It is revealed that Kemal knew the woman who died in the traffic accident. The woman had a reputation for being promiscuous. Füsun promises not to have sex with anyone else.

Later that evening, Kemal looks for Füsun’s earring, but cannot find it among his clothes. Kemal tells Sibel the story of the woman who died in the traffic accident, Belkıs, the ex-lover of Zaim. Belkıs had come from a poor family and was initially involved with a shipping heir whose parents forced him to live with her in Paris. After the heir died, however, Belkıs returned to Istanbul and entered several affairs with society men. Her liberal approach to sex made many women jealous of her, yet none of Belkıs’s lovers actually proposed to marry her. Kemal theorizes that Belkıs’s relationship with her first lover gave her the confidence to court other men in full view of society.

Kemal and Sibel see Zaim and Meltem’s German model, Inge, at a dinner party. On their way home, Sibel complains about Zaim showing Inge off as his partner. Kemal comments that Inge is drawn to Zaim because of his wealth.

Vecihe asks Kemal if he knows why Mümtaz has been despondent lately. She also laments the death of Belkıs, indicating that they had an amicable relationship.

Vecihe invites Kemal to sit with her on the balcony so that they can watch Belkıs’s funeral at the neighboring mosque. She explains that the only reason she didn’t go to the funeral herself is that she didn’t want to see Belkıs’s unsympathetic former lovers. Kemal spots Füsun among the mourners and turns pale, which Vecihe notices. He goes to wait for Füsun at the Merhamet Apartments.

Füsun tells Kemal about her friend, Ceyda, who worries that her conservative boyfriend isn’t serious about their relationship. Kemal is reluctant to comment on the situation, and when he admits that he hasn’t found Füsun’s missing earring, Füsun declares that she will never return.

To placate her, Kemal agrees to two requests: First, he must never lie to her, and second, he must come to her house to have dinner with her parents, bringing both the earring and a tricycle she had left at the Merhamet Apartments when she was younger. They come up with an alibi to explain why Kemal might visit Füsun’s parents, knowing that people are naturally inclined to assume they are having an affair.

Kemal’s father Mümtaz counsels Kemal to never take Sibel for granted. He confides that several years ago, he had an affair with a younger employee at Satsat. After Mümtaz made her leave the company, he secretly began to support her, providing her with an apartment of her own. He admits that he considered marrying his lover, but ultimately chose to stay with his family. Mümtaz did not believe that his lover would want anyone else, but was dumbfounded when he learned that she had married an engineer. When he called his lover’s mother to discover her whereabouts, Mümtaz learned that his lover had died of cancer, having lied about her marriage.

Mümtaz still feels regret over taking his lover for granted. He gives Kemal a pair of pearl earrings that he intended to give to his lover as an apology, indicating that he should gift them to Sibel instead. Kemal worries about the implications of giving his future wife a gift meant for a mistress. Mümtaz stresses that the point is to treat Sibel well.

When Kemal sees Füsun, he gives her the pearl earrings. Füsun is upset that they are not her missing earring. Kemal insists that he will retrieve it for her.

Sibel observes that Kemal has been pensive. Kemal explains that he has started to worry over Mümtaz’s health.

Kemal accompanies his father and brother to a funeral for Rahmi Efendi, one of Mümtaz’s longtime employees, who lost his hand in a factory accident and was moved to an office role. Kemal reflects on the importance of achieving happiness in life. His thoughts eventually turn to Füsun.

Kemal asks Füsun not to come to his engagement party anymore. They become increasingly more intimate with each other as the party draws near, fearing that they won’t be able to see each other again afterward. Kemal tries to stay optimistic, but is unnerved by Füsun’s prolonged silence. Füsun is also nervous about her entrance exams, which will take place the day after the party.

On the day of the party, Kemal and Füsun are so melancholic that it affects their enjoyment of sex. Later, Füsun tells Kemal about a bad dream she had. Kemal tries to reassure her and invites her to meet again after her exam is over.

The party takes place at the Istanbul Hilton. Kemal and his parents arrive early at the venue and watch their guests from the city’s social elite arrive from the lobby. Various guests remind Kemal that Sibel’s reputation is linked to his own from now on and that he will be happy so long as he remains surrounded by family. Soon, Kemal sees Füsun arrive with her parents.

Kemal and Sibel try to set up their single friends, Mehmet and Nurcihan, together to date. However, they are discouraged when the pair shows little chemistry at first. Kemal suspects that Mehmet is too critical of society women to think well of Nurcihan, triggering her fear of being judged.

Kemal walks around the party to spy on Füsun, but is repeatedly interrupted by other guests. Eventually, he reaches Füsun’s table and greets her parents, Aunt Nesibe and Uncle Tarik. Based on the expression on Füsun’s face, Kemal suddenly becomes confident that his affair with Füsun will survive.

