In his absolute state of confusion, Can stuck his hand in the envelope and rummaged around in it in case he missed something. He had. Also, in the envelope was a small note, written on pink paper and folded into a neat little square reading – I'm sorry, love Artemis x