Page 115 of Lawfully Yours

Noyonika looked between them, feeling cornered and pale. Confusion, fear, and regret darkened her eyes. She had never imagined her web of lies could unravel so thoroughly in front of Anant’s legal team.

Kushal took note of her expression and began to pressure her further deliberately. “You thought coming to Dalhousie, hiding from the press, would protect you until your flight?” he asked. “No, Miss Talwar. Check at home; your house help has likely accepted the court summons we sent. That summons is for your appearance at the first hearing in the Anant–Sadhna case, which happens next week before a magistrate.”

“You are lying,” Noyonika countered. “A summons can only be properly served to the person named on it,” she said cautiously. “IfIhaven’t received it, then legally, I haven’t been notified.”

Arundhati exchanged a knowing glance with Kushal, then folded her arms across her chest in quiet satisfaction, before speaking.

“Clever,” she said softly, “but only when it suits you.”

Kushal’s nodded in agreement. “Yes, she’s selectively smart; otherwise, she wouldn’t have committed such a huge blunder.”

Arundhati opened her leather purse and handed the sealed envelope to Noyonika. “Here’s the court summons we are hand-delivering to you. You cannot leave the country. And even if you try, you must appear in court next week. Failure to do so will be treated as contempt—another criminal offense on top of everything else?”

Fear bubbled over, and Noyonika’s composure broke. “What do you want from me?” she hissed.

Arundhati calmly walked over to the side table, poured a glass of water, and handed it to her. “Drink this. Then we can talk.”

“Why should I talk to the two of you? You’re not my lawyers. If I’m summoned, I’ll answer questions in court, only in court.”

Kushal nodded. “Fine. That’s your choice. We came here to find a middle path through the mess you created, both for yourself and for Anant. If you’d rather face every question and piece of evidence from us only in the court under oath, so be it.”

Noyonika’s brow furrowed. “What evidence?”

He smiled confidently. “Evidence that you lied. Media statements don’t stand in court without back-up, Noyonika. Courts don’t decide on gossip, they need proof. We have messages, dates, and witness statements that contradict your public claims.”

Arundhati took over. “Anant has all the proofs and witnesses who will stand in court to show that your ‘affair’ ended before his marriage to Sadhna. You have defamed him publicly. You have wasted the court’s time with lies, and once proven, you could face fines or even imprisonment for contempt of court.”

Noyonika sank onto the couch, face pale. Panic drained from her posture, replaced by her surrender.

She exhaled in defeat and laid her hands in her lap. “...All right,” she whispered. “I’ll answer your questions. Just get me out of this.”

Kushal and Arundhati exchanged a victorious glance. When they worked as partners, nothing could beat them.

Finally, Noyonika’s confession came up.

“I was involved with Anant three years ago, before he married Sadhna. It wasn’t serious. He was wealthy, well-connected, and I thought that if I stayed in his orbit, maybe I’d finally get a break in one of his upcoming projects. I was essentially using him as a stepping stone. But when that nextfilm went to some star kid, we had a falling out, and that was it. We parted by mutual agreement.”

She paused, eyes downcast.

“After that, my career… it stalled. Anant’s production house soared; he found success and stability with Sadhna, while I drifted. I was clinging to meaningless, fleeting, commitment-free relationships. Then I saw a crack in their marriage. Their divorce news came out. I thought it could be my chance to circle back to Anant, to see if something could still happen. But I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t gamble everything on it.”

Her eyes flicked between the two lawyers, desperation surfacing as regret. “And then a friend…Someone I trusted…suggested a different plan. She asked… what if going back to Anant still wouldn’t solve anything? What if he didn’t take me back or even support my career? What if it didn’t work out? Why not spin this entire scandal in my favour? She told me to use the scandal between Anant and Sadhna to position myself as the‘other woman.’Get media attention. Dominate headlines. Suddenly, all eyes would be on me. And finally, work opportunities might follow.”

She inhaled shakily, voice catching in her throat. “I lied to the media. I said the affair happened after his marriage, and claimed emotional abuse. I played the victim card, hiding behind the scandal to boost my career. I waited for offers to come knocking.”

Arundhati’s eyes flashed with anger. “Not the offers, but we definitely came here knocking at your door, to remove theblindfoldfrom your eyes and show you that your actions have landed you in serious legal trouble.”

Noyonika broke down in sobs. Arundhati glanced at Kushal, who watched her as he had a while ago when they drove here. With desire. She realised what sparked his sudden tension—the word“blindfold”. It was a silent reminder of what had transpiredbetween them last night. Now remembering it, did something to her too. She even recalled the earlier conversation they had about last night and Kushal’s promise...‘I promise the next time I touch you… You won’t just see stars. You’ll see the whole damn Milky Way all night.’

She had been too breathless to respond then. Caught between resisting the magnetic pull of their past and surrendering to what still burned between them. And shemighthave answered him, had they not been interrupted. Because just seconds after that wicked promise, Vivek had arrived, reminding them that Noyonika was in the villa. And if they didn’t act fast, she might slip away.

So they had to push their personal moment aside. And walk here, side by side, like the powerful legal team they were, to knock on that door and corner a woman into the truth.

Kushal broke eye contact with Arundhati first and turned to face Noyonika again. “That friend of yours…yourco-conspiratorin this…she’s not immune to what you’ve done. She’s not going to walk away scot-free either. She’ll have to answer in court, along with you.”

Noyonika shook her head frantically. “You can’t touch her! She’s powerful. She’ll destroy you if you try to touch her.”

Kushal didn’t care. He stood tall, all set to leave. “You need to appear in court on the date shown in the summons.” He looked directly at her. “And when you call your friend Miss Kamya Bakshi, the co-conspirator of all this, you tell her that heroldfriendmisses her. And she’d better walk into my office at Verma and Associates to meet me.”