Ordinary Lives: Deniz

6

As Rahul signed the contract at the lawyer's office, he couldn't help but think how unnecessary it was, this unnecessary expense for the lawyer and the contract could have been enough for him to turn a few tables at the casino. Still, in the end, he wouldn't lose anything and he was sure of it, so without thinking much, without even reading the contracts placed in front of him, he signed as soon as he received the money and left the office.

After Rahul left the lawyer's office, they all took a deep breath. Deniz immediately turned to the lawyer and asked if it was really okay to sign the divorce papers like this.

"There is no problem, he signed both contracts as requested, writing 'I have read and understood'. He has no chance to object from now on, the judge will not find his statement sincere. I warned him at least three times to 'please read carefully and sign' and as I mentioned at the beginning, our conversation is recorded as my personal choice. Therefore, the problem is with his from now on, he can object as much as he wants."

"Then please file for divorce by the end of next month, as we have requested you. I want to get my family out of here before the subpoena reaches Rahul."

"You know that Mrs. Mirem needs a job and a work permit to stay in Turkey, right? If you don't have a lawyer, I can refer you to a friend I know who can handle these matters."

"Thank you for your help, but it is not necessary. Our family lawyer is preparing these procedures and a job has already been arranged for mother Mirem at another branch of the bank where I work. We will have to leave here immediately after this."

********

On the day the signatures were made, Katherina and Mirem, who were one step closer to freedom, felt as free as a bird. Katherina had settled into Deniz's room at the hotel, enjoying a free and comfortable life that did not involve violence. Although Mirem could not tell her son Ivan about the situation, she was waiting for an opportunity and was making small preparations for an escape plan. The peace of finally being able to use the money she had been secretly saving from Rahul for years in her free life had settled in her.

When the day came to leave Bulgaria, Mirem was about to faint with fear, her suitcases, passport, savings, in short everything she had to start a new life were ready and she could more or less guess that Rahul would receive the news of the divorce within fifteen days. Although she had just boarded the plane, her eyes were constantly on the plane door, she believed that Rahul would somehow find out about her plans and drag her off the plane by her hair. When the plane took off, her heart was about to jump out of her mouth, fifteen minutes after takeoff, reality finally hit Mirem and Katerina, they hugged each other and cried. Deniz did not want to interrupt this emotional moment between mother and daughter, so he turned his head towards the window with a sincere smile on his face and watched the blue sky.

*******

When they arrived in Turkey, Deniz had put Katherina and her mother up in a suitable hotel and returned home. Handan and Kemal had become angry after learning about the developments in Bulgaria and Deniz's demands from the family lawyer. As soon as Deniz walked through the door, they were so angry that instead of embracing their son, whom they had not seen for almost two months, they chose to fight. Deniz had already regretted returning to Turkey.

Deniz's argument with his family had lasted almost three and a half hours, he hadn't even had a chance to change his clothes or unpack. Still, he didn't want to back down, he had started down this path and there was no turning back now. Although Kemal had accepted Deniz's argument after four hours, Handan had no intention of backing down, but Deniz had no patience left to listen to this nonsense and he was also extremely sleep deprived. He had to go back to work at the beginning of the week, so he had to make the most of these two days. So he went to his room, closed the door and fell into a deep sleep...

**********

"Kat, I finally got through to your brother and told him what we had been through, what was going to happen and our plans for the future. He was shocked at first but seemed so happy when he hung up. We made a firm decision that I would move in with your brother in two years. It all feels like a dream, I can't believe it."

"I'm so happy too mom, I can't believe we are so lucky. I will be grateful to Deniz for the rest of my life. I wish he could be my real husband."

''What do you mean Kat? Aren't you going to marry Deniz?'' Mirem was extremely nervous, she didn't want to lose again after everything that had happened.

''No, we will get married but it will only be a fake marriage and will last for five years, having children is the sole purpose of this marriage.''

Mirem was shocked after what she heard. Deniz did not seem like such a shallow man, so she could not speak. Seeing her mother's surprise, Katherina explained everything in detail. Mirem breathed a sigh of relief: ''Don't worry, this is easy to deal with, there is a herbal treatment in our family that works for this, we will apply it and the problem will go away, in the meantime just try to win his heart.'' As soon as Mirem finished her words, her phone started ringing, it was Rahul calling but Mirem had no intention of answering.

