His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 75

GABRIEL (continued…)

The next morning:

I seemed to have been in a comatose. The nights of not sleeping in Sophia’s hometown because she couldn’t sleep, and then coming back and working away my nights had finally caught up to me.

I don’t know for how long I slept, but it was definitely the most intense sleep I had had in a very long time.

I woke up to my phone buzzing next to me,

For the first time, how much time it was and how quick I needed to get to work weren’t the first things on my mind.

“Hello?” I press the phone to my ears without looking at the caller ID.

“Gabriel,” There was a breathy whisper on the other end. “It’s me. Lily”

“Lily.” I repeated after her, a little dumbstruck and foggy. “Hi”

“Hey,”

My mind cleared, and suddenly, all the sleep disappeared. I rolled over to the other side of the bed, Sophia’s room and her paintings coming into my view.

“Lily,” I greeted again, clearing my throat. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. Um. There was another question in my mind that I couldn’t get myself to ask last evening.”

I shut my eyes, putting my hand through my hair. I would be frustrated if I wasn’t in a situation of my own making. Scratch that. I was still frustrated. “Hm?”

“Did you ever love me?”

“In my own ways. I did, Lily.”

“And if it wasn’t for Sophia, do you think we would have a chance?”

“I don’t know.” I tell her, truthfully. I don’t mention how I had bought a ring and if I would’ve proposed, I would’ve loyal to her till she left me herself. But to be trapped in a marriage like that, so loveless and dry, it scared me after all with Sophia. “Look, I don’t think we should be talking. It isn’t fair to my wife.”

I could hear a sniff from the other end.

closure you deserved,

breathes.

“Goodbye.”

back to sleep or getting my a*s off and going to work. In the end, I decided the former. I took a quick run to one of my manufacturing work places to check

Alister, how he was taking the news of his cancer. If it weighed down on me, I was sure it did on him too. There were also a few documents I needed

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Chapter 75

a smile when I found him sitting by his

sipping, which didn’t look anything

so wide, it was nauseating. “I have

existential crisis?” I ask, taking the chair opposite to him. “Let me know

today. Now that it’s in

We need to revisit your definition of enjoying your

grump.” He rolls

it from

to my pool day. Your phone was switched off.

there is no password to the phone. Weird. I always had the default lock

okay?”

an unsure voice, “Did it

having an impersonal phone and changing models every few months. The phone

then again, Lily did call, and I

and

but the call

my phone.” I groan, “How the hell did I exchange my

that would be a nightmare to

“Besides, it’s linked to my Mac. I can track it any where and if someone somehow disables the tracking, I can wipe it

sarcasm. “Since your

this isn’t my phone, how did she call me? I recall, ‘Oh,

“What?”

“I exchanged my phone with

me. “You

a stony glare. “I ran into her. Maybe we

Chapter 75

called you in the morning and didn’t mention that

the number she had called from.

to have to go to