'You should wear pink more often' Haya complimented me when she saw me in the dress that she picked out for me last night.
'And you should be eating your breakfast quickly so you're not late for school' I packed her lunch box and put it in her school bag.
'When is he coming to pick you up?' She asked me about Mr.Hamza.
'Don't know' I told her and sat next to her.
'You are wearing your ring' She gave me a disappointing look.
'I felt like wearing it' I looked at it, it was a bit lose.
'You decided to wear your engagement ring today out of all days?' She pulled her eyebrows together and put her plate to the side.
'I can wear it whenever I want. Come on, your friends must be waiting for you, get going' I hurried her, so she doesn't ask me any more questions. Truth was, I was wearing my engagement ring for Mr.Hamza, so when he sees me with my engagement ring, his conception about my relationship with Zaid comes to an end. I didn't want him to think about me, or my relationship, or my wedding. After Haya left, I cleaned the kitchen and watered the planets in the yard. After I finished all the house chores, I grabbed a book from the bookshelf in the living room and took a seat outside in the porch with a cup of tea. I got sucked into a book so much that I didn't even hear Mr.Hamza's car coming.
'Ayat' I heard his voice first, when I looked up from the book, I found him standing next to his car looking intently in my direction.
'Mr. Hamza' I got up and waited for him as he came closer.
'Were you waiting for me?' He slightly smiled at me.
'No, I was reading a book' I said right away.
'It's freezing outside' He said the subject.
'I like reading outside' I replied.
'In the cold?' He pulled his eyebrow and examined my face, as though he was mocking me.
'Yes...I'll go get my bag' I told him and went inside to grab my bag and something that I thought Mr.Hamza and his mother would like. Mr.Hamza was already in his car waiting for me when I came back outside.
'Haya is okay?' Mr.Hamza asked a while after he started driving.
'Yes, she is doing much better now...I am sorry I bothered you, I could have just come on my own instead of you coming over to pick me up' I looked over at him.
He remained quiet.
'I spoke to Karim...he told me you're planning to drop out of the program' His jaw tightened when he said that.
'Actually I...' I started to speak but he stopped me.
'I was wrong about you...I thought you were a strong girl when I first met you and now when I look at you, I see nothing but a weak helpless girl' He said bitterly. I was so stunned by his words that I had no idea what to say.
'What are you saying?' I asked him. I had no idea why he was saying such things to me?
'Just because your parents are no longer with you, doesn't mean you have to stop living your life' He said in a rasping tone.
'I don't know what you're talking about...look, if you don't want to see me or talk to me, please stop the car...I will leave' I clenched my bag and looked out of the window. I didn't want to cry in front of him, if someone else would have said those words to me, it wouldn't have made much difference but somehow his words caused a sharped pain in my chest.
'I am not leaving the program' I said slowly but he didn't say anything. I turned around and saw him looking ahead completely lost in his thoughts.
'I said I am not leaving the program' I said a bit loudly this time and this time I knew he heard me because as soon as I said that, his eyes quickly moved from the road toward me and stayed on me for a good few seconds. But again, he didn't say anything. He returned his gaze to the road and continued to drive in silence. I turned my head to the side to prevent myself from looking at him.
'Then why did you tell Karim that you're thinking about leaving the program?' I heard him say at last. This time, I decided to not answer his question.
'Were you worried when you found about my decision to leave the program?' I asked instead without thinking.
'I asked you a question first' He glanced at me, his eyes didn't give anything away. No secret to what he was thinking or feeling.
'Let's not answer each other's questions then' I looked down at my hands and twirled the loose ring in my finger. I sensed him acknowledging my engagement ring because after that he didn't utter a single word during the rest of the ride to his house.
'Oh, you look lovely...welcome' Mr.Hamza's mother welcomed me with open arms when she opened the door to greet me inside the apartment. The place was minimalistic yet completely stylish, everything had its place, nothing felt out of place.
'You must see the view from the balcony, it's lovely' Mr.Hamza's mother grabbed my hand and walked me to the living room and Mr.Hamza followed.
'It's beautiful' I said to his mother once we all sat down.
'You're not too hungry, are you? Food is almost ready' She said to me.
'Not at all.' I shook my head.
'Hamza didn't tell me much about you...but Karim's mother...oh she absolutely adores you. She spoke so highly of you that when I saw you that day, I just knew I had to meet you properly to get to know you' She said to me.
'That's because I don't know her that well, she is a very complex' Mr.Hamza interrupted before I got a chance to even say something.
