It's been two beautiful weeks since I helped that kindhearted man and also somehow managed to encounter a very somewhat weird guy ( that I fortunately haven't met ever since) and for some strange reason, it seems as though my days have gotten more and more boring.
My days have mostly been school then work and then back in this boring apartment.
UGH!!
Well fortunately, it's the weekend. One that I'm not planning on spending out or spending money or taking anymore shifts. I still have to save for this month's rent and I'm not planning on doing anything out of budget.
I sat on my bed wondering whether to leave my apartment or sit and rewatch a movie on my laptop . The former won. I jumped off my bed flung open the doors of my wardrobe . Seeing how messy and unorganized my wardrobe was made me loose motivation on going out.
Looking at how disorganised my room was in general, I decided on cleaning it up instead of going out.
It's for the best. I thought to myself before tying up my curls and getting to work.
I started of with my bed, I removed everything on it including my phone and dusted of the crumbs of snacks on it, before putting back the pillows and folded the blanket.
Next, the wardrobe. I was about to start clearing it up when I heard my phone ring.
Now that was strange. I wasn't expecting any calls today .
I quickly picked up my phone from the dresser. Medcare Hospital? Why would they be calling me? Reluctantly, I answered the call.
"Good morning. The friend you admitted two weeks ago, Mr Kareem, wants to see you". The lady at the other line said. Mr Kareem? As in, the Kareem Muhammad? The heir to M&C Jeweler's? Why would he want to see me?
I was starting to suspect if this person was a fraud but there were two ways to this; 1 if she's actually telling the truth and the Kareem Muhammad actually wanted to see me, or, 2 if she's a fraud and just wants money or something.
"Hello? Are you still there?" The lady on the other line said after some time.
"Oh... Okay, I'd be there". I said before cutting the call. Whatever he wants to talk about, must be important.
I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I was still in my pajamas. I really needed to look presentable Infront of him. Who knows, what if he wants to thank me for saving him.
Without wasting anymore time, I rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. My mind constantly racing through the possibly reasons for him wanting to see me.
I walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later before heading to my wardrobe. My clothes still scattered in the wardrobe.
I must make a good impression....
I thought to myself before quickly picking out 3 of my best dresses. I was thinking of going a bit less casual so I decided on wearing my orange and red gown. Though wasn't my newest or finest, it still did look quite breathtaking.
I quickly slipped it on before zipping it at the back. I stepped infront of the mirror and spun around at my reflection. Maybe it wasn't the best looking gown I've ever seen but it did look good on me.
I quickly loosened my hair and tied it into a neat bun before putting a cap over it and wearing my scarf over my head.
I didn't have time to touch up anything on my face so I just put some lipgloss and my phone in my hand bag while I made my way out of my room. I turned of the lights before taking one last look at my kind- of messy room and finally leaving.
I took my heels from the shoe rack before sitting down on my sofa to put them on, when I felt something vibrate in my handbag. I sat down and placed the heels on the floor before reaching for my handbag and taking out my phone.
A small smile spread across my face once I saw who it was. I picked up the call, my heart racing to know what she wanted to say.
"Laila, I... Grandma...she...." I sat there, frozen as I heard Layan through the phone. My heartbeat quickened at the mention of grandma. What had happened to her? Was everything fine back there?
"What happened to grandma?" I asked, my voice almost a whisper. Of recent, Grandma's health has been declining. I just prayed nothing bad happened to her as I waited for her to reply.
"She fell down the stairs and by the time I reached her..." Layan choked up as I heard her sniffle in the background. My heart beat so fast in my chest. I sat there waiting for her to finish her sentence hoping that she wasn't going to say what I was thinking.
"She. She fractured her hip. I took her to the hospital as fast as I could. The doctors said they'd perform a surgery, but we'll have to pay first". Layan said . I could here her breathing hinch and it almost sounded like I could hear her crying. My heart ached at the thought of what she must be going through . My eyes stung as I felt the tears threatening to fall. I composed myself as I turned my attention back on my sister.
I closed my eyes as the little raindrops rolled down anyway. I wiped them away before speaking, " how much do we have to pay?" I asked, although I already knew it would be much more than I can afford. But besides, grandma was my first priority now, so the price didn't matter.
" 8 million dollars". Layan said, her words sounding like almost a whisper. I almost dropped my phone at hearing her. 8 million dollars? Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? Even if I saved for year I couldn't get that much money. I threw my head back as another tear drop rolled down my cheeks.
"Hello? You still there?" Layan asked through the phone. I didn't know what to do, whether to tell her and essay on what I'm thinking, or just end the call.
"Yeah". I managed to say as more tears rolled down my cheeks. "I'd call you back, I have somewhere to be". I quickly said as I cut the call, remembering that I have to be at the hospital.
A whirlwind of emotions washed over me as I dropped to the floor and placed my head on the table. A mixture of sadness, frustration and anger filled my heart as it ached badly in my chest.
I felt like just locking myself in my room for the day, thinking of how I could possibly get that money for my grandma's treatment.
After some time, I sat back on the sofa and wiped my tears. My forehead throbbed as I went to the bathroom and splashed some water on my face.
I caught a glimpse of my reflection while drying my face with a towel. It was a bit obvious that I'd cried but who cares, I already got dressed up and I had no energy to go back to my room and changed. And besides, what if my face was on the news for saving him and he wanted to discuss on that? Then my name would be mixed up with his personal life and I won't want that, so to avoid all this drama, I decided on going to the hospital to hear what he has to say.
