A Secret Affair

One day when I was coming back from work I noticed Manoj and Anita conversing near the door of our flat. I saw they were pretty close. Manoj Ji said something and Anita started laughing. When I tried to get close to them they separated and acted like nothing untoward was going on.

“Evening, Manoj Ji,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Anjali,” he replied. “I was just asking Anita about the weather forecast.”

“It’s supposed to rain tomorrow,” said Anita. “But it could be wrong.”

“Hmmm...” said Manoj Ji. “The weatherman is always wrong!” He laughed loudly at his own joke.

Anita smiled. “Goodnight, sir,” she said, and went into our flat.

Manoj Ji walked away. I noticed he was looking back at Anita as he did so.

When I entered my flat, Anita was sitting in the living room watching TV. “What were you guys doing out there?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she replied. “Just chatting.”

“Looked like more than that to me,” I said.

She frowned. “Don’t go around spreading rumors, Anjali,” she warned.

“Okay,” I said. “But you two looked pretty cozy.”

“Nothing much as I consider him a father figure and mentor,” she replied. “That’s all.”

“Yeah, right,” I said, but I didn’t believe her. There had been something intimate about the way they’d behaved. I knew Anita was single – she’d told me so – but Manoj Ji was married with two kids. He was also probably fifteen or twenty years older than her. Was it possible that they were having a secret affair?

I thought about this for several days. Sometimes I saw Manoj Ji waiting outside the building for Anita when she came home from work; sometimes I heard him calling up on the phone to talk to her; and one time I caught them chatting on the landing outside our

From all this I knew that they were at least having a emotional affair.

One day I came early from work. The door was locked from inside. Thinking nothing of it I used my personal key to open it. Inside I called for Anita but got no reply back. I thought she must have fell asleep.

I went to my bedroom to change. On the way I heard a faint whispering coming from Anita’s room.

I stopped and decided to investigate. I found her door closed but not completely. There was a slight gap. The whispering was getting louder. I decided to peek.

Anita was standing beside the bed only in her panties.