Adultery Knowing My Wife, Knowing Me As Well - part III (Completed)

[krish_999]

Chapter - Six

I tried hard not to make a reaction, as the truth sank into my reality with each passing moment. Seemingly asleep, Ananya had a blanket on, covering most of her body. I saw her jeans crumpled near her feet, and her kurta was hanging from the edge of the bed. I noticed a piece of clothing lying on the floor before Desai closed the door. It took me a second to recognise what I just saw was Ananya’s bra.
“I don’t want to wake up her. She’s taking a nap,” Desai said in low voice.
He surely cares for her.
Desai returned to the hall and I followed him, trying to ignore the cheap beedi smell that was emanating from him, still having no idea on what to say or how to react. I wondered what would have Desai done to her to make her sleep like that. I could make out why Desai looked sweaty and sporting a slightly-dishevelled look.
He’s been working hard.
"It is cheap thrills I know, but I thought you deserve to witness this moment. There has been a little fun game happening between us, in the background of course," Desai said and sat on the couch facing me. "This secret should be safe with you. I don't want her husband to know. I have promised her."
"Okay, you won. That’s what you want me to say, I suppose," I moved my lips, finally. I opened the bottle and poured another drink.
"Don't drink too much, Krish. You need to drive after lunch. You're dropping her home."
I gave him a look.
"You want to tell her that I know of this?"
"You’ve been there always, Krish. You are the one she trusts the most."
I mocked a dry smile.
"How's that you need me now? Did you force her?"
"Don't talk rubbish. I don't want to be with women who cannot accept me or love me in my bed. Ananya was glorious in there."
Is he trying to convey something else?
The triumphant smile on his face was annoying. I lowered my eyes to the glass in my hand and silently took a long sip.
"I have been lonely for a while. And she also, if I can believe what she told me, hadn't had sex for more than a month. So, all in all, it was a great experience. I..."
"Why are you telling me this?" I interrupted. “Do you think this all going to impress me in any way?”
Desai smiled, "I was saying I didn't need to force her at all." He licked his lips between his words. “Last time she was a bit hesitant, I can say. But this time, she was just ready.”
I was stunned.
“Last time?”
“So you didn’t know,” His smile vanished, bringing a dramatic seriousness to his face.
“No.”
“In the hut. Last time we did it was in the hut. I don’t want to hide anything from you.”
In the hut.
“You have a dirty mind, Krish.”
“Desai tried his best… but I pushed him away.”
Ananya's face telling me those lies flashed in my mind.
Desai lighted another beedi. I looked away, trying to hope that Desai could be lying. But I had already believed him. He isn’t lying about it. It is Ananya who lied.
“So you fucked her. You fucked her twice. Why don’t you stop being friendly to me?”
My voice rose and was filled with resentment. Desai was alarmed.
“Please, Krish. Don’t wake her up. Let her sleep.”
I doubted he was being sarcastic.
“You’ve fucked her too hard; isn’t that why she’s so tired? Don’t pretend you care now, Desai!”
“I know you are frustrated. And I know why. I am sorry. My apologies. Take it easy now. We are friends. Pour a drink, it’s alright.”
Desai gestured toward the bottle. I wanted to throw it on his face. But I did nothing.
Half an hour later, Ananya walked into the hall and she was shocked to see me.
"Krish!"
She had washed her face. Her lipstick and eye shadow were gone. Hair was tied together as in a hurry. Though she was properly dressed, the wrinkles on her kurta were easily noticeable.
Ananya's embarrassment grew further as I looked on, without saying a word. I saw a sense of disappointment spreading over her face.
"You are up, Ananya." Desai turned his head to her slowly. “You fell asleep so I thought I should call up Krish. What happened to you? Come, sit down here.”
Ananya walked slowly and Desai gestured her to sit down. She sat on the empty couch and Desai smiled reassuringly.
“She was not feeling well after breakfast.” He told me. “So I asked her to rest inside.”
I stared on as Ananya's face lowered.
“Don’t be nervous, Ananya. Krish is my friend too and he will drop you home safely.”
He looked at me. “Right, Krish?”
I nodded quickly, “yeah.”
