for constant company. Isn’t that an infallible situation for a philanderer to pull off an amorous coup? I better destabilize her by hitting at her strength. Didn’t Shakespeare say that women would fall when men are weak? Why doubt the master? Well, I’ll try to weaken Sathyam to bring about her fall. Won’t that open a new chapter in the art of seduction? But then, who knows, it could drag on into a volume as well. So be it, if that ensures her eventual fall. Well, even if her figure were to dent in time, won’t she be worth possessing well past her prime. Oh, she could be still deadly even when she’s left with no more than the remnants of her charms. And given her sex appeal, won’t she be maddening in bed, at any time in her life? The long and short of Roopa is that she’s an excellent short-term prospect and an enduring long-term asset, the endearing one, is she not?’
‘What about Sathyam?’ thought Prasad, looking for ways to bring about Roopa’s fall? ‘He’s one of those colorless characters, without a conviction to name, and lo, the society labels such as good-natured! While their manner derives its means from the lack of exposure, their signature is not sourced in a strong character either. But it’s these teetotalers that take the cake in our hypocritical society, don’t they! How stupid is our society that it lives in the shadows of the old values of an ignorant past! Of course, it’s another matter that these nice guys, when exposed to the niceties of life would end up chasing the goodies of the world. If only I could let Sathyam have a feel of the marketplace, won’t that make him crave for the good things of life? And then, would it take long for him to lose his bearings. If only I could induce him to have a drink or two now, won’t she find him swimming in ponds of liquor in time. But to start with, his drunken endurance as bonus won’t Roopa the amorous, look the other way? That is as Sathyam embraces the Bacchus. And as his fondness for the drink increases, won’t his ardency for her be a thing of the past. That’s when he would be leaving her craving for an extramarital fling, wouldn’t he? Won’t that be the time for me to get into his shoes to reach her sexless bed? After all, is there any surer way than that to lay her?’