His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 42

GABRIEL

I didn’t believe in love.

I wasn’t an arrogant man who thought love didn’t exist, because had seen it firsthand, how love brings the most powerf

men to their knees.

I just

didn’t believe love was made for me.

Love was a weakness, a distraction, a responsibility, a chore.

I loved. I loved my parents and I loved my grandparents in the way every child loves their provider, because of a sense of mediocre comfort they provided. My brother, who was younger to me and didn’t provide me with anything, I loved him. too, by sense of familiarity and looked at him as someone I had to provide for.

That’s what love had always been to me- familiarity and a relationship of providing, either you’re provided for, or you provide for someone.

That’s why I never had any relationships growing up. I slept around, but neither did I make promises, nor did I believe in any girl’s false ones,

And then, Lily came. She was a girl like anyone else- pretty eyes blonde hair, and a body she worked hard to maintain. 1 didn’t intend to keep her around, she just never left. She clung around, letting me do my own thing, insisting all she wanted was friendship.

I didn’t do friendships. I had a group of boys 1 considered brothers, and once that disintegrated, my brother was really the only friend 1 had until he chose a path I couldn’t follow or stop him from. The sense of failing him led me to find comfort in Lily.

She was familiar by then.

Comfort and familiarity- the two things I associated love by.

I provided for her. Took her out to fancy restaurants she liked, posed with her for pictures when she wanted, sent her gifts I knew she’d appreciate. She never tried making more of a relationship between us, because I didn’t know how. I didn’t know there could

a lone wolf by

and obsessive feelings between us, because those weren’t needed- for either of us. We had an arrangement that worked perfectly where she

probably not lose sleep if she was sick, but if she was in danger somewhere or by someone, I would shield her. Like I said,

was Her birthstone, really. I didn’t even know the green stone in the middle was an emerald. I was never an appreciator of art or jewellery or anything in between. I know I was supposed to be, with my mom being a painter, but

I was calculative. Logical.

is why I saw it a hurdle in my plan to

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society when my grandfather told me he wouldn’t

12:33 Tue, Jun 4

Chapter 42

me marry

had to

didn’t know, I girl I

in the expensive wedding gown and loads of

in tears under a facade of a miserable smile when I first saw her. Of course I wanted her as far away

She was determined to shine through the darkness of our marriage, standing out like the freckles on her face. Hence, her

to avoid her- business

didn’t look like she was trying to. It was effortless to her, forming a bond with my parents, my grandparents, playing the role of a doting wife

had ever stood up

mc.

it was for my mind to forget thoughts of Lily, the

frustrating till I cornered her in the kitchen and

without letting her know, but when I came back

wrong thought that went through his mind about my wife. I wanted to kill James if he thought he

make her sit on my lap and do the most unspeakable,

for an opportunity for a revenge, to do exactly what I