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

[krish_999]

Chapter - 42

I had stopped the car at a crossroad. I thought about going to Nidhi’s house to meet her. As I did a quick calculation, I realised that her house was not too far from the highway. Being Sunday night I knew she would be home. With that thought I took a U-turn.

 
As I drove past a bar, I felt the thirst to have a few shots of whiskey. My body was on fire and my heart was still beating like a machine. But I chose not to stop anywhere.
I didn't want to spend my time on the road anymore. I wanted to find a bed and sleep so that this night would end somehow. And I knew there was no such place in this big city.
I reached Parvati's house in half an hour. The front side of the house was dark. I felt that Parvati and Nidhi were sleeping. The street lights and a few neighbourhood lights were still on. I hesitated for a moment whether it was right to disturb them so late at night.
But that didn't stop me from walking up to that door and ringing the doorbell. A few minutes later I saw light in the hall.
 
Parvati opened the door as expected.
She was surprised to see me.
"Krish!"
Her eyes widened for a moment, but she turned serious when she saw my expression.
“What happened, Krish? That too at this time?”
I stared at her for a moment. I did not expect such a question.
"Come in."
Glancing behind me, she invited me inside.
I felt my steps grow weaker as I stepped inside.
"I came to see Nidhi, Parvati. I wanted the keys of my office."
I said in a weak voice.
"She's not here. Didn't you call her?"
Parvati said.
I was taken aback.
I told her my phone is switched off.
“She is at my sister's house and told me she would go to office directly, in the morning. So the key must be with her. Is it urgent?"
"No, nothing so urgent," I said. “Don't call her. No mess."
“Sit down Krish. Something is not right. Don't mind me asking again, but are you alright?”
I was struggling to face her. I didn't know why.
“It doesn't matter Parvati. I'm fine, I think I'm fine. "
"Your voice…" repeated Parvati. ”When I hear your voice I know something is wrong. Tell me, Krish. Is it about the office? If it's important I'll call Nidhi. Nothing more important..."
"Please sit, Parvati."
I said sitting on the small sofa in the hall.
“Nothing happened to the company. It has nothing to do with that company. Today was not a good day for me. I am tired, Parvati.”
"I can see that. Did you have dinner?"
She asked as she sat down in the chair next to me.
I had totally forgotten about dinner.
I shook my head no.
“I… I don't want dinner. I don't feel hungry. "
“Didn't you have dinner? Wait, I'll get something on the dinner table.”
Parvati got up and started walking towards the kitchen.
"Oh, Parvati... nothing. I just came here to get the office key.”
"But why do you need it now?"
“Nothing, Parvati. I just need a place to rest.”
“I don't understand what you are saying. Okay, leave it but why are you refusing to even have dinner?”
“I told you, Parvati. I am not hungry. I'm skipping dinner.”
“Okay. Don't have dinner if you don't want.”
Parvati said and hurried to the kitchen. She returned with a glass of milk.
“Don't say no to this.”
She handed me the milk. I hesitated when I took it. But as I started to drink it, I felt my throat was just waiting for it. I finished it in one go and kept the empty glass down.
Parvati smiled.
“Thank you, Krish.”
She immediately took the glass to the kitchen and came back.
“Do you must rest in the office?” She asked and went on before I could reply. “I mean if you want to stay here then it is okay; you can leave in the morning.”
“Parvati…” I didn't know what to say.
“You look tired. You should rest now.”
Parvati said again.
I took a long breath and wiped my face.
Parvati shook her head understandingly.
“You can sleep in my mother-in-law’s room. I will get it ready in a few minutes. Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything? There’s enough food left in my kitchen to feed you.”
“I would have asked if I was hungry, Parvati. Thank you.” I said.
Parvati shook her head and went to her mother-in-law's room. However, she returned immediately. She said the room will take a while to get ready.
“You don’t have to wait until then. You can sleep in my room instead. I will sleep in my mother-in-law’s room.” She suggested.
I hesitated.
“Parvati, I am not sure if I should sleep here. I think it won't be appropriate...”
“Come on, Krish. Don't be formal. I don't like you to be formal with me. I know we are much closer than that.” She held out her hand, “come.”
I thought she was forwarding her hand to me. I looked into her eyes and grabbed her hand. I saw her looking surprised and then only I realised my mistake.
I quickly pulled my hand back. “Sorry.”
Parvati smiled.
“It’s okay.” She said and grabbed my hand. “Why are you behaving so nervously?”
Her hand was cold. I could feel the slight wetness because she was washing the glass in the kitchen a few moments ago.
Holding my hand, Parvati walked me to her bedroom.
 
