An Affair and Its Aftermath - A Real Life Story

An Affair And Its Aftermath - A Real Life Story

Note: This is a real life story. For those of you who may not believe this, I can assure this really happened. Please read the long story and let me have your views.

At times an ordinary headache can virtually change your destiny and turn your life upside down. That was precisely what happened to me. I can never forget that fateful day when I got that fateful headache.

Even now at times I get a nightmare as if the whole thing were happening right now. I wake up in the middle of the night completely drenched in sweat. Only after seeing my husband Balan and our only daughter Divya sleeping on my either side would I be convinced that it was all behind me. But when it happened…

It was about eleven on a hot summer morning. Workload at my office was unusually heavy. Suddenly an excruciating pain went through my head. For a moment I lost my balance; I feared there was some kind of a cancerous tumour inside my brain which had started to play mischief. Little did I know that the cancerous tumour was outside my body and was in the person of my full-blood sister Latha.

Unable to bear the headache I went to see my manager with a hand on my forehead. He granted me leave for the day and arranged an auto for me to go home. When I reached home I was surprised to see my husband Balan’s bike standing at its usual place. Probably he was also not well and had returned home, I thought naively. Then I remembered the condition of my house and thought who would be there at that time. My heart started to beat faster. My headache was replaced by heartache. I silently opened the main door of the house with my spare key and noiselessly entered inside. Even in my wildest dreams I had never dreamt that I would be catching my husband and my sister Latha in flagrante delicto in our master bedroom. I did not know how to react to that rudest shock of my life. I just ran out of the house and went into a nearby park. I sat on a tree shade. When I calmed down a little scenes from my life ran before my mind.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]-->

I was elder to Latha by just two years. We did not grow up as sisters but as best friends. There were no secrets between us – we used to discuss about college romeos, about the love letter given by our neighbour’s boy, the explicit scenes in a movie, the pros and cons of love marriage – the list was endless.

When I was engaged I was sad because I was going to be parted from my sister and was tense because I knew next to nothing about the man I was engaged to. But Balan was an exceptionally good being; I had never seen so much softness, clarity and kindness in a man. He had a small engineering factory in the outskirts of Chennai. He did not exactly mint money but neither did we ever suffer for want of money.

Balan’s mother had died early. But his father was not just my father-in-law but my father-in-love. His kindness and affection surpassed even that of my father. A month after marriage he told me,

“Malathi, even I - a sixty year old retired person - find it very boring to be inside the house throughout the day. Why should you be confined to the house, especially when you have finished your M.Com? If you are interested I will get you a job in my friend’s export company, right now.”

I readily accepted. He argued with Balan and convinced him of the rationale of my going to a job.

My life was now full – I had a loving husband, an affectionate father (-in-law) and a fulfilling job. And the only thing that was needed to complete my happiness came in. I was in the family way.

When I was six months into my pregnancy my parents had come to Chennai to see me. My sister Latha had also come along. One evening Latha and I were sitting in the terrace engaged in intimate conversation – possible only between sisters and that too between sisters who love each other so much as we did. Latha said in a casual tone:

“Malu, I have finished my degree. No job is coming my way, right now. Shall I stay with you till your delivery? I am hurt to see you working both in the house and off the house with no time to relax. I will take over all the household chores. I will also be searching for a good job when I get time.”

How did she read my mind? I was about to ask her to stay for a while to help me. But when she offered it herself, I was so overwhelmed by the identity of our minds that I hugged her tight to express my gratitude.

Latha’s takeover of the household responsibility was seamless and graceful. Within a week she was cooking a special diet for my diabetic father-in-law and administering him medicines, was preparing snacks for me and Balan in the mornings and sending us out with packed lunches that tasted delicious even hours after preparation, was giving me a hot cup of coffee when I came home exhausted in the evenings and then gently massaging my head to drive away the tiredness. Latha was expanding her duties by the day and soon became an indispensable part of my household.

 

An Affair and Its Aftermath

Thus relieved of worrisome chores and tiresome tasks I became much more relaxed and peaceful which naturally led to my delivering a very healthy baby-girl in a very normal way on the expected day. We named her Divya. I held Latha’s hands and cried for a long time, the only form I knew to thank Latha for whatever she had done.

