Chapter 34
Kushal’s Penthouse
As the morning light streamed through the half-drawn curtains, Arundhati stirred first. She was snuggled in the warm cage of Kushal’s arms, her cheek pressed against his chest. For a long, stolen moment, she didn’t move.
After all those months of separation, she had finally been waking up to this… them together on one bed.
Kushal murmured something incoherent against her hair, tightening his hold and gliding his palm lazily over her waist.
“Stay.” His morning voice was thick from sleep.
She smiled, wanting the same. To stay in his arms forever. Only if they had that liberty. “We have work, Mr. Nair,” she whispered.
His lips brushed the top of her shoulder as he pulled her closer again. “Let’s call in sick.”
She laughed before rolling onto her back, meeting his sleepy gaze. “Call in sick? And do what exactly?”
Kushal opened his eyes, almost grinning as his lips descended towards her cleavage. She stopped him and cupped his face.
“I’d served myself in a platter for you last night, and what had Mr. Nair done? He said - Not tonight.”
Kushal frowned as she continued to tease him.
“You wasted your chance last night,” she said, tracing a finger down his jaw. “Now you have to wait until tonight.”
His eyes darkened instantly, the way they always did when she challenged him. “That wait doesn’t include kissing my wife. I can kiss her whenever I want to.”
“No,” she replied sweetly, slipping out from under the duvet. The sheet slid off her body as she sat up, adjusting the thin straps of her spaghetti top before standing.
He propped himself on one elbow, watching her walk to the bathroom…bare feet, messy hair, skin glowing with sleep. Every tiny movement of hers tested his restraint.
From inside, her voice floated out. “What do you want for breakfast?”
“Nothing,” he replied, already throwing the sheet aside and getting up. “I’ve got an early meeting with a client. No time for even coffee.”
She peeked from the bathroom door, arching a brow. “You’re really going to walk out without coffee after a night like that?”
He smiled, heading to the closet to fetch his clothes. “If I stay for coffee, I’ll never make it out that door.”
And with that, he took out an ivory suit with his watch, wallet, and phone, pausing just long enough to glance at her reflection in the mirror. “And stop looking at me like that unless you want me to come in.”
Her lips curved in that lazy smile before she shut the bathroom door again.
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Verma and Associates office – Afternoon
Kushal was in the middle of a discussion with Raj Verma, his tone was serious and all business, until he saw her.
Through the glass walls of his cabin, he saw Arundhati draped in an ivory saree with a maroon lace border today. Since they hadn’t come to work together, he had no clue she planned a saree again. For a moment, Kushal forgot his words entirely, his sentence hanging midair as his gaze followed her.
What was it with Arundhati and sarees these days? She’d been wearing them far too often… and always when he was around. She knew exactly what she was doing. If she kept showing up like this, how the hell was he supposed to focus on clients or case discussions?
The Sindoor in her hair partition gleamed under the office lights, reminding the world that she was still his wife and would always be.
She stood across the floor, talking to Akash.
And then, just as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she fluffed her waves and laughed at something Akash said.
The motion was so casual, so devastatingly feminine, that Kushal reached for a sealed bottle of water on his desk.
He was almost going to pick it up to quench his thirst, but he stopped recalling something.
That’s when Arundhati looked right at him, through the transparent glass walls of his cabin. That teasing, knowing smile curved her lips, the one that said, I know exactly what I’m doing to you, and you can’t even hide it.
Raj Verma cleared his throat pointedly, yanking Kushal out of his trance.
“So… should I come back later, or do we finish discussing the case?” he asked with a grin.
Kushal blinked and rubbed the back of his neck as he muttered, “Sorry, Sir… but your niece and my wife is really giving me a hard time these days.”
Raj chuckled. “I thought things were settling down between you two.”
“They are,” Kushal admitted, exhaling deeply. “Which reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about that break I mentioned before.”
Now Raj’s brows lifted. “The break? I thought you decided not to take one anymore.”
Kushal smirked. “Not for two years, no. But I’m taking for two months.”
Although Raj was pleased to hear Kushal had trimmed his long sabbatical down to just two months, he couldn’t quite resist asking him what his plan was.
“Two months?” Raj leaned back in his chair, clearly intrigued.
“Yes. I’m taking Arundhati away for a proper honeymoon, something we’d never had the chance to experience before.”
