The Workaholic Wife ✅

The Heart Wants What It Wants

The waiter howls in pain as my fist makes contact with his nose. I was not expecting this man to be standing in front of me when the porter led me here. I was waiting for either Aniket or his obnoxious assistant to open the door. Especially my bastard of a husband.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologize, putting my hands in front of me for reassurance that I didn't do it purposefully.  The man wails a incomprehensible response, covering his bleeding nose with a death grip. I didn't even bring a first aid kit!

A bellow of laughter resounds from within the room. Aniket strides towards the man, handing him a lump of money and patting him on his back comfortingly. The man receives the money without complaint, glaring at me before making his way past me. I start to apologize again but Aniket pulls me in by my wrist, dismissing the porter after he grasps the luggage from his hands. Aniket closes the door on the porter's face, and I sigh in frustration.

How was I supposed to confront him? On my way here, I had prepared a mental speech on the contents of my outbreak when I meet Aniket. Now, I am tongue tied as his heated gaze meets mine.

"You don't know how happy I am to see you, sweetheart." He says, pulling me in by the shoulders. I restrain myself from falling into his comforting, muscular arms. I mentally scold myself, clearing my throat as I edge back from his touch.

"Why was your assistant in your bed?" I ask, coming straight to the point. His eyes glint with mischief as he purses his lips in amusement.

What is so funny about this?

He pockets his hands, giving the aura of a male model on the runway. "Not even a hello, Krithi? It's been three months since we even talked face to face. I was expecting you to jump into my arms willingly." He muses, taking a cautious step towards me, as if he's suspecting he will meet the same fate of the hospitality service manager.

"A cheater like you shouldn't even get a chance to explain. I'm only going to ask one more time. Why was she in your bed?" I growl at him, emphasizing every word I uttered.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're here right now." He closes the gap between us, while I struggle to get out of his cage. His arms imprison me, and he lifts me above his head. My baby bump sits on his upper chest, while his neck crane up to look at me. Suddenly, I'm twirling in the air while Aniket looks up at me with a humongous grin stretched across his face.

"Put me down, and answer my question!" I holler, attacking his shoulder in mid-spin.

He lowers me slowly, and the heat between us makes me gasp as his breath fans across my cheeks. I cannot afford to lose this. To lose him...

"What do you want to know, Krithi?" He questions, while he holds me by the waist. My eyes meet with his on the same level.

"I want to know if you cheated on me." I start, trying to keep my composure. "Do you even know what I went through? I circumvented the world, taking eight different Cheep-O-air flights to save money, threw up in the pouch in front of me and smiled sheepishly at a air attendant until she cleaned it up, and spent a heck load of money on a heart surgeon to take over my surgeries. Now, I need to know what your stupid assistant was doing in your stupid bed!"

"Why does it matter so much?"

"It matters, Aniket, because you promised me! You promised me that you weren't a cheater. It matters because cheating is not tolerable in any marriage. This is adultery. A sin. Why can't you understand?"

He lets me down, sighing. "I didn't know you were so religious."

"You are, aren't you, Aniket? You're mother, I mean Mayma, taught you some good things, didn't she? You believe in god. Why did you cheat on me then?"