A MAN'S SORROW CUTS DEEPER

Through the eyes of a son...

Emre never realized how much family would mean to him until he met the Ayidins. His own family was a broken one. He had a mother so possessive in her own ways that she often thought of herself first and of him as a consolation prize after her marriage to Aziz Divit fell apart. He had a father who loved him but who spent most of his life at work. And he had a brother who he envied for the ways Can went for what he wanted and achieved his goals...

All of that changed when he met Sanem. He treated her poorly but she ended up showing him that there is more to life than status and personal gains. And she did so in her own Sanem way. And she made miracles happen. For he did not know how else to call her actions. She found a way to his brother's heart by simply loving him for the person he was, which was something Can never experienced before. She also showed Emre in a not-so direct but direct ways that he could change his ways because she guided Can into forgiving him for all of his wrongdoings...

The fact that Emre became a part of the Aydin's family still made his heart soar with gratitude and love. The love of a wife. The love of a sister-in-law. And the love of parents-in-law who truly treated him like their own son. Though his beginnings with Leyla were anything but peaceful, they proved their love mattered above all because they realized how much they meant to each other. Leyla may have worked with him for many years, but he was too blinded by Aylin's sick ambition to see through her threachery and he did not feel Leyla's love for him. But the moment his heart realized that what Leyla felt for him had its beginning in her heart and not in material things, he understood he could no longer deny his feelings for her. The moment he thought he lost her scared him beyond any fear he ever felt before. So he gathered his courage and asked for her hand. And even though their actions hurt Nihat and Mevkibe, they realized that sometimes destiny is not to be fought with. They gave them their blessing and from that moment on Emre finally felt like part of a family he yearned for for so long...

There were many dinners the Aydins spent sitting outide in their garden. And Emre remmbered them all. He remembered that in the not so distant past Aydins alienated Can for hurting Sanem. How they shut down his efforts when Sanem and Can came to tell them they were leaving for two years. And he remembered so perfectly well the dinner when Can came to enjoy a meal with them after his accident. And he understood then what family really meant by how Aydins opened their hearts back up to Can. The Aydins loved and believed in family and in forgiveness. Emre saw how much they suffered after Can's accident. He did not know why Nihat took most personally the fact that Can almost died, and why Mevkibe understood his despair with silent agreement. But Nihat only shared with Mevkibe the words he spoke to Sanem - that it may have been as well that Can would loose his life - and he spoke those words less than a day from when the accident occurred...

So when they all learned that Sanem and Can reconciled, all had been happy. All had rejoiced. And Emre especially, because he knew how much his brother as well as his sister-in-law had struggled. He witnessed their love from the very beginning. He had come to love Sanem for her kindness, for her light, and for the simple fact that she loved Can more than he could describe it. When Sanem came home after they reconciled he could see the love shining right through her eyes. And he agreed with Mevkibe that it was the first time Sanem's eyes sparkled since the accident. And he agred with Nihat that his brother and Sanem went through so much and still found the strength because of their love to be together. They were meant for each other, as if their love was written in the stars. And the fact that the whole family shared in their happiness only reassured them all that this time it was meant to be.

Emre felt so proud and so fortunate to be able to share this moment with those that mattered to him. And those to whom he mattered as well. Through the eyes of a son he saw what Can would soon see and feel. That fighting for love was worth every cost. And that fighting for love was rewarded with that love in the end...