In the morning Defne was preparing breakfast. The pancakes were browning and smelling sweetly of cinnamon in the skillet. Tea was brewing in a silver teapot. The coffee maker filled the cup with thick and aromatic coffee. Defne took out a pot of chopped ham and cheese from the refrigerator, but she never opened it. She, smiling thoughtfully, gazed at the neighboring house.

- Defne, - called Omer, who appeared on the threshold. She looked around and the smile on her face widened. The husband didn't look very good. Reddened eyes and a slightly rumpled look without words said that the night was sleepless, and the evening was stormy. He went up to her and, embracing her, asked: - What are you thinking about?

- That we have the best neighbors.

- And? Omer arched an eyebrow. - Neighbors are the best, but this circumstance does not explain your dreamy smile.

How can he be so discerning and read her like an open book? She will never be able to hide even an insignificant trifle from him.

"I'm waiting for an answer," Omer reminded.

- Perhaps Allah will be generous, and Ahtem and Laura will try very hard ... and our Emine will have a girlfriend or friend.

- Ahtem will definitely try, - Omer pointedly stretched out and Defne's cheeks blazed with fire. He touched her cheekbone with his thumb and purred in her ear: "I love it when you blush.

- Is that why you always confuse me? Defne pouted her lower lip angrily.

- Uh-huh, - he agreed and, lightly biting her seductive bend, licked the bite with his tongue. - A married, pregnant woman who is embarrassed like a girl is so rare. I am in bliss at the thought that this is shyness, these blushing cheeks are mine and only mine.

- So I can't get away from your jokes? - Defne sighed with an exaggerated heavy sigh and sniffed. Slipping out of Omer's embrace, she rushed to the stove and, turning off the burner, cried out: - Ay-ay! The pancakes are burnt! It's all your fault! You kissed me, I melted and forgot about everything. And what are we going to eat?

Her "melted" filled his chest with glee. Knowing that his wife next to him forgets about everything in the world - isn't it a thrill?

"On the way, we'll stop at a cafe and have breakfast," Omer reassured her, kissing the place between the neck and shoulder.

"We'll be late for work," she said.

"No problem," he threw the burnt pancakes into the trash bin and, taking her hand, pulled her upstairs. - We are bosses and have the right to be late.

***

Ahtem and Laura were having breakfast in bed. The clean bed she made while he fumbled with scrambled eggs and coffee. Ahtem did not let her into the kitchen. He kissed her and told her to stay in the bed and wait for him. But she still got up. Throwing on his shirt, tidied up the bed, and when he returned with a tray in his hands, she sat in the middle of the bed in Turkish style and tapped her bare knees with her fingers only the melody she could hear.

- Are you worried? - asked Ahtem. He set the tray down in the middle of the bed and, taking her hand, kissed her palm.

"A little," she admitted, lowering her eyes.

- Why? - He touched his fingers to her chin and raised her serious face.

Laura looked into his eyes and answered honestly:

- I'm afraid of your questions. After all, you ask...

- I will ask, - confirmed Ahtem.

She removed his hand and squeezed tightly with her thin fingers. She looked into his eyes with a piercing, long look. She wanted him so badly to understand.

- For me, it means to return my thoughts to that time and that life. But I do not want to. That nightmare is over, and I don't want to remember it anymore. Never! Do you understand?

Ahtem nodded. He really understood her desire not to remember the past. To bury it deeply, and never let it into her thoughts. But he will not be able to breathe until he finds out what she went through during one thousand four hundred and two nights of her failed family life.

"I won't poison your soul," he promised. "But answer one question. Just one.

She took a deep breath. Holding the air in her lungs for a moment, she exhaled and agreed:

- Okay. Ask.

"You didn't let your marriage to Luke become real?"

- Yes, - without a second of delay, firm and open.

- How could he agree?! - Ahtem closed his eyes and shook his head. - Sorry. I promised only one question.

"He had no choice. He needed my dowry and his old wild life" - the dam burst. What she had kept in her heart under seven locks for so many years, broke free, and covered her head. The words themselves formed into phrases and flew from her lips in a continuous stream.