I was a medium-size room and at its centre was her bed. It was a regular-sized bed on a standard wooden cot. I noticed a dry towel on one end of the mattress. Parvati grabbed it and a small piece of cloth fell on the floor. It was her bra.
Parvati had a shy smile on her face.
“Sorry.”
She blurted.
I just nodded to play it down. But at the same time, I noticed that she was not wearing any bra under her blouse.
“What are you thinking, Krish?”
Parvati had noticed that I was staring at the whole room.
“Nothing,” I said.
“You can take this room,” Parvati said. “I hope you can have a good night's sleep here. I will keep the water jug on the table.”
“Nothing can give me a good night's sleep tonight, Parvati.”
I said. My voice was shaking again.
“Krish,” Parvati looked into my eyes. “I have no idea what is hurting you but if my staying in this room would help you in any way, if you don’t want to spend the night alone, then I will stay.”
“My problems...” I took a deep breath. “My problems are many, Parvati. You can't fix it. I am lonelier than you can imagine.”
“What happened to Meera?”
She asked.
“She's leaving me. I'm alone.”
“What?” Parvati took a step forward, closer to me. “Krish....”
I looked down at the floor. “She chose someone else,” I said.
“What do you mean by she chose? She is married to you... How can she just choose someone over you?”
I looked up but struggled to face Parvati’s eyes.
“I said chose means she chose Desai, our friend, over me. She’s having an affair with him.”
“Did she tell you she’s leaving you for him?”
“No.”
“Then you could be wrong. They must be having just friendship.”
I stared at Parvati for a second.
“They have a sexual relationship, Parvati. She is... she enjoys it more with him than me.”
Parvati was stunned.
“But…how do you know?”
“I have seen it.”
She pressed her palm to her mouth.
“I am sorry, Krish. It's a lot... But how!”
I looked down dejectedly. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it.
 
It was just the beginning. I had to explain to a lot of people what my wife had done to me and I would struggle to do it. Because I first had to explain it to myself.
I had to convince myself of a lot of lies before selling them to the world. The pain of meeting Meera's family and my family after this would be like hell.
But as I looked at Parvati again, I thought she was the one whom I could try telling the truth.
“Parvati...” I spoke after a minute of break. “It wasn't that she started cheating on me just like that. We were friends with Desai... Friends in a way that's more than a couple can afford. You will find it tough to believe and understand”
“Has she fallen in love with him? Meera…” Parvati asked out of the blue.
“Uh... She... No.” I said. “I don't think she loves him as much as she loved me. She is just...”
“She was lovely indeed.”
"I made a mistake, Parvati. I trusted my friend Desai."
"Have you left your house?"
“I haven't decided, Parvati. My mind is in turmoil. I was not looking for a place to sleep, Parvati. I have another house. The house that we were staying in is owned by me and the other one is owned by Meera. She is going to move out, it’s easy for her. And after that Desai will take over, I’m damn sure about that. I will no longer be welcome in her life.”
Parvati said nothing. Silence prevailed for a few minutes.
 
After a while, I asked for mobile charger and put my phone on charging. As soon as it started charging, I switched on the phone.
The very next moment it started ringing. It was Meera.
“Krish, where are you? Why your phone was switched off? Come back, for god’s sake, please. Krish…”
Meera spoke nonstop. I could sense the panic in her voice.
“My phone was out of charge, Meera.” I said. “I’m at a friend’s house. I’m alright.”
“Which friend? Please come back. Or tell me the place, I’ll come there.”
“I told you I’m alright. I’ll come back in the morning. You should better sleep.”
“Krish…” her voice was softer this time. “I’m sorry. Sorry for calling you mental patient. I know I hurt you, but…”
“It’s okay.” I said. “Are you leaving tomorrow?”
“No. Please come back. Please. I love you.”
Her voice suddenly felt like a breeze in my ears.
Did I hear the right words? I wondered.
“Meera…”
“Come back as early as possible, Krish. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Meera said.
As the phone call ended, I felt it like a miracle.
She’s not leaving. She’s waiting for me. She said she loved me.
Was I overreacting?
I wondered.
 