I exhausted my maternity leave soon and resumed my work. I had planned to resign my job immediately after childbirth. But then, Balan’s business was not in a very good shape then and the family badly needed my salary. I had to go to work though I was not comfortable leaving the child behind. Even my father-in-law went out for a part-time job in order to improve the finances of the family.

Latha was left alone at home burdened with the responsibility of taking care of the baby all day. She also cooked and packed lunches for all the three of us. Even last night I was thinking about Latha, ’Poor girl, why should she suffer for my family? How can I ever hope to return her kindness?’

But today I could see through her treacherous motives in staying with me. ‘You too Balan?’ – my heart would have echoed this statement at least a thousand times. ‘And Latha, how did you have the heart to betray me, of all the persons in the world?’ Now only I could sense the full impact of the situation at hand. There could not be a more inhuman betrayal or a more cruel ingratitude than this in the whole world. Two persons on whom I had showered all my love and affection have joined hands to stab me in the back. I was now burning with anger. I wanted to kill them both in one stroke and then hang myself to death! I ran home with a heart burning with murderous rage.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->

I grabbed Balan by his shirt and confronted him openly about the affair. I would have felt slightly relieved if at least Balan appeared shocked on his being found out or if he had displayed his anxiety to get my pardon. But Balan, to my consternation, was talking really cool:

“Malu, I don’t want to justify what happened. But you created the circumstances for me and at one weak moment I fell prey to temptation. I know how much I have hurt you. But, dear, I can’t help it. I love Latha. And we have decided to marry. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Please try to understand the situation. All of us can live like one family as before. After all Latha is your own sister.”

Living as one family? One husband and two wives and to sleep with the husband in turns? I felt like puking. Balan’s solution to the problem was even more nauseating than the problem itself.

I looked at Latha. Balan, all said and done, did not grow up with me, nor he was my blood. But Latha? She might have succumbed to temptation, but she was my own blood. At least now she should be regretting her misdemeanour. I looked at her. I thought she might be shedding tears of guilt and shame as she had hurt the person more intimate to her than her mother herself!

But she had a bridal smile on her face as if this was her engagement evening. The pose, in which she stood stylishly with a shy smile as if a photo-call had been given, remained acid-etched in my memory. I had cried for many nights thinking about her face and that cruel smile on it while I was dying with shame and anger. I ran to our room and fell down in our bed and cried for God knows how long.

When I opened the eyes it was dark outside, a reflection of the gloom that has set inside me. I did not want to go out. I did not want to see Balan or Latha.

Balan and Latha had betrayed me. But should I repay betrayal with betrayal? No. I will repay it with love. They have found happiness in each other. Why should I stand in their way? Instead of killing them, why should not I kill myself and solve the problem for them? I waited for the entire household to sleep. Then I slowly crept into my father-in-law’s room and searched his drug-chest for sleeping pills. Luckily there was a bottle full of them. I took the bottle and came back to my room. I went to my daughter’s bed and found her sleeping peacefully. I gently kissed her cheeks and wished her all happiness in life.

Then I hardened my heart took a dozen sleeping pills and was about to pop them in my mouth when I heard the clapping of hands. My father-in-law.

“Shabash, my child. Well done. Go ahead. Do it. I am not going to stop you. You want to be glorified as a martyr who has sacrificed for her husband and her sister? But I tell you, you are going to be crucified as the the worst type of coward. Your suicide is not only foolishness but a total letdown of your only child. Do you think a man who has an affair with his wife’s sister or a woman who is mean enough to rob her sister’s husband will shower love and affection on your child? They will just let your child die or simply throw it away into an orphanage.”

I sobbed and fell at the feet of my father-in-law.

He lifted me up and attempted to wipe my tears.

“My Child, they are the criminals. They have wronged you. And the only revenge you can take against them is to show that you can live without them and that too live happily. That should teach them a lesson.

