Page 59 of Lawfully Yours

Her first instinct was to crumple the tissue again and throw it away. Her second, to march straight to the pool and give him a piece of her mind. But she wouldn’t fall into Kushal Nair’s trap again. She had heard enough of his charming lies and clever manipulations once upon a time. She wouldn’t make the same mistake now.

She crumpled the tissue and discarded it before joining a circle of chatting women instead and forced herself to engage in polite conversation. Talking about the party, laughing at something mildly funny and pretending like she wasn’t burning alive inside.

Fifteen minutes ticked by, agonizingly slow.

And then suddenly, the woman she was talking to grew distracted. Their eyes widened, their smiles faltered, and a few even blushed as if something,or someone, had walked straight out of a forbidden fantasy.

Arundhati turned slowly and found Kushal standing barely two steps away.His eyes.God, those stormy eyes locked onto hers with so much intensity that her heart skipped a few beats.

Without a word, he stepped forward, caught her wrist firmly, and faced the stunned women around her.

“Excuse us,” he said smoothly.

Before she could even blink, he was dragging her through the crowd. She almost struggled to keep up as they passed laughing guests, clinking glasses, but no one dared to stop them. There was something about Kushal’s grip that warned the world to stay out of his way.

Halfway down a dim hallway that led toward the garden and pool area, she dug her heels in.

“Kushal,” she hissed, yanking her hand free from his grip. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He turned to face her sharply, his face mere inches from hers.

“I’m just borrowing a little of your time and attention,” he replied. “Because clearly, asking politely wasn’t working. You were ignoring me, Arundhati. What choice did you leave me except to drag you out before the whole damn party?”

She glared at him, her heart pounding at both his words and their infuriating closeness.

“I had every right to ignore you!” she snapped. “And what is this new‘talk to me’drama now?

He stared at her for a long, loaded beat, his chest rising and falling.

“You call thisdrama? You, running away from a conversation we should have had long ago,that’sdrama, Arundhati?”

“There’s nothing left to say.” She shook her head, furious and breathless.

“There’s everything left to say,” he countered, giving a harsh laugh. “You just don’t want to hear it because you’re scared it might not fit the story you’ve written about me in your head.”

Her heart hammered painfully against her ribs as he stepped closer, invading her space again. His nearness was suffocating, intoxicating.

“Let go of this stubbornness for one damn minute, Aru,” he said, softer now, almost pleading. “Please.”

The‘please’broke something inside her.

Not because of what it meant. But because of who it came from.

Kushal Nair didn’t beg.

He fought. He argued. He twisted logic until you didn’t know where the truth ended and the lies began.

But he didn’t say please.

And certainly not to her.

For a moment, silence stretched between them. His fingers twitched as if he wanted to touch her but was forcing himself not to.

Before she could speak, before she could decide whether to snap or surrender, voices rang out from the other side of the garden.

Her cousins.

“There you are!” one of them called, breathless. “Arundhati, Uncle Raj is asking for you. He’s on his fourth peg already. You know how emotional he gets when he drinks too much. You better come stop him before he starts blabbering.”