A MAN'S SORROW CUTS DEEPER

No doubt whatsoever...

Can Divit could be called many things. But a family man, he was not. He loved his father. He loved his brother. But he was so tremendously unaccustomed to the everyday rituals of a family life that the thought of a family dinner at the Aydin household brought on feelings of reservations and doubt. And he was nothing close to prepared to what was to happen in the evening that lay before him.

The Aydins welcomed him with open arms. He was fully aware of his past with Sanem, and Emre's marriage to Leyla, but he was still baffled by how welcoming Sanem's parents were. They did not just made small talk. They felt what they said. They meant their words. And they were kind and sincere. He could not explain it, but the walls he built around his heart felt invisible and all but gone while sitting with them at the dinner table.

He looked around the table and tried to take it all in. He looked at Emre and he could not believe that his brother not only forgot Aylin, but he chose true love. And that love brought out so much goodness in him. He was so much happier now, so open to Leyla's love. He was relaxed and he seemed to feel so much at home. Can barely grasped the notion that Emre changed from a man who adored high-end clothes, fast sports cars, and classy restaurants, to a man who valued love, homestead, and family above all.

He looked at Leyla. He always valued her work ethic and strive for perfection when it came to her work. She never looked to benefit herself, but looked for the benefit of the agency. And he wondered just what caused Leyla and Emre to open up to themselves and trust in their love? He did not have to think long to realize that in some way or form Sanem played a part in their love. He would not have to ask himself that question because he already felt it. Did she help Emre change? Did she guide others to give Emre the benefit of a doubt after Aylin sold him out and left with agency's clients? He was reading Sanem's book, but somehow the words penned on paper just gave him the facts, but not the reasons behind them. And as a man who looked for all the answers, he wanted to know much more than what the book was revealing to him.

He looked at Mevkibe. He knew beyond words that Sanem inherited the warmth of her soul from her mother. He wasn't close with Hüma, could hardly stand her. So it was so refreshing to see a mother who cared for her children. Not only that, she cared for Emre as if he were her own. Moreover, she seemed to care for him as well. And this kind of motherly feeling she felt for him warmed his heart. It made him somehow feel at ease, and calm. If nothing else, he would cherish this evening just for that feeling alone.

Then there was Nihat. A father figure through and through. He was firm, but he was also kind. Can thought to himself that Sanem had the light of his kindness in her eyes. And it was clear in every which way that she inherited Nihat's knack for storytelling. He had no doubt about it. He wondered how much Nihat adored his daughters, and how much he loved them.

His gaze stopped at Sanem. Beautiful as she was, there was more to her than what met the eye. She was more than just a pretty face. The fact that she looked stunning and did not put any value to it was such a refreshment. The women he was used to did all in their power to look young and classy. But not Sanem. She looked more beautiful than all other women in a plain t-shirt and shorts. And it made him curious. Was this what drew him to her in the first place? That she was so different? So pure and kind? Completely oblivious to the fact that she lit the room by simply standing in it? This he would keep to himself, he would not share it with her just yet.

So they sat and enjoyed a quiet night's evening. Can wondondered how he enjoyed himself with them. No pretending and no hidden interests in hopes to advance and gain prestige because of who he was. He wondered how many evenings like this he missed from the past two years? How many evenings they must have spent in the recent past? How much trust Sanem's parents put in him that they would have allowed them to leave on a two year trip? He hadn't any idea how much the truth was far from his thoughts. How much he had yearned for an evening such as this just a month ago? How much he wished for Nihat and Mevkibe's acceptence such as they offered him now...

And then out of the blue the evening turned chaotic. Though he did not expect it, he somehow accepted it as a natural turn of events at the Aydin household. And he was not far off. He was beginning to understand that Sanem drew her uniqueness from the way she was raised. She was special, because they all were. They relied on love and support of each other. And he was beginning to feel he somehow yearned for that too...