When I felt our speed drop and my body lurch forward with the sudden braking, I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter. My heart was pounding so fast it felt like it might burst out of my chest if it kept going like this. My hands were starting to hurt from gripping so hard, yet I still wasn't sure it was safe to let go.
There was a strange hollow sensation in my stomach. Was that the moment we'd floated through the air before crashing?
But I hadn't felt any impact. No crushing force. Maybe I'd died of a heart attack before the car even went over the cliff.
I had no idea what had happened or where we were, and I didn't have the courage to open my eyes and find out. I didn't know how much time passed, but eventually I gathered just enough bravery to whisper into the void with a trembling voice.
"Am I dead?"
"No. You're still alive."
I opened my eyes and stared ahead in disbelief. There were less than a few meters between us and the cliff.
But we'd made it.
We were alive.
Both of us.
Both—?
A sudden surge of fury hit me and I turned to Rüzgâr. I was just about to open my mouth and unleash every curse I knew when he spoke first.
"I warned you."
Two words.
Just two words, and he thought he could get away with terrifying me out of my mind?
In his dreams.
"Warned me?" I snapped. "You call that a warning? The only thing you said was that I had ten seconds to get out of the car. You didn't say a single word about a cliff!"
"You didn't ask. And if you remember, both the bet and getting into this car were your decisions."
I stared at him blankly for several seconds, trying to decide whether he was actually serious. When I realized he was, I had to physically stop myself from jumping on him and choking him.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I finally opened them again and felt capable of speaking, the first thing that came out of my mouth was the truth.
"The way you're acting like nothing happened is unbelievable. If you'd hit the brakes just a few seconds later, we wouldn't be alive right now. I was angry at Kerem for putting Duru's life in danger, but you're even worse than him."
Without waiting for a response, I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car.
The moment my feet hit the ground, I realized two things: I was shaking violently, and I was dizzy.
I couldn't tell whether it was from anger or fear. Either way, I needed to hold myself together a little longer. At least until I got out of this nightmare of a place and made it home.
When I glanced at the two cars, it didn't surprise me at all that Rüzgâr had won. I'd known he would the moment I'd seen that determined look on his face. But there was no energy left in me to celebrate. The weight of the entire day crashed down on me at once. The exhausting arguments, the emotional strain, and the terror of the last few minutes had drained me completely.
I started walking toward the distant crowd with heavy, exhausted steps.
"Blonde!"
Hearing Çağrı's voice behind me shattered every attempt I'd made to calm down. I had no idea what I was relying on to challenge a man three times my size—someone who could flatten me if he lost his temper—but after everything that had happened, there was no way I was leaving without saying what I needed to say.
Honestly, I didn't think I'd regret it no matter how it ended.
Someone had needed to tell this man the truth for a long time.
When the excuse for a human being tried to approach me, I frowned and raised my hand to stop him, speaking in a voice even harsher than the one I'd used on Rüzgâr.
"Stay back, Çağrı! I can't believe you still have the nerve to talk to me after what you just pulled. What is wrong with you? Are you really that pathetic, willing to risk two lives just to win a stupid race? If you'd raced properly, at least you would've lost with some dignity. And even though I despise you for the way you see women, I might've had a shred of respect for you. Do you actually call yourself a human being?"
I took a deep breath and shook my head with a look of disgust.
"Even breathing the same air as you makes me sick. Now do everyone a favor and disappear."
He'd been glaring at me at first, but now he looked… slightly wounded. Then again, expecting someone with his level of intelligence to actually understand and feel shame would've been optimistic. Just as he was about to respond, his eyes flicked to something behind me.
He exhaled, shook his head, and walked away without a word, heading toward the far end of the crowd—most likely where his sister was.
I tried to keep walking, but the dizziness intensified and I staggered, bracing myself to fall. Instead, a pair of arms caught me around the waist.
Knowing exactly who it was, I spoke without looking up.
"Let go. I can walk on my own."
I didn't expect him to listen, but when he actually pulled his hands back, I immediately realized that trying to stand without support was a terrible idea.
Just as I was about to collapse again, I heard a sigh behind me—and suddenly my feet left the ground.
"Rüzgâr! What are you doing? Put me down!"
"Close that pretty mouth of yours and wrap your arms around my neck, or you're finishing this trip on my shoulder."
Oh my God.
Rüzgâr Atahan had called me pretty.
Well… technically my mouth. But my mouth was part of me, so that still counted.
I did as he said and wrapped my arms around his neck. Then I realized I was grinning like an idiot and quickly wiped the expression off my face.
If one of my hands had been free, I would've smacked my forehead for these embarrassing thoughts. With a single sentence, I'd forgotten all my anger at him and turned into a flustered teenager.
The next thought made me groan even harder and bury my face against his chest.
"This is so humiliating. After that speech, I should've been walking away with my head held high—not in your arms."
I felt the vibration beneath my cheek and frowned, lifting my head.
"This isn't funny. I'm serious."
"You're the strangest girl I've ever met."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"As you wish."
"But you're not helping my attempt to think straight at all."
He shrugged and kept walking without answering. I gave up and closed my eyes.
I was exhausted.