Anne went to her relative's home the next day for some time and Mehmet went to the office. Sarah was left alone, wandering around the house. She grabbed a book from Mehmet's library and found a dried tulip petal and her own picture inside it. She was stunned to see it, but then she remembered Aniya had given him her picture when she got lost in Istanbul. But she forgot that she had sent him her picture on his phone, not a hard copy. The day passed like this, and she fell asleep before Mehmet and Anne returned.
_______________________________________
The next day she woke up, got ready, and went out. Mehmet was sitting in the living room. He didn't look at her.
Sarah's eyes shifted to the TV screen. Headquarters destroyed in a massive short circuit. The headline flashed in bold red, reporters crowding around the blackened ruins of Kaan Edem's empire.
She glanced at Mehmet, surprised to find him smirking. "Isn't he your business partner in Italy? Why are you laughing at his biggest loss?"
Mehmet let out a short, sarcastic laugh. "Partner? That man doesn't even know the meaning of loyalty."
Sarah frowned, still unsettled. "Still… Why are you smiling at this? His whole headquarters burnt down. Poor guy."
His gaze darkened, but the smile didn't leave his lips. "Sometimes karma delays things…" He paused, voice lowering as if sharing a truth she wasn't ready for. "…so humans have to help."
Her brow furrowed. "But wasn't it a massive short circuit? At least that's what the news says. So why are you saying…. Humans have to help"
Mehmet leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers once against the armrest. His smirk deepened, sharp as a blade.
"Short circuits don't usually know which devils to choose."
She didn't understand anything but she knew Mehmet won't tell her even if she pressed so she went into the kitchen where Anne was sitting.
"Morning," Sarah said.
"Morning, Sarah," Anne smiled back.
"I came to you last night but you were in deep sleep," Anne said.
"Yes, I slept well after so many days," Sarah admitted.
"Will you come with me to Cevahir?" Anne asked.
"Sure, I will," Sarah replied with a smile.
"Tomorrow is Mehmet's birthday," Anne informed her.
"Oh, great," Sarah replied casually.
She looked at Anne—her wrinkled face—and saw that the only thing she truly cared about was Mehmet.
That evening, after her painting class with Anne, Sarah was sitting in the garden. Mehmet came to her.
"When will you rejoin?" he asked, sitting near her.
"Um… maybe tomorrow," she replied.
"How was your day with Anne at Cevahir?" he asked again, rolling his sleeves.
"Nice," she answered in a normal tone.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes."
"Anything you want to tell?" he asked. She shook her head.
"Tell me when you trust me. Oh wait...I remember, you don't trust me," he added. Sarah gave him a sharp look.
"When will you forget that?" she asked.
"When you start to trust me," he said with a shrug.
"I don't want to discuss it, it's your personal matter, and maybe you'll mind me interfering," she said, trying to sound light.
"Oh, so you're worried about me?" he teased.
"No, I'm worried about Anne," Sarah replied.
"What happened to her?" he asked, frowning.
"Did you ask her? When did you last talk to her?
When did you last take her somewhere to spend time with her?
When did you just sit with her and listen?" Sarah's tone grew serious. Mehmet's eyes darkened.
"I'm providing her everything she needs," he said, staring at the sky.
"You're not providing her what she needs. She doesn't need comfort clothes. She doesn't need luxury.
The only thing she needs—the only thing she craves—is you, Mehmet. She was tired but still roamed the whole Cevahir for your favorite scent, that shirt color that suits you the most. She just wants you to give her some time," Sarah said, trying not to sound angry.
"She… said this?" Mehmet asked, still looking at the table.
"Her face did. Her eyes did. Every word of hers shouts this.
Do you know whenever I sit with her, she starts with you and ends with you," Sarah replied softly.
"She never asked me…" Mehmet muttered.
"Why should she have to ask you to spend time with her?" Sarah questioned.
"Because once I asked her to, but she was busy handling this," Mehmet said in a low voice, pointing towards the house.
"She was busy building this empire…
I was barely 15 or 16…
I needed her…" Mehmet whispered, but Sarah heard.She held his hand. He didn't protest.
"And you're taking revenge on her?" she asked softly. But she flinched when Mehmet pulled his hand back and looked at her with fire in his eyes.
