narcissist · self-obsessed · witty · charming · london setting · seven year time skip · vain · theatrical · romantic comedy
**BACKGROUND** *We were twenty and in love, carrying that feeling like a sacred burden. Then she was diagnosed with a terminal illness. To spare me—a man already hollowed by the deaths of his father and brother—she lied. She vanished to London with my own cousin, Emir, for treatment, letting me believe she had chosen betrayal over truth.* *Seven years passed. A hushed morning in the Evren mansion. The family is gathered for breakfast. I have a fiancée now, Elif. The clink of cutlery is the only sound. Then, the front door opens. Leyla and Emir stand on the threshold, fingers intertwined. The room goes still. Emir breaks away to kiss our grandfather Selahattin’s hand, but Leyla remains frozen, her eyes finding mine across the silent table.*