Exhale by Laxmi Hariharan

Author:Laxmi Hariharan [Hariharan, Laxmi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: 13 Suns
Published: 2017-11-13T06:00:00+00:00

5

Three years later…

I drag the suitcase up the short flight of steps of the bungalow in one of the most affluent suburbs of Bombay city. It's James' home. When he asked me to move in with him a year ago, I hadn’t refused.

I had no reason to, did I?

Finding the keys in my backpack I open the front door. Step inside.

Tonight, I sleep in my own bed.

The last week I've put in countless hours on the accounts with the Mayor's Finance Head, while also training with the Guardians - the elite team of soldiers who protect the city. Now, every part of me aches.

When I signed on to work in the Finance Department at the Mayor's office, I hadn't realized everyone who worked there also had to learn to defend themselves. A security measure to ensure no one was helpless in case of attacks on the Council Headquarters.

I don't mind it. Find I quite like the physical aspect of the training. Except, I hadn’t counted on spending so much time away from home. My work hours are often so long that during the week, I sleep in the bunkhouse shared by the Guardians.

The thought of a long, hot shower and a glass of wine makes me moan with pleasure.

Dropping my backpack on the little table by the door, I stagger to the kitchen. Barely stop to pour a glass of wine from the bottle chilling in the fridge, before stepping onto the patio. The wild flowers in the backyard dance blue and yellow, and the roses have bloomed while I was gone.

I blink and the days just go by. Weeks—years—spent understanding the intricacies of the Mayor's extensive business and political deals. Breakfast meetings, fact-finding trips, hastily grabbed dinners. In between all that somewhere is a little bit of squeezed time with my boyfriend.

It's what I wanted, right?

If I keep this pace, I'll be a senior strategist in the Mayor's Finance Team.

The youngest ever.

Yeah, it's what I want. It is. Besides, I do have James, a man I love, who's comfortable to be with.

He's a weapons trader who also has a sensitive side. Why, James even set up a fund that invests in the work of up-and-coming artists.

Yeah, I’m one lucky woman.

Draining the wine, I turn and step back inside, when a giggle floats down the stairs. I freeze.

Then a low voice, a male voice. James' voice vibrates in the room above me. I can't make out the words, but it's followed by the sound of a woman's laugh. Cut off. She's being kissed. A female moan, followed by the unmistakable squeak of bed springs. They're making love

Upstairs.

In our bedroom.

In our bed.

I look around the kitchen, noticing for the first time that James' shoes and shirt lie on the floor near the dining table. Next to a half-empty champagne bottle on its side.

Gripping the stem of the wine glass, I walk towards the stairs.

The sounds get louder. A gasp, another moan, she cries out his name, and I shrink back. But I can't leave.

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