Adultery Knowing My Wife, Knowing Me As Well - part III

[krish_999]

Chapter - Twenty

 
 
The moment Meera saw my face, she knew that I had a lot to say.
"What happened?"
She asked. Putting her bag on the table.
"I want to speak to you, honey. About Desai."
I said.
She looked deep into my eyes and then spoke.
"Let me change first, Krish."
I waited in the hall until she returned. she had changed into a top and pants, ready to go for an evening walk. I did not have the patience to hold it anymore.
"Meera I want to talk now."
Meera slowly walked over to me.
"Are you going to say sorry?"
"Yes."
"Then you have talked too much. I am sorry too."
I didn't understand. She put her arms around me.
"You don't have to confess anything. If you confess, then I'll also have to confess. Let's not do it again. Let's move on."
Her warm breath touched my lips as she spoke. I put my arms around her too.
"But I am afraid you won't forgive me after hearing what I've done with him. I just want to tell you that I did not mean anything."
"I know. I have met Desai. And he told me many things. Whatever it may be, I too have done something with him that I don't want you to hear. Perhaps you might be sad, but I am sure I haven't done enough to break your heart. So let's skip the part and let's move on, baby. We have a life far better without this Desai-thing in our life. Let’s kick him out of our thoughts and life together. Let's move on."
"But," I wondered. "Is that possible?"
"It's possible," Meera smiled. "If we love each other."
"I love you," I said and my arms tightened around her. Meera smiled again and kissed me.
She broke after a short kiss.
"I want you to love me more when I come back after the jogging. See you until then."
 
That was how Meera handled things back at home. I was going to confess it all and seek her forgiveness. But she had her way. She had done something she didn't want to confess to me. And she knew it wasn't something I could not stand.
She was right. I had already learned her secret. And it hadn't broken my heart. I was sad of course. But I had also forgiven her the moment I heard her say goodbye to Desai.
I could not stop smiling when I thought how much I had been worrying since noon.
It was indeed better to 'skip the part' and move on.
 
When she returned after the evening walk she still found me sitting on the couch. I did not let her rest after that. I hugged her tight and kissed her hard.
"You are my everything, baby. I will never let you go."
I whispered and my lips dived down to her neck. I tasted her sweat and I swallowed her breath. She laughed, pretending to resist for a while. And then she took off her top and climbed onto my lap. I licked between her melons and she giggled. I unhooked her bra strap and she tossed her bra aside.
Her brown tits were erect. She moaned when I sucked on them.
"You want me, baby?"
She breathed into my ears.
I nodded and removed my T-shirt. She kissed me and let me play with her tongue. Her right hand plunged between us and went inside my pants. I felt her fingers wrapping around my throbbing hardness.
"You are so ready."
She whispered and quickly dropped to her knees on the floor, pulling my pants along. I helped her to get it off, and she quickly grabbed the waistband of my boxer too. My dick popped up and its head was shiny.
I saw Meera smiling at it and then at me before she leaned forward and took it in her mouth.
"Aaaah..."
I moaned.
No matter how much I had been ready for it, she still had taken me by surprise. Her head kept moving back and forth as I lay back, enjoying every moment of it.
Her tongue and lips were dancing around me. Her fingers became wet with her saliva and my pre-cum as she wrapped them around me and shook me. In the end, when I was ready to come she sensed it quickly. She looked into my eyes and kept jerking me.
"I am going to cum, baby..." I warned.
"Do it. Bath me in it," she said, her adorable eyes teasing me.
It was beyond my control after that. I saw the white stream of my cum flying in the air and landing on her cute face, as streams and drops. I groaned. I grabbed my dick and kept jerking and emptied more and more of my cum on her face. Her beautiful face became a mess. There was sweat, there was cum, all over her face.
She took it all while holding a glowing smile on her lips. There was not a moment of uneasiness. In the end, she asked me only one thing.
"Do you love me?"
 
