After Çağrı left, the crowd around us slowly began to disperse. Rüzgâr turned to his two friends and murmured something quietly.
Three nodded in agreement with a brief tilt of his head, sent me a shy smile, and then walked away. Mert followed after him, throwing a knowing grin at both Rüzgâr and me.
"I knew bringing you here was a bad idea."
"So what, you would've preferred to let that brainless idiot call you a coward and treat me like a one-night stand doll?"
"Unlike you, I don't care what people like Çağrı think about me. And do you seriously believe you did something better than him by dragging that girl into the bet?"
I rolled my eyes and smiled faintly.
"Oh, come on, Rüzgâr. Çağrı might be a savage who values women less than trash, but Three is the purest, sweetest guy I've ever seen. And he's hopelessly in love with Gamze. You and I both know he wouldn't even be able to stutter a sentence in front of her, let alone touch her against her will."
He took an angry step toward me and pointed his finger at my face.
"Have you thought about what happens if Çağrı wins, Feyza?"
I grinned shamelessly and nodded.
"No. Because you're going to win."
"You don't have the slightest idea what you've gotten yourself into."
Apparently deciding that arguing further was pointless, he shook his head and started walking toward where the others were gathered.
I quickly caught up to him and walked beside him in silence, keeping the smile on my face while trying not to let the panic I felt show.
Even though I told Rüzgâr otherwise, the possibility of him losing worried me just as much as it did him. And none of the scenarios playing out in my head based on that outcome ended well.
Maybe my friends were right to complain about the impulsive decisions I made when I got angry.
I sighed and muttered quietly toward the sky.
"I know I'm pushing my luck tonight, but how about one last favor? You don't want that idiot to win either, do you?"
A low chuckle came from beside me. My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I turned to him, uncomfortable.
"Hey! That wasn't nice. That was a private conversation between two."
Despite the look that clearly said I was talking nonsense, I looked away and stared at the ground.
"You could've at least pretended you didn't hear it."
When we reached the car, Three and Mert were already waiting. Three handed Rüzgâr his car keys and whispered something in his ear, then stepped in front of the crowd behind us with Mert.
Meanwhile, by the car on our right, the two siblings were arguing heatedly. The moment Çağrı noticed we were there, he stopped talking, shot Rüzgâr a dangerous look, and directed Gamze toward the crowd.
From her face, it was obvious how tense and worried she was. But it was impossible to tell whether she was worried for herself or for her brother. Still, she didn't forget to smile at Rüzgâr as she walked away.
Apparently, that was exactly what "one person's in survival mode, the other's just thinking about what they can get" looked like.
When Rüzgâr ignored Çağrı's threatening stare and got into the driver's seat, I sent Çağrı an arrogant smile of my own and sat in the passenger seat.
Seeing Rüzgâr watching me with furrowed brows, I deliberately fastened my seatbelt slowly and adjusted my hair and clothes. When his expression didn't change, I finally turned to him.
"What?"
"What do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?"
"A big mistake."
"Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"I'm serious, Feyza. You have ten seconds to get out."
"Threaten me all you want. I'm not getting out, Rüzgâr."
For a moment, I thought he might get out, grab me by the arm, and drag me out by force. When he simply turned forward and waited, I was honestly surprised at how quickly he gave up.
But I wasn't stupid enough to point that out.
A model-like girl with long curly blonde hair, a friendly smile, and a striking figure stepped in front of the two cars and stood between them. As I always did when I got excited, I started bouncing my legs up and down.
If I was this excited sitting in the passenger seat, I probably would've passed out before the race even started if I were the one driving.
When I looked at Rüzgâr, he was calm and confident, locking eyes with Çağrı. When my gaze flicked to Çağrı and our eyes met briefly, the look in his eyes made my stomach twist.
The fierce, burning ambition in his gaze added a serious dose of panic to my excitement.
"Are you ready?"