hold on, wasn’t that just— i swear i just saw LEYLA DUYMAZ, they sure look a lot like HANDE ERÇEL from afar. can you believe they are a THIRTY YEAR OLD CIS WOMAN that works at BAPTIST HOSPITAL as a NURSE? im not surprised, they’ve been in town for THIRTY YEARS and are often seen in COCONUT GROVE. although they are NAIVE & STUBBORN, rumor has it they can be COMPASSIONATE & IDEALISTIC. no one really knows what goes on in their head, but they tend to hum the lyrics to REAL GOOD LIFE BY THE MOWGLI’S while in public. do you think they want to rule the world as well? i guess we’re about to find out.
NAME: Leyla Duymaz
AGE: Thirty
GENDER & PRONOUNS: Ciswoman, she/her
FACE CLAIM: Hande Erçel
EYE COLOR: Brown
HAIR COLOR: Brown
HEIGHT: 5'9”
DATE OF BIRTH: March 3rd, 1991
ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces
LEVEL OF EDUCATION: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Muslim, not practicing
OCCUPATION: Nurse at Baptist Hospital
HOMETOWN: Miami, Florida
TW: pregnancy
CHARACTER HISTORY
Leyla grew up in a typical American middle-class life in the Miami area. She was the middle child out of three to two parents who enjoyed a happy marriage. They weren’t excessively wealthy, but she and her siblings never had gone without anything they wanted or needed. Growing up, she excelled at anything she put her mind to and Leyla certainly put her mind to a lot of things.
Bubbly, optimistic and friendly, Leyla enjoyed a typical mildly popular high school experience. Charming and friendly to all, she tried most clubs and organizations the school offered to her. As graduation drew nearer she knew that the world was her oyster and she could choose whatever she wanted.
Choosing the path of nursing, Leyla picked something that allowed her compassionate and hard working side to flourish. She went to school locally in Miami and got her BSN before choosing Baptist Hospital to work at. Miami was her home and while she could have chosen anywhere else to move to and work, she decided to stay. After all, she could always move in the future if she decided to.
Her life changed drastically when she was 26. It had all started innocently enough with a guy sending her a drink and approaching her at a bar. A night out with friends would become the defining moment of her life. It was the night she met Jackson Barrett. It had started off casual enough. Flirting led to tumbling home together that night. While Leyla wasn’t planning on seeing him again, they were drawn to each other and had hit it off.
Though he was 13 years older than her, they fell for each other quickly. One night together led to her agreeing to a date with him. That date led to another and another and soon they were dating. Leyla had fallen hard for Jackson, she knew he had lived a hard life but she saw a goodness and softness in him. They clicked so easily, and she felt like maybe she had found her soul mate in Jackson.
It all changed six months into their relationship when Leyla found out she was pregnant. When she told Jackson, she saw a flurry of emotions go through him. Fear that he wouldn’t be a good father. Fear that he would fail like his parents had. But slowly, acceptance and joy seeped into him. As her belly grew, so did their joy and excitement. Leyla was excited to raise this child with him, and she wondered if he would propose to her or not. While Leyla loved Jackson and wanted to do it together with him, she wasn’t going to force him into doing anything.
It all changed when she found out his secret. Bringing home a necklace for her she knew he couldn’t afford, he finally admitted that he was a thief. He’d been doing it almost his whole life, and it still was a big part of his life. Leyla didn’t like it, she begged him to stop. What if he got caught? What if he stole from the wrong person? It wasn’t providing for her if he would go away for it. She begged him to stop and he said he would. She caught him again. And again. Finally, enough was enough and Leyla told him she was leaving him.
His life of crime was too much for her, and she had given him chance after chance. But he couldn’t stop, he couldn’t stop for her or their future daughter. Leyla left Jackson only two months before her due date and didn’t expect to see him again. She gave birth to a beautiful daughter she named Isabella and together they were going to be a perfect family. It was only a few months after Isabella’s birth that Jackson came back into her life.
He apologized profusely, begging her over and over again to let him into his daughter’s life. Leyla denied him over and over again, he had hurt her and she didn’t want him to hurt her daughter. But finally, she agreed. She saw how much it pained him to be separated from his daughter when his own parents had abandoned him. Before she agreed, Leyla set some rules before him. He would only be allowed supervised visits with her, and he would have no say in Isabella’s life. Leyla would make all the decisions for her and at any point she could cut him off. He agreed.
At first the visits were far apart. He had hurt her and she wanted him to see what he had given up by not being bale to give up his life of crime. But, Leyla saw only pure love in him when he saw Isabella. She saw good in him over and over again, he had a hard life and made bad decisions, but Leyla saw that Jackson loved Isabella and slowly she started giving him more visits, more time with his daughter. She invited him into their lives more and more. Her parents always supported her and Isabella, and while her dad saw good in Jackson, her mother loathed the man more than anything.
Isabella is now three years old, and though she still sees herself as a single mother, and she is still the one in charge of Isabella’s life, she tries to let Jackson have visits once a week. She still works at Baptist and while Miami is her home, she’s never known about the organizations that rule over the city or the new threat against them.
