Page 168 of Lawfully Yours

Before he could speak, before his hands could betray the desperate urge to pull her into him, she turned and walked quickly toward the guest room, still trembling with the pain of what she had confessed.

Kushal didn’t stop her. He couldn’t. He rubbed his palms over his face to physically hold himself together. But her words… her truth… had seared into his heart. He had never known Arundhati carried such a wound, never realised that one brutal incident from her childhood,watching her parents’ marriage shatter and end in tragedy, had shaped her into the woman before him. Her inability to trust, her refusal to give second chances, all of it traced back to that night. And over the years, the silence she kept and never shared had only made it worse.

For the first time, he realised that she hadn’t been cruel when she pushed him away all those times. She had been scared. Terrified. And yet tonight, she had chosen to share her deepest wounds with him. Because he was the only one, she trusted enough to share her most fragile truth.The only one!

Chapter 32

Kushal’s Penthouse – Same Night

The house had long fallen silent, but Arundhati’s muffled sobs still echoed in the guest room. She had curled on her side, her face buried into the pillow, damp with tears, when the mattress dipped behind her.It was him.Before she could protest, his strong arms slid around her waist, pulling her back into the warmth of his chest.

“Kushal, please.” Her voice broke into a desperate plea between sobs. “I don’t want your sympathy. Just… please leave me alone.”

But instead of releasing her, he pulled her closer. His chest pressed firm against her back, his legs curling around hers, his breath steady and hot against her nape. He didn’t argue. He didn’t defend. He just held her tighter in his arms, because she belonged there, and he would never let her drift away again.

She shivered, even continued resisting, but then his lips brushed close to her ear, and his words tore the last thread of her resistance.

“You’re not the only one who kept the door unlocked every night,” he confessed softly. “I did it too.”

Her eyes flew open as his words sank slowly into her heart and soul. He had wanted her? He had waited for her all these nights? Just like she had waited for him?

Her sobs weakened as his words sank in, but Kushal wasn’t done bearing the truth he had buried for far too long.

“The doors of my heart and this house have been open for you ever since you walked out, Aru. I may have never said it, but that’s the truth. My ego… of putting myself before everyone, of protecting my pride first… It’s what has shaped me all my life. Maybe because I grew up alone, never knowing what it meant to have a family to put before myself. Until you. And when you left… I missed you so much I could hardly breathe alone in this house. God knows how much I prayed you would return.”

Fresh tears filled her eyes, but this time they weren’t just of pain. They were of a deep ache for him.

His arm around her waist locked tighter, anchoring her to him as he went on. “Ever since we started working together again, on Anant’s case, I knew my heart would betray me. Every day with you, my heart beats louder than my ego, louder than my self-pride. I wanted you back… so desperately that I pushed my own ambitions, my dream of leading Verma & Associates, behind me, because all I could see was you.Us. After Dalhousie, after everything we shared there, I was done pretending. My patience was gone. I wanted you back in my arms, in my bed, in my life… forever. But when you still spoke of divorce, Aru… you broke me. My ego took over my heart again. I hid behind it, because it was easier than admitting how much power you had over me, even after breaking my heart so brutally.”

Slowly, trembling, she turned to face him. Her eyes, shiny with tears, met the soft, emotional, shattered eyes of the man who had always loved her. He never loosened his embrace; if anything, his grip only tightened, as if afraid she would vanish again.

Kushal brushed his thumb across her damp cheek. “I was so wrong. I didn’t see what lay behind your decisions… your fears. Fears born out of your parents’ story. Fears that if you gave someone a second chance, you would only end up broken.Like your mother.I didn’t know it, Aru. I didn’t even realise it untilyou opened up tonight. Otherwise, in those initial five months of our marriage, I would have made you see that I am not a man who would cheat on his wife. That I would never hurt you. Never betray you. Never let you down. Because you…” He broke, his voice catching as he cupped her face with both hands, pulling her forehead to his lips. “…you are my whole life, Aru.”

Her lips parted, her chest quivering with each breath as tears ran freely now, but for the first time in months, she wasn’t crying out of despair. She clutched his t-shirt.

“Say it again.”

His lips pressed harder to her skin as he repeated. “You are my whole life.”

Her sob escaped as a choked laugh, and she threw herself into his chest, hugging him so tight he thought his heart might burst out of his ribcage. “You are my whole life too,” she whispered fiercely into his shirt.

He exhaled, relieved, as if her words had set his soul free. He pulled the comforter over them, cocooning her in his warmth, burying his lips in her hair, kissing her forehead, her crown, the damp strands of her locks, as if each kiss was an oath.

And as her sobs gave way to soft breaths, and his hold never once loosened, their bodies curved into each other, hearts beating in the same rhythm. This was the first truly peaceful sleep they had shared in months, even peaceful than what they had in Dalhousie. This time, they were both ready and willing to give their marriage a second chance.Together.

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Next Morning

The bed was cold when Arundhati stirred, the warmth of his body already gone. Yet as she blinked awake, memories of last night rushed in, the memories of him holding her, arms wrapped so tight around her that even sleep hadn’t been able to separate them. If he’d rolled to the other side, she had instinctivelyhugged him from behind; if she’d shifted, he’d pulled her back against his chest. They had breathed in sync, slept in sync. For the first time in months, she had felt truly like his wife.

A smile curved her lips as she slipped out of bed. He must have gone back to his room to shower, to get ready for court. Raj Uncle had mentioned that Kushal had a packed day in court today. She freshened up quickly, showered, then prepared a small breakfast—simple sandwiches, the way he liked them.

A while later, getting dressed for work herself, when she stepped out into the kitchen again, her heart tripped. He was already there, leaning casually against the counter, mug of black coffee in hand, as he spoke commandingly into his phone.

She poured her own coffee quietly, stealing a sip, while sneaking glances at him. Even in an ordinary morning, he managed to look devastating in his charcoal-grey suit that fit him to perfection. His hair was still faintly damp from the shower, making him look irresistible.

The moment his call ended, she moved closer, holding out the sandwiches she had made. “Have these before you leave.”