In the night I plunged my face into her pussy and returned all the love I had. She writhed in pleasure. She begged me to stop but I knew she meant exactly the opposite. I grabbed her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the bed. Then I dropped myself to the floor to settle between her legs. I ate her pussy and played with her pussy lips. I teased her clit with my tongue first and then unleashed all my madness upon it. Upon her. She rolled her head over the bed.
"You are killing me, Krish."
In the end, I made sure I swallowed every drop of her love juice. But I did not stop there. I moved up and kissed her while guiding my hardness between her legs. Meera welcomed me with a lick all over my face. I licked her face back. We were both overcome by lust. I kept pounding hard and our room became noisy by her moans. In the end, I shot my entire load deep into her pussy. I realised it only when I finished.
"Oh my god. I am sorry."
"No issues. You have the pill, don't you?"
She asked me with a smile.
I smiled back. "Yeah, but it's in the car."
 
------------------------ 
 
The next morning I thought about telling Meera about the cash. But I was embarrassed and decided that it would be better if I returned it to Desai silently.
I waited until Meera left for her office and then I opened my shelf. But the briefcase was not there. I was surprised at first. I thought Meera would have found it. I had heard her telling Desai that she had searched the whole house for pills. She might have found the briefcase then.
But then I realised she would have asked me about it, had she found it.
And why would she hide it?
I was sure Desai had not mentioned a word about the cash to her. I had heard their entire conversation on Monday.
Then I thought she might have kept it somewhere else, accidentally. I searched every rack on the shelf and then her shelves too. With the progress of my search, I went from curious to anxious to nervous. By the end of my search which I had extended to the whole house, I realised the truth that the briefcase was not in there.
I was gone. Somebody had taken it.
As my mind raced backwards to find a clue, it was an easy guess that only Desai could do it. He knew where I had kept it. He had followed me to my bedroom to see where I was keeping it. He knew even the place I kept the shelf key.
I looked up and saw the house key hanging on the key holder on the wall. He could have seen it the other day. I remembered how he had asked for drinking water before leaving. He could have taken a photo of the key and then made a duplicate copy. He could have sent someone during the daytime and with the right information about where the briefcase was kept, anyone could do it.
Perhaps he would have done it himself. Because sending a third person to retrieve so much cash would be tricky as the briefcase did not have a lock.
I could only curse myself for trusting Desai like a friend. I knew that he would do anything to trap me and sleep with my wife. But I had grossly underrated him.
I phoned Desai right away.
I phoned him.
"Desai, do you think I'm a fool?"
I felt I should have met him personally so that I could have observed his facial reactions.
"What happened, my friend?"
The politeness in Desai's voice irritated me.
"Enough of this manipulation and double-crossing. Do you think you can get me to do what you want if you made me owe you some money?"
"You're only asking questions and I'm left with speculation only. Tell me what happened first."
"You took the money. You sneaked into my house, you burgled it."
"Wait." There was a change in the tone of his voice. "Did you lose it? The money?"
"I didn't lose it. You have taken it."
"Oh, come on, Krish. Don't think you're smarter than you know. Why would I take it?"
"Don't play innocent, Desai. It doesn't suit you."
"If you've lost it then it's okay, Krish. We can go to the security officer. But you're insulting me with your petty allegation. Use your brain, Krish. Do you think I can make you do what I want by stealing my own cash?"
"You had the guts to insult me when you made that proposal and brought the cash to my house. You counted on it. When it didn't work as you wish, you've changed your idea. Now you think I owe you that cash and thus you can buy me? And you know that I can't go to the security officer, that's your confidence."
"You can go to the security officer. I will help you go to the security officer."
"What will I say to the security officer? What's the source?"
"It's my cash. I'd say I've kept it with you because I trusted you."
"What will I say to Meera?"
"You can say anything you want. Nothing is worse than losing fifty lakh rupees from your house. But I recommend we don't tell her the real reason. It's not nice for both of us."
His words were gradually bringing down my anger. Perhaps it was his acceptance that he too did not want Meera to know about the cash that did the trick.
"What about the money? Desai, you're just... I'm just... Be honest with me one time. Please."
"Come on Krish, what test are you doing on me?"
"I know your manipulation games, Desai. I know what game you are playing with me. You kept the recorder in my bedroom. You manipulated me into asking Meera about her period and also about you and then told Meera that I told you those things. You told her that I wanted her to sleep with you. You told her that I took the emergency pill from you. And you manipulated her to believe everything and you made my wife suck your dick, didn't you, bastard?"
As the words flew from my mouth, my rage was again on a rise.
"Oh, she told you everything?"
"Yeah, she told me everything. We do tell everything. Your games won't work anymore, Desai."
"Well, then last night must be great. You guys must have fucked each other's brains out."
I was stunned.
"Desai, don't..."
"Tell me the truth, my friend. She must have given you the hell of pleasure. I too had great fun when she took my cock in her mouth. But I am damn sure it would be nothing compared to what she would have done to you in the night. Did she swallow your cum? Or did she bath herself in it?"
"Shut the fuck up, Desai," I yelled. "If you dare to say a word about her..."
"Why are you so angry, Krish. I know you. You must have come in your pants when you heard about how your wife had sucked my dick. Don't you want to see it once?"
"Forget the cash, you bastard. And go to hell."
I shouted and cut the phone. I was panting with disgust. My arms were shivering with rage.
Having run out of tricks, Desai was now showing his true, intimidating face to me.  I knew.
A second later, my phone buzzed.
'I m nt forgetting the csh. I knw u r charging me 4 the bj she gave me yesterday. But it's not enough. I need my csh.'
I read it again and again. I know you are charging me for the blowjob she gave me yesterday. But it is not enough. I need my cash. Or I need her.
I felt my blood boiling with anger.
"You won't have it," I shouted myself.
 
