27. The Mask

I F F A T

Avni watched me, his brows furrowing as I carefully shuffled the printed papers on the table. The silence between us was thick, only broken by the soft rustling of the sheets.

“Wh-what a-are y-you d-doing?” he finally asked, his confusion clear.

I didn’t answer right away, just continued aligning the papers, feeling his gaze on me. I glanced up for a second and caught his eyes—he looked like he was waiting for an explanation, but I stayed silent, almost enjoying the tension.

Finally, with everything in order, I sighed and said, “Just trying to make sense of all this.”