Chapter five.

Eren had to eventually return to Germany to continue his life, but he still kept visiting Kurdistan every short while. Strange enough, he felt more at home in Kurdistan sometimes than he did in Germany. Staying with both his Auntie Viyan and Irem made him feel like they were a family, with his parents and brother it never really felt like that. He was made to feel like he was pushed away from them, like there was no love between them unlike Irem and Viyan that made him feel like he was appreciated and wanted. It's not to say that he didn't have friends and social networks in Germany, but at the end of the day, he was alone while people returned to their loved ones. 

Eren still harboured an intense dislike against  Irem's father, he even wanted him to die. Everytime Eren was away in Germany, Irem was all he could think about and desire. To think about her dad who was trying to get her an arranged marriage to keep Eren away from her and end their relationship intensified his hatred for the old man.  The knowledge that Irem's father was acting like  a barrier between them created a constant worry, as Eren's mind spun with thoughts of keeping Irem for himself, away from any potential suitor.

Eren and his co-workers officially completed building the new school in his hometown, Bremen. He enjoyed celebrations and drinking with his mates to celebrate. To further reward the men, their boss granted them a generous three week holiday. Eren found this to be the perfect opportunity to plan a surprise visit to Irem in Kurdistan. 

Once he arrived with his luggage to Auntie Viyan's house where both Irem and her father also reside, he opened the door to a disheartening sight. There was Irem serving tea to another man who stood behind her father's wheelchair, he knew he walked on a potential  arranged marriage meeting. Exactly what he was worried about.

Eren dropped his luggage onto the floor with a loud thud, making his presence known in a jarring manner. The sound echoed through the room, capturing everyone's attention. Eren's jaw clenched at the other man and Irem's father, the old man sighed in response, knowing Eren was about to ruin things. 

"You're not marrying Irem." He states in a challenging tone to the other man.

Irem's unease grows at the rising tension, she tries to put an end to the situation "Eren, it's ok we-"

"No. No, it's not okay." He interrupts as his hand rises, positioned protectively in front of her chest, signalling for her to step back and allow him to handle the confrontation.

The other man steps away from her father and goes closer to Eren, a mere few inches separating the two men. "And who are you to decide that?"

"I'm the man she's going to fucking marry." His voice seething with anger  as his fist connected with the other man's face, the force of the punch sent him staggering backward. 

The other man regained his stance and retaliated with another punch, striking Eren in return. The room became like a boxing arena as the two men engaged in a violent exchange. The fight seemed to end in Eren's favour, as his opponent struggled to stand upright. Eren's nose began to bleed from the forceful impact, and a small bruise formed on the side of his face. 

Irem, noticing Eren started to bleed, decided she could no longer stand aside like he signalled for her to. She grabbed the other man's arm to stop him from striking at Eren again "Enough! You're standing in Viyan's house while fighting her nephew! I don't think she'd want you here any longer." She shouted, desperation in her voice.

He turns to look at her, offended by her words and "Your father invited me here, but you want to marry this man?" He questioned her, disbelief evident in his tone.

Irem froze with her hand still holding back the other man's arm, she was uncertain about Eren's intentions, whether or not he was going  to marry her. He never brought up the prospect or promised anything, she thought he might have only mentioned it now to sabotage the potential arrangement. They had been together, but the concept of marriage had never been discussed between them. In Kurdistan, dating and having a boyfriend weren't regarded as serious commitments, and the idea of marriage held greater significance. Irem found herself at a loss for words. She desired marrying Eren, but she didn't know where he stood on the matter. She felt a subtle pressure to conform to a more European dating culture as she considered Eren's more German background. Despite their shared Kurdish ethnicity, their identities were very much different. He was more aligned with German culture and customs, which differed from Irem's own Kurdish heritage. In a way, he was more German than he was Kurdish. 

Eren gently removed Irem's hand from the other man's arm, his eyes searching for her response. In that brief moment, their gaze met, and he held his breath, anticipating her words. She redirected her attention to the other man. "Yes I do, I'm sorry my father gave you another impression." She answered. With that, the other man's shoulders slumped in defeat as he went to leave through the door.

Eren quickly grabbed some tissues to try and stop his nose from further bleeding. He sat down as his eyes locked onto Irem's father, the room filled with tension as the two men exchanged angry and disdainful glances.

"Oh god! Eren, I'll fetch you an icepack for your bruise!" Irem said in a concerned voice, her fingers traced the side of his face before she left to go find an icepack from the freezer.

Once Irem disappeared, Eren opened his mouth against her father "What are you looking at, old man? You wanna say something to stand up for yourself? Oh wait you can't stand, can you?"

Irem's father's eyes narrowed in response to Eren's taunts, but he remained silent. His hands gripped the arms of his wheelchair tightly, his frustration evident in the clenching of his fists. He knew he couldn't match Eren's physical strength, and engaging in a verbal battle with him seemed pointless and futile. He always found Eren to be a headache. 

