Artemis (CanEm Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Twenty Four

The first thing Can noticed about Sanem in the darkness was her scent. He inhaled deeply, the scent driving red hot blood southward. It had been so long since he'd relished in the essence of her smell. However, it was when he took another deep inhale that he noticed that something was off. She smelt different like ...

"Have you been drinking?" Can's voice was a mere whisper but it was still stern. The last time Sanem had had a drink, she'd landed herself in the hospital. That day, Can had warned her to be cautious about her alcohol consumption. He remembered the horror he had felt when he'd held her in his arms that day in the woods. The blood and her lifeless face had confirmed to him that she needed to be much, much more careful when it came to booze and how she handled it. Because the last thing Can wanted was a repeat of that time at the hospital.

"No!" From Can's tone, Sanem could tell that he was annoyed at her behaviour and with reason ... she was admittedly a terrible drunk. "I mean ... I had a little champagne-"

"Sanem!" Can warned, his arm encircling her waist to steady her on the step below him.

"It was just a little to control my nerve-" Sanem stopped herself from confessing how nervous she actually was for her impending speech in front of so many important people. To someone like Can, her nervousness was probably foolish. He was a social man who was at ease in settings like their current. Sanem, on the other hand, was somebody who suffered from foot-in-mouth syndrome. She had a tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time and she was scared she was going to do exactly that tonight.

"Sanem, you don't need to be nervous." Can had overheard a little bit of her conversation with Osman and had immediately wanted to run down the stairs and cease her in his arms like he had done at the hospital. He wanted to comfort her, reassure her, and tell her that she would do absolutely amazing because she was in fact great at her job.

"I'm not nervous-" Sanem tried to deny it but Can knew her well enough.

"Sanem!" He quipped his eyebrow, even though she couldn't see it, his tone urging her to confide in him. One thing Can knew they needed to work on, as a pair of lovers, was their communication. It was their lack of communication which always led to their conflict and that was what he wanted to avoid in the future. "Tell me how you feel, bebek."

"What if I mess up?" She mumbled quietly, ignoring how his term of endearment made a swarm of butterflies soar through her belly. "There's so much relying on this campaign-"

"The campaign that you ran!" Can reminded Sanem of all of her hard work. "You've been working night and day and trust me, it will pay off tonight. Don't worry."

"I can't help but worry." Sanem admitted sheepishly, her head falling so that her forehead was pressed lightly against Can's chest. Instinctively, his arm wove around her neck, holding her to him.

"Sanem, you are smart and you are worthy and I have no doubt in my mind that tonight will run smoothly." His words of wisdom and their close embrace made Sanem feel at ease and she nodded lightly after a pregnant pause. "How's Osman doing with the food?"

"It's going well." Sanem has figured that Can had been heading down into the kitchen to check that the catering was going okay. "Osman did kick me out of the kitchen though."

"Ha! I don't blame him." Can made a joking snide remark at Sanem's disasterous cooking skills and she playfully slapped him across the bicep. "Okay, okay, sorry. Now come on, let's get out of this darkness." He held out his arm to Sanem which she readily took, her fingers gingerly wrapping around the defined biceps he had to offer.

It felt like that moment in a fairytale, the penultimate scene before the happily ever after where the couple arose from a hidden corner and everybody cheered as they walked by (of course, minus the cheering) as they exited the dark archway leading to the kitchen, people close by turned to stop and stare. Can and Sanem looked like royalty and Sanem wanted to relish in that. For a few moments she strutted around until she quickly remembered that they were in front of their colleagues. Her grip slipped away from him and Can turned to face her with the slightest of grimaces.

It was then that he was rendered speechless. Now, in the light, Can was able to fully take in the sight of Sanem all dressed up. She was a vision in black, a colour that she rarely ever wore. Can couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Sanem in all black ... with her looking as delectable as she did, Can could barely remember the last time he saw Sanem at all. She was more beautiful than ever and all Can wanted to do was whisk her home and never let her out of his sight. There was also a possessiveness that struck him in that moment. Sanem didn't know it but her body was sinfully sexy and all Can wanted to do was wrap her in his dinner jacket and away from the prying eyes that he could already see were fixating on Sanem's curvaceous figure.

"You ... you-" The usually confident Can Divit could barely get his words out straight and Sanem couldn't help but feel an underlying sense of satisfaction at that thought. Typically, it was the women who pinned endlessly over Can and it was strangely nice to have the feeling returned by the only man she had wanted to have pine after her.

"Sanem! It's time for your speech." Before Can could string a sentence together, Deren whisked Sanem away from Can's proximity. Tripping over her heels slightly, Sanem began to freak incredibly nauseous. Those butterflies that Can had given her were now erupting into a frenzy that was about to make her throw up her dinner. A panicked Sanem turned towards Can, the fear evident on her face but all he did was smile in response.

"You can do this. You can do this." Both Can and Sanem were chanting the same little inner monologue in their heads.

"Everybody!" Deren took a microphone from a member of staff and directed the attention towards Sanem. "Miss Sanem Aydin is going to inform you about the campaign that we are all here to celebrate."

The microphone was handed over to Sanem and her mouth gaped like a fish out of water momentarily but as she looked out towards Can, she felt better. His hazel eyes and that handsome face reminded her of home. With a little nod of his head and a cheeky grin, Sanem felt her nerves subside just a little.

In a desperate attempt to keep her cool, her first few lines were said directly to him. It was like having a normal conversation – one they'd had hundreds of times before - and when she grew more comfortable, she began looking out towards other members in the crowd ... she even began pacing around and pointing towards the slideshow flicking behind her. Her presentation was skilful and professional and that was consolidated by the resounding applause that she got once she was finished.

Can had never been more proud. And as he progressed to envelope her into a 'well done' hug, he was stopped by many big names in the business industry. People were thrilled by the new campaign, shaking his hand and congratulating him on his upcoming success. Can really tried to keep his focus on Sanem but it was hard to do when he had a social obligation to the people around him too and Sanem understood that. She knew that Can had as much reason to celebrate as she did – perhaps even more. Tonight, his father's legacy had been saved and that was a big deal. Sanem smiled at Can's brightly lit grin and walked off stage.

Sanem did her fair share of shaking hands and accepting kind wishes from strangers until she realised that as much as she appreciated their kindness, there was nothing like sharing your happiness with loved ones. Leyla, Osman and Ayhan had skipped out of the space unnoticed after Sanem's speech in order to start bringing out food and so, Sanem headed back towards the direction of the kitchen. She wanted to do a little happy dance and let her hair out of its ponytail and just ... celebrate. She had done it! She had actually done it!

Slyly, Sanem made her way out of the crowds and to the deserted area that led to the kitchen. Amidst the gloomy darkness, Sanem was completely blindsided – like a blindfold had been wrapped around her eyes. She tripped over her own feet and cursed at herself before an arm encircled her waist. Her first instinct was to presume that it was Can. The romantic in her always pictured him as her hero – that he'd probably seen her stumble towards the darkness and had come to her rescue. But before she spun his hold to face him front on, she realised something that made her body stiffen suddenly ...

There were no butterflies as this person held her. In fact, the person's touch didn't feel remotely like Can's. Unknowingly, she was scared by the unknown presence behind her.

"Who ... who are you?"