“Let’s have lunch. I have everything ready.” Desai said.
“I will manage myself,” Ananya spoke up.
“No. I don’t want to put you in any troubles, baby. Your clothes are slightly out of shape. He’ll drop you.”
Ananya looked at me, helplessly. I was equally embarrassed. I felt like a pimp whose only job left was to drop her back home.
Ananya didn't want to stay for lunch. I thanked her silently and we left the place soon. Ananya sat in the front seat of the car. She remained silent for a while as he drove, as though she was expecting me to ask her about it. I, however, did not say a word.
“I am sorry Krish,” Ananya said finally.
I threw a glance at her.
“Why?”
“I lied to you.”
“What happened now? Keep your secret yourself.”
I said dejectedly.
“I was ashamed to tell you the truth, Krish.” Ananya's voice became sober. “You always tried to help me; you warned me many times but I did not listen. I just…”
“It’s alright,” I said. “I am not mad that you slept with him. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. We have had a past; we both have cheated on our partners. I have no right to advise you to be faithful. Desai is a crooked man; I fear him, to be honest. I’ve been trying to stop you from falling into his trap. But looking at you now, I realise that my worst fear wasn’t about you being manipulated into his bed; it was rather about the possibility of you coming to terms with that manipulation.”
Ananya did not speak for a while. She kept her face down as I too refrained from speaking.
Ananya took a deep breath. “I too have been a bit scared of him. Always; perhaps because of you or others who told me stories about him. Of course, I wouldn’t have agreed to join the trip if you weren’t there. But I can tell you that one day he was going to make me say yes to another trip. Because somehow he had managed to convince me that I can always say no to him. When I went to dinner with him he spoke about his personal life; about his wife and children who are not with him, and about many women who were in his life. Fearing he would try to make me another of many women in his life, I had already made up excuses. But he did not ask me. He arranged for the cab and ensured my safe return. I was surprised that he did not even make a joke in the wrong direction. He was quite emotional, in a way I had never imagined of him. That’s why I messaged you, just to tell you that you don’t need to doubt him.”
She paused and took a deep breath.
“Last Sunday too, you saw how nice he was. He managed to convince you that it is okay to let him take me to that hut. You and I never thought he could do something there. It wasn’t like he was waiting for it the whole day. It just happened. When we reached there, we got inside that hut; and there was a cot along with other things kept by its owner. Desai said it’s such a beautiful place that he would consider regretting not to bring me alone for the trip. It was the first time he was telling me something suggestive like that. I didn’t know what to say and he asked me if I would go with him for another day trip like this. I hesitated, and he asked me if I didn’t like to be with my boss. He took my hand and tried to hug me. I froze. Honestly, I did not know until then that I did not possess the guts to stop him. I don’t know why. He was hugging me, his arms around me becoming stronger and he was saying how much he wanted to be close to me. Then he kissed me. I thought I should stop him before it went too far, but he said…” Ananya threw a glance at me and went on, “He said ‘no, don’t stop me now Ananya.’ I felt powerless, completely. Like giving silent permission. He lifted me in his arms and carried me to the cot. I knew what was going to happen but I did not have the power to stop him. A part of my mind was convinced that I was too indebted to him to deny his wish.”
The word she chose delivered a blow to my psyche.
“It looks like he wants to make you feel indebted.” Meera's voice came to my mind.
“I am not indebted.” I had claimed then.
Is it how he snares his prey?
Ananya went on, “He was trying to cheer me up, talking about his excitement as it was the first time he felt attracted to a woman in a year or so.”
I turned my face away from her to hide the laughter that began to appear on my face.
In a year or so!
I remembered how Desai had been stalking Meera in and out of her office for six months. He was even ready to risk his public image to have another chance to sleep with her.
“I don’t believe he never had sex in a year.” I blurted.
Ananya stared at me.
“I don’t know about that. I haven’t thought about it.”
“It doesn’t matter, ultimately.”
“Nothing matters now, Krish. I feel like that.”