“What did she say?” Parvati asked.
“She wants me to go back to her. She’s not leaving.”
“Isn’t it good news?”
“Yes. It is good news.”
I smiled at her.
“If you don’t mind, can we sleep in this bed, together? I just don’t want to sleep alone.”
I said.
Parvati gave me an amused smile and then said, “Yeah, sure.”
 
As Parvati lay next to me, I pulled a blanket to cover us together. I did not switch off the light as I lay awake next to her for a long.
 
In the morning I woke up with a sense of calm. I turned to Parvati. She was sleeping peacefully under the same blanket.
I put my arm around her. She woke up and spent a moment to realise where she was.
She smiled.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Are you leaving?”
She asked as she sat up on the bed.
I nodded. “I need to go back to Meera. Hopefully, everything is alright this morning.”
“Stay for the breakfast, okay?” She smiled and got off the bed slowly.
 
I checked the time it was a quarter past six. I got up and went to the washroom. When I came back Parvati was arranging the bed. My phone had a message from Meera.
‘Come soon’
I smiled at it and replied ‘I’m coming’.
Parvati had done arranging the bed. “I’ll make coffee, Krish,” she said while opening the bedroom door. I followed her to the hall.
And we were shocked to see Nidhi sitting there.
She was sitting on a sofa and staring at us.
 
"Nidhi, when did you come?"
Parvati asked. Her voice was affected by the shock.
"What is happening here? Why is he here, mom?"
Nidhi asked her and then looked at me.
"So this was the reason behind your kindness to my family, Krish sir? How long has this been going on?”
Her eyes had the power to burn me. I took a few steps forward before I spoke.
"I'm sorry you had to face this. But please understand that your mom hasn't done anything wrong. Don't make her apologise to you for anything."
"You're defending my mother? How do you defend yourself?"
Nidhi scoffed.
"Nidhi, there’s nothing that you should be ashamed of what we did. I was living the worst time of my life. I had come to get the office key from you."
"Office key? In the night?" She didn’t look convinced.
"Nidhi... Don't question him now. I'll talk to you later."
Parvati interrupted.
"Mom."
Nidhi chided her with a solid stare.
"Nidhi, let me assure you nothing is going on between us…"
I began to say and Nidhi turned to me again.
"What happened to you? You just started walking again. What has made your life so worse in such a short period?"
"It’s family issues, daughter."
Parvati said.
"What family issues?” Nidhi stared at me. “Did your wife leave you for someone else?"
She was sarcastic. But I nodded my head.
"She was about to."
Nidhi stared at me for a moment and suddenly started smiling disdainfully.
"Your wife was going to leave you and you moved on so easily? What kinda husband are you?"
"It's a bit complicated, Nidhi. I can't tell you."
"Mom," Nidhi turned to Parvati.
Parvati dismissed her and turned to me.
"You should leave, Krish. Speaking to her will only make you feel worse. I'll talk to her.” She said and looked at Nidhi. ”Leave him alone, my kid. He came here because he needed peace. You don't know what he is going through."
Nidhi gave her a disappointed look.
 
Silence prevailed in the house after that.
Parvati gave me a new toothbrush to use. By the time I returned from the bathroom, she had made poha for the breakfast. It was delicious, with some namkeen and lemon juice sprinkled over it as garnish. Despite Nidhi’s intervention, I was feeling a sense of calmness from within, simply because of Meera's phone call. Nothing else mattered to me at the moment.
Nidhi was in the kitchen, busy talking with her mom in a low voice. I felt she was questioning Parvati. I sat at the dining hall and had the breakfast silently. I felt bad for Parvati, for having to defend herself in front of her daughter.
Before I left, I requested Nidhi not to blame her mom for anything.
"She's one of the best persons I have ever met. Last night… It would have been different if you were here when I showed up here. Please believe your mom, Nidhi."
I said and felt that Nidhi nodded. That was enough for me. I walked out.
 
I headed straight to my home. Twenty minutes later, I got a phone call from Nidhi.
“Krish sir, I want to talk to you. Please come back.”
I could not sense anger in her voice. I felt she would have felt sorry and was going to apologise. I told her I would meet her at the office the next day.
“No, it’s urgent. Please. If you tell me where you have reached, I’ll ride up to there. But please don’t go home before hearing what I have to tell you.”
I was forced to stop.
“Okay, I will wait here.” I told her the place.
 
