Page 196 of Lawfully Yours

Dalhousie had been their first stop — quiet hills wrapped in mist, winding markets, old temples, and long walks that always ended with stolen kisses under pine trees. They stayed in the same resort where everything between them had once started to shift, for two whole weeks of rediscovering each other.Every night had been its own story: sometimes making soft and slow love, sometimes deliciously wild, and sometimes teasingly torturous, leaving them breathless at the memory alone.

From there, they had flown to Switzerland. Geneva had been all things romantic — boat rides on Lake Léman, hand-in-hand strolls through cobblestoned alleys, endless cups of hot chocolate in tiny cafés, and nights spent curled up by the fire watching the snow fall outside. Last week, they had moved to Zurich, where their mornings began with lazy breakfasts in bed and ended with candlelit dinners overlooking the Limmat River. Between those, they wandered museums, shopped for trinkets neither of them needed, and made love like it was their only purpose on this earth.

They still had a week before heading to Santorini…the final leg of their honeymoon. Kushal had planned that one… the white villas, blue domes, sunsets spilling gold over the place. He had promised her moonlit dinners by the sea, long swims, and slow dances on the terrace before they would finally fly back home…back to their lives, their law firm, and everything that awaited them in Delhi.

Stretching on the bed, Arundhati turned to his side, already knowing it was empty. Kushal had already gone for his morning jog. He had become almost ritualistic about it…every morning, right after sunrise. She could already imagine him down there, dressed in his black dry-fit joggers and a slate-grey sleeveless tee that clung to his broad chest, earphones tucked in, hair damp with the morning chill.

She, on the other hand, was anything but a morning person, not when he kept her awake until the first light of dawn, leaving her dizzy from too much passion and too little sleep. Pulling a robe around her, she reached for her buzzing phone. It was Ananya’s call, straight from New York. Arundhati had told her about her and Kushal calling off their divorce, and both Ananyaand Rajveer couldn’t have been happier. After all, they had once been in the same boat, two people who almost let go, only to find their way back to each other.

“Hey Ananya!” she greeted, stepping out onto the balcony of their suite, the view of Zurich’s lush garden below taking her breath away.

“Hey, Busy bee,” Ananya teased, “how’s the honeymoon going?”

Arundhati laughed softly before sharing a few bits, her eyes scanning the garden below, looking for her husband, and there she found him. He was jogging along the trail, earbuds in, the morning light gilding his skin. Even from up here, she could see the flex of his shoulders. He spotted her, too, and waved at her with that wicked smile curving on his lips.

She waved back too, her cheeks warming instantly.

“Ananya,” she murmured, still smiling, “tell me something… what is it about second chances? Why do husbands suddenly start looking and behaving like they’ve made it their life’s mission to tempt you every waking hour?”

Ananya burst out laughing. “Oh, I know that feeling! I went through the same when Rajveer and I called off our divorce. It’s like they know they almost lost us once, and now they’re making up for every second they wasted.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she said softly, still watching Kushal as he slowed his pace, heading back toward the hotel entrance.

They chatted a few more minutes before she heard the suite door click open behind her. Turning, she saw him… his hair damp with sweat, chest rising fast, his face flushed from the run. Even exhaustion couldn’t dull the magnetic pull he had.

She quickly ended the call as he approached. Without a word, Kushal bent down, kissed her once, it was a quick kiss but deep enough to leave her dizzy, before he pulled off his T-shirt in one fluid motion.

Her breath caught. The sight of him…glistening, taut, and impossibly irresistible, sent every memory of their nights flashing back like wildfire.

And just like that, her mouth watered, wanting more. Kushal, still catching his breath, rubbed the towel over his neck, completely unaware of the way her gaze lingered on him.

“You should’ve come with me,” he said casually, smiling as he looked at her. “The weather was too good to ignore.”

She arched a brow. “How could I wake up early when you hardly let me sleep at night?”

His grin deepened. “That’s funny,” he murmured, walking closer, “Because I don’t remember you complaining at night…to let you just sleep without doing our k*nky stuff.”

Her breath caught as he took off his pants, ready to head for a shower. The moment he turned to leave for the bathroom, she caught his wrist and pulled him gently back.

He stumbled onto the edge of the bed, surprise flickering across his face, followed by that familiar heat. She pushed him back to lie down and hovered over him, her eyes dark with mischief as she kneeled across his upper thighs.

“I agree. I didn’t complain at night,” she whispered. “Just like you shouldn’t complain about needing a shower when your wife clearly has something else in mind.”

Kushal’s grin deepened seeing her in a mood. He loved it when she flirted like this, playful and bold, something that had become wonderfully frequent these days. His hands slid to her waist as he looked up at her, his voice dropping to that familiar teasing drawl.

“I’m drained,” he lied, as his eyes glinted with both exhaustion and desire. “Not my fault, actually, my wife sucks all my energy at night,” he further teased.

She untied the sash of her robe that very moment, and his mouth watered too, seeing she wasn’t wearing anything inside.

“Then let me energise you again,” she replied, pulling his boxers down his legs before gently aligning herself on his morning wood.

That was all Kushal could wait for. He helped her lower herself further, pushing himself inside her, inch by inch. Her lips parted, her eyes squeezed shut as the sensations of him filling her completely felt painfully good.

“You never stop surprising me, Mrs. Nair,” he said, his hands finding her waist as if by instinct, while she gently rode him, chasing their pleasure.

From courtrooms to confession, from broken vows to breathless nights, they had travelled a full circle. They had fought each other once with the same passion they now used to protect what they’d rebuilt…not a perfect marriage, but a raw, real, rediscovered love. And this was the only kind of life they wanted… with each other.

No judgment, no decree, no witness…just two hearts learning to begin again. That’s how their story ended, and began anew…Lawfully Yours.