His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 40

Lily. Lily Grant.

She stood in front of us, a little shorter to me, curvier, her tan skin making the red gown sparkle on her and her blonde hair flying lose with the wind around us that I hadn’t noticed until now.

She wasn’t the kind of oblivious beauty. She was eye-catching memory-hauntingly pretty

I would’ve been lost in her trance hadn’t my husband cleared his throat, as if he was done processing her unexpected presence. “Lily, this is Sofia. And Sofia, this is Lily

Her eyes turn to me, and she pulls a smile to her lips. It’s nice to meet you, Sofia, I must say, the wedding pictures did not do any justice to you

I smile. “Thank you.” I wish her tone was concealing jealousy or malice or sarcasm or anything to make me feel good about disliking her, but they were just plain kind. I add quickly. “It’s so nice to meet you too.”

Her eyes flicker back to Gabriel, but not in a desperate manner, in a way that said she hadn’t seen him since a long time and she wanted to only see him every second now that he was right here.

Gabriel seemed uncomfortable. “What-What’re you doing here

“Dad was invited.” She replied. “He’s feeling a little under the weather these days, so I came on his behalf.”

“Ah Silence again.

I wanted to disappear. I wanted the ground to open and eat me away, and I must have my discomfort written in my eyes because I felt a hand interlinking through mine, and as much as I wished for it to be Gabriel’s, it wasn’t. It was Anna, who just pressed her eyes in reassurance at me, and I pulled back the smile to my lips, thankful for her kindness.

know you would be here. I wouldn’t have come otherwise. I thought you were out, at Venice I think? And Arthur said today’s gala was going to be the best of the year and he thought someone

Lily Gabriel was stiff, his hands crossed across his chest. “And did you

The girl nodded. “Geller

see Gabriel’s jaw clench, and if I could, then

pain in

always make him out to be, Gabe. Any way, excuse me. It was

Sofia

I realise her eyes were on me, and she was just about to leave when she paused, her eyes set on the ring in my finger and my wedding band, the original one that I had made a habit of wearing

I nod, the light green stone overlapped by at bunch of other

of her eyes when she forced herself to look at me “Emerald

I smile tack at her passing figure, which drops as soon as she

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Jun 4

Chapter 40

SBU

of us as soon as Lily was gone, especially Zach and

gulped, the first one to speak up. “I’m thirsty. I looked at

leaving the boys back where they were. I explicitly ignored Gabriel’s request for me to not leave his

soon as we

I sighed. “Thanks

motioned the bartender to give us two glasses of water by pointing towards the sealed bottles kept aside and then turned back towards me. I would’ve put the bit*h in

seem like a bi*ch. She was actually