I storm out, completely ignoring Serkan, and head to the empty cafeteria to make a coffee. We had just clashed again over the engagement party—it's tomorrow, marking exactly one month since I met Serkan Bolat. He's still impossible, but lately, there are moments where it feels like we're perfectly in sync.
"Hande! Hande! You cannot just ignore me."
"Watch me, Robot Bolat. Watch me."
"You know how important this party is."
"Knowing doesn't mean I agree. I thought you'd be better off with your idiotic plan to win back you-know-who—" Serkan pulls me into the corner of the cafeteria, his voice low and dangerous.
"Keep your voice down, or do you want to announce our little arrangement to all of Turkey?" I step closer, staring him down.
"It would certainly make things simpler, wouldn't it?"
"I'd like that too," Ozan's voice chirps from behind me. The modern architect, the corporate bad boy with his worn jeans and exposed tattoos. Serkan lets out a fake cough and recoils from me instantly.
I hand Ozan a cup and sit across from him. He looks at me with a mix of sadness and curiosity. "Are you nervous about the engagement party?"
"Yes," I sigh. Serkan watches me intently from the periphery.
"We never had our engagement party," Ozan mutters.
"You never made it a priority," I retort.
"And I don't think it's relevant anymore," Serkan interjects. "You have your coffee, Ozan, so I believe you can get back to work." Ozan looks startled and retreats.
"You didn't have to treat him like that."
"The man is an inconvenience."
"Just like you," I snap. Serkan sighs in frustration and leaves me alone.
"What were you two whispering about?" Selim asks, sliding into the seat with a smug smile.
"I don't recall signing a contract stating I owe you explanations."
"I still don't see what Serkan sees in you." I stand up to return to Serkan's office, but stop for a parting shot:
"You know, sometimes I wonder the same thing about you. But if you're so worried about Serkan, why don't you go back to him instead of leading my brother on?" Selim opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out.
Back in the office, Serkan is staring at his laptop, but his mind is clearly elsewhere. I knock, and he gives me a forced smile before turning serious again.
"Are you okay? You look tense," I say.
"You know we're in this together, right?" He stands up, searching for words I can't define.
"I guess so. Did something happen?"
"Nothing. I just don't want any more friction during this contract."
"Oh? Are you upset because I won't act like a little porcelain doll at this party?"
"No," he says nervously. "It's just... once the engagement is official, there's no turning back."
I place my hand on his forehead. "You don't have a fever. What happened to the little robot today?" Serkan smiles and tries to pull my hand away, but I fight to keep it there. "I need to check your pulse."
We laugh, Serkan dodging my hand, until Selim knocks on the door. He instantly reverts to his stone-cold persona. For the rest of the day, he exiles me to the archives—the one place I'm least likely to cause trouble.
My hands are sweating. I'm currently wearing ripped jeans, All-Stars, and a red tank top. Everyone else is dressed in high fashion, but Serkan said his mother, Melek, would provide something "worthy of the Bolats." I'm frozen, terrified of what that means.
Serkan is waiting in the car. I watch him from the window.
"Go on," Defne insists, her tone far from friendly.
"Calm down."
"We'll be there later," Aylin claps happily. "My best friend spending the day with her fiancé before the big party... what a dream!"
"Hande, Serkan looks impatient," Defne mutters. "But of course, the princess has to stall."
"What was that?" I ask. Defne just fakes a smile.
I look in the mirror, searching for courage. Is this a dream or a nightmare?
"Starting this fast, I can already see the breakup coming," Defne says as she enters the kitchen, not even looking at me. I'm startled. Isn't that exactly what I want?
"Relax," Aylin says. "Mashallah, there won't be a breakup. She just wants a boyfriend. Good luck!"
I head down and see Serkan. "Günaydın," he says, sliding his aviators off.
"Günaydın." I know I look terrified.
"It's going to be fine, Hande."
"How do you know, Serkan? This is going too far. A party? Seriously?"
Serkan takes my hand to steady me. "Hande Yıldız, in the month I've known you, I've realized you are the most capable, strong, and incredible person. There is nothing you can't handle."
"In the month I've known you, I've realized you're insane."
"I think we've infected each other with our madness. Besides, where's your sense of adventure?" he teases.
"We have very different definitions of adventure, Serkan Bolat."
"We'll see." He starts the car and accelerates. I lower the top, letting the wind whip through my hair.
"You'll ruin your hair!" Serkan laughs.
"So what? Feel this!" I turn up the radio. Öyle Kolay Aşık Olmam by Can Ozan starts playing. "I don't fall in love easily, but you have a different vibe... will I see you again? I think not, we are from different worlds..."
I look at the deserted winter beach. "Serkan, stop the car."
He pulls over, and I sprint toward the sand, shoes and all.
"Hande, what are you doing? You'll catch a cold!"
"Look at this, Serkan! We're alone!" I spin around joyfully.
"So?"
I take a deep breath and scream with everything I have. Serkan runs over and covers my mouth. "What are you doing?!"
We are so close I can smell his intoxicating cologne. I can feel his heat. I smile at him. "Don't tell me the stressed-out robot doesn't want to scream. Come on, let it out. Someone at work? Something that drives you crazy?"