********

Deniz could not even find time to scratch his head in the following days, both in his work and in his private life. He was extremely busy and on top of that he had a lot of protocols to take care of to complete the wedding preparations. During this process, the tenant had vacated the house and the house had to be cleaned and furniture had to be chosen so that he could move in with Katherina. Although Deniz tried to take care of these by sacrificing his meal time every day, he had difficulty keeping up. Since there was a language problem between his family and Katherina and they could not communicate directly, he had to take care of everything himself and his mother's hostile attitude towards Katherina and Mirem also played a role in this. Although Katherina and Mirem were slowly learning Turkish, they could not speak it well yet, so Deniz could not take the risk of leaving them alone...

In the midst of these busy and hectic days, Deniz, as if his own intensity wasn’t enough, also had to deal with his mother’s inappropriate outbursts, and he often tried to prevent his mother from starting fights. Handan, on the other hand, was absolutely against this marriage and never wanted it. Therefore, when the fights she started were not enough, she would jump to the ground and pretend to faint. Although Deniz and Kemal fell into this trap a few times and took Handan to the emergency room out of fear, after the first three times, when it became clear that Handan was just acting, they didn’t care and left her alone. In the meantime Kemal, seemed to like Mirem and Katherina. He even started calling Katherina “Kat” for short...

Deniz, who realized that his father's heart was starting to soften, finally took a deep breath after days. The person who had the potential to cause trouble was his father, and if he accepted Kat, it didn't matter what his mother thought because she was only causing trouble to get what she wanted. Katherina had never caused trouble before and the only person who caused trouble was his mother... Three days before the wedding, during a family dinner they had together, Handan noticed Katherina's constantly ringing phone and openly claimed that the only person who would call her frequently would be a troublesome lover. Katherina, who had learned a little Turkish, angrily put the phone on the table and answered it, her father Rahul's angry voice echoed throughout the restaurant. Mirem and Deniz, who recognized Rahul's voice, were tense, but Katherina said harshly, "Don't bother us again, father," and then completely turned off her phone. Handan was not convinced, of course, because she didn't know Bulgarian, but Deniz angrily silenced his mother and scolded her for making them live this fear. From that moment on, Handan had to back down, even though she didn't want to. Deniz's days were like this.

*******

''Kat, I'm so sorry your big brother couldn't attend the wedding. I wish there was a way we could see him.''

''It's okay Deniz, please don't be sad. My brother's condition is like this, he's on active duty in a war zone. So it would be a big shock if he could still come.'' Katherina smiled bitterly.

''I was actually really curious about your brother, your mother talks about him all the time, he must be a wonderful man.''

''My brother? A wonderful man?'' Katherina couldn't help but laugh. Seeing Deniz's surprise, Kat pulled herself together and continued: ''My brother is a cold, distant, and strict man who hardly ever smiles. But that's not because he's a soldier, it's because he was like that. It's his nature... Once, to teach me a lesson, my father threw my only doll into a burning stove and I cried non-stop for weeks. Finally, my brother told me very harshly to shut up, and then as revenge, he threw my father's wallet into the stove and set it on fire, it was full of money. My dad looked for his wallet for days and then believed he had lost it and took it out on all of us, but my brother didn't care, he was that kind of guy."

Deniz smiled sincerely: ''So your brother is a man of principles, that's a trait I admire.''

On their wedding night, they were sitting at home in their wedding dresses and suits, chatting comfortably, Katherina couldn't help but laugh: ''Oh my God, what a wedding, I almost fainted. Well, I'm glad it's over, now we can start our new life. Oh, wait a minute...'' Katherina quickly reached into her bag and took out her phone, after rummaging through it for a while, she found the last photo of her and her brother together and turned the screen to Deniz: ''That's it, that's my brother, you'll see what I mean, do you see that stone-cold face?'' Although Katherina was amused by this situation, Deniz felt like he had been punched hard in the middle of his chest. He had fallen in love with Ivan the moment he saw him, and this was just a small photo. Panic rose to his throat, Deniz should never have come face to face with him, he didn't want to fall in love or feel like this again. Seeing Ivan's photo affected Deniz so much that he forgot his slight feelings for Murat, and Deniz was not prepared for this. After swallowing with difficulty, he forced himself to smile, cursed himself inwardly, and vowed never to come face to face with Ivan no matter what...