Page 145 of Lawfully Yours

“Petition number…” the clerk announced formally, reading out the case details. “In the matter of Mr. Kushal Nair and Mrs. Arundhati Nair, petitioners, seeking dissolution of marriage under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.”

The judge adjusted his glasses and looked at Kushal. “Mr. Nair, as respondent, you may begin.”

Kushal rose.

“My Lord, until now, I have stood before this court opposing my wife’s petition for divorce. I believed our marriage was worth fighting for. I believed it still had life in it, that it could be saved.” He paused as his eyes lowered briefly. “But… I have come to accept that there is nothing left to salvage between us. That belief was mine alone, and it has cost us both. Therefore, I no longer contest this petition.I consentto a mutual divorce.”

A hush fell across the room.

Beside him, Arundhati’s heart slammed against her ribs. Her hands went cold, her chest constricting. He had said it so plainly, as if these 15 months of their marriage could be reduced to one line:I consent.

The judge turned his gaze to her. “Mrs. Nair. You were the petitioner for this divorce. Do you still stand by your request?”

Silence.

She stared at her hands in her lap.

Kushal’s eyes remained lowered, but his heart thundered inside his chest, louder and louder, betraying the calm façade on his face. He didn’t dare look at her. He didn’t dare hope. Not anymore.

The judge leaned forward, frowning slightly at her silence. “Mrs. Nair? Do you still want the divorce?”

The pause stretched.

Arundhati’s lashes fluttered, her throat working as if every memory she had fought to bury came rushing back, one after the other. Their wedding night, the hesitant closeness, the warmth of his arms when she had fallen asleep against him. The stolen kisses that had grown bolder with time, the way he had once cupped her face like she was the only thing that existed. His confession at the penthouse again that he wanted her back. Their moments in Dalhousie. The blindfold game that had begun in jest but had ended in gasps and moans and a night that had left her shaken in ways she still couldn’t name. And that temple in the hills where Kushal had pressed the vermilion (Sindoor) into her hairline, marking her his before Lord Shiva again.

Her eyes stung as she finally opened them. Tears blurred her vision, yet clarity rang through her heart.

She rose slowly, her chair scraping faintly against the floor.

“No.”

Every head in the courtroom turned.

She lifted her gaze at last, and looked at the judge.

“No, My Lord. I don’t want the divorce anymore.”

The words hung in the air, almost shattering Kushal. Though he didn’t look her, disbelief flashed in his dark eyes.

Raj Verma, in the back, pressed a hand to his chest, his own eyes wet with surprise.

The judge looked between them. “Mrs. Nair, do you understand what you are saying? Do you wish to withdraw your petition?”

Arundhati’s palms trembled against the table. “Yes, Your Honour. I don’t want a divorce anymore. I want this marriage to work.”

A murmur rippled through the room. Kushal’s head lifted, and his gaze finally locked onto her. His face was a storm…anger etched in his eyes at her sudden change of heart.

“She’s clearly not in her senses, Your Honour,” Kushal said to the judge, but his eyes burned into Arundhati. “And even if she is, I’m not interested in her changing games anymore. I’m ready for the divorce, and I request the court not to waste further time.”

“Stop telling the court what it has to do, Kushal!” She snapped. “I have every right to change my decision. And I’m saying it clearly and finally this time. Idon’twant this divorce.”

He turned fully to her then. “I don’t care anymore what you want,Miss Verma! Just stop playing with my damn heart!”

“And you just stop calling me Miss Verma because I’m stillMrs. Nairand I’ll always be,” she retorted.

His lips parted, ready to fire back, but before he could, the judge’s gavel came down hard. “Order! Order in the court!”

Silence slammed down in the courtroom. The judge’s eyes moved between them with evident disappointment. “I can’t believe, despite being lawyers yourselves, you are…wasting the court’s time by changing your decisions at the last moment. This is unacceptable.”