Kemal and Sibel are approached by a gossip columnist whose pen name is “White Carnation.” He had been personally invited by Vecihe, a close reader of his work. White Carnation tries to probe for secrets, but they deflect his questions by asking him for gossip.

Kemal and Sibel dance to encourage their guests to join them. Kemal waits to see if Füsun will dance, and later learns that she goes on two dances, once with a Satsat employee named Kenan and another time with Orhan Pamuk, whose description of the dance appears in the novel’s final chapter. Meanwhile, Mehmet gives up on Nurcihan when Kemal, Sibel, Osman, and Berrin laugh at Mehmet’s expense. Nurcihan joins the group, prompting Zaim, who is no longer with Inge, to come and flirt with her. Sibel urges Kemal to bring Mehmet back, fearing that Zaim may hurt Nurcihan’s feelings.

Kemal finds Mehmet in the bar with another friend named Tayfun. He gets Mehmet to admit his attraction to Nurcihan and steers him back to the party. By then, however, Sibel feels hopeless over the fact that Nurcihan is attracted to Zaim. Kemal takes Zaim to the bar to distract him. He confides in Zaim that Füsun is his lover and that he cannot bear to watch her dancing with anyone else. He explains his plan to stop Füsun from falling in love with Kenan, which requires Zaim to distract Füsun. Kemal brings Kenan to sit with his family, forcing Kenan to entertain their questions about his life and upbringing.

While dancing with Sibel, he maneuvers a switch with Zaim so that he can dance with Füsun. Kemal assures Füsun that their affair will survive. He urges her to go home and rest so she can do well on her exams. Later, Osman applauds Kemal for dancing with Füsun, believing it was his way of making up for Vecihe’s poor manners toward Füsun’s family.

Kemal ends up seated between Füsun and Sibel. Füsun tells Sibel about the power that objects have to remind people of those they love, alluding to her lost earring. Füsun then reveals that she has brought the imitation Jenny Colon handbag to the party, claiming it is a memento of their embarrassing transaction. Though Sibel compliments her to save face, Füsun asserts that the quality of the object is more important than the reputation of the brand. This confuses Sibel.

Zaim warns Kemal that the Satsat employees make fun of him for having sexual trysts with Sibel at the office. When Sibel returns to Kemal, she points out that he looks sad again.

The next day, Füsun does not visit the Merhamet Apartments. This pattern continues for four more days, making Kemal wonder what happened to her.

Kemal begins to experience a psychosomatic reaction to Füsun’s absence, feeling pain across his body. He wonders if Füsun is taking revenge against him for getting engaged to Sibel and preventing her from getting to know Kenan. He also worries that Füsun did poorly on her exam. Later, Kemal visits the Şanzelize Boutique and learns that Füsun has quit her job.

Kemal, Sibel, and their friends go on a picnic. Kemal spends most of the picnic wondering about Füsun again. He accidentally wounds himself with a can opener and uses the pain to distract himself from his thoughts. Sibel expresses her concern over Kemal’s behavior once more. Kemal refuses to answer and leaves the picnic early for the Merhamet Apartments, confident that Füsun will finally appear.

Once again, Füsun does not come, causing Kemal to regret leaving the picnic. Kemal finds relief in the memories of their past encounters, which are supported by objects in the apartment that contain Füsun’s “essence,” like hand mirrors and cigarette stubs. He repeatedly returns to the apartment to touch these objects.

Sibel interprets Kemal’s behavior as premarital anxiety. At a social event, Kemal sees Füsun’s former lover, Turgay, and is filled with jealousy.

Turgay snubs Kemal, resenting him for not inviting him to the engagement party.

Kemal’s obsession with Füsun continues to grow. Soon, he wonders if Füsun is experiencing the same pain that he feels, making him resentful of her for causing it or at least refusing to tell him that his engagement hurt her feelings. He imagines confronting her.

Unable to contain his feelings, Kemal visits Füsun’s house and encounters Nesibe. Nesibe explains that Füsun was so upset over her exam performance that Tarık had to take her out of Istanbul. She urges Kemal to forget about Füsun. Kemal later tries to console himself using a slide rule he had gifted Füsun.

Kemal’s mood begins to affect his performance at work. He resolves to forget about Füsun to avoid letting his behavior ruin his life with Sibel. He stops going to the Merhamet Apartments and tries to avoid any landmarks of their affair, including the boutique.

Despite his best efforts, Kemal starts to see Füsun in various places. He repeatedly mistakes other girls for Füsun. In some cases, he also sees Füsun as a ghost haunting him. He frequents the places where he sees her ghost to look for her.