Eva

Dedicated to My Beloved Sister Meryem… “Sunday Silence” The living room was crowded. Like every Sunday, the Karan family had gathered around the table with all the weight of tradition. Breakfasts at Davut Karan’s house felt less like meals and more like strictly controlled swallowing sessions. Eva stared blankly at the olives on her plate, but there was something louder than the sound of sports commentary from the TV—her rising anger. “Well,” said her father-in-law Davut, putting his fork down, “I saw her leave the house again with that Galatasaray scarf. What an endless obsession this is, my girl. Other women become homemakers, and you run off to the stadium every week.” Kemal laughed quietly. Eva lifted her head. “Yes, that’s right. Everyone has an escape, don’t they? Some scream at the stadium… others, in hotel rooms…” The table fell silent. Her mother-in-law cut her hand while slicing bread and grumbled as she headed to the kitchen. Kemal narrowed his eyes. “Eva. Not here.” “Then where, Kemal?” Eva asked, her voice steady and clear. “In bed? Because I’ve been sleeping alone for a while now, maybe I can reach you wherever you’re spending your nights.” Davut frowned. “Enough with these insinuations!” Eva pushed her chair back and stood up. “It’s not insinuation, father. I’m saying it outright: your son is cheating on me. With a weekly schedule, no less. Monday a new face, Friday a regular girlfriend, and Sunday the happy family performance.” Kemal stood up too. “Shut your mouth. Stop talking nonsense.” Eva chuckled. “If I’d ever shut my mouth, I would have drowned with you long ago.” Everyone froze for a moment. Even the sounds of breakfast stopped. The eggs, the cheese, the tomatoes—they all went silent. The only sound was Davut’s deep, angry breaths through his nose. Kemal’s face turned crimson. He locked eyes with Eva. “You’re humiliating me.” Eva grabbed her bag. “No, Kemal. To be humiliated, you need to have some dignity. And you… all you have left is your name. And soon, that’ll be gone too.” She opened the door. What she left behind wasn’t just silence—it was the shattering of years of tradition. Sometimes, all it took was one woman to break a family’s script. Chapter: “The Silence That Pierced the Walls” It was well past midnight. The TV was on but muted. Eva sat in the living room pretending to read a book. Her eyes followed the lines, but her mind was stuck back at the breakfast table, hours earlier. Kemal’s face, Davut’s flaring nostrils, and that never-ending performance of “protecting the family’s honor…” The door upstairs slammed shut. Eva spoke without lifting her head: “Even the walls are tired of you. No need to break the doors.” Kemal’s voice was cold as he came down the stairs: “What are you trying to do, Eva? What was that stunt at the breakfast table?” Eva slowly closed the book, not bothering to stand. “I told the truth, Kemal. Maybe for the first time, nobody really ate at that table… but for the first time, no one swallowed their pride either. That’s progress.” Kemal stood over her, his fingers gripping the back of the sofa, his rage radiating through the room. “Listen, if you want a fight in this house, I’ll scream all night long. But if we go down, we go down together. My father will crush you. Even your own father won’t look you in the eye.” Eva finally raised her eyes to his. “When my father learns the truth, trust me, he’ll hold me, not you. Because I’m not the disgrace here. I’m not the one sleeping around and walking around with my head high.” Kemal began pacing the room, his fury boiling over. “Do you know what your real problem is? Control. You can’t control me, and it’s driving you insane. But the game’s over, Eva. You won’t divorce me, and you won’t leave. You’ll stay in this house. Because you have nowhere else to go.” Eva stood up. She walked towards him with calm but determined steps until she was standing directly in front of him. “I’m not trapped in this house, Kemal. I’m trapped in this marriage. And yes, I will leave. Because leaving is less shameful than living with you.” Kemal’s lips trembled, his throat tightening with unsaid words. His eyes studied Eva before he spoke in a lower, more sinister tone: “I’ll ruin you, Eva. Everyone at the courthouse knows me. Nothing you have will shake me. But I can drag you down so far… no one will ever reach out a hand to you.” Eva stepped even closer. “Is that a threat?” “A fact.” A small, bitter smile crossed Eva’s lips. “You’ve become my nightmare, Kemal. But nightmares fade by morning.” There was less than a meter between them. Yet that night, that short distance turned into a chasm between two strangers. And they both knew: this marriage was now just a battlefield. There was no love left, no mercy. Only weapons drawn—and it was yet to be seen who would strike first.