His Wife (A Contract Marriage Story) by Heer Mangtani

Chapter 111 [MIA] "So, Mia, how'd you get into baking?" "It's a simple hobby," I raise my shoulders in a shrug, adding too much sugar into the mix as I was instructed. "And I needed something to keepbusy." "That's it?" Ronan cocks an unimpressed eyebrow. "No touching story about how your mom passed on her secret recipes to you before she took her last breath?" I laughed. "Not many touching stories to go around when you don't have a Mom." "Ah." He clicked his tongue, offering no sympathies.

"What do you do?” I ask him, “Except be a hellion and get on your brother's nerves." "I love how you've gotten to knowoh-so-much in an hour of knowing me," he whips the cake mix, "And getting on my brother's nerves is my birth right. I am the only man he wouldn't kill." I shrug. "Not hearing a real hobby in there, Ronan." "I party." "Still not a hobby." "You sound like my sister," he scrunches his nose. "And I don't willingly consider hot girls my sister.” "I'm hot?" I cock an eyebrow. “Because I do remember you saying about five minutes ago that I look like a grandmother when I get too. protective about my recipes." "Only when you get too protective about your recipes." He smugly smiles.

"Too old for you, Ron." "Four years," he nonchalantly muses while passing the cake mix to me, “Besides, I like old." "You're barely an adult," I chuckle under my breath.

"Hey! I'm twenty-one." "Not with the way you're whining, you're not.” I laugh louder. “And making an extremely sweet cake just to see your brother's reaction? Not very mature." "Remember what I told you?" He grinned, "Birth right." Ronan was much more easy going and a way better company than his older brother, especially to talk. He didn't glare. He didn't grunt. He didn't give murderous glances.

As if trueing that quote 'think of the devil and the devil appears', I had just been thinking of him and he appeared, leaning on the entrance of Chapter 111 the kitchen. "What's going on here?" Alex mused, eyes flickering from his younger brother to me.

Topen my mouth to answer, but no words cout as I take in his rolled up white shirt. Those hands. They were going to be the death of me. Flashbacks of the morning made their way to me, and I gulped.

"Mia's spending twith her favourite Whitlock," Ronan replied, a smug smile challenging his brother.

One of Alex's brow raised, his eyes finding mine. “Is that so?" "No," I lean forward on the counter. "My favourite Whitlock happens to be Sofia. Your mom's so pretty." "Do you play for the other team, Mia?" Ronan asked all seriously. "Did I spend all this tflirting with you for nothing?" "Flirting?" Alex's ears perked, and he walked in. "You were flirting with her?" "Healthy flirting. Unserious flirting." Ronan chuckled nervously, tossing the cake batter into the pre-heated oven. "You remember that thing! told you about how I wouldn't be killed?" He whispers to me, “I'm beginning to doubt that." I roll my eyes at his tics.

"I-I should go and call Aurora. She went for a lunch and isn't here yet." The nervous smile still gracing Ronan's face, he strides off, leavingalone with his elder brother in the kitchen.

I shake my head with a laugh before setting the oven, ignoring Alex who walked in.

"So?" He asked.

"So?" I repeat, dumbly, grabbing all ingredients from the kitchen counter one by one and putting them in their right place.

"Were you flirting with my brother, cupcake?" "More like he was flirting with me," I chuckle under my breath.

"And?" "And?" I show Alex my pointed eyes, one that have zero affect on him at all. One of his hands grabs the counter in the direction that I was going, blocking my path and forcingto stop in front of him.

His other hand wraps on the back of my neck, jerkingcloser to him.

My breath freezes at how close he stood.

Alex doesn't kiss.

He had never kissed me. We had had sex, but there were no kisses, no hugs, no cuddles involved. It was fucking.

"I don't share," he grunts.

I bite my lower lip. "Alex, he's your younger brother." Chapter 111 Hohale. "You're impossible... caveman." "Mine." he reminds me.

"In life and death," I repeat if it were a mantra now. “I remember." "Good." "You've never kissed me," I think aloud.

Something flickers in his eyes, and his hand retreats. "Do you wantto?" "N-No?" 1 offer. Just say yes. Damn it. Missed opportunity. "I meant, it was an observation. You don't kiss.” "I've never kissed." My eyes widened to the point where I thought they would pop out. "You've never had a first kiss?!"

"What's the point of kissing?" He step raises his shoulders, taking a step back fromand kissed the warmth that radiated out of him when he stood closer. "I've never understood the allure." My lips part and I hide a smile. "You've never kissed anyone." He shakes his head as if it wasn't a big deal.

It was. It totally was.

"Have you?" He asked.

"Duh." "You said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world." "It is?" I sheepishly reply. "Kissing is... common." "Who have you kissed?" He asked, crossing his hands in front of his chest.

"A few?" "Names, cupcake." "W-Why?" I chuckle nervously.

"I want to just have a talk with them." "Alex!" I huff.

"What?" "Am I interrupting?" A third voice makesjump in my place while Alex doesn't even flinch, rolling his eyes at his twin.

"Yes." "No!" We answer at the stime.

Aurora smirks looking at us, clearly in a better mood than she left in, her cheeks a little flushed. "I'm taking Mia," she tells Alex. "We're going to have sgirls time."

Alex shakes his head when Aurora grabs my wrist and dragsaway from him, and I just knew his twin sister meant so much more to him than he let on. At home, he wasn't the mafia strategist Alex King. He was just Alex. And I loved every bit of that version of a plain, simple him. Loved.

I let that word sink in while I spoke to Aurora about so many things like we were the best of pals and Alexglared at both of us from the couch where he played svideo gwith Ronan who kept winking atdespite the death stares he received from his older brother. This felt normal, a kind of normal that I had never felt before, and I pondered upon how I felt that because of a Mafia man who uprooted my life.