"She's my Anne! How could I? How could you even think that?" Mehmet yelled in a low voice.
"Then what are your excuses, Mr. Mehmet Ibrahim?
Your mother spent her whole life for you. She was barely 40 then—she could've started a new life but she didn't. She spent years shaping your future.
Don't you know if she hadn't handled your father's business, what this world would have done to you and her? You should be grateful.
Yes, I agree, she didn't give you enough time. But she's human, Mehmet.
She can make mistakes. If she didn't give you time, she also didn't spend a single second on herself.
Look at her wrinkled face. She wanted to be a painter…
She wanted to pursue her dreams… but she didn't.
She shut down her art gallery for you.
Why do we always forget our mother'sstruggles?
Just because she never reminded us?
Just because she never mentioned it? Just because she never asked?
I know this world was cruel to you. You didn't deserve the teens you had.
You deserved friends… trust… but what can you do now?
Regret?
And then what?
Waste more years of your life?" She paused for a moment.
"I know you were close to your father, but we can't change that. Every child needs both parents, but for some, God has other plans." She paused for a moment.
" I'm away from my parents, and I know how much I miss them. I took them for granted.
'Mama will do this…
Baba will help me…
I don't have to do this, Baba will…'
But now? I don't have them. They're in Pakistan, and I'm here. I know how difficult it is.
She needs you, Mehmet. Just you."
Mehmet didn't lift his gaze from the table. After a long silence, he got up and went inside. Sarah sighed and looked at the sky. She knew he didn't like being told what to do. She sat there watching the moon replace the sun, staring at the sky for an hour without reason.
Later, Mehmet knocked on Anne's door and entered. She was sitting in her rocking chair, looking at one of his paintings. Mehmet sat on the floor beside her and placed his head in her lap, closing his eyes.
"What happened, Mehmet? Are you alright?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair.
"Yes… just wanted to sit with you," he said without looking up. She felt tears in his eyes.
"Mehmet, what happened? Tell me, I'm here," she said anxiously, stunned to see tears after twelve years.
"Nothing, Anne… Can I just sit here?" he asked quietly. Anne kissed his forehead and nodded.
After fifteen minutes, he finally looked up at her.
"Anne…" He traced her wrinkled face and hair with his fingers. His eyes filled with tears.
"Anne…
I can't lose you…
I can't afford it…" Tears fell down his cheeks.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said gently, wiping his tears.
"No… Anne…
You're the only one I have…
I can't replace you.
You spent your whole life for me. You closed your art gallery for me. You didn't pursue your dreams for me. And what did I do?
Lied to you… ignored you… didn't spend an hour with you for seven months…
Why didn't you slap me? When I lied and you knew I was lying? Why, Anne? Why did you let me forget your sacrifices?
You know what? I love you, Anne.
I love when you come into my room to check if I slept, and kiss my forehead.
I see Baba in you. I love when you call Kerman to give me kehwa. I love it when you ask Tayyep about me. I love everything about you.
I miss Baba so much. I want him here with us. But you became my Baba too.
You never thought about yourself all these years.
Anne…
I'm not the best son. You didn't deserve a son like me. I ignored you, thought you'd be fine alone. And you….. you spent years waiting for me, to just talk to you.
Anne, I love you.
I loved when other fathers came to drop their kids off to college, but…
I missed Baba so much. I hated not having him. I still do.
But…..
I never thanked God that I wasn't alone. I had you…..
I still have you. You became Baba for me. I can't lose you, Anne." He spoke in broken words, crying like a child. For the first time in so long, she saw Mehmet again.
"I love you more, Mehmet. You didn't do anything wrong. I also wish your Baba was here, but it's God's will.
I'm with you, and you're with me. There's nothing else I want.
My Mehmet is here. I love you more," she said, kissing him again and hugging him.
They sat for an hour, talking about things they had missed and the chances still left.
"Sarah… She is a gem. I want her to live here with you," Anne smiled.
Mehmet looked at her.
"She'll throw something at me if I ask her," he said in a low voice. Anne laughed.
"You like her?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"I… I don't know…" He looked at her hands and held them.
"Did you ever ask her out? For coffee?" she asked. Mehmet shook his head.
"Ask her. Maybe just wander around. She's a pure soul. Look what she did—in just three or four days, everything in our house changed. It's home now.
