Adultery No One Dies a Saint (Completed)

[krish_999]

Chapter 60

Atul

Everything had gone upside down. Atul stared at the officer and the latter returned a suggestive look at him as if there was nothing to speak of. For him, Atul was the murderer.
"Why should I kill him? This is nonsense!" Atul shook his head in denial. "He's my friend, officer!"
"Friends can turn into foes, mister!"
Said the officer in uniform.
"But why? There has to be some motive, right?"
"You better tell us that!"
"If he isn't coming, use force." The senior officer looked at the other and walked out in a hurry. Atul swallowed.
He felt like a game was being played against him, to trap him. He imagined walking with the cops with his hands cuffed and face down, avoiding the stares of his neighbours. No one would believe he killed Rajat. But then everyone would be forced to believe it. Everyone would cook up stories. Nasty stories.
His photo would be on the front page of newspapers.
Techie murders friend. The news would state. For what? They would complete the news with a story.
Techie murders friend over suspicion of affair with wife.
"No!" Atul cried. "Why don't you believe me? I haven't done anything wrong. I hadn't gone to Mumbai; you've got it right, I agree with that. But I was in Delhi, in a hotel, with a friend in whose name the suite was registered. You won't find my name there because the suite was booked by my friend. I knew about Rajat only when I got here...."
"You can explain it later. We don't have time for it now."
"Oh, come on! This is insane! You've no proof of anything. You only know I wasn't here and I lied about where I was. But I wasn't here, for god's sake! Doesn't it prove I am not the one?"
"It's pretty obvious that you want to prove you weren't here, Mr Atul. You've played a game and you've lost. Stop trying too hard. More evidence will follow; we know how to find it."
"Why don't you talk to the hotel that I was at?"
"We shall talk to your friend. What's his name?"
Atul took a second before he answered.
"Her name's Ridhima."
His voice was weak. He knew Anvita was right behind him. And he knew she wouldn't have missed it, no matter how quietly he spoke. Suddenly he felt he should have followed the cops.
"Ridhima! So it's a she!"
The officer nodded at him with a sense of cockiness. Atul felt powerless.
"And you were with your friend for the whole 30 hours, without walking out for even once?"
The slight grin on the cop's lips said it all. Atul was left to defend himself.
"She's the...a... she's working at Chetak Engineering Ltd. My company - Walzec systems - has a long-standing business relationship with them. We had some issues to solve..."
"You have a lot to tell, we know. You should come with us, Mr Atul. We know you want to co-operate with us."
"Of course I want to co-operate with you. But I'm not ready now... I have my problems. Look at me. I've spent the whole evening in a bar. Let me get some peace, please!"
"What problems do you have? I'd like to hear it."
"It's work-related stuff. It shouldn't be your concern. Why don't you just talk to the hotel and confirm my friend's name there."
"Mr Atul, you think you're saving yourself. We've seen this a lot and..."
Atul shook his head out of irritation.
"Okay, officer. I understand you're not in the mood to listen. Take me where you want." He turned to Anvita. "I'll be back right away, Anvi. You've nothing to worry. You know I don't need to do this."
He assured her. Anvita appeared too stunned to react, and Atul couldn't make out whether it's his arrest or the hint of his betrayal that had left her shocked.

The officer escorted Atul to the security officer van. The senior officer was waiting there.

Atul was aware of a murmur of shock spreading through the crowd. He was just thanking the cop in mind for not putting a handcuff on him.
No one is going to believe it. No one. Atul kept assuring himself.
"What happened Atul?"
Someone from the crowd asked aloud. Atul turned to the voice and forced a smile.
"Nothing. Nothing happened."
He said aimlessly. He couldn't decide who he was talking to.
The cops were soon surrounded by media personnel. The officer was giving out a statement.
"We have got solid clues about the killer. We need more evidence to verify it. We're awaiting the postmortem results. That's all for now. Please move back."

Atul couldn't believe how they were conducting the investigation.
Solid clues about the killer.
Their evidence was just a couple of wild guesses.
Are they trying to trap me? Are they in a hurry to close the case right away and take the fame?
No motive. No witness. What kind of evidence do they have?
It was absurd. Atul thought.
However, all his confidence vanished as soon as he began to notice the faces around the van. Everyone was stunned. Some had already begun discussing him. His belief that no one would take the security officer seriously was now looking out of place as everyone seemed to have bought the security officer statement. And everyone was going to be busy cooking up nasty stories about him and Anvita.
Atul couldn't stop thinking about the next day's news line.
Shit!