“When the farm owner and his men came to me and asked why I was there, I was scared because I thought if they found a young woman and a man in their hut it wouldn’t have a nice ending. I lied to them that I was alone and I had to chat with them to distract them. Honestly, I was praying that you guys should not show up in the middle of it. I had no idea that…”
I stopped.
“I am sorry Krish,” Ananya's voice was weak.
“I am sorry too.”
We spent a few minutes in silence. It was like we knew what happened and how it happened. And we were convinced that it was inevitable.
“What happened today?”
I asked after a long silence.
“Today he invited me for breakfast. He said you would also come.”
I looked at her. I had become a tool for Desai to manipulate her. I said nothing.
Ananya went on, “I was still hesitant. But he said he would pack the breakfast and come to my place. Left with no choice, I agreed. When I reached there, I asked him about you. He said you wouldn’t come and he said it’s good. I understood what he meant. I tried to say no but…but I was not doing it vehemently. We had breakfast and then he took me to his room.”
“Now he knows how to get it when he wants to. This is going to repeat, isn’t it?”
I asked.
Ananya took a moment to think.
“I don’t know.”
It certainly doesn’t mean no. I thought.
“You don’t hate him for what he did there, do you?”
“What do you think?”
I remembered what Meera had told me about the night with Desai. Aggressive and non-stop sex. He hadn’t allowed her to sleep. He wasn’t a man who would be satisfied with one lucky day.
“How many times did he do it, today?”
I asked.
Ananya looked at me, puzzled.
“What?”
“Do you think he was satisfied?”
“He can never be satisfied,” Ananya said. “You saw what he did to my lips last time. Today he did it all over my body. He said he couldn’t get enough of me last time. He was rough like a beast, and he never slows down until he gets there. I…” Ananya paused and pointed to the left. “Can you pull over there, please?”
“What happened?”
I turned the car to left and stopped.
“I should get a pill.”
Ananya said, without facing me.
“He didn’t wear a condom?” My voice rose enough to startle her.
“I didn’t have the freedom to ask.”
She blurted and began to get down. I stopped her.
“Wait, I’ll get you that one.”
I went to the medical store and felt a déjà vu. How many times?
I returned with the pill in a minute.
“What about last time?” I asked while getting inside the car.
“I was safe then,” She said.
“Oh,” I sighed. “He planned that so well. I suggest you blackmail him after two months, saying you are pregnant.”
Ananya looked at me.
“You are joking, aren’t you?”
She asked.
“You still didn’t answer my question. This is going to repeat, isn’t it?”
Ananya looked at me, helplessly.
“I would like to be honest with you,” I went on. “If you think you are okay with him, I should no longer hang around trying to protect you.”
“I like you being around me.”
“For what?”
“I don’t have a specific answer. Perhaps you know me better than Sam does.” She was looking into my eyes. I felt she was trying to convey something to me without being explicit, through her eyes.
“Tell me about your stance with Desai. Tell me about the future. Speak your mind, considering all aspects like keeping your job and financial security that he assures, and also the sex he provides.”
“Though I was manipulated, it was also consensual,” Ananya spoke slowly. “Feeling indebted is also a form of bond. He was a bit rough on me, maybe because of lack of time, or the fact that he was loveless for a year; he was rough, in fact; it ached for a day. I knew it was not meant to be a joy-ride. But he eventually made me tell it was good. He made me scream. He made me forget the ritualistic sex I had with Sam five days ago. In the end, you know, it was easy to convince me that my body needed it. If I were a woman in love with him, it would have felt great. He may look ugly to the world, Krish. But to the woman he loves, he can be a conqueror. I am not looking for any affair. I want to keep my marriage. But I am not a chaste woman, anyway.”
More than Ananya indirectly conceding the possibility of going to bed with Desai again, her claim that ‘feeling indebted' was a form of bond hurt me. And the way she justified everything sank me in a pool of despair.
My nightmares were coming back. I was beginning to doubt Meera because she had made me believe Desai was a disappointment. It was not true.

Desai's successful seduction of Ananya had certainly hurt my ego. But as time passed I decided to look at it a bit selfishly. I thought Desai would be happy to have Ananya and I hoped it would keep him away from my wife. I forced myself to see it a win-win situation for me because whatever happened wasn’t my fault.