I was now damn sure that it was him, it was only him, who stole the cash. It was his plan B to blackmail me; to steal the cash to make me in debt, at the same time intimidating me through humiliation.
There is no evidence that I had his money. I tried to assure me. Why would I take fifty lakhs rupees from him? Who will believe it?
But I knew Desai was indeed a man with enough connections. He must have enough friends to get the money from me, even though I did not have it. I remembered how Sunny had come with his friends to beat me up to get his money a few years ago. Desai too could send people to intimidate me, threaten me and torture me.
But it didn't mean I would let him sleep with my wife. I was sure about it.
I decided to confess to Meera about the cash.
 
As I came down to the parking lot, I saw our gatekeeper Sadashiv. I showed him a photo of Desai on my phone and asked him if he had seen the man around.
Sadashiv thought for a while, without giving me an affirmative reply.
"What happened?"
He asked.
"If he comes here, you must inform me."
I said.
"Is there anything wrong, sir?"
"Not yet, but he is not a friend. I am trying to find out what is he up to."
I said.
I did not want to tell him about the cash. I was not sure I was going to the security officer too. I still believed that Desai cannot prove that I had the money.
If I went to the security officer I will have to go on record that I had received money from Desai. This means I will be ended up owing him the money, in case the money is not found. For the time being, or until things got nasty, I thought it would be wise to stay away from the security officer.
 
