One evening after work, Maahi drove over to an address Parth had texted her earlier in the day with the message asking her to meet him there for something important. She had texted back asking what was important but he'd said it was better to tell her face to face. Now, from earlier conversations, she already knew Arjun was going to return today. She put two and two together and figured that whatever Arjun had found, Parth must have seen.

Inhaling deeply, readying herself to brace whatever reality waited for her behind the door, she rang the doorbell. When a female answered the door, she spoke in confusion, "Uh, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong..."

Sanam shook her head, opening the door wider and welcoming her in, "You must be Maahi?"

"Yes."

Sanam introduced herself, "I'm Sanam. Arjun and Parth are both inside. Come in."

Maahi recalled the familiar name and that she was Esha's older sister and Arjun's wife. Walking inside, she commented. "Ah, yes. Esha had shown me a picture of you. Sorry, I didn't recognize you."

Sanam smiled at her kindly, not at all offended for she wasn't the best with recalling faces either, "Oh, no worries. We're technically meeting for the first time, after all."

Turning at the end of the narrow hallway, they found themselves in the living room. Arjun and Parth were seated on a couch reading something in a file. Sanam chuckled and informed Maahi in a quiet voice, "These two have a bad habit of remembering that there is a world around them when they get sucked into work-mode."

Maahi smiled back on learning that about Parth but it was polite. Right now, the anxiety of learning about the proof against Sonu was overwhelming her on the inside. There was a feeling of 'wanting to simply get it over with' running deep in her veins.

Sanam cleared her throat to get their attention, "Ahem, guys?"

Parth said in response to Arjun, continuing their conversation in a hushed voice, "No, but see..."

Sanam exclaimed shaking her head, "Arjun!"

This time, Arjun did answer for she had raised her voice, "Yeah, sweetheart. Just a sec."

She let out a sigh for even though she wanted to reprimand him for not paying attention around him, that word he used on her always got her to calm down. "Alright. Well, just to let you know: Maahi is here."

Instantly, their heads snapped up. feeling slightly awkward under their gaze, Maahi did a little wave of greeting. "Hi."

Parth looked at his wrist watch and realized it was indeed evening. "Oh."

Sanam placed her hand on Maahi's shoulder, inviting her to walk into the room. "Come, have a seat. Can I get you some water?"

Parth advised, "She is going to need something stronger."

Maahi looked at him and the concern in his eyes that she could feel for her. Given how cryptic he had been in messages to not tell her anything, she didn't doubt his words. Just finding out about her grandmother's scheming had taken a toll on her and he knew that. She braced herself for something that could be far more disturbing.

Since Sanam was looking at her for confirmation, Maahi said, "I guess I will."

Arjun stood up, "I'll get it."

Sanam teased him almost in hope to somewhere lighten the moment, "I do know my alcohol's now, Arjun."

Her point? There was a time no more than a couple years ago when she did not even drink. Since then, she had dabbled to find her drink and in the process, Arjun had taught her which drinks were softer, lower in alcohol content and which were higher.

That did not mean she could remember, however. Arjun returned her teasing look, "Sure you do, but I'm not taking any chances."

As he passed by her, he pecked her temple lovingly while she swatted his shoulder in a quiet mutter that Maahi didn't catch. Her attention was solely on the love she could spot even after only observing the smallest of interaction in less than a minute.

She wondered, had there ever been a time when even for a second, a third person could have looked at her and Sonu and said the same thing? No - she had her answer the question her brain asked the question.

She blinked away from them, reminding herself of her decision to not allow her past with Sonu make her bitter and sad. Then, she walked up to the second couch and sat, followed by Sanam. Resting her purse beside her, she looked up at Parth who had keep a keen eye on her... observing what she was observing.

Seconds later, Arjun walked back with the necessary drinks and two glasses. As he placed them on the table, Sanam stood up. "Alright, I'll grab my purse."

Maahi asked, "Are you going somewhere?" It was then that she noticed Sanam was dressed up. how could she have missed that? Oh, yes. She was preoccupied with her worries for what was to come.

Sanam answered running her hands down her dress, "Yes, Arjun is making it up to me for missing our anniversary."

Arjun added, "Besides, it's better the two of you talk without our presence to make things awkward unnecessarily."

Maahi nodded for she could understand that. It was nice of Sanam and Arjun to have made their own plans for she did not know if she would have been able to react openly in front of those two. Even if they were two of the closest people to Parth, they were still strangers to them. Standing up, she offered her hand to Arjun. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, really. And I feel really bad you missed your anniversary because of me."

Arjun smiled back at her, taking her hand and lessening the formality, "Ah, come on, anything for friends, Maahi."

Sanam added, "And Parth here is family. We'd miss a hundred celebrations if need be."

Maahi could feel that Sanam and Arjun weren't just saying that but actually meant it as well. It seemed to help lessen her guilt for pulling them into her tricky divorce.

Sanam took a step forward to give Maahi a quick hug. She didn't need to say anything for Maahi to understand the reason behind the affection. It was one woman silently communicating that she could feel what the other was going through. It was one woman giving other the hope that things would soon take a turn for the better and support to stand tall.

