Artificial Love
by Arva
Bhavnagarwala
“I’m
done with you.” Sheila huffed, still dressed
in her New Year’s Eve outfit, as
she dragged out a suitcase from the space under
the bed.
“No,
listen to me, sweetheart. It’s not like that.
You’ve got it all wrong!” Arjun replied,
running his fingers through his hair.
“Wrong?
What part of ‘I’m enjoying my time with
Amy a lot’ is wrong? Huh? I’m having
none of your cheating ass anymore. I was charmed
once, not again.”
“Sheila,
please. Stop being so difficult and at least hear
me out. Amy is not what you think she is.”
“I told
you, I’m not going to believe you even if
you say it was only a crush and now you are over
it and blah blah blah…” She threw a few
shirts into the suitcase.
“Ok, fine.
I’ll take you to meet Amy. Then you can
decide if you still want to leave.” Arjun
sighed.
“Oh, but
did I tell you I want to meet your Amy? No thanks.”
A couple of underwear went into the suitcase.
He gave a
resigned sigh and glanced at the suitcase. “Wait,
why are you putting my clothes in this?”
“That’s
because you will be leaving, not me,” Sheila
smirked. “Two years you’ve had me
fooled. Not anymore.”
Arjun paced
the bedroom and banged his fist on the wall.
“Okay, I’ll leave if that’s what
you want. But first, you have to meet Amy.”
Sheila blinked
at the conviction in her boyfriend’s voice
and stopped packing. “Fine. Lead the way.”
She had no
desire to meet the other woman in his life, the
man who she thought was her soul mate. She
wondered what was so special about this Amy.
Sheila couldn’t
believe when Arjun had looked at her, across a
crowded room, at that New Year’s party.
Casual flirting turned into a serious
relationship. And today, she felt sure he would
propose to her. But she was glad she heard what
she did, or else…
She grabbed
his elbow as he started walking out. “I
still don’t understand what you’ll get
by introducing me to Amy. I’m going to slap
her, that’s for sure.”
Arjun turned
away, “You can try,” he whispered.
“What did
you say?” Sheila yelled.
“I said
you do whatever you want, to her, just don’t
jump to conclusions.”
Arjun led her
to the basement of their house. Sheila couldn’t
help clenching her fists. ‘The bugger was
right under my nose…’
He unlocked
the door and switched on the lights. A figure sat
on the bed.
“You
bitch!” Sheila shouted.
“Sshhh…”
Arjun kept a finger on her lips.
“Screw
you!” Sheila pushed him and dashed toward
Amy. She had one look at her and gasped. She
clutched the side table, her mouth gaping, and
breaths rapid. Darkness crept in, and she fainted.
When she
regained her senses, Arjun gave her a sip of
water. “What is that?” She croaked.
“That is
Amy. My pet project. A humanized robot.”
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