The Other Side

by Shreya Faria

  ‘Okay,’ said Rachel and hung up. She felt a little discomfort in Samantha’s voice and understood that something is wrong with her, and thus she might want to meet. She finished her work early and left from the office to meet Samantha at 6 p.m. They met at a coffee shop near Rachel’s office.

  ‘So, Samantha, is all okay with you? You sounded a little tense over the phone?’ asked Rachel.

  ‘Yea Rach, all is okay with me. But things are not okay in office and with Sam,’ said Samantha as she held Rachel’s hands. Rachel was not expecting any of these to come up from her.

  ‘What do you mean Samantha, can you please be clear,’ asked Rachel. Her voice already saddened as if someone had put the weight of the heavy stone on her heart.

  ‘Rach, actually ... there is one new girl named Lisa who has joined the office. Since the time she has joined, all the men are drooling over her beauty. She wears skimpy clothes to the office and heavy makeup, as if she is working for some model agency. Other men drooling over her is still okay, but Rachel, she is drooling over Sam. Full day she tries hard to get a chance over him. She flirts badly with him irrespective of knowing that he is married. And the problem is that Sam knows about it and still does nothing to stop her,’ said Samantha. She sounded very tense as she knew the after-effects; it was going to break Rachel completely.

  ‘I see Samantha, so good of you to inform me about all this happening in the office, but I don’t think my Sam will fall in her trap. He loves me, and he is a grown-up man to know what he wants,’ said Rachel. She was in complete discomfort with the conversation but still acted as if she was okay. Samantha too didn’t like that she had to confess to her about things which would hurt her friend badly.

  ‘I know Rachel. Sam is a good guy. But this girl has a history in duping rich men, especially those who are married. I got to know about it via another colleague. And I have seen them interacting with unnecessary friendly gestures. Rachel, I just wanted to warn you before it’s too late. You are one of my closest friends, and I would not like to see something like this happening to you over your back,’ said Samantha. A load from her heart was removed and was now transferred to Rachel. It was so sudden for Rachel that she didn’t know how to deal with the situation.

  ‘What’s the name of the girl you were talking about?’ asked Rachel.

  ‘Lisa, Rach ... I am very sorry to get you such news. If you require any help or any other details, then do let me know,’ said Samantha.

  ‘Thank you Samantha, I will surely see what to do in this matter,’ said Rachel. They finished their coffees and left for their house. Rachel didn’t want to believe anything of what Samantha had told her. Everything was perfect in her fairytale-like love life until she met Samantha. She felt shattered with just the thought of anything that she said was true. She desperately wanted to talk about it to Sam. But she didn’t want to hurt him by asking directly. She just didn’t know what to do. She wanted this burden off from her heart very soon. She wanted everything that Samantha said to be not true.

  ‘Hi Sam, how was your day at work?’ asked Rachel as soon as she entered home and saw him. She wanted to ask about the new girl indirectly to him.

  ‘My day was good. At the office only full day. How was your day, Rach?’ asked Sam in a little disinterested tone. He was busy fidgeting with his mobile.

  ‘My day was good, I met Samantha today. Would you like to have soup before dinner?’ asked Rachel. She waited for Sam to reply but didn’t get any as if it went on deaf ears.

  ‘Sam! ... soup?’ asked Rachel again.

  ‘Oh yes, I am so sorry Rachel. It was from work (he showed his phone and kept it aside) ... I will have a quick shower by the time the soup is ready,’ said Sam. He rushed for a shower quickly after removing his bathrobe, and Rachel was about to go to the kitchen, but stopped as his phone buzzed. There were messages popping up, and they were from Lisa. She would not have checked his messages otherwise, but after meeting Samantha, her basic human instinct forced her to check the messages. She was in shock after what she read.

  Chapter 40

  The nature of the messages that he was texting was not work-related at all. It was a random silly conversation with Lisa that had been going on for a long time. Also, Rachel read a message from Lisa saying thank you for taking her out at a popular café for a cup of hot chocolate.

