'But I didn’t cheat on my husband'

Ruchi* (names changed on request) and Prateet had nothing in common: She came from a middle-class background, he was a diplomat’s son, she was 27, him 19, she a housewife, him a student. They had met at a salsa class: Her husband – a high-profile life insurance agent didn’t have the luxury of time and definitely not for dancing – and Prateet’s NBA type friends would much rather be dead than caught dancing. The result was them joining alone and being “partnered” with each other.
It all started pretty simply… He joked and called her “aunty,” she scoffed and declared he had much growing up to do. Their conversations were mostly about that day’s practice, the next lessons and who was the best dancer in class. Till one day the class ended earlier and they ended up having coffee and talking other things. He discussed his drug rehab stint, she spoke about missing her parents, he spoke about peer pressure and what professional college to join, she spoke about wanting a job…
From being dancing partners by chance, the two became friends. He felt she was “very cool for her age”, she felt protective about a “youngster in the big, bad world.” Her husband was out of town most of the time and wasn’t around much when he was in town either. They started having more coffees together even on days there was no class, watching movies together, even going shopping. Soon they were calling each other on the phone and talking too. No one had touched the other and no one had tried either, it was just camaraderie. The more Ruchi shared with Prateet, the lesser she felt her husband’s absence.
Their friendship progressed harmlessly, except that the husband noticed she was on the phone a lot and steadily grew suspicious. Then she fell ill for a week and didn’t turn up at the dance class. One night – as she lay sedated – her phone beeped and the husband read the message. It said, “I miss you Ruchi, all our talks, dancing with you… Get well soon. Miss our time together.Prateet.” All hell broke loose.
Next morning the husband accused Ruchi of having an affair. Ruchi denied it, cried there was nothing physical and insisted she was “just friends”. The husband however insisted that an “emotional attachment” with another man was as good as cheating on him…
Ruchi was shattered: She had don’t nothing wrong and yet her husband felt cheated and said she had betrayed him. "But I didn't cheat on my husband... How was it an affair?" was all she could say. She didn’t know what to do.