Chapter 36Honeymoon Serkan My wedding wasn't the dream wedding. Nor for Giulia. Many factors got in the way, but the important thing was that we were happily married. I couldn't be intimate with my wife as my parents were still at home, so we took a few days off at a luxury hotel on the Rio waterfront. The Hilton Palace might have seemed one of the most exquisite to Giulia, who was a humble woman. But for me, a well-traveled and experienced man, it was just another luxury hotel. I booked one of the best rooms and locked myself and my wife in it for days. We had never had so much sex, or as she preferred to call it, love. I was touched by her romanticism. It's a fact that Turkish men are romantic. When we want them to be. Not every man, of any nationality, is romantic without a purpose. In my case, romanticism came from feeling. I wanted to give everything to that girl and that giving everything involved my feelings and my possessions. It's how I was brought up. That's why I chose
EpilogueGiuliaWhen we got back to the Maiden's Tower in the Bosphorus Bay, everything had another dimension and connotation. I remembered when I saw her there for the second time, running away from me, desperate. I could see in her eyes that there was the memory of those days, which I wanted to forget. But then she looked back at me, smiling."The last time I was here was..."I put my finger on her lips affectionately."Please don't remind me what an asshole I was. We don't need that.""Yes, I know, but I was going to say that it was devastating for my self-esteem. And now, my life has changed so much that I feel so loved and so lucky, Serkan...""I feel that way too. And you know... " I paused " I'd be that man of legend who swims out there " I pointed " To rescue you from whatever it was and bring you back to me.'She smiled and clasped her hands around my neck."Even against an Ottoman army?""Even.""Even against the sultan's will?""Yes, yes."She was amazed. Her brown eyes sho
Chapter 1Surprises from the EastGiuliaNew Jersey. September 2019. 25 degrees.The only thing I craved more than a cold drink was an air conditioner that night. We didn't have air conditioning. It broke in the last blackout on our street. Some friends called me out and I looked at my watch. It was Sunday, still 5 pm. Well, it was better than just facing the noise of the spinning fan producing a hot wind all night. Plus the mosquitoes buzzing in my ears even with all the wind from the fan. I finally accepted the invitation because I wanted to celebrate my new job, so I told my parents that I was going out. I went back to my room after hearing some worried recommendations from my parents and started to get ready. I looked through the closet of clothes and nothing suited me. I decided and gave up on several dresses until an almost burgundy red one caught my eye. I didn't like that dress very much, I didn't like red so much, but I had tried everything in the closet and nothing I liked o
Chapter 2 The Boss Giulia "Is it for me?" I asked, extending my hand towards the soda can he was holding out. "Yes, yes, here! The man doesn't look at us!" he replied, amused by the situation. I let out a sympathetic laugh when I heard his accent. It didn't sound like Italian, Spanish, French, or English. "Thank you. Is it Arabic?" I asked curiously, intrigued by his masculinity. He stroked his chest, and only then did I notice that his shirt was slightly open, revealing a very athletic chest. "Turkey!" he replied. "Turkey! Ah, Turkey, soap operas!" I said, lost in thought. But why, Giulia? You usually follow Turkish soap operas on social networks, and he doesn't, for sure, he's a man. "Yes, soap opera!" he confirmed, handing me the can of soda. As I looked at his face, I could now clearly notice his distinctly Turkish features. I had been studying Turkish and French for the last few months, so I decided to take a risk and say a few phrases; after all, it was part of my job.
Chapter 3 America Giulia Serkan positioned himself beside me and gave me an irritated look. If it weren't for my first job as a translator and my need, I would have run out of there. My hands were shaking and sweating. That man could be even more handsome in daylight. "You? My interpreter?" He spoke softly and sat down. "Good morning, everyone!" "It seems so... um," I hesitated for a few seconds, "Mister Serkan." "Perfect, I will give you the instructions later. Introduce yourself to them as your first task. I wish you a warm welcome, and let's have a great job," he smiled an unwilling smile. "Perfectly," I replied. I introduced myself to everyone at the meeting and announced that I was the new translator of documents for foreign affairs. Then I sat down. "Well..." he gestured with his hand to continue the meeting, approached me, and held out a piece of paper that looked like a spreadsheet. "So, Giulia, it looks like you will be my advisor. Write down everything you think is
Chapter 4 Lies We TellSerkanAs if it wasn't enough to have been rejected by one of the few women I didn't consider a slut in the world, on top of that I would have to put up with that beautiful girl as an employee. Serkan, if she had slept with you the first night, she would not have been as exciting as she is now for you. She would have been just one more in the crowd of women that frequent the nights in the big metropolises. Of course she was different, she had a strong personality that I could feel from meters away. This attracted and repelled me at the same time. But, after all, I knew that I possessed a rather difficult temperament and was fully aware that I was mistreating her because I had been rejected. She was not stupid. I just didn't know what to do with her. But I had really important matters to attend to on that construction site. I had been hired as Albaf's general manager to manage and protect in court those projects that needed lawyers with experience in complicated
Chapter 5The word is silver, the silence is goldGiuliaThe day flew by. Soon I would have to leave for home, face the crowded subway and the heat; I was even too lazy to go out. The heels had already blistered my feet, I was a wreck. Suddenly my office door opened. It was the Turk."Are you going?" he stopped at the door and asked me."Yes, in a moment." He came into the room, and I looked up to observe his strange behavior."I wanted to thank you for doing what you could with the old man. I couldn't thank you until now." I lifted my chin after that look and crossed my arms."It's a shame they'll have to build mansions around a poor house, but it's his right.""Yes, but my office fails as conciliators if he remains unsold, and I have to break the bad news. But I noticed something...""Yes?" I was curious as to why he continued to pay so much attention to me."You managed to get from him the reason; until then nobody knew.""Maybe they didn't hear what he had to say.""I wonder if yo
Chapter 6"Too many problems, too few solutions."SerkanOut of all the foolish things I was capable of, that was one of the worst: judging your entire people. I couldn't go after that beautiful girl who was leaving; I was wrong. What was left for me was to wait for the next day to somehow redeem myself. I looked around, searched for my car with my eyes, and headed towards it. I heard the phone ringing in my pocket, and when I looked at the name, it was Eda. My mother? “Annem?” “Serkan, when are you coming back to Istanbul, my son?” “Mom, I'm working, you already know that.” “My son, we've set the wedding with Asli. It will be in five months.” I stopped in the middle of the street, in despair. “What?! Mom, you didn't do this!” “We did, her lovely mother chose a date, and we accepted. You know how wealthy they are.” “Mom, I agreed to this engagement, it doesn't mean I'm going to marry Asli.” “What do you mean, Serkan? Don't play games with me, young boy! You agreed to get