- The wedding was celebrated in the Rastrelli palace. During the wedding banquet, Luke suddenly disappeared. I had a bad headache. I went up to my room for medicine. In my bed lay my new husband and my cousin. Although "lying in bed" was an inappropriate word ... Do you know how I felt at that moment? - Laura looked Ahtem in the face. He sat as pale as a sheet. - Relief. I had a reason to avoid marital responsibilities and I, without hesitation for a second, took advantage of it. Telling my cousin to get out, I told Luke that I would not raise a scandal if he forgets the way to my bedroom. He agreed. We made a deal. For three years. And the villain Luke, who never kept his word in his life, did it. But in his own way. Talking right and left that his wife is frigid and sleeping with her is like sleeping with a toad.

Ahtem clenched his fists and hissed through his teeth:

- He's a corpse. I'll get to him and rip him to pieces.

- What for? - Laura was surprised. "Do you think that stupid gossip hurt me more than the fact that I lost you?" And it makes no sense. Life itself punished him. Luke has AIDS. His, now a permanent partner is my cousin, too.

"I don't feel sorry for him at all," Ahtem said angrily and asked: "You said that you concluded a contract for three years? What happened after it ended?

- There was a conversation with my father, his death, and my divorce with Luke. I left him on the second day after the funeral. But the bureaucratic delays dragged on for a year. On the day when the divorce document was in my hands, I wrote to you...

"And I turned out to be an idiot," Ahtem said bitterly. - Forgive me! For my answer then and for the questions now. I promised to ask only one, but as the last egoist, I pulled the whole story out of you.

Laura closed her eyes and listened to herself. And she realized that she could breathe deeply. Together with the words, resentment, humiliation, and chronic pain left her heart. It became easy for her. The past was not hidden in the heart. It has disappeared irrevocably. She opened her eyes and looked at her husband. She reached over to him across the makeshift table and kissed him.

"Thank you," she said, looking into a confused face.

- For what? He wondered.

- For pulling the whole story out of me. Let it go to hell and no longer clog my brain and heart. I am free! She smiled broadly. - And I want to eat.

Now Ahtem, like a stone fell from his heart. And he felt hungry too. He looked at the tray and scratched his beard.

- Breakfast is cold.

- Nonsense! Laura said cheerfully. - It will still be the most delicious in my life. Plus, we need to hurry. Our plane is in four hours. Old Prague is waiting for us.

"And a hotel room with a large bed and soundproof walls," Ahtem winked at her. - I'm afraid we will never see the beauty of the city.

- Will it upset you?

- Not at all! I'm on my honeymoon!

He scooped honey from a glass bowl with a spoon and brought it to her lips.

- Eat! - ordered. - You will need a lot of strength.

***

- Well! I told you we'd be late! - Defne whined and danced impatiently on the spot. - This elevator also crawls like a turtle. The staff will find me disorganized and undisciplined. How could you have breakfast for forty minutes? In an ordinary cafe? She looked at her husband and shook her finger at him. - It's all for you! You confuse my thoughts and I forget about the time.

Omer sighed and closed her mouth with a kiss.

On the sixteenth floor, a meek Defne stepped out of the elevator with a wandering smile on her lips.

Omer, who remained in the booth, threw his head back on the metal paneling and, closing his eyes, also broke into a satisfied smile.

He went out on his floor. Driving away from the blissful state, he coughed and patted his cheeks with his palms. Collected and unapproachable, he walked past the empty secretary's counter to his office. He took off his coat and hung it on the hanger, smoothed his hair, and sat down at the table. Trying to collect his thoughts and tune in to work, he noticed a red flame blazing behind the glass with a peripheral vision and sharply turned his head towards the adjoining office. In the first second, it seemed to him that time had turned back and there was Defne. He even darted from his place, hurrying to her, but the next moment the girl raised her bowed head and Omer saw a completely different face. Pretty beautiful, but another's.

"New assistant," he recalled and sat back into his chair. Then he picked up the intercom and called Nazlican.

"Yes, Mr. Omer," she answered in a sonorous voice.

- Nazlican, what is the name of my new assistant? He asked in a businesslike tone.

"Laila," she replied.

"Ask her to come to my office in ten minutes. With a schedule.

"Okay, Mr. Omer," Nazlican answered and hung up.

