Chapter 27
Raj Verma’s Villa
Arundhati sat curled up on the couch, her knees drawn close, as she kept recalling whatever happened at the courtroom today.
Raj Verma hadn’t let her return to her apartment after court. He had brought her home, knowing she needed him now more than ever. He, too, had tried to call Kushal, after some time, just like she had, but every call rang unanswered. Kushal had shut himself off. Again!
Now, as she sat alone in the living room of her uncle’s villa, once again his words played on repeat in her head.
“Shauk poora ho gaya tumhara? Divorce-divorce khelne ka?”
“Was this all a game for you? Testing how far you could push me, how much I could take before I broke?”
“I was this close to losing my sanity.”
“I won’t keep dancing to your tunes.”
“Love isn’t enough when one person is always breaking and the other is always bleeding.”
“You had all these days to change your mind. But now? It’s too late. Because I’ve already given up.”
Each word tore her open, making her realise just how deeply she had wounded him. And yet, buried beneath all that anger, that still gave her hope. He had said he still loved her.
If he still loved her, then maybe… just maybe, there was still something left to fight for. The only problem was, she didn’t know how to begin.
Raj Verma entered the room, breaking her spiral of thoughts, and held out a steaming cup of coffee. She took it with a faint “thank you.” He sat across from her, watching her silently.
“You… you purposely changed the pen drive, didn’t you?” she asked. “You gave me the wedding videos instead of Anant’s case files.”
Raj didn’t flinch. He sipped his coffee slowly. “I thought you needed a push, Aru. One last push to remind you what was at stake. To make you see clearly what you were about to lose.”
Her breath shuddered as she lowered her gaze.
“But tell me something,” Raj continued gently, “was the pen drive the only reason you took back your decision in court today?”
She shook her head gently, knowing he was right. That wasn’t the only reason.
“The last few weeks,” she began, “ever since Kushal and I started working together on Anant’s case, something in me began to shift.
My walls… they started breaking down. And Dalhousie…
those moments, his proposal, his stubborn determination to win me back, it all chipped away at me.
I don’t know why it took me so long, but my heart…
it realised that it still beat for him. Only him.
..” Her voice cracked as she pressed her palm to her forehead.
“I didn’t know I needed him this much in my life…
not until a few days back, when all his love and attention on me.
And now… now I regret every single day I wasted fighting him, when all I wanted was… him.”
Raj leaned back, a soft sigh leaving his chest. “That’s because you’re a lawyer, Aru.
You come from a family of lawyers. You’ve always thought with logic, with reason, instead of from here—” he tapped his chest, right over his heart.
“But I’m glad that at least now, you listened to it.
You took the right decision at the right time. ”
He paused, studying her closely, before continuing.
“All these months, you weren’t just fighting Kushal in court.
You were waiting. Waiting for his statement, not in front of a judge, but in front of you.
Waiting to know if Kushal truly wanted this marriage for the love that had started blooming between you two…
or for other reasons. You wanted evidence that you mattered to him more than his stake in Verma & Associates as its future leader.
You wanted his proof that he wanted you, and only you, as his partner…
not Kamya, not anyone else. Until you got that testimony from him, you weren’t willing to let your heart change. ”
Arundhati lowered her eyes, his words striking at truths she had buried even from herself.
“But today…” Raj leaned forward slightly, “I see that you’ve chosen to ignore all those conditions. You didn’t demand proof. You didn’t wait for evidence. You gave him a leap of faith instead by denying the divorce.”
He paused, bracing himself for the blow his next words would bring. “Which is why I wanted to tell you something, Aru. Kushal… he has already denied any claim over Verma & Associates as the next spearhead after me.”
Her head shot up. “What?” she whispered. “When?”
Raj nodded gravely. “A few weeks ago, before you two left for Dalhousie, Kushal and I had this talk. And it wasn’t me who brought it up.
It was him. He said he didn’t want to lead Verma & Associates.
Not now, not ever. He told me it should go to you, as my legal heir.
And that he would always be there to support you from behind, if needed…
quietly, without demanding recognition.”
