"We tried so hard to convince Eva to study abroad, but she absolutely refused," Mrs. Serpil complained, her tone full of frustration. Feyza looked visibly tense.
"We already talked about this, Mom. I don't want to live anywhere but İzmir."
"Eva made the right choice, Mrs. Serpil. That one year I spent away from İzmir was the hardest time of my life," Efe added.
"Oh, don't exaggerate, Efe," a woman said dismissively. "Anyone listening would think you were forced to go."
That had to be Efe's mother. The forced warmth in her voice made it painfully obvious she didn't mean a word she was saying. Even her smile couldn't sell it.
Just then, another male voice joined the conversation.
"Oh my God! Efe! How could you do this to me?!"
"Excuse me?"
"So Elif was telling the truth. You really tricked me and came here to meet the girl your family wants you to marry."
The boy's trembling, tearful voice stunned everyone.
"Do I know you? Who are you?" Efe asked.
Ignoring the men beside us, Aylin and I moved closer to Feyza to watch what was happening up close. Everyone's attention was on the newcomer anyway.
"Shame on you! Is this girl so rich that you can pretend you don't even recognize your own boyfriend?" he spat, looking Feyza up and down with disgust. "And she's ugly on top of that. I can't believe you'd even want to sleep with her—money or not."
"I don't know who you are, but stop it! This isn't funny," Efe snapped through clenched teeth.
Instead of backing down, the boy only grew more emotional. Tears streamed down his face as he kept talking.
"So everything we had was a joke to you? You said you'd never leave me no matter what your family said. You said we were made for each other. That night—you told me you loved me. Damn it! You were my first! What did I do to deserve this, huh? Loving you?"
His voice broke at the last sentence, his head dropping.
Efe stood there, frozen, clearly not knowing what to say. Meanwhile, the three of us were already emotionally invested.
"Poor thing…"
"So sad…"
"Don't cry…"
"What boyfriend? What relationship? What is this boy talking about, Efe?" his mother snapped, her face turning nearly the same shade of red as her dress.
Thank God both Efe's and Feyza's fathers were far away, talking business. Otherwise, this wouldn't have stayed nearly this calm.
"Everything he's saying is a lie, Mom! I've never even seen this guy before!" Efe protested desperately.
I couldn't help but giggle.
"Remind me not to piss you off again, Red," Feyza whispered to me, grinning.
When I noticed the low buzz of voices around us, I glanced around and saw guests staring at us with hungry, gossip-loving eyes. Satisfied, I turned my attention back to the so-called couple.
"Liar! You two-faced bastard!"
"You're pushing your luck, kid," Efe warned.
The muscle twitching in his clenched jaw and his fists balled at his sides showed how hard he was trying to hold himself back.
"Damn you, Efe! I curse the day I met you!"
The slap echoed through the room.
Everyone—including Efe—froze.
"I… I hate you."
The boy covered his mouth and ran off, sobbing. Efe's mother immediately turned to Mrs. Serpil.
"I don't know what's going on, but I sincerely apologize on behalf of my son, Serpil. I'm beyond embarrassed. We should leave for now. I'll call you later."
Mrs. Serpil was too shocked to respond, so Feyza spoke instead—cold and controlled.
"You don't need to call, Mrs. Güzide. Neither my family nor I could ever forgive something like this. Have a good evening."
Without another word, Güzide stormed off. Efe tried to follow, but she turned sharply and said, emotionless,
"Don't bother coming home."
She didn't wait for a response.
Efe chased after her, trying to explain, and when they disappeared from sight, I looked at Aunt Serpil. She stood there, stunned, staring at us like she couldn't process what had just happened.
Feyza didn't care.
"Thanks to you, I've been humiliated in front of the entire city, Mom. Maybe next time you'll think twice before threatening me into marrying someone I don't know. Come on, girls."
She linked arms with Aylin and me and walked quickly across the hall. When we reached a quiet corner, she threw herself into my arms—nearly strangling me.
"Feyza… I can't… breathe."
She pulled back, staring at me in awe.
"I can't believe you, Red! Even if I thought for forty years, I'd never guess your plan would be this."
"You're terrifying, Duru," Aylin said. "I mean, I do feel a little sorry for Efe."
"I do too," I admitted. "But no one gets to threaten my friend. Except me." Then I added sharply, "And no woman deserves to feel so desperate and alone that she's forced into marrying someone she doesn't want."
I didn't get to finish.
Someone suddenly wrapped all three of us in a crushing hug.
"Ovv! You're all adorable! I'm so proud of you, girls!"
Aylin and I giggled while Feyza protested.
"Let go, idiot! You're going to kill us!"
When he finally stepped back, he threw an arm over Feyza's shoulders and squeezed her cheek.
"Is that how you treat the person who saved your life, Bluey? You're breaking my heart."
She shoved his hand away.
"You can't break something that doesn't exist, Butterfly. And did you just call me ugly?"
"Sorry, but even pretending to cheat on me with someone as grumpy as you was traumatic."
"You're the grumpy one!"
Then she turned to me, fake-angry.
"And you—well done, Duru! Out of all the people here, this is who you chose to ask for help?"
"Actually, you should thank Mete, Sapphire. The idea was his. I just handled the details."
She stared at me in shock. When I shrugged and looked at Mete, he was grinning proudly.
Mete was someone I'd met by chance at a party Feyza had dragged us to. Or maybe "by chance" wasn't the right word—he'd saved me from a drunk girl sitting on my lap.
He'd lifted the girl off me, wrapped an arm around my waist, and told her I wasn't alone and that she should find another target. While he did that, I'd watched him in awe.
Not just because he saved me—but because he was easily the most stunning man I'd ever seen.
He was tall, with warm green eyes, brown hair flecked with gold, a soft baby face, and a lean but perfectly proportioned body.
When he noticed me staring, he laughed.
"You're adorable, but I don't play for your team, sweetheart."
When my face fell, he cupped my cheeks and squeezed them until my lips puckered.
"Just look at how cute this face is!"
When I groaned in embarrassment and everyone laughed—including him—I ended up laughing at myself too.
We'd officially met after that and kept seeing each other often.