TWO BIRDS OF A FEATHER

A resigned surrender...

What could be considered to be the worst kind of a battle? The one where someone chooses to surrender without even trying. To resign without a fight. To give up without ever crossing the start line. Why? Because that choice is born out of fear, backed up by believing one is not strong enough to win, and fueled by the underlying notion that failure is the only inevidable option...

Can looked at Emre and shook his head. His brother was never much of a talker, but now he was at a complete loss for words. And what bothered Can the most was the fact that Emre refused to face the truth. And the truth was that he fell in love with Leyla. Whether he was willing to admit it or not...

Though Can asked dozens of questions, Emre refused to reveal what lay deep in his heart. So Can changed his approach. He asked if Emre saw Leyla's reaction when she realized he came to her house to stop her from getting engaged to Osman. Can asked him, because he saw it himself. He saw the longing. He saw the loss. And he saw the despair. In both Leyla and Emre's eyes. Whatever they felt toward one another was as raw as the day they began to feel it. The feelings they share weren't dead. Only, they were defeated because they chose for it to be that way.

Emre did not quite know how to find the strength to answer that question. So Can told him that they both knew Emre did not come to the Aydins looking for Can. Emre was a fool if he thought that Can would fall for that excuse. He came because he found out what was to happen. Emre looked up with so much sorrow in his eyes that it hurt Can. He asked Emre how things could have gotten so badly out of hand between them? For one, Can never saw Emre in the state he was now. He was a Divit, wasn't he? A man of strong will and determination, wasn't he?

Emre sighed. He was. That he was. But, so what? Strength and determination enough did not matter if the heart wasn't the victor. Can knew what that meant. Because he felt that way once too. But it wasn't the victory of the heart that mattered alone. It was the willingness to fight, to bend under pressure but not to break.  He wished Emre would understand that and would have fought for their love. But Emre said something that made Can wonder. Emre told him that regardless of how he felt about Leyla, how she felt about him, Leyla did deserve to be happy. And he deserved to be happy too...

Unbeknownst to Emre, there was another person whose thoughts were occupied by his presence. And by his absence. Leyla laid awake in her bed and could not fall asleep. She watched the engagement wedding band shine on her finger. She was calm, but far from content. She made a step toward her future, but was it the right one? Her heart was torn between the right thing to have done versus the one she had secretly hid from everyone. And that was for the other wedding band to belong to Emre. She knew she was a fool to dream in such a way. She knew she could no longer hope for such a dream to come true. And yet...

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sanem. Sanem heistated whether she should come to see Leyla, but the sisterly heart in her won. And she was glad it did. Leyla was now engaged. She would soon be married and would leave the house to live with Osman and Ayhan. Sanem knew what that meant. So, she came to spend some sisterly time with her Ice-Queen-turned-dearest-sister-in-the-world. The sisters embraced one another and were happy to have this moment to themselves. Not for long, though. Mevkibe, feeling the same sort of yearning came to speak with Leyla. Her heart filled with double the love when she saw both of her daughters embracing one another.

She joined her daughters. Her heart grew and she could not hide her pride. Her daughters grew up to become responsible and sensible women. She only wished they would have taken longer to grow up. She held them close and told them that although they would one day go out into the world, their bond would never break. Never. Regardless of troubles they would end up in, troubles they would bring or conjure up themselves, or regardless of the mischief they already have caused. She reminded them of all the memories she held dearest to her heart, and that she always would cherish them. The bonds they as sisters were strong, but the bond between a mother and her children would never break, because it never could. She assured them of that...

As the morning came and employees gathered back at the agency, everyone was in a joyous mood. Everyone except for Emre. He walked in while employees congratulated Leyla on her engagement. His heart sank. His throat ran dry. He gathered every last ounce of his courage, walked up to Leyla, whispered her name, and barely managed to say one word "Congratulations" without choking up on each of the word's letters. He rushed to his office and never looked back. Had he done so, he would have seen the look in her eyes, the kind of a look that even Ceycey could not have dismissed nor overlooked. Leyla walked to her office and was glad to have had a moment to compose herself before Sanem joined her. Sanem tried to comfort her as best as she could. But she grew worried the moment Leyla mentioned that she might just as well end up looking for another place to work.

Sanem worried Leyla may be rushing her decisions. But nothing preparred her for the worry and the sharp pain of fear she was to feel moments after Leyla's confession. Unexpectedly, they heard Deren's cry of despair. Everyone was used to Deren's screams, but not this kind of a scream. Because now she screamed out Can's name. Again and again. He rushed out of his office to find Deren approach him with an i-pad tablet. He took it and froze, half mad and half furious. Fabri. Again, Fabri. But this time what he saw boiled his blood from within. Fabri introduced the reveal of his new perfume. WITH FIKRI HARIKA'S SLOGAN, PHOTOGRAPHIC ART, AND DESIGN! With the design they came up with. With the design that HE personally approved.

Oh, was Can livid! He was furious! But most of all, he immediately knew what would follow. He passed the i-pad tablet to Emre. They were done. Finished. He was ready to give up. Fabri - Can's conscience rang loud in his gut. Not with Redmode, and not again, Can thought. He felt like a defeated warrior who never got a chance to fight back and stand his ground. He felt a silent resigned surrender screaming deafly inside of him. There was only one way Maks McKinnon was going to react. Only one. And he did not have to wait long for that call. Maks expressed his utter dissatisfaction and anger. Understandably so. Can assured him that they would get to the bottom of the matter and that he was ready to face the consequences. The moment Can ended the call, Ceycey shouted Can's name. Can rushed to him and could not have imagined things getting worse. But they did. Fabri managed to plaster his face and perfume's slogan and advertising everywhere. And that meant everywhere. And suddenly Can understood how - Aylin. He called out Aylin's name, and was not at all surprised that she chose not to come in that day. She lied, she cheated, ans she did it in broad daylight. Can was beside himself. Things could not possibly have gotten any worse.

But they did...

This time Güliz called out Can's name. She carried in her hand an envelope she wished she did not have to bring to Can. The anger in his eyes took her aback, but she had to bring it to him. The envelope contained an invitation. From Fabri. But it wasn't just an invitation. It contained a perfectly crafted and theacherously designed sample of... perfume. Sanem's breath caught in her throat. Her heart stopped, her soul screamed out of fear. No more running. No more lies. She was finished. And so was their love.

Can took the sample out of the envelope. Held it in his hands. Fear. Fury. Everything in between ran through his mind. He hesitated as he contemplated whether he would be brave enough to face the fact that the vial he held could possibly contain Sanem's perfume. Their perfume. Could it? Would it? How would he have felt if it did? How would he have reacted? He sprayed it on to his wrist. He took a deep breath, and inhaled the scent...