The vibration of my phone ripped me out of my nap, dragging me back to consciousness. My body ached from the long, exhausting day at school, and for a few seconds, I just lay there, trying to remember where I was.
Then the vibration came again.
Groaning, I stretched my arm toward my bedside table and grabbed my phone. I squinted at the screen. "Who the hell is disturbing me now?" I said
It was Sibel.
Ten missed calls.
My irritation faded slightly. If Sibel was calling this much, it had to be urgent. And knowing her, it was probably about a guy.
I exhaled sharply, unlocked my phone, and saw the texts.
SIBEL: Dunni please call me, it's urgent.
SIBEL: I swear I feel like dying right now.
SIBEL: DUNNIIIIIIII CALL ME NOWWW
I sighed. I already knew where this was going. She must have pissed off her boyfriend again. Sibel had a way of turning small things into full-blown disasters—she hated the idea of a peaceful relationship. "If there's no drama, there's no passion," she once told me. But lately, her boyfriend seemed to be getting tired of it.
I called her back, and the moment she picked up, she let out a shaky breath.
"Dunnnniiiii!!" she wailed.
I closed my eyes briefly, bracing myself. "What happened?"
"He's not taking my calls. He's not responding to my texts."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "What did you do this time?"
"I didn't do anything! I was just joking with him, and now I think he blocked me." Her voice cracked.
I sighed. "Sibel…"
She sniffled. "I swear, it wasn't even serious. I was just teasing him, you know? Just playing around. And now he won't talk to me."
I wasn't surprised. This wasn't the first time she had tested his patience. But something told me this time was different.
"What's your plan now?" I asked.
"I want to go to his house tomorrow and apologize."
I arched a brow. "And?"
"He told me not to come. He said he doesn't want to see me. His security won't even let me in without his permission."
Ouch. That was brutal.
"Have you tried calling from another number?" I suggested.
"I did," she admitted, her voice even more miserable. "I used my sister's phone. The moment he heard my voice, he hung up."
That meant he was serious.
I didn't know what else to tell her. I had given her all the advice I could in the past, but she never listened.
"I don't know what else to do," I finally said. "What do you want to do now?"
Silence.
Then, after a long pause, she spoke. "Dunni… can you do something for me?"
I frowned. "What?"
"You're the most reasonable person I know," she continued, her voice desperate. "And you always have a way with people. Can you call him and apologize for me? Pleaseeeeeee."
I groaned internally. Texting people's boyfriends was never my thing. I'd heard too many stories of friendships breaking apart because of situations like this. The last thing I wanted was to get involved.
But there was a part of me,one I wasn't ready to admit existed,that was intrigued. Eren Mascott!
I had never spoken to him before, but I had seen him. Everyone had seen him. He was a public figure, a billionaire CEO, a man whose name carried weight. He had the kind of power that made people nervous, the kind of wealth that made women chase him like their lives depended on it.And Sibel had him...For now.
I hesitated. "I can't call him," I finally said. "No rich man picks up unknown numbers. But I can text. Maybe if he sees I'm your friend, he'll reply."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sibel squealed. "I'll send you his number now."
As soon as she ended the call, I dropped my phone and headed to the bathroom, my mind spinning.
I looked at myself in the mirror and smirked. Why wouldn't he reply?
I was gorgeous. Beautiful. And like Sibel said, I had a way with people.
Then, just as quickly as the thought came, another one followed.
He has a thing with Sibel.
I shook my head, pushing the idea away. This wasn't about me.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder—what kind of man was Eren Mascott really?
Who Was Eren Mascott?
Everyone knew the public version of him. The billionaire with a sharp mind, a ruthless business sense, and a face straight out of a magazine cover. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and effortlessly charming. A man with an air of untouchable power.But beneath that? There were rumors.
Some said he was cold. Calculated. A man who never let emotions get in the way of business—or relationships. Others said he was generous, a true philanthropist, a man who used his wealth to help people.
Then there were the stories about his relationships.Eren Mascott didn't do love. He didn't do attachment. Women were accessories to him,temporary, disposable. He never dated publicly, but there were always whispers about the women he entertained behind closed doors.And yet, somehow, Sibel had made it past those walls…..For now.
I sighed and walked back to my bed, just as my phone vibrated again.
SIBEL: I sent his number.
I clicked on it, and it led me to his DMs. Taking a deep breath, I typed out a message.
"Hi, I'm Dunni. I'm Sibel's friend. Are you free to talk now?"
I hesitated for a second before hitting send.
Then I went to check my other messages,texts from my sister, messages from a college friend. My sister needed some information about a website I was working on, so I started typing a response.
Ping.
I froze.
Then came the vibration.
A notification slid down the screen.
"Hi, Dunni. How are you?"
From an unsaved number.
My breath caught in my throat.
I screamed in excitement, jumping up and down on my bed. He replied!
Eren Mascott replied to me.
I threw my phone onto the bed, flopped onto my back, and stared up at the ceiling, a giddy smile spreading across my face.
My heart raced, my mind already spinning with mischievous thoughts.
This… was going to be interesting.
The Man Behind the Reputation
I stared at my phone, hesitating.
What kind of man texts back so quickly?
Eren Mascott was the type of guy who made people wait. He had assistants, managers, entire teams of people who filtered his messages. And yet, here he was, responding to me immediately.
Did that mean something?
I shook my head. Don't overthink it, Dunni.
I picked up my phone again and typed back.
"I'm good. Thanks for replying. I wanted to talk about Sibel…"
I hovered over the send button, then pressed it.
A few seconds later, the typing bubble appeared.
My stomach flipped.
What was he going to say? Would he ignore me now that he knew I was reaching out for Sibel?
Then his reply came.
"I figured. What about her?"
Short. Direct. Unreadable.
I bit my lip, thinking of my next move.
Eren Mascott wasn't like the guys I usually spoke to. He wasn't the type to be swayed by charm alone. I had to be careful with my words.
I took a deep breath and started typing.
"She's really sorry about what happened. She wants to talk, but she's afraid you won't give her a chance."
The typing bubble appeared again.
I held my breath.
"Maybe she should be."
I blinked.
He wasn't playing games.
A small thrill ran through me.
Eren Mascott was going to be more of a challenge than I thought.
And for some reason, that excited me.