He looked into the rearview mirror and checked his face for telltale signs before brushing off his clothes to remove any stray hairs. He put on his assertive attitude, the one he adopted during business meetings to get a head start over the competition even before the wheeling and dealing had begun; in his book, going on the offensive was the only way to avoid being pushed to the defensive. As he walked in the door, he tried not to tiptoe – his late arrival from the office coupled with his deferential behavior and a few rumors on the local grapevine had incited his wife’s wrath a few days ago, and he did not want a repeat of the scene she had created.
Even as he had categorically denied an affair with his secretary, his mind could not help but remember her lush curves, come-hither eyes and silky smooth skin, all of which he had thoroughly enjoyed hardly an hour earlier. When his wife had refused to calm down in spite of his denials and pleas, he decided to change tack to regain control over the situation. His voice had radiated confidence as he firmly stated that he was not having an affair, and that if she chose to believe otherwise, she was welcome to leave him. He was particularly proud of his voice breaking a little towards the end when he switched to the role of the victim and sank to the sofa with his head in his hands, as if to bemoan his wretched life with a wife who did not trust him. He didn’t know whether she bought it, but at least it bought him some peace and quiet for the rest of the night.
He looked around the living room and waited for the explosion he knew was coming; he was much later coming home today and he doubted his wife would buy the story of a business meeting that ran to 1 am. His brain had warned him that he was asking for trouble, but other parts of his body took control and he lost track of the time yet again.
A light in the dining room made him gravitate to the dinner table, and the sight of his wife asleep with her head on the table gave him a jolt. She awoke at the sound of his footsteps, and her face broke into a huge smile. He instinctively shrank back as she came over to give him a hug (was she trying to smell her on him?). She broke into mundane chatter about her day as she went around getting his dinner warmed up and setting out a plate and cutlery for him. His mind began to race even as it completely forgot the speech he had prepared to justify his late homecoming - Why is she not yelling at me? Why is she being so nice to me?
A new emotion overtook him and raced through his blood; there was only one explanation for her strange behavior – she was up to something behind his back and all this was a way of covering up her indiscretion. The bitch!!! She was trying to throw him off track! Well, not for long, he thought. And as soon as she went to bed, he was rifling through her phone and computer for any stray text messages or emails that would offer proof of her philandering ways!
And in the room next door, she smiled as she thought to herself - the best way to bring down the walls of doubt was to raise a few of your own - before she fell into a deep and peaceful slumber for the first time in months!
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