In the evening when Meera came home I casually asked her about the briefcase.
"Yeah, it's on your shelf. It's your stuff, right?"
She pointed to the shelf as she spoke.
"When did you see it last time?"
I asked.
"Last Monday," Meera looked apologetic. "When Desai told me that you took a pill from him, I wanted to verify it. I searched your drawer and shelves."
"Last Monday?" I was calculating in my mind. Monday seemed a long time ago. I had last seen the briefcase and the cash in it on Saturday, just before Pawan's visit.
Then something clicked in my head.
Is it Pawan?
Pawan was the third person who had seen the briefcase in my house. He had seen it, and he had seen my urgency to keep it safe in my bedroom. He might have speculated about something valuable in it. I remembered how he had backed away from the temple visit program on Sunday. He could have sneaked into the house and found the key from my drawer. And he would have found the cash.
Why would he do it?
Because he was angry over my decision to help him. Or, perhaps he needed money. He was not a person who did not need money, after all.
"What are you thinking, Krish? What happed to the briefcase?"
Meera's voice woke me up from deep thoughts.
"The briefcase is missing. I don't know where it has gone."
I said.
"You must have kept it somewhere else. Keep looking. We'll find it." She assured me.
"Well, you said you looked for the pill. You didn't find it, right? What if you had found it?"
I asked.
"Well..." Meera smiled. "I would have been really angry with you. But then I thought why I was acting so surprised. It was me who gave you all sorts of fantasy bits. Desai tried to feed me that you were willing to see me sleep with him. So I guessed he must be trying to feed you the idea that I was willing to do the same. It was all mind games, part of Desai's plans. I know him. I know how persistent he has been. Remember, he got so many reports prepared from me and my team pretending to be an investor for so long. We both are not as intelligent as he is. But we can be alert. So in the end I told him I wouldn't sleep with him even if my husband asked me to."
"Baby, I will never ask you to," I said and hugged her.
"I know," She smiled.
 
Even though I wanted to tell her about the cash story, I could not. I thought I would tell her later.
But I could not stop thinking about it.
Pawan had also become a suspect in my mind. But there was no way to find out, other than observing him for clues.
 
I visited Pawan on an evening. I asked him if he was angry with me.
"No, Krish. Not at all. I am glad that you are not angry with us for trying to force you to do something you did not want to. Sheetal told me that you apologised for not changing your decision. We are humbled by your loyalty to Meera."
"Don't praise me so much," I said. "I have given it much thought. I am also a man. I have imagined doing it with Sheetal, many times. I never thought I could do it in real, but I have to admit that I was aroused by the thought. I am a husband, but I am also a man. Such thoughts can make you feel vulnerable. I am sorry."
I was not able to look at him while talking. I knew I was giving him false hope. The only thing I wanted from him was a confession about stealing the money from my house.
"Don't be sorry for that, Krish. In fact, I want to be honest with you. You are most welcome to have such thoughts if it helps you to change your decision."
Pawan said.
"I don't want to give you false hope, Pawan. No."
I shook my head.
"I hope is always hope, Krish. There is nothing false about it." Pawan said. "I and Sheetal talk about you most of the nights. Not that we are looking for some sexual adventure. But we need to be totally comfortable about it. If you agree to our need, then we have to accept it. She has to be ready to welcome you to her bed. I have to be ready to admit that I wanted it. Now we are so comfortable that if you show up at my house at any time of the day, I will readily vacate the house. It's totally your call."
I was stunned.
This man cannot steal anything from me.
"I have read about people having kinky thoughts about such things." Pawan went on. "I don't know if I am pushing too much. I hope you are not offended. You can have a look at Sheetal's things if you want..."
"What things?" I asked.
"Come with me," Pawan led me to his bedroom.
His bed was neatly arranged, with a beautiful floral bedsheet on it. However, what caught my attention was the photos on the wall. Photos and posters of babies were all over the wall. It showed me how much they loved babies.
"Sheetal loves those posters," Pawan said while opening a shelf.
"This is hers. Her clothes, her ornaments, bangles, her make-up kits, and all.  I hope I am not offending you. But I wish you touch them and if you wish to see Sheetal wearing that or anything you want to see her wearing, then..."
"Pawan...please..."
"Please, Krish. Don't say no again. I am only asking you to dream. Dream about her. If you are aroused by thinking about her, then keep thinking about her, I beg you." He touched my palm as if to calm down me. "I'll make coffee for us both."
He said and left the room.
I had come for clues to see if he had robbed my house. And he not only welcomed me to his bedroom but also opened his shelf for me. There was no way he was the man who robbed my house.
I stood in the room and I half-mindedly ran my eyes into the shelf. It was Sheetal's wardrobe. Three racks were taken up by neatly arranged Kurtis, churidars, shawls, and other clothes. The other racks had fancy accessories and makeup items. I casually took a perfume bottle and checked its fragrance. It was jasmine.
"You like jasmine?"
I heard a voice from behind me, shocking me. It was Sheetal standing at the door.
"I..uh..." I was embarrassed. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to touch your personal things." I kept the perfume back on the shelf and moved back. Sheetal smiled and walked in.
"No, don't be sorry, Krish. We want you to touch our personal things."
I looked down for a second and then smiled back at her.
"You guys are hell-bent on seducing me."
"Thank God, you are at least smiling at me and joking about it." She was smiling with almost all her teeth and a part of the gums on show. It was the first time she was smiling at me so.
"You are smiling too, in a way that I am not able to look away."
Her eyes grew wider and her usual shyness was back on her face.
"I don't know what to say to that," she looked down and tried hard to control her sheepish smile, and ended up biting her lips.
My eyes fell at her sweaty neck. The kurti she was wearing had sweat spots around her armpit. Along with it, her breasts kept moving up and down with her quick breathing. I was getting aroused.
She took a step forward and casually tapped on the backside of the door, almost shutting it.
"Don't close the door. You're freaking me out." I said.
"Am I?" She peeped through the gap between door and frame. "I am so freaked out myself because I don't want Pawan to see me flirting with you."
I laughed a little.
"He wants you to do much more than that."
"But I am still shy to have him around me when you are also here."
I was getting more and more aware of my growing erection and it intimidated me.
"Let's move out, Sheetal. I am really freaked out."
I said and moved close to the door. She hesitated to move, giving me a look that got my heart beat faster. I put my palm on the side of her belly and moved her to a side and opened the door. I moved out but I had felt the softness of her belly. My dick had started to throb in my pants.
I left soon, without waiting for Pawan's coffee.
In the night when I made love to Meera,
 
