Defne and Selim finally sat down at the table, where the coveted dessert was waiting for them on their plates. It was magnolia, a sweet snack based on pudding, strawberry juice, biscuits and nuts. It was served in transparent goblets.

The girl devoured the dessert spoon after spoon. Selim watched his beloved with joy in his heart. She enjoyed the dessert very much, and each successive bite delighted her taste buds. Satisfied eyes shone in the candlelight. Selim, if he could, would have kept this moment forever. He loved seeing Defne when she was content and smiling through the surprises he had prepared for her. The smile was thanks enough for him for the effort he had put in.

- Shall we talk? - He asked with a palpable uncertainty in his voice. He set the empty food dish aside. - I would like to tell you something.

- But are you ready? - replied Defne, trying to get the rest of the dessert out. - I knew you didn't tell me the truth when we were in the restaurant. I didn't want to pull your tongue because nothing good would come of it. Nevertheless, I will listen to you. I will try to help when you tell me what upset you so much today that you left work early.

- Remember that no matter what happens, you are the most important person to me, okay?

- Whatever it is, we can handle it," she assured him, squeezing his hand. She wanted to give him reassurance this way.

- Wait," he said, reaching for a napkin.

- Did I get dirty? - groaned Defne at her clumsiness.

- 'Just a little, but I'll take care of it right away,' said Selim, gently wiping the corner of her mouth - Done.

Then their eyes met. They looked at each other. Each of them admired the other. Their hearts both beat with an accelerated rhythm. The mood that Korkmaz had taken care of was shared by both of them. The evening was truly special.

The man had a great desire to taste Defne's lips, but just as quickly as this thought occurred, another came along that prompted him that this was the wrong time. The brunet blinked, coming back to reality.

Defne noticed the suspense her boyfriend had fallen into. It amused her. She hadn't thought it could work on a man like that. She hadn't encountered any boy forgetting the whole world in her company before.

Korkmaz, trying to get out of the situation, followed Turan's lead, laughing at his gaffe. At the same time, the laughter caused him to relax his tense muscles.

- Selim! - Unexpectedly, someone's voice reached the ears of both of them. Automatically both faces turned towards the source of the sound. - 'Are you having fun cheating on your wife?

Selim rose abruptly to his feet, like a thief caught in the act. He didn't dare look at Defne. Not yet, anyway. He had to stop Ayaz, who, with anger painted on his face, was moving closer and closer to them with every passing moment. He had to protect Defne. He didn't know how Çakir would behave, acting on adrenaline. He couldn't let the brunette unfairly flop. He was the one to blame for this. He was the only one who could be attacked.

This wasn't how it was supposed to work! This was not how he had imagined everything!

- What is this man talking about? - Defne spoke up, holding her hand to her chest. She swept her eyes behind Korkmaz, although he was not looking at her. The girl did not understand what was going on here. - Do you hear what I am saying to you! - She stood up, holding on to the corner of the table.

By this time Selim had managed to take a few steps towards his brother-in-law. Finally, the men met face to face. Ayaz aimed for Korkmaz's cheek with all his strength. He swung to deliver another blow, but Selim anticipated his reaction and stopped him by grabbing his shirt from both sides.

- Have you no shame? - growled Ayaz, looking furiously at his rival. - 'Listen, whoever this girl is, get rid of her before we settle this properly. She doesn't need to see this.

Ayaz was the kind of man who hated it when someone used violence against women. Nor did he like situations where they had to watch men jerking each other around. Therefore, with the last of his wits, he asked Selim to get rid of his mistress from the garden.

Yes, inside he was angry with Defne. After all, if it hadn't been for her his sister's marriage wouldn't have fallen apart. However, he intended to speak to her in his own way.

Selim processed his brother-in-law's words in his head. He was right. He too did not want Defne to witness their fight, which had become inevitable. He relaxed his fingers, letting go of him, pushing him slightly away from himself. Then, for the first time, he looked around for Defne. Finally, he looked into her eyes. The sight of the brunette, terrified and confused by the situation, saddened him.

- Who is it? - She asked, noticing his gaze on her.

- 'Let me introduce myself, miss,' Ayaz spoke up, correcting the indentation created on his shirt by Selim's hug. - 'My name is Ayaz Çakir. I disrupted this romantic dinner because I found out that my sister will divorce him any day now. - He pointed with his eyes at Selim. - I assume you had no idea about anything as I did, so I will repeat myself. Selim is a married man... for five years.

- Is this man telling the truth? - Defne asked, still holding onto the table. She was unable to move. Her eyes roamed between Selim and the stranger.

