Chapter Text
Meeting you was a coincidence
Becoming your friends was a choice
But falling in love with you was beyond my control.
**********
Sun was up and already shining but the cold air touching young woman’s skin was clearly a sign of a classic winter day. She was absolutely in hurry and was about to be late for her meeting. -like usually for last two months- So she decided to go to courthouse by taxi.
She was standing on the side of her house facing the big street, waiting for the taxi she was looking for to come. Luckily -or unfortunately- it looked like the taxi would never come. She sighed angrily even though she tried to stay calm cause she had to. Today she was going to defend a 22 years old boy named Ahmet accused of intentional injury. Judging by the evidence she had, she knew she could get this case. All she had to do presenting Ahmet's messages to the court with the person he stabbed and summarizing the provocative behaviour of the other person. The judge would probably have settled it in self-defense anyway in Ahmet's favour. -If she could get there in time- She slammed her heel on the ground once more at the thought of being late and while doing it she met the strange gaze of an mid-aged or slightly older woman towards her.
"I don't think you've ever seen anyone who's late, did you Ma'am?" she asked, giving her the same odd look in a slightly sarcastic voice tone. In return, the woman quickly passed by with the bags in her hands without saying anything to heel storm. And yes, she was like a dangerous storm in that moment. -In heel-
“Okey… Nothing can go worse than it’s already.” She tried to calm herself by pushing her hair back slightly. “Off…” She quickly glanced at her wrist watch. 8:12
Still had almost 45 minutes till nine o'clock and another one hour to actual hearing time which is 10:00. In order not to waste any more time, she took out her phone and dialed the number in the phone book. After the second ring, a woman's voice came on the other end of the phone.
“Good morning Ceylin. Did you miss your friend already? This is why you calling me this early, huh?”
“Good morning Zeynep. Yes i missed you but no that’s not why I am calling you.” Ceylin replied quickly.
“Okaay... Than tell me my ‘always in hurry friend’, what can I do for ya? Oh wait!.. You had a hearing. Don’t tell me that you are late-...”
“No, my ‘always have a word for every situation friend’ but right now it is up to you. Can you please pick me up and drive to the courthouse. You know my car still in maintenance. I've been waiting for a taxi for almost half an hour and it didn't come. I swear I will never use the same taxi rank again. Idiots!..”
“Alright alright... Hang on Captain. I am all abord. Try to be a little calm. Just a little.” Zeynep laughed at the end of her sentence.
“It’s ok too.”
**********
About twenty minutes later they were driving towards the courthouse in her friend's car. Ceylin was trying to read the details of the trial on her phone once again, which she held between her legs with a croissant in one hand and her coffee in the other. After a 25-minute drive, they arrived at the courthouse. They were lucky that there wasn't much traffic.
Ceylin took her bag from the backseat before opening the door. Now she was holding her purse and case file in one hand, her coffee and the second croissant she was about to finish in her other hand. It was an image that proved the mess of the day.
“You’re the best! I probably couldn’t make it.” Ceylin bent slightly and looked at her friend while talking. “You know you deserve a delicious dessert.”
Zeynep smiled in return. “Hmm... I was just going to say it was nothing but you know... I would love to gladly eat your delicious cherry pie.”
“Don’t worry, you will have it. I'm going to spend extra effort for this. I better go now.”
“Ok. Let me know as soon as you leave the trial.”
“Okaay. See you.”
**********
Ceylin moved towards the main entrance while her friend was slowly leaving the courthouse in her car. She didn't forget to fill her mouth with another bite either. She was still feeling hungry because she didn't really have breakfast this morning literally due to tension at the table in the family home. Although her face turned sour at the memory of this, she quickly recovered herself as she passed through security. That was the best thing she does anyway.
After collecting the things she left to pass through security, she threw the file into her big bag, which she enjoyed using a lot.
“Have a nice day.”
“You too.”
She was walking up the stairs to the 2nd floor when her phone was ringing. The caller must have been her friend Engin who went crazy because she was late. She tossed her bag back a little further and glanced at her watch again. 9:13. “So… It is not 10:00 yet Engin.” She smiled while muttering to herself. After saying hello to another two people on the way, she turned left from the main corridor. In the not-so-crowded corridor, Engin saw her and immediately took steps towards her. As he approached her, he spoke in a voice he was sure the three men behind him wouldn't hear.
“Ceylo? Where were you? You see those men. You know they are not just only our clients. They are also rich people and they want to close this case as soon as possible. We’ve been waiting for you for 50 minutes.”
“So what do we want? Does it make any difference to you? Cause it doesn’t to me Engin. 50 minutes... So what? After all, it's not my brother who stabbed someone else.”
“Shh! Ceylo. They will hear us.”
“Huh... By the way what is all this impatience? Didn’t you tell the details to them?”
“I did of course… But Ahmet’s brother wanted to speak to you in person. I don’t know why actually. Cause I literally explained everything while waiting for you.”
“Okay. I got this.” She looked over to where the three men were and saw that that brother was already watching them -actually her- with impatience glance.
As Engin was returning to the men again, Ahmet's brother Tarık was walking towards to Ceylin. While doing this, he did not neglect to glare Ceylin from head to toe.
“Here we go again.” Ceylin once muttered to herself.
“Ceylin Hanım.” man approached her with a strange smile. Although it was strange, Ceylin was used to it.
