The Engagement Party

Crowds of women in beautiful colorful gowns and men in tuxedos filled the huge round ballroom of the cruise with a golden floor and wall. An upside-down-flower-vase-like lamp dangling in the center of the ceiling shone on the joyful faces of the people holding the glass in their hands while conversing with each other. 

On the right side of the room, a spiral staircase swooped, through which a gorgeous girl in a beautiful pink thigh-length gown with her long wavy hair tucked behind one of her ears descended the navy-blue rungs. Her brown orbs once a while peeped down, minding her steps in high heels so as not to slip away.

A joyous wide smile never left her small peach lips. The thumps of her heartbeat raced with the soothing rhythm of music played to entertain the guests. 

All the people gathered in silence, obeying the instruction from the Master of Ceremony; their eyes stared at the young girl in awe as soon as her feet reached the end of the stairs and carried her through the red carpet prepared for her. The murmur of praise at her beauty out of the people's mouths buzzed around like bees.

Her widened pupils fell on the sharp blue-eyed man in a dark suit waiting for her in the middle of the path with his hands hidden behind his back. That man's lips stretched into a gentle smile, welcoming her.

Her paces took that girl closer and closer to him until it made no distance between them, and the man kneeled before her. His hand lifted an opened box with a sapphire diamond ring in it and presented it to her, witnessed by the families and friends. 

"Will you marry me, Esma Ozkan?" With her palms covering her mouth, that girl named Esma shifted her gaze to her mother and father who in unison gave her a nod of agreement. 

Her eyes returned to the man who was still in his kneeling position, battling with his pounding heart. "I will." 

The claps of happiness from the guests thundered throughout the room, congratulating the bond of two souls. 

The man's body surged, listening to those short words he had dreamed for so long to hear. He put the ring on her finger. His hands then pulled her into his arms; his kiss landed on the girl's forehead.

"Thank you," he whispered to her ear.

The guests' applause roared once again, witnessing the happy couple who now walked toward their parents to share their joy. 

Approaching her parents, Esma received hugs from her mother and father in turn. Their joyous smile while patting her shoulder and congratulating her was the gift she could have ever asked for on her happiest day.

"I didn't expect that my baby would grow up too fast; you will be someone's wife soon." Esma's thumb brushed the beads of tears trickling from her eyes.

"It doesn't mean I can't see you again, Mother."

"Esma's right; she will still be your girl even though she will live with us after her marriage." Both Esma and her mother spun on their heels, facing Mrs. Ellen Durmaz, the mother of the man whom she would marry, Erhan Durmaz. That woman held her palm with compassion which mirrored through her smiley eyes. "Worry not, I will guarantee that Erhan would treat her like a queen."

"If he hurt you, I will kill him," the woman's husband, Altan Durmaz, who stood by her side added.

"Erhan, Esma…. why don't you get on the dance floor?"

Both of them agreed in a nod; Erhan took Esma's hand in his, walking through the path toward the center of the room, watched by the guests and families. They then danced along with the music, their movement following its rhythm. Their eyes drowned into each other, cherishing their togetherness. 

However, the yell of a man scolding a servant ruined the moment in the ballroom, stopping Esma and Erhan's feet from dancing. Their gazes trekked to the man who seemed to be protesting a girl in front of him.

"Look at what you have done!" His face hardened in blush; complaint escaped out his gritted teeth. His hand tried to dry the water spilled on his pants.

"I am so sorry; I didn't do it on purpose." A pretty young woman with blonde hair in a white shirt attempted to hide the tremble in her voice. Her dreadful eyes brimmed with tears stared at her black flat shoes lying on the golden floor of the room, avoiding the man's piercing reddened gaze.

As the people eyed the incident, that girl briskly cleaned the mess she created after accidentally nudging one of the glasses she was holding on a big tray so that its water rained the man's pants. She squatted and picked up the shred of the glass pieces, ignoring her bleeding finger. 