- 'Yes, Ayaz is telling the truth. I have a wife,' replied a contrite Selim. At the same moment, tears began to flow into Defne's eyes. - 'We're getting a divorce. I wanted to confess everything to you, but my brother-in-law spoiled everything.

- I came at the wrong time! - shouted Ayaz, imagining how he would throw himself at his brother-in-law. This allowed him to keep his cool. Given the presence of Defne. - I dare say I turned up at the right time. Otherwise, who knows how much longer you would have fooled us!

At this point Defne became weak. It occurred to her that she had become a mistress. She was dating a married man.

What a shame!

- How could you? - she choked out, taking a step towards Selim. Her face was filled with pain. Tears streamed down her cheeks faster and faster. - Why?

- I'm sorry, Defne. - Selim grabbed her hands, which had hitherto rested freely along her body.

- Bırak! (Leave!) - she shouted, raising her head to look into his face. However, the image in front of her was blurred. At the same time, she broke free from his grasp, taking her hands away. Fortunately, he did not insist that she abide by him. - Dokunmayın bana! (Don't touch me!).

- I'm sorry,' he sighed. - Believe me. Everything was supposed to look completely different.

- Spare me! - she raised her voice and then turned towards the table with a nimble movement. Without thinking much, she took the bottle of champagne in her hand. Standing on tiptoe, because she was wearing sandals that day, she poured the contents straight into Korkmaz's face. - Nefret ediyorum senden! (I hate you!) - Impetuously she let the glass out of her hands, which shattered, hitting the terrace floor.

Then she quickly picked up her handbag, which was hanging on the back of a chair. Her gaze hung on a bunch of flowers. With a nervous movement, she took the bouquet out of the vase.

- 'Instead of giving them to me, give them to your wife! - she growled, throwing the flowers at Selim. - With them she might forgive you.

Turan walked away with a determined step, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

This caused Selim unimaginable pain. He squirmed as he saw, with every passing moment, the brunette's silhouette moving away. About two minutes later, he heard the gate door slam. Turan made it loud enough to be heard even in the depths of the garden.

Ayaz, confident that the girl was gone, rushed at Selim without waiting a moment longer. This time Korkmaz did not try to stop him, as he knew the man was right.

Being beyond the grounds of the house, Defne had already cried her eyes out. She let the tears flow freely. She needed to cry. She stood outside the gate, sobbing loudly. She tried to muffle her screams of despair by covering her mouth with the back of her hand. She could barely hold herself up. She could not believe that she had once again let down someone who was close to her heart. She didn't understand why Selim had deceived her. After all, he seemed different. Appearances turned out to be deceiving.

She did not want to return to the Janset house. She did not have the strength to talk to Özge. Her cousin would surely triumph that Defne had not listened to her earlier. She did not have the strength to listen to this monologue. Besides, she was anxious that Selim should not find her. She had to hide from him.

Moments later, she managed to catch a taxi that was just passing that way. Because of her tears, she did not notice the second yellow vehicle passing them. In it was a panicked Ezgi.

When her friend, reached in front of her friend's house, she noticed the gate open. She ran inside, following the trail of burning candles. There she spotted an injured Selim. In a similar condition was Ayaz. Between them was Onur, trying to separate them

The elder Korkmaz arrived at his cousin's house immediately after a phone call received from a terrified Ezgi. The girl called him immediately when she was in the taxi.

*

Ayaz and Selim were lying in a semi-reclined position on loungers by the pool. On the edge of Selim's furniture sat Onur. He wanted to be nearby in case the men wanted to jump down each other's throats again.

Ayaz had a cut lip and a red cheek. Selim, on the other hand, had been hit on the nose, but Ezgi looked at it and decided that the doctor's intervention would not be needed. She gave her friend a tamponade to stop the bleeding. They both had scraped knuckles from hitting each other.

- I prefer not to imagine what would have happened if Onur had not reacted so quickly - The girl shook her head as she tried to disinfect the scratches on Ayaz's face. This one hissed as she applied a gauze pad poured with spirit to it.

- That hurts! - He growled, turning his head the other way. - Can you do it more carefully?

- You should not have fought, then nothing would have hurt," she replied, unconcerned by Çakir's comment. - There are different ways to resolve conflicts. There is no need to resort to violence right away.

- He deserved it! - he snorted, picking himself up to sit down, but Ezgi pushed the man onto the deckchair. - This is still a mild punishment. He deserved more! He betrayed my sister! I should have beaten you unconscious - he turned to Selim. - Maybe then you would have come to your senses!

