Chapter 29 #3
Anant nodded gratefully. “Thank you… for today. For fast-tracking this mess. I just hope the court doesn’t buy into that ridiculous alimony figure.”
“Don’t worry,” Kushal said. “We won’t let it happen.”
With that, they walked out. But the moment they stepped through the court doors, reporters swarmed, microphones shoved in their faces, flashbulbs blinding them. Security guards struggled to contain the frenzy, but the barricades couldn’t hold them back.
Arundhati faltered, her files nearly slipping from her grasp as the crowd pressed in.
She couldn’t move forward. In an instant, Kushal reached for her.
His hand closed firmly around hers, pulling her against him.
He cut through the mob with sheer force, shielding her with his body as he carved a path toward his car.
Her heart thudded, not from the chaos, but from the simple, fierce way he held her. Kushal was protective of her even if he wouldn’t say it out loud. His actions did.
By the time they reached his car and slipped past the crowd, Kushal finally let her go. His gaze lingered on her, noticing the restlessness in her eyes, the pale strain on her face. She hadn’t eaten. Not even the sandwiches she had packed this morning.
He opened the driver’s door, pulled out a bottle of water, and thrust it toward her.
“I’m fine,” she whispered, brushing it off.
“I’ll decide that, not you,” he snapped. “Drink it. Then get inside the car.”
His commanding tone would have once driven her mad. But today, it only made her chest ache in a way she couldn’t deny. He cared. And she liked it.
But before she could reply, a familiar, venom-laced voice interrupted them.
It was Kamya who sauntered closer.
“Well, well. I hear the tables have turned. Arundhati doesn’t want the divorce anymore.
” Her smile widened as she shifted her gaze to Kushal.
“But I’m glad you’re not falling for it this time, Kushal.
You finally see the truth, don’t you? That you deserve a strong woman.
One who doesn’t change her mind like the wind.
Someone who actually understands you… supports your dreams. Not someone like her, who only wanted you to step back from leading Verma & Associates. ”
She sighed theatrically, tilting her head. “I’m sad for you. Fifteen months ago, you made the wrong choice.”
That was when Kushal’s patience snapped.
“Who the hell gave you the right to decide about my choices?”
Kamya’s smile didn’t waver.
“You were going to give me every right once, Kushal. Had you not made that wrong choice by marrying her instead?”
Arundhati’s jaw clenched. She didn’t need to decode the barb. Kamya was openly referring to his choice of making Arundhati his wife. The audacity of it made her blood boil. Kamya still wanted what was hers.
Kamya’s eyes flicked deliberately to Arundhati before she looked at Kushal again.
“Honestly, Kushal, I don’t know how you’ve tolerated her this long. That ego of hers, those shifting decisions… one moment she wants you, the next she wants a divorce. It’s pathetic. She doesn’t even know her own mind, and you’ve suffered for it.”
Arundhati’s jaw locked, but she didn’t intrude.
“Open your eyes, Kushal,” Kamya pressed on. “I’m not your enemy. I never was. We were good together. You know that.”
“We were.” Kushal finally cut in.
Kamya’s lips curved into a bold smile. “We still can be.”
For a moment, silence fell like a thunderclap. Arundhati fisted her fingers. The sheer nerve of this woman. It was a proposal for her husband, right there in front of her?
She almost trembled in fury, but before she could speak, Kushal did.
“No, we can’t. Not in this lifetime, Kamya. Not even in the next.”
Kamya flinched at his reply. Even Arundhati hadn’t expected him to strike back so hard, so unflinchingly.
Kushal’s gaze was merciless now as he continued.
“Yes, I made a choice fifteen months ago…whatever the reasons were… but it wasn’t wrong. Do you know what was wrong? That I never openly ended whatever little we had between us in the past. We liked each other, Kamya. I won’t deny it. I almost thought it could be us. But I was wrong.”
He took a step closer. “Because if this…this manipulation, this deceit behind people’s backs…
is the real you, then I thank my stars I never proposed to you.
We would never have lasted. And as for now, no matter what happens between Arundhati and me, you will never have a chance with me. So, stop wasting your time.”
Kamya’s face paled, but he wasn’t finished. His eyes burned as he added, “And one more thing. Watch your mouth when you speak about my wife. I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting her.”
With that, he turned sharply, pulled open his car door, and slid inside. He didn’t look back.
Arundhati who stood frozen, so far, stunned by the intensity of his words, finally regained her composure. She cast Kamya one last glare before slipping into the passenger seat beside her husband.
She had wanted to defend herself. She had wanted to tear Kamya’s arrogance apart piece by piece. But today, it wasn’t her fight to fight. Kushal had done it for her, better than she ever could.