"You cut your finger, Miss." That girl lifted her chin and gazed at Esma who hunched down, showing her sympathy through her woeful eyes. Esma approached the waitress in a rush for her worry about her. "Please help her treat her wound." She instructed one of the female servants to take care of the girl who kept cleaning the pieces on the floor. "Miss…stop it. Your finger's bleeding." Esma cautioned her. That girl motioned her lips but no words she muttered for a woman in high heels and a tall bun intruded.

"I do apologize for the carelessness of one of my staff; I can assure you that it won't happen again." That woman showcased a deep bow to Esma, Erhan, and the guest man who just looked away. "Yara...follow me. Let others do the rest." 

That girl named Yara obeyed the woman's instruction, her supervisor, to trail behind her. Before she vanished, swallowed by the closed door, her eyes observed Esma and her fiance, Erhan with an unreadable stare.

***

The woman dragged Yara to the kitchen; standing near the sink, she criticized that girl for the mess in the ballroom she caused. That girl's face turned white, scared of being fired. 

"How can you be so careless, Yara? Do you know that Dr. Erhan Durmaz is our best client? Your mistake can ruin our catering business." 

The tall woman in a dark blaze, Yara's supervisor, snapped at her whose head was still bent, giving up the woman's rage. That woman's hand clenched, restraining her desire to vent her annoyance at her. 

Her supervisor deserved to do that to her for she had disappointed that woman who had recruited her to work on the cruise. As a fresh graduate, getting a job was hard; the company only hires those with experience; and that woman gave her a chance despite her background. 

"Please forgive me, Ma'am?" She begged in regret. "Please, give me one more chance." Her palms raised and united in front of her chest, imploring for her mercy with her sad teary eyes.

"Alright, but if you make one more mistake, you will be automatically fired."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

The woman's stomping shoes took her out of the kitchen, leaving Yara who could finally breathe in relief. At least, she could keep her job. 

In the next minutes, her expression changed; murk paled her visage as the memory of her mother slipped into her mind. Her shout and curse crammed her head, followed by slaps on her face, complaining about her bad luck. Yara's hand spontaneously touched her cheeks, checking the pain that still lingered there. 

The wrathful face of her mother switched to the girl's countenance, whom she found out was Esma as the guests kept praising her. Unlike her, that girl possessed all the good things the world offered, wealth, caring parents, and a handsome fiance. 

Yara stared at her rough skin as she had to work day and night. Her income was not sufficient to buy skincare like other girls her age did. Her eyes moved to her shabby old shoes and clothes as she could not afford to buy new ones. 

Esma wore a beautiful gown in the event which enchanted her and froze her in her spot that she didn't realize, prodding the glass she brought and causing chaos. 

"No…." Yara shook her head, trying to pull herself to get back to reality and accept her destiny. She brushed the tears that flooded her cheeks.

Yara resumed her work, washing the dirty dishes on the basin. While doing her task, she had the urge to take a pee. Yara then dashed out of the kitchen, heading to the restroom located on the ground floor of the ship. 

While strolling through the dimmed corridor, she stumbled into a man who was staggering with a bottle of drink in his hold. That man's mouth groaned as his head hit her. 

Yara's intuition instructed her to escape but the grab in her hand let her reach nowhere. She wriggled, attempting to set herself free of the man's hands but was futile; the man's powerful grip beat her. 

"Let me go!" She barked, fighting against him with her remnant energy.

That man's naughty sneer on his curled lips daunted her; the hint of evilness flashed in his eyes. In no time, one of the man's palms pinned her shoulder to the wall. Throwing away the bottle, he let the forefinger of his free hand trace down on her dreadful pale face.

"You are beautiful." The man's words in his disgusting tone of voice made her body shiver, walled in fear.

"Let go of me!" Both of Yara's hands grasped his wrist away from her face; Her scared eyes met his lustful stare.

"Get your hand off her!" That was not Yara's growl, but the shout of the man who intervened in the scene. 

Yara stole a glance through the corner of her eyes; her heart fluttered at his presence.