A MAN'S SORROW CUTS DEEPER

His heart already knew...

An undiscovered path often leads to the kind of place one always dreamed of. And sometimes, that path forces one to face one's fears and insecurites and... makes one stay exactly where they were meant to stay...

What would have been unimaginable and unbeareable to even think of for Can just a few months ago, was now easier than he thought. Sanem was back in his heart without any fear of uncertainty of ever seeing her again, and he was back in her life.

Can knew the fight for her affection, or even trust, would not be easy. Not only would he have to win her back, but he understood it all too well that for them to be together again he would have to win everyone back. And that meant everyone. Everyone that mattered, at least. The minute he stepped foot on land again, he realized that he was indeed trully missed - a thought that had not occurred to him before.

Can was already forgiven by Aziz, Emre, Remide, Deren, and especially Ceycey. It surprised him just how much he was missed. It surprised him how much he mattered to those who were a part of his life back at the agency, because they accepted him back with no explanation whatsoever. He was also pleasantly surprised and silently glad that Mihriban accepted him, especially because he felt that she knew their history, and that she understood him on a deeper level...

He knew it would take time for Sanem's family to accept him again too. He had not realized just how much their approval meant to him until he felt how much he hurt them. He lost Nihat's trust. He lost Leyla's approval. But what hurt him the most, and was most painful to admit, was the fact that he lost the connection he had with Mevkibe. At least, it appeared to be so. And for that, he would make sure he won them back as soon as possible...

He vowed to himself that he would stay -  at least until Sanem forgave him and until she realized that HE was not the one who threw her notebook into the scorching inferno that turned their love into ashes. He was not going anywhere, he promised himself that, time and again, whenever he saw Yigit slither around Sanem. Can's heart already knew where he belonged. And speaking with Sanem, though awkward as it may have seemed, was beginning to be more and more enducing and crucial to his everyday survival. He was permitted to stay in Mihriban's hut, just a short walk from Sanem's home. So, his plan worked. A point taken for him, one that Yigit was unable to deny or dismiss.

At some point Can was beginning to realize that Sanem, as unimaginable as it appeared, was not indifferent to him being there. Each time that the time had slowed down for him when he gazed upon her, he smiled deep down inside because she too seemed to gaze upon him. Their eyes met more times now than he would have even wished for. Or hoped for, in the year he had been gone. Their hearts yearned for one another, even if their voices could not have been heard. And each time they touched, their souls lit up with the invisible light that could outshine the stars...

Their chance encounters, more frequent as the days went, began to fuel their already simmering fires that lay in their heart. The fires that lay dormant for far too long, but never burned out. And, unbeknownst to them, the team of their friends worked above and beyond to make sure that with each passing moment that fire from within would only burn stronger...