Irem returned with an icepack, she noticed the hostility between Eren and her father but she was more concerned with Eren's bruises at the given moment. She edged closer to him as she pressed the icepack against his cheek. "Ow! It's too cold!" He winced as the cold icepack made contact with his bruised cheek, his eyes tightly in an attempt to cope with the discomfort.

"I know, I know but it'll make you feel better." Irem comforted him, she took the icepack off for a moment to kiss his cheek. He couldn't help but smile. "Thanks," he said softly, appreciating her care.

Her father watched his daughter cozying up to the man who insulted him and made his time a living hell whenever he was around. He felt helpless, unable to physically intervene or express his disapproval. He struggled to accept the reality that his daughter's love lies with a man who came from a different world, a world he couldn't fully understand or embrace. Every insult and derogatory remark Eren had hurled at him echoed in his mind, further intensifying his resentment towards him. "You're pathetic, if you were a real man you'd marry her already!" He shouted, interrupting their interactions. 

Eren was consumed by rage as the old man dared to question his manhood. He couldn't hold back his frustration against an attack on his pride, in a moment of impulse, he snatched the icepack from Irem's hand and hurled it towards her father's face. "You bet I will." he retorted before storming out and slamming the door to the front porch behind him.

Irem gasped, rushing to tend to her father "I'm sorry, he's like that sometimes but he's a good man I swear, you hate him too much to be able to see it." She said while wiping her father's face dry off the wet ice. 

"A good man? With the way he acts you'd think he has fantasies about being a highschool bully! This is the same man who kept asking me if my last name was Wheelsmith and then started laughing like some idiot!"

"He's only angry because you keep trying to get me with another man when I promised him to wait for him. He came here for me again and you made him see that meeting with that man! A man I don't want!"

"And you want someone as improper as Eren?"

"You can't fully blame him for the way he is sometimes, his mother neglected him when he was younger. It's more her fault than his that he can be difficult."

"When a man is really unlikeable, people usually say only a mother could love him but for this guy he's a lost cause not even his mother loves him."

"I do, don't you call him a lost cause ever again! He's sensitive about that."

"I just hate seeing you anticipate his return every time, you keep crying worrying about whether or not he's with other women in Germany and I'm tired to see you like that. I wanted to find you a man to marry you and be here for you all the time. I'm a dying man and I need to make sure someone will be there for you after I'm gone, especially during this war."

Irem's eyes welled up with tears, she broke into sobs in a matter of seconds "Don't talk about dying, please!" She cried as she embraced her father as if she's holding onto his life. 

He sighed as his hand went over her head as he pulled her closer and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Irem, I hate to say this but I don't know if you're lucky or unlucky to have Eren's interest. He can take you somewhere far away from this chaos, somewhere safe. I despise him with a passion but he's my only hope that you can have a better life, marry him. I'll be fine here with Viyan." 

"But I can't leave you!"

"You kept on disobeying me ever since this Eren came into your life, can you listen to me this one last time, please? Go talk to him, ask him if he was serious when he said he was going to marry you." Her father pleaded, he wanted her to comply, even if it was this one last time. 

Irem wiped her tears away with her sleeves, her heart torn between her love for Eren and her duty to her father. She nodded, feeling a heavy weight on her shoulders as she stepped outside and found Eren standing there, looking back at her.

She approached him as she fidgeted her fingers, intertwining them as she asked him "Are you really going to marry me?"

"Yes, I want to get married right now, this moment and right in front of that crippling old man so it can be the last thing he ever sees before he finally fucks off and dies." 

With that response, Irem started to cry again "Oh my god, you're horrible! This is the worst proposal ever! You can't even be romantic, why are you telling me to my face you want my father to die!" She spun around, her mind set on leaving. He couldn't let her walk away like this. He reached out and caught her arm, gently pulling her back towards him.

"Irem, no! Give me another chance!" He begged her as she stopped resisting his hold.

His hand reached his pocket, he pulled out a red box and took a gold chained, ruby stone necklace out that box. "I remember when we went to the market together and you saw a necklace similar to this, you said you liked it. I was shopping in Germany to buy you a gift and this caught my eye because it looked like the one you wanted." He said in a calm voice. He stepped close to her face as his hands went around her neck to place the necklace. Her heart fluttered against his gentle touch, she brought her hands to feel the ruby stone as her cheeks blushed. In that moment she forgot anything he said or did that previously upset her.

"I love you, Irem. Will you marry me?" He proposed, smiling at her as he attempted to be romantic like she wanted him to be.

Irem's hands cupped his face as she placed a kiss on his lips, "Is that even a question? Yes." She replied with laughter, her eyes shining with happiness and deep love for the man she was going to marry.