Chapter 10

Laila's pov...

Once we came home, I went up to my room and got changed.

Who knew meeting his family won't be so bad. I honestly expected everyone to be a bit cold towards me, but Khadijah proved me wrong. Now I know we're he gets his cold attitude from.

I made my way downstairs and towards the kitchen. I was feeling kinda of hungry and wanted to make myself something to eat, plus, I'd get to know my way around the kitchen better.

I made my way to the kitchen and got all the ingredients ready. I was about to start cutting the onions when I noticed a certain Mr Kareem seated on the dining table , looking through some papers. He didn't notice my presence.

' should I ask if I should make some food for him as well?'. The question bothered me and I wasn't planning on being on his bad side so soon.

I took a deep breath before building up enough courage to ask him. "Uhm, I'm making lunch, do you want some?" I asked, my attention fully on the onion I was cutting.

"No". He said almost immediately. I didn't bother turning to look at him but instead just pushed the chopped up onions to one side and began cutting some garlic. I don't understand why he can't just be friendly sometimes, I mean, I know this whole marriage thing is fake and nothing is ever going to come of it but can't he just at least make this fake relationship not feel like a punishment for both of us?

....

I turned of the stove before dishing the soup in a big bowl and taking it to the dining table. I wasn't sure how he'd react if he saw that I made soup for him as well, but I didn't care, if he didn't eat it, then I'd save some for myself tomorrow.

He looked up from the papers before looking back down at them. I wasn't sure what he was planning but I just hope it didn't have anything to do with me. I sat down before I began dishing myself some soup before he spoke.

"Take this". He said while handing me some papers. I raised a brow before pushing my bowl of soup aside and taking the papers. I looked through them, they were a bunch of questions like my age, birthday, and so on, what was going on?

"What is this?" I said as I lifted my gaze to see him , he kept a straight face.

"I want to get to know you better". Was all he said before he turned his attention back to the pile of papers in his hands. What did he mean? Why does he want to ' get to know me better '? Now I'm starting to wonder what his father told him while I was with Khadijah.

"What do you mean?" I asked before taking a small sip of my partially Luke warm soup.

" My dad said that I should learn to live a normal life with you, so that's what I'm doing. I want to get to know you better so we can live a normal life, while you're still legally my wife". He said a bit too calmly for my liking .

I just stared at him in disbelief as he began filling out a form. It still shocks me , the fact that I married this AI for a human. Well at least I won't have to live with him for the rest of my life.

I turned my attention to my bowl of soup and back to the papers and with a heaved sigh, I began filling the form.

I answered everything, name, age, date of birth, allergies and so on before finally arriving at the last question, BIOGRAPHY:

I didn't understand it. What did he mean by biography? Like my life story or my lineage?

I looked up to see him writing something that he seemed really concentrated on. I observed him for a while. He was too busy tapping his pen on the table to realize that I was staring at him. Or maybe he was just ignoring me.

I breathed a sigh. It won't be too big of a deal to just break his line of attention.... I hope.

"Uhm, when you say biography....what do you mean?" I asked, my voice sounding a bit lower than it should have.

He slowly looked up to look at me. I was quick to avoid his gaze and shift my attention to the bowl of soup. I quietly picked up the bowl and put a spoonful in my mouth. It was cold.

"A summary of your childhood. What it was like. Your parents, your grandmother?" He said before turning his attention back to his own form.

His words brought back memories of the past...

If only mom and dad were alive back then, if only I was able to experience a childhood with them.

A small smile began to form on my face when I remembered years back when grandma used to chase us around the house when we refused to eat, when she used to tell us stories about mom and dad when they were still young - mom and dad were close childhood friends before they got married. But now....now she's in a hospital fighting for her life.

"Have you paid for my grandma's surgery?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could even stop it.

"Yes". He said as he glanced up to see me. A wave of relief washed over me. Grandma is going to be fine after the surgery. She's going to come home and full the house with her radiant laugh....just like she used to.

