Fiction: Can Alka’s marriage survive deception? Or will a forbidden love destroy her life?

Alka slowly walked back to the house, trying to get a grip on her emotions. The sudden appearance of Mrs Senapathy’s sister had left her reeling. She hadn’t processed things yet and had expected Subbu to empathize with her.

A year ago, when her secret had been exposed and Alka had left home, Subbu had been forced to confront his beliefs about class and caste. Alka had explained everything to him – the way she had lived her entire life, her insecurities, her crushed dreams, and the feeling of helplessness she had endured. She had apologized and he had accepted her explanations. She recalled how he had thundered, “To hell with Mrs Shetty and all of them,” as he had raised his glass of wine.

After that day, they had never broached the topic again, not until today. Their marriage had slipped into familiar patterns, and it was as though the fact of Alka’s betrayal had been completely erased from their relationship.

Alka had often thought about Krish. When Anandi was alive, Alka would get all the news about Krish’s family from her. But with Anandi gone, that bridge of communication had crumbled. After his last visit to the estate, Alka had felt...

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