His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 20 The next morning, I invited Alice over for breakfast. I didn't have to fill her in about the conversation betweenand Sam, she already knew. We couldn't talk about it openly since Grandpa was there too and towards the end of the breakfast, Mrs. Riley popped in with spancakes she had made. It was just like old times, minus Sam.

I left around noon after promising Grandpa I'll visit soon and making Alice promise she'd visiton her next work trip to the city.

It was early in the evening when I was back home, and the first thing I noticed was that Gabriel's car wasn't parked. Tired after falling asleep on the couch last night, I finished reviewing the file I was told to and had an early dinner, my eyes flickering to the door and the stairs every now and then for a glimpse of my husband.

"He hasn't been home... since yesterday. Laina finally toldand a part of my heart broke, one that I shoved back to the deepest comers of me.

I could be attracted to Gabriel physically.

But I couldn't allow myself to care about him like this.

We were husband and wife just on paper.

Sleep ceasy that night. When Monday passed and Gabriel still wasn't home, I called Peter, my intrusive thoughts getting the best of me. What if he had an accident or something the night he left? Peter confirmed he was at work, staying there till late in the night, barely coming hfor an hour or two and that this would continue for a while. He was busy.

He wasn't dead or dying on a highway or a hospital somewhere Good to know.

I ignored every thought of him for the next few days. Coming hlate and leaving before I wake up? He was trying to ignoreon purpose. What was he, five? On Wednesday night, having enough of his childish behaviour. I decided to wait for him. After dinner I sat on the couch in the living room with a book I had been waiting to read for months now, but somewhere more than an hour after midnight. I fell asleep right there curled up with a blanket on the couch.

I woke up in my room in the morning.

I knew who had carriedupstairs, I didn't have to ask anyone.

d in the room when I woke up, and all I could think of was that I wanted it It was crazy how his scent somehow still lingered in around more often.

Thursday night, I woke up around dawn by a bad dream, I would've tossed in my bed until I fell back asleep if thoughts of Gabriel hadn't made their way into my mind.

This seemed like the perfect tto catch him...

It was dawn.

Without giving myself the chance to overthink it, I left my room and headed towards his. I had never been in his room. before but I had seen him exiting it a couple times so hoping I was at the right door, I paused outside for a long few seconds and then I knocked No response.

1/3 Tue, Jun 4 D Chapter 20 I knocked again.

The door opened and Gabriel stood inside sweaty, and shirtless, Shirtless.

"You're home. And you're awake." My voice was almost accusatory as I tried peaking behind his talk frame. What was he doing that he had to be shirtless and sweaty at this time? He easily blocked my vision. "What're you doing here, Freckles?" 5 I crossed my hands in front of my chest. "You're ignoring me. Tin here to ask-demand you to stop. We had becfriends. Sort-of friends." "Demand?" He lightly chuckled.

I tried keeping my composure up, to not let the redness spread through my cheeks as that night played in front of my mind. Did I mention he was shirtless? Not helping.

1 "Friends." I insisted. I lacked another word for us. 'So yes, I demand. Stop ignoring me" "I'm not igiforing you, Freckles. I have no reason to." I c*cked an eyebrow. "So you've just not been hsince a few days? That has nothing to do with me?" "Why would that have anything to do with you?" "You were mad atwhen you left. I thought- "It was a lapse of judgment on my part. You lied to me. I don't like liars, I couldn't be around you that night. That's all." "That's all?" I repeated.

"What else?" All these days, all that anger in him... a part ofhas really thought he was jealous...

It had really hoped he was jealous...

Hope.

"You aren't mad anymore?" "I have no reason to be. You're my wife by contract, who you have feelings for is none of my business." My eyebrows knit. "So if I sleep with somebody else, that's your business. But if I have feelings for someone else, that's not your business?" "Do you?" "What?" Have feelings for him?" I don't have feelings for Sam." I told him firmly.

He didn't say anything in return.

I repeated myself, "I don't have feelings for Sam, Gabriel. I feel bad that I hurt one of my closest friends, I feel guilty about Tue, Chapter 20 how things went down between us. But I don't have feelings for Sam "You still lied to me. You said he's just a friend when there's clearly history. He said, the coldness returning. "I don't like liars, Freckles."

"Don't do this," I took a step closer to him. "I lied because of my guilt towards my past. But we were being friends and you took the day off work to get to knowand'l lied to you and you're mad at me, I get that. Punishif you want to, but don't forcefully shut off the progress we made" His eyes turned darker. "Say that again." "Don't shut off the progress we made?" I repeated, confused.

No. The sentence before that." "Punishif you want to? He paused, one side of his lips lifting up. "You wantto punish you, Freckles?" 1 knew the double meaning in his sentence, and I hated how I keep feel myself turned on by the mere thought of the things he could do to me.

I took another step closer to him. "You can." "You might not like it." I don't care, I mumbled, my fingers tracing the ab lines of his very bare chest before looking up at him, biting my lower lip. "Punish me. Gabriel

In one swift motion, he had pulledinside his room and shut the door and then pinnedon the shut door, his hands on either side of me. I E almost yelped by how quick he was but no voice cout looking at his eyes holding a sort of hunger in them as he leaned down and kissed me. It wasn't gentle anymore.

It was... dominating. Domineering. Asserting. Angry. He was not really kissingas much as biting my lips. He was aggressive and I somehow wanted more when he pulled away, aggres but he growled, "Get on your f*cking knees, Freckles And so I did.

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