Ece's Secret (Fazilet Hanim ve Kizlari Fanfiction)

Chapter 21: Worthy

4 weeks past. Ece wrote her final exams and passed with decent marks. She wrote the YKS (national university placement exam) but knew where ever she got accepted she would need to defer her entry by a year. Ece wasn't dumb. Yagiz was supporting her and her baby for now but she knows there's no way their arrangement can last forever. He's not in love with her. Her and her baby are a burden. She will eventually need to be able to support herself and her child and the only way to do that is to get an education and a good job. She doesn't care if it's unfair to Yagiz. She doesn't care if she's using him. She'll do whatever it takes to make sure her child has a good life even if it is at the cost of Yagiz's happiness and her own.

Now at 19 weeks pregnant her bump became apparent. Whenever she went out she donned baggy tops in a poor attempt to conceal it. She had already been ridiculed at school for marrying Hazım a few months ago, she didn't need her classmates finding out she's a soon-to-be teen mom. She didn't have any friends left at school. All she wanted was to get out of that place with some sense of dignity. Next week was her graduation ceremony. Luckily the graduation gown was open and would easily conceal her fastly growing belly.

"I'll be out all day tomorrow." Ece announced. No response. He simply sat there on the couch continuing to read his book as if he hadn't heard her. "It's my graduation ceremony. I'm going to go to dinner with my mom and sister afterwards."
"I'm not your keeper. You don't need to tell me where you're going or who you're with." Ece sighed and went to her room. Yagiz had been extra cold towards her ever since their close encounter in his old bedroom at the mansion. If he was trying to make her hate him so something like that would never happen again he was doing a damn good job. It was a mistake. He knew it. She knew it. But he didn't need to be so cold. They still have to live in the same house for god's sake. Ece brushed aside her frustration

The next morning Ece went over to her sister's new apartment to get ready. The perks of Hazan now working as a model for Egemenler Cosmetics was that she got samples of all the products and sometimes got to keep outfits from shoots. Ece did her makeup while Hazan worked on curling her hair.
"Are you excited?" Hazan asked.
"Honestly, I can't wait for it to be over. " Hazan pressed her lips in silent understanding. She couldn't even imagine being in Ece's shoes right now. She felt so guilty that she couldn't do anything to stop the bullies at her school. But worst of all she was disappointed in herself for not being there for Ece as her older sister. A small action could have changed Ece's life. If only she had gone with Ece to the hotel that night none of this would have ever happened. Hazan knew Yasin was trouble yet she didn't keep him away from Ece. When Ece was going through her darkest days and nearly commited suicide Hazan was clueless. She could stop Ece's marriage to Hazım or Yağız. She had to step up as an older sister. She would help Ece get out of this marriage and stand on her own two feet.

"My beautiful baby." Fazilet came over and planted a kiss on Ece's cheek. Hazan went to her room to pull out one of the dresses she got from a shoot. Hopefully it would be loose enough to cover Ece's bump. Ece slipped into the light blue smocked dress. It had delicate floral embroidery and plain tule sleeves. Her bump was barely visible in the dress, luckily. It was a school tradition for students to take pictures at Emirgan Park in their dressers and suits with all their friends before the graduation ceremony. Ece had no friends left, there was no point in going.

Ece sighed as she stepped out of the taxi and took one final look at her high school. For the last four years this place has been her second home. It was the source of so many beautiful memories. She still remembers her first day. She was 14 years old, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She had so many fond memories. She remembered 2016 in particular. That year was frightening in Istanbul. There had been five bombings in the city and a coup attempt. Yet this terrifying time was the backdrop to her most precious memory, her first love, the year she started dating Yasin. Not long ago she imagined that he would be standing by her side. They would wave their diplomas with one hand and toss their caps in the air with the other.