Page 98 of Lawfully Yours
He didn’t take it.
Instead, he stared at her. “Water can’t calm what’s going on inside me right now,” he replied. “And trust me, Arundhati... you don’t want to know what else might.”
He turned away before she could respond, scrolling through his phone again, leaving her stunned, not just by his words, but by the way he’d said them.
Was that a double meaning again? Or was she reading into everything now?
She was still staring at his back when the doorbell rang.
Kushal muttered something under his breath and went to answer it.
It was the receptionist from earlier, the one who had invited them to the honeymoon couple event.
“Good evening, sir. Just a reminder that the event begins in an hour. Here are your passes.”
Kushal opened his mouth, already shaking his head. “Uh… I don’t think we’ll be able to attend—”
“We’ll be there,” Arundhati interrupted smoothly as she stepped beside him, reaching out to take the passes with a sweet smile. “Thank you.”
The receptionist beamed and walked away.
Arundhati shut the door behind her, turning back to find Kushal watching in disbelief. Of all the things he expected, her agreeing to attend the honeymoon event wasn’t one of them. Not after everything she’d said to him at the temple.
There was still too much heat between them. Too much unsaid. And now, they were heading into a night designed for love and laughter... while standing on a disastrous divorce line.
One spark, and it would all ignite.
She didn’t offer him an explanation. Just met his eyes and said, “I’m just keeping the word I gave them yesterday. Nothing more.” And then she turned to walk back toward her room, but he wasn’t done. His hand shot out, fingers wrapping around her wrist, pulling her to a stop.
He stepped in front of her.
“You can honour a promise you made to strangers,” he said. “People you barely know. People who have no place in your present or future. But you can’t commit to the vows you took with your husband? The ones made before God, before your uncle, before everyone who actually matters?”
His words landed like a slap, but Arundhati didn’t flinch.
“Double standards, Arundhati,” he added bitterly. “That’s what it looks like.”
That did it.
She yanked her wrist free and stepped closer, fire lighting her eyes. “You want to talk about commitment?” she snapped. “Fine.”
She jabbed her finger against his chest. “Those strangers didn’t betray me.Youdid. My husband. My so-called soulmate. The one person I was supposed to trust the most. I lived with you for five months after our wedding, Kushal. And even then, I didn’t really know you. I didn’t know who I had married. I didn’t know that the man sleeping next to me every night was this close to proposing to someone else before I came along.”
He tried to speak, but she cut him off.
“I didn’t know I was a last-minute switch…your safer bet. Your strategic move. Just a ring away from someone else... and you chose me instead of her because I fit better on your path to success.”
Her eyes shimmered, but the tears didn’t fall. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
“So nowyoubetter don’t talk about vows and commitment to me, Kushal,” she added.
Kushal’s patience snapped, too. His gaze hovered over thesindoorstill glistening along the parting of Arundhati’s hair.
“If you’re so done with vows and commitment,” he asked coldly, “why haven’t you wiped that off?”
She stiffened, caught off guard.
He gave a bitter, mocking smirk. “What happened? Couldn’t find the courage to erase it? Or is it easier to carry symbols than to deal with what they actually mean?”
