Lawfully Yours - Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Same Night – Arundhati’s Home
Arundhati paced across her living room, phone pressed to her ear, her brows furrowed as she listened to her junior lawyer, Akash, speak.
“You reminded Kushal about the trial date?” she asked, surprised.
“Yes, Ma’am,” Akash replied. “Just to see his reaction. I mean… to gauge how prepared he is.”
Arundhati rolled her eyes. Typical Akash. He was ambitious, eager to analyze everything, and despite his brilliance, still a bit naïve when it came to handling someone like Kushal Nair.
“And? What did you analyze?” she asked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Well… he wasn’t in a good mood, that’s for sure,” Akash admitted with a chuckle. “Told me not to remind him of his dates again. He actually sounded surprised that the trial is day after tomorrow.”
“Surprised?” she repeated, keeping her tone neutral. Something in her chest fluttered. She ignored it.
“Yes,” Akash said. “Which means he hasn’t been preparing much. That works in our favor, doesn’t it? If he’s unprepared, we have a better shot at presenting all our arguments clearly before the judge.”
Arundhati let out a short, humorless laugh.
“Don’t make the mistake of taking Kushal lightly,” she warned. “He’s the best for a reason. Even if he doesn’t prepare, he’ll still find a way to turn everything in his favor.”
Akash chuckled again.
“What’s so funny?” she snapped.
“It’s just… how can you speak so well about him when you’re about to divorce him?”
Arundhati’s grip on the phone tightened.
“Only because someone is good at something, doesn’t mean they are good at everything. Kushal maybe the best divorce lawyer the country has, but he as a best husband is surely debatable.”
“Ah,” Akash hummed in understanding. “I get it now. Anyway, I won’t take up more of your time, Ma’am. See you tomorrow.”
She muttered a quick goodbye before disconnecting the call and tossed her phone onto the bed.
Her gaze unintentionally drifted toward the mirror at the dressing table.
And then—she saw it. The scar on her forehead.
Faint but still very much there. A reminder of the chaos that had erupted outside Verma & Associates today morning.
Her fingers brushed over it as she recalled Kushal’s voice, cutting through the crowd like a blade.
“How dare you hit her?”
His raw and unforgiving fury as he snapped at those protestors and warned them. Her throat felt dry as he further recalled how his hands had gripped her shoulders, pulling her into his arms, shielding her. That moment, he hadn’t just been her soon-to-be ex-husband. He had been the man who had protected her without a second thought.
She had seen the rage in his eyes—a protectiveness so fierce, so instinctual, it had shaken her.
And worse?
She had felt it.
The way his body had pressed against hers. The way his breath had brushed against her temple, the way his hands had held her as if letting go wasn’t an option.
And for a split second—just a fleeting, forbidden second—her body had remembered.
What it had felt like being this close to him. The five months they had lived together as husband and wife. The times when he had walked past her after a shower, his hair damp, droplets still clinging to the sharp edges of his jaw. The scent of his aftershave, dark and rich, would linger in the air, messing with her focus when she was buried in case files.
And the kisses.
The ones that had left her heart slamming against her ribs, the ones that had made her question everything she thought she knew about their marriage.
Kisses that lingered even after he had pulled away.
She inhaled sharply, shoving those thoughts away.
No.
She was angry at herself.
Angry that amidst all the chaos, amidst the protestors, the courtroom battles, and the fight to end this marriage, her mind had still betrayed her—dragging her back to a past she wanted to forget.