Lawfully Yours - Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Dalhousie – Hotel
The breakfast lounge at the resort buzzed with soft clinks of cutlery and low conversations. Couples milled around the buffet, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and crisp parathas lingered in the air.
Kushal sat at a corner table, already halfway through his coffee. He hadn’t expected to invite Arundhati to come down with him and have breakfast together. Last night, when he had opened up about how he hated eating alone since childhood, and how it hurt even more after she left, she had brushed it off as one of his manipulative tricks. That had stung more than he’d admit. For once, he had tried to speak from the heart, to share something real with someone he had once called his own. But not anymore. Maybe Arundhati would need time to understand what that meant to him. Until then, he had decided not to bring it up again.
And yet, there she was. Arundhati walked in, effortlessly elegant even in her casual travel sweatshirt and fitted jeans. Her hair was pulled into a low bun, loose strands brushing her cheek. She didn’t look at him immediately, nor did she offer a greeting. She simply walked to the buffet, filled her plate with a precise mix of protein and indulgence, then crossed the room and sat down at the same table without asking.
Kushal didn’t say a word, but his gaze followed her like a magnet. They ate in silence for a few minutes, tension simmering between stolen glances and shared steam from their coffee mugs. That’s when her phone rang.
It was Raj Verma.
“Morning, Uncle,” she answered, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “No, we haven’t met Noyonika yet... Why? Didn’t your golden boy update you already?”
Kushal didn’t even look up. But the edge of his mouth twitched.
“No, he didn’t call me since last night,” Raj replied.
“She’s on a two-day group trip around Dalhousie,” Arundhati continued. “Which means we’re stuck here until she returns.”
Raj laughed on the other end. “That’s surprising. Usually Kushal gives me updates even before I ask. Looks like someone is keeping him occupied this time.”
Her eyes lifted slowly to Kushal, who was now stabbing a piece of paneer paratha with his fork, his gaze meeting hers. Last night, Kushal was indeed busy. Her sudden shivering and cold had kept him busy… with her. Same bed!
“Anyway,” Raj’s voice broke their trance. “I’m glad you both are getting a break. You two needed it.”
Before she could reply, Kushal leaned forward and, without bothering, held the fork in front of her lips.
She opened her mouth without thinking, still half-immersed in the phone call and he fed her.
It was only once she’d chewed and swallowed the bite that she blinked and realized what had just happened. Her eyes darted to his.
“Uncle, I’ll call you back,” she said quickly, and disconnected the call.
“Really?” she said, glaring at him as she reached for her own fork. “You don’t have to feed me.”
He didn’t even flinch. “You were too busy on phone and the parathas were getting cold. I figured you were hungry so I fed you.”
She scowled.
“And relax,” he added, chewing with casual indifference, “it’s not like feeding you one piece of paratha is going to melt you or suddenly make you change your mind about our marriage, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “I know how good you are with words. But please—don’t try your lawyer-style manipulation on me. You forget, your wife is a lawyer too.”
His smirk sharpened as he wiped his lips slowly with the napkin, leaned back, and looked at her with a glint in his eyes that sent unwelcome heat crawling up her neck.
“Why are you smirking like that?”
“It’s just... nice to hear you admit you’re still my wife,” he replied. “Doesn’t happen often these days, does it?”
His gaze dropped just for a beat before meeting hers again, deeper this time.
“It reminds me…you’re still mine,” he added.
That last word wasn’t loud, but it landed hard.
Arundhati swallowed. Her legs shifted under the table. One thigh rubbed against the other nervous, irritated, maybe something else. She hated how her body betrayed her.
And he knew.
Of course he knew.
She looked away, picking up her coffee with controlled grace.
He didn’t say anything more. He didn’t need to.
Arundhati took a few seconds before she again turned to him, her fingers lightly circling the rim of her coffee cup. “I’m sorry for last night,” she said.