From where I was sitting, I had to lean my head all the way back just to see his face. His height, the well-defined muscles emphasized by his clothes, and the handsome face that completed it all came together to form an undeniably striking man. And in that moment, I could hardly believe that Efe was really standing right in front of me.
"Hi, Efe."
"What's up, Efe? It's been a long time."
"Rüzgar, Kerem—how are you? I'm really glad to see you. It's been a while. You both look great."
When Kerem and Rüzgar stood up and greeted Efe warmly, I pointed at them in disbelief.
"You know each other?"
Rüzgar gave a brief nod, while Kerem answered with a smile.
"Efe is an old friend we met through our families—Rüzgar's and mine."
"Welcome, Efe."
Amid the surprised looks Aylin, Mete, and I exchanged, Feyza got up and walked over to Efe as well. When she hugged him and kissed his cheek with the joy of seeing a dear friend, my surprise turned into genuine confusion.
"When you didn't reply to my message, I thought you weren't coming."
Efe rubbed the back of his neck shyly and replied to Feyza with a small smile.
"Ah… yeah… um… I'm sorry I didn't reply. It wasn't intentional. It looks like I won't be able to communicate by phone for a while."
Hiding the sadness that flashed in her eyes, Feyza nodded with an understanding smile. There was definitely something going on here that we didn't know. The meaningful look Aylin and I exchanged made it clear she thought the same. Mete, meanwhile, watched them with lingering tension.
"When I couldn't reach you, I didn't tell the others anything," Feyza continued. "If you give me a second, I'll give them a brief explanation and then explain why I invited you."
After Efe nodded, Feyza linked her arm with his and turned to us.
"I ran into Efe by chance the other day and thought I owed him an explanation, so I invited him out for coffee. He was kind enough to accept. When I told him everything from beginning to end, he was very mature about it and said he understood our reasons and didn't blame us. But when I heard what happened to him because of us, I thought you might want to say something too."
She paused and looked at Efe as if asking permission to continue. Efe let out a short sigh and nodded slowly. Whatever we were about to hear clearly made him uncomfortable—especially the way he avoided looking at any of us, shoving his hands into his pockets and fixing his gaze on the table.
"To summarize without getting into details," Feyza said, "Efe's family made him pay for the scandal. They kicked him out of the house and cut off all financial support."
The moment she said it, I sucked in a sharp breath and clapped a hand over my mouth. For a few seconds, I waited, hopeful, for them to say Just kidding. My eyes darted between Efe and Feyza, but the looks on their faces crushed that hope instantly.
Oh God. I'd never even imagined that what we did would have consequences this severe for Efe. Crushed by guilt, I slowly stood up and stopped in front of him.
When he lifted his head and met my eyes—reluctantly—I saw the forced smile he was trying to maintain. The next second, without thinking, I wrapped my arms around his neck. He tensed in surprise but didn't lose his balance, gently placing his hands on my back.
"I'm so sorry, Efe! If I'd known this would hurt you like this, I never would have done it. God… I'm such an idiot. Trying to save Feyza, I ended up turning your life upside down. No matter how much I apologize, it won't be enough—but I don't know what else to say."
"If you keep squeezing him like that, I don't think he'll live long enough to accept your apology, Sunshine."
At Kerem's warning, I quickly dropped my arms and stepped back, sniffing and smiling awkwardly.
"Sorry."
Efe laughed and shook his head.
"It's okay. And honestly, it's impossible to refuse an apology that sincere. Eva's—"
Feyza groaned at the use of the name she hated, and Efe quickly corrected himself.
"I mean, Feyza's told me you must be Duru. Nice to meet you, Duru."
I glanced at Feyza suspiciously, then turned back to Efe with a sweet smile.
"Nice to meet you too, Efe. I don't know what this blonde told you about me, but I hope she said nice things—for her own sake."
Feyza rolled her eyes dramatically, while Efe laughed.
"Don't worry, she didn't say anything bad. Mostly that you're sweet, fun, and very talkative."
I raised a brow and shot my friend a knowing look.
"So… childish, silly, and unable to keep my mouth shut."
The giggles coming from the others—and Feyza's innocent little hand wave—confirmed I'd hit the mark. Efe was pressing his lips together, clearly trying not to laugh. Aylin stepped forward and offered him her hand.
"I'm Aylin. Even though I didn't know about my friends' plan, I'm sorry for the trouble we caused you."
Efe shook her hand with a polite smile.
"It's okay, Aylin. What's done is done."
Seeing Kerem and Rüzgar talking quietly among themselves a short distance behind Efe, I smiled and sighed. The tension between them seemed to be easing, little by little.
Turning back to the issue at hand, a sudden idea popped into my head and I grabbed Efe's arm excitedly.
"I've got it! What if we go to your family and apologize to them too, and explain everything? If anyone deserves to be punished, it's us—not you. If they hear directly from us that everything was our plan and that none of this was your fault, they have to forgive you. Right?"
Efe's smile slowly faded as he let out a hopeless sigh.
"I wish I could say that would work, Duru, but there's no chance. After hearing your story, their first thought would be that I was part of the plan and helped you. That would just make things worse."
As Efe spoke, Mete walked up to us. He lifted one arm from where it was folded over his chest and rubbed his chin, studying Efe with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
"Unlike my friends, you won't fool me that easily, tough guy. There's something missing in your story. How do we know you didn't make all this up just to get revenge on us for what happened to you?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Butterfly. What kind of revenge would that be?"
Mete shot Feyza a look that questioned her intelligence and replied in a flat tone.
"The best way to take revenge on someone is to exploit their guilt—first gain their sympathy, then their affection, and finally their trust… and betray that trust at the most unexpected moment, Bluey."
The three of us stared at Mete, struggling to process this version of him—so cold, so harsh. He continued to scrutinize Efe with the same accusing gaze.
Mete's attitude clearly made Efe tense.
"Unlike your friends, smart boy, I don't care what you think."
With every word Efe emphasized in response to Mete's first comment, his expression grew tighter. The murderous look he'd worn at the party was back in his eyes.
Judging by Mete's unchanged demeanor, my recklessly suicidal friend didn't care in the slightest—neither about Efe's threatening stance nor his words. Maintaining his posture, Mete circled him slowly, scanning him from head to toe as he spoke.
"You're the well-educated, handsome son of one of Izmir's wealthy families. Since you came to that party knowing what your goals were, you're clearly the obedient type who doesn't go against his parents. In short, you're the kind of golden child families like yours can easily use in business. So it makes no sense for your family to react this harshly or refuse to believe you had nothing to do with us. Unless, of course, you're—"
He stopped right in front of Efe, eyes widening suddenly.
"Shit. You can't be serious. Are you?"