“That’s a mistake.” I said as I pushed a cigarette butt into my empty tea cup. “She will make sure you are homeless, my job is to get you a decent deal. Let me handle the situation.” “I am worried” said Rana. “I will take any deal they offer but I can’t leave that house.” “I will try my best” as I tapped his shoulder. I knew deep inside that there was no deal on the table but I had to give that man some hope and some possibility so that he can die in peace, in the house his ancestors have dwelled over centuries. After I was fired from the law firm, this was my third pro-bono which I received from the NGO of Sam. Her NGO was focused on helping old people and homeless orphans. I was never a civil suit expert and this phase of my life was as challenging as it could have been. During my stay at Corp Legal, I was considered one of the best criminal lawyers in the city. I didn’t make a lot of money, but I dealt with very high profile cases connected to politicians, officers and businessmen. Trust and respect was something I truly earned over the last decade and now I was suddenly trying to save an old couple, so that they are not thrown out of their own house.

As the recess finished, we took our seats and waited for the judge to start the proceedings of our hearing. Rana took a glimpse of the opposing attorney and shuddered away. Devika Jaiswal was one of the ruthless lawyers I have known in this city and without doubt she was considered the best. As I said, I stood no chance but I had to somehow bait her. We had lots of differences considering she was the reason I was fired in the first place. However, she was also very objective and didn’t let her personal life affect her career. I knew her from law school as she was my junior and was probably the most brilliant student of our time. She aced every subject and was the favorite of every professor. She almost became a legend until I beat her in one of the pretend cases we had during law school. Everyone was taken aback and from that day on she would consider me as a rival.

Devika stood up to submit her documents to the clerk and said upfront that this case was a waste of time and her client, the Khandelwal group was incurring losses due to delay of the construction. Mr. Pratap Khandelwal was a business magnate and his main interest was in the construction business, but everyone knew how he forcefully made every land acquisition and made settlements for pennies. Rana was the owner of a two storied house in a prime location just next to the new metro station and Khandelwal wanted that property. He had been trying for over a year and Rana had been rejecting all his offers until recently his wife fell sick and he needed the money. In one of the first offers, Khandelwal offered him cash and one apartment in the new building he was going to make, but now Rana made the mistake of accepting the cash in a hurry before consulting a lawyer. He contacted Sam and she insisted me to accept the case. Well I did owe her and I wouldn’t deny that she was probably my only friend in this blood thirsty city. I rose up and objected her statement and asked for more time as my client made his decision in a hurry and he had no time to rethink and according to the law, until he had signed off the ‘dalil’ any form of cash settlement may or may not be considered as a part of the original deal. The judge sustained my objection and gave me two weeks before our next hearing.

After consoling Rana I walked across the courthouse to get a smoke with a tea perhaps. ‘Chacha’ gave me my preferred brand of cigarette and asked me to wait for the next batch of tea. That was my-zone where I could close my eyes and have a moment of peace. These days it was either at trial or at home and both were quite stressful. I was living in my parent’s old house and recently my sister and brother-in-law moved into the house. After marriage, my sister was living in a new apartment, they had bought in the outskirts but given her husband’s gambling problem, they were not able to pay back the mortgage and ended up losing the place. These days it was everything but peaceful at home due to which I preferred to eat outside and go home late. As I was waiting for the tea, a white Mercedes stopped in front and the person sitting at the back opened the door and asked “coffee?” . It was Devika’s car which she bought after she got promoted 2 years back. It was a big party at the office, after Devika successfully managed a big pharmaceutical merger. Everyone was wasted and our managing partner said it out loud that if she ain’t the bitch, she is definitely a witch.

She was never the talkative type, as she took a glimpse at me and asked her driver to take us home. After some moments of silence, I asked how was it at work to which she replied it was none of my concern. She was actually correct, the problem was that she was almost always correct. I think she realized that she was being a bit aggressive and to calm things down she asked about my sister and her husband and how were they coping with their financial situation. To be honest I was least concerned about them, but she broke the ice with her inane sense of humor. “Atleast, if she wants a divorce from that scumbag, she knows an excellent attorney” to which I replied, “I will have no part in their affair” and then she smiled and looked away as she said “I wasn’t talking about you.” Ruchi, my sister was coincidently her school friend and Devika had apparently warned Ruchi, not to marry this gambling addict.

