The Price of Pride

Chapter 3

"Emir!"

The first person he sees when he gets home is Suna. She meets him at the front door and follows him down the hall to his room.

"How's Reyhan?" she asks him. "I was so worried about her. She looked so pale and still when you carried her out of here."

Emir gives her a small smile before bending to kiss the top of her head. He believes that Suna really cares about Reyhan. The two have gotten really close and seem to love each other. Who is he kidding? The love is real, from both sides. Suna and Reyhan have become true sisters. And it's not just Suna. Everyone loves Reyhan. How has he been so blind this whole time at how good of a person she is?

"She's going to be happy to know you're thinking of her," Emir tells her. "But she's going to be in the hospital for a bit. She got some cuts when we went to the beach and those cuts got infected and made her sick. She'll be fine in a few days."

Emir tries a smile to convince Suna he's telling the truth. Fortunately she believes him. Because he just doesn't have the strength right now to explain to her just how sick Reyhan really is. He can only pray that he won't ever have to have that conversation with Suna. She would also be devastated if anything were to happen to Reyhan. And once again, Emir sees how much his wife has come to mean to the entire family.

"Emir, Oğlum. You're home."

Well, almost the entire family. He gives the same fake smile to his mother as she comes up to them. She's the one person in this house who doesn't seem to like Reyhan very much. He never thought about it before, but it's curious to him now.

"How about we have coffee together, Son?" Cavidan suggests. "It's been awhile since we've been able to just sit and talk."

He tilts his head and just stares at her, not really believing what he's hearing. She expects him to sit and have coffee when his wife is in the hospital? Maybe she doesn't know.

"Not tonight, Anne. I need to get back to the hospital soon," he explains.

"Your father and Melike are there. Why do you have to be there too?" Cavidan asks, the frustration evident in her voice. "I swear that girl wants all the attention all the time."

"Anne! What has gotten into you?" a horrified Suna wants to know. "Reyhan is in the hospital and you can't even bother to ask how she's doing. Instead, you try to keep Emir from getting back to her just so he can have coffee with you. How are you so selfish?"

Suna maneuvers her chair around Cavidan and zips off to her own room, leaving Emir and Cavidan alone.

"The nerve of that girl to talk to me like that!" Cavidan huffs. "I bet it's Reyhan's influence on her. Your sister has been extra surly since you got married to her. The sooner we get rid of her the better. Then this family can go back to normal."

Cavidan just shakes her head and walks off. Emir notes that she still didn't ask about Reyhan.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Emir walks back into the hospital, he's a different man than when he left. He's changed. Everything has changed. And right now, all he wants to do is see Reyhan. Nothing his father can do this time will stop him. His father has done enough as it is.

"How is she?" he asks Melike when she greets him. He wraps his arms around her, needing the comfort and realizing she needs it as well. He ignores the glare from his father.

"Better. Stable. The doctors say we can go in and see her soon." Melike has to pause to wipe away her tears. "They say she appears to be waking up. Our prayers have been answered."