A MAN'S SORROW CUTS DEEPER

Learning to trust again...

If someone were to ask each person on earth what they value the most in life, there would be a million different answers to that question. There are those who value money. There are those who value status. And then there are those fortunate enough to have realized that true value in life comes from family. Nihat was one of those people.

Family was the most important thing in his life. The love he had for his wife, daughters, and the son-in-law filled his heart to the brim. If he had one regret, it was the regret of disappointment in Can Divit. He did not hate him, because the word hate never existed in Nihat's vocabulary. But he was disappointed by what happened between Can and Sanem. Disappointed in how Can treated Sanem, and how he left her knowing he was leaving his fiance behind with a broken heart...

Can Divit was a man hard to decipher for Nihat. He was wealthy, but had no problem lending a helping hand while working at Nihat's store while trying to win Sanem back. He was a man of world fame and recognition, yet he felt at ease whenever he stepped foot into the Aydin household. It wasn't long after they met that Nihat began to call Can a son. To Nihat it was an usual term used in their neighborhood. But he saw that Can took it as a term of indearment. It was as if Can felt accepted by him and the Aydin family from that moment on.

Nihat felt proud beyond words when Can turned to him first and asked for acceptance and permission to ask Sanem to marry him. As a father he always wished for a man to respect his family and him as a father.  And Can seemed to care not only about Sanem, but about how he treated her family as well...

So to think that Can destroyed his daughter's heart from within, crushed Nihat's spirit as well. It wasn't often that Nihat was wrong about people. And ever since the beginning, Can never before made him feel uncomfortable and uneasy. As a matter of fact, he always felt somehow connected to Can, and offered him a piece of his heart. He knew how much Can needed a father figure in his life, and felt even stronger about it when he learned of Hüma and how she left Can behind.

Now that Can was back, Nihat felt obligated to protect his younger daughter and her heart again. It would take a long time to learn to trust Can again. There was a time when he thanked the stars for the good fortune that fell upon his family because his daughters found good and kind men to share thwir lifes with. Can helped him see that Emre was a righteous man after he married Leyla in secret without Nihat's permission. He helped Nihat to open up to Emre, and he too helped Emre in asking for forgiveness. Nihat knew where Can's heart lay, and it lay in the right place, centered on family grounds...

That is why it was so hard for Nihat to accept Can's decision to flee. To leave Sanem behind. To leave Aydins behind. He knew that if Can trusted in the love he shared with Sanem, they could have resolved whatever issues they had. Because Nihat believed in the love between spouses. And Can had an example of a first hand account of the love between Nihat and Mevkibe. He lived through their problems because Mevkibe chose to keep Sanem and Can's relationship a secret. And he saw how strong the love between spouses could be.

When Nihat fell ill, Can was the last person he expected to see. But he came to wish him well. Nihat knew how much it cost Can to gather up his courage and to stand before him. What's more, he could see how much distressed and worried Can seemed about his condition. And he realized how much Aydin family still meant to Can. And even though Can was no longer a part of Sanem's future in Nihat's eyes, he would forever hold a special part in his heart...