Page 97 of Lawfully Yours

What did Kamya have to do with Noyonika?

She had come between them once before, and now, again, somehow, she was in the middle of everything. It always came back to her.

Kushal swallowed hard as he muttered a quick thank-you to Akash before ending the call.

Arundhati stepped closer, frustration radiating from every inch of her. “You want me to stop hiding my feelings?” she snapped. “How am I supposed to do that when pieces ofyourpast…chapters you never properly closed…keep showing up and messing with my present?Your Kamyais back. And this time, she’s meddling in our case.”

She turned to leave, her body tense with the urge to walk away, to shut it all down again. But Kushal reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back firmly.

“She isnot‘mine.’Youare.”

She froze.

He stepped even closer, his grip tightening just enough to hold her there.

“Kamya and Iwerenever a thing,” he continued. “I haven’t spent a fraction of the time with her that I’ve spent with you. Don’t use her name as a shield to protect your ego or to justify your fear of giving us another shot.”

Arundhati’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

“And if sheisinvolved in this case, we deal with it, Aru. Like partners. Together. Not by turning away the moment things get messy.”

He let go of her arm, and stepping back, he headed toward the car, already pulling out his phone. There was no time to waste. He needed answers.

And by tomorrow, he’d get them.

Noyonika would have to tell him exactly what Kamya Bakshi had to do with any of this.

Chapter 17

Dalhousie Hotel

They returned to the resort by late afternoon, and Kushal disappeared into his suite the moment. Ever since, he was pacing, growling into calls, taking updates.

She stood in her room, half-listening, half-lost in her own storm of thoughts, physically separate but mentally pulled into his orbit, wondering if his fury was just about Kamya’s unexpected connection to Anant and Sadhna’s divorce case, or if it was also about what had happened at the temple.

Maybe it was both.

She sighed and glanced at herself in the mirror. She was dressed for the evening’s honeymoon couple event—a soft blush-pink chiffon maxi dress with delicate straps and a plunging neckline, cinched at the waist and flowing all the way to her ankles. She’d pulled a cream knit shawl around her shoulders, more for composure than warmth. Her outfit was romantic and undeniably feminine, something she wouldn’t normally wear, but the resort staff had said it would be an intimate evening with bonfire, games, and soft music. She wasn’t sure what compelled her to wear it. Maybe she wanted to prove to herself she wasn’t as immune to all this as she pretended to be.

Kushal’s voice, shouting at someone on the phone, broke her chain of thoughts.

Unable to help herself, she walked to the connecting door and pushed it open slightly. Her eyes found him instantly.

He was still in the same black shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, pacing like a caged animal. The Bluetooth earpiece in his ear glowed faintly as he growled into it.

“No, Icannotcall her and ask this directly,” he snapped, pacing in his room. “If I confront Kamya now, she might tip off Noyonika. And then she’ll disappear before she even sets foot in Dalhousie again. We cannot risk that. Let her come tomorrow. We question her first. Get the details,thenwe decide how to go after Kamya.”

He paused, listening, then his voice lowered to something darker.

“I want to know where Kamya is. If she’s not in India, find out where the hell she is. Contact someone from the financial legal desk at Verma & Associates. They must be in touch with her company. I want her location tonight. No excuses.”

He ended the call with a terse grunt, and silence settled.

Arundhati exhaled quietly and stepped inside his room through the connecting door. His gaze lifted to her, scanning her from head to toe in a single, unreadable sweep. But he said nothing.

She walked to the table, poured a glass of water from the jug, and brought it to him.

“You need to calm down,” she said quietly, extending it toward him.