His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 50

Healing is a slow process. Even slower when you are confined to a hospital bed for days at a time, cannot talk, and have a husband who scares away everyone with his terrifying stares and glares.

Even a week later, I couldn’t talk more than a low decibel whisper here and there.

My Grandpa didn’t know about me. I don’t know how they convinced him that I left without saying bye to him, but they did. I couldn’t talk on call still because of the no voice situation, so I texted him every day, making excuses for not calling. It felt terrible, but still better than the alternative of telling him the truth. My phone- the one I had dropped when I was taken- was still gone. This was a new one that Gabriel got for me.

Sam came in the day after I woke up to meet me. Gabriel sat by my side, glaring at him for the entire time that he was here. The poor guy couldn’t say anything more than ‘you gave us a scare and I’m glad you’re okay’ under my husband’s killer stare, and he left in under five minutes. I shouldn’t laugh, but I did.

Gabriel didn’t leave my side. Not for a day, not for more than a few minutes at a time to go to the bathroom and shower, and even then, he made sure there was someone he trusts by my side- Anna, Zach or Alice.

I highly doubt he trusted Alice, but she was the only one who talked to me for hours and actually had my attention, so whatever. He compromises.

I don’t know when he slept, if he slept at all. He was awake when went to sleep (which was a lot because of the pain killers) and he was always awake when I woke up, no matter what the time.

He worked from here. He took work calls from here. He held meetings from here. I kept motioning to him that he didn’t have to in hand actions but he pretended to not understand me when I knew he got what I was saying perfectly well.

He never left.

“Brother?” I whisper-ask, a little surprised when Gabriel told me where he was the past few days.

He nods, feeding me another bite of the hospital porridge, which was bland and terrible. But at least I get to eat Jell-O after that. “He left when we were barely adults. I tried anchoring him to a different path, but he had his sight set on vengeance,” Phe adds.

little brother clearly in his eyes, but I felt sad that all the while I

he

Damien once, especially since he clearly means so

“Where?”

leave for home because he remembered something urgent that need to be

him?” I ask. It had become a habit in the past few days. I often just muttered a few words of the whole

his

“Saving?”

get all the thanks,”

me thank him. But he hadn’t as much as kissed me since I woke up, and I

knowing about Lily. Nonetheless, I roll my eyes, not letting those thoughts corrupt the moment. “He’s

Gabriel shrugged. “He’s

Chapter 50

hack a

to go home?” He

a smile spreading on

this question again and again since morning to see the smile that spreads every time he mentions home. I was so ready to get out of the hospital and forget every reminder

lot of questions. How did he find me? What happened to the men who took me? Who were they and what did

want?

out. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for those answers either, because asking these questions would mean. answering a few of Gabriel’s, and I wasn’t ready to

couldn’t forget his face when the doctor came in and asked me if I had been sexually assaulted, and I shook my head. The relief that