"Aylin, Feyza, and Mete—come with me."
As planned, we were splitting into groups to explain everything. My friends didn't know about the fire in the past, and they needed to understand what we'd gotten involved in.
Kerem's friends already knew about the tragedy. For them, revisiting the so-called accident would only reopen wounds—especially for Rüzgar.
Once in the kitchen, everyone sat around the table. I took a deep breath and began explaining everything from the beginning, including the truths we'd hidden.
When I finished, Aylin looked at me with sad understanding. Mete, surprisingly, looked serious and thoughtful.
Feyza, however, looked exactly as I'd expected—furious and deeply disappointed. She'd listened without interrupting, but now she looked like she was breathing fire.
"I can't believe you, Duru! Do you have any idea how dangerous and wrong this was? If your luck hadn't held, do you even realize what could've happened to you? If you hadn't escaped that bar, or if there'd been more men in that house… If that psycho had wanted more than a warning shot, what then? Damn it! And for all that time, not a single soul knew where you were or what you were doing! How could you hide something like this from us? Just because that selfish bastard told you not to tell anyone?!"
She paced the kitchen, shouting.
"Feyza—"
"Don't!" She pointed at me.
"Don't you dare defend that piece of trash! Not after he dragged you into his problems and got you hurt! How could you let a man who didn't care about you manipulate you with a few sweet words? When did you become this naïve, Duru?!"
"Sapphire, calm down—"
"Bluey—"
She raised her hand, silencing Mete and Aylin.
"Stay out of it!"
When I nodded, agreeing with her, the anger on her face softened into disappointment.
"Did you ever stop to think about how all of us—who love you—would feel if something happened to you? No. Of course you didn't."
She turned away.
"There's no point in saying more."
"Sapphire… you're right to be angry. But it's not how you think. I wanted to tell you so many times. I really did. I was scared you'd get dragged into this because of me. I thought waiting until it was over was safer. I never imagined things would go this far. I'm sorry."
She took a deep breath and looked away. I knew her eyes were just as wet as mine.
"I'm sorry too, Duru. But like you said—what's done is done. I hope the handsome jerk you risked your life for was worth turning your back on us."
She walked out without another word. Moments later, the front door slammed shut.
No one spoke. I sighed, heart heavy.
Aylin wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
"She's not just angry at you. She fought with her family this morning over what happened last night. This was the last straw. She'll calm down in a couple of days and forgive you. Don't worry."
I wiped my tears with a small smile. Mete sat across from me, took my hands, and spoke gently but seriously.
"Aylin's right. I bet she won't even remember why she was angry in two days."
Then he hesitated.
"There's something I need to ask you, Duru. And I want you to be completely honest with me."
He paused.
"Are you in love with Kerem?"
I shifted uncomfortably, caught off guard. He nodded as if he'd already gotten his answer and leaned back.
Suddenly, loud voices came from the living room. We rushed out to see Kerem and Rüzgar standing face to face across the table, only a few steps apart. Bora and Demir stood nearby, ready to intervene.
The room was silent, but blood on Kerem's lip made it clear Rüzgar hadn't stayed calm.
When Rüzgar noticed me, his glare at Kerem sharpened. Bora and Demir moved, but Kerem stopped them with a gesture.
Ignoring everyone else, Rüzgar said something to Kerem in a voice low enough that only he could hear. This time, it was Kerem's turn to murmur something back—his gaze briefly flicking to me as he did.
While I was trying to make sense of what they were saying, Rüzgar delivered his final words and headed toward the front door. From where I stood, I could only catch a few fragmented phrases, something like "you don't deserve…" and "let her go… without hurting her."
When Demir moved to go after Rüzgar, Kerem stopped him again.
"Let him be alone for a while," he said. "He won't listen to any of you right now. He needs time to process what he's heard."
"Are you sure?" Demir asked. "You know where he tends to go when he's this angry. I think it'd be better if we stopped him this time."
"No one knows how Rüzgar feels better than I do right now," Kerem replied. "Or what he's thinking. When it comes to our families, no matter what he does, he'll come back without hurting himself. Don't worry."
Demir gave a reluctant nod and dropped into one of the nearby armchairs. The others followed his lead.