Despite having a nasty exchange of words on Tuesday, Desai did not call me for a week. It helped me take a break from him and his cash. But at the back of my mind, I knew he was waiting to strike harder.
 
 
Meanwhile, Meera's professional life was going through an interesting phase. Her branch was approached by a popular website for a small video article, and Ashish Bharadwaj asked Meera to present it. She was surprised and a bit hesitant to do it.
"I told him I have no experience of facing a camera and there is no time to prepare for it. But Ashish said I'm the one who won't need any preparation."
Meera told me later.
The six-minute video went online the next Monday. It garnered a lot of appreciation, especially for her gorgeous looks. I wasn't surprised when I saw the video. She looked absolutely hot in a sky blue shirt.
"Even the people without any grip on the subject of your video will now claim it's very interesting," I said.
Meera was very happy.
"What did Ashish say?" I asked her.
"Well, he's the only one who didn't say anything about how I looked in the video. But he said he was impressed by the way I presented myself."
"Typically Ashish, right?"
Meera laughed, "yeah, typically Ashish."
 
Two days after the video went online, Meera told me that Desai had called her.
"He said the video was impressive. He said he was unable to stop watching it."
Meera told me.
"He is free to watch it, again and again," I said.
 
Desai was perhaps not happy with just watching the video repeatedly. He called Meera the next day too. He wanted to meet her but she refused.
"He was angry that I share every detail with you, and not appreciating the fact that you like it," Meera told me in the evening. "I told him that's none of his business."
"What details did you share with me?"
"That's not what I did not understand. He said you know what I did with you last time when I met him."
"You didn't share that with me."
I said. I had a hunch that she was testing waters. Perhaps she wanted to know how I came to know about it.
"But he said you know."
She was looking deep into my eyes.
"He told me."
I said.
"He said?"
"Not every detail. In one sentence."
"Then why didn't you ask me about it?"
"Because we had decided to move on. You had told me that you had done something with him that would make me sad but not enough to break my heart. So I guessed it was that. I moved on."
Meera kept staring at me and I saw tears in her eyes.
"Don't you hate me, baby? I kissed you madly that day."
"I kissed you because I love you," I took her in my arms. "Nothing can change that."
"I love you."
She kissed me. Her tears had rolled down. I could taste it from her lips.
 
