Lusty Feminist Wife: Mishti ki masti (Scene 6)

[ashuezy2]

Introduction

Shubhankar had been away on a business trip for two long weeks. He had missed his wife, Mishti, more than he could put into words. The video calls just weren't the same. He wanted to be in the same room with her, to hear her laugh, to just be with her. He decided to surprise her by coming home a day early. He quietly unlocked the front door, his heart pounding with a mix of excitement and anticipation. The house was quiet, bathed in the soft, golden light of the late afternoon sun.

Scene 1: The Surprise

He tiptoed towards the bed room. He was hearing voices, there she was, inside the bedroom where voices were coming from, she was lying on the bed with another man. She looked beautiful, a simple yet elegant silk saree in her favourite shade of blue was lying on the floor. He watched her for a moment, anger on his face. Then, starting walking back. Finding the spot where he could watch again to make sure it was her wife, he confirmed it again and again. His heart starting racing, he could hear his heartbeat going to 120, 140, 160, 180. He was feeling uneasy, breathing loudly.

Mishti looked up, her big, expressive eyes widening in surprise. "Shubhankar?" she whispered, she was getting pounded on bed. Her face lit up with a mix of disbelief and shock. She scrambled up from the bed, covering herself with the saree rustling around her. "You're home!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling slightly. She took a step towards him, her eyes shining, her full lips parting in a shameful smile.

The man, who was on top of her just seconds ago, was now jumping off the bed like he had seen a ghost. He was tall, muscular, maybe a gym trainer, Shubhankar thought, his mind going totally blank. The man was searching for his clothes in panic, grabbing his pants from the chair.
"Stay away from me!" Shubhankar shouted, his voice cracking. He felt like the ground was slipping from under his feet. The room was spinning.
Mishti stopped, clutching the blue saree tight against her chest to hide her body, but her shoulders were bare. That shameful smile faded a little, replaced by a look of worry, or maybe it was just drama. She reached out a hand. "Shona, listen to me... it’s not what you are thinking. Please, calm down."

"Not what I am thinking?" Shubhankar laughed, a dry, painful sound that hurt his throat. "I am seeing it, Mishti! I am seeing everything!"
He looked at the bed. The bedsheet was messed up, pillows thrown everywhere. The smell in the room was heavy, a mix of her expensive perfume and the sweat of this stranger. It was making Shubhankar feel vomit coming up in his throat.
The other man had managed to pull his pants up and was now holding his shirt, looking towards the door, trying to find a way to escape. He didn't look at Shubhankar in the eye.

"Who is he?" Shubhankar asked, his finger pointing at the man, shaking uncontrollably. "Tell me, Mishti! Who is this bastard?"
"He... he is just a friend, Shubhankar. Please, don't make a scene," Mishti said, her voice dropping to a whisper, as if the neighbors would hear. She was crying now, tears rolling down her cheeks, ruining her kajal. "You were gone for so long... I was lonely. It just happened."
"Lonely?" The word hit him like a slap. "I was working! For us! And you are here... doing this?"

The stranger saw his chance. While Shubhankar was looking at Mishti, the man rushed past him, shoving Shubhankar’s shoulder slightly to get to the door. Shubhankar stumbled back, hitting the wall. He wanted to grab the man, to hit him, to break his face, but his body was frozen. He was too weak from the shock. He just watched the man run out of the bedroom, then heard the main door slam shut.
Now it was just silence. Only the sound of the fan rotating above and Shubhankar’s heavy breathing.
Mishti sat down on the edge of the bed, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I made a mistake. Please, Shubhankar. I love you."

Shubhankar looked at her. The woman he loved. The woman he came home early for. She looked so innocent sitting there, but the image of her with that man was burned into his eyes forever. The blue saree on the floor, the sweat on her skin, the way she had looked at him with that smile.
He felt a sharp pain in his chest. Everything is finished, he thought.

"Don't say that word," Shubhankar whispered, his voice cold like ice. "Don't say you love me."
He turned around, unable to look at her anymore. He needed air. He needed to get out of this room, out of this house that suddenly felt like a stranger’s place. He walked out of the bedroom, leaving Mishti crying behind him, his surprise turned into a nightmare he could not wake up from.