According to legend, our city never sleeps but still as we drove past the shops you could see some of the retailers retiring for the day to probably catch the train back home. Given the traffic situation in the city, train was the fastest mode of commuting, but the crowd would make everyone re-consider their choice. We arrived at her place; she lived on the top most floor of a skyscraper apartment with a sea facing verandah. This was not the first time I came to her place, it was extravagant to say the least. She was living alone in a two bedroom duplex apartment with all the amenities one would consider necessary. I was famished since I skipped lunch and asked her if there was something to eat. She pointed at the kitchen and said “make yourself comfortable”. I opened the fridge to my disappointment and then browsed through the cabinets. To my rescue I found a bag of chips half empty but tidily clipped in the middle. As I started munching, I went back to her living room and said “Did you change your wi-fi password and do you ever eat.” “No” she replied as she opened her laptop and sat on the couch. “I just need to reply to one email and then…”, “ and then what?” “nothing..”. I switched on the TV to check out the end of the match.

Within a minute she shoved her laptop on the side table and climbed on my lap and said there are more interesting things than this match. I said, I was just checking how he was playing after I saved him from that rape accusation. “Are you sure he didn’t commit it?” she asked and before I could say a word she interrupted and said “Don’t answer, I won’t believe you in any case”. I got a bit angry and I really wanted to say something when she placed her palm on my mouth and started unbuttoning my trousers. She slid down on the carpet and pulled down my underpants and didn’t waste much time. That was the most pleasurable moment I had in the last two months after I was fired. She was very diligent and made every moment count. Before I would reach the climax, I grabbed her by her hair and pulled her out. Her chin was up and I stood up while dragging her into her bedroom. As I pushed her onto the bed, she said “You don’t get old do you” and I replied “tell that to my hair”. She smiled and laid back with her hands stretched. I unzipped her skirt to find out she wasn’t wearing any underwear. “You went to court like this?” For the first time she blushed and said “it’s none of your business”. The pencil skirt was not the easiest thing to remove as I almost tore it. “Why are you being so aggressive?” she said in a mellow voice. I pushed her shirt up to her breasts and kissed her belly button and went down on her. She almost shivered and pulled my hair at that moment “take it easy” she said. I slowed down but she didn’t stop shivering, she grabbed a cushion and clenched it with her teeth. There are different kinds of hunger and this kind could never be fulfilled. She was wet as a pickle and turned sideways and bend her knees up to a fetal position with the cushion still in her hands. I removed my shirt and lay behind her to follow her trace. I unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her bra and caressed her with my fingers. She suddenly turned towards me and kissed me for the first time today. I lost track of time as we went out of breath. I sat down on my knees and pulled her on top of me and kissed her again. Her nails almost ripped my skin apart but I couldn’t feel any pain. Her lips was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted in my life and I mean both. I lost breath and released her and the lipstick was all over her face. We caught our breath for a moment when she said “top drawer”. I stood up and walked to the other side of the bed towards the drawer. I found them and tore the packaging with my teeth as she asked me for it. I reluctantly gave it to her as she crawled on the bed towards me and slowly put it on. I don’t know if it was her nails but it was a very different feeling. Following that, she climbed onto me as I was standing next to the bed and placed her legs around my waist. She seemed almost drunk as she tilted her head and moved all her hair to the other side. She closed both her eyes for a split second and kissed me on my lips softly. Even after a tiring day, I somehow got more energy inside me as I grabbed her bottom and pushed myself inside her. She bit my left shoulder as her teeth tore into my skin but I still didn’t feel any pain. The wardrobe was the closest support I could find as I pushed her back on it and thrusted inside her. I was slow in the beginning but she wanted faster and faster and her teeth wouldn’t spare my shoulder. When she saw I started bleeding from her teeth bite she let me go and clawed her nails on my back. I knew her, she always had to clutch onto something during sex. I was exhausted and she was breathing heavily as she clung on to me like a baby. I let her go on the bed and lay down next to her. “I am famished” she said, “do you want to order something”. I checked the time on my watch and it was already 10 pm. “Are you in a rush?” “No, we can eat together”. Something I said changed her voice in a second. She sat up and said, “I am just hungry and you said you were as well. It’s just eating.” “That’s exactly what I said”. “You think you can use your language tricks on me.” “Fine” I said, “I know it’s not a date, can we order now?” “She wrapped herself in the bedsheet as she walked to the living room to find her phone. She was ordering sushi as she came back to the bedroom. I was digging into my pant pockets to find my phone as she said “it fell in the hallway.” I walked passed her to get my phone and started scrolling through my notifications. “Can you please put something on” she said when I realized that indeed I wasn’t wearing anything. I put on my pants and asked her “can I borrow your laptop?” “You know I don’t trust you” she said. “Fine, give me your old personal laptop.” “It’s in my study, but its having issues and so is the wi-fi. Can you please fix it, I know you can”. I gave her an exasperated look and said “no”.

