His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 3

Before the wedding. I had put a lot of thought into how my wedding night would be. I wondered if I would have to have sex with a man I hadn’t known before that day, and in all the fear of that, I had forgotten staying alone in a huge room with nothing to do and no one to talk to as a possibility.

1 tossed and turned all night, barely getting any sleep.

The next morning, I wore one of the outfits that someone had stocked in the wardrobe for me to use. Growing up poor, I never got to splurge on myself. Any money I could save would only go into covering my grandpa’s treatments, and we still fell short most times.

Wandering alone in that big house, I wished I could confide in ber about the fake marriage I was stuck in.

But there I was, eating breakfast meant to feed twenty alone in the dining room.

I una stared at me.

“Have you eaten?” Lasked her.

“After you, Mrs. Whitlock.”

“Please call me Ms. Baker.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mrs. Whitlock. Sir wouldn’t like it.”

“I don’t think Sir would know.” I tell her, looking around. The house was huge, and the chances of running into the man that

I wanted to actively try to avoid for the next six months was less. “Where even is he?”

“He left home last night after talking to you, and he hasn’t returned since.

I knew our marriage was l

of it, but I didn’t expect him to

Luna quickly added. He has a lot of meetings with clients who live abroad and he functions on their

“Luna, it’s okay.”

“Im sorry, Mrs. Whitlock.”

I corrected

Baker.” She nodded. “A parcel came for you earlier in

to return with a box that I opened quickly to reveal a new phone inside. The latest model in my hand was a far stretch from the half broken one 1 had been using for the past five years, but I made

Until now, apparently.

to see that there was no contact in it

“Gabriel Whitlock.

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TIL

Chapter 3

lawyer arrived with a perfectly drafted agreement like he’d said yesterday. I’d gone

to, but also afraid of how low Gabriel’s ‘stooping

in an art gallery. I tinkered with my new phone for a while, I checked in on my grandfather who insisted he was enjoying every moment of being reunited with his old friends and asked me to not visit him but instead enjoy my ‘newly wed bliss’, and napped more than I was used

my resume to companies around me. I needed to get a new job since I left my old one when I moved three hours away to marry an imperious

considering taking a loan or putting out small house on mortgage when Gabriel’s grandparents, who happened to be my grandpa’s friends from school got in touch with him and agon and offered to pay out his entire treatment with one simple condition: I had to marry their grandson. I was still convinced I could manage by myself and marrying a complete stranger was off the table but when my grandpa had to come

did to convince their grandson to marry a nobody like me or why he agreed, but by his anger towards

except losing his freedom and the title of the hottest bachelor in

dinner by myself while the housemaids,

for the next few days, and being alone turned into a habit. I spent my time getting pally with Lunat and the others, learning how to cook the more refined dishes, swimming, and even

mails. I’d heard back from three out of seven places I had applied

later, but didn’t send in my confirmation yet. Even though there wasn’t a formal clause in the agreement we had signed, Gabriel Had explicitly mentioned

Probably not.

calling him. But it was a quarter past twelve, and I hadn’t seen him in the house for days. A part of my heart felt tighter wondering

by myself the next morning, eating breakfast in haste. It was around nine- thirty

rang, and on the fifth ring, it was

“Hello!”