Page 193 of Lawfully Yours

Kushal leaned back in his chair, studying her. Every flicker of her heavily lined eyes said she was performing.Not grieving.He’d seen real pain before, and this wasn’t it. Devika had approached Verma & Associates only two days ago, claiming betrayal and emotional damage in her marriage. Being the daughter of one of India’s biggest industrialists, money and power dripped from every word she uttered. She had an arranged marriage to Parth, another hotshot coal businessman in the country. The marriage worked, or rather survived, for only a couple of months, after which she went straight to them wanting to file her divorce.

Raj Verma, who had contacts with the Malhotra family, had spoken to them over a call and realised that despite all the family’s attempts to make peace between Parth and Devika, there was no luck.

Devika was way too adamant in wanting a separation. The hefty alimony wasn’t a problem here or Devika’s need; it was her ego and pride that had probably been hurt.

Before he could respond, the glass door clicked open and Arundhati walked in.

She wore a striking lavender saree today, her hair tied neatly, the faint line of sindoor gleaming against her dark locks. The red tint of her bindi drew his gaze upward before he could stop himself. His heartbeat steadied only to spike again as his gaze dropped lower to her lips.

She carried a file in her hand, but Kushal wasn’t looking at the file anymore. He was looking ather, the woman who had his heart and who somehow managed to own every space she entered, whether it was the courtroom, their penthouse, or this office.

With their due honeymoon nearing, the heat when they were around each other, the simmering tension of getting back home into their bubble and making love, undid him even with a single look at her.

Her eyes met his briefly as she walked over to him.

Even Devika, mid-rant, paused, glancing between them.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Arundhati said professionally, as she set the file down in front of him. “These are the disclosures from Parth’s counsel.”

Kushal nodded, forcing his gaze back to the papers. “Thank you, Mrs. Nair,” he said smoothly.

Devika’s eyes darted between them again. “Ah,” she said, leaning back in her chair. “So this is the famous Mrs. Arundhati Nair. No wonder you two win every case together. Quite thepower couple, I see.”

His lips twitched, just slightly, but his gaze never left Arundhati, who shot him that warning look for admiring her so openly before their client.

She turned back to Devika.

“So, Mrs. Malhotra,” she began evenly, “before you go further with your story, let me save us all some time.”

Devika blinked, caught off guard.

Arundhati flipped open the folder, revealing photographs and printed statements. “We ran our standard fact-check before drafting the petition. And it appears you’ve been… less than honest with us.”

Kushal arched an eyebrow, quietly watching. Ever since Devika had approached them, Arundhati had begun to dig for clues if this case was really as honest as Devika was proposing it to be.

“What do you mean?” Devika demanded.

Arundhati didn’t flinch. “I mean, your husband, Mr. Parth Malhotra, has no other woman in his life. We checked. His phone logs, travel records, and social media patterns everything is clean. The woman you accused him of seeing, Reena Patel, is his business accountant, happily married, mother of two, and we have had the employees and some common friends speak for her too. There’s no extramarital affair between them.”

Devika opened her mouth to speak, but Arundhati didn’t stop.

“And about your claims of domestic abuse, your mother-in-law, whom you described as ‘controlling and cruel,’ is in fact one of the sweetest women I’ve heard about. Your own family and friends have testified to how she’s always been supportive towards you. That she loves you just like her own daughter. We even went through her social record, had their house helps speak about her nature and they were all praises, even the ones who don’t work for your husband’s family anymore had only good things to say about her. She’s hardly abusive.”

Kushal exhaled quietly through his nose, hiding a smirk. He loved this side of Arundhati…the fire under her calm exterior.

Arundhati went on, flipping another page. “And your sister-in-law? The alleged ‘slap’ in the club? We got the footage. There was no slap. What actually happened wasyou threw your drinkat herand walked out. Which, in legal terms, Mrs. Malhotra, would makeyouthe aggressor. Not her.”

Devika’s painted face twitched, first in disbelief, then in defiance. But before she could find another accusation to throw, Arundhati closed the file softly and folded her hands on it.

“Look, Mrs. Malhotra,” she began. “We don’t know what exactly happened between you and your husband, which has compelled you to seek a divorce, because all that you have told us so far are only lies.”

Devika’s eyes darted between the two lawyers before she finally exhaled and let the truth spill out.

“We’re poles apart,” she said bitterly. “He’s… dharmic, traditional. I’m not. He wants a quiet, simple life; I want people, movement, travel, attention. He’s happy in temples, I’m happy in parties. I don’t think we’ve ever matched, not once. So what’s the point of living together and wasting each other’s lives? I feel caged in his home, trapped in his family’s world. That’s the truth.”

She hesitated, glancing down at her manicured fingers, twisting her designer bracelet. “And I know this truth will never get me a divorce easily. Our families are too strongly bonded. That’s why I had to lie. It was the only way to be free.”

Silence fell for a long beat.