I was a fool. I would learn the hard truth very soon.

A few weeks later, Sam phoned me.
"I'm fucked up, Krish," He said. "I should have listened to you."
A bolt of lightning crossed my mind. I knew it must be about Ananya.
"What happened?"
"I need a drink first," he said.
We met in a bar. He led me to a private room and ordered the drinks.
"Make it quick," he hurried the waiter.
Sam's panic-ridden face and dishevelled look foretold me about his mental state. I sat with a fake sense of seriousness as I already knew what he was going to tell me.
"What is it about?" I spoke in a low voice.
Sam spoke only after he gulped down his first drink. His eyes had turned red.
"Ananya is cheating on me."
I said nothing for a few seconds before I spoke.
"With whom?"
My question sounded to be the fakest one I've ever asked anyone.
"S... Susheel Desai,” Sam blurted.
I sighed, "How do you know?"
"His...his driver phoned me. He knows me and Ananya. He told me that she was with Susheel Desai Saturday night."
Saturday night.
Sam said he had been watchful ever since I told him about Desai's character. Ananya was also aware of her husband's worry and she was taking extra care not to make things worse. Sam used to check her phone logs and initially, there was nothing. But then he once noticed Ananya talking to someone in low voice and later the call was missing from the call history. It was an easy guess that she was hiding it from him.
"And today, Desai’s driver called me and told me what's happening."
"Why did his driver tell on his boss?"
I wondered.
I remembered the story Desai told me about his old driver. I have noticed Desai behave benevolently with the current one too. Why would his driver betray him?
"I have no idea, Krish. I have no idea about anything. My head is burning." Sam scratched through his hair.
"Have you talked to Ananya?" I asked. "What if you have a misunderstanding?"
"It's no misunderstanding." Sam's voice was stern. "I can feel it, Krish. You warned me from the first day. I was greedy. Oh, God! I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do with Ananya.”
“Sam, don’t think hastily. First, you need to confirm it happened.”
“Come on, Krish. Don’t think I am a fool. I am her husband. The thought that her rich boss has fucked her is killing me. Tell me something about what to do next. I can’t think straight. I should confront her first. But I am scared I would kill her.”
I remembered his advice on the night when we together had followed Meera and Thomas on a party night, years ago. That day I was the one destined to face the apparent betrayal of my wife. And Sam had given me the advice to keep calm and save my marriage without making a ruckus.
“Sam. Just listen. I know your head is hot. I’ve been in this situation before, you know that better. We both had mistaken Meera once, but then we were proved wrong. So my advice is not to jump into conclusions and do stupid things. Let’s first ask Ananya nicely. We can confront Desai too if you want.”
I did not want to tell him the truth. I thought it was possible to make him believe he was wrong. I thought if both Ananya and Desai denied the truth and came up with a convincing story, then Sam would be forced to believe he was wrong.
Sam was staring at me.
“Do you think Desai would be so innocent to confess?” He asked.
“It won’t be tough to find if they are lying,” I said.
Sam thought over it and then shook his head.
“You must come with me. Let’s go to Ananya first.”
I agreed.
Before we headed to his house, I took a break from him and phoned Ananya.
“Ananya, listen carefully. Sam has found out that you were with Desai last Saturday. He’s with me and he’s coming to confront you. But I want you to be calm and stop…”
“Are you crazy?” Ananya interrupted me. “I weren’t with Desai last Saturday.”
I was speechless for a moment.
She’s trying to cover it up already.
“Ananya,” I took a deep breath. “There is no use of telling me that lie. You should rather convince Sam.”
“I am not lying, Krish. You are the last person I would lie about this.”
Ananya said.
“But Desai's driver phoned Sam and told him that you were with Desai that night.”
“What? Liar!” Ananya's voice rose. “He’s lying. He’s either lying or he’s confused. How does he know Sam?”
I had no answer.
“Can you prove your side? He’s coming to you.”
“Let him come. I am telling you the truth, Krish. I was here only. I can prove it.”
“Alright then,” I said in the end. “This c0nversation never happened.”