Before going over to them and starting to talk about what we were going to do next, it would be a good idea to get out of this dress that was practically glued to me.
"Aylin, can you give me the clothes you brought? My blood circulation is about to completely stop."
"Okay. You wait here, I'll bring them."
Once Aylin handed me the bag of clothes she'd brought from the living room, I ducked into one of the rooms, changed quickly, and returned.
Nil and Bora were sitting on the three-seater couch, arguing about something with Kerem, who was in the single armchair right next to them. Across from them, Demir and Aylin were seated together, listening to the others. Mete was nowhere in sight.
I sat down in one of the single armchairs facing Kerem and placed the coffee cup in my hand onto the massive coffee table between us. When I returned, the others stopped talking among themselves and turned their attention to Kerem.
"Before we get to the main point, I want to make sure everyone understands just how dangerous the people we're dealing with are," he said. "This situation directly concerns only Rüzgar and me. Duru got dragged into this because of my mistake, and after what happened last night, even if she wanted to, leaving my side isn't really an option anymore. But the same doesn't apply to you. If you want to stay away, I would completely understand."
"Don't even think about it, Kerem. Leaving you alone isn't an option," Nil said.
"My daisy is right. No matter what, we're with you," Bora added.
"If you think I'd abandon my friends of fifteen years at a moment like this, then you really don't know me at all, brother," Demir said.
And all eyes turned to Aylin.
"Maybe this wasn't our problem before," she said, "but the moment they threatened my friend and hurt her, everything changed. You can be sure I'll do everything I can to make those bastards regret the day they were born."
I grinned and blew Aylin a kiss, and I didn't miss the approving look in Demir's eyes.
'What did you expect, man? My friend isn't like those Barbies you usually hang around,' It wouldn't have fit the seriousness of the moment to say it out loud, but I'd take great pleasure in rubbing that truth in his face at the first opportunity.
Suddenly, I turned in surprise when Mete sat down on the armrest of my chair and wrapped his arms around me from behind.
"You can include me too. No one hurts my angel and gets away without paying the price. I'm with you—with all the technological support and unlimited manpower I have."
Smiling, I squeezed the hand resting on my shoulder.
"Thank you, honey."
"Don't even mention it, angel."
When he laughed and kissed my cheek, I turned toward the sound of Demir's harsh cough.
"Tell your boyfriend to stop looking at me like he wants to rip my heart out, Duru."
I rolled my eyes at Mete's exaggerated whisper in my ear, but when I glanced at Kerem, I had to admit Mete wasn't entirely wrong.
What was this guy's problem now?
"He's not my boyfriend or anything," I muttered in a voice only Mete could hear.
My protest only made him grin. He let go of me and walked toward Bora and Nil on the three-seater couch. When he sat down next to Bora and shot him a cute but flirtatious look, Bora nervously nudged Nil.
"Daisy, I got scared… I mean, I got cold. Why don't you move over here so I can get closer to the radiator?"
While we all chuckled under our breath at the couples switching places, Kerem continued speaking from where he'd left off.
"Since everyone's made their decision, let's get back to our subject. Before we make any plans, we need to clarify a few things. First, we need the police reports related to the accident. Demir?"
Demir rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded.
"I can do it. But I'll need someone to come with me to create a distraction."
As Aylin stepped away to answer her ringing phone, I looked at the men across from me with curiosity.
"Wait a second. Why Demir?"
"Because my father is a police officer, and I know the department like the back of my hand, Red."
"One of us can't go," Kerem added. "They all know us. The moment they see us, they'll know we're up to something."
His brief explanation narrowed it down to three possible people.
"When are you planning to go?" Mete asked, and we all turned back to Demir.
"Tomorrow night would be best, because my father will be on duty then. And if something goes wrong and I get caught, having him there would actually be better for all of us."
"Then I can't come either," Mete said. "I have to stay at the hospital with a friend tomorrow night."
"And Duru is out of the question," Kerem added. "In her condition, she'd draw too much attention."
At Kerem's words, we all turned toward Aylin, who had just walked back into the living room. She shoved her phone into her pocket, scanned the room, and frowned.
"What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Demir flashed a mischievous grin and winked at her.
"Get ready, Circle Unit. Tomorrow night, you're mine."