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The Love Affair I Got Comfortable With!

By Diyaa in Stories » Fiction
Updated 10:58 IST Oct 15, 2019

Views » 684 | 7 min read

She hugged him tight and cried. It was a dark stormy night. The clouds were intensely close, waiting to squeeze tight together and burst out. Nature was mimicking human emotions virtually. Zara didn’t want to leave him; not now at least. She was in love. The kind of love wherein you don’t know if you are better together in a cuddly embrace for some time or lost in each other's thoughts all day. But this was the deciding time of her life. Amit stayed just one block ahead of Zara. She was visiting her parent’s house those days and so was he. She made it a point to see him every time he came around. They loved meeting up for coffees.

It always struck me hard when I saw men keep themselves free for other women so easily. I never found the time for my own, forget any other. Probably that explains the whole chaos around me now. Oh well, I still haven't introduced myself. I am Rahul, Zara’s husband and this is my story.

She used to mention about Amit a lot. They were childhood friends. Their families were also very close to each other. They spent most of their evenings together. Amit moved out of the country for his job and settled there. They tried keeping in touch but it all faded out as time passed. She didn’t forget about him but didn’t think much either. Just about a few years back when he contacted her again, their rendezvous began.

He was returning back to his country after a whole year this time. A lot of things had changed since. He always had a well-settled business in London. The last year, Zara and I were blessed with a princess. We actually met in college and that’s how we started dating. The perfect love affair was followed by an ideal wedding. This was like a wonderful fairy tale. It was our daughter’s first birthday. We decided to have a little family affair. That’s where Amit came in to surprise Zara. He learned about her whereabouts from her mother, and so had kept his plans ready. He was always a well-planned man. My family was a little familiar with him. They had heard about him from us. I knew what he meant to her. She jumped in surprise when she saw him and ran to hug him tight, without realizing her marital family and everyone else was around too. He saw a few heads turn to them and quickly set her free. He came to meet me and we firmly shook hands. That evening turned my life. That handshake and the hug changed my life drastically. 

We became closer as friends. His one month trip here this time somehow lasted longer. There was some legal stuff that kept him stuck here. I adored his sense of business during day time, while his sense of humor kept our bellies vibrating when we met casually ever coffees or dinners. He soon became a part of our lives. Since my wife had left her job after our baby she had enough time to go to parks and do house chores too. Amit started accompanying her lot, to the park, at the groceries, to pick up the baby from school and so on. I didn’t mind him giving company to Zara as it seemed very harmless to me. It was a double deal, I got a new good friend and my wife was happier too. 

I could never imagine anything wrong would ever take place between the two. I trusted my wife more than anyone and she shared everything with me. I was never insecure about their friendship. It was very platonic. We soon made plans to go on a little holiday for five days. His legal work was getting stagnant now had there wasn’t much he could do about it for another fifteen days. That’s where the idea came from. We were joking about how a holiday could save us from all the stress around and when it actualized we didn’t even come to know. We were a group of friends, some of my other couple friends joined in too. 

I saw something change in Zara on that trip. She was rather quieter. She even tried to avoid Amit. I somehow couldn’t digest it. I didn’t want to think about what I was thinking. It didn’t make me feel good. I loved my wife a lot for anything to go wrong between us at this moment. 

That morning, she didn’t even want to accompany us to the beach; she made an excuse for our daughter and stayed back. This made it clearer that there was something unusual here. A part of me wanted to clarify and confront but the other part wanted to let go and make it look like I wasn’t aware of anything. Because if she confronted something I wasn’t ready to hear it would crack up our relationship forever. There would be broken hearts not one but three.

I sensed like it was a long-hidden affair I had grown comfortable with. I couldn’t let her go nor could I let her break my heart. I loved her way too much. I was a very old school lover. To me, expressing my love to her didn’t come so easy. Then, for me, nothing else mattered but the presence of my beloved. And for that, I was ready to let go off any doubts. 

That night I couldn’t get any sleep and kept tossing and turning on the bed. She waited till she was sure I was fast asleep and sneaked out of our room. I sensed it all at once. It was an unusual stormy night. Something you wouldn’t expect on this side of the country. She took the extra key and slipped out to the poolside. I waited for her to move and followed her there; making sure our daughter was safe and sound asleep. It started to rain soon. I saw her speak to Amit. I couldn’t hear much so I moved to another corner. They were both so engrossed that they didn’t notice my presence. I heard her cry and hug him tight. Something choked me up. I felt a lump in my throat. My world came apart. I had seen them hug before but this for sure felt different. I wanted to run and stop her and tell her what she was doing wasn’t right but something stopped me. I waited impatiently. I stood still like a deep-rooted tree. And just then she said those words. She told Amit how much she regretted that evening last Friday when they happened to get close in a weak moment and kissed each other. But now she realized it wasn't right to do so. She wanted him to forget that as a mistake, a beautiful one though. She pleaded him to let this stay out of my knowledge forever. Zara asked him to even stay away from her as she didn’t want to repeat any of what happened ever again. She hugged him again, this time even tighter and cried. I could feel her. I imagined what she must have felt too. A love of her childhood that returned after ages and gave her the comfort that maybe she missed somewhere. There are some irreplaceable relations in all our lives and I understood it. I would be wrong if I say I didn’t feel jealous or angry at them both. But my conscience that time was a much higher state of understanding.

I ran to my room before they could notice had hidden myself under my blanket, pretending as if nothing happened. She came in the next five minutes and slipped herself inside my blanket and hugged me tightly. I could still feel her wet eyes on my back but didn’t say anything. I simply turned around to hug her tight and in my mind, I thanked her for being mine and loving me more than anyone ever. This was one love affair I got comfortable with but never wished it to last. 

 

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