I accompanied Sam to his flat. I didn’t want to go there, but I was worried if he would resort to violence when she denies his allegation.
However, my worry proved wrong as Ananya stood by her words.
“Last Saturday was our Susmita aunt’s child’s birthday. They had invited me for the cake cutting. You can go there and ask them if you want. They had mentioned it to you on Friday. Remember?”
Susmita aunt and her husband lived on the upper floor of the building.
Sam looked at me. His facial expression and a slight node told me he was convinced.
Ananya went on, “and don’t bring your friends here if you have something like this to ask me. I feel insulted.”
“I am sorry, dear,” Sam said. “When Desai’s driver told me this, I couldn’t think straight. Krish accompanied me to stop me if I did something stupid.”
“Desai's driver!” Ananya scoffed. “How the hell he would know your phone number in the first place? And do you think Desai's driver would introduce himself to you before betraying his employer? Somebody must have fooled you.”
I couldn’t stop smiling like a fool.
“She is right, Sam. It must be someone aware of how you found your job. Someone jealous,” I said.
Sam tried calling the informer but the phone number was unreachable.
When I went home I could not stop comparing how our brains and Ananya's brain processed the information.
Sam already knew about the birthday invitation. But he forgot it when somebody told him his wife was cheating on him.
I knew a couple of things about Desai's driver. First, he would never tell on Desai. Second, even if he did, he wouldn’t risk his job by revealing his identity.
And Ananya? She did not panic at all. Because she was not with Desai on Saturday and hence she was able to think logically.
I thought I learnt a thing about the human brain that day. Fuck.
None of us had any idea we were being outplayed.

A few days later Sam came to my workplace. He wanted to talk to me in private.
I took him to the unfinished top floor of the building.
“What happened now?”
I asked.
“He confessed that he had sex with my wife,” Sam said.
I was stunned.
“Who?”
“Susheel Desai. I confronted him and he confessed.”
I could not believe it.
Sam explained how he got suspicious after Ananya mentioned about the phone call from Desai's driver.
“I never told her I got his phone call. But she already knew. How?”
It was me who told her about the phone call, idiot. I did not say.
Sam went on, “But I did not want to confront her again. She’s very clever. So I went to see Susheel Desai's driver, to learn the truth. I could not see him but Susheel Desai recognised my name when the gatekeeper asked him for permission. He let me inside. I did not tell Susheel Desai about his driver. I told him that I have information about his affair with my wife. I couldn’t scold him but I questioned him for betraying me and my family after showing so much empathy. He gave us hope in our life, that’s true, but what he did was unforgivable.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said sorry.”
I was stunned. It was impossible.
“He did not try to defend himself?”
“He knew I was right. His head was down. He said everything I said was right. He sought my forgiveness. He said Ananya can’t be blamed for it as it was his fault. He said he had called Ananya to help him finish a document but then he lost control of himself. Ananya was too weak to defend herself. She was scared that she would lose her job and it weakened her defence. He sought my forgiveness repeatedly and told me he’s ready to do corrective measures whatever I wanted.”
Sam was revealing another side of Desai. I never thought he was sorry after exploiting Meera.
“And he asked me a favour; not to confront Ananya. He said she was shattered after the incident and was having suicidal thoughts for betraying her husband. Desai felt compelled to keep her with him for the night, and he spent all the night convincing her to forget the incident as if it never happened. He begged me to never tell her that I know the truth; because she would not forgive herself. He was scared of the possibility of me going to him again and telling him how I lost her forever.”
“But she told us about the birthday.” I interrupted.
“This incident happened a week before that.”
Desai had promised him that he would never repeat the mistake. He made Sam promise that he would never confront his wife about it.
“Are you going to listen to him?” I asked in the end.
“I don’t know, Krish. Should I confront her?”
I spent a moment to think and then gave him the exact piece of advice he had given me years ago.
“She loves you, Sam. I know about Desai. He’s very clever when it’s about getting what he wants. You should not quarrel with Ananya over this. After all, Desai helped you when you most needed. Whatever happened has happened. You can’t reverse it. You can do nothing except ruin what you have. He also promised he would not repeat it, and that should be the end of it.”