The van moved. Atul turned to the officer and began to say something and then hesitated.
He won't listen.

The van stopped in front of the security officer station. People were already looking at Atul like he was the murderer. He could sense an uneasy feeling creeping under his skin. He was taken to a room with a table and two chairs, and very soon the senior cop with the thick moustache greeted him.
"Take your seat, Atul." The cop led him to a chair and then settled down on the other across the table. He quizzed Atul for fifteen minutes.
"Mr Rajat was one of your close friends. So I want you to give me an honest opinion about him. Tell me something that his other friends aren't aware of."
The officer said in the end. Atul had an intuition that the officer already possessed more information about Rajat than he ever did.
"Rajat had an affair with one of our neighbour's wife. I don't think anyone else among his friends knows about this."
"I see. What's her name?"
"Her name is Neeti, she's Mohit's wife. Please promise me you'll not drag her into this. A couple of months ago Rajat told me he stopped seeing her."
"Do you think this affair has something to do with his murder?"
"No. Not at all." Atul said readily. "But that's what I know about. He could have had other affairs as well. He was not a man of..." Atul paused and coughed, as he felt at the back of his mind that he no more deserved to belittle Rajat for the infidelity.
"I mean to say he was always looking for opportunities." He added.
The officer kept staring him in the eyes for a long moment before he spoke.
"I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself, Mr Atul." He said and turned to his fellow officer. "Get me to his friend, Senapati. I want a first-hand report. Give him five minutes." He instructed and looked at Atul.
"If there's a word that you've spoken about your neighbour's wife that turns out a lie, then you'll live the life of hell right here in this room! Do you have me?"
Atul shook his head. "But I told you not to drag Neeti's name into it. Her husband does not know about it. Don't destroy a family."
The officer ignored him and walked out.
"First you save your ass, man. Then try playing the hero," Officer Senapati stepped forward and opened a diary. "Give me your friend's contact number, name, age, and address."
Atul let out a sigh. For the first time, he felt good about being in the security officer station.
"Her name's Ridhima. She's... around forty years old and her contact number is..."
He was even ready to confess how he had knocked up her, in case the officer wanted to know.
Senapati followed his senior officer after writing down all the details. Atul sat alone there in the middle of the empty room, and tension began to mount again.
What if she denied it?
Atul remembered how reluctant she was to approach cops when Manjot had tried to bang her. She's a high profile woman for whom nothing matters more than her social image. Going on the record that she spent a whole day and night with a young man who's been charged with murder would drag her name into dirty speculations. To save her from the hardship, all she would need to do is to refuse to acknowledge the truth.
"Our meeting lasted just a few minutes. I don't know where he went and what he did after that," she could say.
Fuck! Atul kept scratching his forehead.
Officer Senapati returned after twenty long minutes.
"Your friend is standing by your statements, Atul. I'm sorry for the inconvenience you've faced. Our only aim is to nab the culprit as quick as possible."
Atul let out a sigh of relief. Finally.

He was made to sign a few papers before he was finally let go. For a moment he thought about speaking in support of Mohit. He was sure that his statement had placed Mohit under suspicion. They would now take him into custody for interrogation. Atul felt bad about it. Because he knew Mohit was innocent. Atul had seen him boarding the flight to Nagpur. It was impossible that he faked his departure to come back later and kill Rajat. It was also impossible that he got Rajat killed by some professionals because from his normal behaviour en route to the airport it was evident that he had no idea about his wife's affair with Rajat. It was Atul who was behaving oddly then.
If there was a person who can testify Mohit's innocence and get him out of the unwanted trouble, it was Atul himself. But his ill-fated statement had done exactly the opposite.
"Atul..."
He heard Officer Senapati's voice and turned.
"You lied to us. Your friend, she doesn't work for the company; she's the boss."
Senapati talked in a light sense, nevertheless, Atul felt guilty.
"I... I didn't want to uh... stress on that."
He stammered.
Senapati stared at him for a moment and nodded.
"I hope we didn't bring any trouble to your married life, Atul. I agree that your friend has a fine voice, but I'm sure she can't be prettier than your wife."
Atul was stunned. Suddenly the cop had turned into a big brother. Atul hated him right away.
"It's just professional, officer."
Atul mumbled.
"Yeah, I know. Your friend told me what it means to be professional these days."
Atul's face was down as he walked out of the security officer station. He hired a cab and headed home straight away. He phoned Ridhima and thanked her for standing by him.
"I know how much you like to avoid these type of things, Ridhima. Still, you took the pain for me."
"It's alright, Atul. It's the truth. I know you're innocent and nothing should happen to you."
Ridhima said in a tired voice. Atul didn't know what to say. He had no night to console her anymore.
"Atul..."
Ridhima spoke after a brief silence.
"Mmm..."
"Don't worry about... I... I've made an appointment with a gynaecologist. I'll be seeing her in the morning. I'll call you when I'm done. Thanks for everything. And once again, sorry for everything."
He voice was cold. And far from what he remembered. He knew how much pain she had to bear. He knew no trick to comfort her.
He had lost his voice. He sat like a statue for long after the line went dead.
"I've made an appointment with a butcher to kill our child."
Isn't that what she said?
Atul closed his eyes as he felt them watery. It took him some time to recover. He was mourning. He felt his life had become so meaningless that he shouldn't have to try to protect it. He had betrayed his wife and she had done the same to him. And whoever wrote the pages of his destiny wasn't content with just having the husband and wife cheat each other. He created enough twists in between that deprived both of them the right to confess and seek forgiveness. The truth was already out. Atul was sure Anvita must have got the picture of what he did secretly with a woman in a hotel room.
And yet she wouldn't dare to confront him. Atul thought of walking into his house and wished if Anvita welcomed him violently. He wished if she grabbed his collar and yelled at him why he did it.
No. She won't. She can't.