He put the phone back in place and opened the folder with documents for signature. A lot of them have accumulated in ten days.

In the next office, Laila, too, hung up on the hook of the phone and looked at the clear profile of the boss focused on work. Then she turned her gaze to the broad line of the shoulders and the muscles that were visible under the thin black sweater. How beautiful, like God! Is he expecting her in ten minutes? Excellent! It's time to start implementing her ambitious and cool plan.

Omer finished signing the documents and closed the folder. Putting the handle aside, he flexed his fingers. There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said.

The same girl who was now sitting in the adjoining office entered the office, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other. She was wearing a gray suit and a blouse with a collar. Omer looked at her, mechanically noting slightly slanting green eyes and plump lips. And the heavy, intoxicating scent of perfume that hit his nose as she put a cup of coffee on the table. Grimacing, he waited until she walked away, and then asked:

- Is your name Laila?

"Yes, Mr. Omer," she answered in a bubbling voice.

- You are required to carry out your duties clearly and to have a conscientious attitude to work. If you stick to these rules, we will work together. Have you already been brought up to date?

"Yes, Mr. Omer," Laila answered again.

- Well! - The boss gestured to the tablet. - Get started.

She began to voice the daily routine. Listening half-heartedly to the assistant, Omer took a sip of coffee and sighed with relief. What you need after a few scotches last night and an almost sleepless night! He and Defne returned from the wedding at night. After the escape of the bride and groom, they had to take on the responsibilities of the hosts of the feast. And then, in bed, for a long time, he could not tear himself away from his Defne. In the morning he was ashamed. Okay himself, but he did not let his pregnant wife get enough sleep. But she, as usual, smiled sweetly and assured him that she was not complaining about anything. His love is more important than sleep.

The heavy smell of perfume intensified the headache. Grimacing, he rubbed his throbbing temple with his fingers.

"Mr. Omer," the assistant's voice broke into his thoughts, "are you feeling well? You have a headache? Can I get you an aspirin?

"It would be nice," he muttered.

- I will bring it now.

She left the office and returned a few minutes later with a glass of effervescent liquid in her hands. Putting it in front of the boss, she said:

- Have a drink. It will become easier for you.

- Thank you, - Omer thanked and nodded at the door. - You can go to do your work. At the meeting with Shinasi, I will need our contract with them. Request it from the Legal Department. In the Financial Department, take the printout of the latest sales. Let the electronic version be sent to me by e-mail. And book a table at the Lunch restaurant for one in the afternoon. This meeting is very important for Passionis. Try to do everything accurately and avoid mistakes.

"All right, Mr. Omer," the assistant promised meekly and headed for the door.

When Laila came out, he rubbed his temple and in one gulp drained the glass with a magic fizzy that removes the effects of a slight hangover and a sleepless night.

Having dealt with all urgent matters, having listened to the reports of Mr. Kartal and Mirai, having given all the necessary orders and signed the documents, Defne was finally able to sit down to the drawings. She sat over a blank sheet of paper for several minutes and thought. And then she drew a circle with a smooth movement. Her hand fluttered over the picture and complex curls appeared inside the circle, framing stones of red, blue, and green. In a footnote at the bottom of the sheet, Defne designated them as garnet, amethyst, and emerald. And in the middle is a large, transparent rock crystal. She was so carried away by work that she did not hear footsteps outside the door and shuddered in fright when it opened. A smiling Seda entered the office and, looking over Defne's shoulder at the sketch, said with admiration:

- Handsomely! Is this for a new collection?

Defne shook her head. Nodding to the chair, she waited until her friend sat down and only then answered:

- No. This is a special job for a special person. More precisely two people. But they are together, as one. Take a closer look, what do you see inside the pendant?

She turned a sheet of paper to the girl. Seda stared at the drawing. Astonishment was reflected in her eyes. She looked at Defne.

- At first, it seemed to me that it was just curved. But then ... I see a man and a woman, and between them a child. This is true? Is that what you put into the sketch? - Defne closed her eyes and nodded. - Why garnet, amethyst, emerald, and rock crystal?

