Eyes can be Deceiving!

One dark stormy night, I was on my way back home from the studio where I spend my entire day from the past two years. As the rain increased its pace, I had to park my bike near a café and went in to have a hot cup of coffee to kill the time as well as get myself heated up to continue my 30-minute journey to my house.  

There was a couple sitting in the cafe when I walked in. As the light was low, I didn't know who they were until the woman turned around, and I saw it was my wife.

Without catching her attention, I took a seat behind her table and was closely watching the man with her. I was totally occupied with various thoughts when the waiter came to me with a menu card.

“Please place your order sir”.

I just ordered the common items that any café would serve.

“Please get me cappuccino along with chicken sandwich”.

“The sandwich might take time sir”.

“I have all the time”.

Nodding his head, the waiter left to attend other customers leaving me alone and I shifted my attention onto the table where my wife was merrily laughing with a stranger making me furious like hell. I tried a lot to hear what they were speaking but in such busy hours in the café, it was very difficult to even grasp a few words. Soon, my order arrived, though I came in to relish a hot cup of coffee but now I was in no mood so, I started on it absent-mindedly while my wife got up and left the place in a blue Range Rover along with the man hand in hand. Paying the bill, I too left to my house not bothering the heavy rain drops drenching me completely.

I reached home and went in with heavy steps using my spare key as I didn’t expect her to be home but surprisingly she was in setting the dining table and welcomed me with a bright smile.

“Hey Arjun, I always suggest you carry a raincoat with you right? Now go and change, I will serve you dinner”.

Nodding in agreement, I went in and changed into my night clothes all the while debating with my heart and mind whether to ask her about the stranger or not. Finally, giving break to my thoughts,

“Sakshi, I already had my dinner outside, please you carry on. I am really very tired, so I am going to sleep”.

Shrugging her shoulders, Sakshi had her dinner and after finishing her work in the kitchen, she too went to bed. Next morning, the first thing I did was search for a private investigator in the internet. After doing good research, I finalized one and booked an appointment to meet him in the evening.

“Hi, I am Arjun Malhotra”.

“Hello Mr. Arjun! Tell me about whom you want to know?”

“Yeah, so I want to know about my wife Mrs. Sakshi Arjun Malhotra. Not that I suspect her…”, before I could continue, he interrupted.

“Excuse me sir, I am least interested in knowing your reasons. Just give me a week and I will let you know everything you want”.

“By the way, you didn’t introduce yourself”.

“That’s not important. You can call me agent”, saying which he got busy studying some file.

I left from there and patiently waited for seven whole days, insecurities growing inside me with each passing second. Finally, I got the most awaited call from the investigator.

“Hello Arjun sir, the work is done. Should I mail you the details or would you like to meet me in person?”

“I will be at your place at six in the evening agent”.

“Okay, don’t forget to get my payment”.

“Sure”.

Without delay, he left his studio at around 5:30 and reached the weird place of the investigator. It is a small flat which is all normal from outside but once you get in, it is totally a different world. All the walls were covered with notice boards with people’s pictures and scribbled notes of something what only he could understand. He converted the hall into an office room and I was scanning the room while I wait for him and he came after around 10 minutes.

“Good evening Mr. Arjun hope I haven’t made you wait for a long time”.

“Never mind, let me know your findings”.

“Well, here is my report”, handing me few papers, he continued “Your wife, I mean Mrs. Sakshi Arjun Malhotra is seeing Mr. Ashutosh Khurana, you might have heard his name, he is one of the topmost businessmen. All the girls are crazy about him and your wife is not an exception. They both are meeting frequently and spending some time together. They met thrice this week and here are a few photographs, I know you won’t like them, but it’s my duty”.

The thought of my wife cheating on me behind my back is making me wild in rage.

“By the way Mr. Arjun Malhotra, I have two more warnings for you. One is that your wife is planning to divorce you soon and the other thing is you are under continuous surveillance of someone, there is someone watching you probably 24/7. If you want you can hire me to know more about them”, suggested the agent.

“No thanks”, I came out with my shades on and a smirk not leaving my lips. Hopefully, everything is going as per the plan. I rushed back home planning to have a fight with Sakshi so that she would be forced to blurt out.

I went in and banged the door giving a hint about the upcoming storm for which Sakshi hurried into the hall and gave me a questioning look.

“It hasn’t been two years that we are married, you got bored of me Sakshi that you started going behind rich brats”, was all I could manage and Sakshi didn’t seem offended the least.

“Well, I was worried as of how to start this conversation but fortunately, you initiated it, Mr. Arjun, I need a divorce”.

“What the hell, don’t you feel ashamed of yourself to cheat your husband who loved you like there is no tomorrow”, I shouted so loudly that all my neighbors would have pricked their ears for the entertainment.

