Page 47 of Lawfully Yours

This wasn’t the time to get emotional over the past. She had cried enough when the truth had come crashing down on her. Her marriage, her hopes, had all been built on his professional ambition, not love.

And the worst part?

Things hadn’t changed. Not really.

Even now, he was trying to save this marriage. But not for them. Not for her.

He still wanted Verma & Associates. Still wanted her uncle’s approval. Still wanted the power, the seat at the head of the table, the nameplate on that glass door.

And he would do anything to keep it.

Even choose to keep her forever in his life.

Chapter 8

Verma and Associates Office

The next morning, Arundhati stepped into the sleek marble lobby of Verma & Associates. Her left arm still ached from the biker’s careless brush the night before, making it almost stiff and useless. She had balanced her files, phone, and coffee all in her right arm, trying to avoid straining the sore muscles any further.

Staff members greeted her as they passed, and she responded with nods and polite smiles, but didn’t stop. Her mind was already in work mode, willing her body to keep up.

As she approached the glass door of her cabin, she instinctively moved to push it open with her left arm. The moment her fingers met the handle, a sharp pain radiated through her shoulder. She gasped, recoiling slightly, and considered calling out for someone to help.

But before the words even formed on her lips, a strong arm slid past her shoulder and pushed the glass door open smoothly. She didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

Kushal held the door open for her. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t look at her. He just held the door open, waiting.

As she stepped inside and glanced sideways, her heart betrayed her just a little. She had to thank him for his gesture. But just as she turned to do that, he was already gone.

Gone before the words left her lips, disappearing down the hallway like he hadn’t just touched her day in the smallest, most intimate way by caring for her.

She fumed inwardly.

That was Kushal Nair for you, appearing when she least expected, doing things that made her heart stutter, and then leaving her to pick up the pieces of her composure. As ifshehad broken their marriage. As ifshehad betrayed the vows.

With her jaw clenched, she moved inside and dropped her things onto the desk. But a small blister pack of tablets, neatly placed beside her webtop, caught her eye.

Her fingers hovered over them.

Antacids?

She blinked in surprise. It was a habit, taking an antacid before any strong painkiller, or her acidity would spiral out of control. After the accident last night, she had been relying on painkillers to manage the discomfort in her arm. But in her rush to leave home this morning, she’d forgotten to pack her antacids. She’d recalled it in her car in the morning. So, who had brought these and placed them here on her desk? She hadn’t mentioned it to anyone.

There were only two people who might’ve done this—her uncle or Kushal.

With suspicion narrowing in, she picked up the receiver and dialled her uncle’s extension.

“Uncle? Did you leave antacid tablets on my desk?”

“Antacids?” Raj Verma sounded puzzled. “Why? Are you unwell? What happened?”

So it wasn’t him.

Her heart sank and fluttered at the same time. Because if it wasn’t her uncle, there was only one other person who could’ve known about her body’s reaction to strong medication without a buffer. The same person who had witnessed the accident last night. But the part that truly caught her breath was that he still remembered.

Before her logic could argue, she took the medicines and left her cabin with the blister pack still in hand.

But Kushal wasn’t in his room.