- Divorce is both my decision and Aylin's! - shouted Selim, repeating the same thing for the umpteenth time. However, Ayaz refused to accept this. - We made it together!

- Akurat - snorted Korkmaz's brother-in-law. Meanwhile, Ezgi approached the other wounded man. She looked at his face. - I saw with my own eyes that you have a mistress! You will see, I will do everything to make you responsible for the break-up of this marriage!

- The terms of the divorce are already set out. Aylin has accepted them,' Selim said, rolling his eyes. Ezgi was standing over him, trying to tear the security paper off the slice.

- 'Because she's stupid! - exclaimed Ayaz. - I'm sure she didn't even fully read what she was signing. She took your word for it. I won't leave it at that, you have my word. I will be filing for marital therapy. You can't cross out a five-year relationship so easily.

- Do what you want, but you won't influence Aylin's decision," Selim said with satisfaction in his voice. He had his eyes closed, because Ezgi had just stuck a plaster on his nose.

- 'It can't hurt to try! - burbled a frustrated Ayaz. - I can't understand what has suddenly happened. You were such a compatible couple.

- Oh, that's right, you said it well! - remarked Selim, opening his eyes. He looked at his brother-in-law. - We were! Me and Aylin came to terms with the decision. You should too.

- 'Akur Selim is right,' spoke up the hitherto silent Onur. - 'With all due respect, if they both decided that divorce would be the best solution, we have no choice but to accept it. They are not the first to divorce.

- Yes, but the decision to marry is a serious matter," Ayaz rightly pointed out. Ezgi agreed with him, listening to him. - You can't act like that. One day it's beautiful and the next day you wake up and find that you don't love the other person? This is not a game. It's just real life. You have to fight and not let go when there is a problem. Tell Selim, what happened between you two? Where did this decision come from?

- I think you should ask Aylin about it,' Selim acknowledged.

- Are you suggesting that my sister is to blame for the break-up of your marriage? - shouted Ayaz, sitting down on the deckchair. - She loves you! She can't see the world outside of you. I don't think I need to remind you how she convinced me to accept you. She claimed you were very good husband material.

- That was five years ago! - snorted Selim, wanting to laugh, but his sore face wouldn't let him. - Five!

- I've had enough of that! I'm not going to listen to it any longer. - Çakir rose to his feet. - It's most convenient to blame the absentees, because they can't say anything! They have no way to defend themselves. - The upset man carefully stood up. - There is no point in talking to you any more. You are all taking this bastard's side!

- We don't... - Onur interrupted, realising that it would be of no use. He escorted, on behalf of Selim, the visitor to the exit.

- Why didn't you tell him? - Asked Ezgi in a whisper. - It was the perfect opportunity. He could have changed his mind about you, looked at you differently!

- That's true, but it's Aylin's business. She should do it. I promised her that I would support her in this. I can't do anything without consulting her.

- Even at my own expense? - sighed Ezgi, sitting down on the deckchair that Ayaz had just occupied. She rested her elbows on her knees. - This has gone so far. I don't understand why you are still hiding the real reason for your marriage from him! After all, he could have killed you today!

- Ezgi... I gave him a foray," Selim said. - You know I wouldn't let myself be defeated. I understand his anger. I had to let him get hit a few times. Let him have the satisfaction that he didn't come here for nothing.

Ezgi sighed loudly, shaking her head slightly. At the same time, she took out a buzzing phone from her katana pocket.

- 'It's Serkan,' she explained, answering the call. - 'Darling, everything's fine... - Onur appeared again in the garden. - Yes, you have nothing to worry about... You know, I'm going to stay here for a while longer - she said, looking at her friend. - 'Okay, I'll let you know. Kisses.

- And actually, what are you guys doing in my house? - Selim asked, reminding himself that he hadn't invited them. - I said I wanted to be alone with Defne.

- Just because you were alone,' Onur explained. - 'We thought we would somehow manage to warn you that Ayaz had turned up in Bodrum. Unfortunately, you could not be contacted.

- 'Right, we both switched off our phones,' said Selim, slapping his head. If he hadn't done that, he might have avoided a fight with Ayaz. - I didn't want anything to get in our way.

- Say, at least, did the dinner go well? - Asked Ezgi, looking hopeful at her friend. - Did you confess everything to Defne?

- I didn't make it! - shouted Selim, full of regret. - If Ayaz had come three minutes later... I was really close to telling Defne about my marriage.

