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

felt a pang in me. for the sake of it, but I didn’t expect him to sleep with another lady

has a lot of meetings with clients who live abroad and

“Luna, it’s okay.”

“Im sorry, Mrs. Whitlock.”

I

She nodded. “A parcel came for you earlier in the

eat as she disappeared for a moment 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

Until now, apparently.

already set-up phone to see that there was no contact in it except

“Gabriel Whitlock.

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TIL

Chapter 3

with a perfectly drafted agreement like he’d said yesterday. I’d gone over it for an hour by myself before signing

afraid of how low Gabriel’s ‘stooping low’

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

the evening, I mailed my resume to companies around me. I needed to get a new job since I left my old one when I moved

still struggled to make ends meet, With no health insurance, we were 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

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

title of the hottest bachelor in front of the world. But at

ate dinner by myself while the housemaids, looked over me

I spent my time getting pally with Lunat and the others, learning how to cook the more refined dishes, swimming, and even

from three out of seven places I had applied to, including

yet. Even though there wasn’t a formal clause in the agreement we had signed, Gabriel Had explicitly mentioned for me to not go about humiliating

Probably not.

the idea of 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 if he was staying

wasn’t easy that night, and I woke up early by myself the next morning, eating breakfast in haste. It was around nine- thirty in the morning when

and on the fifth

“Hello!”