“Tarık Bey.” She smiled fake. “I assume my friend Engin made the necessary explanations for you.”
“Uh hah... Yeah yeah. Your friend did it. I just wanted to check it with you one last time.”
“Hmm…” Now it was Ceylin who was now getting impatient and slowly getting angry. She looked away for a brief moment and sighed without making her boredom clear. Cause this man was like a open book or like even any man. She could tell from afar that this man had a physical interest in her. “May I know what exactly you want to check on?” When she turned back to the man, she saw that his gaze was also on her legs.
Of course, she did not expect such a man to form a sentence that he had formed in his mind. She knew that she was attractive woman. She never denied it. But dealing with similar guys standing in front of her -like now- sometimes really got on her nerves.
“Oh... Will my brother get rid of the case, right?” He asked. It seems like it seemed wise to the man asking such a question. Ceylin tried hard to not roll her eyes.
“Yes.” She definitely wanted to cut the conversation short.
“Oh...Okay. Are you free tonight?”
“What?!” Ceylin asked with a slight scowl.
“I mean like... celebration Ceylin Hanım... You know.”
“Huh... I get it.” Ceylin smiled fake again. And couldn't help wondering how many times today was she going to smile like that. “Of course.” The man's eyes and mouth opened with joy. “You can celebrate it with your brother and that man over there after the trial is over.”
This time man’s face began to fall. He tried not to show.
“Is it possible for you to join the fun wit-...”
“No.” This time she looked at the man with certainty. Keeping her fake smile on her lips. “Now… It’ is 9:24. I have to look at some things.” Without waiting for the man's response, she moved to a spot close to the courtroom and definitely far from the man, and began to look at the file with Engin. Actually there was nothing to look at about the case anymore but she didn't want the man to come back and start talking to her again. So she had to look kind of busy.
“He is not your type, huh?” Engin asked mischievously.
“Nope. Definitely not.”
He was going to keep the joke going but she quickly turned to him.
“I have to go to the -Başsavcı- Attorney General's office. I will talk about our objection to the last hearing.”
“Okay dear ‘objection flower'. Come back quickly.”
**********
While she was going downstairs, the coffee she had been holding since morning caught her eye. It must have been ice cold but it didn't stop her from drink it.
She was only a few steps from the Attorney General's office, and at that time she was popping a biscuit she had found in her bag from yesterday. She was still walking as trying to toss the package back into her big bag. She was about to take two more steps and knock on the door, but at that moment she did not realize that she was about to run into someone who was leaving the room and closing the door. And when the Ceylin looked at her left hand, her coffee was no longer there, but on the white shirt of the person standing in front of her. What a lousy day for a latte.
“-Yavaş!- Slow!”
“Yuh!” Both responded at the same time.
“-Yuh mu?- Huh? -Hanımefendi- Miss, were you aware that you were walking towards me?” The man had already begun to pull his shirt away from his body with his fingers.
“Were you aware that you were standing at the door and blocking the entrance, -Beyefendi- Mister?” Ceylin said while picking up the packet of biscuits that had fallen to the floor.
“Does leaving a place mean blocking entry?” Man replied quickly.
Ceylin finally lifted her head from her bag and turned to the man. “Look...” The woman was surprised because the man's eyes were higher than the level at which she looked up to speak. She continued, feeling the need to straighten her stance a little. “I’m in a bit of a hurry... So-...” Ceylin had taken a step towards the door but turned back when the man spoke. Again.
“Oh... I see. I guess pouring coffee on people has become a routine act for you.” The man was trying to dampen the coffee with something like a handkerchief he took out of his pocket.
This was not actually a sentence enough to provoke Ceylin, but it did anyway. She thought of her morning sentence. ‘Nothing can go worse than it’s already.’ Oh... It would go.
“Okay... Okay.” Ceylin slowly intertwined her two hands and then separated them. Then she put her hand in her bag on her shoulder and tried to find something inside. The man stopped drying himself and was looking at the woman standing in front of him, not understanding of course. Meanwhile, the woman read and replied to the message 'You have to come now' sent by her friend. Made the man wait in curious. “Huh... Here.” Ceylin handed the man a card she took out of her bag. “I'll either have your shirt cleaned or send you a new one. Are we done?” Her lips were slightly pursed and her eyebrows slightly raised.
The man was looking at her with his eyebrows slightly furrowed in surprise. He was standing there with one hand open and not knowing what to expect. Ceylin put the card in the man's open hand without saying anything and tossed her hair involuntarily, turned and took a few steps towards the hallway she had come from. He was standing still. This time his mouth was slightly open too. Ceylin stopped after those few steps and turned around to face the man again.
“Also… If I had a habit of pouring coffee on people, I would spill a hot cup of coffee on you. Totally hot.” Ceylin said emphasizing her last sentence. And with a little mischievous grin, she turned around and disappeared down the hallway after a few steps.
“What the h-...” Before he could finish her sentence, the door he was standing in front of opened.
“-Ilgaz Savcım?- Prosecutor Ilgaz? I heard low voices. I couldn’t understand what it was.”
“Believe me, Chief Prosecutor, I didn’t understand either.” Now he was looking the court corridor where reckless woman had passed.
After shaking his head slightly once wit a small sigh, Ilgaz looked at the card that the woman had left in his hand. There was a number, an adress and a name on the card.
Ceylin Erguvan.