A Necessary Journey

Leverage

One more month had passed, and there had been no contact from Defne. The private investigator had warned Omer to stay away from Defne's friends and family, that it would be easier for him to do what he needed to do, if Omer didn't interfere.

Omer had reluctantly agreed, but as the days dragged by, it was becoming harder and harder to abide by that agreement. He was becoming more and more desperate, fearing that he would never find her. Defne clearly didn't want to be found.

The added pressure of impending fatherhood was on his shoulders, and it was a heavy weight to bear. Sonia was great, she was understanding, undemanding of his time. They had a scan booked in for next week, and he wondered if seeing his child moving inside of her would make everything seem more real, would it change the way that he felt about becoming a father, would it change the way he felt about Sonia? One thing he knew wouldn't change, was how he felt about Defne. It should be her lying on that hospital bed, her hand he was holding, her smile he was seeing. Instead, he'd be experiencing this once in a lifetime first with an almost stranger.

Some nights, the pain was unbearable. Sinan had been fully supportive, taking Omer to the courts to burn off his anxious energy as often as he could. Omer hadn't forgotten that his friend was going through his own issues, but he was in no position to support Sinan. Hs entire life was in ruins.

It had been a month since Defne had arrived in Madrid, and honestly, she was loving it. The language barrier posed somewhat of an issue, but Yasemin and her friends were helping her navigate the city. She'd been in Spain for three weeks before she decided that she might be able to build a life there for herself, Yasemin had introduced her to a designer friend of hers, Marco, and whilst he was designing clothing rather than shoes, he'd taken a keen interest in Defne and her designs. He'd offered her a role if she could fix any visa requirements.

She had slowly been picking up useful phrases and Yasemin was helping her to learn Spanish, but she mainly got by using English. Her English wasn't fantastic, but it seemed to be good enough for basic communication.

There had been so much going on, and Defne's days were filled with new things to do and see, new people. But it was the evenings, the quiet of the night, that would return her heart and mind to Turkey and to Omer. She couldn't help but wonder how he was, what he was doing. She wondered if Sonia had moved in with him, if they were preparing a nursery for the baby, if Omer was happy and ready to become a father. She'd cried herself to sleep for the first fortnight, but she hadn't stopped eating or looking after herself, she was certainly sad... but the devastation of being left on her wedding night had taught her a lot about herself. She could overcome her grief, she could live without Omer, even if she would continue to love him. She didn't think he'd want her to live her life in a constant state of devastation, if he was moving on with his life, he would want her to move on with hers.

She looked up from the table in the small kitchen when she heard the key in the lock, smiling as Yasemin stepped inside the apartment with a bag of groceries. "Hello."

"Hey. I could have picked up whatever we needed."

"No, you needed to complete your visa application... are you all done?"

"Yes. I'll drop it into the office tomorrow morning."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you... it's the right thing." Yasemin started to unpack the groceries into the fridge and cupboards, and when finished she withdrew a chilled bottle of white wine, grabbing two glasses from the cupboard and making her way over to Defne. "This deserves a celebratory drink, don't you think?"

Smiling Defne nodded. "I agree."

Yasemin opened the bottle and pored them both a glass, nodding towards the lounge. Defne got up and followed, both flopping onto the sofa. Taking a drink, Defne eyed Yasemin. "I haven't asked you about it... but, Sinan... what are you going to do there?"