Duru Ulusoy
I went into the kitchen and set the mug from the third cup of coffee I'd had throughout the night into the sink. Leaning tiredly against the counter, I rubbed my eyes. Whatever that bastard had given me, its effects were far from normal; despite the hours that had passed, I still felt drained.
Aside from that, I wasn't doing too badly, since the headache I'd had in the morning was gone. Still, considering I'd welcomed the new year sprawled on the floor of a hotel bathroom, my desire for a long shower involving copious amounts of cleaning products was at an all-time high. And after that, I desperately needed some proper sleep.
The problem was that everyone kept discreetly watching me, as if I might collapse at any second, so much so that I'd eventually started feeling self-conscious even about yawning. It was like the moment I opened my mouth and said, "I'm tired," they'd start shouting, "Someone call an ambulance!" and throw themselves on top of me. I was grateful for their concern, but their unnecessary anxiety was starting to get on my nerves.
On top of everything else, we'd spent the last two hours tearing apart everything that had happened, trying to reach some kind of logical conclusion—but the information we had just wasn't enough. After all, we had no clue who the man who'd called Kerem was, nor who had threatened us.
When I returned to the living room, I realized the discussion from before I'd gone to the kitchen was still ongoing, so I quietly sat down. As Mete was sharing his thoughts, Aylin cut in.
"There's something we're missing. From what you've told us, it means they've been following both of you for a long time. What if, just to be safe, they start following us too—and get suspicious when Demir goes to the station?"
"They won't have a reason to be suspicious," Demir replied. "We'll be there during my dad's shift. They'll just think I went to visit him."
"I don't know about you, but at the very least, I think we should go to the police about what happened to Duru," Bora said.
The first negative reaction came from Aylin.
"Right. Because they care so much about violence against women in this country."
"I agree—it'd be pointless," Demir added. "Not only did Duru not see the man's face and can't describe him, but unless Kerem tells the police the real reason behind the attack and everything else he knows, there's not much they can do or investigate. And even if Kerem did talk, since the man who called him didn't reveal his identity, the police's first assumption would be that someone's trying to extort money from Kerem. No matter how you look at it, going to the police would just complicate things."
"Demir's right," Kerem said. "According to official records, the fire was ruled an accident and the case was closed. Reopening it without evidence would be a waste of time for them. What worries me isn't that we lack proof—it's what these men are capable of. If it really wasn't an accident—and what they did to stop me from meeting the man who called me is more than enough to believe it wasn't—then it means they're very good at covering up their crimes."
When Kerem paused, Mete spoke up.
"So you think whoever's behind this is powerful enough not to fear the police—or has people on the inside?"
Kerem simply nodded. The room fell silent. We were all probably thinking the same thing: once we stepped onto this path, there'd be no turning back.
The danger we were taking on was far too serious to underestimate. As Aylin had pointed out, anyone helping Kerem or drawing their attention would be closely watched.
In short, it wasn't just Kerem's and Rüzgâr's lives on the line—it was all of ours. And until we had solid evidence that would make the police believe us, we were completely on our own.
I lifted my head and looked at my friends one by one, unable to stop myself from worrying about them. If someone had asked me just a few days ago what the future held for each of us, my answer would've been clear.
Bora and Nil—the most in-love couple I knew—would get married in a few years and build an enviable family with children just as adorable as they were. Demir would land a great job, keep flirting as always, and continue sharing his ridiculous adventures with us. Aylin would graduate, open her own office, become one of İzmir's most successful engineers, and find the love of her life. And Mete—no matter what he did—would keep affecting everyone around him with his endless positivity and energy.
When my eyes finally landed on Kerem, a sad smile curved my lips. He'd probably take over his father's company, take it even further, marry a woman as successful and beautiful as he was, and finally have the happy family he deserved.
Now, all of that was about to change—and there was no way to know whether that change would be for better or worse.
On the other hand, aside from my thoroughly disappointing unrequited crush, I was about to experience the biggest, most unforgettable adventure of my life. And I couldn't deny that, deep down, the thought thrilled me. Especially since I was eager to make the bastard who'd attacked me—and the people who'd ripped Kerem and Rüzgâr away from their families—pay for what they'd done.
As my sad smile turned into a sly grin, I noticed Kerem askingly raising his brows at me. Great. He probably thought I'd completely lost it.
"That's enough for today," he said. "We've all had a tense day, and we need rest. We'll talk again when Demir gets the accident report." Then he turned to Aylin. "Will you come with me? There's something I want to discuss with you privately."
As Aylin nodded and followed Kerem out, I wondered what that private topic could be—but the only logical guess was that it had something to do with getting the report.
As everyone slowly got up, Bora lifted the sleeping Nil into his arms and headed for the door. Then something seemed to occur to him and he stopped, turning to Demir.
"Can you hand me my car keys from my pocket? If I do it myself, I'll wake her."
Before Demir could move, Mete jumped in.
"I can help."
Bora shook his head frantically.
"No, no. Don't you. Teddy! The keys!"
Demir shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged with a treacherous grin, clearly implying he wouldn't interfere. The look Bora shot him—like a woman betrayed by her husband of forty years—was priceless.
"Bora?" Mete stepped closer with an innocent expression.
"Y-yes?" Bora's shaky voice was impossible not to laugh at. Poor guy couldn't escape with Nil in his arms.
"Which pocket are the keys in?"
"The keys? What keys?"
"The car keys," Mete said, lowering his voice flirtatiously.
Realizing there was no escape, Bora sighed.
"Left pocket."
As Mete slowly reached into Bora's pocket, we all heard Bora's forced swallow.
"If you don't pull your hand back right now, I'll rip off all your limbs and feed them to the dogs."
At Nil's low, threatening voice—clearly awake now—Mete immediately withdrew his hand and flashed her a sweet smile.
"Love, put me down," Nil said.
Bora happily set her down, and without taking her eyes off Mete, Nil grabbed the keys from Bora's pocket and placed them into his hand with a smug grin.
"Let's go, babe."
Bora looked at her with eyes full of love and took her hand.
"Whatever you say, my hero."
We all laughed as we headed for the door. Then I remembered I'd left Aylin's bag and my other things in the room where I'd changed earlier. I told Mete to wait for me in the car and went back inside.
I folded the dress I'd taken off and put it into the bag. As I was about to toss my killer heels on top, my phone rang inside my bag.
I dropped the shoes and pulled it out.
"Oh—my mom!"
After everything that had happened, calling my family hadn't even crossed my mind. Who knew how many times they'd tried to reach me since yesterday? I took a deep breath and answered calmly. I hated lying to them, but in this situation, telling the truth was out of the question.
"Mom… Well… No, no… What? Of course not… I don't have a boyfriend, woman! Who? Don't be ridiculous, they're just my fr— Mom! Let me talk!"
By the time I managed to hang up ten minutes later—after coming up with perfectly reasonable excuses for not answering my phone for two days—I'd finally resolved the issue.
When I gathered the rest of my things and stepped outside, the only person in sight was Kerem, leaning against his car.
"Where are Mete and Aylin?"
"They left."
"But I told them to wait for me."
"And I told them to go," he said, straightening up and opening the door for me. "Get in."
"Why?"
"Because we need to talk."