The Price of Pride

Chapter 6

Your wife had a series of seizures, the doctor had said. Her body seems to be preparing to shut down, system by system. The seizures were her mind's way of putting her body into a self preservation mode of sorts.

He didn't completely understand what the doctor was saying, the medical jargon competing with his grief. But he did understand one word: coma. They had put her into a medically induced coma to keep her body from shutting down further. To give her time to heal. It's meant to help her. But it's still a coma all the same. The word sticks in Emir's throat and makes it hard for him to say anything. How did this even happen? He was just with her. They were just making plans for the rest of their lives. How is she now like this? Is this punishment for the way he's been treating her since they married? If it is, then why is she the one being punished?

"You're just setting her up for heartbreak later. Just go, Emir. Get out of here."

It breaks Emir's heart that that's probably the last thing she remembers hearing. She started getting upset when his father had made that nasty accusation. Emir had tried to reassure her, but maybe she still had doubts. He can only pray he'll get the chance to make things right with her. He has so much to make up for.

"She looks like she's just sleeping," Emir says, still trying to understand exactly what happened to Reyhan. She's more critical than she was before, so now, no one is allowed inside her room. Not even Emir. So he's forced to just look at her through the window. "How did this happen?"

He turns to a guilty looking Cemre and pins her with his glare.

"Why were you even in there?" he asks accusingly, willing to toss the blame on the easiest target. "What did you say to upset her?"

He knows he probably isn't being fair to Cemre, but he's just trying to make sense of it all. Reyhan was fine. Now she isn't. And he has no idea why.

"Come on, Emir," Zafer says, trying to calm his friend. "You can't blame Cemre. The doctor says that sometimes this just happens with patients like Reyhan."

Emir looks like he has something else to say on the matter, but he decides not to. Whatever happened has already happened. There's no changing it. And there's nothing he can do about anything right now. All he can do is get Reyhan the best help possible.

"I'm going to go talk to her doctor," he tells his friends before leaving them standing there.

He told his father earlier about the clinic and how he was willing to move to Ankara with her for her treatment. But he thought he had some time to discuss that plan with Reyhan and get her input on the matter. He didn't realize the decision would have to be made now and that it would be his alone. Or that it would be a matter of life and death for her.

Don't borrow trouble, Zafer had said earlier. And Emir is trying to take his advice, but it's so hard. He's terrified he's about to lose his wife just when he was feeling like he was finally starting to know her. It's not fair.

He needs to get himself together. He needs a clear head to think about what to do for Reyhan. He's too emotional right now. He can't speak with the doctor in this condition. He needs some air first. And some space. Maybe then he can deal with this situation.

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Cemre watches Emir walk away. This has gotten out of hand. She never expected anything like this to happen. She went into that room to give Reyhan incentive to leave, not make her even more sick than she was to start with. Because now, they're stuck with her.

"Stupid leech," she mutters to herself, low enough so that Zafer doesn't hear. "There's no getting rid of her now."

"Getting rid of who, Kızım?"