Soumen stayed for dinner but left immediately afterwards. While Soumen was there Kirti was too excited, continuously arguing with him that she should be allowed to sit in the passenger seat of his car when there was no other adult around. But after he left, she fell asleep quickly.

“I envy you so much,” Karishma told Siddhartha when she came out after putting Kirti to sleep in the bedroom.

“What for?”

“Your family. How you look out for each other. It couldn’t be easy for him, but for your sake, even Soumen is so sweet to me.”

“You don’t need to be envious. My family is yours for taking. They all love you.”

“And that is you being generous and sweet.”

“No, Karishma. And while we are on the topic, I would like you to meet Baba.”

“I have met him.”

“I know. But not like that.”

She sighed, “I suppose, I have to. But that does make me nervous.”

“I have already told him about you.”

“And? What did he say?”

“Two things. One: So, you aren’t marrying Kalindi? And two: I thought Sonu was going to marry Karishma.”

“Oh God!” she hid her face behind her hands.

Laughing, Siddhartha pulled her hands away, “He is really excited. You must know. He was impressed with you the very first time he met you at the hospital.”

“And he doesn’t mind my… baggage?”

“There is no baggage, Karishma. There is a very sweet child, who has managed to bewitch my useless brother and almost make him responsible.”

“She is so lucky to have you. And so am I.”

Siddhartha laughed again, “And in case you haven’t noticed, so am I. To have both of you.”

He pulled her in a hug and then said, “I should leave now.”

She felt disappointed. She had hoped that he would stay. But she couldn’t tell him that. Outwardly she nodded and tried hard to hide her disappointment behind her smile. As Siddhartha made his way towards the door, however, she could not restrain herself.

“Siddhartha, wait!” she called after him and then ran to him. Throwing her arms around him, she tiptoed up and pressed her lips to his. She withdrew quickly because she realized that she had caught him by surprise. But he returned the favor immediately and she was more than ready to receive it.

“Karishma,” he said, his voice hoarse, “I want to stay. But we need to take some time. And there are some legal issues–”

“Legal issues?” Was he losing it? What legal issues could come in the way of two lovers spending a night together?

“That sounded weird,” he spoke, slightly amused and sounding more normal this time, “But this isn’t the time. We will talk tomorrow.”

—

“Actually, we can’t talk today at all,” he told her in the five minutes he could squeeze in between his meetings the next day, “The meetings had been cancelled at the last minute for my trip; so now I must catch up on all of them. But tomorrow we will sit down with the lawyers. Meanwhile, you should relax and not try to take on Vikram or the divorce issue by yourself.”

“Okay, boss. And when you are buried neck deep in work, you shouldn’t worry about me.”

“No, Karishma. That isn’t an advice I am going to take. I have to manage time. But I am not going to deprioritize you.”

Goosebumps rose all over her body. If they had been someplace more private than the office, she wouldn’t have waited for him to take the initiative, but dragged him to the bed herself.

Presently all she could do was nod, while her eyes conveyed to him just how much she appreciated his priorities!

After he finished his last call for the day and made to leave, he noticed that Karishma was still in her office. He went in. She was feeding Kirti her dinner. Soumen was not there in the office.

“Why are you still here?” he asked.

“Oh! When did you come?” she was startled.

“I was about to leave, when I realized you were still here. Has Soumen left you behind with some work?  Where is he?”

She smiled, “No. He hasn’t left me with any work that can’t wait until tomorrow. I was just waiting to wish you good night before leaving.”

He came closer and said, “And I think you just stole whatever piece of my heart was still remaining.”

“That was straight out of a corny Bollywood movie, Mr. Sen. I didn’t think you were into them.”

“Well – why not? Shall we go to a movie this weekend?”

“Umm – actually I will have to check my schedule–” But before he could, she herself started laughing.

“You need to get your priorities right, Miss. Come on, let’s go. I will drop you.”

“No. You must be so tired. I will take a taxi.”

“You weren’t the only one hoping to squeeze in some time together, Karishma. Besides, have you eaten?”

She shook her head.

“Nor have I.”

—

The meeting with the lawyers had left Karishma baffled and slightly jittery. She gulped down a glass of water after they left. Siddhartha waited patiently, sitting behind his table, resisting the urge to go close to her. He waited for her to digest all the information and voice her concerns.

“What you have gone through,” one of the lawyers had said, “Is a clear case of abuse. If you want to go for it, we could push for 498a against your husband.”