Nidhi arrived in twenty minutes. And she parked her scooty along the road side and then got into the front seat of my car.
“Mom told me your wife is having an affair with Susheel Desai.” She said straightway and looked at me as if to confirm.
For once, I felt I made a blunder by revealing it to Parvati. I should have told her to keep the secret.
“I forgot to tell Parvati not to tell this to anyone. I was…”
“I’m not here to judge you, Krish sir. I came to tell you about…him.”
 I stared at her.
“Him?”
“Desai sir.”
“What about him?”
Nidhi looked down and cleared her throat. She turned to look at me before starting, and then stopped, as if she was struggling to find how to start.
“Tell me, Nidhi? What about Desai?”
“It’s about him and also about me. I got to tell you in details…so that you can understand it well. It is something that… I mean… I don’t know how to start.”
“It’s not about something good, I guess.”
“No, it’s not about good things.” Nidhi nodded.
“Nidhi, you know what I have shared with your mom, and you know how bad is how my life is taking me. So… just don’t… I mean, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’m the perfect person to share the bad news. There is nothing that can be worse than what I’m living at the moment.”
“I understand. But I decided to meet you and tell about it because I felt it would help you in some way.”
“That’s good. Tell me, then.”
“I have slept with Desai sir.”
She said quickly and looked straight into my eyes, as if to see the reaction. I was stunned.
“What?”
Nidhi wiped her forehead and shook her head.
“Yes. That’s what I…”
“Tell me what happened. I want to know everything about it. How did he…”
“Do you remember when I and Sundeep got intimate in your car? You knew that we actually made love in there, didn’t you?  And after you had the accident and you were bedridden, Desai sir took over your place in the office. He was very good, looking after the business. But one day, that would be a month ago; he called me into his office and showed me a video clip. It was a CCTV footage from the parking lot, where I was making out with Sundeep. I don’t know how he dug that up, but he had the video clip. We were inside the car but the video had my face visible and recognisable. That was the beginning.”
I felt a strange feeling taking over my body. My body was shivering from the inside. I was already guessing the worst possible continuations of what Nidhi had started to share. Nidhi was indeed unravelling the face of a monster that I had befriended in my life.
Nidhi went on.
“Desai sir asked me what would be my mom’s reaction if that video went viral. I had no way but to fall at his feet and plead for his mercy.
At first, Desai sir tried to link me up with you, sir. He said you must have seen it already. The car belonged to you so Desai sir alleged that I must have done it purposefully to let you watch. He alleged that I was having an affair with you and even sleeping with you. I cried. Desai sir said a lot of things. He threatened me that he would tell my boyfriend that I was sleeping with you. Or even better, he said, would be him telling your wife about the truth. But I could only swear to him that there was no such thing, and you and I had nothing other than friendship.
 