In the night, while lying on the bed with her cheek on my chest, she told me about how and why she had gone with Desai in his car. And how he had manipulated her into touching his dick.
"When I heard your call, I felt you were watching me. I felt you were the one pushing me to do that. So I didn't try to resist when he pushed my head down to his lap. Then while doing it I decided it has to be the last of it. I didn't disappoint him. He came all over his dashboard."
"I guessed it, that you didn't swallow him, when he asked me if you swallowed me in the night."
"He asked you that?"
Meera looked up into my eyes. I nodded.
"And you didn't get angry?"
"Of course, I was angry. It was on the phone. I shouted at him, calling him a bastard and all, and then cut the call."
"I mean, didn’t you get angry with me?"
"I would be lying if I said I was angry with you."
I said and slowly brought her palm onto my crotch. It was hard.
"You rascal." Meera giggled and grabbed it over the cloth.
Desai was becoming a common man in our world. A common man who we could ignore without a second thought. But I was still wondering about how to deal with the stolen cash.
 
 
 
One day Desai met me in my office and told me he was ready to forget the cash but in return, he wanted to have another meeting with Meera.
“I’ve tried many times to see her but she is not ready.”
"She has moved on, Desai."
"She told me that she would not sleep with me even if you asked her. So don't worry, I am not trying to manipulate you. But after this much running around, I deserve something."
"You got something. You got something, didn't you?"
I looked him in the eyes.
"She must have told you everything. "
"What else do you want now?"
"I hope we are talking now. I will have one lunch."
"Huh!"
I laughed scornfully. Desai leaned forward.
"No. Not the lunch that we had agreed upon earlier. It's totally up to her. I will ask her out. Nice and soft. If she allows me to sleep with her, I will. If she gives me head, I will have it. If she gives me nothing, then that's also okay. I will not come back to haunt you. I will forget my cash. Fifty lakh is a big amount, but not too much for me. I will consider it's lost in gambling."
“Your money is not my concern, Desai.”
"It can be. Don't pretend to be silly. But we are not talking about money. We are talking about stopping to dream about your wife. Do you want my dream to go on forever?"
I kept staring at him for a long moment.
"Desai, you may claim that you've stopped taking no for an answer. Because you think today, tomorrow, or ten years later you'll be having your dream fulfilled. But I have to tell you otherwise. It's a no from me – today, tomorrow, or ten years later."
A smile blossomed on his thick lips.
"You were listening to us," he kept shaking his head. "You used the recorder to spy on her, didn't you?"
I knew I had erred by repeating a dialogue he had told Meera a week ago.
"Does it matter to you?"
"It would matter to Meera."
I knew I was again in hot waters. I had to remain calm. I forced a laugh.
"You still want to blackmail me? Do you still think it would work? Go ahead, I want you to try every trick you know. Because that's the best way she can understand the wolf in you."
"Leave it, Krish I am not trying to manipulate you. I only needed a chance and I know it's not tough to understand that I deserve it. Meera told me she won't sleep with me. You can ask her not to sleep with me. You don't worry about ruining your image as a husband. I will promise you that. Then why are you not letting her have lunch with me? It's just lunch, are you so insecure?"
"Why the fuck are you asking me then, Desai? Why are you here?"
"She is not even ready to have lunch. That's why. When I ask her next time, I want you to tell her it's okay to have lunch. Just lunch. Tell her that. Can you do that, at least? I know it won't be hard."
I scratched my head. I wanted him to leave us alone. I wanted him to be gone from our lives forever.
"And you will be gone forever, after the lunch, irrespective of the outcome?"
I asked.
I had let myself be bait.
Desai leaned back in his chair.
"That's exactly my promise."
 
