Aynur Bayar understood why her husband decided to remain in their family's hotel. There were moments when she, too, wanted to leave their home to have some peace and quiet.

Burak's mother and grandfather were in constant fights, always arguing from morning to evening. Aynur herself was growing tired of all those fights each day.

The house was in a disaster. Their constant fighting had made the three women who took care of the house quit. Aynur was left to do all the work. She had even lost her favourite pair of earrings and could not find them anymore.

But she couldn't move to the hotel. Her mother-in-law, Merve, was still mourning for her husband, and someone had to take care of the twins, Burak's younger siblings. They were ten, and Aynur had spent even more time with them ever since her father-in-law died.

After knocking on the door, Aynur heard her husband's footsteps through the room. She waited for the door to open. "Who is there?" Burak asked instead.

"Your wife."

Her husband opened the door, and Aynur asked: "Who else could it be?"

"Derviş," he answered. "I thought something might have happened at home."

"Nothing new," Aynur answered. "Aren't you going to let me in?" she asked after a couple of moments.

Burak nodded, and Aynur entered. She was surprised by what she found in the room. There were two bottles of wine, one of them empty. There were also two glasses of wine. And one of them had lipstick on it.

"Housekeeping didn't come this morning," Burak explained. "Mother came yesterday and left late. We talked about grandfather and had a glass of wine."

Or ten, Aynur thought.

"She mentioned it," Aynur replied, forcing herself to take her eyes from the glasses. "I wanted to ask if you'll come with me tonight."

Burak frowned. "Where?"

"To the school. The twins' teacher wanted to speak to Merve, but she told me to go."

"I can't," Burak replied. "I have a business meeting."

Aynur nodded. "I see."

"How are the twins?"

"Sevgi still asks about Father. And Yiğit misses you. When will you come back home?"

"I can't," Burak answered. "You know me, Aynur. I can't stand all those fights. Tell them to make peace and I'll come back."

Aynur nodded. It would be impossible. Merve and Yusuf wouldn't stop arguing any time soon. Maybe, if Serdar was still alive, but otherwise, Aynur knew how impossible it was for the two to make peace.

"Maybe I should move here, too. We could take the children. Or we could find our own home."

"It's a bad idea. They don't need any more changes in their lives. And you should stay with them. They need you."

Aynur nodded.

"Don't you want to take a seat?"

"No," she answered. "I have to be on my way. I just wanted to see you."

Burak nodded, and Aynur headed towards the door when his voice stopped her. "Is everything alright?"

Aynur turned with a warm smile on her face. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Burak followed her, opening the door. "Bye, Aynur. Tell me if the teacher says anything important."

"Goodbye, my love."

When Burak closed the door, Aynur went towards the elevator, ignoring the thought that wouldn't leave her alone. It was Burak. He would never cheat on her.

When the elevator's door opened, Aynur moved aside, letting the young woman inside to exit. She barely caught a glince of the housekeeper's face, but she could notice the earrings she was wearing. Golden earrings with yellow stones. Aynur recognised them in a second. They were just like the pair she had lost.

But Burak had them specially made for her. It couldn't be. It was just a pair of earrings. She was paranoid. How many people could have the same earrings? She couldn't even start to count them.

And yet, there it was. The small diamond above the heart-shaped stone.

The earrings had been expensive. She knew it. Could a housekeeper afford them?

Aynur turned around, following the woman. "Excuse me."

The housekeeper turned around. She was pretty. Tanned skin, blue eyes, brown hair caught in a bun, and a heart-shaped face. She had to be at least five years younger than Aynur.

"You have such beautiful earrings," she said. "Can I ask where you got them from?"

"My boyfriend gave them to me, although we've been together only for a couple of months."

Burak had been staying in that hotel for more than three months.

"He actually stays here," the girl added, pointing towards a room. "I was really happy when he gave them to me."

But Aynur wasn't listening anymore. The room. Burak's room. It was his room.

"Miss?"

"Burak gave them to you?"

"Yes. Do you know him?"

She could feel tears in her eyes. She didn't allow them to fall. Didn't allow that woman to see her crying.

"My husband works with him," she lied. "Isn't he married, though?"

"He says he will divorce her," the woman said with a huge smile. "He says he only married her because his father wanted him to find a wife, so he found the first one he could. He says he loves me. Do you know her?"

"No," Aynur whispered, turning around. She heard the housekeeper opening a door, and she headed towards her husband's room.

Tears started to fall from her eyes. Her lips trembled as they slowly rolled down her cheeks. Her soul was drowning into the river of her grief. A never-ending river with currents so powerful they threatened to destroy her. To ruin whatever was left of Aynur.

Her husband, the man she loved from the depths of her soul, was cheating on her.

He says he will divorce her.

He says he will divorce her.

He says he will–

Aynur looked in the mirror from the hallway. Her black wavy hair was carefully arranged, her makeup done by herself in that morning. Tears were shining in her brown eyes, a couple having already fallen on her blue shirt. She was dressed elegantly, like the wife of a man as rich as Burak. Blue shirt, black pants, high heels.

Maybe it wasn't enough. Maybe she wasn't pretty enough. Maybe she was too old. She was thirty already. Maybe she hadn't tried enough. But hadn't she?

She didn't judge Burak when he left her alone in his house. She didn't say anything when he decided to stay at the hotel. She never asked about his business. She never even suspected him of cheating her.

Her uncle and her aunt hadn't gotten a divorce, but only because they were afraid of what the people would say. They hated each other. Her uncle said his wife always wanted to know where he had been, what he was doing, and how things were going for his business. He said she never let him breathe.

Aynur hadn't done any of that. She had never involved herself in her husband's business and had never asked to know where he had been. She asked if he was okay, but she never pushed.

Had that been her mistake? Maybe she should have pushed. Maybe she should have made it clear how much she loved him. Maybe she had been the one to ruin their relationship.

But how? What had she actually done wrong?

Why did her heart feel so heavy? As if someone had tied an anchor to it, and it was sinking in the depths of her grief? A profound emptiness opened up inside her, threatening to swallow her whole. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps between sobs, and Aynur didn't know how to make them stop.

An invisible hand was squeezing her heart, wringing out all joy, while her soul was curdling like spoiled milk. A silent scream lodged in her throat as sorrow pulsed through her veins with every beat of her heart. The heart that had been broken in a million pieces by her own husband.

Aynur wanted to scream. She wanted to open Burak's door to demand answers. Why? Why did he even marry her if he did not love her? Why?

He says he only married her because his father wanted him to find a wife, so he found the first one he could.

And she believed him. Like a fool, she hadn't even questioned his love for her. Burak had come to her house and asked her father for her hand. How many times had they talked before that? Actually talked, not simply greet each other whenever they met? Two? Three? She didn't remember.

She hadn't questioned why he loved her, even though they didn't even know each other. Her mother told her it was the best match she could have hoped for, and Aynur accepted. Just like that. Like the fool she was.

Wiping her tears, Aynur turned around. She wouldn't confront Burak. No. What was the point in that? He would deny. He would call her paranoid and crazy. In the end, even if he did want to divorce her, what did he lose? Her father wouldn't stop doing business with him. Merve would take Burak's side. He was her son.

Burak was one of the most powerful men in Adana. And that meant he had powerful enemies. More than Aynur could count. She had never involved herself in her husband's illegal affairs, but even she heard the name of the greatest enemy her husband ever had. A man who would come soon for a meeting with Burak from Istanbul. A man her husband intended to trick and kill.

As Aynur left the hotel, sunglasses on, the perfect plan formed in her mind.