Tatlı Aşk (Sweet Love) (Can & Ozge)

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Engagement Party; The Preparation

Devrim stared at Evren as Evren looked down on the floor. It was a quiet night tonight and the moon shone above them like a spotlight. Devrim took his phone and played a slow song, got up, and offered his hand for Evren to hold.

"May I have this dance?" Devrim said.

Evren slowly looked at him and then his hand. She smiled a little and took it as Devrim pulled her up. He puts his hand on her waist and his other hand on hers as he swayed her slowly. Evren looked at Devrim intently, somehow he looked different tonight. He looked beautiful, and his eyes shone under the moon.

"You look different tonight," Evren said.

Devrim chuckled. "What do I look like?"

"Glowing," Evren said.

Devrim smiled. "Glowing? Wow. Maybe your head is more unclear tonight than I thought."

Evren laughed and they continued dancing until the song stopped and Evren let go of Devrim.

"Uh... thank you for tonight, Devrim," Evren said. "I think I'm going home."

"I'll walk you home," Devrim said.

Evren and Devrim stopped as soon as they got outside of Evren's house. Evren turned to Devrim, a breeze from the Marmara rippled through her hair.

"Thanks for walking with me, Devrim," Evren said. "I'll go inside now. See you."

"Uh, Evren?" Devrim said.

"Yes?" Evren turned around.

"My family and I are going to Gocek tomorrow since it's my grandfather's 90th birthday and he lives there," Devrim said. "And they said I could bring a friend along, do you wanna come with me?"

Evren felt her heartbick quicken. This was strange. She never felt nervous around Devrim before. Not until today. In this cool night, under the stars, where he was asking her to come with him to Gocek.

"Uh, won't that be awkward?" Evren grinned.

"No, my family asks a lot about you," Devrim said. "I mean, uh, my younger sisters can't even stop asking about you. I think they like you too much."

Evren laughed. "Alright. I'll come with you."

Devrim's face lit up. "Super! I'll pick you up at 8 AM."

"See you, Devrim," Evren said, then she headed inside their house.

Devrim watched her go inside until she was out of his sight.

"See you, Evren," Devrim said, the smile never leaving his face.

***

"Can, are you staying here longer?"

Serkan got up from his seat. They were still at Yildirim's hospital room as Can discussed about the case with Yildirim.

"Yeah. Why?" Can asked.

"I'm leaving. I gotta go back at the restaurant," Serkan said, taking his count.

"Sure. Thanks for telling me the truth, Serkan. I really appreciate it," Can said, taking his hand out to shake Serkan's.

Serkan shook Can's hand. "Best friends forever, right?"

Can chuckled. "Best friends. See you tomorrow."

"See you," Serkan said, then he turned to Yildirim. "Get well soon, Yildirim. We'll see you in a few days."

"See you, Mr. Serkan," Yildirim said.

Serkan turned on his heel and left the room, as Can and Yildirim discussed their plans for tomorrow.

Serkan took his phone out and called Hande as he opened his car door and got inside. His call still wouldn't go through, which made Serkan worry. He put his keys on the ignition and drove back to Mikla.

Downtown Istanbul was still bustling with life even though it was already 11:00 PM. Serkan ran as fast as he could as soon as he arrived at Mikla, only to find the restaurant about to close, and no customers inside.

Serkan approached an employee who was cleaning the tables.

"Did a girl just leave here? Tall, long hair, very pretty," Serkan said.

The waiter shook her head. "All the customers left an hour ago, Sir. And we don't really keep track of everyone."

Serkan sighed. "Thank you."

Serkan left Mikla and got back to his car, staying still for a moment as he gripped the stirring wheel, wondering why Hande didn't come.

***

Ozge got up early, 5:00 in the morning to be exact, to make sure she packed for everything she needed for Rome, Italy. Her flight to Rome was tonight at 8:00 PM. She went downstairs only to find Perran already cooking breakfast.

"Good morning, Ozge," Perran grinned. "I made your favorite dish: Inegol kofte."

Ozge beamed and hugged Perran. "Thank you, Mom. I'll definitely miss your cooking there in Italy."

Perran held Ozge's face, the tears welling up her eyes.

"And I'll miss you, daughter," Perran said. "Do you really have to go to Italy right now?"

Ozge smiled. "You know I have to, Mom."

"Ozgeeee," Yaren came running downstairs and hugged Ozge.

"Yaren? You came back from Paris last night?" Ozge said, hugging her sister.

"Yeah," Yaren said, pressing her cheeks on Ozge's shoulder. "And now that I'm back, you're the one who's leaving. It's not fair."

"Well, you can visit me in Rome, Yaren. When school's over," Ozge said, kissing her sister's head.

"Come now, let's eat breakfast," Perran said as they all gathered at the dining table.

Ozge sat down and took the Inegol kofte and put it on her plate. Perran stared at her for a while, wanting to ask her something.

"Ozge," Perran said. "Have you told Can that you're going to Italy?"

Ozge looked at her mom, feeling a pang of pain in her chest as she heard Can's name. She misses him, and all this time it's all she could ever think about.

Ozge shook her head, silently eating her food.

"When are you going to tell him?" Perran said.

"I don't need to," Ozge said. "He probably doesn't wanna listen to me anyway."

***

"And? Did you kill Yildirim?"

Diletta ate her food as her men stood five feet away from her, scared to tell her they failed. They all just looked at each other, scared to tell Diletta the news.

"Well?" Diletta said, eating her bacon.

"The thing is, Miss Diletta..." one of her men said, the one with the bandana. "Yildirim sort of... got away."

Diletta's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

"Miss Diletta, we were cornered by the police! We didn't know Yildirim had informed them beforehand about an ambush!" the guy with the long hair said. "We didn't have time to kill him!"

"You idiots!" Diletta got up from her seat. "And I suppose none of you were wearing masks?!"

They all shook their heads.

"Imbeciles, all of you!" Diletta said, then she calmed herself down. "All of you, go and find Yildirim in every hospital in Istanbul and kill him or I will kill all of you with my bare hands! Now!"

"Yes, Miss Diletta!"

They all ran outside Diletta's mansion. Diletta sat on her chair as her heart pounded.

"No! I will never get caught!" Diletta shouted. "I will destroy anyone who gets in my way even if it's the last thing I'll do!"