Story Summary:
(This story deals with topics like cuckoldry, cheating, lies, love, romance, and friendship. People who are uncomfortable can skip it :)
Malli is my 28-year-old wife.
I fell in love with her and we got married, four years ago.
Since both our families opposed our marriage, we left home and started from scratch. Back then, we had nothing, but today, we live respectfully in our own apartment. We have a second-hand car, a bike, and I earn a good salary—yet, we don't have a child. We visited countless doctors, and they all said there was nothing wrong with either of us. We simply believed our time hadn't come yet and didn't let it bother us too much.
We were happy.
But then, a storm completely turned our lives upside down.
The reason behind it wasn't some third person—a man or a woman.
It was us. Or more precisely... a lie.
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Chapter 1: Six months later, one day..
It was 11 AM.
I got out of my car and rushed toward my apartment lift. My mind was racing with anxiety, desperation, and fear. But despite all of that, deep down, I still held onto a glimmer of faith in Malli. There was simply no way things had gotten out of hand.
After all, the sacrifices she had made for me were no small thing. A woman like her would never betray me. Knowing I’d get answers to all my doubts and confusion in just a few minutes, I stepped inside the lift.
As the lift doors closed, I remembered the lie I had told at the office. I had rushed back home under the pretext of forgetting an important file.
The lift doors opened. It was a familiar hallway, but today, every step felt heavy—not just on my feet, but on my heart. A strange fear gripped me as I approached the flat. I reached the door; it wasn't locked. I opened it and slowly went inside..
As soon as I open our house’s door, the kitchen is on the left and the living room stretches out to the right. No matter what time I come home, Malli is usually in the kitchen, experimenting with a new recipe—she can never sit idle. But today, she wasn't there. Even the TV in the living room, which is almost always playing in the background, was switched off.
I could easily guess where she was and what she was doing now.
The bedroom!!
My heart was pounding much faster than usual. I hesitated about how to look at her. But having come this far, I knew there was no point hiding anymore. Whatever happens, happens.
I pulled the bedroom door open.
My angel, my Malli, was still lying in bed. A deep sadness lingered in her eyes. The moment she saw me, she got up and sat.
Without wasting a second, I grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the guest room—the second bedroom in our flat.
She was angry, but beneath that anger, there was something else—a turmoil, a sadness. Did she think I was doubting her? For the very first time, I couldn't read her mind. In all these years, it's only been these past few months that I've struggled to understand Malli. I don't know what's running through her mind or what she's thinking.
After staring at me blankly for a moment, she lost her patience and asked:
"Why are you sneaking into your own home like a thief? It's painfully obvious you're doubting me. If you don't want him here, just ask Gautham to leave! Why keep him in the house when you're so suspicious?"
"Just because I said he's a good guy, you're placing baseless blame on him! If he finds out, it'll break his heart."
"How... how could he possibly have eyes for me?"
"Alright, when did you find out about this? Was it yesterday? Or this morning? Or was it on the 6th of last month?"
She lashed out without pausing for breath, her anger spilling over.
I took a deep breath and looked at her. Even in her anger, my wife looked beautiful. But her sharp, furious glare snapped me back to reality.
I took her by the hand, led her to the side of the bed, and said:
"I'm not talking nonsense, Malli. I wanted to have an open conversation with you this morning, and I did. I didn't lie about anything, nor am I jealous of him. I don't want to rely on mere suspicion anymore—I'm speaking with proof. We were the ones who brought him into our lives, but now things are going off track. I'm just saying we need to set clear boundaries. Do you understand the situation?"
"Proof? What do you mean?"
Malli looked into my eyes. I still couldn't decipher her expression. For a while now, the growing intimacy and friendship between her and Gautham had been giving me an uneasy feeling—as if something wasn't right, no matter what she did.
"I am the proof. Reach under that mattress and pull out whatever you find," I said.
For a whole minute, Malli just stared at me. I don’t know what she was thinking. Then, she lifted the mattress slightly and slipped her hand underneath, checking around from side to side to see if there was anything there.
I stepped closer and lifted the heavy mattress completely for her to see.
She froze instantly.
Underneath the mattress lay one of her regular bras. For a second, she was speechlessly stunned.
"How did this get here?" I asked, looking at Malli.
"Are you doubting me because of this?" she fired back.
I held her hand and gently sat her down on the bed.
"I'm speaking from the heart, Malli. I'm not placing blame, and I'm not suspecting you. But I need answers. I need clarity. Things haven't been right for a while now. A lot has happened over these past 6 months, and we are fully responsible for all of it. But if something starts threatening our marriage, shouldn't we be honest? Isn't it up to us to fix it? How did your bra end up here?"