Sam kept his stare on the ground for long and then looked at me.
“Okay,” he nodded.
I wanted to confront Desai over his instant confession. I felt he should have defended himself and tried to convince Sam that his doubt was nothing but a misconstruction. I thought though Sam had promised to not to confront his wife, there was a limit for everything.
He will ask her one day. I knew.
However, I could not meet Desai for many days and my plan to confront him did not materialise.

**** **** **** ****

A few weeks later when I saw Sam, he was quite happy. He mentioned that I gave him the right advice.
“She does not know that I know, Krish. I think it is best to leave it as it is. I am trying to forget it. As if it never happened,” he said.
I was glad that my little piece of advice had worked. I also wondered about how he ended up assaulting his old boss for making an indecent proposal about his wife.
However, I was not sure if Desai would so easily let go of a beautiful woman whom he had the liberty to sleep with on every weekend.
That following weekend I learnt Sam had gone to Mumbai. I phoned Ananya but she did not pick up even after many calls. I knew something was not right.
Desai phoned me in the morning. He wanted to see me. We had breakfast at his home while chatting casually.
“Ananya was with me last night,” he revealed out of blue. “She left this morning.”
For a few seconds, I forgot to swallow what I was eating.
“But you promised something else to her husband.”
I said.
“Right,” Desai shook his head slowly. “But he did not want me to keep my promise.”
I looked at him in disbelief.
“Krish, you need to understand the politics of social power,” Desai went on. “Right decision at the right time is what pulls our life ahead of others. If you name it pimping, it can be difficult to accept. But if you look at it more realistic way, it is just a form of friendship. Many people embrace such form of friendship to get ahead in their lives. I have friends who would be pleased to allow me or their bosses sleep with their wives. I know of powerful men who have let their wives sleep with more powerful men. What did your friend do when he found out? Nothing? No. He embraced the reality because it was an opportunity. He lost nothing. You too will lose nothing. You know that your wife has already slept with me once. I bet you feel bad because it was without your consent. Now try doing it with your consent, I promise you, it won't feel bad. It gets you certain power over her, and certain power over me.”
As he went on trying to convince me, I wanted to scream at him.
“Bastard, who are you talking to? Do you have any idea about my past? Yes, I have allowed my wife to fuck other men. I have watched other men shove their dicks deep into her pussy. I have celebrated her orgasms, I didn't have a problem, you rat! But for you, no. It's a big no, moron; no matter how long you preach!”
But the words that came out of my mouth were different.
“I know the politics you're talking about, Desai. But there's a little thing called conscience. It is my choice. It will never allow me to go through the pain I had to live once.”
“What if Meera has another choice? What if she's willing to do it for her or you? I'm not saying you should push her to try out. Just give her a chance to decide on her choice. Let her go on a date with me. Just a simple date.”
“I know what your simple date would do to my life,” I said.
Desai smiled at me.
"Krish, your belief that men can’t stand the sight of their wives taken by someone else is wrong. Even after what I did with your wife, you still live a beautiful life with her. So does your friend Sam. His wife was in my bed this morning, but that doesn't mean she belongs to me. She is his wife, his property. I'm just having a little fun. In return, he would only prosper in his life."
“Stop preaching me, Desai.” I slowly pushed my plate away. “My hatred for you won’t be a surprise for you. And it is just a reflection of Meera's feelings for you.”
I said and left the table in a hurry. I washed my hands and left the house without caring to say another word to him. He was still sitting on the dining table.
As I walked out of the house, I saw his driver in the garden. I walked over to him and asked why he betrayed his boss. His gently smile vanished and he gave me a confused look.
“You phoned the husband of a woman and told him that Desai is sleeping with his wife, didn’t you?”
“Oh, that!” The man smiled at me again. “I didn't betray my boss. I only did what he told me to do.”
I was stunned.
Everything was getting clear as plain water. It was Desai's plan from the beginning. He wanted Sam to know and confront him so that he could buy him. He carried out his plan perfectly and now he can have Ananya whenever he wanted.
A few days later, Sam returned the cash he had borrowed from me. I remembered Desai's words.
“In return, he would only prosper in his life."

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