Make Me Your Villain

Chapter Twenty Nine

Hayat Azhar

"Ammi's calling you."

I glanced up from my notebook with an exasperated face, mind lost in the question I was failing to solve.

Whoever said university was easier than school was a liar.

"Why?" I asked Sania. She grabbed her schoolbag and turned to head out to study in the patio.

"I don't know. But she's been on call with aunty Uzma for like an hour now."

Hearing the name of Zohaib's mother cautioned me and I quickly put my pen down, slipping my socked feet into my moccasins.

"By the way, I heard Mr. unknown has started to pay off the loans we took from the bank. Can you believe that?" She exclaimed. "Who in the world is he? I wish I could meet him once."

I stopped at the admiration in Sania's voice and whipped around with a scowl, seeing her smile in awe.

"That's not something you should be praising, Sania."

It had already been days since someone appeared out of nowhere and started paying back the money we owed. It was strange; he wasn't paying all of it. It seemed like he was assisting us with the task, as if to not make us feel incompetent. I would've been touched if I didn't know the real identity of this person; a criminal.

Sania raised her brows in confusion. "Why not? A stranger is doing us a huge favor. Isn't he doing a good deed?"

"We don't know if the money is legal or not," I argued.

"If the money was illegal, wouldn't that make him a bad person? And if he's bad, why would he help others?" she defended with a light scoff, as if I were dumb. But she shut her mouth when she registered the scowl on my face and looked away.

"You're being weird," she mumbled. "We should think good of others if someone is helping us."

"You're too young to understand." I finalized, as if growing up meant you'd meet a criminal who will make you doubt every act of kindness.

My sister gawked at me like I was crazy and I silently walked out because my words didn't make much sense to even myself.

How was I supposed to explain the situation to anyone?

Mother sat on the charpai outside with the phone in her grip and a pensive expression clouding her features.

I approached her carefully. "Yes, ammi? You called for me."

My voice alerted her and she looked up. Then she put the phone down and patted the space next to her.

"Come over here, beta," she spoke gently and I grew anxious by her behavior.

Why was she being so nice?

Not that my mother wasn't nice but she was being overly nice which meant something was definitely up.

Nodding, I took a seat beside her and waited for her to speak. She turned to me with a feeble smile.

"Zohaib's mother called me. They're coming tomorrow."

"Oh." I blurted, the situation seeming anticlimactic now. It wasn't the first time Zohaib's family was coming over.

But I guessed the reason why she was being strange about it was because I had taken some days off from the haveli to prepare for my exams and she felt guilty having to ask me to help her when I was supposed to study.

"It's alright, ammi." I assured her casually. "I'll tidy the house and take care of the dinner, I don't mind working."

She shook her head. "That's not what I wanted to talk to you about."