I sighed before throwing the towel in the sink and leaving the bathroom. I made my way back to the living room and sat back on the sofa before slipping on my heels. I put my phone in my handbag and took my keys from the table before walking out of there. There was nothing I needed more than to get this over with.
I locked the door and slipped my keys into my handbag before I began making my way to the hospital.
I still remembered the address to the hospital so that kind of made my journey a lot shorter.
I breathed a long sigh as I walked into the hospital. The place was less busy compared to the last time I was there. I looked around a bit before walking up to the lady at the front desk. She was too busy typing on the computer to notice my presence. I tapped the table a bit to get her attention. She looked up at me and smiled.
"How can I help you ma'am?" She asked with a bright smile plastered on her face.
I looked at her for a while before awkwardly replying, "uhm, I'm here for Mr Kareem. He asked me to see him?" I said in a way which sounded like a question. She thought for a while before finally remembering who I was.
"Ooh, you must be Laila Saleem then. He is in room 3. It's just at the end of the hallway". She said with the same bright smile plastered on her face. I flashed her a smile of my own before thanking her and walking to the room she directed me to.
It took a little bit of gathering enough courage for me to open the door to his room and OH MY!
He was seated on the hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around his forehead and a drip connected to his hand and blah blah blah. All I could take note of were those eyes.
Two beautiful emerald green eyes starred at me as I stood there frozen in my spot. Our eyes were connected for what seemed like forever before I snapped back to reality and nervously looked away.
I made my way to the chair next to his as I felt his eyes still starring at me.
"You wanted to see-"
"Take a seat". He said suddenly as I snapped up to look at him. He couldn't even let me finish my sentence but that voice...
His voice was so deep and stern it almost forced me to stand straight. But yet still forced me to obey him politely....
I awkwardly sat on the seat next to his bed. His eyes still monitoring me carefully as I fidgeted with the sleeves of my dress.
"You're Laila Saleem". He said, suddenly breaking the silence between us.
"Yes". I replied shortly without looking up to meet his eyes.
"You're the one who saved me". He said in the same stern tone.
"Yes, but som-".
"Will you marry me?" He said suddenly, cutting me short in the process.
My head shot up immediately to look at him. He maintained his gaze at the TV and didn't even bother to look at me. He said it with such ease.
"What!" I finally replied. That got his attention as he finally turned to look at me.
"I said, will you marry me?" I just starred at him with confusion written all over my face. Was this all some kind of sick joke.
" What! You barely even know me. Why would you want to marry me?" I was so confused at that moment as the guy that sat on the bed beside me slowly took his gaze off me and back to the TV. I watched as he slowly reached out for the TV remote and turned it on.
I starred at the TV in horror as a video of me and Jason helping Kareem to Jason's car as people rushed in and flooded the scene. I kept my eyes glued to the TV screen as the headlines wrote in bold letters, ' GIRL SAVES HEIR OF MULTIMILLION DOLLAR COMPANY' before the TV turned blank again.
"Now will you still say you don't know me?" He said, his voice a bit more monotoned than it should have been.
I turned my attention back to the man who sat on the bed beside me.
"Yes! And you can't expect me to agree to your proposal because of that!" I said a bit louder than I expected.
He glanced at me for a second before turning his head away. He sighed before fully turning his attention towards me.
"It's a yes or no question". He stated blankly. He made it seem as if marriage was something so trivial.
"At least let me know why you want to marry me?" I asked. His green orbs starred back at me for a while before he finally looked away. His expression remained unfazed throughout.
He sighed before saying, "My mom wanted me to get married. It was her last wish before she died, something she wanted to see so badly but wasn't able to. My dad respected her wishes and told me that if I don't find a way to get married soon, he'd make sure he makes my sister, Khadijah, the heir of his business. And now to respect both my mother's wish and maintain my status as the heir of M&C Jeweler's, I'd have to get married ". He said, still unfazed and expressionless.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts. So he wants to marry me? This isn't some kind of dream? But then again, he's only doing it to respect his mother.
"But why'd you choose me though?" I asked. The question bothered me, because, there was no logical reason for him to choose me out of all the girls in the country, or in the world. Why am I acting as though I actually want to marry him?
He took a while to gather his thoughts before speaking, "because you saved my life".
I felt my heartbeat accelerate from his words but then again, because I saved him....
"So...if some other girl replaced me back there.... you'd have chosen her?" The question hurt to ask. In his eyes, I was just some random girl that saved him. Nothing different.
He avoided my eyes for a moment before replying, "No". He took longer to answer than expected and surprisingly, I was pleased. I felt a sudden wave of relief wash over me.
But before I could reply, he spoke again. "So are you willing to accept this proposal? Please, just say yes. I'd do anything you want me to. And it doesn't have to be a real marriage. It would be bound by a contract. All you have to do is say yes". He looked at me with pleading eyes. His voice sounded less monotone and for a second it almost felt like he meant it.
His words rang in my head as I reasoned my final decision. ' I'd do anything you want me to '. My thoughts ran back to earlier today. ' Grandma fell down the stairs '. ' The bill is 8 million dollars '.
I knew I couldn't afford that even if I robbed a bank but do I need to sacrifice my whole life for it. ' It would be bound by a contract '. His voice ringed in my head as I snapped up to look at him. His eyes were still observing me as I fidgeted with the ends of my scarf. I was lost in thought as I weighed my options, when finally I revealed my answer.
"Yes".