Laila's pov....
The view from outside gave of a blurry image, one that I couldn't quite decipher. I continued watching the view whilst trying to imagine what living in a mansion owned by my 'husband's ' father would be like.
How had my life changed so fast?
Just merely two weeks ago, I was still trying to adjust to calling Kareem my husband, and now I'd be living with his family? A small smile spread across my face when I remembered the first time I saw Khadijah . I slowly shifted my gaze from the view of outside to Kareem. He sat idle beside me, scrolling through his phone. I still felt nervous him, though now it just feels like I'm basically living with a roommate . Probably one of the reasons I feel so excited to be going home next week to celebrate my birthday. I smiled at the thought of getting to see my sister and grandma again.
The car came to a sudden halt and so did my thoughts. I watched as Kareem switched off his phone and glanced at my direction pushing open the car door. Only then did I realize what I'd walked into. My heart beat accelerated as series of thoughts rushed through me at once. Sweat beads began trickling it's way down my neck as a huge lump formed in my throat. I tried calming my racing heart and unsteady breathing by closing my eyes and continuously chanting ' you've got this ' when a sudden knock on the window brought me out of my daze. I looked out the window to see Kareem standing not too far away from the window with a confused look on his face. I understood what he meant instantly as I immediately pushed open the car door and stepped out. I didn't even get a chance to react before he just walked of. Was he angry at me? But he has never been angry. Or what if I ruined his mood? Ugh! Why does he have to be so unreadable! I ranted to myself before rushing to meet his pace.
Once we reached the entrance, he held my hand tightly which gave me a tingly feeling and made my heart beat faster. I could feel the sweat beads trickling their way down my back. What was going on?
I tried hard to compose myself as my eyes flew up to see him, just as he did the same. I noticed the eye bags underneath his eyes and a slight pimple growing at the bridge of his nose. I realized I was probably staring for too long and was about to look away when I noticed his lips curving up into what looked like a smile. I could feel my heart beat accelerating but my eyes didn't leave his face. I watched as his eyes left mine and his gaze shifted to what was infront of him whilst still maintaining his smile. That had to be the first time of me seeing him smile, yet something seemed different about the way his lips curved up, the fact that his eyes maintained the same expression. Was he faking it?
My thoughts were soon disrupted by someone's voice. I broke my gaze on Kareem's face and turned to the direction in which the voice came from.
"Kareem!" The voice spoke again but this time I realized it was Khadijah. She wore a sky-blue floral sundress and had her hair tied up in two buns. The look of excitement in her eyes made me wonder what was going on.
"Kareem". She said in a less frantic tone before rushing towards us and throwing her hands over Kareem's shoulder and pulling him in for a hug. I noticed how quick he was to let go of my hand to return Khadijah's hug. His smile grew wider but his eyes didn't reflect the same sparkle of happiness . It almost seemed as though he was doing it just to see Khadijah smile.
"I can't believe you actually came". She said softly as Kareem pat her head softly.
"Why would you think I won't come?" Kareem asked, his smile slowly fading before Khadijah slowly pulled away from the hug, her eyes slowly turning to meet mine.
"Laila". She said before rushing towards me and threw her hands over my shoulder. I was quick to accept the hug before taking my eyes off of Kareem. "I'm so happy you guys came". She said, squeezing me tighter before abruptly pulling away . "Anyways, dad's been waiting for you guys for so long. He's in his study". I felt a sudden tense aura after Khadijah said those words . I stole a glance at Kareem and noticed his stiff posture and clenched jaw. His once forced smile seemed to have been erased from his face. Khadijah probably felt the uneasiness and excused herself.
Once Khadijah was out of sight, Kareem grabbed my wrist. The sudden action startled me a bit which caused me to look up at him. The same faux smile played on his lips again, but this time it looked more genuine.
"Let's go". He said as he looked down at me. His hand slowly interlacing itself between my fingers. Honestly speaking, he looked really majestic with a smile on his face...if only I got to see that more often. If I hadn't lived in the same house as him for two weeks, I'd have thought he was trying to flirt with me, but I know him too well to believe that.
I put a faux smile of my own before we walked together up the stairs and towards his dad's office. Along the way, I couldn't help but feel a little tingle at the pit of my stomach at our interlaced fingers and his majestic smile when suddenly, he stopped walking, I stopped moving too and took a good look at my surroundings until I realised we'd reached our destination. I felt him take another step forward before knocking on the door.
"Come in!" I heard his father yell and that for some reason made me freeze on the spot.