He flashes a beautiful, genuine smile. "You. You drive me crazy." His voice is soft, husky.
"Then scream about it!"
Serkan retreats, laughing and shaking his head. Then he takes a breath and screams. We scream together, laughing. I shove him and start running down the beach, but he catches me easily. I lose my footing, and we fall. Serkan lands on top of me, smiling—really smiling—for the first time.
Our breath is ragged in the cold air. Serkan brushes a strand of hair from my face, his green eyes turning serious, calculating, charming. I need to stop whatever is happening between us.
"Shall we?" I whisper timidly. Serkan strokes my cheek with his thumb. I struggle not to surrender to the warmth of his touch. But just as I'm about to give in, he pulls me up with surprising strength, lifting me like a doll.
"Brush the sand off your clothes. Let's go." His voice is stern again. The gentle man from a moment ago is gone. The robot is back.
Serkan's mother, Melek, chose a long purple tulle dress for me. It has a flowered bodice, jewels at the waist, and a massive bow on the back. It's extravagant, tight, and completely not me. There's a knock at the door.
"Merhaba, you're Hande Yıldız, right?" A man with curly brown hair and kind eyes asks. "I'm Zeki, Melek's assistant. I came to see if the dress is approved."
"It's beautiful, I admit. But could you lend me some scissors? They forgot to take the tag off." I smile innocently.
When Zeki returns, I lay the dress out and start cutting it to knee-length.
"Hande! Melek will kill you!"
"Now this dress actually looks like me. Besides, after the way she treated me, this is a perfect checkmate." I removed the extravagance, kept the flowers I liked, and loosened the tulle to make it comfortable.
"I see you like to play games just like Serkan Bey," Zeki observes.
"Serkan plays with people like a game of chess. I'm more about cards and high stakes."
"I think you two have the same temper."
"You don't know me well enough to make such an absurd claim."
"It's just that you didn't know Serkan before... before everything."
"Before everything what?" I ask, curious. But Zeki just brushes it off. "It looks lovely. I'll go check on the guests."
I try to zip up the back but can't reach. Another knock. It's Serkan, looking lethal in a black suit. "Merhaba. You look... beautiful."
"Merhaba. I can't reach the zipper. Can you call someone?"
"Right now it's just Selim, my mother, or me. If you'll allow me to touch you, I can fix it."
I hesitate, then nod. We catch each other's eyes in the mirror.
"I see you cut the dress," Serkan smirks. "Was that to provoke my mother?"
"Maybe. Or to provoke you."
"You look elegant regardless." I can't tell if it's a compliment or a game. We stare at each other, a silent challenge passing between us.
"You look like a fairy," he whispers. He pulls a box from his pocket. Inside is a ring with a purple stone shaped like a flower, surrounded by green stones like leaves.
"What is this?"
"We can't be engaged without a ring." It's ostentatious, expensive, and yet incredibly delicate.
"I chose this shape because it's logical." Of course. Logic.
"There's something written inside."
"'At least I see the light,'" Serkan says.
"I know English, Serkan. Why this?"
"It's from Disney's Tangled."
"And why Rapunzel?"
Serkan turns away, rubbing his face. "Too many questions. We're late." He extends his hand, but I ignore it and walk out alone.
Breathe, Hande. You can do this. I see Selim with my brother and my father.
"What are they doing here?" I whisper.
"Your brother was obvious. Your father... I don't know."
We go to greet them. "Uau, Hande, you look beautiful, but you're hardly dressed for an engagement party," Selim sneers.
"Actually, Serkan's mother chose it. I just made some... adjustments." I smile. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have guests to talk to."
Serkan places a steadying hand on my back. My stomach is in knots.
"Daughter, if we could talk..." My father asks. I nod for Serkan to go ahead without me.
"Are you really going through with this?" my father asks, pulling me into the garden.
"Yes, Dad."
"Hande, there are things you need to know about the Bolats. Business things."
"I don't care about your business world."
"I just want to make things right with you. Ozan was more appropriate for you than Serkan."
"Your desperation is so great that you prefer the man you didn't approve of over Serkan? Maybe we can talk one day, but not today. You made Ozan betray me. He told me what you did to my brother, Osman."
"Osman? Look, your brother was never as strong as you, Hande. You were always the tough one, the stubborn one. When he got bullied at school, you hunted down every boy individually."
I smile bitterly at the memory. "And that was the reason you sent me away. It doesn't change anything."
"I acted wrong, I know. But there's a reason for everything."
"Hande, they're looking for you!" My aunt Jansu appears. She hasn't seen my father in years either. "Kaan."
"Jansu. Still arriving at the most inconvenient times, I see."
"Let's go, Hande." Jansu pulls me away.
I find Serkan at a table with strangers. I slide in next to him and smile.
"Oh, you must be Serkan's fiancée!" a woman chirps. "What do you do? What company do your parents own? Who designed that dress?"
I laugh. Serkan had left me to deal with business talk. "Wow, feels like a job interview. I'm an architecture student focusing on landscaping. I designed the dress—well, the adjustments. And as for my family... I realize that no matter my personality or knowledge, you only care about my possessions. So, before you fake any more affection, I'll move on." I look them up and down. "Hoping the next group is less critical."