"Madhuri made it to the top ten in her college!" Aditya exclaimed, his grin reaching from ear to ear. Anupriya's expression shifted from near-squeals to a warm bear hug for her stunned friend.

Anupriya's parents had found the courage to turn a deaf ear to naysayers in their neighborhood and visit their daughter and grandson, especially since their son-in-law had landed his super-speciality seat thousands of miles away in Bengaluru. They, too, had pride and joy swirling in their eyes.

"I knew you'd do amazing, Madhuri! Top ten out of eighty-seven from your college is superb!" she said, cupping Madhuri's face. A smile broke out on Madhuri's lips as she processed the information and stepped out of her disbelief.

Completing the first half of her bachelor's in education with results beyond her expectations, Madhuri allowed gratitude to wash over her and a sense of pride to swell in her heart. Unlike before, she acknowledged the hard work she'd put in and the effort she'd invested in her studies.

She had burned the midnight oil and forsaken the luxury of sleep for days leading to her exam, and she knew it would be a travesty to attribute her improvement and position in class to a stroke of sheer luck.

"I'll go inform Vartika Di! She'd be more than happy to hear the news," said Madhuri, beaming at her friend and brother before she walked into her room to make the call.

"Will you inform Bhai Sahab and Bhabhi?" asked Anupriya's mother in a tentative tone when Madhuri's voice boomed from her room, ensuring she could not hear their conversation.

Aditya's smile turned into a scowl at the mention of his parents. "She's relishing life after years, Kaki. Not only will they wrench that bliss from her, but they'll also try to take away the credit from her and to themselves. It's best they remain away from ear's reach."

The parents' nose crinkled, but they did not wish to earn the disapproval of the children or spoil their moment and chose silence. A tiny part of their heart rejoiced that they did not have to suffer the fate of being at the receiving edge of such a punishment from their children.

_______________________________________________

"Is your client settling to move on or are they aware their case won't hold up in court?" asked Lalit, carefully masking his intent to negotiate a better deal for his client.

Arjun let out a slight drawl and a smirk danced on his lips, "Advocate Sinha, I hope you're not implying that you're incompetent enough to believe your client stands a chance."

"However, both of us know how long these proceedings can go on for, and I know this will deprive you of the pleasure of dragging on the case to extort more money from your clients, but my client wants peace. Ask your client to plead guilty for domestic violence and I'll remove the charges of fraud and blackmail."

"Fraud and blackmail? When did my client supposedly commit those?" Lalit's confusion was evident. "Ah, so you're admitting your client subjected mine to domestic violence? Just remember, this conversation is being recorded," Arjun retorted with an undertone of amusement in his voice.

Desperation began to color Lalit Sinha's expression. "Why don't you enlighten me about your sudden interest in Pro Bono cases, Advocate Malhotra? Is it because my client knows the truth about your involvement with Madhuri Shukla?"

Every hint of amusement vanished from Arjun's face and the muscle at his jaw twitched, but the sight of the mic compelled him to rein his tongue and tie his hands.

"I could file a defamation case for your disgusting implication, Advocate Sinha, but since the concept appears quite normal to you, I must ask this: are you defending Jaya Shukla because you are in a relationship with her son?"

Lalit blanched at Arjun's words, and the exposure of whites above and below his eyeball revealed Lalit did not know what was going on. Arjun dug into his file and pulled out a few pages from the middle.

"Here's a signed statement from Rahul, Sameer Shukla's partner, confessing that Jaya Shukla hurriedly married off her son to a woman from a non-urban background in order to conceal his sexual orientation," he said, sliding the first page across the desk. Beads of sweat appeared on Lalit's forehead despite the ceiling fan's highest setting.

"And here's evidence that Sameer Shukla suffered from sexually transmitted diseases and sub-fertility, with both mother and son being aware. Yet your client abused, assaulted, and expelled mine from their shared home when she was diagnosed with Gonorrhea and Trichomoniasis."

He had to mount a defense and could not go down without a fight, thought Lalit. "H-how did you obtain those? We can dismiss those... those reports as 'fruit of poisonous tree'. How did you even obtain those confidential reports?"

A triumphant smile graced Arjun's lips as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. "Madhuri Shukla was Sameer Shukla's wife when she received those reports, along with her own. In fact, these reports were what motivated her to file for divorce. Truth be told, I believe I can also press charges of criminal conspiracy against your client. What do you think?"

Lalit swallowed the lump that had formed at his throat as he realized they did not have a way to escape from the maze that was the brainchild of Advocate Arjun Malhotra. Far be it for Advocate Lalit Sinha to choose the hard path, and he conceded without an ounce of worry or remorse in his mind.

"I'll let my client know that this is the least sentence they can get," he said, with a fake smile stretched on his lips, stained with nicotine.

Arjun's smirk deepened and a victorious glint gleamed in his eyes. He had secured what his client had desired, and there was nothing that came close to the surreal satisfaction of the realization.

Next part will be the last part of the story, and it has been an inexplicably wonderful journey write this story and journey of Madhuri and Arjun. They have grown by leaps and bounds since the story began, and writing this story helped me as well, to be more accepting of sensitivity as an asset. I'll save the rest of my speech for the last part ;)