"Don't laugh, okay? - Asked Defne and Seda looked at her reproachfully. - According to legend, it is these stones that contribute to the conception and successful bearing of a child.

Seda shook her head and narrowed her eyes. Bending her fingers on her hand, she began to list:

- So, you are already pregnant, your Nihan has a child, Iz and Laura just got married, I'm still halfway to marriage. We all don't need such an amulet yet. Tell for whom you do! She ordered earnestly.

"For Maya and Theo," Defne admitted. - This is the couple who hid us in their house during the hurricane on Bora Bora. They have a problem conceiving a child. Doctors say both are physically healthy. I think this is a psychological problem. Maya became fixated on her infertility and set herself the thought that - she cannot have children. This is exactly what I want to destroy. Change her thoughts. She believes in the power of stones and that they have magical powers. Perhaps she will also believe in this amulet.

Seda looked at her with tears in her eyes. Sniffing, she said:

- Defne, what a kind person you are! You are ready to help everyone around.

- It's mutual, - Defne was embarrassed. - They come to help me too ... - She did not have time to finish the phrase. The mobile phone began to play a melodic trill on the table. She looked at the screen and exclaimed: - Oh, my doctor is calling!

With a quick flick of her finger, accepting the call, she raised the phone to her ear and greeted:

- Good afternoon, Dr. Ayse!

- Mrs. Defne, glad to hear from you. I'm calling to ask for a favor.

- I'm listening. I will do everything in my power, - promised Defne.

- Your visit to me is scheduled for tomorrow. But I had some unforeseen circumstances, and I ask you if it is possible, could we do it at 16-00 today.

- Wait a minute, - Defne looked at the schedule on the tablet. - Yes, I can adjourn the meeting and arrive at sixteen o'clock.

- Well! - The doctor was delighted. - Thank you for understanding. I look forward to seeing you.

- See you later, - Defne put her phone away and only then remembered. Looking at Seda with a confused look, she said, "I can reschedule my meeting. And Omer? I didn't ask him! Call him? No! I will not call. I run myself.

She blew a kiss to her friend and disappeared from the office in the blink of an eye. Seda just shook her head and smiled a good-natured smile.

Defne climbed the stairs to Passionis and went to Omer's office. The door to the next office, which had once been her own, was open. A red-haired girl was sitting at the table. Defne stopped. For some reason, her heart ached. Another one settled in her office. Also redhead.

"What did you want? An inner voice asked. - Life goes on. The assistants are changing. And the office is not yours, but Passionis's. It is wasteful to keep it empty when there is not enough room for employees. And red hair is not your monopoly. Thousands of women have the same. Or should Omer choose only brunettes and blondes as assistants? And to impose a taboo on redheads? "

Sighing, Defne answered her second "I": "That's how it is. But, you know, it hurts! "

The girl at the table turned her head and looked at her. There was something in her gaze that made Defne shiver and quickly enter Omer's office. At his desk, he worked on documents. Seeing his wife, he broke into a wide smile and jumped up to meet her.

- My love? - crossing the office with wide steps, he opened his arms for a hug. But Defne glanced warningly at the glass wall and stopped him with a gesture.

- Omer, we are not alone.

"Damn," he swore. - I forgot. Let's do it differently!

He walked over to the glass partition and pulled down the blinds. And then he turned, got his wife in his arms and, kissing her hot lips, said softly:

- How good that you came! I missed you.

- Me too, - Defne stood up on tiptoe and threw her hands around his neck.

And behind the closed glass, Laila broke a pencil in her fist.

- I actually came to tell you, - Defne enlightened her husband. - My doctor called and rescheduled the appointment for today. She has an urgent business tomorrow. We have to be in the clinic at four in the afternoon.

- At four? Omer frowned. - I have a meeting at Lunch restaurant with Mr.Shinasi. This, - he bent his left arm at the elbow and looked at his watch, - in an hour and a half. I won't have time to cancel.

"It's not a problem," Defne reassured him. - I'll go alone. And in the evening I'll tell you everything in detail.

- What more! He protested. "Don't even think about that." I will finish the meeting on time, and the two of us will go to the appointment. I want to see how our baby has grown.

- Then I leave and I will not bother you.

- Wait, - Omer held her back. - Have you had lunch?