 

An Affair and Its Aftermath

“Make your husband come back to you. And then make him understand your worth. That will be the sweetest revenge. But that won’t happen tomorrow or even next month. It may take years. But it’s worth the trouble. Now, my dear, never even think of ending your life again, if not for me, at least for the sake of your lovely daughter who has nobody in this world but you.”

I was still crying not knowing what to do. He grabbed the sleeping pills from me and gave me just one of them.

“Take this and have a nice sleep. Get up as a fresh woman in the morning and start plotting against those traitors. Remember, I am with you in whatever you do. Good night.”

I just obeyed his command.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->

A good night’s sleep induced by the pill really refreshed my aching mind and now pain was replaced by an insatiable thirst for revenge. Why can’t I live alone? After all I have a good job which pays me well. Why the hell should I bother?

When the lukewarm water fell from the shower in the early hours of that morning, the old, soft, trusting and gullible Malathi died and a new vengeful, hard and shrewd Malathi was born. I prepared coffee for my father-in-law and went to wake him up. While he was sipping his bed coffee I talked.

“You stopped me at the right time. I am taking your advice. I am going to show to those ungrateful animals that I can live on my own and live happily also. But I need your help in my mission.”

“You name it, my child, and it is done.”

“From now on you are not Balan’s father. You are mine. You are not my father-in-law, but my father. I am walking out of this unclean house. And you have to come out with me as my father. Will you do it?”

“Done, my darling daughter, done.” He was almost sobbing when he said that.

I wiped my eyes and like an army general planning an ambush I planned my moves. It was like a game of chess and my first move was a success. I knew that the house stands in my husband’s name, though I have invested some money in that. I did not care. I fixed up a house for us a couple of streets away and we moved over to the new place without much fanfare.

Meanwhile Balan and Latha had gone ahead for a formal marriage. I consulted my lawyer friend. She said that I could sue them and drag them to court. But I did not want to do that. Because in the process they will also try to smear my name. Along with them I will also get a bad press. More importantly I would appear to them as a common enemy and thus serve to strengthen the unholy bonds between them. That was the last thing in the world I wanted to happen. I ignored the lawyer’s advice and focussed on my life instead.

Time flew. Divya was now five. I was climbing up the corporate ladder all this time. Now I had become an Manager in my company. The money was good and I also had a car and other perks.

In my husband’s matter I was lying low all these years waiting for the time to ripen for my next move. The time had come now.

I knew Balan would be visiting a particular Lakshmi Temple every Friday. I calculated the time of his visit and deliberately went to the same temple along with Divya and my father-in-law at the same time. As we had planned earlier we took extra efforts to project ourselves as a very happy family.

When Balan saw us at the temple he was shocked. He would not have expected us to be so relaxed and so happy. He could not take his eyes off Divya who had grown up very gracefully. He even attempted to smile at her. When this smile-ritual continued for some weeks, I decided it was time for the next move.

It was Divya’s sixth birthday. We were in the temple. Seeing Balan and Latha on the other side I almost shouted at the priest,

“Please do special pujas in the name of my daughter, Divya. You know today is her birthday.”

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> cast a sideward glance at Balan. His eyes were full with tears and he was staring at Divya through a screen of tears. Latha was looking somewhere.

I had now become an adept in planning moves and shocking Balan. Divya’s school had sent me an invitation for her school day. I sent the invitation to Balan’s factory making it appear as if the school had sent it to him by mistake.

<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]-->

My prediction proved right. Balan came for Divya’ school day – alone. He saw Divya’s dancing and singing with eyes overflowing with tears. I signalled my father-in-law to go near him as if by chance. When he saw his father so near he just grabbed his hands. The father and the son were talking for a long time. When the performance was over I sent Divya to call my father-in-law. Balan saw his daughter in close quarters, just lifted her up and covered her face with kisses. Even I could not control my tears on this touching sight.

But I woke up and urged my father-in-law that it was time we left. Balan left Divya with a heavy heart and walked alone into darkness.

When we reached home my father-in-law started to talk.

“Poor fellow, he badly wants to see Divya. He almost begged your permission to allow him to visit our home to see Divya once in a fortnight. Looks like Latha and Balan are not in good terms. Now what shall I tell him?”