'Hamza' His mother looked at him with disbelief, almost with discontent but he remained stiff. He didn't take back his words or said anything to make the situation any better.
'I got something for you' I reached for the bag and took out a small house plant.
'Oh, you didn't have to' She smiled at me and looked at Hamza. I looked at the side and saw him staring at me.
'I apologize I didn't get a chance to get a proper gift, I hope you like this plant...it's from our garden' I said to her.
'Oh, it's absolutely beautiful. That was so thoughtful of you...Hamza loves plants like this...do you mind putting this outside in the balcony with the rest of plants, it will look so nice all together...I'll go check on the food in the meanwhile' She passed the plant back to me and went inside the kitchen, leaving me alone with Mr.Hamza. His eyes stayed on me, he watched my every move and listened to every word that I said, but didn't respond to any of that. He was behaving so strangely that it was starting to worry me.
'Excuse me' I excused myself and went to the balcony. His mother was right, the view from this balcony was beautiful, to say the least. The mountains, the trees and the sound of the birds chirping were all so relaxing.
The door behind me opened suddenly and the sound startled me. Before my foot could hit one of the pots, Mr.Hamza grabbed my elbow and pulled me towards me.
'Be careful, there are thorns on some of the plants' He kept his hand on me.
'I am fine' I told him and he looked me in the eyes and I wished he didn't because I completely forgot everything I was planning to say to him after he laid his eyes on me.
'You still haven't answered my question' He leaned forward and whispered closer to my ear, I shivered not because of it was freezing outside, but because of his closeness.
'Please Mr.Hamza...' I couldn't speak, I closed my eyes as he came closer.
'You can call me Hamza' I heard him saw and when I opened my eyes, I found his smirking at me. I took a step away from him and instead of giving me space to leave, he closed the door behind him and took a step forward, I had nowhere to go in this small balcony.
'I need to go' I tried to move to the side to get the door, but he moved along with me and stood in front of me.
'Mr. Hamza...please move' I looked at the ground because looking at him right now was too much of a risk. There was something different in his behavior, his demeanor was strange as if he was waiting for some type of confrontation. But I wasn't ready.
'Say my name and I'll move' He crossed his hands over his chest and demanded.
'Are you mad?' I said instead but he continued to stare at me, waiting for me to follow his order.
'Mr. Hamza...your mother might be wondering what we are doing out here, please move' I bit my lips as my lips felt dried, I felt like I was in a spotlight. I wish he could go back to ignoring me, this kind of behaviour was worse.
'What do you want?' I finally asked.
'You know what I want' In a glance, he walked ahead and placed both of his hands on each side of the railing where I was standing, trapping me altogether.
'Mr. Hamza' My heartbeat got faster as the seconds passed.
'What?' He pretended as if he couldn't hear me.
'Mr. Hamza' My voice got quieter each time I said his name.
'You are right, she is probably wondering what we are doing out here' He teased me, and I felt my cheeks getting warmer.
'Hamza' I carefully said his name while our eyes locked with each other. From the smile on his face, it seemed like as if he had won something. What? I didn't know but it left me speechless.
'That wasn't so hard now was it?' His eyes remained on me for few more seconds, then slowly he moved his hands from each side and he opened the door for me to leave. He stayed outside while I rushed back inside, feeling a strange sense of sensation in my heart.
'Lunch is ready' Just them his mother came out of the kitchen and made the announcement. I went to the kitchen and started to help to set up the dining table. Minutes later, Mr.Hamza joined us and started helping out as well.
'Ayat, please have a sit and start eating, you are a guest you shouldn't be working...I am almost done' His mother yelled from the kitchen when I was putting cutlery on the table.
'She is not a guest ma' Mr.Hamza smiled when he placed the glasses on the table and walked back to the kitchen to get the rest of stuff. This time, I listened to his mother and sat in the dining area. After a few moments, Mr.Hamza and his mother joined me and we started eating. Despite the light conversations and Mr.Hamza acting normally again, the heat from the conversation we had earlier hung thick in the cold autumn air and I knew something had changed between Mr.Hamza and I. We were no longer 'nothing' to each other.
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When Hamza is being cheeky. ^-^ (Do we like?)
Hi fam, I hope all of you fabulous people are doing well. It's been raining all day today, kind of a gloomy day, but the trees turning colors is just so beautiful so it's not all bad. What's the weather like in your country?
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to vote and leave your comments.
See you all next week! :D