Bitter Love

To forget is the greatest revenge

Businessman Bulut, unhappily married, falls in love with violinist Melek and they battle desperately to overcome hostility from family and friends to their forbidden romance.

Talented violinist Melek and successful businessman Bulut, stuck in an unhappy marriage, are drawn irresistibly together in forbidden romance. Secrets, power and money conspire against them as they struggle to overcome forces hostile to their ill-starred love.

Bulut’s life is closely entwined with that of Ferman Köklükaya, the owner of a major construction company.  Bulut not only works for him, but is married to his spoiled daughter Sude.  Unknown to him, Ferman is responsible for the death of Bulut’s father when he worked for the tycoon as a site manager.

Beautiful Melek changes the direction of Bulut’s life when they meet at a hotel opening where she is performing. They fall in love, but seeds of distrust are sown from the start as he does not reveal he is married. When the truth emerges, both women are devastated and his wife confronts Melek.

The ties between them are complicated further by Ali, who is in a relationship with Melek’s flat mate Eylül, a former drug addict. For all his arrogance and aggression towards Melek, the two also develop a bond. In fact, it emerges that he is Ferman’s illegitimate son and Sude’s older brother.

In the emotional turmoil, Sude attacks Melek and she ends up in hospital, no longer able to play the violin. Only pressure from Ferman prevents Bulut seeking a divorce. Ferman then rejects a plea from Ali to help when Eylül starts taking drugs again and attempts suicide.

Melek’s heartache deepens when her father disowns her over the affair. When she returns to her home town to reconcile with her family, she discovers she is pregnant by Bulut. On her return to Istanbul, she finds refuge with Ali who offers her a job as a cook at his restaurant.

Bulut too is suffering. He withdraws into himself after losing Melek and rejects Sude’s pressure for them to try for a baby. To make matters worse his confidant and chauffeur, childhood friend Haydar, cannot be trusted.  It was Haydar, secretly in love with Sude, who told her about Bulut’s affair and revealed Melek is pregnancy.

The pregnancy makes Bulut’s mind up for him and he decides to run away with Melek to London. Sude’s mother dramatically escalates the relationship war by having Melek kidnapped and threatening to kill her, unless Bulut returns to his wife. Helplessly, he goes home and Melek loses her baby in the trauma.

The hapless lovers are destined to meet again, when Bulut takes on a major new building project on an Istanbul shoreline. Ali’s restaurant is in that area and is facing demolition. Melek, now close to Ali, comes face to face with Bulut once again. Both know they have unfinished business together.