I've seen quite a few posts lately calling Cihan's declarations (of love) conditional. Moots have quite a few instances in mind when they say this, starting from what Cihan tells Boran.
Ciho tells Boran that, after all Alya has been through in Mardin, if she still has the courage to get up and say 'I love Cihan,' I won't leave her.
The second piece of evidence comes from the proposal, where he says, '...sen benim yanımda kalmayı seçtin, bana rağmen beni seçtin. Bu yüzden seni bırakmam' or (You chose to stay by my side. You chose me despite me. That's why I won't leave you.)
These don't sound conditional to me, because the emphasis isn't on as long as you continue doing so, I'll keep loving you too.
To me, these sentences are a recognition of everything Alya has had to bear to be with Cihan.
He knows what a horrible mess his life is. In fact, in S1, we're told he doesn't want this life anyway; it's been forced upon him.
It's a nightmare he's stuck in, and for Alya, to choose to stay with him despite it all is something that Cihan is heavily aware of.
With his words, Cihan isn't praising Alya for choosing the best version of him. He's acknowledging that she chose him despite the baggage, the responsibilities, the dangers, the mistakes, the family drama, and all the reasons she could have walked away.
He's acknowledging her sacrifices, and that's another reason that endears her to him. That while everyone just added to his burdens, she sought to share them, despite her own wounds.
And the words, 'Bu yüzden seni bırakmam' to me read like a promise in recognition of her sacrifices. It's like he's saying, because I know what it cost you to stand with me, I will not be the one to let go.
What's more, when you view these words in relation to his earlier description of Alya (when they find out about Boran), and after she accepts his proposal yet again, you will see a stark difference.
He goes from calling Alya his greatest vulnerability and his greatest unknown to his biggest fear and 'the one thing I can never give up.'
He fears her leaving him when they find Boran, but then he sees her fight and suffer, as a woman, as a mother, as a lover.
He's a firsthand witness to exactly what Alya goes through because she refuses to give up on him, as Boran and Sadakat want.
Cihan understands the depth of what Alya has endured for him, which is why she's now the one thing he can never give up on. Not the one thing he can't live without (though that's true as well.)
The difference here is an active promise. When he says, 'Bu yüzden seni bırakmam,' it feels less like an oath to stay and more like a pledge of resolve.
Almost as if he's saying: You fought this hard for us. You gave this much for us. I will not let that be in vain. I will not stop fighting for you. I will not stop searching for you. No matter how many times life, fate, or other people try to put distance between us, I will keep finding my way back to you.
Because if Alya's love is measured by the sacrifices she's willing to make, then Cihan's love is measured by his refusal to surrender her.
By the certainty that, having finally found someone who chose him despite everything, he will spend the rest of his life choosing her right back.
#CihAl #UzakŞehir
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