I was waiting for Rana’s email with the deal paperwork, Khandelwal had offered him before me and Sam were involved. I received a notification of his email and just wanted to quickly go through it. However the wi-fi was indeed not working, and then I realized that her password had been changed, someone ‘hacked’ her. One didn’t really need to be a genius since her password was ‘password’. I reset her account and was going through Rana’s email. It was an one-sided deal which Khandelwal had offered, but was a way better option than the current situation. “What are you doing?” she came suddenly in front of me. I deleted the pdf and wiped my credentials from the browsing history as I said “the wi-fi is fixed, I changed the password to niraj1953” “How do you know his date of birth?” “We used to be good friends before you told him, I was screwing his daughter.” “Come on, I didn’t tell him, he found it out himself.” Niraj Jaiswal was her father and professor in my law school and before I was involved with Devika, we used to go out drinking sometimes as he was also my mentor. I asked her out once in law school when she rejected me but after I won that fake case she was somehow attracted to me. That was the night she first slept with me in her parent’s house when they were out for dinner. It was my first time and it was extremely awkward. After sex when we were lying down, I asked her out again and then she kicked me out of her house in my underpants. She did apologize to me the next day and said she didn’t want to be in any relationship and she doesn’t feel any connection, it was purely a physical attraction. I was surprised at first, since it wasn’t typical but again who was. Her father found my t-shirt in her bedroom and asked a direct question to her to which she didn’t lie. However Niraj always believed that I had a one night stand with his daughter and left her. Later I tried to explain it to him but he never believed me. It was a coincidence that she also started in the same law firm after school. After she joined the firm, she always made my professional life miserable as she knew my weaknesses, but later she would tell me that if I didn’t learn from my mistakes anyone could use those strategies. But the weird part was, after work she used to become a different person as she would try to come close to me. Till date I never understood how could she have no feelings for me and yet sleep only with me. I asked her several times that she isn’t my girlfriend and she had no commitments and yet why does she only sleep with me. To which she replied “I am not a whore, you know there is something between us and I like it this way. I don’t have any weakness or feeling towards you. Otherwise how can I screw you at work and after work?” That laughter of her made me afraid at that point, but I started to understand her.

The bell rang and probably the sushi guy had arrived, but she was still dressed only in the bedsheet. She asked me to get the food as she toddled away to the bedroom. I took this time to clean up all the data I had searched on her laptop and opened the door. It was not the food, it was her parents at the doorstep. Only if I had my shirt on, it could have been an easier explanation, but her parents looked at me with disgust as they entered the room. I was kind of speechless and just closed the door behind and quickly put on my shirt. Meanwhile Devika entered the living room but well-dressed to everyone’s comfort. “Papa” she screamed and hurried to hug them both. Her parents looked happier and I wanted to disappear as soon as possible. I didn’t want to interrupt the family reunion but I pretended to clear my throat and said “I have to leave, I have an appointment”. Her mother was polite and said “I cooked food for Devika so that we could have dinner together, but you can join, there is enough for four of us.” Before I could say anything, Devika said “He has to go to his appointment, mummy you know how clients are important for us”. I joined to say “Yes, aunty….” but was again interrupted by her dad “I thought he was fired from your firm”. This time I stood ground and said “Yes, I am no longer working there, it’s my own client. Good night.” I quickly gathered my stuff and closed the door behind. While I was waiting for the elevator, I could hear Niraj saying “what was he doing here?” “Leave it, papa.” “I am telling you, he will do the same what he did to you in law school.” “Please papa, he didn’t do anything.” and I stepped into the elevator. As I walked past the reception I saw the sushi guy asking for Devika’s apartment. I smiled and left the building. As I caught an auto-rickshaw, Sam called me and asked if I could pass by her place. I said it was late but she insisted and I knew what it was about.