  ‘That was the best cup of hot chocolate with the best person of my life,’ it read. This message hurt Rachel. She started relating to what Samantha was trying to tell. It was all the truth. It felt as if her whole life was a lie until now. She didn’t understand why Sam had lied to her twice. First, he lied about being at office full day, and second he lied about the work-related messages that he was sending. She had never doubted Sam earlier or kept asking questions or nagging him unnecessarily, then what was the need to lie? Her trust in him was shaken. She was under immense emotional stress, she wanted to know more.

  ‘Sam, Samantha was talking about a new girl in your office ... some Lisa, heard all your men in the office is drooling over her. So what do you think of her?’ asked Rachel in a very sarcastic tone as they sat across each other to share the soup. Sam was a little astonished hearing Lisa’s name from Rachel; it took him a while to answer her.

  ‘Yes, that new girl seems good. Don’t know much about the drooling thing in the office. Not interested in such matters when there is so much of work to do,’ answered Sam. There was an awkward silence between the two.

  ‘So, what else did Samantha say?’ asked Sam.

  ‘Nothing else. We just came across each other while I left office and shared a coffee. I generally asked her about what’s new in office and about her work. Upon that she spoke about some Lisa in office ... so I thought I would ask you,’ said Rachel. While Sam devoured his soup, Rachel was hardly able to ingest anything.

  ‘Hmm, okay. There’s nothing more into it which you should know about ... and also tell Samantha to concentrate more on work rather than gossip,’ said Sam in an irked voice. Rachel didn’t understand why he was so upset if he had not cheated on her or done anything wrong. After this episode of lies, Rachel felt bad. Her urge to eat dinner had gone, nor was going to a good night’s sleep. Sam disappeared from the dining table after dinner and went towards the bedroom with his cellphone. He didn’t notice that Rachel had not finished her food and soup as yet. There was nothing that would calm Rachel’s mind until the whole matter was sorted out. To make it worse, what if even after sorting out matters, the damage done to their relationship and trust stayed for a lifetime? Such thoughts hovered in her mind since the time she returned from the café. She was saddened, and the only way she could try to get normal was to spend some quality time with Sam, and to see by herself if he was still true to her.

  ‘Sam, do you mind spending some time with me tomorrow, we could go for shopping or a movie ... it’s been a long time,’ asked Rachel as she entered the bedroom.

  ‘Oh, tomorrow I have a meeting at the office. How about some other day?’ said Sam.

  ‘Hmm ... okay,’ said Rachel. She called Samantha as soon as Sam had gone off to sleep and told her about the evenings conversation with her husband. She asked Samantha for more details on Lisa and to keep a track of where Sam went with her. She also asked Lisa to inform her about tomorrow’s meeting at the office, whether Sam actually attended or went out.

  ‘Okay Rachel, I will give you all the details about them, you now please rest and sleep well. I am really sorry as it all started because of me, but please do take care of yourself. And if you need any help, then feel free to call me anytime,’ said Samantha.

  ‘Oh, please don’t be sorry, you have just got me into reality. I will surely take care of myself, thanks for letting me know, Samantha,’ said Rachel. She promised to take care of herself, but that was the day since her health started deteriorating.

  Next morning Sam left for office early, and Rachel took an off from her office. Her mood was bad that she indulged herself on Nutella and toa
st for breakfast along with a cup of coffee instead of her usual healthy breakfast. Unhealthy stuff becomes your best friend when you are feeling depressed. Rachel managed to get out of her pessimistic state and got ready, and decided to pay a surprise visit to Sam’s office. But when she reached his office post-lunch, she saw his car going out of the office. Rachel called.

  ‘Hey honey, where are you....,’ said Rachel. But before she could complete her sentence, Sam cut her off saying that he was busy in a meeting. He thought he had disconnected the phone, but to put more burden on Rachel’s broken heart, it was still connected, and she was able to hear the conversation between Sam and Lisa for a minute.

  ‘And I thought your wife is not a clingy one!’ said Lisa.

  ‘Oh no, she is not that sort of clingy wife, she has her own set of things to be busy with,’ answered Sam and suddenly the phone got disconnected. Rachel felt good that Sam didn’t tag her as a clingy wife but was also annoyed and furious that he had lied about being in a meeting when he was out with Lisa. And how dare did Lisa comment about her to him? She decided to wait for Sam in his office and confront him.