The crowd had dispersed by the time he arrived at his apartment complex. A few men quickly gathered around him, most of whom were his neighbours.
"They wanted to ask about Rajat's friends and family. They have some doubts about someone among us, but I couldn't find out who it was."
Atul explained.
"They've been quizzing all of us about him." Chandrakant, who lived on the fifth floor, revealed. "This will go on for a while. We can only hope that they nab the culprit as quick as possible. It's very sad. Rajat was such a friendly chap."
Atul could only nod.
Chandrakant asked about the wedding anniversary. Atul had forgotten about it. He had invited a lot of guests.
"It's not wise to hold the function tomorrow, Atul." Kaushal ji advised him. "You should postpone it by a few days."
"Yeah. Yeah." Atul shook his head. "Let me see Anvita first. She must be worried."
Atul began to walk to the elevator and stopped as he saw a familiar face emerging from the side.
"Varun!"
Varun didn't smile.
"How are you, Atul?"
"What are you doing here?" Atul didn't hide his surprise. Varun stared at him for a moment.
"I heard someone died in here, and I was told you were the prime suspect."
Atul grinned, "I too was told so."
Varun stepped forward and quickly grabbed his hand.
"I'm sorry bro. I don't know if it's the right time but I am sorry for how we lost our touch. I've been a prick and I realised it quite late. I've been thinking about seeing you and Anvi, to apologise. Thought this could make you better..."
Atul was surprised by his move.
"Thank you, Varun. See you later."
Atul shook his hand and walked away. He was in a hurry to meet Anvita. Somehow the sudden appearance of Varun was making him hurry to see her. Atul didn't understand. He felt there was a lot of things happening around him that he had no clue about.

