"Don't tire yourself, my Merve!"
I could tell from his shallow breaths that he was scared. I wasn't seriously hurt; it was just the ache from the tumble. But even that pain faded when I looked at Furkan. My Merve! That phrase, filling my ears, warmed my heart. No matter what, we couldn't stay apart from each other—I was only now coming to terms with that. My hands fought an internal battle to stop me from wiping his tears, but before I could stop myself, I found my fingers gently brushing his face. His tears left a warmth on my fingertips, and I felt the soft stubble of his cheek as I caressed it. In his eyes, I saw both the storm of emotions and the comfort of knowing I was okay.
We had both surrendered to the moment. The sensation of his cheek resting in my palm sent shivers from my fingertips to my toes. I'd always wondered how it would feel to touch him, but it was nothing like I imagined. My heart was pounding as if it would leap out of my chest. When I pulled my hand back, his gaze met mine, filled with a quiet struggle—though he didn't want me to stop, he knew it was wrong.
"My Merve! Can you stand? Should we go to the hospital?"
I shook my head no. "I'm fine. No need for a hospital. If you help me up, I think I can sit on the couch."
With my suggestion, the girl in the room—whom I had completely forgotten about—helped me up. My bruises ached, but there was no significant pain. Once I was seated, my eyes fell on Emre, lying on the floor with his face covered in blood. He wasn't moving—likely passed out from the alcohol.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Furkan asked.
Although my ankle throbbed as I adjusted on the couch, I gritted my teeth and hid it. I didn't want Furkan to worry more than he already had.
"I'm really fine…" I continued, gesturing toward Emre. "What about him?"
I could have sworn the sparks in Furkan's eyes turned to flames. Just saying Emre's name made him shift uncomfortably.
"We should call the police. Let them handle him!"
Furkan pulled his phone from his pocket, ready to dial, when a familiar face appeared in the doorway, panting for breath.
"Please! No police!"
It was Aslı. Her sudden presence left me staring at her in confusion. Was there anyone else who could surprise me tonight?
"What are you doing here?" I demanded. Her wide eyes were filled with fear as she knelt beside Emre, trying to lift him.
"I'll take him out of here. I apologize on his behalf, but please, let this end here. He's not in his right mind—you can see that."
Furkan moved closer to Emre without even glancing at Aslı. His voice was sharp. "Do you think you can just walk away like nothing happened? There must be consequences for what he's done. Merve could have been hurt much worse!"
His clenched fists trembled as he spoke, the tension in his knuckles turning them white. Not wanting the situation to escalate further, I stepped in.
"Furkan, please. Let them go. The more we prolong this, the worse it could get. And if they see Emre like this, you might get into trouble, too."
The girl nodded in agreement with my words, her eyes closing and opening slowly as if to emphasize her plea.
"Merve's right, brother!" she said. Brother? I didn't know Furkan had a sister, but this wasn't the time for questions.
While we were discussing this, Aslı had already managed to wake Emre up—or as much as she could—and was helping him stand, barely keeping him upright with his arm slung over her shoulder. When she glanced at me with a look full of gratitude, I furrowed my brows in response.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I don't care about you at all. Stop looking at me like that. All I want is for you to get out of my life and never come back. If I see you again, I doubt I'll be this tolerant."
I turned to Furkan, silently asking him to calm down with a look, and patted the couch beside me for him to sit. Without hesitation, he obeyed, and as his familiar scent enveloped me, all my pain seemed to fade. This time, I spoke without looking at his face.
"Furkan, thank you. I'm so glad you came. I don't even want to imagine what might've happened if you hadn't."
He must have understood what I meant because he gripped the edge of the couch with anger, his knuckles turning white.
"Merve'm!"
Why was he doing this to me? How could such a possessive note in his voice affect me so deeply? The way he said "Merve'm" was so tender, like he was cradling a fragile bird in his mouth, careful not to hurt it. My shoulders slumped under the weight of emotions I could no longer carry.