  It was evening, but Sam hadn’t turned up, and Rachel’s blood was only boiling more and more. In her anxious state, she had skipped lunch and sustained herself till the evening on half a cup of coffee.

  ‘Hello Sam,’ said Rachel with a stern look as soon as he entered the office with Lisa. She followed him as they entered his cabin.

  ‘I think we need to talk,’ added Rachel. The look on Sam’s face was full of arrogance. He was annoyed that Rachel had landed up in his office. He knew what was coming next, but there was not even a hint of any guilt on his face.

  ‘Yes Rachel, what made you come to office today when I had already told you that I had a meeting and would be busy?’ asked Sam in a grave voice.

  ‘You said you will be busy in meetings in the office and not somewhere else with that chick ... you have been lying to me Sam,’ said Rachel.

  ‘What do you mean Rach? A meeting is a meeting, it can take place anywhere, and you know that. At the last minute I got a call that we had an outdoor meeting scheduled, and you expect that I will update you about the little changes. Why? Don’t you have any work in your office? You know how things work, right? What do you think I was doing by going out with that chick? You think I am any college going kid? Or tell me that you don’t trust me.’ Sam bombarded Rachel in frustration. Rachel didn’t have answers to all his points, but she knew he was still lying. And his aggression was just to hide rather than accept his mistake. She walked out of his cabin without saying a word, banging the door as she stormed out. She gave a stern look at Lisa, who had her eyes on her and left the office as fast as she could. Samantha saw her going out in a huff and messaged her if she was okay or needed to talk. After all, she was in this state because of her. But Rachel didn’t reply to her as well and left for home. She was in no mood to talk to anyone or do anything. She had a throbbing headache, and she directly went to sleep and skipped dinner as well.

  The next morning Sam didn’t care to speak to her and continued to show an arrogant attitude. Rachel saw all these changes in his behaviour, and she too decided not to speak to him. Her headache still continued along with some weakness as she had not eaten properly. The next morning too she didn’t feel like eating, but she had some breakfast consisting of eggs and orange juice, but thoughts that Sam was cheating on her obsessed her completely; she was so tense that she puked out her breakfast. She just didn’t feel like eating food or talk to anyone. Tears rolled down her eyes, and soon she was inconsolable till the time Samantha came in to visit her.

  Chapter 41

  ‘Oh my God Rachel, you are burning hot, you have a fever,’ said Samantha as she panicked after seeing her condition. ‘We need to go see a doctor Rachel; you have a fever, you seem to be weak,’ said Samantha.

  But Rachel was emotional, and all she wanted was to talk to Sam. Only he could have helped her to get out of this situation. But Sam had been in a different mood, he had avoided her.

  ‘It’s just a headache, I will be fine, I don’t want to go anywhere,’ said Rachel in a hardly audible voice.

  ‘Okay, then you better eat something,’ said Samantha, to which Rachel nodded. She prepared a light breakfast for her after learning that Rachel had puked out her food. Rachel felt a little better with Samantha’s company and ate what she made.

  ‘Thanks for coming, Samantha,’ said Rachel as she freshened herself to face the storm again. Rachel briefed her about what had happened and the awkward silence between her and Sam in the morning.

  ‘I have never seen Sam like this,’ said Rachel and was lost in thought. Samantha could not help her much except give her details about Sam and Lisa.

  In a while, Samantha too left for work, since Rachel was now better. Rachel didn’t feel like doing anything, and sat at the table surfing the internet and checking random blogs. To aid her current state, she read a blog that caught her attention. It read:

  ‘A SKETCHY HIDDEN MAP IN YOUR iPHONE TRACKS EVERYWHERE YOU’VE BEEN.’

  It was mainly for iPhone users, and it was crazy as to how deeply Apple had buried this secret. Initially, many iPhone users were not aware that the phone kept a track on your goings and coming even when the location service was switched off. Rachel checked her phone. From the main settings menu, she selected ‘privacy’, then ‘location services’ and then scrolled down to the bottom to ‘system services’. Further, she clicked on ‘frequent locations’ and she could see all the data in changes of location and of all the roads and places she had been to. The next thought that came to Rachel’s mind was to use this on Sam. Such an apt moment to check.

