The Billionaire's Daughter

Chapter 18

Mekvibe was anxious. She got in the car with Can, sat in her seat and reached over to clip her seatbelt. Before Can could start the car, she reached back over and unclipped her belt.

"I can't do this," she said as she opened the car door, her heart beating so fiercely that she thought it may come out her chest.

"Mekvibe, don't you want to reunite with your daughter? Don't you want to tell her your side of the story and end this hurt, already?" Can said as he pleaded with her, grasping at anything to keep her in the car with him.

He just had to get her there. He had to arrange a meeting with Sanem and pray that Sanem would be willing to listen and not just walk away.

"What if she rejects me? What if she won't listen to me?" Mekvibe brought her shaking hands up to her face to remove the tears that were slowly rolling down to her chin. Catching them, she gently wiped them on her dress.

"She's kept your letter for all this time, she must want to know what really happened," Can says, grabbing her hand, comforting her.

"Don't you want to be there to tell her yourself? Who knows what Nihat has told her over the years, all we know is that they're all lies and she deserves to know your truth. She deserves to have her mother."

Mekvibe looks and Can, nods her head in agreeance, but can't seem to make herself put on her seatbelt. The physical act of moving it across her chest and fastening it means so much more. Once she crosses over that line, she can't go back. And Nihat has made it pretty clear that she's not welcome in Sanem's life.

And she has another daughter to think of, afterall.

Ceren always looked so much like Sanem. She was a sweet tempered and smart little girl. Mekvibe smiled thinking of how different she was from Sanem in terms of deposition - Sanem, ever the firecracker, had so much energy and was curious about everything.

When she found out she was pregnant with Ceren there was a mixture of excitement, sadness and longing. She missed Sanem so much and had this gaping hole in her heart.

After Ceren was born, Mekvibe promised herself that the love a mother feels for her child should be enough to mend all things and she had to find a way back to Sanem one day. She owed it to herself and more importantly, to Sanem.

She was in a trance, lost in thought and Can knew exactly what was going on. He knew that she was weighing her options and that she had felt like an ostrich with its head in the sand for too long.

He gave her more time before she finally came to her senses and slowly, but intentionally strapped herself into the car.

Can reached his hand out to her, offering a smile and she took it. The drive felt it would take an eternity, destiny was knocking on the door, but would Sanem be willing to answer?

+++

Sanem and Beste were finishing up at the spa. Both had taken in several treatments, felt completely pampered and felt relaxed.

Beste was thrilled to spend the time with Sanem, even if her mind was drifting in and out of conversation.

As they went back to the lockers to gather their things to get ready for a shower, Sanem peeked at her phone hoping to hear from Can. She had missed him today and that feeling was a bit foreign to her.

She had hoped that she wouldn't have strong feelings for him, but her heart had other plans. Sanem knew that they would have to address it soon, but they avoided it like the plague.

Her mind wandered back to their last time together. His lips dragging down her neck, sucking and grasping at her like she was his lifeline. She knew that something was bothering him, but never wanted to push him.

Alas, no text from Can, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

<<My day has been quite relaxing and lavish. I know I have you to thank for that. How is your day going?>>

She waited for a minute startled by Beste announcing she was heading to the showers. "I'm right behind you," Sanem said, willing Can to respond to her text message.

Finally waiting long enough, and mad at herself for doing so, she grabbed her clothes and towel and headed to the showers.

+++

Can pulled into the hotel to get Mekivbe settled. He knew that he had to be careful and check her in under his name or another name.

His cell phone was haunting him as he knew that he couldn't keep Sanem at bay for much longer. Plus, if he admitted it to himself, he had missed her and wanted desperately to check in to make sure she was okay.

He knew the only chance he had to get Mekivbe and Sanem in the same room, would be this hotel. He'd have to lie to Sanem to get her here, because the element of surprise would have to determine how this was going to go. She'd either be shocked into curiosity, or furious and flee.

Can left Mekivbe with instructions to only open the room for him and gave her a burner cell phone so that they could connect. All with the promise that he would be back soon to assist in sorting all of this out.

After leaving the room, Can sat in his car with his forehead on the steering wheel, knowing he had to reach out to Sanem. He finally pulled his phone out and pushed on her name to call her.

+++

After a long shower, Sanem headed back to the lockers to get dressed and collect her things. Beste would be taking her back to her house and she was suddenly drained from finally letting down her guard.

She saw the missed call from Can, but decided that since she was heading home, she'd just wait to connect with him when she was alone.

In the car Sanem was mostly quiet, pondering all the different things that had gone on since the day she met Can Divit in her lab class. How he started as such an unnecessary and unwanted addition to her life to someone she's reluctantly yet knowingly let in. And now just let in a little bit, but someone she's become attached to.

Sanem was never one to want to get attached. Her focus and drive wouldn't allow it. Her need to be the best at school, the best at boxing, the best at everything, always took a front seat to anything else.

She had never thought she would be the type of girl to be so gobsmacked by a man that haphazardly waltzed into her life, yet here she was. She felt unprepared to deal with these feelings and emotions.

"Betse," she said, breaking the silence of the ride home. "Yes?" Betse responded in her typical loving way, allowing Sanem to always feel she could open up to her.

"How do you know when it's okay to let someone in? I mean really in? I've always been so guarded in the part of my life. I mean, I think it's partially because I've never been taught how that works and partially because my focus has always been on succeeding and being independent from my father's name," Sanem choked out, not realizing that she was holding on to so much emotion that went into her questions.

"Well, I think you already know, Sanem. I think you just need affirmation and time to adjust to how you feel. Are we talking about who I think we're talking about?" Betse said gently, hoping to encourage Sanem to continue.

"If you mean, Can. Then yes," Sanem forcefully chuckled.

"I just don't know what happens when he's done with this job, with having to watch? No, protect? Oh I don't know, making sure nothing happens to me as my father claims to have all these threats, and then of course the tangible evidence that has continued to present itself to convince me that I did in fact, need him," Sanem said with a hint of worry in her voice.

Betse was quiet, letting her be with her thoughts before immediately answering her and as she was about to give out wisdom, they turned into the long drive of the Aydin mansion and Can's truck was in view almost like it had been there waiting for her this whole time to return.