"Sir, you had asked me to find information about our client Madhuri's husband," said Avantika, tapping the file on her outstretched palm. Arjun continued to scan through the files and scribbling at the corners but acknowledged her with a curt nod.

"I've found something that could be a game-changer for our case," Avantika continued. She placed the file on top of the others Arjun was examining, capturing his attention. Arjun shot her an incredulous look before focusing on the photo within the file. The image depicted a nervous Sameer entering a bar, and judging by the sparse traffic in the image, Arjun deduced it was taken late at night.

Arjun reclined in his chair, resting his chin on his elbow. "What does this add to the equation? We're already aware that he's a regular drinker."

Avantika braced herself with a sharp intake of air. "It's a bar meant for gay men, Sir."

The corners of Arjun's eyes tightened, and his lower jaw dropped away from his upper jaw. "Could it be a mistake? Maybe he didn't know it is meant it for gay men," he asked.

Avantika shook her head from side to side and showed the next picture in the series. In the snap was a tall and burly man, who appeared to be in his late twenties. "We spoke to the bartender. The husband was in a relationship with this man. They broke up a few months ago, and the breakup was quite messy."

Arjun puffed a vexed sigh. He eyed the images without uttering a word with his jaw clenched. He ran his fingers over his tensed forehead. "So, should we assume his mother forced him into this marriage to hide his sexual orientation?"

"It seems that way. He's been visiting that bar for nearly five years, predating his marriage to Madhuri. It appears to be a desperate move by his mother to sweep this under the rug."

Arjun nodded, immersed in thoughts. "If she thought the marriage is some sort of cure, it makes sense she found someone from a distant village to wed her son."

Avantika hummed in reply, drumming her fingers against the desk. "But, from what I know, they don't consummate such marriages. How did she contract the infection then?" he asked, turning towards his assistant with his eyebrows approximating in agitation.

"Do you think she cheated on him?" asked Avantika, arching her eyebrows at her boss and resting the angle of her mandible on the right side against her fingers.

Arjun picked up the paperweight from the table and toyed with it with the fingers of his left hand. "It's a possibility. Abuse can act as a catalyst for an extramarital affair, and her suicide attempt could be because of her guilt."

Arjun leaned back into his chair with his lips parted in contemplation. "The other explanation is, the mother-in-law forced them, because she wanted them to have children. I want you to find out what it is." Avantika nodded in understanding. "Talk to her and inform me of the findings. The case could turn into a chaotic maze if she cheated on him."

Collecting her belongings from across the desk, Avantika prepared to leave Arjun's office. With a curt nod, she exited, leaving Arjun to grapple with his exasperation. He had initially anticipated a straightforward case, but with each new and unexpected revelation, he was growing increasingly convinced that the case wouldn't be as simple as he'd hoped.

His thoughts turned to Madhuri - a young woman with a quiet demeanor and timid eyes. He wondered if she had engaged in a romance outside her marriage. Both the motive and opportunity seemed dubious, but his years of experience as a lawyer had taught him to never dismiss any possibility outright.

Arjun felt certain that Madhuri's naivete and fearful gaze could sway the judge, but if their suspicions of an affair proved true, those very traits could work against her. The defense would ruthlessly exploit her vulnerability, and he could almost envision the pain flickering in her eyes and the quiver of her lips as she stifled her tears.

He swallowed the lump at his throat, which had formed after his imagination of her reaction to the adulterous allegations from the defense. He blinked his eyes and gazed out of the window behind him. His assistant had boarded her Wagon-R and he could only hope the information she brought along would sever the thread of worry tying him with his client.

____________________________________________________________

"Bedroom life?" Madhuri asked with widened eyes and a crimson hue danced on her warm cheeks. She averted her eyes from the advocate and shifted in her plastic chair, adjusting the dupatta over her shoulder. "W-Why?" she asked.

Avantika maintained a composed smile, though her crimson-orange lips looked anything but natural. "The defense might argue that your bedroom life was unsatisfactory and that it might have led to infidelity. We need to be prepared for that possibility."

Madhuri blinked at the young advocate with a blank expression before realization struck her and her eyes widened. "T-they will talk about... about such things in the court?" she asked, intertwining her trembling fingers with each other.

Understanding Madhuri's palpable fear, Avantika nodded sympathetically. She had witnessed victims beg their lawyers to drop cases after brutal interrogations by the defense, while culprits crumbled under the relentless pressure, often confessing to their crimes.

"It does sound intimidating, I know. But defense lawyers will stop at nothing to win their case. You'll need to brace yourself and be ready to leave everything that happens inside the courtroom, right there, once you step out," Avantika advised.

Madhuri stared at the woman with glistening eyes without uttering a word, but the quivering of her lips had said it all. "Now, about your bedroom life. I know it is a personal question, but I would not ask if it was unnecessary."

Madhuri nodded at the woman after shutting her eyes for a moment. "We did it... every night."

Avantika hummed as she scratched against her notepad. "Except those days of the month, of course."

Avantika nodded at her and offered her a slight smile. "When was your first time?" she asked.

Madhuri played with her dupatta in her lap and let out an exasperated sigh. "Four months after the marriage."

Avantika arched her eyebrow. "Did you delay it to understand each other better before being intimate with each other?"

Madhuri shot her an incredulous stare and Avantika knew the answer bore no resemblance to her assumption. "No. He did not seem interested till one night, around four months after our marriage. We shared the bed before that as well, but he would sleep away from me."

Avantika scribbled in her notepad, nodding at the woman across from her. "You said you had s-, did it every night, so would both of you enjoy it?"

Madhuri's eyebrows furrowed, her lips parting in surprise. "Enjoy? What's there to enjoy? He would tell me, and, uh, we would just do it."

Avantika almost dropped her pen upon hearing Madhuri's response and comprehending the implications. "So, you never desired it for yourself?" she probed gently.

Madhuri stared at the woman in formals with a mixture of shock and confusion. She could not wrap her head around the questions asked by the woman, or the relevance of the questions posed to her.

"Why would I want it? I am not that kind of woman! It... it was my duty, and I just did it. That's it!" she said.

The case had just turned more convoluted than any of them had expected, and the only thing Avantika could do was rest her forehead against her palm as she felt the familiar throb of a tension headache take over her.