Silently Falling in Love: Lucky Charm THIS IS THE EDITED VERSION

Chapter 7 - Yoga

My dad was right, calling the credit card company helped me find Anjali. She had checked into a hotel, the Ritz at Half Moon Bay. Discovering this made me feel shittier. I knew Anjali had asked me to take her there and I said I would, but I had yet to follow through.

I pulled my car up to the entrance and had the valet park it, even though normally I parked my own car, but I didn't want to waste a minute looking for Anjali.

I lined up behind the female receptionist to increase my chances of flirting my way into success. It didn't take long for my turn – that was service for you at the Ritz.

"Good afternoon and welcome to the Ritz sir, how can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Good afternoon, Debbie. My wife has already checked into the hotel for our anniversary celebration, and I need a key to our room. We're so delighted to have this weekend to ourselves while the grandparents take care of the kids. Do you have kids?" I asked.

"I have a two-year-old son, so yes I understand how special it is to have a weekend to yourselves. What room is your wife in?" she asked.

"I'm not sure what room she said. Sorry, it's a guy thing to forget all the details. I'm sure she told me, and she'd scold me if you ever told her I forgot." I gave Anjali's name and sweetly looked at the receptionist and flashed her the best smile I could muster under the circumstances.

"Give me one moment to look that up."

"Hhhmm, what is your name, sir? Can I see your driver's license?" she asked.

"Here's my license."

"I'm sorry sir, but your name is not on the room reservation. I can call your wife to confirm."

"I can't believe my secretary didn't add both of our names. As you can see, we have the same last name. Here's a picture of her in my wallet. Please don't call Anjali, she's not expecting me until dinner this evening and I want to surprise her by coming early. I'd appreciate it if you could make this exception." I asked.

"All right. You seem like an honest guy and I'm sure your wife will love the surprise. I hope you both enjoy your weekend with us. Here is your room key. The room number is on the envelope. Just go down the hall and take a left, and you'll see the elevators. Let us know if you need anything," she smiled.

"Thank you!" I said and grabbed the key before she changed her mind and raced towards the elevator. I silently said a prayer that the receptionist hadn't called Anjali to verify if I was her husband.

I found the room and opened the door. The room was empty, but Anjali's purse lay on the armchair, so I knew I had the right room. The hotel was large and situated on the on the beach so there was no telling where she could be. I'd wait until she returned to the room. Moving her purse, I settled into a chair and took a deep breath.

Trying my best to patiently wait in the hotel room, my thoughts tormented me. I vacillated between anger, fear, pity, and remorse, but what I needed most was a cool head so when she returned to the room, I could speak to her without losing it.

Flipping through a magazine to distract myself, snippets of the song Zoobi Doobi Do cut into the silence of the room. The sound came from Anjali's cell phone. She loved the movie 3 Idiots. She always used a Hindi song for her ringtone. I walked over to the nightstand to see who was calling her, her iPhone flashed Jordan. I stared at the phone stunned he was calling her. He said nothing was going on between them, yet he was calling her. Why was he calling Anjali? To warn her?

The phone beeped once Jordan finished recording his voicemail. I picked up the phone, I knew I shouldn't, but I wanted to hear the voicemail. I had to know; this was my marriage for god's sake. I had a right to know. I needed the passcode to gain access to Anjali's messages. I tried our anniversary date, Anjali's birthday, the kids' birthday, my birthday, but nothing worked. Why was the code so difficult? Had Anjali purposely used a difficult passcode to hide her affair from me.