Page 136 of Lawfully Yours

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Next Morning – Kushal’s Penthouse

Kushal woke up with his head pounding, a dull, insistent ache throbbing behind his temples. The light filtering through the curtains only made it worse. He sat up slowly, blinking against the hangover fog clouding his memory. He didn’t remember how he’d gotten home. In fact, he barely remembered leaving the bar.

Still groggy and in no mood for reflection, he got out of bed and shuffled toward the kitchen in search of painkillers. But just as he turned the corner, a voice pulled him up short.

“Good morning.”

He froze.

Rajveer Chopra stretched out on the living room couch, looking entirely too casual for someone who clearly wasn’t supposed to be there. Kushal blinked at him, confused and speechless.

“What the hell?” he muttered. “What areyoudoing here?”

Rajveer chuckled. “So, you remember nothing, huh? Not surprising. After all, you were pretty close to drinking the bar dry last night.”

Kushal rubbed his temple, slowly piecing things together. The bar. The drinks. The bartender refusing another round. Rajveer’s voice, his hand on his shoulder, telling him he’d drive him home.

He let out a breath and shook his head. “Damn… I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean for you to see me like that. But thanks for bringing me home.” He looked at the couch again—pillow, blanket, everything in place. “You stayed here?”

Rajveer nodded. “Of course. How could I leave you alone in that state? Thankgodyou remembered the passcode for the elevator and main door, even while drunk, or I would’ve had to take you home with me. Not that I’d have minded, but then you’d have to explain your condition not just to me, but to Ananya too.” He laughed lightly.

Kushal didn’t say anything. He remembered the code perfectly, of course. It was Arundhati’s birth date and birth year…something etched so deep he could never forget it.

He shook the thought away and looked at Rajveer. “Still… you could’ve taken the guest room. Why sleep on the couch?”

Rajveer waved him off. “Couch or bed, makes no difference. Nothing helps me sleep if my wife’s not beside me anyway.”

That one line cut straight through Kushal’s bleeding heart.

Rajveer noticed the subtle stiffening of Kushal’s posture, the brief flicker of pain in his eyes.

He exhaled. “So, this is about Arundhati, then. That’s what drove you to drink like that?”

Kushal didn’t respond right away.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Rajveer added.

Kushal’s hands ran over his face, trying to pull himself together. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it,” he said finally. “It’s just… there’s nothing lefttosay. We’re divorcing.”

Rajveer frowned. “But in Dalhousie, it looked like things were turning around. Honestly, I thought you were on your way to patching things up.”

Kushal gave a humourless laugh. “So did I. But clearly, I was reading a completely different story. She and I—we were never on the same page.”

There was a beat of silence. Then Rajveer’s phone buzzed. He glanced down. It was a message from Ananya. He quickly typed back a response and turned to Kushal again.

“I’ve gotta run,” he said. “Ananya’s waiting, and we’ve got a flight to catch tonight. But before I go…” He stepped closer, his tone turning serious. “Let me tell you something. I know it hurts, Kushal. Believe me, I’ve been there. I once stood exactly where you are now…unsure if Ananya and I were going to make it, wondering if she even wanted to try anymore.”

Kushal looked up at him, the pain behind his eyes raw and barely held back.

“But the distance made us realise what we really wanted,” Rajveer continued. “We learned that we didn’t want to justexistwithout each other…that we wanted to growwitheach other. And that brought us back together. I can’t promise you a happy ending, man. Maybe you need to give her space. Let her figure it out on her own. And if she doesn’t come back… maybe it’ll help you finally let her go.”

Kushal nodded slowly, swallowing hard.

“Take care of yourself, man.” Rajveer patted his shoulder.

“Thanks,” Kushal said quietly, walking him to the door.