- I understand correctly that she found out from Ayaz and not from you, yes? - reassured Onur, keeping his hands on his hips. His cousin's facial expression was answer enough. - After all, I warned you! I asked you not to wait too long.

- Oh, poor Defne,' sighed Ezgi. She felt sorry for Turan.

- I know, you both told me that - he sighed, removing the tamponade from his nose. The bleeding has stopped now. - I need to talk to her,' Selim announced, getting up on his feet.

- 'I don't know if that's a good idea,' said Ezgi, glancing at Onur. - 'Maybe we should give her a breather? It's a fresh case. Let the emotions subside at least a little.

- 'No way,' said Selim firmly, searching for his phone in his trouser pockets. When he sensed it, he switched it on. - I can't wait until morning.

After a while, the phone switched on. Notifications of multiple call attempts had come in from Ezgi, Onur and even Aylin. She too had probably found out about Ayaz's unscheduled visit and wanted to warn him.

For Selim, it was now irrelevant how his brother-in-law had found out about everything, why he had come to Bodrum. It was more important for him to make contact with Defne. The girl, however, still had her phone switched off.

- 'Thanks for wanting to help me, but if you'll allow me, I'll go and meet Defne,' Selim said. - 'We'll come back to this conversation tomorrow, okay?

The man left his friends, getting behind the wheel of his Mercedes. He was anxious to see Defne. It was late for a visit, as it was reaching twenty-three on the clock, but for him every minute counted.

Unfortunately, at Janset's he did not find her. The woman was surprised to see a man. She thought Defne was still with him. In addition, she was frightened by his condition. The man assured her that it was nothing. He asked her to let him know when Defne returned to the habitat. Sam did not give up so easily. He looked for her in many places for another hour. Unfortunately, he found no trace of her anywhere. Janset didn't call him either.

Terrified, he sat in his car near the beach, pounding the steering wheel with a sore fist.

Where have you been, Defne?

*

Selim hardly slept that night. He kept wondering where his girlfriend had gone and what was going on with her. Her phone was still not answering. Korkmaz had left her several voice messages apologising for everything and begging her to let him explain.

Around eight o'clock, Ezgi returned to his house together with Onur. They too were both nailed by the whole affair. They firmly believed that Selim would succeed in talking to Defne and confessing the truth. Unfortunately, they didn't foresee that Ayaz would turn up to spoil the whole plan.

Fortunately, they had understanding partners who did not make any problems about accompanying Selim late at night and visiting him early in the morning. Asli and Serkan guessed that there was a problem, but they did not want to push.

Onur reassured his cousin by bringing good news. He told him that Defne was safe and she was fine. However, he did not want to reveal where she was or how he knew this.

- 'I gave her the day off today,' he added, sitting down at a chair on the terrace.

The candles had not yet disappeared from the garden. In fact, not much had been cleaned up after last night. Ezgi merely cleaned off the table and Onur swept up the broken glass.

- 'You did well,' sighed Selim, sitting with his arms folded across his chest. His muscles were taut and exposed thanks to his strapless shirt. - Thank you.

Ezgi brought freshly brewed tea from the kitchen on a tray. She also made sandwiches from the products she found in the fridge. She guessed that her friend hadn't eaten anything yet, and hadn't even thought to eat anything. She decided to take a little care of him.

That's when Selim's phone started ringing. It was Aylin, who again wanted to call her husband. This time successfully. Selim answered, explaining that they should connect through the communicator on the laptop, as his friends were with them and they all needed to talk together.

So five minutes later all four of them were talking, seeing each other in the computer screen. Ezgi and Onur were sitting on either side of Korkmaz. Aylin was in the bedroom of the Istanbul flat.

- 'Oh my, what do you look like,' she shrilled, wrinkling her forehead. - 'My brother set you up like this?

- Yes, but let's not talk about it,' Selim said. - 'You'd better tell me what it was like. One by one, with details. Start Aylin.

- Well... I spoke to Ayaz, but in the meantime I got a notification of a second call. I saw that it was lawyer Metin. I inadvertently slipped that it was him and then, when I called my brother again, I admitted to him that we were getting a divorce. Of course, Ayaz was not very forthcoming in explaining anything to me. He just said he would find the quickest connection to Bodrum and talk to you. And I'm not to worry. I tried to contact you but couldn't. On the phone the mail was on. You weren't active online.

- What did you tell him about the divorce? - Selim asked.

- 'That we decided to separate together and we already have a divorce date set, that's why my stay in Istanbul is dragging on,' replied Aylin, coughing. - I wanted to say more, but he wouldn't let me because he hung up.