  In the afternoon, Rachel got a text from Samantha saying that she had seen Sam and Lisa going out of the office again. At first, after Rachel was pissed after reading the text but later she thought it was a nice moment to talk to Sam and ask him where he was. She could then check if he was lying or not by checking his frequent location.

  ‘Sam ... where are you? I called at the office, your number was not available,’ said Rachel. Sam was rather flummoxed; Rachel was talking in a general, normal tone, which was very unlikely of her, given their recent frostiness.

  ‘I am driving Rach, going for a meeting right now; why did you call?’ asked Sam.

  ‘I am down with a fever, so thought if you could pick up one of my parcels on your way back home, I am not going to office ... so till where are you going, exactly?’ asked Rachel a little hesitantly.

  ‘I am going till the LAPD headquarters, I might be home late, you tell me from where you need the parcel to be picked up, I will get it collected,’ said Sam. Rachel disconnected the call and sent him a message of the address to pick her parcel from. He had not asked about her health, and that irked her a little. Rachel was eagerly waiting for Sam’s phone more than Sam to arrive home. It was later than usual, and as soon as she heard the car’s horn, she got up and went towards the main door. It was Sam along with a little parcel in his hand which he handed to her.

  ‘What’s the parcel about?’ asked Sam in general. The little awkward silence had started to disappear.

  ‘Some fabric samples, have to report about them tomorrow,’ said Rachel. Now Rachel had set up the whole thing of parcel just to talk to Sam and to know about his location. Without purpose, she had told Samantha to take any fabric and pack it properly and to drop it at the given address where her friend from office stayed to make it look realistic. Wives can become professional detectives when it comes to their husbands.

  ‘So how was your day at work?’ asked Rachel.

  ‘Nothing great ... little tired ... will go for a shower ... oh, by the way, how are you feeling now?’ asked Sam.

  ‘I am feeling better, you go for the shower and then we will sit for dinner,’ said Rachel. Sam was surprised by the way she had turned all normal after yesterday’s scene. Whereas Rachel was only pretending to be normal, she was just waiting for Sam to s
hower so that she could check his frequent location. Rachel soon got a chance, and she immediately checked his phone, and to her worst fear, he was lying again. He was at Orange County for almost the whole day and even when she had called him. He was not also anywhere close to the LAPD headquarters. After checking his phone, her heart felt heavy. She was in a state where she was panicking, but she couldn’t show and had to act normal in front of Sam. Within some time, she again got a throbbing headache, and she wanted to clear things out with Sam. Keeping things to her would make her feel sick.

  ‘Sam, so you were at LAPD headquarters throughout the day or did you go anywhere else too?’ asked Rachel as soon as Sam came out from the shower. Sam understood why she was asking such questions again as she never asked like this earlier ever before.

  ‘Yes, I was throughout the day; even Lisa was there with me ... I am sure Samantha informed you,’ said Sam in a sarcastic tone.

  ‘You are lying Sam. My friend saw you near Orange County with that girl. Now tell me it’s a lie again, you thought I would never come to know about your activities?’ said Rachel.

  ‘Oh, so you have your detectives spread all over Los Angeles, that’s great Rach, so calling and asking about my whereabouts was all a drama; good job!’ answered Sam in a loud and sarcastic tone. Rachel thought he would owe up about why he was lying; she had not expected that Sam would not even accept his follies even when caught red-handed. This only made the matter between them worse.

  ‘But why are you lying to me Sam?’ asked Rachel with tears in her eyes. She choked as she asked, but Sam didn’t even bother to answer her and ate his dinner.

  ‘So you are not going to answer?’ asked Rachel.

  ‘If you don’t trust me and you are going to talk on this only then I am not interested in talking at all. If you want to talk on something else, then I am ready to talk,’ answered Sam in an outraged tone and left the dining table. Rachel was left all alone to eat; she hardly had a bite and then went to bed. Sam had broken her trust and was not at all reasonable with his answers and behaviour. Rachel was feeling devastated, and Sam knew that, but he did nothing better to get her out of that situation when as a matter of fact, he was the only person who could have helped.