Maahi whispered when parting, "Thank you."

Sanam smiled in return that Maahi caught everything she wordlessly expressed before looking at Arjun to communicate something for which he replied in a nod. She left to walk further into the house towards the rooms.

Arjun turned to Parth, who stood up to bid his friend with a pat on the back. He said to Sanam, "I hope we'll meet again under better circumstances."

Maahi answered with a small smile, "I'll look forward to that." Just knowing the couple for short few minutes, she knew she wouldn't mind meeting them again in the future if given the chance.

Soon, the two left and Parth and Maahi were left to look at each other. Maahi, waiting, and Parth, searching for a way to tell her what he knew. He knew it would devastate her and he wasn't quite jumping on that idea.

Maahi sat down on the seat previously occupied by Arjun and asked, "Okay, just say it and get it over with. I already know it's nothing good."

Parth exhaled taking a seat beside her, "No, it's not. The only good thing from it would be that it guarantees your divorce."

She nodded, swallowing harshly and trying to maintain an equilibrium in her emotions. "Then that's all that matters."

Parth recalled a time when she had asked him to not sugarcoat things and hide things from because she was strong and she could take it. and yet, he had seen her fall out. He had seen the extent to which Sonu had left her emotionally scarred with his various forms of abuse.

Still, having no choice for it was inevitable, he lifted a second file - not the other he and Arjun had been reading when Maahi had arrived - and forwarded it to Maahi for her to read the evidence herself.

The second her eyes skimmed over the page, she sucked in a breath full of rage. "That bastard."

"Maahi..."

When he tried to reach out to her, she blocked his advance by raising her hand in a stop signal, emotionally pulling away. "No, Parth. Don't you dare tell me to calm down or anything along the lines."

She dropped the file on the table, not caring to be subtle with her anger. There were a choice few words that she muttered under her breath in reaction to the news.

When he saw her advance towards the bottle Arjun had left on the table, he stopped her midway by taking her hands in his and kneeling in front of her in the small space between her knees and the table behind him. "Maahi, I won't tell you to not react this strongly because you are right to feel this anger. He betrayed you in more ways than one. He disrespected you and you have no idea how badly that makes me want to beat the shit out of him. I know... there is nothing I can say to take away even an ounce of what you must be feeling right now but promise me you won't internalize all of this by drinking away."

She let out a scoff even as hot tears trailed down her cheek. Tugging her hands out of his with some energy she managed to muster, she answered. "Internalize, my foot. I know better than to even let the thought 'I must be at fault somewhere' cross my mind. But I am mad at myself that I let him get to me. To think that at point, I had made efforts to try and save my marriage. And for what? For who? I am pissed that I gave him everything I could when he deserved none of it! I..." her voice started to break under her sobs, "I c-compromised everything I believed in f-for that sick son of a..."

Parth reached up on his knees to wrap his arms around her and this time, she didn't fight him. dropping her forehead on his shoulder, she hid her face in his embrace. He rubbed her back soothingly, his other hand at the back of her head, as he himself blinked furiously and clenched his jaw to not break a tear. Seeing her condition, his heart was in twists. He hated seeing this aftereffect of what Sonu had done to her.

So far, Maahi had fought sticks and stones to keep her head high and be strong. She had not let herself crumble after that night a couple months ago when she first decided it was time to get a divorce.

And the part that made Parth the angriest was that there was nothing he could say to comfort Maahi. In this situation, there were no 'right words' to be spoken. He hated feeling this helpless. The only comfort he got was from the fact that a day later, he would be able to give Maahi everything she needed right now in the form of a divorce. Even when there was nothing he could say to her as someone who cared dearly for her, there would be satisfaction that he would be able to do something meaningful as a lawyer and make sure Sonu could never take another thing from her.

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Judge Galloway entered the court room after the bailiff announced him. Once he was seated, everyone else followed as well. Galloway marked the court in session, "I've been told there is new information on the case?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Parth stood up with the file and walked over to the bench where a member of the court took it and passed it over to the Judge. "This past month, I have been trying to collect evidence by finding the person Mr. Singh was having an affair with and some very interesting information has come to light. In the file, you'll find copies of a marriage certificate which does have the defendant Mr. Sonu Singh's name on it, but not my client Maahi Kaur."

"Objection," Sanjana stood up, "We do not know the validity of those documents."

Parth challenged, "Do you really think, counselor, that I would present false records in court, perjure myself and risk my entire career? I had these vetted twice in different labs before entering them into evidence. Your client is not just cheating on Ms. Kaur, but he's even married his mistress in the eight months he was in India, and now, he is having an affair with a third woman. I wouldn't mind disclosing her name in court, but I think you would mind."

Sanjana glared at him, gritting. "How dare you insinuate...?"

Parth interrupted in a dry chuckle, "Oh no. I am not insinuating anything. I have evidence for this too. Your Honor, I checked records from the Indian Embassy as you see, Mr. Singh seemed to have a lawyer appointed to his case way too soon after the temporary restraining order and I learned the reason behind it. Ms. Nath was not the one originally appointed to represent Mr. Singh here. She put in a request herself. And why wouldn't she? She didn't want her affair to come to an end if Mr. Singh was deported as I am sure Mr. Singh had her believing he was in love with her and would marry her after getting his green card and then divorcing Ms. Kaur."