After Desai left, I sat alone in my office, wondering if I was doing it right or not. I badly wanted Desai to move on. I had experienced much relief when Meera said about moving on. I knew it could be a reality only if Desai decided to move on. So I had to give in to his last wish. I was confident that he would not be able to manipulate Meera anymore.
I decided to speak to Meera.
That night I told Meera about how Desai had tried to lure me with one crore rupees.
"I told him to take the money and leave. I was angry. He apologised and tried to convince me that he didn't mean to insult me. He had brought fifty lakh rupees in a briefcase. I told him to leave. But he requested me to keep the money here, saying he would take it when he comes for lunch on Saturday. He thought keeping the money on my shelf for a week would make me greedy to keep it forever. He promised he would bring fifty more on Saturday, which I can have if I am willing to compromise. I disagreed but he still managed to leave the cash here. But that’s not the problem now. Since Monday or Sunday, it's gone missing now. He was in Mumbai for a week so I could not return it to him. Finally, when he came back, on Tuesday, I thought I would return it. But the briefcase is not there."
"What do you mean by not there?" Meera asked.
"I checked the whole house, baby. It's missing. I think Desai burgled our house to trap me."
"I can't believe anything you are saying." Meera stared at me. "What the hell is going on here, Krish? What is this all?"
"This is Desai's games, he's trying every trick to get you."
"One crore rupees?" Meera's eyes grew in bewilderment. "How dare that beggar is! And you, Krish, how can you be so foolish?"
"I am sorry baby. I did not realise he would do this."
"Why didn't you tell me this? I would have slapped him with my sandal. If he had handed the money over to me, I would have burnt it right away."
"I know, but I didn't want to make a scene here. In fact, I was shocked to see him walk in here. I don't know how he found out our address and you know, he knew about your evening walk schedule. I wanted to tell you about this, but since he managed to leave the money here, I was ashamed to tell you.  I was going to tell you, but only after returning the money. I kept calling him but he was out of town."
"I can't blame you for not telling me, yes, because you should be ashamed of what you did." Meera three a disappointed look at me. I struggled to face her.
"How do you know it's him who stole the cash? How did he do it?" She asked after an awkward silence.
"He has seen me keeping the cash in our room. He could have taken a picture of our house key from the hangar. There's no way a random thief would sneak into our house and steal the briefcase without touching anything else. I didn't even know when it happened. The last time I saw the briefcase was on Saturday night. It's obvious that it is Desai himself, but I'm not sure if he did it on Sunday or Monday."
"Yeah, it seems obvious. But then what's the purpose of doing it? Is he such a fool?"
"No. That's what he wants. He wants us to blame only him so that he can deny doing it and also accuse us of hiding it. Especially because we can’t tell anyone else."
Meera nodded. "Yeah, he's not a fool. Have you talked to him?"
"Yes. He first said he didn't need to do it. But then he sent me a message hinting that I am just trying to keep the money."
I showed her Desai's message. Meera read it once and her face reddened.
"Fucker! I want to kill him, Krish." But her voice was weak. "Oh my God! What is happening in my life." She sat on the couch and cried. I tried to console but she yelled at me.
"Don't speak to me now, Krish. Just give me a break. Leave me alone."
"I am sorry baby, it's all my fault. I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. I will fix it somehow."
My words didn't bring any solace to her, though.
 
