We did need the money - that was true. But how far was her boss going to push her?

So Sohini started the next day and everything went great for the rest of that week. When I asked her about Pradip, she said that he was still flirting heavily with her but he hadn't tried anything on. The most he had done was comment on her figure, complimenting her lips and ass but that was it.

When the week was done I asked Sohini if she felt she had done enough to get the job permanently and she told me that she would be finding out Monday one way or another, but that personally she was quite confident. That was the first inkling I had that something might be going on that I wasn't aware of. An inkling that would prove to be correct.

The weekend dragged by, as I was nervous of Monday's decision, but after it had come and gone I felt a sense of confidence during Monday as Sohini seemed really positive and didn't show any nerves at all as she left for work that morning.

She had been home from work late a couple of times during her weekly trial, but I assumed she was just putting in a bit of extra time to make a good impression. Monday night she was over an hour late though, but just as I was starting to worry, she burst through the door with a huge smile on her face and I knew straightaway that she had got the job.

"I got it!" she squealed and she ran into my waiting arms. I smelled a bitter smell on her neck as I spun her around, like a man's cologne but I never got a chance to question it as she hit me with a huge, long, lingering kiss which blew my mind.

"Everything will be great," she beamed at me, "My wages are nearly double what they were before. Just think of the money!" When she told me that, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. All the financial pressure that had been such a burden was gone. We could get a new car! New Year was just around the corner and now the kids would be able to have the presents they wanted.

"That's great!" I said as Sohini took her saree and blouse off, "Does the pay rise start immediately? When can we celebrate?"

Sohini winked at me and with a naughty smile answered quietly so the kids couldn't hear. "The pay is back dated to the beginning of last week. And we can celebrate tonight - in bed, if you like?"

I was so happy that the after-shave smell on her neck went right out of my mind just then, but after we had finished having great sex that night in bed, the memory of it came back to me. I was going to ask her about it, but Sohini had fallen asleep. She had been particularly horny, wanting to do it with me in every position conceivable but I just put it all down to her being so happy. I was happy too, and didn't want to spoil anything by voicing my forming suspicions so I put it down to me being paranoid and insecure because I was no longer the main bread winner.





The following week went much as usual. I was being kept busier at work, and managed to get some extra hours, so things were really looking up for us. Sohini was so much happier in herself both at home and at work because she really enjoyed the new job. She quite often worked an extra hour or so but I didn't mind because her pay packet more than justified it.

Everything changed though, one evening in early December. It was a Tuesday night which was a day that Sohini regularly worked an hour or so late, but after two hours I called her to see if she was ok. She didn't answer straightaway but when she did there was a lot of background noise, so I wondered where she was.

"Hi sona," I said. "You're working late tonight?"

"I'm sorry," she said over the high pitched music in the background. "Some of the girls were going out for a birthday celebration of one of our colleague Nisha and asked me if I wanted to join them. I didn't realize how late it was. I won't be long though."

"Ok." I bit back a feeling of annoyance. I would love to be able to go out with my buddies after work, but because I finished work early I was always the one who had to get home for the kids. I swallowed back the resentment though. "Have fun. Just don't be too late."

"I might be an hour or so. Love you!" Sohini said and I hung up the phone. She had sounded like she was having fun, and it was a long time since she had gone out and let her hair down, so I couldn't begrudge her a night out really but I did decide to phone some of my old friends that weekend and sort myself a night out too. They were all up for it, and we made plans to hit the town that weekend. Besides some great sex, Sohini and I really hadn't celebrated overcoming our money worries, so I figured that the two of us did deserve some fun.

My mood lifted, I put the kids to bed and sat and watched a DVD while I waited for Sohini to get home. I hoped that she might be a bit drunk so that another wild romp might be a possibility but I wasn't expecting her to be as absolutely blind drunk as she was when she finally staggered through the door, over two hours since our phone call.

She was not in a right state. Her make-up was smudged, her lipstick smeared and she looked as though she had fallen through a bush or something. Her clothes were crumpled and she generally looked disheveled and a real mess. My first feeling was one of concern and I jumped up off the sofa and helped her lock the door.

"Don't worry, I'm fine... I'm fine!" Sohini hiccoughed and then collapsed laughing onto the sofa. "I had a great time... Hic!"

"I think you're ready for bed," I suggested, feeling annoyed again. This time I was fed up because by the looks of it she was too drunk to do anything, let alone the energetic, crazy sex I had been hoping for. "What have you been up to? Look at the state of you!"

I didn't mean to upset her, but I guess my tone of voice was slightly sharper than I had intended, because she suddenly shut up and stared at me. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she blubbed. "I was just trying to socialize with Nisha and her friends and have a good time. I haven't had a drink for ages and..."

I sat down next to her and took her in my arms as she sobbed into my shoulder. She was mumbling something incomprehensible as I smelled that familiar smell on her neck again, like some sort of male cologne. I decided to ask her about it.

"So, you've been out just with the girls then?" I tried to make the question seem innocuous and not too suspicious sounding. "I guess you deserve to enjoy yourself. I've made plans to go out with Sushil and Dipak this weekend, if that's okay? And I thought we could go out and officially celebrate next week. A nice meal or something?"

Sohini pushed me away and rubbed at her eyes but the tears only smeared her mascara even more. She looked at me with her panda eyes and I noticed that her hands were trembling. What had she been up to?

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled to me, her eyes suddenly downcast. "I've done something bad."

"Don't be silly," I said but my heart was sinking because I had a gut feeling about what she was going to say. "Let's go to bed and forget about it."

"I fucked him again," she said and my heart stopped. Again? What did she mean 'Again?' And 'him' was...?

(TO BE CONTINUED)