“See Arjun, with the mere income you get from the studio by taking passport size photographs is not enough to fulfill my needs and look at me, I have everything, beauty, brains and why should I compromise with you”.

“How can you be so heartless Sakshi? You are leaving me for money”.

The argument continued for more than thirty minutes and finally, I fed up and agreed to free her from this unwanted relationship. I went into my room and closed the door only to laugh which I was controlling since our argument began. I slowly tiptoed to my window to see whether the man following me had reported the news to his boss or not and that is when I could hear his faint voice.

“Yes boss, Sakshi mam has just told her husband about you and they both decided to get separated”.

I don’t know what the reply from the other side was, but the man left from there being satisfied with his work progress.

Within two months, I and Sakshi got divorced under mutual understanding. From then Sakshi started meeting Ashutosh more frequently at his place yet there is no news of him getting married to Sakshi.

“Ashutosh, as you said I left my husband. When will you make me a partner in your crime?”, asked Sakshi.

“What crime baby? For your kind information, I am a renowned businessman”, Ashutosh replied taking his seat in front of her.

“Come on Ashu, you told me that you would let me into all your secrets once I am all yours”, said Sakshi folding her hands across her chest and pretending to be angry.

Ashutosh came forward and placed a hand on her shoulder making her uncomfortable but holding her emotions back, she tried acting bold.

“You know what Sakshi, it took me ten long years to build this empire and now if someone plans to destroy it, do you think I would let that happen so easily”, he said tightening his grip on her hand. Sakshi closed her eyes knowing what was coming and he immediately plucked the Bluetooth she was hiding it with her hair and threw it on the groundbreaking it into pieces. Arjun who was on the other side of the call heard it and immediately assembled his whole team and instructed them about the emergency and at any cost they must save his wife as well as an undercover agent Sakshi. They all rushed to Ashutosh’s mansion armed with guns and the security had to give in looking at their Id cards.

“Excuse me, who are you? And how dare you to enter into my mansion without my permission”, shouted Ashutosh coming out of his study hearing all the commotion.

“Where is Sakshi? What did you do to her?”, asked Arjun anger raising in him as he was worried about his wife’s safety.

“Sorry Mr., I don’t know about whom you are speaking. First, give your identity”.

“Arjun Malhotra, crime branch”, I showed my ID proof making him shut. “Go and search the whole house”, I ordered my subordinates and they obliged. After around ten minutes, they all got back nodding their heads in negation.

Suddenly, I got a signal to my digital watch and I hit my head with my hand.

“How did this slip out of my head? Come on guys, I found her”, before leaving I turned towards Ashutosh “we now have enough evidence against you. Two of them stay here and I will get back with an arrest warrant. If he tries to be smart, shoot him. I will take care of the rest”.

I left from there tracking the location of Sakshi through my smartwatch thanking the brilliance of my wife who connected our watches in such a way that we could communicate with one another in case of emergency. Just by clicking a button, the location would be shared with my phone number. “Sakshi is right she is a beauty with brains. Always ready to take any risk and never fears death. That is the quality which attracted me the most and we got married two years back and since then we were working together on important cases as undercover cops by changing identities. Do you want to know our real names? Not so easy”, I came out of my thoughts as we reached the place which is on the outskirts of the city and looked like a farmhouse.

I went in as my juniors cleared the way for me by hitting the men of Ashutosh who were there guarding the farmhouse as well as its contents. We took the farm house into our control and freed Sakshi who was bruised with blood dripping from her forehead but still she managed to smile at me assuring me that she is fine. Despite my persistence of taking her to the hospital, she managed to stay, and we explored the house only to find a fortune of guns that are not licensed and were stored there to be exported to other countries illegally. This is one percent of fraud that Ashutosh Khurana has been doing for the past ten years in the name of his exports business.

We have been trying to frame him since then, but we couldn’t until my wife plus colleague suggested me this plan. Knowing his weakness for girls, we trapped him and were very careful in every step as we knew that he is very smart and would surely try to see what we are up to before trusting her. Finally, it worked and slowly Sakshi was able to get hold of his little secrets and hideouts and when it was time to end it, we decided to give in to him and started showing signs of Sakshi betraying him and taking his information secretly so that he would panic and commit a mistake which he did by giving out his hideout by keeping Sakshi as a captive there, and now Mr. Ashutosh Khurana is behind bars and all his companies are seized. And Mr. and Mrs. Arjun Malhotra went missing after completing this assignment successfully and the world wants to know what happened to them. But what no one knows is that they are now Mr. Karan Maheshwari and Mrs. Meghana Karan Maheshwari reporting and are already on another adventurous mission.

“Meghana, why don’t you make plans which can be executed without me having to act as a photographer or a shopkeeper”.

“Mr. Karan Maheshwari, these are the jobs which seem routine and yet give you ample of time to notice people around, you know they come handy sometimes. So, now stop complaining and get going”.