A man's panicked shout jolted me upright from where I'd been slouched in the chair, and I looked around frantically. When I saw the middle-aged man in a suit rushing toward us, I finally let out a breath of relief.
"Ali!"
Ali stirred slightly, but he must have been completely exhausted from all the chaos, because he didn't wake up. I quickly gestured for the man to be quiet and pointed at the sleeping child. He came over and carefully lifted the boy into his arms.
"Oh, thank God he's okay! My girlfriend said Ali suddenly disappeared, and I was terrified something had happened to him."I smiled at the man as he hugged his son tightly.
"Don't worry. Ali's fine. He was actually very brave for a lost child. He didn't cry even once."
"Thank you so mu—"He turned his face toward me, and his sentence trailed off.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
He shook his head as if waking from a daze."Sorry," he said, forcing a smile. "You look so much like his mother that I blanked out for a moment."
I laughed lightly and nodded to show I understood, then gestured toward Ali."I figured as much when Ali called me 'mommy.'"
"Did he really?" He glanced at his child and nodded sadly. "He's never actually seen his mother. We lost my wife after birth."
Feeling a pang of guilt for all the awful things I'd thought—and the cruel words I'd mentally thrown at that woman—I murmured softly,"I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm really sorry."
"Thank you. There are a few photos of her in Ali's room. That's probably why he mistook you for his mother."
"Baby! Did you find Ali? Did something happen? Is he okay?"
I looked at the woman who hurried over in skyscraper heels and clung to the man's arm. The age difference between them was obvious. Despite his graying hair, he carried himself with a dignified calm, his strong build and simple elegance giving him a composed presence. The woman, on the other hand, stood out awkwardly beside him with her tight dress and heavy makeup.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. Thanks to this lady, he's perfectly fine."
The woman turned to me as if she'd only just noticed my presence. After giving me a quick, insincere once-over, she spoke dismissively, barely moving her lips."Thank you. You must've gone through quite a bit of trouble."
I forced myself not to roll my eyes at her fake demeanor and replied with a strained smile."You're welcome."
"Duru."
Kerem walked up beside me with a hard expression. After giving the man and woman a brief glance, I turned to him, ignoring the way the woman was openly eyeing him like she was drooling.
"Since Ali's family finally made it, we should probably get going."
Embarrassed by his blunt tone, I nudged his arm and whispered sharply,"Kerem!"
"The young man's right," the father said. "Your evening must've been ruined because of us. I'm truly sorry to both of you. If there's anything I can do to make up for this, please let me know."
"There's really no need," I said quickly. "Ali is a very sweet, well-behaved child. We didn't mind looking after him at all. Right, Kerem?"
"Duru's right. You don't owe us anything. Just keep a closer eye on your son. You might not be lucky enough next time to find him safe and sound after an hour and a half."
"An hour and a half?"The man turned toward the woman with a tense, suspicious look. "Burcu, didn't you say he'd only been missing for twenty minutes at most?"
As her smug expression cracked under his gaze, she placed a hand on her chest and put on a show of wounded emotion."I must've lost track of time from the shock, honey. I was so scared that something had happened to Ali. I guess I didn't realize how much time had passed while I was looking for him."
I wanted to scold Kerem for being so harsh, but after her explanation, I felt my own anger rising. It was obvious she hadn't even bothered to search for Ali until his father showed up. For all we knew, she might not have even noticed he was gone for a long time.
"If you didn't hear any of the announcements despite them being repeated, you must've been searching for Ali with headphones on," he said coldly.
Despite all the makeup on her face, her complexion slowly drained of color. The uncomfortable look she shot at Kerem made it clear that her earlier interest had turned into pure resentment.
"Burcu, could you wait in the car?" the man said. "I need to have a word with them."
Unlike before, she seemed to realize she couldn't dodge this anymore, and that pushing back in front of us would only make things worse for her. She nodded silently and headed for the exit.
Just then, Kerem's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, then turned to us without answering it.
"I don't know how serious your feelings are for your partner, but for your son's sake, I'd strongly suggest reevaluating this relationship. Have a good evening."
Without waiting for a response, he answered the still-ringing phone and stepped far enough away that we couldn't hear him.
I sighed and spoke up with an apologetic expression."I'm sorry about my friend's harsh attitude. He's not usually this rude, I swear."
The man shook his head with a bitter smile."There's no need to apologize. He's not entirely wrong. Today was our nanny's day off, and I had to rush to the office for work, so I had no choice but to leave Ali with my girlfriend. Since Ali is such a calm child, I didn't think there would be a problem. Clearly, that was a huge mistake."
"Don't be too hard on yourself," I said gently. "Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that Ali made it back to you safe and sound."
"And I owe that entirely to the two of you. I really can't thank you enough."
"Don't worry about it," I replied. "We both really enjoyed Ali's company. And honestly, we didn't do anything worth making such a big deal over. We just stayed with him until you arrived."
After lifting Ali onto one shoulder and making sure he was secure with a hand on his back, the man reached into his back pocket with his other hand and pulled out a card, holding it out to me.
"Duru, right?" When I nodded, he continued. "This is my business card. It doesn't matter when or for what. If either of you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call."
I glanced at the card briefly and slipped it into my pocket."Thank you, Mr. Erdem."
When I cast a quick look toward where Kerem was standing, the man smiled and extended his hand again."We shouldn't keep your friend waiting any longer. It was nice meeting you, Duru. Thank you again."
"You're welcome. It was nice meeting you too, Mr. Erdem. Have a good night."
He nodded, gave Kerem a silent greeting as he passed, and left the building. I let out a tired sigh and walked over to Kerem.
When we finally got into the car, relieved to be out of that mall, I fastened my seatbelt and turned to him.
"I'm starving. Would it be okay if we stopped somewhere to eat before going home?"
When he only nodded without changing his serious expression, I frowned."Are you okay, Hotshot?"
"I'm fine. What do you want to eat?"
"I don't care. As long as it's something hot. By the way, weren't you a bit too harsh on those people back there?"When he shot me a sharp look and turned back to the road, I quickly added,"I mean, you told the truth, of course. I've just never seen you snap at anyone like that before. I was surprised, that's all."
"The kid is barely three, Duru. Three years old, at most," he said tensely. "And no one came looking for him for an hour and a half. What do you think would've happened if, instead of us, some creep or lunatic had found him? Huh? A full hour and a half. That's more than enough time for someone like that to do whatever they want. Leaving your child with just anyone could've turned into a regret you'd never recover from. And it was obvious that woman didn't care about Ali at all. Someone had to warn that man before something terrible happened to his child."
When he noticed me staring at him with my mouth slightly open, his anger softened. His scolding tone eased into something calmer.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You don't realize it, Hotshot," I said, smiling, "but a golden halo just appeared over your head."