Sudden decisions

44 -Towards marriage

Can

Sanem's choice to once again take my hand and follow me was an explicit acceptance of a fate that seemed inevitable to me from the start. I had never doubted that we should marry, not even after discovering Sanem's role in Emre's machinations and now, with my father's precarious health condition, I know it has become an inescapable destiny. I knew I could not break my word to Nihat and now I am aware that I cannot upset my father who seems to draw strength and vigour from the idea of this marriage. After being discharged from hospital he recovered very quickly.
'I can't ruin your best day Can, I have to be well in time for your wedding'.
So he willingly agreed to rest more and only come to the agency sporadically and for a few hours a day.

I already know that it will be very hard for him to face the reality of what his son is up to and I don't want to test his poor health by adding more stress.
We are close to the truth, very soon I will know exactly what Emre's intentions are, the private investigator has found new traces of financial manoeuvres made with the funds embezzled from Fikri Harika while he has uncovered contacts with international entrepreneurs who build luxury hotel chains all over the world. However, Mr. Kılıç is still investigating to find out what my brother has to do with them, but I am beginning to fear that his intention is nothing more than to ruin our agency in order to sell it and invest the money he is owed in some real estate deal.

When my father learns of his son's intentions I'm sure he could die from it, the agency has been his life for forty years. He has sacrificed everything to make it flourish and prosper, even his own family since one of Huma's recriminations when they were still together was precisely his lack of presence due to work, I remember it very well even though I was just a child.

On Sanem, on the other hand, the investigator is not able to get any interesting information, from his research she seems to be a simple girl, modest in her spending and with a very humble lifestyle. His investigations will now move into the family sphere to see if something unclear is lurking there, although it seems very unlikely to me.

The days pass quickly, I have been to Aydin's house several times, as should be normal for a fiancé in love who wants to see his beloved and hear about the wedding preparations. Mevkibe is as excited as a child as she takes care of every detail, with the help of her daughters and neighbours, while Nihat resignedly endures his wife's demands and the frenzy that reigns in his house in anticipation of this wedding. Sanem is always very reserved during our meetings, we haven't had a chance to be alone, and this silent resignation of hers worries me a little, I must be honest. On the one hand, I would like to reassure her, to tell her that everything will be fine, just as I did at the beginning, when I really believed that this marriage could have hope, now I don't know how I feel about the idea of tying myself forever to a woman I realised I don't know at all. But that doesn't matter, what matters is the commitment we made in front of our families and the preservation of the agency, which is currently recovering after the disasters caused by Emre with the help of Sanem herself.

Only one evening, as I was leaving, Sanem took my hand and, smiling for the benefit of her parents, walked me towards the door shouting. "Dad, Mum, I'm going for a walk with Can. I'll be back in a little while."
I couldn't back out, I knew there would be this confrontation sooner or later. We left the house hand in hand and so we walked through his neighbourhood to make sure we satisfied the curiosity of the usual nosy neighbours. First there was the famous landlady, Miss Melahat, the gossipy one who was always on the lookout behind the lace curtains and because of whom we are largely in this situation.

Only once we reached the promenade, away from prying eyes, did she let go of my hand and stop to face me.

'Can, I would like to make a few things clear. I was ready to confess everything to my parents, I do not want this marriage as it is clear that you do not want it. Now, due to your father's precarious condition, we have to go ahead with the wedding preparations but I cannot imagine how, and especially for how long, such a bond can go on. You don't love me, you have no esteem for me, in fact you barely tolerate me.