Tears began to well up in Malli’s eyes. That alone gave me part of my answer—my question had deeply hurt her.
"I don't know..." she whispered, snatching her hand away from mine.
I could sense her anger, but I wasn't going to drop this until I got some clarity.
"Fine, you say you don't know. Then how else could it have gotten here? I'll tell you what I think. You tell me what you think."
Malli looked at me with a strage, confused gaze.
"Either you have to come and put it here, or someone else will have to bring it up. There are three of us living in this house. Your underwear from our bedroom ended up under another man's bed. Because I firmly believe you wouldn't do something like this, I brought you here to figure out what's going on. You wouldn't do it, and why would I? He's the only one left. Does he have wrong intentions toward you? I'm asking this for our sake. How is Gautham behaving with you?"
Malli was shocked for a moment, but after taking a deep breath, she said, "I don't know what to say. He has never shown any bad intentions toward me."
"Then how do you explain this?" I asked.
"I don't know," she repeated.
Malli got up from the bed, she looked into my eyes and said:
"We are the ones who called Gautham and made him stay here. Moreover, it was you, more than me, who forced him to come. If you've decided to send him away, then send him. Don't hurt him by using this as an excuse. He's been without a woman's touch for years. My closeness must have affected him. Nothing has gone wrong between us so far. From now on, it's your decision. Cut it off as decently as you can."
When Malli finished speaking, I was surprised. Was she not angry with Gautham at all?
I couldn't help but ask, "Malli, Gautham hid your bra under his bed. Aren't you angry about it? Don't you find that wrong?"
Malli replied, "Of course it's wrong. But I let my affection for him cloud my judgment. I tried to see things from his perspective. If it were something else, I would have fought with you. But this isn’t just any issue—it’s personal. To put it bluntly, the very reason we risked our lives is being taken away from me."
"So, I'm leaving the decision to you. Don't ask me anything. If I ask you to send him out now, you might suspect I'm playing a game. If I defend him... for example, if I say the guy who hated women suddenly got interested when we became friends, and call it natural, you’ll think I’m on his side. You might even think I'd slept with him!"
"Do whatever you feel is safe for our married life, our bonding. Do whatever you feel is right. But I'll ask you for just one thing. Make sure none of us three get hurt. Let this stay between us"
I said, "Malli, I don't want to throw him out either. He has done a lot for us, but I won't let anyone come between my married life. I'm just trying to understand clearly. Alright, one last question. How long has this bra been missing?"
Malli looked at the bra and said, "I remember this one. I washed it and hung it out to dry last month, and then it disappeared. I thought it had blown away in the wind. I didn't know Gautham kept it here."
"One month.. . ?"
"Yes, it's been missing for a month."
"In this past month, did Gautham ever behave inappropriately with you?"
Malli looked at my face for a moment, "No. He was completely normal this whole month. Not just this month—it's been the same for all 6 months."
"The past 6 months were different. But it's been a month since we returned from Ooty, and it's been a month since your bra went missing. People are bound to change, aren't they?"
Malli replied, "You've changed a lot too."
Looking at her, I realized she had her own unspoken questions, but I didn't feel like probing further. Right now, I was searching for an answer to a different question infornt of me.
After a brief pause, Malli hesitated and said, "Maybe... maybe at night, he'll just use my bra to satisfy his needs, I don't know. It might not mean he has bad intentions toward me. Like.. he might be tempted, but not intend to act on it. Perhaps he'll just pull it close at night to fulfill his needs. That thought struck me too" She trailed off.
That sparked something in my mind.
Back in my college days, when I stayed in a rented house with friends, all of us had an eye on the house owner’s wife. We used to indulge in our urges, but we were terrified of going anywhere near her. Having a temporary urge is one thing; respect and familiarity are entirely different. Until the end, no one crossed the line, not even once. But, poor thing, her underwear would go missing often.
A faint smile crept onto my face for a second. But how could I use this as a reason to kick Gautham out? What if he genuinely had no intention of pursuing Malli? What if, as she said, it was just an urge—something to satisfy himself in private?
Should I let him stay for a few more days, as promised?
I began calculating options in my head.
Then Malli suggested an idea, "If you want, we can test him."
I quickly looked up at her eyes. There was a sudden clarity on her face.
"Ever since the three of us came back from Ooty, you haven't been yourself. I can't go on living in fear like this either. Maybe that Ooty trip stirred up something in his mind. Let's test him. If he stumbles, I'll chase him out myself. If he doesn't, you decide what to do. If you decide to send him out, do it without mentioning this. If you decide to let him stay, I won't object."
I kept staring into her eyes, unable to make up my mind. I decided to ask her directly.
"Alright... what kind of test is it?"
Her answer left me completely stunned.
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