Page 134 of Lawfully Yours

The signed papers related to their next divorce trial still lay on the floor, lifeless and forgotten, just like their marriage. Kushal had flung them in rage, and now she didn’t even realise she stepped on them as her feet began to move, slowly, towards the exit.

Her body was disconnected from her mind. Each step toward the library door felt like dragging a weight behind her, like carrying the ghost of something that once mattered too much.

This was what she had wanted.

She had said it over and over again…for months. That she wanted the divorce. That the marriage was broken beyond repair. That he needed to let go, to stop trying.

And now… when he had agreed, why did it feel like something inside her had died in that moment?

Arundhati didn’t even remember reaching her floor, didn’t register she had just unlocked and stepped into the wrong cabin, her uncle’s cabin.

Raj Verma was on a call when she walked in, but he saw her and gave a casual nod, assuming she had come to discuss a case. But when she walked straight toward him without a word, and threw her arms around him in a tight, trembling hug, he immediately knew something was very, very wrong.

He ended the call mid-sentence and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tightly as she was holding onto him.

“Aru?” he asked gently. “What happened?”

That was all it took.

She broke.

The dam burst, and heavy, uncontrolled sobs poured out of her. Arundhati cried like she hadn’t cried in years. Not quietly,not with dignity, but with a rawness that made Raj’s heart clench in panic.

He rubbed her back, tried to soothe her, tried to keep her grounded. “Talk to me, Aru. What is it? What happened?”

But she couldn’t speak.

She just kept crying. Loud, aching sobs filled the quiet office like grief.

“Aru… you’re scaring me. Is this about Kushal?” he asked again, more urgently now, gently pulling her back to look into her eyes.

But she didn’t meet his gaze.

She couldn’t.

Because how could she explain the chaos in her heart? The grief she had no right to feel? How could she tell him that she was breaking into pieces over something she herself had demanded for so long?

Raj cupped her face, his thumbs brushing away her tears, but her eyes stayed lowered.

“Did Kushal say something?” he asked softly. “Did you two—?”

She shook her head in denial, pressing her lips together, wiping her eyes. She didn’t want to explain. Not to him. Not to anyone.

She took a shaky breath, stepped away from his embrace, and turned without a word.

“Aru—” Raj called after her.

But she was already out the door. Walking fast, head down, leaving behind the one person who could’ve comforted her, because she didn’t know how to explain that her heart was breaking over a man who had finally given her exactly what she’d asked for.

And it destroyed her.

*****************

A few hours later

Kushal disconnected yet another call from Raj Verma. He’d lost count of how many times he’d done it today. He had never done this before. But today had drained something out of him…something vital, something he didn’t know how to recover from, and hence he didn’t want to talk to anyone. Not Raj Verma. Not anyone from the firm. And definitely nother.

The moment he’d walked out of that library, leaving Arundhati and the signed divorce papers behind, he knew he wouldn’t be returning to the office that day.