Her Billionaire Doctor

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 light dangling in the center of the ceiling shone on the joyful faces of the people holding the glasses 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 for 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 with 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." She attempted to hide the tremble in her voice. The dreadful pale face of the young woman 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 by accidentally nudging one of the glasses she was holding on a big tray and 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. "Please help her treat her wound." She instructed one of the female servants to take care of the girl who kept cleaning the floor of the mess. "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 in front of her chest forming a triangle, 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. 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 as Esma. Unlike her, that girl possessed all the good things the world offered, wealth, caring parents, and a handsome fiance.

Yara stared at the rough skin she used 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 her tears flooding 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.

That drunkard man whose grip had moved to Yara's arm glanced at the intruder with a shot of reddened eyes. His teeth clattered, venting all his anger through his tight clasp on the girl's arm; and she winced in reaction to his pinch.

"H-help me, please!" Yara whimpered, imploring the man in a dark suit who looked like the fiance at the engagement party in her weak intonation for the man's hand had moved to her neck while struggling to release the man's hold.

Stepping closer to them, the man caught dread in the girl's woeful green orbs and white face. Her weakened voice indicated that she almost suffocated under the siege of the man's hand.

The evil man's grip loosened; he faced the man in front of him who was acting like a hero. Chuckles burst out of his mouth before warning him to stay away from them.

"Mind your own business, Bro! This is my girlfriend. We are just having a little fight."

"No...that's true," rejected Yara, coughing free of his strangle; but the man's palm spontaneously smothered her yell of refusal. "Umm. erm..." That girl still strove to open her mouth under the cover of his palm.

"I know I made a mistake by seeing that girl but she and I are not in any relationship." That thug played a drama in which he created the scenario. Yara managed to save her lips from his hand after biting his palm.

"He's lying!" Her exclamation bombed his hearing loudly; he attacked her again with his hand covering her mouth.

"I am not lying, love!" He hissed.

"Let her go!" That man could no longer watch the ominous view before him; his intimidating glare stabbed the rascal man.

Provoked by the man's intrusion, the thug man's hands formed into fists; anger heated his chest. He rudely shoved Yara's body forward.

Yara screamed at the sudden push on her back but her mouth shut as soon as she landed in the man's arms. Yara's heart pounded, getting lost in the deep ocean of his blue orbs when their eyes met. There was a wild desire inside her to stop the time for a while.

"Are you okay, Miss?" The man released her body; minding not to get too close to her, he took some steps away from her.

"I'm scared," her voice trembled;

That rascal man picked up the empty bottle on the floor; staggering up to his feet, he tossed it to the man whose back was facing Yara. That man grabbed the object out of his hold before it hit his head.

His mouth growled, complaining about his failure in knocking the man down. His empty hand flew toward him but instead of smashing the face of the man in front of him, it slammed the blank area, letting his tottering torso fall headfirst to the ground. Groans of pain fled his grimaced lips.

The man called the security guards to take care of the helpless body of the drunkard man before ambling through the corridor. Yet, Yara's voice compelled him to quit.

"Thank you so much. May I know what your name is?"

"Erhan." He responded shortly in a flat tone without looking back at her.

***

Esma stood at the dock, looking down at the immense sea devoured by the blackness of the night. The tapping shoes behind her prompted her to veer around; her lips spread into a smile, seeing the man she adored.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," That man put her palm in his; they walked toward the barrier of the dock and stayed there with Esma's head resting on his shoulder. Their eyes shut, reminiscing the moment.

"I am just thinking how lucky I am to have you," Esma mumbled; Erhan did not comment, letting Esma's hair dance with the breeze over his face. "I hope it is not I dream when I wake up, all is over."

"It is not; it's reality." Erhan finally opened his mouth.

"Promise me that you will never leave me."

"I can't promise you anything but time will prove if my love for you is true."

Esma's head jerked away, surprised at her fiancee's response; she stared at him with a sulky face. Erhan's eyelid flickered open and grinned at her pouty expression.

"Do you plan to go from me one day?" Esma attacked him not only with that question but her grip on his upper arm. "Tell me honestly." She pinched his arm this time; that man's mouth groaned spontaneously while automatically pulling his arm off her clasp.

