Laila

Chapter 18

Farid stopped his car in front of a huge building and surprising it was still open. We both walked inside and took the elevator to the second floor. There was a small door open in the very corner of the hallway, Farid walked right into that small room and I followed him inside. The office was empty.

Farid and I were both sat quietly inside an office, I asked him several times but he never answered any of question properly. He just kept coming  in and out of the office as if he was waiting for someone. It was past 9 pm and I have quite a few missed call from my mother. I texted her saying that I met my friend at a convenience store and now we are hanging out at McDonald that is open 24/7 anyways. Not quite sure if she believed me, but she didn't call me back after that.

Farid came back inside the office but this time he wasn't alone. A middle-aged smart looking man was also there, he looked like a corporate worker dressed in formal business attire and had a brown briefcase.

'Lets make this quick, I don't have much time' The middle aged guy said as he sat down right across from me, while Farid took a seat next to me.

The man took out few papers and scanned through it before pushing it towards me.'What is that?' I asked him.

'It's out marriage contract' Farid answered on his behalf.

'Can I talk to you alone for a minute.' I walked right out of the office not giving Farid much choice.

We were in the empty hallway now.

'What? lets go inside and get this done' He sounded so desperate.

'This is not the right way, I can't just sign the contract and become your wife. We need to call an imam or go to the mosque to perform to find someone who can perform our Nikkah'

'Are you serious? Look I told you earlier, this is not real. None of it is real. Mr. Brown is a well-known lawyer and he knows all about my grandpa's will and stuff. He knows what he is doing, c'mon' He pushed his hair back and walked right back in.

I followed him inside and picked up those papers again.

It was a marriage contract, valid for 4 months. Farid was responsible for all of my personal and family expenses and I was responsible for keeping our relationship looking as real as possible in the eyes of the law until he gets all of the money from his grandfather's will.

I shook off any doubts that were dancing around my mind and I finally picked up the pen and signed the papers.

For a second, Farid looked amused when I passed the papers for him sign... Then he grinned and sealed the deal. We were officially husband and wife for 4 months.

Mr.Brown scanned the papers and emailed us the copy of it then we walked out of the office and I didn't feel anything. At first I thought I will cry or something but nothing happened to me. I didn't and will never accept this marriage as a real marriage. There was no Nikkah, there were no witnesses and most importantly no one from our families was here. It was just an acting job really.

'You okay?' Farid asked me when we got inside the car.

'Yes, you?'

'Hmm'

Farid stopped his car at the convenience store.

'I'll see you in college' I finally said to break the ice because he didn't bother saying anything. He was so stubborn honestly...I thought this guy had a plan and now we were sitting in his car all silent not knowing what to say. We don't know where to go from here.

'Sure' He didn't even make a proper eye contact with me.

'You never fail to surprise me Mr.Ibrahim' I slammed the door and walked back home alone. The only difference was that now, I was...technically married.