For me and my mom, Krish sir, you are a person we always counted on. When Desai sir threatened to put a blemish on your name, I begged him. I begged him not to destroy your life; I told him that you have only done good things to me. I fell at his feet and cried and begged for his mercy to stop destroying our lives.
But he was not going to believe me. He still thought I was hiding something from him. He kept asking me, “how is that you care so much about him, and you know, that itself is showing the strength of the affection you have for him. Are you in love with him?” I said the video has someone else making out with me, and that’s my boyfriend. Why would I have an affair with Krish sir? But he said the video was old one. Where is that guy, your boyfriend? For my bad luck I and Sundeep had hit a rough patch by then, and I confessed to Desai sir that we had a break up. Desai sir laughed, said now you are coming up with bits of truth.
He was not going to stop asking, and torturing. I ended up on my knees and told him that he could do anything he wished. He gave me a strange look at me and asked me if I was offering him favours. I don’t know what went to my head, I was sick of the mental torture. I said yes. He kept staring at me and then parted his legs and then gestured towards his crotch. “Okay, then. I’ll take it.” He said.
For once, I hesitated but then I felt he would at least understand that I and you were not having a love affair. And I also felt threatened by the fact that he was holding that video. It was my requirement to keep him friendly. I moved forward and touched. That day, I gave him head. Almost until my knees started aching. But the experience was… I’d blame myself here. Because it was unlike what I was expecting… I mean the dread was over the moment I pushed myself to touch him and put it into my mouth. Once I crossed the line… you know, I…”
Nidhi was suddenly at loss for words. I felt she was just shy to accept it.
“I can understand, Nidhi. I have seen him. I mean, in bed with my wife.”
I said.
Nidhi threw her eyes at me and slowly nodded, and swallowed. She felt relieved to hear that I understood her.
“Yeah. And it was just a beginning. The next day was a repeat except that there was no begging from my side. He called me to the office in the afternoon and asked me to lock the door from the inside. I would already know and I would show no hesitation to kneel in front of him. On the third day, when he called me to his office at around three o’clock, I thought it would be the same story but he said whatever he did it just for fun. He said he had no plan to cause harm to my life. It was hard to believe. You know how I would have felt. In your mind, you have all the bad shit… And then suddenly he asked if I like him. I could not reply. A week later, he again asked me. By the time I don’t know what happened to me. Every time he calls me, a part of me is expecting him to be that old version. But he’s not. I thought I was scared of him. But no. In my head, I am kneeling in front of him. He’s an impressive person of opposite sex. And when he asked for the second time if I liked him, I said yes. It was my mistake. He got up and grabbed me, and kissed me straightaway. My body was like on fire, instantly. I can’t tell you how it was. Before I knew I was lying on top of his desk, with my face down. But I got scared, like at the right moment. I was truly scared, especially when he tried to take my clothes off. I pleaded, “not here please.” That was my version of saying no! It means a ‘yes’, right?
And do you know what he did? He pulled me up and took me to the washroom. There I didn’t say anything to stop. I let him make me nude, I mean full nude… He carefully hung my shirt and pants on the wall. And other clothes too. He sat me on the commode and made me… I lost it there. But when he finally initiated to have sex, I cried. I mean I literally cried, he was that big. Not like what I had experienced in my life, from my boyfriend. I screamed. No matter how much I tried to contain it, my scream was so loud that it scared the shit out me. And him too. The bathroom’s ventilator is open type, right? And he kept saying I can’t scream like that, it would be audible from outside. Eventually we had to stop. We didn’t complete the sex. We laughed together once we got back into the office, with our clothes on. I told him I’m a little girl. But I was in awe for him, secretly.
A few days later, may be more than a week after that, I came to meet you at your house. Do you remember? I met you that day. I actually wanted to meet you on Sunday. I phoned you to know if it was the right time to visit, but you said Meera had gone to the temple and asked me to visit on next day. I told you Monday I have work. You asked me to inform Desai sir that I was going to meet you.
So I phoned Desai sir on Monday morning and told him that I would be late in the morning as I would be visiting you. Desai sir said okay.
But then, when I reached there, I ran into Desai sir in the parking lot of your residential complex. He looked like he was preparing to leave.
 
But he wasn’t leaving. He said he was waiting for me. He said he would take me to you. I followed him to this house. And instead of taking me to your room, he took me to another room. I was confused and frightened. I asked him if he lived there. He replied that he was leaving. He looked frustrated. He said it was his bedroom but I noticed the dressing mirror and the makeup articles on it. I realised that it was Meera mam’s room. And he said that room was absolutely soundproof.”
 
I could foretell what Nidhi had come to reveal.
I remembered the Sunday when Nidhi had phoned me. I asked her to come on next day. That night was incidentally when Meera had let Desai kiss her in front of me. In the morning, Desai was frustrated enough to decide that he was leaving Pune.
Nidhi just walked into that frustration.
 
“Desai sir told me he had never thought he would be doing it, but then said he was having a very bad day and so he was going to do it.
I was frightened, mostly because it was happening at your house, but when he gestured for me to kneel I didn’t make any scene. I knelt in front of him and he pulled down his pants. I was again, at it. This time he had assured me that the room was hundred per cent soundproof. He did some foreplay, making me get some oral pleasure. One step at a time, I knew where this was heading to. A part of me wanted this to happen, to be honest. I looked worried be he said I was going to enjoy it. And when I became ready, he asked me to hold his thing and guide it into me. I did exactly that. And to be honest, it felt good. I mean a lot good, new experience. I again made a lot of noise; crying and screaming – what else. The assurance that the room was a soundproof one let me lose grip on my mind completely. At the end of it, I had an orgasm, an intense one. It was an eye-opening moment for me, or like a soul-awakening experience. I was taken to a world I never knew existed and for a moment I wanted to remain there. I was ashamed of how I was screaming with pleasure but I was also happy that Desai sir too had enjoyed it. After the sex, he said I must walk with him to the parking before coming back to meet you. But he warned me about messing it up by getting emotional in front of you. I promised him that I wouldn’t tell you.
So I went with him to the parking and waited for him to leave and then I returned to your house as if nothing happened. I didn’t speak a word about it, to anyone, until now.
When I reached my office that day, Desai sir reminded me to take a pill.
 