 

An Affair and Its Aftermath

I knew I had stalked my prey long enough and this was the time to close in for a kill. I did exactly that.

“Daddy, let him come, but on one condition. He can come only when I am home. If he attempts to see Divya either at school or at home in my absence then he can never see Divya. I will get a transfer to Mumbai and fly away. But he can come in the evenings and on Sundays when I am home. And he should call up at least an hour in advance and let me know that he is coming. OK?”

Even my father-in-law did not know what was cooking inside me. Balan announced his first visit the very next day. I told Divya about her father and prepared her for the eventful meeting.

Balan might have thought that I will be putting on a long face and reluctantly open the door with irritation and anger. So when he saw me clad in a beautiful silk saree and my head bedecked with flowers and my smiling face, he was shocked beyond words. Poor soul, he does not know the working of a female mind!

“Please come, Balan. This is also your house. You are most welcome.”

I had lived with him for three years and I knew his tastes and preferences. So whenever Balan visited us I went out of the way to make the evening pleasant for him.

The moment he entered the house and sat in the drawing room Sofa I would place a cup of ice-cold water before him. Then after a few minutes I would serve strong foaming South Indian filter coffee with just half-sugar in the manner he liked most. A few minutes after coffee I would place a tray of roasted cashews before him. Then I would dress-up Divya and send her to the drawing room. Father and daughter would chat up for an hour or so. Then I would unobtrusively call everybody for dinner. I knew what he preferred to eat in the night and took efforts to prepare those dishes. Balan, my father-in-law and I would eat together chatting about everything under the sun. I had strictly warned my father-in-law not to bring in the topic of Latha or Balan’s relationship with her to the dining table conversation. At times Balan would start complaining about Latha. But I would pretend as if I had not heard his words and would steer the conversation to something different.

Then I took the most powerful weapon in my armoury – my beauty and sex appeal. I was now a regular visitor to a beauty parlour – for facials, manicuring and eye-brows trimming. I bought a lot of beauty care products and started to wear attractive dresses. My father-in-law was sensible enough to guess my next move and started excusing himself from the evening dinner. He took Divya out for a stroll. I dressed to kill. I wore a negligee, which emphasized my figure, when I served dinner to Balan. He could not take his eyes off me. I felt proud of myself; and I pitied Balan.

I could guess that his relationship with Latha was fast deteriorating. To start with he visited us once in a fortnight; but now he was coming twice a week. He had also started to bring small gifts – a doll for Divya, a book for my father-in-law, a chudidhar for me. He used to come at six and go only at eleven in the night. When he took leave of me I could clearly see the longing in his eyes. His eyes rested on me longer than it was necessary.

<!--[endif]--> Now I was waiting for Balan to make his final move, which he did, as I expected. He asked through his father whether we could be reunited. He had confessed to his father that the feelings he had for Latha were only infatuation, which wore out soon. Given her jealousy, her nagging and her suspicious nature it was hell to live with her. After a couple of abortions Latha had become very edgy and was now incapable of even a friendly conversation let alone intimacy in the bed. Now I opened the negotiations; I had the upper hand and laid down the conditions.

‘Latha, after all, is my sister and she should not be left in the lurch. Balan should make a substantial deposit of money in Latha’s name to ensure a decent living for her. Latha should leave the city and live elsewhere. There is no question of my moving to his house. He has to come here to live with us. Once he comes over here he should not, at any cost, see her nor have anything to do with her. No calls, no visits, not even mails.’

Balan agreed to all the conditions and faithfully carried them out. He sold his house and settled a substantial sum for Latha’s future. Latha wanted to meet me before leaving the town. I said I would have nothing of it. I shall never set eyes on Latha again. Latha went out of town.

 

An Affair and Its Aftermath

We started our second innings with enthusiasm. I got my husband back, my father-in-law, his son and Divya, her father. When we started life as one well-knit family, life should have appeared very sweet to me. But it did not. I could not forget the betrayal of my husband and my sister. I will definitely carry it to my grave and, who knows, probably beyond. My heart had been hardened and I was no longer the innocent Malathi who believed that all people are good and all that glittered was gold. Though Balan loved me and we had a good time together I could not give myself completely to him as I did earlier, in my first innings. A part of me was always cautious and was standing guard even during the most intimate moments. That’s life, I consoled myself.

