Chapter 1

"Stop sleeping, Elif... Look, there is only one week left until my wedding, and you are still fast asleep."

"Oh, sister... I just finished my exams as if you don't know! Please let me sleep."

Elif tossed and turned in her bed and turned her back on her sister. She was hoping that closing her eyes tightly would take her back to her dreams, but even before she could close them, she felt hands slipping under the blanket and waking her up by pulling it away.

"Sister... I told you to leave me alone! Did the Tawjihi exams finish just so it's your turn to chase me?"

"Come on, my love, my wedding dress is arriving today, and let's go buy a nice dress for you finally. Or are you going to go out in front of people in your pajamas?!"

"I'll go out in them, so what? Do you see it as that difficult?"

"Fine, agreed! Get up or I will get angry at you."

Elif's sleep vanished completely; she opened her eyes and stared sharply at her sister, anger filling her chest.

"I don't care at all! Go buy it with your husband. Isn't that the custom? The bride and groom go out together to choose the wedding dress and spend a wonderful day..."

"Don't talk nonsense, Kenan is at work. Besides, we spent all of yesterday together, and if he skips work today too, his father will scold him."

"Fine, you headache, fine! Come on, prepare breakfast for me, and I will catch up with you after I get ready, agreed, flower of the house?"

"Shut up, you troublemaker, and get ready quickly, because it won't be in your favor if I come back to this room again."

As soon as her sister left, Elif headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower. She wrapped herself in her purple towel, stood in front of the wardrobe, then put on a white skirt with small purple patterns along with a sleeveless purple top, and ran down to the kitchen.

"Good morning..."

Those sitting around the table returned the greeting one by one, so she smiled broadly and sat between her father and her brother. Since she loved teasing her brother Kerem, she started snatching pieces of cucumber from his plate.

"Elif, eat your food from your plate and leave my plate alone! I have to go to work, so don't mess with me, leave me alone!"

"Hahaha... You'll wait a long time, because I'm still here!"

"Father, I wish my sister Yasemin had gotten married instead of this one..."

Her father frowned sharply at her brother; for Elif was his youngest and spoiled child, and her marriage was still many years away. She was going to大学 this year, and who knew what tyrants might chase her there! When these thoughts crossed his mind, he preferred not to even send her to study.

"Don't talk such nonsense, Kerem, she is my youngest princess and there is no talk of marriage now."

"Long live my heroic father!"

"And you, Elif, shut up, you haven't stopped chattering since morning."

Elif fell silent and began filling her plate. After a nice breakfast, Elif and Yasemin went to the wedding dress shop. While Yasemin was trying on her dress for the last time, Elif was contemplating the dresses and examining them; every girl has a dream of her wedding dress, and she was trying to find the dress she had always imagined. They were all wonderful, pristine white and overflowing with purity. She turned to look at her sister; she looked stunning like a princess despite her face being devoid of any makeup. Her sister was truly lucky, having found a perfect partner and a great love. She smiled broadly at her and thought: I wonder, will I be as happy in the future as my sister? She had never loved anyone in her life and had never experienced romance, and when her friends talked enthusiastically about their relationships, she would just remain silent. Was she ugly? Or short? She was neither; rather, she had never seen anyone who possessed what made them worthy of her love, and she always repeated that she was waiting for the man she would marry. Although this idea sometimes seemed like an excuse for her remaining unmarried, she knew she would never tire of waiting for that man.

They put the dress in the trunk of the car, and here the real torture began for Elif; since she loathed shopping intensely, she had to find a dress worthy of the only remaining bride's sister. Yasemin knew she would enjoy this trip immensely, but she had to avoid showing that to Elif. As soon as the car started moving, Elif jumped up as if waking from a dream.

"Listen, sister, I warn you from now on: I will not try on everything you show me, that's first. And if you stand in front of me and start laughing, I will leave the shop immediately. Finally, I don't want a short dress."

"And why? You are a young woman after all, what's wrong with wearing a short one?"

"I don't want to, I don't wish to run into silly people, and besides, my brother will get angry."

"Enough, Elif! Are we going to marry you off through a traditional arranged marriage? Get used to the idea of having a young male friend."

"What does this have to do with that? What kind of silly ideas are these!"

"Look at our aunt's daughter Begum for example, even though she only finished middle school this year, she has a new boyfriend every year! Be smarter."

"And will they only like me if I wear a short skirt?"

"No, you will transition from childhood to young adulthood. And tell me, what age do you look like in these clothes? Let me tell you: you look fifteen!"

"Don't exaggerate, sister, I'm starting to feel bad about myself."

"Feel bad so that you might seek refuge from your heedlessness and recover your mind!"

"Fine, your orders."

"That's how I like it! Come on, the dresses are waiting for us..."

They got out of the car and headed to the shops. They didn't miss a single shop until Elif was almost fainting from exhaustion, and her head started spinning just from seeing the dresses.

"Enough, sister, I swear I can't take anymore!"

"Elif, let's get up and go home, and we'll finish tomorrow."

"Fine."

Although she agreed, her plan for tomorrow was to invent an excuse to leave her sister at home; her sister was right about the dress, but she could buy it by herself, especially since her sister didn't like anything! There were a few dresses that caught Elif's attention, but her sister wouldn't even let her touch them and put them back. For this reason, she decided to slip away early in the morning to look for a dress by herself.

When they reached home, her sister continued talking enthusiastically. Elif opened the door and ran to her mother:

"Mother, save me, I swear I'll attend the wedding in sportswear!"

"What happened again? Calm down, Elif. And you, Yasemin, be quiet for a bit. Your brother will be free tomorrow and will take you to wherever you want."

"How wonderful!"

At that moment, she saw her brother coming down the stairs, opened her arms, ran towards him, wrapped her hands around his waist, and buried her head in his chest:

"My hero! My savior and my only brother!"

"What is it, Elif, what favor do you want this time?"

"Since you are free tomorrow, can't you drop me off at the shopping center? Mom says go together, and I'm only asking you to drop me off there and I won't forget this favor."

"And what do you have there?"

"I'm going to look for a wedding dress, brother."

"Fine, we'll go and look for it together."

"Thanks, brother, you're really great!"

As she climbed the stairs to change her clothes, she saw her sister shaking her finger in a threatening manner, so she gave her a mischievous smile and went up to the room. She put on comfortable clothes and came down; it was time for dinner and everyone was around the table.

She sat down and began drinking her soup until she heard her father's voice:

"I want to talk to you, Elif."

"Go ahead, Dad, I'm listening."

"I know your grades are excellent, what do you want to do about university?"

Elif had thought about this before, but she had some hesitation:

"I'm actually thinking of studying interior design."

Her father was very happy with this decision, but her next words made his face change:

"But I want to study abroad, Dad."

"No, Elif, there are very prestigious universities right here too."

"But my aunt basically lives abroad, Dad."

"No, Elif, drop the subject."

"But..."

"The subject is closed."

All her life, everything she asked for was granted and her parents never opposed her, and if her father was objecting now, he must have a reason, but she couldn't stop the tears from gathering in her eyes. As soon as she regained her composure, she raised her head and looked at him:

"Fine, Dad, as you wish."

Her father knew his daughter would make the right decision, and Elif did not disappoint him, so a smile appeared on his face:

"Well done, my princess, you never disappointed me."

No one knew what life was hiding, nor that this happy family sitting around the table would spend three whole years of longing and yearning for their youngest daughter."