"Furkan'ım!"
The words escaped my lips involuntarily, as though my heart couldn't keep the secret any longer. I looked into his eyes while speaking. The flecks in them sparkled brightly, and he seemed to struggle to gather his thoughts, opening and closing his mouth twice before breaking into a broad smile. Seeing him smile made my lips curve upward as well. My gaze followed his hand as he reached into his pocket. He knelt in front of me, and suddenly my throat felt dry. I started fiddling with my fingers out of sheer nervousness, my entire body trembling from head to toe. Could this really be happening?
"This life has tested us in so many ways. Some trials we endured, and for others, we simply said, 'It's God's will,' and consoled ourselves. I was a man whose life was turned upside down, someone whose beliefs and truths were all mixed up. But in my search for what was right, I found you. In my quest for peace, I found you. How fortunate am I that, in my darkest moment, you reminded me that nothing was over, that beautiful things still existed. I don't want to spend a single day of my life without you, Merve'm. My beloved, my precious…"
The last word brought an even wider smile to my face. As his voice filled my ears, I couldn't help but wonder what I had done to deserve him. When he opened the velvet box and revealed the ring inside, my focus shifted to the solitaire diamond. I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes; I was afraid of ruining the moment, of saying or doing something foolish.
"You've blossomed like a flower in my life, Merve'm. Will you turn the rest of my life into a garden of roses? Will you marry me?"
"Yes." His hands were battered and bruised, yet he was holding the ring so delicately as he proposed. Despite my aching body, I didn't hesitate to accept. There was no grand proposal, no flowers or balloons. It was as though the chaos in the room moments ago hadn't happened, as if we were defying life itself with our decision to move forward together. We couldn't keep postponing our happiness any longer. His words etched themselves into my heart, and just looking into his eyes made it clear: there was no other life meant for us.
He slid the ring onto my finger with care. It was simple, elegant, and modest—a reflection of our moment. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been this happy.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you both! I truly am!"
The voice of the girl I had forgotten was even there brought me back to reality. I turned to her, noticing the genuine joy in her eyes. She cautiously leaned in to hug me, resting her head on my shoulder. Her warmth was comforting.
"By the way, we haven't been introduced. I'm Esma, Furkan's milk sister."
She was petite, with dark skin and big, expressive eyes. So that's why she had called him "abi."
"Nice to meet you, Esma. I guess this was the kind of meeting fate had planned for us."
She giggled lightly before responding. "Well, at least it ended well. There's always some good in everything, isn't there?" She was perhaps the most positive person I'd ever met, unable to stay still as she spoke.
Looking around, I realized Emre and Aslı were already gone. If Furkan hadn't arrived, this night could have ended in disaster.
"So, what happens now?" Furkan's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. His question was directed at me, but my confusion was evident as I raised my eyebrows.
"What do you mean, exactly?" Esma chimed in before I could, seemingly as puzzled as I was.
"I mean Istanbul. Are we going back, or are we staying here together?"
When I realized he was asking me, I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. Everything had happened so quickly; I hadn't thought about it.
"I wasn't planning to return to Istanbul, honestly. No matter how hard I try to stay away from you all—or rather, from you—I know deep down it's impossible."
I couldn't take my eyes off the ring. My heart was blooming with joy. When I looked up, I noticed Furkan's gaze fixed on my hand as well.
"I know I'm a bit impatient, but you're not exactly the easiest person to deal with either, you know."
Feigning annoyance, I shot him a playful glare. His mischievous smirk made me smile despite myself.
"If I said, 'Let's go,' you'd probably get mad and accuse me of forcing your hand. But I can't leave you here, not after everything you've been through. I don't want to spend another moment apart from you, Merve'm. I don't want to be late for you anymore."
I didn't want to be apart either. There was no point in denying our happiness when it was this close. Taking a deep breath, I looked straight into his eyes, knowing this would be the last time we'd share such a forbidden gaze.
"Let's get married."