Lovely Housewives

The silence in Janaki's living room was a physical entity, thick and suffocating. Kushi's question hung in the air, a shard of ice in the warm, artificial atmosphere of sorrow. "Are you two fucking?" she asked again, her voice dangerously calm, her eyes boring into me.

My brain short-circuited. Panic, pure and undiluted, flooded my veins. "No!" I blurted out, the word a desperate, high-pitched squeak. I turned to Kushi, my hands held up in a gesture of placating innocence. "No! Of course not! Kushi, what are you even talking about? We were just... talking."

Janaki, however, remained silent. She didn't deny it. She didn't confirm it. She just sat there, a small, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips, her eyes watching the drama unfold with an unnerving, detached amusement.

Kushi's gaze flickered between my frantic face and Janaki's serene one. The lack of a denial from Janaki was all the confirmation she needed. "Oh my god," she whispered, the words barely audible, but they landed like a death sentence. The shock on her face melted away, replaced by a look of profound, wounded betrayal. She got up, her movements stiff and robotic, and walked out without another word.

"Kushi, wait!" I scrambled to my feet, my voice a frantic plea. I rushed to the door, but she was already halfway down the hall. I couldn't go after her, not half-naked and in this state. I was trapped. I turned back to Janaki, my frustration and fear boiling over into anger. "Why didn't you stop her? Why didn't you say something?"

Janaki finally moved, rising gracefully from the sofa. She smoothed down her simple house dress, a gesture of such infuriating calm it made me want to scream. "There was no way of stopping her, my dear king," she said, her voice soft, almost pitying. "The truth was already written on your face. She saw it."

"What do I do?" I asked, my voice cracking, the desperation I felt for Devi and Kushi's forgiveness warring with my anger at Janaki's manipulation.

She walked towards me, her hips swaying with a slow, deliberate rhythm. She stopped just in front of me, her hand coming up to cup my cheek. Her thumb stroked my skin, a gesture that was both tender and possessive. "You could run away with me," she suggested, her voice a husky, tempting whisper, her eyes gleaming with wicked mischief.

The suggestion was so absurd, so out of left field, that it caught me completely off guard. I just stared at her, my mouth agape.

She chuckled, a low, throaty sound. "No? I thought not." Her expression hardened, the playful seductress vanishing, replaced by a cold, calculating strategist. "Then you must go and confront your sins." With that, she turned, walked to the door, and held it open. A clear, unequivocal dismissal. "Get out, Sid."

I fumed. A white-hot rage surged through me, a desperate urge to shake her, to make her understand the chaos she had just unleashed. But her eyes were like chips of ice, and I knew I was beaten. I was a pawn in her game, and she had just made her move. I stormed out of her apartment, not even bothering to close the door behind me.

The hall was empty. The silence in my own home was a thousand times worse than the one in Janaki's. It was a cold, accusatory silence. I walked towards Devi's bedroom, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. The door was ajar. I pushed it open.

And walked into an ambush.

They were on me before I could even register what was happening. Devi and Kushi, their faces masks of cold fury, launched themselves from the shadows. They grabbed my arms, my shirt, my hair, and dragged me onto the bed. I didn't fight back. What was the point?

They started thrashing me. It wasn't a real beating, not with fists. It was a flurry of frustrated, feminine violence. Kushi slapped my chest, her palms making sharp, stinging contacts. Devi grabbed a pillow and started hitting me with it, her movements wild and uncoordinated. They were crying, tears streaming down their faces, their sobs mixing with their angry, incoherent shouts. "How could you?" "You lied!" "After everything!"

I let them take their frustration out. I lay there, a passive receptacle for their pain and anger. I deserved it. Every slap, every muffled sob, every angry tear was a penance I willingly paid. I just closed my eyes and let the storm wash over me.

Eventually, the storm subsided. They were exhausted, their energy spent, leaving them collapsed on the bed beside me, their bodies wracked with quiet, hitching sobs. I tried to talk, to explain, to apologize. "I'm sorry," I began, my voice hoarse. "I never meant to hurt you. It's not what you think..."

Devi cut me off, her voice flat, devoid of all emotion. "Get out."

I looked at Kushi, hoping for a reprieve, but she just turned her face away, her back to me. I was dismissed. I slowly got up, my body aching, my heart a shattered mess in my chest. I walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind me, and retreated to the living room.

I sank onto the sofa, the silence of the apartment pressing in on me. I had fucked up. Royally. There was no easy fix, no clever word that could undo the damage. I decided to give them more time. It was the only thing I could do. I just sat there, in the dark, and waited.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!