But she only wanted a divorce. As quick and as hassle-free as possible. “Looks like he doesn’t realize what danger he is in if we were to use 498a. We should try to persuade him for mutual consent divorce after making him aware of this.”

Then they had given her a piece of info that she hadn’t seen coming at all. That they needed to be careful of their own relationship, because while she was married, any sexual relationship between them could lead to the charges of a criminal offense.

“Having sex is illegal?” she had blurted.

“Having sex with a married woman is a criminal offense on part of the man.”

“But not on part of the woman?”

The lawyer had chuckled, “Many people say that the law discriminates against men. But the law is more patriarchal than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Basically, all this law concerns itself with is that a married man has the exclusive right to the sexual favors of his wife. So, even if the wife has consented to the sex with another man, it is a violation of the husband’s right. Hence the man committing adultery is guilty.”

“But wife has no such right over the husband. Hence the woman committing adultery with a married woman’s husband is not guilty.”

“Right. A married woman is her husband’s property. Not the other way around.”

“Wow!”

Presently, she asked Siddhartha, “So you knew about this criminal offense thing? Is that why you were talking about legal issues?”

He gave a sheepish smile and nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It was weird. So, it was best that a lawyer explained it. And it would have been a perfect romance killer in pretty much any conversation.”

“How did you know, though?”

“I wish you wouldn’t ask that.”

“Why?”

His smile was sheepish again. “The answer isn’t exactly romantic.”

Her brows furrowed for a moment, and then she asked, “You researched well in advance, didn’t you? When?”

“Before ever proposing to you.”

She shook her head and then started laughing. “I should have known. You won’t jump into anything unprepared.”

“Well–” he shrugged, looking embarrassed, but not wanting to admit it.

“And you may think it is not romantic. But it is incredibly so. May be that means that my definition of romance is screwed up. But I guess I am more convinced than ever that I can depend on you.”

He leaned forward on the table and said, “And looks like I don’t have to be apologetic about not being an impulsively romantic lover.”

“Not at all.”

Grinning at that, he took out a few papers from his drawer, “Then, as the lawyers suggested, we should also sign this rental agreement for the apartment.”

“You already had it made? When?”

“I wanted to make sure it was stamped on the day you came to live there. So, I arranged for it to be printed and stamped.”

“When you were driving your father over–”

“It was just a phone call to a lawyer, Karishma.”

“Let me sign it before I find out something else you have already thought through and swoon.”

He chuckled and pushed the papers he had already signed towards her.

“And tell the lawyers,” she said after signing all the pages, “That I don’t care if they go after him with a murder charge, I just want my divorce quickly.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

“And tell me if you have already taken care of this too, but we need to hire a babysitter or a nanny for Kirti.”

He chuckled, “No. I haven’t taken care of that. And I don’t even know how to. Will you speak to Mrinal? He should have the right contacts.”

“Will do.”

—

Karishma was having dinner with Siddhartha and his father. Soumen was out of town for the wedding of one of his friends. Siddhartha broke the news to his father, “Baba. The divorce has come through.”

“That’s great! Congratulations, Karishma. I know it hasn’t been easy for you. But you pulled through.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sen.”

“Ah, that! I hope you two are getting married soon now.”

“Soon, Baba.” Siddhartha spoke unhesitatingly.

“So, sweetheart,” the old man turned towards Karishma, “It would help if you started practicing calling me Baba.”

Karishma blushed hard, but replied, “Gladly.” She added after a pause, “Baba.”

Siddhartha came with her to the apartment after dinner.

“Baba was saying that we should talk to your parents too. And he should also meet them,” he told Karishma.

She sighed, “Give me some time. I want to savor my freedom before they try to disparage it.”

“I don’t care, Karishma, if you never tell them. The only reason I suggest it is because if they can be reconciled with the idea, you would be at peace. So, it’s totally your decision. Remember that whatever you decide to do, I will be by your side.”

“I know. That is one thing I have come to depend on.”

“What?”

“You being on my side.”

Siddhartha shot a quick glance at Kirti, who was fast asleep in the baby cot Siddhartha had gotten installed for her. Then he cupped Karishma’s face and kissed her passionately.

“Some of my clothes are still in that cupboard, aren’t they? At least a night dress?” he said, holding her close.

“Yes!” she hissed.

“Good. Because there is no criminal case staring at my any longer.”

“Isn’t there supposed to be a waiting period?”

“For a wedding. Not for making love.”

“I see.”

“You will,” he said as he led her to the bed.

– The End –