"Ouch.... Do you think I can live without you?" They both smiled and drowned in laughter, neglecting the world around them. Erhan then tickled her in return; that girl laughed while avoiding his hands. They dived into a world of happiness where there were only them both inside.

Far from them, the envious eyes watched them, desiring all the joy they displayed. And the evil heart whispered to loot them all one day.

***

Yara's lips winced in pain on his shoulders, neck, and arm; that man's grab was so powerful that nearly cracked all her bones. And the backpack she carried on her back deteriorates her health. She whined to reduce the burn and cramp sensation on her skin while wading through the cramped dark street toward her apartment.

However, the man's face who abruptly dropped into her mind erased all the bad occurrences she experienced in the corridor today. The frown of pain on her visage altered into a wide smile of delight on her lips. To her, he was a hero she had dreamed of coming into her life, the one who took her out of her hell.

"Erhan...." She covered her mouth for its audacity to mumble that name. "No...I should not let this hope live in my heart." Shaking that man's face out of her head, Yara continued her stride under the blurred street light.

After enduring her fatigue of walking a kilometer from the bus stop, Yara eventually arrived home which looked like a haunted house with no light on. She carefully tiptoed inside the room, wishing that her mother had gone to bed.

She stepped on something sharp on her way crossing the living room, and her mouth moaned at the pain it caused. With one foot lifted, Yara attempted to resume her walk to go to her bedroom.

However, the light lit the whole corner of the place suddenly and that was when she discovered the room had turned into chaos as if the storm had struck the house. The table and chair spread here and there with papers coating the floor; the glass had broken to pieces along with flower vase splitting into two.

"Where have you been?" She jumped around and almost lost her balance because her painful foot could not stand properly.

That woman - her mother- sat on the chair, drunk with a bottle of drink in one of her grips. Her sleepy reddened eyes of hangover swayed at Yara.

"Give me...your money...otherwise you are not allowed to sleep tonight!" She trailed off, threatening her. And in the next few minutes, the bottle in her hand flew over Yara's head.

Yara's torso spontaneously plopped down to her knees while her hands wrapped her ears. She shut her eyes as the object smashed the wall of her bedroom strongly and broke to pieces, clattering and scattering on the floor.

"Argh...." Her mouth screams at the thundering sound. "I-I haven't received my salary yet." She stammered, struggling to defeat her fright; her stuttering answer faded among the clinging and banging of the items thrown at her.

Enduring the pain on the sole of her foot, Yara slowly moved aside while bearing her wound to avoid the rampage of another attack from her wrathful mother. She squatted behind the sofa with her palms shielding her head, anticipating the flying objects as that drunk woman kept tossing anything her eyes found toward her direction.

"Do you think you can fool me?" Yara's ears could catch her creaking slippers coming nearer with her roaring voice piercing her hearing." I know you're working on that cruise ship. Get out of your hideout! Give me the money! Now!" She covered her wail as her mother smashed a cup onto the sofa which bounced and dropped on its fluffy mattress. Yara's shoulder shuddered behind the sofa. "Yara...." Her level of intonation lowered but lanced. "Yara...."Her voice haunted her like a ghost; the shriek of her footwear followed.

Yara bit her lips; her wide eyes set on the carpet on her left side, expecting her figure to spot her there. Her heart pounded against her chest, waiting for what kind of calamity would strike once her mother discovered her here.

"I got you!"

That woman hovered over her with her hand reaching out to her head. Her fingers pulled some strands of Yara's hair and screams blazed out of her mouth.

"Argh....it hurt, Mom...please...let go of my hair. Please..." she begged while holding her mother's wrist to force her to release her hair.

That furious woman snatched her handbag and pushed her nape to the restroom. Yara fell on the freezing floor conquered by her corpulant arms. Yara's palms bussed the hard tiles and her knees came after; her mouth whined as she sprained her wrists.

"Ouch...."

"You will sleep here tonight."

Then, the door slammed shut, imprisoning Yara crying in hopelessness inside it. Ignoring the the pain of injury on her foot, knees, and wrists which was getting intense, that girl helplessly sat with her curled knees, leaning against the restroom door. She hid her wails onto her lap.

Regret and sorrow slid into her mind. She regretted her bad luck which chased her and the sadness that filled most of her story. Her heart hurt at the fact that no one cared for her. Her mother the one who should shower her with compassion heaped her with hate.

