Artemis (CanEm Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Fifty-One

It seemed as if fate had it in for Sanem Aydin. Every time she felt like she was moving onward and upward, a spanner was always thrown into the works. For the past few weeks, it had been her seemingly impossible relationship with Can. The relationship that had left a giant, gaping whole in her life ... but today, it was her parents - or more specifically, her mahalle.

Despite her neighborhood's tendency to be unbearably nosy, Sanem loved them, down to every little eccentric auntie. She had been raised among their constant bickering and frivolous gossip, hide amidst their skirts as she played; however, now that she was older, and the topic of their gossip, Sanem was growing sick of it. Usually, she hadn't minded when they discussed the likes of her promotion at work or her appearance, but now that it was shifting to her love life, she wanted her mahalle's continuous judgement to stop.

But ever since her parents had confirmed the idea of marriage between Sanem and Can, the questions hadn't stopped. All of the older women within a five mile radius were equally divided into two sides. One, was fixated on wedding dresses, reception menus and kids names whilst the other paraded around with their disapproval of Can and his media-documented promiscuity.

"Oof!" Sanem sighed, running a frustrated hand through her hair as Mevkebe said her goodbyes to yet another group of women in the living room. They had set up camp in the quaint spot for days now, all of them debating about Sanem's future as if she were a puppet on their strings. "Do they not have their own children to worry about?"

"Sister, I know it's not ideal but you know what they're like-" Leyla felt sorry for her sister, she really did, especially because she knew that sooner or later, she was going to have to tell her parents that her and Can were no longer a couple.

"Yeah, and it needs to stop." Dealing with her own demons was enough, now Sanem was having to battle a whole neighborhood full. Truth was, Sanem was petrified to tell her parents that her and Can weren't together anymore. They had already told everyone, with such conviction, that she was going to be a Divit soon and she knew that they would have to bow their heads in public once everyone discovered that that was not true. It was a traditionalist thing, where people would look at her differently because her so called 'plan for marriage' had fallen through. "Abla, I'm scared ... I'm scared for them ... those women are vicious. They'll somehow find a way to blame or insult Mum and Dad and I won't be able to bear it ... not with all of this as well."

"Look, this isn't what you want to hear but unfortunately, that's the situation we are going to have to deal with. You're going to have to tell them the truth and eventually everybody else will catch word of it too. The best thing for you to do is be honest."

Sanem huffed loudly. On the surface, she was annoyed at Leyla's words but deep down, she knew she was right. She had told Can that she was done with all the lies and that was the truth. She hadn't wanted to lie to Aziz and she most definitely didn't want to do that with her own parents.

So, that evening, as the wholesome family of four sat down for dinner, Sanem prepared herself to confess a truth that would shatter her parents' livelihood. Her parents lived, worked and breathed the mahalle and with just a few words, Sanem knew she was going to make it difficult for them to face anyone for a good while.

Like they did every night, the Aydin family sat down for dinner at 7pm. Mevkebe had done exactly she had been doing since the girls were children – she had cooked up a feast fit for royalty. However, today was different – her motherly instincts had seemingly kicked in and she had figured that there was something strange with the aura in the house. Leyla and Sanem had been awfully solemn and so, Mevkebe had cooked up the girls' favourites. Sanem took her usual seat and as she gathered the courage to speak, she kept her eyes glued to the table laden with delicacies. Comfort foods lined the table and it made Sanem want to cry. Mevkebe adored cooking for her family and it reminded Sanem of how adamant her mother was to make her happy. Her parents always wanted the best for her and what she was about to do was the lesser of two evils. She didn't want to embarrass them in public but she didn't want to lie to them either.

"Mum, Dad, there's something I need to say-"

"Is it that this food was delivered from the heavens above?" Nihat grinned with a piece of bread dripping in kuymak in his hand. He kissed his fingertips in delight before digging into his food, completely unaware of the stormy darkness evident in his daughter's eyes. "You've done it again, Mevkosh! This is delicious-"

"Baba, I'm serious-" Sanem placed her napkin onto the table, her slow and steady actions attracting her parents' attention immediately.

"What happened, daughter?"

"I ..." Underneath the table, Leyla placed a hand against her knee and gave her a small squeeze of encouragement. "I ... I will not be marrying Can."

"What? And why is that?" Mevkebe didn't really seem to register Sanem's words seriously because she chuckled softly and continued with her dinner.

"Anne, we aren't together anymore ..." Sanem whispered the words, her eyes glued to her plate. However, from the corner of her eye, she was still able to spot her father's facial expression drop. No longer was any Aydin member fretting about food. It was like pulling off a band-aid. The atmosphere in the room went from zero to a hundred really quick. At first, everything was calm and normal and the next, chaos erupted. Mevkebe was screeching, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand whilst Nihat stared back at Sanem intently ... as if expecting her to burst into laughter and say, "just kidding!"

"What do you mean 'you aren't together anymore'?" Nihat's tone of voice did a whole three-sixty and Sanem gulped audibly, the tears pooling in her eyes.

The look in Nihat's eyes was enough to make Sanem's heart stop. There was a mixture of anger and disappointment and all Sanem wanted was for him to shout at her. She would have rather had his wrath opposed to his silence. She felt like a failure, like she had broken him, and she couldn't tolerate that ... she couldn't cope with that weight on her shoulders. "Baba-" "What are we meant to tell people?" Mevkebe yelled, amidst her hyperbolic tears. She had pushed away her dinner and was now using a napkin to mop up the nonexistent perspiration on her forehead.

As her mother asked the question in hysterics, Sanem didn't know how to respond. She didn't have a game plan or next step; all she knew was that she wanted to be honest. She wanted to tell her parents the truth and she had done that. No lying, no hiding - for once, she had been upfront and open ... but at what cost? Her parents looked appalled, mortified and she didn't know what to do to help.

"Huh, what are we meant to do? What are you going to do?" As her mother continued to hound her, Sanem sat there in silence, Leyla periodically squeezing her knee in sympathy and in comfort. 

However, her hand dropped - just like Sanem's heart - as soon Nihat spoke after a pregnant pause. "She's going to get married."

"What do you mean by that, Dad?" This was the first time that Leyla intervened into the conversation, her mouth dropping open like a fish. Sanem had frozen in her spot, unsure of what to gage from her father's vague words. 

"I will not let more shame be brought to this family, we told everyone that Sanem was getting married ... and that's what she will do - whether it be to Can or someone else."