Pseudo

15

Aarti was in the shower. She had returned from the weekend getway with her office colleagues. Her phone was lying around carelessly on her bed and her husband Samir was watching TV, lazing on the bed. Just then Aarti’s phone beeped and beeped again and again.

It drew Samir’s attention to the glowing screen. They never bothered to check each other’s phone. They had given each other the space and complete trust. But suddenly Samir was intrigued. He picked up Aarti’s phone and on the screen saw three message notifications from WhatsApp. He saw the notifications and was flabbergasted. The messages were from Rakesh, her team mate.
The messages read.
‘Reached safely’
‘Already missing you’
‘Sweet dreams dear’ and had- three kiss emojis.
Samir was filled with rage, he did not know how to react. ‘But what if they were just good friends?’ thought Samir. But by sending such intimate messages in the night, Rakesh had crossed the lines of decency. And a lot of other thoughts were racing through his mind.’were they really intimate?’; ‘For how long was this going on?’; ‘Did the people in her office know of it?’; ‘How could Aarti cheat?’. He had to know more.
He unlocked Aarti’s phone and typed-
‘Miss you too dear- and a kiss emoji’
A few seconds later Rakesh relied
‘Wish we were together tonight too’
Samir was now assured of the intimacy between Rakesh and Aarti.

He continued to take cue and replied- ‘Cant wait to be in your arms- and a blushing emoji’.
Rakesh replied ‘Just a few hours darling see you in office tomorrow- and a hug emoji’ ‘Godnight and see ya tomorrow- and a kiss emoji’
Samir too sent a kiss emoji and waited for a few seconds.
There was no response from Rakesh. He realised that Rakesh was off WhatsApp now.

Just then Aarti got out of the shower.
Samir’s eyes said it all. Aarti had never seen Samir so agitated.
Aarti noticed her phone in Samir’s hands, her heart sank.
‘What?’ retorted Aarti
Samir was too furious, dejected, lost, choked to say anything
‘Is everything ok?’She knew it was not but Samir’s silence and the fury in his eyes was uncomfortable. She said that just to break the silence.
Finally Samir said ‘How could you Aarti?’
And handed over the phone to her with the chat window open
Aarti took the phone and read the messages from Rakesh.
She heaved a loud sigh ‘oh God! What is this?’
‘Exactly Aarti, what is this?’
After a little while she composed herself and said
‘Samir this is not true. There is nothing between Rakesh and me. I am surprised that he has such feelings for me. And I am equally aghast, that you would do something like this, how can you send messages on my behalf?’
‘Had I not done what I did, I would have never seen your true colors’
‘Samir, he may be harboring such feelings but I have nothing for him. To me he is just a colleague’
‘Oh yeah! then how come he is wishing you were with him again tonight’ Who knows how many nights and days have you spent warming his bed Aarti?’
‘Oh Shut up Samir, How could you say such a thing? You are sick Samir. You will regret to have said this, once this thing is explained’
‘Ok fine, explain this to me’
‘let me call Rakesh right away, before the seeds of suspicion make deep roots inside you’
Aarti picked the phone and called Rakesh. On cue from Samir she put the phone on speaker.

‘Hello Rakesh?’
‘Yes Aarti’
‘How could you do this Rakesh? Have I ever hinted you to having any such feelings for you? Have ever my words or actions atoned more than been just colleagues and friends? How dare you take this liberty? How could you send such a message to me?’ Aarti let out all her rage.
‘Aarti, even if I did send you that message, why did you have to respond? I am equally outraged at your hypocrisy. You say you don’t have any such feelings and look at your messages!’
This was awkward for Aarti. She did not know what to reply. But she sheepishly confessed ‘Actually it was my husband Samir, messaging’
‘WHAT? I don’t believe this’ heaved Rakesh.

A few minutes ago at Rakesh’s residence-

Rakesh had just arrived from the annual weekend gateway with his office colleagues. He was tired, but his two young daughters would not let him go without hearing all the stories and the details of the weekend. Rakesh was in the living room telling the events of the two days. Rakesh was married to Radhika. Radhika knew her husband was charming and had a way with women, hence, had a little trust issues.
She suspected that there was something between him and his colleague Aarti. She had tried asking him about it but he dismissed it as a figment of her imagination.
Now when Rakesh was with their daughters, Radhika took his phone to check. Finding nothing suspicious, she decided to send a message to Aarti.
She sent
‘Reached safely’
‘Already missing you’
‘Sweet Dreams Dear’ and had- three kiss emojis.

She was worried that this may go out of hand and Rakesh would really get mad at her. At least she should have not sent those kiss emojis.
But she was astound to receive ‘Miss you too dear- and a kiss emoji’ from Aarti.
The ground under her feet vanished. She was in a shock. All her fears were not completely unwarranted. But she wanted to know more, the extent their relationship had gone.
She replied ‘Wish we were together tonight too’.
Her heart was racing and her hands trembling. The next message she received put all her doubts to rest about her husband’s infidelity- ‘Can’t wait to be in your arms- and a blushing emoji’
This was enough for her to know that Rakesh and Aarti had something going.
She finally typed ‘Just a few hours darling see you in office tomorrow and a hug emoji. goodnight and see ya tomorrow- and a kiss emoji’.

She closed the chat window and thinking how to confront Rakesh. Just then she received a ‘kiss emoji’ from Aarti. That was the final nail in the coffin for her. She stormed out of the room. Full of rage and tears trickling down her cheeks. She showed the chat window to Rakesh and screamed ‘I always knew something was happening between you and Aarti and here is the proof’.
Rakesh took the phone and went through the messages.
‘Oh God! Radhika. Why did you? How could you?’ He followed her into the room.
‘Radhika your paranoia is going out of hand now’
Radhika had already started packing her bag. ‘What? Where are you going?’
‘Give me a chance, I can explain’
‘Ok explain, ‘can’t wait to be in your arms’’ she said in a mocking tone
‘Radhika please calm down, I am sure there has been some kind of a mix up here. You started the conversation and she thought it was me. And I am equally surprised that she feels this way for me.’
‘You are caught red handed Rakesh. Please keep these stories to yourself’
‘Radhika calm down please. Give me a proper chance to explain myself. And where are you going? Why are you packing your bags?’
Just then his phone rang. It was Aarti calling. He knew something was wrong. He picked the call and put it on speaker. He pulled Radhika’s hand and made her sit next to him.

After coming to terms with the irony of the situation, Rakesh now reluctantly confessed ‘Actually it was my wife who was chatting on my behalf’ and let out a chuckle. Radhika was smiling and nodding her head in disbelief.
Samir grabbed the phone and started screaming ‘No wait, you are now trying to cover it up. You are caught..’ before he could complete, Radhika spoke ’No actually, I’ve been a real jerk in this, its only my fault for what all had to go through’ On hearing Radhika’s voice Samir calmed down and apologised ‘I am so sorry for this’
Rakesh finally summed up ‘I think its best for all of us to forget this ever happened and let life go on as usual’. Aarti agreed ‘Yes Rakesh, see you in office tomorrow and a light laugh’

That weekend as Aarti lay in Rakesh’s arms in their favorite hotel, Aarti whispered in his ears ‘That was really close sweetheart. We need to be very careful’ Rakesh took her in an embrace and started kissing her again and said playfully ’Of course, careful we are…’

The End