Page 132 of Lawfully Yours

Kushal stepped closer, so close now she could feel the heat radiating off his chest. “Whatabout Dalhousie? Are you really asking me that? You and I were together every single night there. Do you think I could possibly forget how it felt to fall asleep next to you again after all those months? Or what it meant when things went too far that last night we were there?”

Her breath caught, recalling he was talking about their intimate night when they were so close to consummating their marriage.

Yet, she didn’t flinch.

“And last night,” he continued, softer now, wounded more than angry. “What was that? I know I was the one who came to you. But you let me in your house. You let me sleep beside you. You didn’t push me away. It wasn’t some one-sided madness. I know what I saw. You missed me, too. I could feel it. Don’t youdarestand there pretending like none of this was real.”

“Itwasreal.” Her eyes shone as she finally replied. “But so are these papers. Wearedivorcing, Kushal. I never said or promised you anything apart from that, did I?”

“What thefuck, Aru?” he exploded, voice rising before he could hold it back.

He looked at her like he didn’t recognise her for a moment. The one who used to melt in his arms. The one he had convinced himself was still his… was still saying this?

“I thought the last few days must have led you to rethink aboutus.” His voice cracked, frustration spilling out of every word now. “And now you mean to say I was just… wrong? That you didn’t feelanyof it? What was all of this then? Some sort of sick game? Why were you leading me on if you didn’t want more?Why?”

She didn’t move, didn’t flinch, but her silence stung worse than any scream.

“One moment you make me believe there’s a future between us, and the next you sign these divorce-related papers like you don’t want me at all? What the hell is wrong with you?”

He flung the signed papers onto the floor, and then, before she could react, stepped forward, gripped her arms, and pinned her firmly against the wall of the library, between shelves of dead law books.

“Kushal?” she said, startled.

But he hushed her with a single look. There was no threat in his touch, only raw ache.

“You’ve dodged this conversation long enough,” he snapped. “So, now, you’re going to hear me out once and for all. Kamya and I? There wasnothing. Yes, I onceconsideredthe idea of marrying her, settling down, but it was just a passing thought. There were no rings, no proposal. Not even intimacy. Nothing.”

He paused.

“From the dayyoucame into my life, it’s only ever been you. The mistake I made was not telling you that sooner. Not being honest. Not while we were married. Not when I should have. I let things rot in silence. And the day you heard about it from someoneelseand walked out… I realised what I’d lost.”

His voice cracked again, this time with pain. “In that silence… that separation… I missed you so much, Aru. I hated coming home to a house that didn’t smell like your coffee. I hated every night I didn’t see your light on. That’s when it hit me. I was already in love with you, long before I even realised it.”

He paused, his eyes locking onto hers.

“But I kept waiting—foryouto come back. I wanted it to beyourchoice, not something I had to beg for. You left the house over what I thought was a simple misunderstanding. And then you shut every door. You blocked me from everything. You’d change your path if you saw me at work. In a group, you’d stand next to me like I didn’t even exist.”

He swallowed hard, shaking his head.

“All of that…your silence, your distance, it got into my head. And I let it.My ego… yeah, you know it’s always been there. It stopped me from doing what I should’ve done long ago…come to you, face you, tell you I was sorry. That I was wrong.I’ve wasted nine months in pride and silence. But not anymore. SoI’m saying it now, clearly, finally: I’m in love with you, Aru.I love you.”

He stepped back an inch, his eyes searching hers. “And I’m saying this just once. It’s onlyyouI want.”

That’s when she finally spoke.

“Just me? You just wantmein your life?”

He didn’t understand.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

She stared at him, like she’d been holding that question in for far too long. “What about Verma & Associates?” she asked. “Theotherreason you married me.”

Kushal flinched, but she didn’t stop.

“You’ve wanted to be on top of this firm since the day you walked into it. You’ve lived for the power, the name, the control. You married into the Verma name as much as you married me.”

He just stared at her, but she kept going.