The following day I went to the office with a broken mind. A part of my mind was still warm due to the experience, and the other part of my mind was scared like hell that it would repeat to the point to destroying my life. I knew I don’t have the power to stop him. But luckily, he was not what I thought. He called me to his office at noon and told me he was going through a rough patch in his life. He apologised for using me to vent out his frustration. At that moment I honestly felt for him. I felt he was a great man. I had no idea what he was doing in your life. For me he was a person who could control me, but he chose to let me free. I was grateful to him.
A few days passed and then he called me one day. In the morning. He asked me if I could come to your place. I did not ask him what it was about. But as I approached the building, I was like, my feet was not touching the ground. I was breathing hard. I knew what was going to happen, and I was kinda thrilled. And you know, that day he was a monster in the bed. He opened the door and asked me to be silent as he walked me to that same old room. As soon as I came in, he closed that door and told me, "you can be noisy now, as loud as you can."
And he went on to make me cry louder than the previous time, louder than I have ever imagined that I would, while being in a man’s hands. My cries soon became pleasure sounds. I lost all inhibitions as he used my body in the ways I thought I wanted to. He kept asking me if I had ever got so much pleasure from my boyfriend. I said no. It was the truth. He asked me if I loved to have sex with him. I said yes. He asked me if I was still not seeing my boyfriend. I was not seeing him. Sundeep had come to patch up but after what happened with Desai sir, I was not going to commit myself again with Sundeep. When I said this to Desai sir, he said I should go back to my boyfriend. "When you go back to your boyfriend and when you have sex with him, I want you to think of this moment. I want you to think of me. I want you to cherish these lovely moments. This moment of my cock – I’m quoting him - filling the whole of your pussy, and filling it with loads and loads of my cum.” He was so explicit; I hope you’d forgive me, Krish sir. But I want you to believe me, that’s why I’m giving you such explicit details. He treated me like I was his lover. I had surrendered my body and mind to the waves of pleasure he was giving me. He talked about seeing my disappointed face when Sundeep finished it off while having sex with me in the car, and said a girl like me deserved to know what real sex means. And he took me on again, harder than I could resist, and came inside me. I didn't feel an iota of nervousness regarding them being my unsafe period. I was ready to welcome him in any manner he wanted. When he finished, I didn't want to leave the bed, pretending to be physically exhausted. But inside me, I just wanted to stay in those moments. I had forgotten my love, my ex-boyfriend, and everything. Desai sir was a conqueror.”
 
Even though the things Nidhi was telling me were revealing Desai's true face, the way she was suddenly praising Desai's sexual prowess was making me jealous.
Desai was the monster who could turn into a god of sex and make his victims sing praises of him. No wonder why Meera had lost her power to say no to him.
Nidhi spent a moment gathering her memories before she resumed.
“Desai sir asked me when the last time I had sex with Sundeep was.  "The last time was when you saw us in the car," I said. Desai sir said it was bad.
"That's bad. I want you to go back to him tomorrow. Make love to him, and feel the difference. I am sure you'll miss me, but you will love him more."
I promised him that I would do that.”
Nidhi took a small break before beginning again.
“If he had asked me to go with him to a hotel suite, I would have gone. That’s the level of domination he has on me. I don’t know how it is, but thinking of the moments he has given me makes me warm. I have had sleepless nights about him. And those nights finished with wet dreams.”
“Do you think he’s going to come to you again?” I asked.
“No. After those incidents he was absolutely normal. We meet only in the office hours, and he was completely professional. It was just me, just doing all the dreaming and all. And I hate me for that. I wanted to hate him but I end up hating myself. When my mom told me what he has done to you and your wife, I finally think I have a reason to hate him. I don’t know if I can, but I will try to get him off my mind. Last week he told me he won’t return to our office. I was relieved to hear that but I want you to be very careful. Please take care of your family.”
I nodded.
“Thanks for sharing all this, Nidhi. I had no idea about all this. I should tell Meera.”
“Yes, you should because you need to warn her. But please don’t make it… I mean keep it a secret between you and Meera.”
I grabbed her hand. “Don’t worry about it, Nidhi. I know the seriousness of this. We both are holding secrets of each other now.”
Nidhi smiled. And then asked slowly, “have you seen that CCTV footage of me and Sundeep?”
I was caught off-guard by her straight question. But I did not try to escape. I nodded yes.
“Live?”
“No. I found it later.”
“Why didn’t you delete it?”
“I was fascinated by the idea. A young, hot girl having sex in my car. It was worth watching over and over again. But I didn’t know I was about to fall off my balcony and end up in bed for two months.”
Nidhi stared at me and made a face, and then hit me on the chest with back of her fist. It was soft.
“You are a scoundrel. You know that? A scoundrel.”
Her facial expression told me she had forgiven me.
 
