I slipped behind the wheel of my car and headed out to the highways. I had timed the drive so that I would arrive at the Guest House about 4:30 p.m. I parked my car near the guest house and I looked around as I entered the lobby. The Guest House looked nice, and quite. The lift took me to the 2nd floor and I quickly made my way to their room. I put my ear to the door, but heard nothing.

I quietly unlocked the door and peered in. The door opened to a short hallway with a closet on the right. Beyond that was what appeared to be a small living room. This was obviously like a suite and I heard them from the doorway leading to the bedroom. I moved silently to the partly opened door, opened it further and looked in.

They didn't notice me; I doubt if they would have noticed if M.S Dhoni and his hole Indian cricket team had entered the room. Mathoor was in the midst of an orgasm and he was gasping out the last of his ejaculation. Menka was groaning and her hands were clasped tightly on his shoulders. Ufffff, could I have timed this any better?

"Bravo, bravo. What a performance. Is an encore possible?" I spoke uo loudly while applauding. It was as if a bomb had gone off in the room. Mathoor jumped from between Menka's legs and was standing by the bed clutching a portion of the sheet with which he covered his groin. Menka had grabbed the remaining portion of the sheet to her chest. Her eyes were wide with fright and she had turned an interesting shade of gray as she recognized who was standing in the doorway. Mathoor just stood there, mouth agape. Menka had lowered her eyes. I casually moved into the room and took a seat on the chair.

"Ok, Mr. Mathoor. I won't use the term Doctor because it remains to be seen how long you'll be able to retain that title. You have two options which I will explain in detail. Option one: You will close your practice and move out from Delhi. Out of state also includes suburban cities, that's too close. May I suggest Muzaffarnagar; that way you'll still be able to meet my soon to be ex-wife and resume your weekend activities. I'm sure that she would be terribly disappointed if you did not continue fucking her every Friday and Saturday. You will have 30 days to get out.

"Option two: If you refuse option one, I'll bring immediate suit against you. I will also petition the Licensing Board to revoke your license to practice medicine in this state, which I predict would certainly limit gaining access to your profession elsewhere in the country. I don't think that they condone a physician screwing his married patients. I will also provide your wife with ample evidence in any divorce action she takes. You have 60 seconds to make a decision or I will decide what action to take." I raised my wrist and looked at my watch.

After a few seconds I heard him grate, "You son-of-a-bitch."

I raised my eyes in mock surprise. "That's not an answer. You have 20 seconds left."

"You win," he had sagged, his features drawn and frightened now. "I'll move." I saw him shake in anger and frustration. He knew that he really didn't have much of a choice. I had his balls in a vise.

"Wise choice - now get dressed and get the fuck out of here before I change my mind." I snarled.

He quickly dressed, grabbed his bag and without even a glance at Menka, departed.

As the door slammed behind him, I turned my attention to my wife. She was still sitting up in the bed with the sheet still clutched to her chest. I noticed her pallor. Her eyes were still averted, she would not meet my gaze. I saw one tear coursing down her cheek.

"Menka," I began. "I'm not going to ask why you destroyed our marriage. I don't want to know the reasons behind your adultery. I really don't give a shit about the reasons for your betrayal.

I continued. "I fully intended to destroy you. I intended to bring all of the evidence of your infidelity, written and visual, to court. Our children would have been horrified and your reputation irrevocably shredded, which would have effectively ruined your career with your firm.

"But, I'm not going down that road. I realized that by doing that I would be descending to your level and I would lose my self respect. So I'm filing for a no-fault divorce. I'll let you explain to the kids why we're splitting up. I have already rented an apartment and all of my things should be moved in by the time I leave here. I don't want you contacting me under any circumstances, either in person, by phone or by mail. I would really prefer it if I never saw you again. Right now the sight of you sickens me. Any necessary communication will be through my attorney. The necessary papers will be delivered to you on Monday morning."

To her credit she didn't start with the stale excuses. I didn't hear "oh, I'm so sorry - it was just sex - I love you, not him - I've never done this before - please forgive me - it'll never happen again - I was bored - it was just a fling." I heard none of that sorry shit. She just sat there, pale as a ghost, with her head down. For a brief moment I felt sympathy for her, but I quickly cast that aside.

