Chapter 14:-After the Wedding
541 Words
Kerem returned to Bursa the morning after the wedding.
There was no lingering at the doorway, no promises spoken for the sake of drama. Just a quiet moment in the hotel lobby, the kind that passed unnoticed by everyone except the two people standing in it.
“I’ll see you around,” Kerem said, adjusting his coat.
Aylin met his eyes. Calm. Polite. Distant in the way only disciplined people could be.
“Maybe,” she replied.
He smiled once not hopeful, not disappointed and walked away.
He left the city.
But somehow, he stayed.
---
Life returned to its rhythm.
Meetings. Dinners. Family gatherings where conversations revolved around alliances and futures that were never truly personal.
Kerem’s name surfaced more often than Aylin expected.
“Kerem closed a deal in Bursa.”
“Kerem visited the Alkan family estate.”
“Kerem might expand into Istanbul next year.”
She listened. Never asked. Never commented.
She was loyal to absence.
Faithful to distance.
---
One afternoon, Nihan found her in the garden, seated beneath the same tree they had played under as children.
“You know,” Nihan said casually, “Kerem asked Murat about you.”
Aylin didn’t look up. “About what?”
“About how you are. What you like. Whether you’re always this quiet.”
Aylin smiled faintly. “And what did your husband say?”
“That you’re not quiet. You’re just… selective.”
They both laughed softly.
Nihan grew serious.
“He’s different, Aylin. Not like Baran. Not like the others. Kerem watches before he acts. He respects silence.”
Aylin folded her hands in her lap. “Respect is not the same as compatibility.”
“It’s a better start than obsession,” Nihan replied gently.
Then, after a pause, she added, “And Emre…”
Aylin’s eyes lifted.
“We don’t know much about him,” Nihan said carefully. “No family background. No history. He appeared, and suddenly you were changing.”
Aylin didn’t defend. She simply listened.
“I’m not saying he’s bad,” Nihan continued. “I’m saying you’re risking too much for someone who exists mostly in your phone.”
Aylin smiled soft, sincere, and completely closed.
“I appreciate your concern,” she said. “But love isn’t something I audit like a company.”
Nihan sighed. “You always choose with your heart.”
“And you choose with your fear,” Aylin replied kindly.
They looked at each other.
No argument.
No anger.
Just two women who loved each other but stood on opposite sides of trust.
---
That same week, in Bursa, Kerem and Murat sat on a balcony overlooking the city lights.
“You like her,” Murat said suddenly.
Kerem didn’t pretend otherwise.
“I respect her,” he replied. “More than like.”
Murat studied him. “She’s complicated.”
Kerem nodded. “So am I.”
Murat waited for the question.
It never came.
Kerem didn’t ask for help.
Didn’t ask for permission.
Didn’t ask for access.
Some men chased.
Some negotiated.
Kerem simply waited.
And somewhere in Istanbul, Aylin continued loving a man who was far away…
while unknowingly being quietly chosen by one who was very close.
- Writer