After Nidhi returned, I headed straight my home. I was dying to attack Desai and to reveal his secret face. I mentally envisaged revealing to Meera about what he did to a girl in his office. He had blackmailed her, and secretly dragged her to Meera's house – to our house – and screwed her in Meera's bed!
I was sure Meera would never tolerate him any longer. No matter how great he fucks in bed. I thought.
 
When I reached my house, there was no sign of Desai. He had left. I didn’t care to ask. Meera, having skipped office, was waiting for me, her worry evident in her eyes. She told me how I had left her tensed for an hour after I left. She was worried because my phone was switched off.
”Please don’t do this type of things, for god’s sake.”
I asked Meera to sit with me and hear me. Before I could continue, Meera interrupted, her voice tinged with urgency. “Krish, before you say anything, you need to hear me out first.” She took a deep breath and then dropped a bombshell. “What you heard was right, Krish. The sound of sex from my room—it was Susheel and his assistant from your agency, Nidhi. They had sex in my room.”
 
“What? Who told you this?” I exclaimed, trying to mask my shock with genuine disbelief, even though I already knew the truth from Nidhi.
“Susheel himself!” Meera said.
Her words hit me like a thunderbolt. More than the revelation, it was the fact that Desai had chosen to confess to Meera that left me stunned. I had to pretend to be astonished, hiding the fact that I had already learned about it from Nidhi directly.
"He confessed everything to me, Krish," Meera continued. “After you left last night, he told me everything. He admitted to taking advantage of Nidhi, seducing her into our home and into our bed. He said he regretted it deeply.”
I was looking at her eyes, and I was looking for signs of pain in her eyes, the betrayal she felt from someone she had considered to be in love with him.
I was torn between anger and disbelief, my mind racing to understand why Desai had confessed to Meera. Was he trying to earn her sympathy? To free himself of guilt by making Meera his confessor? I had no choice but to play along, to act as if I was hearing it for the first time. “I can’t believe it,” I said, shaking my head. “Why would he do that?”
“He confessed that you were telling the truth about the sounds heard from my room. He said there is a girl named Nidhi in your office. When he started managing your office, he found a CCTV clip in your desktop. It had Nidhi making love to someone in your car parked in the basement parking lot of your office. Nidhi's face was clearly visible. So Susheel got genuinely curious why you were keeping that video clip in your desktop. It was evidently edited from the office security system video. So he wanted to know if there was something going between you and Nidhi. He talked to Nidhi to find how she felt about you. But she was not opening up. Susheel said he even doubted if you were using the video to blackmail her, because she way Nidhi was defending your role.”