The night was silent. We both were lost in our thoughts. I saw Meera searching through all the shelves. I didn't dare to speak a word to her. When we went to sleep I heard her taking long breathes, and I knew she was unable to sleep even though she was lying with her face to the other side.
I slowly put her hand around her. She tried to shake my hand off her, but I persisted forcefully.
"I am sorry, Meera. Please understand me."
I said.
"Is he going to show up in my office and ask me about the money?"
She asked, without turning to me.
I knew he was going to do exactly that.
"No, baby."
"Don't lie to me, Krish. We both know that he is going to torture us."
"We'll go to the security officer."
"And what will you say to them? Why did Desai give you the money? To let him sleep with your wife?"
"I'll say anything else. Like advance for a real estate deal."
"But he can say the truth. Can't he say that you demanded the money from him?"
"What will he get from defaming us?"
"He won't defame. Suppose you went to the security officer and went on record that you kept the money as advance for a real advance deal. The next day Desai will come to us and threaten us that he will go on record that it was advance you took for letting him sleep with your wife. We will be in the news. We will beg him not to do so and to stick to our version."
I was stunned. Meera turned to me, slowly.
"What will he demand in return?"
I knew what he would demand in return. But I could not speak a word.
"Tell me, Krish?"
"You," my voice was weak.
"Do you have any idea on how to save us from this shit?"
"No," I went with honesty this time.
We both remained silent for long, deeply lost in our thoughts.
I remembered all the appreciation she received after her video went online. People were impressed more by her beauty than the content of the video. An allegation that her husband demanded one crore from a businessman for a night with her would instantly destroy her career. If I went to the security officer alleging that the fifty lakh advance was stolen by the businessman himself, how many people would believe it? The only thing people would notice would be that I took fifty lakhs as advance. That it was lost wouldn't be a matter of concern for anyone.
"Krish," I heard Meera's voice after a long time. "If he ever comes to you with a demand to let him sleep with me, then accept it."
I couldn't believe what I heard. My heart had stopped beating for a second.
"Don't tell me you can't bear it and all. You have witnessed me having sex with Das in a much worse situation. We are much open as a couple than we pretend. So let's accept the truth; I can let him fuck me and still live on. You can let him fuck me for one more night and still love me. You only need to promise me one thing. That you will demand the rest of the money he offered you."
"Meera..."
I began to speak, only to be interrupted by her eyes.
She spoke after a second. "But I will burn his money in front of his eyes."
She was angry beyond my belief.
"There must be another way, Meera." I tried to speak with a stiff voice. But honestly, I did not know if there was one.
 
The next morning I told her about Desai's recent visit to my office.
"His demand was a lunch with you. He said it's going to be just lunch and he wanted me to convince you to decide in his favour."
"Just lunch?" Meera looked at me.
"He wants a chance to seduce you. If you sleep with him, then that's it. If you don't, then that's also acceptable. After that, he won't come back to haunt us. He would consider the money is lost in gambling."
Meera thought for a while.
"He's such a dirty pig! He will never quit." She shook her head. "He's confident that he'll seduce me. But I am also confident about myself. Where is this lunch going to be?"
My heart was already beating faster as I knew she had taken up the challenge.
"I don't know. He didn't tell me."
My voice was trembling. Meera sensed it. She came close to me and caressed my face.
"Don't worry, Krish. I am not going to sleep with him. I will have lunch with him, that too, not in his place. I'll agree only if it's a restaurant. Let him try his best. He won't force me for anything. I know that."
"I will keep a watch on you. In case he tries to be smart like drugging you..."
"No, you don't have to. He won't use drugs and all. Because he's not just after my body. He is after the whole me. He wants me to do it willingly. Like the old night. Otherwise, he's already got other options than me."
Even though I was psychologically torn by the fact that she was giving in to Desai's games, I was also amazed by her understanding of Desai's psyche. She knew what type of person he was, and what he needed and why he was so desperate for her.
I was damn sure her prediction about Desai's game plan was going to be right.
 
However, Desai did not call me in the following days. Meera kept asking me about it every day.
The following week Meera had a special assignment by Ashish Bharadwaj. Three recruits were sent to their office for a week's training. Ashish personally requested Meera to supervise their training activities as he was busy moving into his new house.
Meera's professional life had just got busier. She left home earlier than usual and came back almost an hour late. In some way, it helped us become less preoccupied with the thought of Desai.

to be cont'd