Unsealed Fate

Chapter 21: Resentment and Prejudice

RESENTMENT AND PREJUDICE

Awkwardness filled the air with the both of them still staring agape at me from down there as I reached for my phone in my pocket. I Practically flared up when I saw that it was my mother who was calling. She had to blow my cover. Why should she even call by that time?

Contemplating on what to do I just reluctantly picked up the phone, then brought it to my ear and listened to what my mother had to say. As I did that I cast a nervous glance at Imran and noticed that he had vanished from there while my eyes followed Salma who was heading for the front door, someone had been ringing the doorbell and she was going to get the door. I had to sneak out of there before things turned inexplicably awkward since Imran wasn't there anymore. The fact that he caught me eavesdropping on their conversation was too much of an embarrassment for me.

"Hello," I said into the phone, rising to my full height. A frenzied chill ran down my spine upon hearing a male voice instead of my mother's.

"Assalamualaikum, am I on the phone with Tasleem?" Was all it took to make me completely go numb on the inside and without any doubt, I knew who owned that voice. That accent could only belong to one person in the world, he had to be the only one who pronounced my sister's name with such an amazing accent. What was he doing with my mum's phone? I turned around, lumbering down the stairway. My eyes darted all over and laid on Salma as she pulled the door open and Mum came into view. I mused at that, flickering my lashes uncontrollably.

"Hello, can you hear me?" I heard him asking when I didn't reply to his previous question. "I think Umma(mother) left her phone in my office. Could you tell her for me when she returns home?"I literally retched at the thought of him calling my mum Umma. Why did he even assume he was talking to my sister Teslim? I cringed at that.

I remained silent on purpose because I didn't want him to recognize my voice. In a cruel twist, it seemed like he was waiting for me to reply as well which unfortunately wouldn't come. For some insane reason, his silence did things to my ego that set my skin crawling. I couldn't understand why I wanted to hear him speak again.

"My mum is not here but I could relate your message to her..." I was going to finish saying before he hung up on me. That was cold. Couldn't he have waited a little longer?

Just when I was about to get off the last step another call came in. It was an unknown number. Upon answering the call I was taken aback a little to hear the same voice. I heard him saying that my mother's phone ran out of airtime so he had to dial my number via his phone line. I thought I heard him asking if I didn't mind him calling back through his line. He desperately needed to reach my mother so he had to steal my number from her phone. Of course, desperate times call for critical measures. It didn't make much sense to me how he was being overly polite and I honestly wished to know why he picked my number out of the numerous ones in her contact list.

Putting the phone on speaker, I drawl quietly over to my mum and handed my phone to her. I saw her smiling widely upon learning who was on the line. I wasn't interested in listening to their dialogue, I just wanted it to be over with so I could return to my room with my precious phone.

"I will send one of my men over to deliver the phone to you in your apartment. Just text me your address." I heard him saying over the phone.

"Oh thank you very much, my child. I'll have my daughter do that immediately." I cringed at my mum's words, turning to face Salma as we ambled back to the dining area.

"Where is Imran?" I inquired, sitting across from Salma.

"He left?" She answered flatly.

"Why,"