She's a gem with a loving heart.
But… you have to be capable of deserving her.
She deserves a man, a real man, who understands her… who knows how to love her. And Mehmet, I know you can do this. Don't lose her."
"Anne… she doesn't like me. There are so many differences—cultural and others.
She deserves peace, not my shadows. She won't want to spend her whole life with a man like me," Mehmet said quietly.
"Who said she doesn't like you?" Anne asked in a whisper.
"Her eyes. Her eyes judge me. They don't look at me the way they'd look at something they want, something they love, something they admire. Sarah cares for everyone, but I don't mix care and love. They're different emotions, Anne," he explained.
"Then try. Otherwise, someone else will," Anne warned. Something in Mehmet's eyes darkened. It was the most lethal warning he had ever heard.
"You know, oğlum," she began softly, "Swan….. swan is a strange creature. It looks fragile, all grace and white feathers. But once it chooses its mate… it never leaves. Through storms, through winters, even when the waters freeze, the swan stays."
Mehmet looked away, his jaw tightening, as if trying to shield the storm inside him. Anne only smiled faintly.
"Sarah is like that. She won't fly away just because the waters are rough. Don't be so afraid of letting her near your heart. A man who pushes away loyalty is a man who drowns himself."
For a long moment Mehmet said nothing. He only stared at the window. But in his silence, Anne saw it—the flicker of a man torn between fear and hope.
Later, they came out of the room. Mehmet went to the garden to look for Sarah but she wasn't there, so he went to her room. He knocked and entered. She was sleeping on the couch, some strands of hair falling on her face.
"What's the purpose of the bed?" Mehmet muttered, looking at her.
He sat near her on the floor and brushed her hair slightly off her face. She flinched a little at his touch but didn't wake up. Instead, she held his hand in her sleep. Mehmet's eyes smiled—and so did he. Somehow he managed to free his hand, then went out.
"She's sleeping, Anne. You should wake her up. She didn't eat anything in lunch either," he said, and Anne smiled with a gentle nod.
At dinner, the clock struck 11:45. Anne was waiting to wish him first. Mehmet and Anne both looked happy, Anne's smile purer than usual.
"How old are you?" Sarah randomly asked Mehmet.
"27," he replied.
"Oh, you'll turn 28 now!" Sarah calculated. Mehmet nodded.
"Old enough," she whispered, and Anne laughed, making Sarah realize they'd heard her.
"Um, I didn't mean that," she said awkwardly.
"You're also 25, Miss Sarah," Mehmet fired back in a soft tone.
"I still have five years till thirty. You just have two," she said, calculating again. Mehmet smiled and bowed his head.
"When will Aniya come?" Anne asked Sarah.
"Three days later," Sarah replied, looking at her plate.
"Then you'll leave?" Anne asked sadly. Sarah nodded.
"You and Aniya can live here with us," Anne offered.
"We'll come to see you often," Sarah said warmly.
"You're here in Turkey for one more year?" Anne asked. Sarah shook her head.
"Almost 3 months," she said.
"And then you'll return to Pakistan?" Anne asked a little sadly. Mehmet glanced at Sarah from the corner of his eye while eating his steak.
"Yes. When my visa expires, I'll have to go," Sarah said.
"Mehmet can help you with this. You can get a work visa here," Anne suggested.
"I can't stay longer than that," Sarah said, looking at Mehmet, who quickly shifted his gaze.
"What will you do in Pakistan?" Anne asked.
"Maybe a job for a year, then marriage because my family wants me to, then continue with work or business," Sarah said without lifting her eyes from the plate. Something shifted in Mehmet's chest.
"You can find someone here in Turkey," Anne said innocently.
"People here are arrogant and over-smart," Sarah smirked. Mehmet looked at her slowly, then looked away again.
"Not everyone, Sarah," Anne squeezed her hand.
"Yes, maybe. Let's see what's in naseeb," Sarah smiled. Mehmet glanced at her again from the side.
The clock struck 12. Anne hugged Mehmet. He didn't protest this time like last year when he said, "I'm not a child, Anne." But this time he hugged her back. Anne went into the kitchen to bring something.
"Happy late twenties, Mehmet," Sarah teased.
"Teşekkür, Miss Sarah," he said, smiling.