A minute later he was at his door and he knocked on it slowly. Soon he saw Anvita's tired face. Her eyes lit up with relief seeing him, and Atul's heart stopped for a moment.
"Oh my God! You're safe!" Anvita's eyes were wet. Atul spent a moment studying her.
"Come in, Atul," she said.
Atul went to the dining table and had some water directly from the jug.
"I told you there's nothing to worry, didn't I?"
Atul blurted as he returned to the hall to sit down for a while.
"I knew you would come back safely. But I feared they'd keep you there for the night and I was scared they would torture you."
Atul felt like shit. His head was down to his feet.
"Atul..." Anvita's voice woke him up, in the end. "Atul, I want to tell you about something."
Her voice carried the weight of sadness and Atul knew what she was going to tell him.
A story.
No, I don't deserve that story, my dear.
Atul stood up straight.
"But I insist you let me talk first, Anvi. I can't be like this anymore. I have failed as a man, Anvi. I don't know if you'll forgive me. But before you tell me about you, I want you to listen to me, know me, know what I am."
Atul didn't allow himself to pause even for a breath. Suddenly he felt he could talk. He had nothing to stop and worry about now. He was already on the brink, and he was aware of the fall he was about to endure.
"When they let me go, the officer told me something; that I have to realise I have a wife who's more special than anywhere else. He is right, Anvi. I should have realised I had a wife who's more special than anyone in this world. I shouldn't have lied to you. I shouldn't have gone and spent time with another woman. I can't look into your eyes, to be honest, but I can't hide it anymore. I have cheated on you, Anvi. I... I'm sorry."
Atul's heart had begun to pound hard as he realised the depth of his confession. Anvita was speechless for a few moments. Her lips quivered.
"What did you do, Atul?"
"This woman... Her name is Ridhima. I've been in touch with her for long. Earlier it was...I mean most of the time it was purely on professional grounds. But a couple of months ago, when I visited her, I... I ended up having..." Atul couldn't find words to express the truth. He swallowed, with a sense of panic. "I had sex with her, Anvi."
Atul blurted, with his eyes down, face down to his chest. "I'm sorry. I..."
He had no strength to look into her eyes; he had no strength to even stand facing her; he stepped back and almost tripped into the couch.
"Atul..."
Anvita moved forward. Atul hid his face behind his palms. His sight was blurred.
"I'm sorry Anvi. I should've remembered how much I love you."
Anvita sat down with him.
"Atul..."
She was crying. Atul turned to her.
Anvita wiped tears off her eyes.
"Why are you confessing now?"
"Because she's pregnant, Anvi."
"What!"
"Yes. She's pregnant. She had come here in Delhi to tell me this that she's carrying my child. She wanted me to let her keep the baby."
Anvita sat there like a statue, expressionless except for the tears that were still streaming down her cheeks.
"She has a very depressing story, Anvi. I know it's not my excuse but I must tell you everything. She's been married to a man for twelve years and she has no kids. She had undergone some treatments initially when she was on good terms with her husband. They've been living separately for a while. Last time when I visited her at her home in Mumbai, she told me about Manjot Srivastav who had tried to bang her a few weeks earlier. She was alone and in need of support. And I... I ended up... I should've stopped myself but I couldn't. I didn't. We both believed she wouldn't... couldn't become pregnant, so we didn't use any protection. But..."
Atul paused for a breath. "But yesterday she told me she was carrying. She went for some relevant tests and found out what they've been doing to her. Her husband and her doctor were deceiving her. She had no medical problem. Her husband was the problem."
"But why does she wants to keep the child?"
Because she loves me.
"Because she was dying to have a baby for so long. She had already joined an adoption program, and she was in line to receive a baby in a couple of months. Suddenly when she realised she can have her baby, she thought she could convince me."
"Convince you? How?"
"She said she'd never see me again. She promised me she would leave her job and everything here and migrate to the U.S. forever, so that she can raise the child on her own, as a single parent. She said she would never tell the child or anyone about me, and she'd never contact me again. She wanted to have the baby. She wanted to become a mother of her child; her own."
"And why did you say?"
"I... I couldn't... I mean I didn't let her do it. I asked her to have an abortion."
"You told her to have an abortion?"
Anvita's voice rose slightly and Atul stared her for a moment. He couldn't decide whether she was against abortion or she didn't simply believe his words.
"She has an appointment with a gynaecologist in the morning."
"You asked her to do it?"
"I did, Anvi. I was broken by remorse... I didn't know how to deal with it except that I didn't want to make it an affair. It wasn't an affair, it was just a mistake I couldn't avoid. I... I love you, Anvi."
Atul's vision was blurred by tears in his eyes, and he pressed his eyelids together to expel the teardrops. As he kept his eyes closed another vision flashed from his memory; that of his wife willingly submitting to his friend. Suddenly he felt he deserved this fate. It was written in his destiny. His wife had cheated him for he wouldn't kill himself out of repentance. He didn't know whether she was in a relationship with George or how many times she had slept with him. But it didn't bother him at the moment. He only wanted to know if she could forgive him for what he did.

At the back of his mind, Atul wanted to confess how he had slept with Ankita as well, but he didn't want to make Anvita hate her sister because of him. He didn't want their sisterhood to turn into hatred and disappointment.

Anvita was staring at the floor, motionless.
"Anvi?"
Anvita looked up slowly.
"Will you forgive me?"
"No," Anvita shook her head sideways. "No, I can't forgive you Atul, because I don't deserve to forgive you."
"Anvi..."
"This must be God-given... I don’t deserve your remorse, Atul. Because I am a sinner. I have done horrible things than you can imagine. I have betrayed you."
She was crying all the way, tears rolling down her cheeks nonstop. "I have slept behind you, many times. And I have now killed a man. I killed Rajat, Atul. He was killed in here, in this house, in our bed."

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