TWO BIRDS OF A FEATHER

One way out...

Isn't it remarkable that life offers hints as to which path to take? Which way should be followed? Which direction to go? Likewise, life oftentimes puts a lesson in front of one that is meant to be taken and learned from? More than that, it is as if a lesson keeps on repeating itself in different forms and different ways, until the mind and heart understand what it was meant to learn? And there is no greater example of that than that of true love. Because it is meant to be fought for, meant to be trusted, and meant to conquer all obstacles it meets along the way...

Waking up to the thought of having Sanem by his side soon, and enjoying breakfast together, made Can feel well and rested. Though the pain from the eye infection was going away slowly, it did not bother him much when the thoughts of Sanem occupied his thoughts. Even making breakfast for two, and he did not mean Emre, was something he was happily getting used to. So, the moment the doorbell rang, he felt that all familiar flutter in his heart. He was happy. He was content. And he was totally unprepared to see Deren and the agency crew on the other side of the door so early in the morning. He was also unprepared to see the employees act grimly and suspiciously when they walked into the house.

He was not a man used to suspicion and gossip, so he pulled Deren aside and asked her what was wrong. Though she denied it at first, she knew Can was looking for truth and honesty from her. So, she told him the latest gossip. Not about him and Sanem. About him and Ceyda. And she could see the anger and consternation in his eyes right through the highly tinted glasses. She showed him the photographs taken of him and Ceyda. Oh, he was mad. He was livid. And gravely worried about what Sanem would feel and say when she saw the photos. He would now have to think how to resolve that matter. But, first thing first. He advised the employees that there was completely nothing whatsoever between him and Ceyda. Nothing. NOTHING. With that out of the way, he awaited Sanem's arrival, and hoped she was a woman in love enough with him to believe in his innocence.

And she arrived, with her very own kind of fury shining right from her eyes. She forced herself to pretend to Güliz and Deren that the news was usual news to her. Gossip only, and mediocre gossip, really. After all, latest gossip was a cheap and poor excuse of news about Can. After all, just a day before the gossip revolved around Can and herself. Now it revolved around Can and Ceyda. As if all news relied on who and where Can Divit decided to appear. When Can came into the room, Sanem played it cool. And he played it cooler. Too cool, for her liking. Hurt and confused, she needed to walk off her bruised feelings. She walked away from the rest of the group. She knew where to look, and she knew where to find Can. She went in to the kitchen. When she did, he was making çay. Good for him, she thought - there was no way she was going to brew him any çay after what she read about him and Ceyda. She did not pretend she was hurt. She, however, played it cool and complained about the way Can greeted her. Or rather, his lack of greeting her. But, instead of making him feel guilty, she only made him love her even more.

He smiled. She asked about how he greeted her? Oh, he greeted her how he should have, but not how he wanted or needed to. To show her just HOW he wanted to greet her he brought her close to him and kissed her. Again and again. He held her close and felt the pain of loneliness that burdened him since last night ease away. Though she felt the urge of fear out of being discovered, she also felt his love as he embraced her. And since they were alone, she decided to question him about Ceyda. As she did, he denied it. Quickly and swiftly. There was only one woman in his heart, mind, and soul. He gathered her close, and whispered what he knew already. Yesterday, today, and always, she would be the one - the only one for him. To show him that she felt the same way, she made him realize that he not only occupied her heart, he inspired it as well. She left him little notes around the house that spoke of great love and great dreams she held in her heart for their future together. Unbeknownst to her, he in turn shed a light on a side to him she did not know he possessed. No one else did. It was a deeply hidden side filled with passion for poetry, and a talent to use words to spellbind her heart.

As they worked, an unexpected guest decided to make an appearence. And a totally obliviously obvious one. Ceyda walked in as if the very air of a queen carried her in. Though she thought she made the greatest entrance of all, everyone else was either too busy to notice or too annoyed by her to give her any credit whatsoever. Morever, Can not only did not greet her at the door, he refused to greet her warmly or sincerely, relying on his medical condition to keep a distance from her, much to Sanem's bafflement sine he held her close not long ago. Ceyda wished no one else would be there to see Can's reserved posture toward her. So, she acted like no one else was there, because no one mattered enough for her to acknowledge their presence. Except for Sanem. Whatever she did, whatever she said, however she tried to act, Sanem was there. Her mere presence annoyed Ceyda. But, worst of all, what annoyed her was Can's immediate response to anything Sanemsaid or did. And she had to admit, immediate response. Though she wanted to make an impression on Can since she convinced McKennon to trust Fikri Harika with an ad campaign, instead of thanking her for it he immediately turned to Sanem and revealed the good news to her and the rest of the team. Defeated, again, she left while pretending she wasn't hurt. The only one hurt was Ceycey, whose hand received all of Sanem's wrath of inner fury induced by Ceyda's presence. But Ceyda wasn't hurt. She wasn't. She was livid that she only received a promise of thanks from Can, nothing more...

But Sanem did not see it that way. She needed to sit alone and collect her thoughts. To calm the raging storm of hurt feelings that rattled her heart. Instead of sitting alone, though, she found herself having a peculiar conversation with her inner voice. Peculiar, because she agreed with it when the voice mentioned that if it hadn't bothered her that Can spent time with Ceyda, she would not have needed to step away and calm down. As she pondered on the unprecedented agreement with her inner voice's judgement, Can walked into the kitchen and immediately realized the mined ground he was stepping on to. Or, so he thought. Any other woman would have yelled at him under similar circumstances. Screamed at him. Pointed out the error of his ways. But not she. Not Sanem.

She did point out that the snake of a vile Ceyda set her sites at Can, and that she would not stand idly and watch Ceyda claim him as her prize. He was more of a man inside and out than Ceyda would ever even bother to see in him. She also realized that they were going about their relationship all wrong. By trying to hide it, they were only hurting each other. By trying to conceal it, they were putting their love and future at risk. An unnecessary and avoidable risk. So she would talk to her mother, and then they would reveal it to everyone else. The only thing Can could do was watch his delicate beloved Sanem and fall even more deeply in love with her. She was taking charge. She was claiming their love. She was finding that there was only one way out of the predicament they found themselves in. And that was to finally admit to the rest of the world that they were in love. That she was his, and that he was hers...