I forgot to tell: I went in for a sterilization, though Balan was very eager to have a second child. But then I had my own fears. Supposing the second child was also a girl, then my daughter Divya might face the same problems which I had faced. I didn’t want that to happen.

 

Tough Questions, Prathi!

Dear Prathi,
All your questions are tough. It's difficult to give straight answers. Like Malathi there are many women who naively believe their husbands. I have seen many affairs springing up especially during the first pregnancy of the wife.
What you observed about men is true. A man has insatiable physical needs which are not subject to any rhyme or reason.
If you ask me frankly Malathi created the circumstances by letting her sister to stay with her. When it comes to physical attraction- the fact that Latha is her own sister and that she won't hurt her marriage - nothing will work. During advanced stages of pregnancy the sex-deprived man will be in a nervous state looking for alternative pastures. If at that time someone is near by - sister in law or servant maid - then it spells danger tothe marriage. There are two more observations I have on this topic. Yes, Malathi did fight against her husband. But I know many ladies who because of lack of economic freedom have accepted their husbands' indiscretion.
Secondly even after all these happenings Malathi has accepted her husband back in her life. But I ask you a simple question. Had the roles been reversed - had Malathi gone astray, let's say with Balan's brother - would Balan accept her back after she lived with another man for years? I don't think so.
Yes, Prathi. The drawing of the line is very important. But I think that we should draw the line ourselves instead of some one drawing the line for us. We are always tempted to cross the line drawn by someone else - like Sita crossing the Lakhsman Reka. But when we draw the line ourselves we would have a moral conviction as well.
My idea of line is like this. It's okay to talk with members of the opposite sex. In parties even mild, harmless flirting is okay. But at that point our line should appear. Unnecessarily touching members of opposite sex, having discussion on very intimate topics - these should be avoided.
About 8 years back I was in a new year's party. My young client's young wife called me to the dance floor. It was about 11:30 in the night. My client who was by her side also urged me to go and dance with her. But I refused her flatly.
She told me 'Sridhar, you are a prude.'
I told her that I can't trust my feelings in that semi darkness. More importantly I told her I would not like to see my wife dancing with some other man. Whatever applies to her applies to me as well.
She was angry with me but my conscience was clear.
Prathi, I have seen all affairs invariably end in disaster. The pleasure derived from an illicit affair is so small and insignificant. The resultant problems are gigantic. I have seen lives being destroyed by these casual affairs.
Did I answer some of your questions?
regards,
sridhar

 

A Fine Reply, Prathi!

Both of your responses have substantiated and have contributed to the fine points discussed in the article. I fully agree with your observations.
There is only point which I wish to emphasise. Prathi, we can be good, true to our spouses and true to our conscience. At the same time we should never underestimate the force of circumstances. Not that all people having an affair are inherently bad. Psychologists and marriage counsellors say that affairs happen mostly due to the force of circumstances. Trusting people is one thing ; but trusting that human feelings will behave in a particular fashion always makes us appear naive at the end. In my view, Malathi, should not have let Latha inside the house especially at the time of her pregnancy. Even a normally good man might be easily tempted by the availability of easy sex, in this case just on the tap and would surely go astray. Not that I defend Balan. But circumstances can overpower any human being.
It is apt at this point to draw your attention to my story Should I Tell (in VR's Short Stories Forum; a contest story) In that story though the husband has sex with another woman, the wife forgives him given the nature of circumstances.
We should draw a line, and that's for our own good and our own system of values. At the same time we should also see that the circumstances do not lead to problems. At times we might be forced to draw a line for our spouses too. This is too much of a statement. But consider Malathi drawing a line and saying to Latha, 'No dear. It will be a problem to have you here. Stay with us for a week and go.' If she had enlisted the help of a older women during her delivery time, the disaster would have been averted.
What do you say?
regards,
sridhar