Adultery Indian Wife in the Prison of Spring by aurelius1982-Completed

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"Hmmm...just most of the money?"

Mansi winced a little.

"I know that when I initially decided to do this, it was for Pinky's college fund. And that is still the main goal. But occasionally, I can't help but indulge myself a little, so I take cash out from it. I do feel guilty."

"Don't feel guilty, Mansi." Reena said. "There is nothing wrong with wanting good things from life. Besides, you are making enough money. And you can make even more if you want. I am sure Duttsahab won't mind spending even more days in Bombay. He is quite smitten with you."

Mansi blushed, and that pleased Reena. Her reaction had been almost like a young girl being told that someone had a crush on her. Not offended or indignant.

"Please aunty, don't even joke about it." she said. "He is old enough to be my father."

"Yes, but the heart doesn't care about such things. Whenever I talk to him about you, I can sense the longing in his voice." she laughed and then added. "But seriously, Mansi, how are things going with you and him? Everything okay?"

"It's mostly nice. He is a very polite and generous man. Spending time with him doesn't seem like work. Most of the time, it is just parties and events. Sometimes though..." she paused.

"Sometimes what?"

"I don't know if I should say this. You are his old friend after all." Mansi sounded evasive.

"Nonsense, I am your friend first. Tell me."

"Sometimes he gets a bit...aggressive after a few drinks."

"Aggressive?"

"Suddenly he will start ordering me around. Touch me on the hand or shoulder a little longer than normal. In the car, sometimes he will just stare at me, and give me compliments."

"So he acts a little flirtatious. So what? That's how people behave in high society."

"I guess. I am just not used to it." Mansi shrugged. "Mostly, I know it is because of the alcohol. Drink can make men do strange things."

"Can you tell me one thing honestly?"

"Of course."

"Do you...like it?"

"Like what?"

"His flirtatious behavior or aggressive behavior or his touch. Honestly, do you feel just uncomfortable or is there a part of you that actually likes it? Be honest, woman to woman."

The question caught Mansi off-guard. In her own introspection, she had been struggling with this issue. That often when he touched her or showered her with compliments, the only thing stopping her from responding was the fact that she was married. It was her sense of morality and propriety. But if he had come into her life eight years ago, who knows what would have happened.

"You see aunty... I never had a boyfriend. My parents were too strict, and you know how Meerut is. I read all these romantic novels and watched all these movies. And heard stories of some friends who had affairs and lovers. But for me, the only thing was arranged marriage. Amar and I barely knew each other. So this flirtatious behavior from Duttsahab..."

"It is filling in some sort of a void?"

"Maybe. And I just find myself not minding it as much as I could or should." Mansi shrugged. "Does that make me a bad person?"

"Not at all." Reena smiled. "It just makes you human. Besides, you are stuck in an unhappy marriage and..."

"Excuse me!" Mansi interrupted her. "I wouldn't say stuck in an unhappy marriage."

"Oh come on, Mansi!" Reena raised her voice. "Who are you kidding? From that day we met in the mall, you have been complaining about your husband."

"Yes, but which marriage is perfect?" Mansi argued. "I am happy with Amar. And with Pinky. Yes, there are some small issues, but you're making it sound like I am a hostage."

"You ARE a hostage. But not a hostage held by Amar. You are a hostage to your own archaic value system and lack of self-belief."

"I disagree." Mansi pouted.

There was a tense moment. Reena tried to smooth it over by laughing a little.

"I didn't mean to offend you. But think about it, Mansi. In Duttsahab, there is a man who obviously likes you a lot. Cares for you. And you seem to at least find him not undesirable. And he is rich and generous. In just a couple of months, he has turned your life around. If you were to...explore things further...who knows? Think about the future. Think about Pinky's future."

"What exactly are you saying? That I should leave my husband and take up with Duttsahab?"

"No, of course not. I am saying...just keep an open mind. There are ways in which you can have your cake and eat it too."

"So...become his mistress?" Mansi almost shouted.

"Not exactly mistress. That's such a cheap 19th century word." Reena dismissively said. "Have you heard of the term friends with benefits?"

"No."

"Look it up online when you go home." Reena said. "It's not that different from what you already have with him. You both enjoy each other's company. You are both benefiting from this arrangement. And it's just a few days a month. You yourself said it has made your family life a lot happier. If you explore things further, you will benefit even more, trust me. And I am not just saying financially."

"Do you know what you're suggesting?" Mansi said horrified.

"If you think from the medieval middle class Meerut values mindset, what I am suggesting is evil and sinful and horrible. But you know there is a bigger world out there. You have tasted that world. You have started fitting into that world. Think from that enlightened perspective and you will see that what I am suggesting is the best of both worlds." Reena paused to finish the last of her food. "Anyway, I have said what I had to say. What follows is up to you."

Mansi thought about all these things on her way back home. She was in an Uber. Before meeting Reena, she almost exclusively traveled by locals. But she had gotten so used to the air conditioned car rides with Dutt, that she had started using cab services regularly.

She herself did not realize how access to easy money was changing her. When others made a lot of money, it was through their careers or business. They spent most of their free time working to make that money and got very little time to spend it. Here. she was making 25-30 thousand rupees for just a few days work, that too for a few hours. And had the rest of the days free, even with her household chores. She found herself shopping a lot more, indulging a lot more, and not just for Pinky. For herself too.

In addition, Dutt made sure that every other day they spent together involved shopping as well. he wanted to get her almost addicted to materialistic life.In addition to the skirt suits, he had bought her a sari, some earrings, a bracelet, and many toys for Pinky. And when she checked the bank account, she realized that everything he bought her were genuine gifts, not compensation. Because even after buying her expensive gifts,there was still anywhere from 5 to 8 thousand rupees added to the account every time she spent a few hours with him. His hold over her was strengthening. He got the first sign of it the first time she wore the skirt suit at an event. He noticed that as instructed, she had shaved her legs. Shaving body hair was an alien concept to the demure middle class housewife. She had to go online and check how exactly women shave their legs. It seemed so odd and weird. But Duttsahab had told her to do it, so she felt compelled to comply.

Then there was the fact that she really was enjoying his flirtatious behavior a lot more than she cared to admit to Reena aunty or even to herself. When in the car, he started sitting closer and closer to her, and she did not stop him. Once while returning from an event in South Bombay, he had a few too many drinks, and dozed off on her shoulder. She did not know that he was pretending to be asleep, just to test her comfort zone. The entire way from King's Circle to Borivali, his head was resting on her shoulder, and she could feel his warm breath on her skin. Later that day when she scolded herself for allowing that to happen, she rationalized it by saying that she herself had downed a couple of drinks, so it was an honest mistake.