Page 62 of Lawfully Yours

Inside, he tossed his suit jacket onto a chair and tugged his tie loose, letting it fall carelessly. The tension he’d been holding onto all day finally clawed its way to the surface. Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he exhaled hard. How the hell was he supposed to sleep knowing she was so close? Knowing that just a few feet away, Arundhati was probably pacing, or maybe curled up on her bed, trying just as hard to forget he existed?

She wasn’t just close physically tonight, she was close enough to touch, to talk to, if only she would let him. For months now, she’d been out of reach. A locked fortress of anger and disappointment. And he… he hadn’t done much to change that either. Maybe too caught up in his own pride. Maybe too afraid of hearing her final rejection aloud.

But tonight was different.

Tonight, he wasn’t going to rely on their bruised egos or sharp defences. Tonight, he was ready to strip it all down and finally face her, not as adversaries, not as estranged partners,but as two people who once wanted to love each other enough and promised forever.

Whether she wanted to listen or not… he had to try.

Dropping heavily onto the edge of the bed, Kushal leaned forward, elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands over his face, thinking hard for no idea how long.

***************

Meanwhile, inside her room, Arundhati was equally restless. She had thought about changing out of the saree, but the thought of removing it, the very saree Kushal had helped her drape just hours ago, stirred a storm of emotions inside her.

Needing a distraction, she decided to find something to eat. Maybe food would help chase away these thoughts.

She padded in the kitchen silently, barefoot, her silk saree swishing with every step. The night had drained her, but there was one thing she still needed—cake.

She opened the fridge and sighed in relief, seeing one last piece of chocolate truffle.Victory.

But just as she reached for it, another hand appeared beside hers. Kushal stood there, leaning slightly, still in his black shirt, with the top two buttons undone, but the jacket and tie long discarded. He looked annoyingly hot even at this hour, his shirt sleeves rolled up, wrist veins prominent, eyes sharp despite the fatigue. There was always something unfair about how effortlessly attractive he looked.

She swallowed tightly, furious at herself more than him. Ever since that damn saree draping incident, she hadn’t been the same. All these months, she had managed to put distance between them, keeping everything contained, curbed, tightly bottled. No lingering glances, no softened stares. Just cold silences.

But tonight, everything she thought she had killed inside her had risen again with a vengeance.

It wasn’t just the way his hands had brushed her skin when draping her saree.

It wasn’t just the way he had called her ‘Aru’like it still meant something.

It was his desperation. His persistence.

The way he looked at her now, as if she mattered.

Not just for some throne at Verma & Associates.

But for herself.

For them.

And damn it, it was making her weak.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her fingers curled tighter around the refrigerator door, desperate to maintain the pretence of control. She needed distance. Space. Anything but him standing there, looking impossibly tempting.

“Stalking you, to make you hear me out,” he said, without an ounce of shame. “But now, maybe... enjoying some cake too.”

She gritted her teeth, desperate not to let her gaze linger on him longer than necessary as he continued.

“I remembered you can’t sleep when you’re angry,” he said. “And only eating something helps you relieve all that stress. Knew you’d crave a light snack before bed. Didn’t peg you for a midnight kitchen raider, though.”

She swallowed hard, fighting the surge of emotions clawing at her.

He remembered these small, intimate things about her?

Details he wasn’t supposed to care about anymore, not when they were standing on the verge of destroying whatever remained of their marriage.

He pushed off the counter, taking a slow step toward her. His smirk deepened. “Sad thing is you won’t be getting the whole truffle to yourself. I need my share too.”