- 'I see, which means it would be useful to arrange a conversation with you and Ayaz,' Ezgi spoke up, only now noticing the tiredness on the woman's face. - 'Aylin are you able to fly over to us?

- 'Not necessarily, because I think something is breaking me down. I've been feeling bad since yesterday.

- All right. In that case, we'll arrange it online,' Selim spoke up. - Please convince Ayaz to come to me. With me he is unlikely to want to talk.

- 'Sure, I'll call my brother right away,' replied Aylin. - However, before I do, tell me what happened in Bodrum.

Ezgi had the most to say on the matter, although she was not there from the beginning when Ayaz turned up at the restaurant. Onur recounted how he found out about Çakir's arrival. And Selim described how everything looked from his perspective.

Two hours later, Ayaz arrived at Korkmaz's house. He was not entirely convinced about meeting what he thought was his sister's unfaithful husband, but he agreed to the meeting because she was very keen on it. This time it was Ayaz who sat next to Selim so that he could fit into the camera frame.

Ezgi and Onur went inside Korkmaz's house. They did not want to disturb the conversation. At the same time, they wanted to be supportive of Selim when Ayaz learns the circumstances under which he married Aylin.

- 'Thank you, brother, for agreeing to speak to them,' Aylin spoke to the screen. She had managed to comb her hair into a loose bun and change into clean pyjamas. - 'I'm sorry we have to talk like this, but as you can see, I can't turn up in Bodrum. I also didn't want to postpone this conversation indefinitely. I have put it off many times, but after what happened yesterday, you left me no choice.

- Get to the point instead of wrapping it up," Ayaz instructed, feeling uncomfortable sitting close to Selim. He was still angry with him.

- 'Okay, but first you have to promise me that you will listen to us to the end,' Aylin added. - 'Don't interrupt, please.

- I will try,' Ayaz replied.

~~~

Four days before the wedding - 21.08.2015.

Selim invited Aylin to meet him. They made an appointment at the café they used to go to when they had a window between classes.

- 'I've found a solution to your problems,' Selim said, holding a mug of coffee in front of him. - 'With this, you will be able to pass your subject with peace of mind and take your diploma defence in the spring.

- What do you mean?

- We will get married,' Selim announced, smiling. - Being my wife, you will be able to stay in Turkey. You won't have to go back to Germany. And most importantly, your brother won't find out why you stayed here longer than the student exchange programme stipulated.

- Are you serious? - Selim's proposal was very slow to reach Aylin.

- Yes. I have thought it all over and I am ready to make this deal with you. We will only be married on paper. When you pass the exam, for which of course I will help you prepare, we will divorce. Do you agree to this?

- I don't know what to say... - Aylin sighed, shyly looking at Selim. It was awkward for her to ask him for help again. Korkmaz had already helped her out of her predicament for another time. - You surprised me. I didn't think you would propose marriage to me. However, I guess I have no choice but to accept your offer.

- In that case, let's go to the office,' Selim announced, taking his coffee in hand. - 'We need to set a date for the wedding.

- Already? - replied a surprised Aylin.

- 'There's nothing to wait for,' remarked Selim. - Do you have your identity card with you?

- I do,' she said, nodding. - What about our agreement?

- We'll agree on the details on the way! - Selim grabbed Aylin's hand.

Since they had decided to get married, they should behave like lovers. He decided to get used to his new role as soon as possible in order to appear credible in front of the clerk.

~~~

- Do you understand now, brother? Me and Selim were a marriage of convenience. In reality we have nothing in common. Except for a unique kind of friendship. If it wasn't for Selim, I don't know if I would be an architect today," explained Aylin, relieved that her brother knew, at least part, of the truth. She was unable to say more immediately. - If anyone is to blame for the breakdown of this marriage, it is me.

- It does indeed change the character of things... - said Ayaz. - I admit that it came out stupidly.

- After all, I deserved it," laughed Selim. - I have already managed to forget about yesterday.

- After everything that has happened to us, we are both finally happily in love - added Aylin. - That's why we want to get divorced.

Selim was relieved that Aylin had decided to have an almost frank conversation with her brother. He knew how much it had cost her to admit her mistake. It was only a step towards discovering the whole truth, but for that moment, for him, it was significant.

_____________________

Writing a note for you I realised I could have taken a different route, but.... Well.

We finally know the reason why Selim and Aylin got married.... But there's more to the story. Some cards need to be revealed.

Do you have any idea what happened to Defne after she left Selim's house?

Thank you for all your comments and messages! I LOVE YOU!

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All the love!!!