I rose, looked at her one last time, turned and quickly walked out of the door and out of her life.


Since the divorce was uncontested, it went through relatively quickly. Mathoor had kept his word (like he had a choice?) He was gone in less than a month, his practice sold to a new physician.

Menka had made no attempt to contact me which was a relief. I wanted to put this whole sorry mess behind me as quickly as possible. Did I grieve? Of course I did - it's not easy to move on after being in love with and married to a woman for almost 25 years. Did I have doubts about the action I had taken? No, I knew that I had no other option. So there were many nights that I just stared, unthinking, at television images until the boredom drove me to a sleeping pill and bed.

Then, on a Sunday afternoon, a few weeks after the final decree, my son showed up on my doorstep. "Hi Papa," he said as he put his arms around me and gave me a hug.

"Rahul, it's good to see you. Where's your wife? Is everyting ok?" I asked worriedly.

"No, Papa, everything is not okay, in fact it stinks and I need to talk to you. Soni wanted to come, but I convinced her to let me do this. I didn't want you to think that we were ganging up on you."

"Oh, oh," I thought. "Here it comes." I led my son into the living room and asked if he wanted something to drink. He shook his head and took a breath.

"Papa, Mom is a mess. We're really afraid for her health. She has lost too much weight and she has become a virtual hermit in the house. She told us all about her affair and has accepted the fact that the divorce is totally her fault, but you've got to do something. She's killing herself."

This is not the first time I had heard of Menka's deterioration. Sonali had forced me to listen to her a couple of weeks earlier. I pulled my chair closer to Rahul and tried to explain my predicament. "Rahul," I began. "I could go and see your mother, but it would be futile. She would be able to tell in a second the reason why I had come. She would see that I was there not because I wanted reconciliation, but because of the pressure exerted upon me. I could actually make the situation worse. "

"But why is that impossible, why can't a reconciliation take place? Rahul interrupted. "Papa, Mom is truly sorry. She is ashamed of what she has done. Why can't you at least try to get over this? Why can't you even accept counseling? Why are you being so intransigent."

"Son," I began. "I'll try to explain, but please, just listen and try to understand. I have given that subject a lot of thought and I'll attempt to explain to you why I feel as I do.

"First of all your mother's infidelity was not a one time event, a temporary loss of judgment, a tipsy, unfortunate mistake that she hadn't planned or anticipated. Her affair was a cold, calculated affair that had been going on for months. She knew what she was doing and the possible consequences. She also knew what the discovery of her adultery would do to me, her loving husband - how it would totally devastate me.

"There is a very good reason why a certain phrase is inserted in almost all wedding vows. It was in mine and it was in yours as well. That phrase is 'forsaking all others.' I know that it sounds trite and old fashioned, but I now understand how important those words are - how critical they are to a marriage.

"Rahul, a marriage is built on love, commitment and trust. I really don't think that anything is as sacred as the physical union between two loving, committed adults and I truly believe that that cannot be shared because sharing it minimizes that love, that bond. That which is shared becomes less valuable and less significant. When a man and a wife join they become one, a union more significant that any partnership. When a spouse breaks those vows and shares himself or herself with another, they in effect are saying that they really do not value their union with their partner. He or she is saying that the physical intimacy in a marriage is not all that important or significant, it can be shared. I cannot accept that.

"Also, it isn't just the adultery, the infidelity that is difficult to overcome. It's also the lying, the cheating, the betrayal, the humiliation that is heaped upon the unsuspecting partner, the total lack of respect shown for the unsuspecting spouse. The cheater is, in effect, saying that the spouse is stupid, deserves to be betrayed, and that their union really does not have all that much value. The cheater may not recognize this motive, but it's there just the same. I truly believe that once the trust is destroyed, the union is over. If a partner cannot be trusted, then the foundation, upon which any partnership is based, is doomed.

"I know that many may view my stubbornness as bullheaded and intolerant - the bitterness of a fool who refuses to give his wife an opportunity to prove her love and loyalty.