Feyza Duman
So the person I called my closest friend had been looking me straight in the eye for months and lying to me… all because of a man she barely knew?
"Unbelievable!"
I was pacing back and forth across the garden, barely managing to hold back the urge to scream in anger.
If she'd only lied about them being a couple, maybe I wouldn't have been this furious. But lying so she could help that selfish jerk—who didn't even care what happened to her—without any of us knowing? That was unforgivable.
I'd always known Duru was overly dreamy and had a taste for adventure, so it wasn't hard to guess why she'd thrown herself headfirst into this so-called secret mission. But I wasn't blind enough to miss the fact that she'd sunk this deep because she'd let her romantic feelings for Kerem get involved.
And I absolutely did not believe Kerem hadn't noticed that before I did.
Which left only one possible conclusion.
Kerem had taken advantage of Duru's feelings for him so she would help him. He had knowingly thrown my friend into the fire for his own benefit.
I could tolerate him being a flirt and an arrogant jerk, but I'd never imagined he could be this selfish and calculating.
And all this time, without even realizing it, I'd been helping him along—encouraging my friend to date that lunatic.
"Oh God! I'm such an idiot!"
As if what I'd gone through with my family that morning wasn't enough, this on top of it all pushed my already frayed nerves to the breaking point.
Before I went back inside and attacked someone, I needed to get out of this house and clear my head.
There were only two things that could calm me down: Atlas and alcohol.
I pulled my phone out of my bag, about to call Atlas to pick me up, when I remembered he was working tonight. With an angry huff, I shoved the phone back into my bag.
"Great! Just great!"
Today was officially cursed.
I sighed, tilted my head back, and muttered tiredly toward the sky.
"If you're really up there, I wouldn't say no to a little help right about now. Just in case you're curious."
At that exact moment, a noise from the other end of the garden made me turn toward the source.
Apparently, someone really was listening.
When I saw the car pulling out of the garage—and the driver—I didn't think twice. I rushed over and blocked its path before it could reach the street.
I walked around to the passenger side and got in.
I could feel his furious stare drilling into my face.
Good. That made us even. Because I wasn't exactly holding back either.
I turned to him, met his eyes, and spoke calmly so he'd understand I was serious.
"Look, I'm not trying to cause trouble, and I don't care where you're going. I just want to get out of here. Okay?"
For a brief moment, he looked like he might throw me out of the car and run me over.
But in the end, he said nothing. He turned his eyes back to the road and drove.
I leaned back and turned toward the window.
For the first time, the silence didn't bother me. I closed my eyes and tried to think about anything other than the nightmare of a day I'd had.
After a while, a voice pulled me back.
"Where are you?.. Yes… No. By the tree line… And three… Who?"
He glanced at me with a frown before continuing.
"When?.. Accept it."
When he ended the call and focused on the road again, I tried—and failed—to make sense of the most cryptic phone conversation I'd ever heard.
The man hadn't even bothered forming full sentences.
Normally I wouldn't have fixated on it, but the way he'd suddenly looked at me mid-call felt strange.
"Rüzgâr," I said, emboldened by his calm tone as he glanced at me briefly. "Where are we going?"
"I thought you didn't care."
Good point.
I cleared my throat and shifted uncomfortably.
"I mean… I don't, really. I was just curious."
"Do you want to get out?"
I turned back toward the windshield without answering.
"That's what I thought."
Any other time, I would've snapped back and gotten out of the car right there. But the road we were on led to the middle of nowhere, a place I'd never been before. Even I wasn't crazy enough to risk being alone somewhere like that in the middle of the night.
We drove for another half hour.
I'd just started to think we were going to spend the entire night aimlessly driving when the sight ahead made me frown and turn toward Rüzgâr.
Before I could ask what we were doing there, he parked and got out.
Groaning in irritation, I got out too and followed him.
The moment we stepped into a crowded area filled with cars and people illuminated by headlights, I realized I was grinning like an idiot.
I couldn't help it.
You didn't get to see dozens of stunning cars gathered in one place every day.
As I looked around, my smile widened even more. Aside from the music—which definitely wasn't my taste—the atmosphere actually seemed fun.
The only problem was Rüzgâr.
Not because he didn't belong here, but because anyone who spent five minutes with him could tell he wasn't a party person.
Something felt off, but I wasn't eager to figure out what. I preferred enjoying the moment and leaving my problems behind for a while.
As someone who enjoyed being the center of attention, watching men practically drool as they passed by—and women look at me like they wanted to claw my eyes out—only improved my mood.
I stopped to watch the people dancing when arms suddenly wrapped around my waist from behind.
The owner of those arms leaned in close and whispered in a hoarse voice he probably thought was sexy,
"How about coming with me to watch a private show? Just for you, beautiful."
Holding back my laughter, I turned toward him.
The muscular, dark-haired guy—clearly living at the gym, with questionable fashion sense and an average face—looked irritatingly smug.
I pushed his arms away and shook my head with a fake smile.
"I don't think so, tiger. Try your luck somewhere else."
When he reached for me again, ready to insist, a voice stopped him.
"Gökalp!"
He froze, then panicked the moment he saw Rüzgâr standing nearby with two others, glaring at us.
"Shit! Are you Aziz's girl?.. I'm sorry, sister. I didn't know."
Sister?
Wasn't this the same guy who'd just tried to drag me into his backseat?
"I'm not anyone's—"
I didn't get to finish. He stepped back and disappeared.
Lowering the hand I'd raised to stop him, I stared after him in disbelief.
"…girl."
Wait.
Who the hell was Aziz?
Something was definitely going on that I didn't know about.
Shaking my head, I walked toward Rüzgâr and the others.
When I reached them, Rüzgâr was busy with his phone while the two men beside him examined me.
Unlike the other men around, their looks weren't hungry—they were curious.
Since no one spoke, I smiled and took initiative.
"Hi. I'm Feyza."
The blond, younger-looking guy answered first.
"Hey, Feyza. I'm Three."
I blinked.
"Three?"
He laughed and nodded.
"Three."
As I stared at him with a confused smile, the other guy rolled his eyes.
"She means why Three, idiot."
"Oh. Uh… that's… complicated."
The way Three scratched the back of his neck with a shy smile made me want to hug him like a teddy bear. He was officially the cutest man I'd ever seen.
"You mean embarrassing," the other guy said. "Anyway. I'm Mert."
I turned to him. He was around our age, slim, light-brown haired, wearing glasses—not as cute as Three, but still handsome.
"Nice to meet you."
Before anything else could happen, a girl ran up, shoved past me, and threw herself at Rüzgâr.
I froze.