Since going into business, he’d never suffered a loss. His profits had risen steadily. And now, at last, the prize was within reach. He would soon be the owner of a beautiful yalı on the Bosphorus, a summer villa on Büyükada, and an apartment in Nişantaşı.

He’d buy them, and then one day he would turn to Celile and say, “Come and see what I have for us.”

And if he caught so much as a flicker of admiration in Celile’s eyes, he would be the happiest man on earth.