Raj’s face broke into a wide smile at that, clearly delighted by the thought, but his mischievous streak surfaced soon enough.
“Two months? Hmm. I’ve seen people take two weeks for a honeymoon, not two months. Don’t you think that’s a little… extravagant?”
Kushal’s lips curved, his eyes flickering back to the glass wall where Arundhati was now talking to another associate. “Maybe,” he said smoothly, “but our case is exceptional. After what we’ve survived, two weeks won’t even cover cross-examination.”
Raj laughed, shaking his head. “Still arguing your way into everything, huh? Like a true counsellor.”
Kushal grinned. “Always, but this time I plan to win without objections.”
The two men shared a hearty chuckle, the kind that only came when everything in life finally seemed to be falling into place.
“Does Aru know about this ‘honeymoon’ plan?”
“Not yet,” he replied, adjusting his cufflinks. “But I don’t think she’ll object. We’ll work out client schedules, shuffle court appearances, and make sure nothing gets affected here before we finalise anything.”
Raj nodded approvingly. “Good. I’m happy. I really prayed for this. For both of you to find your way back. Seems like it’s finally happening.”
Kushal smiled faintly, but his gaze had already drifted again to his wife. She was still outside, her hand brushing her hair back as she leaned to speak to a paralegal. The sight alone was enough to make his chest tighten.
Yes, he thought, as his lips curved into a sweet smile.
He had manifested this, too. With his Aru. Only her.
****************
The moment Kushal’s meeting with Raj Verma wrapped up, he walked out of the cabin and spotted her across the hall, still standing with Akash and a few juniors, laughing lightly at something.
He didn’t move closer, just called out her name.
“Arundhati.”
She turned, slightly startled. The moment her eyes found him across the hall, she saw the unmistakable desire simmering in his gaze as he took her in, standing there in yet another saree. Maroon was his weakness. She knew it, and from the look in his eyes, so did he.
Every pair of eyes on that floor turned discreetly toward them. They were, after all, the firm’s most admired lawyers, whose courtroom chemistry was now spilling beyond the bench.
Kushal gestured slightly. “Come to my cabin. It’s urgent.”
Her brows rose. She literally had to hide her smile before nodding and excusing herself from her team.
He was waiting at the door when she reached, holding it open for her. Gentleman, colleague, husband… she never quite knew which version of him she was dealing with, at times when they were here at the firm.
As she stepped inside, he followed, closing the door behind them and led her towards the couch, where the glass walls didn’t cover that area, unlike his work desk. No one from outside the cabin could see them here.
Before she could even turn, she felt his breath warm at her neck. He was about to hug her from behind.
“Kushal…” she said, as he leaned closer.
“Relax,” he murmured. “No one’s watching. And even if they are, let them see how a man looks at his wife when she wears a saree like this.”
His arm slid forward, almost brushing her waist, as she spun around, “Behave,” she whispered. “We are at the office.”
He gave her that slow, devastating smile that melted all her rules. “Office or not, Mrs. Nair, you’re always a distraction for your husband.”
He reached out again, this time catching a loose strand of her hair between his fingers, letting it trail over her shoulder before tucking it behind her ear. The touch was featherlight, but it scorched her skin.
“Give me something to survive until tonight,” he demanded.
She tilted up on her toes and her lips pressed on his cheek softly into a quick, teasing kiss. “That’s all you get in the office, Mr. Nair.”
His lips hovered by her ear. “Fine,” he whispered. “I’ll take the rest at night… with interest.”
As soon as his words grazed her ear, Arundhati knew she had to escape before she completely lost her composure. She turned abruptly, reaching for the desk and picking a random one before turning to him again.
“Taking this along to prove we weren’t just burning office hours. Because unlike you, I have no interest in giving our juniors fresh gossip for lunch,” she teased. “See you at home around 07:00, and don’t be late.”
He smirked, clearly enjoying her quick wit as much as her quick retreat.
Every head that had turned toward the cabin when she’d gone in was now watching as she emerged, holding a file in her hands.
No matter how composed she tried to appear, their staff wasn’t na?ve.
Everyone could guess what might happen behind closed doors, especially between the couple rumoured to be rekindling a marriage that once seemed beyond repair.
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Kushal’s Penthouse