Her heart pounded in disbelief, a fresh storm of tears spilling down her cheeks. Why didn’t he tell me this? Why did he let me believe, all this time, that he was still fighting for the firm, for power, for a future that had nothing to do with us?
“You know, the very reason I chose Kushal for you in the first place… was Verma & Associates.”
Her lashes fluttered, stunned, but he pressed on.
“I always saw a different zeal in him. A fire. The kind of ruthless drive it takes to run a legacy like ours. No doubt, I had the same faith in you, too. But you weren’t ready back then.
You wanted to carve your own name, make your own mark, and I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait before you finally turned toward the family firm.
And I was getting old. I needed someone I could trust to hold our name high.
And at that time, the only person I saw capable, in fact, more than capable, was Kushal. ”
He smiled before continuing.
“I knew he wanted it too. His wins, his strategies… every case he touched turned into gold. He had that wicked brilliance, the kind that frightened opponents and impressed judges. I liked that about him. I trusted that about him.” He paused, eyes clouding with the memory.
“But then… I began hearing whispers. That he and Kamya were growing close. That if things went a certain way, he might even propose to her.”
Arundhati stiffened.
“But you know we lawyers don’t build arguments on whispers. We wait for evidence. And I had none. Only worry. Worry that if Kushal and Kamya ever did become serious, he might walk away from us. From this firm. And Aru, I couldn’t let that happen. Not after placing so much faith in him.”
He shrugged.
“So I thought of you. Of marrying you to him. I know it was wrong. Knowing he might have been growing feelings for another woman, and still considering my niece’s hand as his anchor, was wrong.
But I told myself… if the whispers were true, he’d refuse.
And if they weren’t, he would say yes. That was my test. And to my surprise… he agreed.”
His eyes softened, glistening with regret. “And in that moment, I was happy. Happy that I’d secured the best man for my niece. Even if the way I did it was tainted by my fear of losing him.”
He paused, as if choosing his next words carefully.
“Kushal said yes to marrying you because he respected me too much to deny, Aru. Not because he wanted leverage in Verma and Associates. And after the marriage, he never used it as a weapon for position or power in our firm. Yes, he wanted to rise to the top. Yes, that was his dream, his ambition. But not because he was suddenly a part of the Verma family. Not because of you.”
Arundhati flinched at those words, but Raj continued.
“He wanted it because he knew he was capable. Because he believed he could lead this firm into greater success. And that’s not wrong, Aru. There’s nothing wrong with having ambition. In wanting to prove yourself.” Raj sighed. “But now, look at what he’s done. Look at what he’s given up.”
“All this time,” Raj went on, “you kept using his ambition as the main excuse behind your demand for divorce. Again and again, you threw it in his face that he wanted you only as a ladder, that he wanted the firm more than the marriage. I tried, Aru. I tried to put sense into you for months. But every time I broached that subject, you shut me out. You never listened.”
His eyes softened again, but the sadness in them was still there.
“And yet… today, without even knowing the truth, you took a leap of faith. You chose him. You stood up in that courtroom and told the judge you didn’t want this divorce anymore.
Even without knowing that Kushal had already broken his own dream.
That he had set aside his ambition of leading this firm… for you.”
“Why?” she asked, almost sobbing. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
“He made me promise not to tell you. He said when the time was right, he’d tell you himself that he had backed off from that position.
That you could have it all. Being at the top, leading this firm after I stepped back.
But I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Because if this isn’t the right time, Aru… then when is?”
Arundhati burst into tears. Raj sat next to her and soothed her down.
“But I’m glad it happened this way, Aru.
Had I told you this before today, and then had you stood up in court to cancel your divorce, Kushal would have thought you changed your mind because now he had backed off from leading Verma and associates.
But today… You didn’t know this. And still, you chose him.
Despite these doubts hanging over you, unanswered, you chose the man, not the position. ”
Arundhati’s chest heaved with ragged sobs as she pressed her trembling fingers to her mouth.
Raj stroked her back to calm her down, but soon his expression shifted, the crease of worry deepening on his forehead. “Now all I’m scared about is how we’re going to stop Kushal from leaving on this so-called two-year break of his.”