I felt him tug at my arm before I came out of my daze. I put on yet another smile before the two of us walked into the office. I noticed how his father looked up from his pile of files and paperwork before a smile began to form on his lips. I noticed that unlike his son's, his smile looked a lot more genuine, probably was genuine.
He placed the file he was holding on the desk before standing up, the smile still evident on his face. I watched as he rounded the desk before approaching us whilst still trying to maintain my composure.
"Kareem". He said once he was standing in front of us.
"Good afternoon". Kareem said as his grip on my hand grew tighter. His smile still intact. Anyone could be fooled.
I watched his father carefully, his smile was long gone but his piercing gaze on his son made me wonder what secret message they sent each other.
"Laila, dear, would you mind leaving us two while we discuss... business?" His offer sounded more like a question, but it wouldn't hurt to leave them to discuss whatever ' business ' they wanted to discuss.
"Not at all sir". I said in my most polite and sweetest tone, with the touch of a smile that could fool anyone...well maybe not everyone but hopefully him. He just gave a simple nod as a response before I rushed out of the room. Wow, now I know why he was so tense when it came to seeing him.
I didn't know my way around the mansion so I just walked downstairs, hopefully I'd bump into Khadijah. Fortunately, I did.
"Oh, hey, where are you going in such a rush? And where is Kareem?" She asked, looking around me to see if he was nearby.
"They asked me to leave the study. Something about them discussing business?" I observed Khadijah's face to see if she had any answers but she seemed just as confused as me.
"Anyways, forget about them. I'm actually planning a big dinner this evening to welcome you into the family. Don't worry about Kareem and father, their business discussions usually take a lot of time". She said while leading me to the kitchen. I used that time to feast my eyes on the luxurious decor of the building. It somewhat seemed to have a bit of better lighting than the last time I was there.
...
And that's how I spent almost three hours in the kitchen helping Khadijah and the chef make dinner. The experience, though exhausting, reminded me of Layan and grandma and all the times we used to cook together . And now I'm seated on the dining table while the chef is serving us dinner...
"So Laila, I heard you're studying medicine. What field, exactly, are you studying?" Kareem's father asked, breaking the awkward silence that lingered in the air. Sitting in between a father and son that are probably not on good terms made the already awkward dinner, more uncomfortable.
"Uhm, psychiatry". Was my short and simple response before I turned my attention back to the food on my plate. I could already tell that this dinner was going to be mostly about me.
" Do any of your relations stay with you?" He asked.
I looked up from my plate smiled. "I used to live with my grandma and sister. That was before I moved in with Kareem". I didn't want to answer any questions relating to my family, knowing he'd bring up my parents, and that would take things to a whole other level.I glanced at Kareem, he was to busy eating to care about the little discussion his father and I shared.
" And what about your parents? Don't you live with them?" His words struck a cord in my chest . I stopped eating immediately and placed my fork on the table. I knew they'd be mentioned, I just knew it. I know I didn't get a chance to experience life with them, but it still hurts whenever they're mentioned, knowing they're no longer here with me...
"Well, they're..." I couldn't finish my sentence because Kareem suddenly interrupted me.
"Dead", I turned to look at him and so did the everyone else at the table. He sat there, eating his food , like nothing happened, before looking up from his plate. "She's an orphan". He said in the same casual tone . I didn't know how to react, so I shifted my gaze from Kareem to his father.
"I'm so sorry to hear that". He said in an apologetic tone.
"No, it's not really that big of a deal". I said as Kareem got up with his plate and made his way to the kitchen. I turned my attention to my half empty plate, having no appetite to finish what was left.
...
Turning on the tap, I rinsed the slippery soap of my plate before drying it with a towel and placing it on the dish rack. I washed my hands and dried them before making my way out of the kitchen.
The dinner wasn't really much to look into . Kareem's dad continued asking me different questions about my life before I married Kareem. I'm pretty sure he already knows the marriage is contract-bound, but just decided to give him credit for the effort. The dinner ended soon after Kareem left. Now I'm wondering, why did he leave so early? Was he angry? It wouldn't surprise me if he was.
My thoughts, soon, came to a halt when I bumped into Khadijah.
"Oh, I'm sorry" I said when I noticed Khadijah rubbing her eyes, she was probably on her way to her room. "I hope you don't mind but, uhm, can you show me the room where my boxes where kept?" I asked.
"No, it's okay, I should've shown you earlier. Come". She said before making her way up the stairs. I followed her through each step until she arrived at a door.
She pushed the door open and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Kareem sat idly on the bed before turning to look at whoever was at the door. I was about to turn back when Khadijah pushed me into the room and locked the door behind me.