Yara's cry became louder as she began comparing her life to that girl who just held her engagement party on the cruise ship with the man she adored. Her destiny brought her to life everyone dreamed of, having perfect parents, an adorable fiancee, and fancy outfit, and all the items attached to her. Everything she possessed tempted Yara to see her with jealousy.

Meanwhile, her pathetic fate shoved her here, living a horrible life with a woman who detested her like she was trash in her eyes. She even had to work hard to quench her hungry stomach and face her mother's punch and kick almost every day.

Yara's face jerked up; she grunted. "Why is life unfair to me?"

***

Esma studied her reflection in the mirror which displayed the beauty of her big round brown eyes and pointed nose framed by her oval face. Her wavy long brown hair with straight bangs on her forehead fell, covering her ears.

Her cheeks blushed into a smile of satisfaction after applying some makeup to them. Standing up, she posed there for a minute to ensure the perfection of her appearance in her cerulean coat.

Just as her body turned, her mother's entry into her room paused her in her spot. The wrinkles on the woman's forehead deepened with lines of ecstasy.

"Mom..., You look more excited today; what is it that makes you happier?" Esma's narrowing eyes went deeply to her.

"I've good news for you. Guess what it is."

"Well, you know exactly that I am not good at guessing, Mom."

"You will find out later. Now, let's have breakfast; your father has been waiting." She circled her arm around her shoulders, leading their way to the dining room.

Sitting by the big long square table with various foods on it, Mr. Ozkan's face switched to her wife and daughter, greeting them with a smile. He started eating as soon as they all had settled in their seats.

"I am curious about the news, Mom." Esma piped up while picking bread and dipping it into the soup before shoving it into her mouth.

That woman's smiley visage took a glance at her husband, signaling him to say something. That man stopped cutting his bread and putting the knife next to the plate.

"We, Mr. Durmaz, and I have set the date of your wedding; it will be held next month." Esma looked up at his father with a blush timid smile on her cheeks.

"Has Erhan found out about this, Father?'

"Yeah....Mr Durmaz must have informed him about our decision."

"Esma...what do you think? Do you agree with that?" That girl's gaze shifted to her mother's serious face, looking forward to her answer. A small bow of her head confirmed her agreement which painted the bright of happiness on her parents' countenance.

As the only daughter in the Ozkan family, Esma lived a happy life many people would be envious of; having caring parents who treated her like a jewel was one of the things she was always grateful for. Never did Esma witness the violence not the fight of her parents, in her whole life, not to mention the punch or the rude words addressed to her or any other people in her family.

As a wealthy family, she had many privileges, buying anything she wanted or traveling abroad on vacation. The Ozkan family even sent her to the best institution to pursue her education with which she had a brilliant career in fashion design. In short, Esma could easily and quickly get everything in her hold with one instruction only.

***

The work of cleaning the wide area of the hospital building had occupied Yara since morning so her body weakened with fatigue. Her hands once in a while wiped her sweat dripping from her forehead and temples.

Yara kept pushing and pulling the moping tool, brushing the crystal white tile of the long corridor. Her feet and eyes moved wherever the tool brought her body, tracking the dirty floor.

Her body straightened upright every time she could no longer defeat her exhaustion. While watching the area ahead of her and counting how long her activity would come to an end, Yara's palm fanned her sweaty and smelly torso.

"How long will you rest, Yara?" That loud firm admonition jerked Yara's hand to snatch the mopping tool; she resumed her task with grunts occasionally escaping her mouth. It seemed that her supervisor enslaved her under her strict surveillance.

As Yara possessed no time for a short break with that bulging-eyed woman around, Yara started losing the balance of her weariness. Her foot unconsciously kicked the pail full of water behind her when she was concentrating on mopping the floor.

The dirty water spilled and flooded the hallway. She looked at the puddles in panic and aimed to clean the mess. However, someone's scream halted her, compelling her to spin on her heel. Her shoes slipped on the slippery tiles hauled her body, falling next to the girl - Esma - the one she admired and felt jealous of at the same time.

The hand of a handsome man with his angular jawline, mesmerizing eyes, and an endearing smile on his lips in a white cloak extended, and both girls gaped at him in awe and amazement.

"My Hero comes at the right time," Yara's heart whispered; her gaze clutched in his.

***