Sanjana tried to save face, "Your Honor, I..."

Judge Galloway showed his hand to stop her, having seen a copy of the records which backed all of Parth's statements. "Save it, counselor. I don't think there is even a need to revisit the couple's statements as I am sure Ms. Kaur will certainly want a divorce after this, and I'll be happy to grant it to her. Mr. Singh, you are hereby ordered to deport back to your home country within three days and forfeit your visa at the Indian embassy where you will be charged with the crime for polygamy under the Indian laws. As for you, Ms. Nath, I hope for your sake, you were not aware of this second marriage if you wish to continue to practice law anywhere in this country. I'm going to have an internal investigation take place at the embassy to get to the bottom of this. You will know better than to remove evidence."

With that, he banged and gavel and made the notes on his files.

Sonu did not even bother making a threat. It was all over for him. He didn't know how Parth could have managed to get his hands on the second marriage certificate as he believed he had covered his tracks, but he did not know of Parth and Arjun's connections in much higher places. There was nothing left for him to do. Everything had spiraled and it was the end for him.

Parth smiled at Maahi to assure her it was all over just as Nikita pounced on her in all happiness. "Congratulations on the divorce, babe." She then hugged her twin, "You did it, bro. So proud of you."

He chuckled, hugging her back and balancing himself over her sudden attack. "Let's move the happy celebrations outside, yeah?" He felt the need to respect the court room from Nikita's childish antics.

Still, Maahi walked over to embrace her father. Now, she may be 26 years old, but still like in her childhood, a simple hug from him fixed everything for her. After she learned the reality of Sonu, she had hated every second she had to stay in that same apartment in the past two days. Now, she finally felt free and in the warmth of her father, a daughter found the strength to continue standing on her own two feet.

She had faith in Parth's promise to her. And yet, in this moment was the first time she felt truly free.

"Come on," he whispered to his daughter, wiping her tears. What more could a father ask for then to have his daughter lead a good life and finally be free of the one who had been dragging her down and using her this whole time? He knew, now, she would really be able to have that - a happy life that she had dreamt of for herself before his mother had intervened and turned his daughter's life into a living hell. He hadn't known what he was pushing her into three years ago. If he had used his presence of mind, none of this would have happened, but he believed it was better to make amends then regret past mistakes. He would not be able to forgive himself for a long time but he had faith that one day when he would see Maahi happy, he just might rise once again in his own eyes.

Walking out of the court building, Maahi reminded Parth, "So you remember your friend's mother who's a real estate agent? Yeah, I'm going to need you to send me her contact again so I can sell that old apartment."

He chuckled, bumping his shoulder to hers. "Sure, love. What about meanwhile?"

Nikita hooked her arm with Maahi's, "What do you mean? Ofcourse she'll stay with me."

Maahi smiled, "Thanks babe, I really appreciate that but like I told you before, no. I'm going to stay at a hotel in the time I find a place."

"Oh c'mon. Why stay at a hotel when you have my place?" Nikita insisted.

"Really, Nikita. I love you but I kind of want to just enjoy this freedom for now. I need to do this for me."

Nikita frowned, "Well, when you put it like that." Maahi chuckled at the expression she pulled, though glad her friend didn't push it any longer. "What about you, uncle?"

Mr. Kaur informed, "Oh, I'll go back home. It's been 6 years."

Parth asked, "You never rented the place out?"

Maahi shook her head, "No, never got the chance."

Everyone took a moment of silence, understanding why. She'd gone to India straight after and then all of this had happened.

Nikita diverted the conversation after, "Alright, no more gloominess. Only happy times ahead. Let's all go get lunch."

As everyone agreed and started their way towards where the cars were parked, Mr. Kaur found a moment to hold Parth back and properly thank him, "Parth, thank you, really, for freeing my daughter from him."

He politely answered with a smile, "Sir, no need to thank me. Any other lawyer would have done the same."

Mr. Kaur didn't believe that, "No, another lawyer would not have taken such interest. They wouldn't have attempted to dig for the evidences you did. It would have remained as 'he vs she' statements."

"Well, given that I am a lawyer, I'd like to believe that there would be someone else like me out there."

Mr. Kaur nodded, patting his back as he could respect Parth's wish to trust the system and his fellow lawyers.

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【 Author Note 】

Hi y'all! Doing good? Thanks for waiting an extra day! I wanted it to be how it was in my head. I know I said good things happen in this chapter but I didn't quite get as far as I wanted in this chapter. So next one! Plus, figured it made sense to start a new phase with a new chapter instead of in the middle.

Also, I only have 6 more chapters written (don't worry, it's not the end). Just saying that I need to find time to write a few more ahead of time and it's getting too much trying to juggle 3 other books at the same time :/ 

Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter! Hope you liked a brief presence of Arjun & Sanam. It wasn't much but they'll come up again in the future :D 

PS: news of His Wife may be soon. No promises... as I am already struggling with ongoing works and I'd be stupid to start another, but just a heads up!