Page 69 of Lawfully Yours

He had been behind her all evening at the party yesterday, lingering, circling her, trying to speak, and she had ignored him. And now, like the manipulative mastermind he could be, he’d pulled a stunt like this. Vanishing. Going radio silent. Cutting himself off. Forcing her to worry.Forcing her to come to him.

If this was his way of getting her to listen…Fine. So be it. But she wasn’t going to listen without giving him hell first.

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

Kushal’s Penthouse – Aura Residences

Arundhati pulled into the underground parking of the Aura Residences. The place hadn’t changed. It was still spotless, still silent, still exuding money in the most understated ways. Sheeased the car into a familiar spot near the private elevator bank. Her hands lingered on the wheel. For a moment, she didn’t move.

This used to be home. Her home after marriage.

Every corner of this place held pieces of her.Of them.

As she finally stepped out, the security staff at the parking entrance gave her a quick nod, one of them even smiled, as if no time had passed. She returned it with a tight, polite expression and headed for the private elevator. Her finger hovered over the digital pad, wondering if the passcode was still the same and the moment she typed in the four-digit code, she was shocked to realise Kushal hadn’t changed it.

It was stillherbirth year!

The lift began its silent ascent, and with every passing floor, her stomach coiled tighter.

As the elevator slid open onto the top floor’s private lobby, she stepped out slowly, heading for the door to the penthouse where another keypad glowed faintly. If Kushal hadn’t changed the elevator code, then he definitely hadn’t changed the door passcode either, which was her birthdate.

She punched in the code and the door creaked softly as she pushed it. She was in. The air inside smelled achingly familiar. Cedarwood. Warm linen.Him.

As she stepped in, every object called out to her. The leather couch where they used to argue. The painting she’d chosen. The coasters on the coffee table. The pillow covers she had carefully picked from her favourite store. Nothing had changed. Everything was exactly as it had been.

Her chest constricted as she moved deeper into the room, her eyes catching a half-finished glass of whiskey resting on the console by the sofa. And then, Kushal emerged from the study.

Black linen shirt, sleeves rolled up the way he always wore them, looking casual, effortless and aggravatingly handsome. Hehad paired that black shirt with blue denim and was barefoot. Like it was just another day in his life and not the day after a kiss that should’ve never happened. Not the day he vanished from work, leaving her to clean up the mess.

He froze when he saw her, but just for a second.

“Welcome home,” he said.

The way he spoke made her feel as if she’d never left. As if this was just another ordinary evening, and she was simply walking back into her home… to her husband… after a long, exhausting day, with him there, waiting. Something deep in her chest gave way.

But the moment shattered just as quickly, and all that rage from the morning, the panic and the pressure, rushed back to her face.

“What the hell, Kushal?” she snapped. “Where were you today? You didn’t answer calls, didn’t show up to the office, and left Raj uncle and all of us guessing!”

Kushal didn’t say a word.

“How could you ghost on us?” she stormed forward. “Do you have any idea what kind of mess exploded at the office? The media is back with another scandal against Anant. He showed up at the office asking for you, and I—I had to stand there covering for you like some pathetic fool! You didn’t even have the basic decency to send a message, Kushal. Who does that?”

While she ranted, Kushal walked to the whiskey glass resting near the couch.

“Kushal!”

Still nothing. He lifted it, took a swig, and turned his back to her, setting it down on the bar table like she hadn’t said a thing.

That infuriated her.

“Oh wow, you still are gonna do that? Drink? Walk away?” she followed him, her fury rising. “You really think you candisappear from work and then ignore the person who’s still stupid enough to clean up after you?”

He kept moving into the hallway.

“Kushal! I’m talking to you!”

She trailed after him into the next room.