Tatlı Aşk (Sweet Love) (Can & Ozge)

Chapter Forty-Six: Love Chooses

"We should invite Serkan next time."

Giancarlo said, taking a sip of his tea. They were now at a local cafe, as they just finished getting their gelatos.

"He needs a break too," Giancarlo continued.

"Why? What happened?" Efe said.

"Hande's back."

"No way!" Gultem exclaimed, swallowing her gelato.

"Yeah but she's engaged to somebody else," Giancarlo said. "Serkan's taking it pretty hard."

"Wow," Gultem sighed. "I guess you and Serkan are on the same boat."

"What do you mean?" Giancarlo asked.

Gultem and Efe sighed, exchanging looks.

"Can, why are you in Italy?" Efe said, looking at Giancarlo intently.

"Efe. you know that my mother's company is based here in Italy. As the new CEO, I have to be here full time," Giancarlo said, looking outside, watching the people who passed by the cafe.

"Haven't you thought about seeing Ozge again at all?" Gultem said.

Giancarlo was silent for a moment, thinking about what Gultem just said.

"Let's not go there, Gultem," he said, softly, carefully choosing his words. "I already left. We don't need to go back there."

***

Ozge and Rosanna sat on the sidewalk, just outside Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria or the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, eating their gelatos. Ozge scooped the ice cream and put the spoon in her mouth, letting it linger there. She couldn't take her mind off Can. He was so close. Yet so far away.

Rosanna looked at Ozge and sighed.

"Can again?" Rosanna said, softly.

"You know, Rosanna, five years ago when I first came to Rome, I thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. Everything was so new to me. Refreshing," Ozge said. "Then after some time, that feeling went away. I was already used to the place. It didn't make me nervous anymore. Everything was neutral. And then last night, Can showed up again. After five years. And Rome is different once again. Every memory of me and him is coming back to me and I'm scared."

"You're still in love with him," Rosanna smiled.

"But I promised Timoteo," Ozge said, a tear falling down her cheek. "And Timoteo has been nothing but good to me..."

"But you don't love him," Rosanna said. "You can't choose the people you love, Ozge. Love always chooses us. And somehow it chose you and Can too."

"I don't wanna hurt Timoteo," Ozge said.

"But you hurt Can as well," Rosanna said. "Didn't that matter too?"

"I did it to save him, Rosanna," Ozge said, tears streaming down her face. "If it wasn't for that reason, I would never have left him."

Rosanna put a hand on Ozge's shoulder, comforting her.

***

"Efe and Gultem are here?"

Serkan spoke through the phone as he parked his car at the parking lot. He as going to his usual restaurant for lunch, locking the car as soon as he got out.

"Alright, we're having dinner at my place later. I'm at my usual restaurant, I'll see you at the office, Can," Serkan said, then he hung up.

He put his phone in his pocket as he went inside the restaurant.

"The usual table and food, Mr. Serkan?" the waiter asked.

"Yes please," Serkan said, sitting down at a table near the window.

He watched the people passing by and talking, wondering if their lives were better than his. Just then, a woman, with heavy make-up stepped inside the restaurant. Serkan stared at her, thinking she looked familiar, as she sat down on a table next to his. A guy, probably in his fifties, greeted her and kissed her on the cheek.

This was the girl who bumped into me at the park. Must be her boyfriend, Serkan thought. He's way too old to be her boyfriend though.

Serkan looked away and took out his phone. A few minutes later, the waiter served his food as Serkan thanked him. The woman's voice was quite loud, however, and Serkan overheard the entire conversation.

"Alfredo," the woman grinned as she took her sunglasses off.

Serkan stared at her for a moment. She really was beautiful. With her long, wavy brown hair that looked like silk, her deep brown eyes that looked golden under the sun's rays, and for a brief moment, he wondered what it would feel like to drown in them. She sat down with the same unchanging smile with which she had first entered the room---the smile of a perfectly beautiful woman.

But then, Serkan's thoughts drifted to Hande and how she used to smile at him like that, and he looked away almost immediately.

"Colombina!" the man spoke in English with a heavy Italian accent. 

"It's nice to finally meet you, Alfredo," the woman said in English.

"And it's nice to meet you, Colombina," the man said, kissing her hand. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm an art collector," the woman now spoke in Italian, beaming. 

"Oh, you speak Italian well," the man said.

"Dear, I'm great at anything!" the woman bragged and Serkan chuckled.

"But I'm excellent in English."

"Impressive," the man said, astonished. "So, you'll be coming to my place tonight?"

Just then, the waiter gave them their iced teas and Serkan noticed the woman and the waiter exchanged long glances as if they were talking in code. The woman gave the waiter a small nod, almost unnoticeable, and the waiter walked away. Serkan smiled as he watched them, intrigued. He watched as the man drink his iced tea, and minutes later, he told the woman he had to go to the restroom.

The woman nodded and as soon as the man left, she took his wallet and opened it.

This woman is a con artist, Serkan thought, grinning to himself.

He got up from his seat and approached the woman, stopping her from taking the cash from the man's wallet.

"Excuse me?" the woman said as she stood up.

"Miss, I saw what you did. You better put the money back in the man's wallet or I'm gonna have to call the police," Serkan said.

"Don't you dare," the woman said, moving her face closer to Serkan's.

"What's going on here?"

Serkan and the woman both turned to the man who just came out of the toilet. Serkan secretly took the wallet from the woman's purse and kept talking to the man as he put it back on the table.

"Uh, this is my friend, Sir, who I haven't seen for a long time and I think we're gonna go," Serkan said, taking the woman's hand.

"Not so fast, she's coming with me," the man said, grabbing Serkan by the collar.

"Sir, I don't think you want to cause a scene here," Serkan said, calmly. "You're Alfredo Presutti, Director of Operations in Marchesi Industries, one of the firms Milani Group is helping. I'm Serkan Cayoglu, I'm sure I don't have to introduce myself to you."

The man's eyes widened and he adjusted Serkan's collar.

"Mr. Serkan, I am so sorry," Alfredo said.

"Let's go," Serkan said, gently pulling the woman with him as they exited the restaurant.

A/N:

Hi, loves!! I missed y'all soooo much! I'm bacccck! Updating regularly now too! Please please pleaseeee VOTE and COMMENT on this chapter as much as you can!! I will update faster if I see more people interested! I love you all and thank you and see you LITERALLY in a few hours! :) <3