Can Yaman International Presents: Aşk ve Gurur~ Love and Pride

Chapter 1: Gurur ve Önyargi (Pride and Prejudice)

Sanem's POV:

Another night, another social event I had to attend. I would much rather be at home in my pajamas drinking tea and writing, or working on my perfume formulas. But my personal wants and wishes were always secondary to my duties as a member of my exalted family. But more importantly as the aspiring head of Product Development at my family's perfume empire

I sighed inwardly and plastered on my social smile, the one that made my face hurt. I moved through the room, shaking hands and making dreaded small talk. It was a charity event the company put on every year at the Opera House. Even though social interactions of this magnitude exhaust me, the children's charity we sponsor is very dear to me so I pushed on. After what seemed like hours, I carefully disentangled myself from a conversation that was starting to veer into my personal life, and saw my sister deep into conversation with a strange man. I wondered who she was talking to.

Mother would definitely not like this at all, I thought. Feeling a small headache start to pulse behind my eyes, I made a quiet but hasty exit out of the theater and up the stairs into the balcony. It was blessedly dark and free of people. I went to the railing, careful not to be seen from the people down below, and took a deep breath. Suddenly between that breath and the next, I found myself swept off my feet and turned into a pair of strong arms holding me close.

"Hey, you," he said before his mouth covered mine. I stood stiffly, momentarily outraged by the shock of being passionately kissed by a stranger. But this feeling was quickly overshadowed by my reaction to it. A quiet whisper inside my head said to me, "Oh, there you are. I've been waiting for you." This felt like a truth that had been living in my bones in anticipation of this very moment in time.

The man raised his head in surprise as if he had heard these same words. A knowing, a feeling of rightness swept through me and I reacted instinctively. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled his head back down and met his lips with mine. His warm lips responded eagerly and he angled his head to deepen the kiss. When his tongue swept into my mouth, I released an involuntary moan and the kiss became hot and more passionate. His strong arms banded around me as he brought my body flush with his in a tight embrace. After a long moment, he lifted his head. His breathing was as erratic as mine and it felt like electric currents were flowing between our heated bodies. I could feel him straining to make out my features in the darkness.

"Who are you?" He said in wonder. His hands came up to cradle my face tenderly as his thumbs traced my cheekbones.

Before I could say a word, I heard my mother's voice. It was like a bucket of cold water tossed into my face. Panic engulfed me. Oh my God! What am I doing? If she found me embracing a stranger in the dark, let alone kissing this man... all my careful work would be undone.

Flighty Sanem! Impulsive Sanem! Daydreamer Sanem! Time to get your head out of the clouds.

My mother thought me unqualified to do anything other than marry for advantage. Become a rich man's "arm candy", dinner hostess, and mother of his children for the rest of my life. This situation would be another arrow in her quiver.

I tore myself free from his embrace and turned to leave. "Wait!" he said. His hand reached out blindly and grabbed my purse. But my sudden fear and terror of being found by my mother gave me a burst of speed. I yanked my purse away and ran down the stairs, straight into my mother's suspicious glare.

"Mother," I said, modulating my voice and controlling my agitated breathing by sheer force of will. I had many years of practice hiding my emotions and gave her no clue that my world had just been tilted off its axis.

"Where did you come from?" mother asked.

I answered, "I visited the ladies' room. Is anything wrong? Did something happen?"