My blood boiled. The cunning man himself had blackmailed an innocent girl but he had the audacity to tell my wife that he doubted me! I looked away towards the front door in frustration, to see if Desai was going to walk through it. If he was to, then I would have grabbed his collar and dragged him on the floor for sure.
Meera went on, "so one day, Susheel showed Nidhi the video. The girl was shocked and fell to her knees. Desai didn't tell it was you who had found the footage.
 Eventually, Susheel showed Nidhi the video and she was shocked like hell to see her face clearly visible in it. She fell to her knees. He did not tell her that it was you who did it.” Meera paused and threw a direct question to me.
“Why were you keeping that video in your desktop, by the way?”
“I…” I took a deep breath before continuing. “I didn’t know what she was going to do when she asked for my car keys. She said she had a date. I thought, okay. But later, I found out that my car had never moved because the odometer hadn’t changed. So, I checked the CCTV and found that the girl was exploiting my generosity. I edited the clip and kept it aside so that I could show it to her the next time she asked for my car keys. I only wanted to see her embarrassed, but I think this bastard Desai used it for his own gain.”
I tried my best to picture Desai as the villain, but it was not going to work.
"Susheel had no intention of using it for his own gain, Krish. But those were the days when we were frustrating him here. He had almost given up on rekindling his old spark with me. He admitted that perhaps this altogether woke up the devil inside him. In a moment of aggravation, he asked Nidhi to stay on her knees for a few more minutes, and he willingly received a blowjob from her that day. And then the next day too. By the third time, he was itching for it again and felt there was only one way to end it before it became routine.”
I shook my head, unable to comprehend how Desai could justify his actions. “And he brought her here? To our home?” I asked.
“Yes, eventually. Actually, he thought of taking her to the washroom with her consent, of course, but when he tried to make the final move, she found it painful. She said she couldn't do it without being noisy. Susheel understood because he was aware of his size, and the girl was not very... you know. He thought a bit of foreplay would do the trick, but the office washroom was certainly not the place for that. Nidhi promised him that she would come to any place that he wanted. He received a straight third blowjob from her to cool down his rush of blood.
Then, another day, he was leaving from here when he got a phone call from Nidhi. She wanted Susheel’s permission because she was going to visit you and would be late to the office. The devil inside his head woke up again, and he waited for her in the parking lot. When she arrived, he brought her into our house. Since you were in that room and all the rooms are soundproof, he thought it was safe for both of them. So, he silently brought her to my room, and they had sex. He said Nidhi was indeed very noisy. It helped him relieve his frustration in a big way. He brought her here one more time.
This was his confession. In his defence, he said he believed that whatever happened was due to the hopelessness that we had instilled in him. But looking back, he deeply regretted it. He felt he should have had more control over himself. However, he also believed he had no right to keep it a secret from me because I was accused of sleeping with him behind your back, which was something he had never imagined. He said he should have told us when we were fighting over it, with you making wild accusations. But at that moment, he couldn't reveal the truth because he too was angry when you accused me of cheating on you. He said I am a person you could trust with your life, aren’t I?”
“What did you tell him when he made this confession?” I asked, my voice devoid of the energy I had carried since learning the truth about Desai from Nidhi. From Desai's point of view, whatever happened was just spontaneous, and if there was someone to blame, it was us—both Meera and me.
“I had already guessed that he must have had something to do with your serious accusations. But at that moment, you were behaving so rudely that I felt angry, which I now feel like I shouldn’t have done,” Meera said. She added soon after, “But you know, Krish, it doesn’t take away from the fact that he showed the courage to confess it. He could have easily walked away from it, leaving me forever at the risk of being accused of betraying you. Also, I am someone else’s wife, so what he did with Nidhi shouldn’t be a concern for me.”
I was stunned.
Desai had blackmailed and slept with a girl from his office, and yet my wife had given him a clean slate. But as I thought more about it, I felt okay. It meant that Desai’s actions had not hurt Meera, showing that she had no feelings for him, didn’t it?
 
After my share of thoughts, I took a deep breath and looked at Meera.
“Meera, I’m truly sorry for doubting you. I want you to know that I never completely suspected you. If I had, I would have confronted you right away. But in the heat of the moment, things got out of control. Arguments can really bring out the worst in us, can’t they?”
Meera's expression softened, “I’m sorry too, for calling you a mental patient. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that.”
I reached out, taking her hand gently.
Meera went on, “I know it’s Susheel who created all this mess. Although I wanted to slap him for what he did and for causing such a huge fight between us, I’m actually thankful he chose to confess and clear the air. It resolved so much.”
 
We sat in silence for a moment, letting the reality of the situation sink in. I felt a sense of peace settling over me, knowing that we had overcome one of the most challenging times in our relationship.
“Where’s Desai now?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.
“He left for Mumbai,” Meera replied, her voice calm. “He said he’d call you when he gets there. He wants to apologize to you personally.”
 
I nodded, feeling a strange sense of closure. Despite everything, it was a relief that Desai had taken responsibility for his actions. It didn’t make what he did right, but it definitely allowed us to move on.
 
As Meera and I sat together, our hands slowly intertwined. I felt a breeze around us. It felt like a storm had passed, and we were going to move forward, focusing on rebuilding our trust for each other.
I looked at Meera, and she smiled at me. I put my arm around her and squeezed her shoulder affectionately.
“Finally, we have each other, like our old times,” I said.
Meera nodded, “mmm.” She leaned her head onto my shoulder, a gesture that equally carried the meaning of the words I spoke.
 
But our fate had other ideas.

------xxxxx------