I turned my attention back to the papers awaiting my attention. I reluctantly picked up the pen, still unsure of what to write about when the sound of a chair being pushed back, diverted my attention. I looked up to where the sound came from to see Mr Kareem standing up from his chair.

He dropped the pile of papers he was holding in front of me before saying, " I'm done filling out my form, you can take a look once you're done with yours". And with that, he walked out of the dining room and towards the door that led to the library.

I averted my gaze to the pile of papers in front of me. I wasn't done filling mine but out of curiosity, I picked up the pile of papers and began looking through it.

Favourite food: spaghetti. Favourite colour: brown. DOB: 18th June....

I was getting to know a lot about this machine-for-a-human, but what I was most interested in was his biography. I flipped through the pages until I reached the last one.

BIOGRAPHY: I was born into a rich family with rich parents. My dad a business and my mom owned a few restaurants. The two are what you'll call opposite's attract. While my dad was a serious minded straightforward person, my mom was more warm and open minded, she was kind and always had a smile plastered on her face.

And because they had me at a late stage of their marriage, my dad used that opportunity to train his only son to become as serious minded as he was. He made sure my main goal in life was to win. And if not for my mom, I probably won't have had the chance to understand what empathy truly was. She was the one that thought me how to feel what others feel. And maybe because I was the first born, I was taught to take care of Khadijah when problems arise. I was taught to take on all the responsibility.

I'm not sure what drove the whole marriage idea, but for some time it almost seemed as though my mom was worried for me.

She died a few months back and since then, her lovely smile and radiant laugh hasn't been seen or heard from everyone ever since. She was the radiant sun in our world and now that she's gone, there's just rain and darkness that fills the sky.

I turned the page over and looked over at the kitchen were I last saw him. His mom was the sun in his life and now that she's gone, there's just rain and darkness . Those last words have given me a strong impression of him, one that would probably never fade away.

I couldn't think of what to write as my biography so I decided that' I'll take it up to my room and finish it there, but first, I want to rea a book from the library. That's if he'd allow me.

With the papers in hand, I made my way towards the kitchen and opened the door that led to the library .

With legs crossed and a book in hand, Mr Kareem sat at one of the armchairs. He looked up from the book he was reading and adjusted his position before putting the book down on the table.

"Is there something you need". He said before standing up and walking towards the curtains and pushing them aside, causing the orange cast of the sunset to fall on the shelves.

"Is it okay if I take a book from the shelves?" I asked, not wanting to intrude on his personal reading time.

He walked away from the large window and back to where he sat. "Yeah, you can take a book from the shelf". He said before picking up the book he was reading.

"Okay". I said quietly. So quietly he probably didn't hear me. I slowly walked towards the tall shelf and scanned the books. 'Even in my highschool they didn't have this many books'. I thought to myself before pulling one of the books out from the shelf.

It was thick and had a dark brown hardback with the words ' The journey of love'. Written in bold letters across the cover. I read the back but didn't find much interest in it so I picked another and another and another until I came across a book titled ' Until I found you'. The cover was a mix of grey and sky-blue. I read the synopsis at the back and it seemed interesting.

So without wasting time, I made my way up the stairs and into my room. There, I sat on my bed and began reading the book.

From the first few chapters, I already started enjoying it. The story of a young man who has lost everything and feels there's nothing left to live for, so he attempts to commit the unthinkable, but his life ends up being saved by a mysterious girl.

I stopped there and decided it was time for me to write the biography and end things there. I figured, that when I was done I'd just go back to the library and give it to him.

I wrote the shortest summary I could think of of everything that has occurred in my life till date and gathered enough courage to talk to him, something I hope I won't have to do in a long time.

I walked out of my room and opened the door to the library. I quietly walked down the stairs just to reach the bottom and see he wasn't there.

I walked towards the door leading to the kitchen and my mouth almost dropped to the floor at what I saw.

Mr Kareem was seated in the dining room drinking the soup I made. He was really eating food that I prepared, even after he said he doesn't eat food made by people other than him.

I held my mouth to keep myself from laughing, ' I guess he isn't a cruel person after all'. I thought to myself before walking back inside the library.