She opened the door as soon as I rang the bell and said, “we were waiting for you, I guess you didn’t have dinner yet”. “No”, I said in a blatant manner. As I was opening my shoes near the doorstep, Shayara, her three year old ran towards me in her overwhelming pink jumpsuit and put forward her empty palm. “You are still awake”, I said looking at her. “No chocolate before bed, you already brushed your teeth” said Sam to Shayara’s disappointment. “She overheard you were coming. Go to the kitchen, I will just put her to bed, pretty sure she won’t sleep”, Sam whispered to me. Saeed was warming up the food as I went into the kitchen. “Here you are, you look tired, scotch?” “Yes, if you join as well.” “Unfortunate for you, I cooked today, won’t be as good as Sam’s cooking.” I smiled and said “It’s still better than what I would cook”, we smiled and cheered. Sam was back in ten minutes and we started having dinner. I was eating homemade food after a long time and the black lentils was bliss and I couldn’t help but praise Saeed’s cooking skills. Both Sam and Saeed were my school friends but Saeed was the quieter kid therefore I came to know more about him after he got married to Sam. During dinner we were mainly discussing about the traffic situation of the city and how the government was not taking any drastic measures to improve the situation. I said “I don’t feel like driving in this mess, I use my car only for a longer journey.” Saeed agreed with me and said “the only way to sanely travel by car is to hire a driver, but it’s so expensive”. I nodded with agreement and said “I found a driver who came from a village looking for work, but after three months he wanted a massive raise and I had to let him go.” We finished eating and me and Saeed were cleaning up while Sam went to check if Shayara was still in bed. While doing the dishes Saeed proposed “why don’t you get married and find a place for yourself. Trust me, the earlier the better.” I smiled and said, “Not everyone is as lucky as you and Sam.” Saeed stopped while replying and changed his mind and said “there is no right person, there is no right moment, just do what you feel is right.” Sam came back to help but we were nearly finished. Saeed went to bed saying he was tired and I also wanted to leave, but I knew Sam just didn’t invite me to dinner.

She brought me a glass of scotch and helped herself with one as well and sat on the couch next to me. “Sorry, I didn’t know Devika was the opposing attorney. I didn’t want to make things complicated for you.” “It’s not your fault Sam…” and she interrupted me and said “neither it is yours, stop being such a wuss and destroy that bitch.” “Sam, come on, I don’t hate her”. “I don’t care, I hate people like Khandelwal and she is helping that son of a bitch get away.” “I gave you this case, because I thought you had the balls to screw Khandelwal, but may be you make me doubt my decision.” “Just fuck off Sam, you gave me this case because it’s unwinnable, and probably Rana came begging to you.” “Then why did you take it, if its unwinnable?” “You asked me for a favor and there is no way we can win this without committing a felony.” “It didn’t stop you to commit a crime once, to save Devika.” “You always bring up the same thing, it was a different situation, if I didn’t perjure myself she would be in prison.” “If you don’t regret saving her perfect ass, you are the dumbest person I know”. “Can we stop talking about her and talk about the case. I saw the deal Khandelwal gave Rana on the first place. He should have accepted it, Rana’s ego just ruined his life.” “I know, it wasn’t the best deal but he is in shit now. His wife is in a serious condition and I can’t even ask him for your fees.” I smiled and said “you see, we are the same, I have a weakness for Devika and you have a weakness for people like Rana.” “You don’t get it do you, if you don’t crush her, I will find someone else to drag her ass down the courtroom.” I laughed out loud and said “you have no option Sam, no one in this city will accept this case and that too against Devika Jaiswal.” I put the glass on the table and started looking for my bag. “Why do you love her so much, she ruined your life?” I stopped, gave her a glance and then left the apartment.

I woke up the next morning, to realize it was only five on a Saturday and both my sister and brother-in-law were probably asleep. Usually I would go back to sleep but I had other intentions. I put on my running shorts and shoes and left. It was a nice view in the morning when there were less people and the sun was about to rise. The sea was on the west coast so I wouldn’t see the sunrise on the horizon, but the scattered blue light was slowly overwhelming the darkness. The waves didn’t spare the rocks as the pollution didn’t spare the color of the buildings. The road side shops were already opening as the owners probably took the first train to the city to start preparing for the day. Saturday would probably be a more fruitful day given more people would come to the sea. I continued with my slow pace as I was running after a long time. I passed the reception desk and no one was there to ask me questions. I went up the elevator and rang the bell. No one opened but I was persistent and rang the bell again. After few minutes, Devika opened the door. “You?”. I scanned inside her living room “they left?” “Yes, they left early this morning. What are you doing here?” I ignored her and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I heard the door close and she ran into the kitchen and said “What’s wrong? Why are you sweating like a pig” I caught my breath and said “I knew they would leave, especially after what happened last night. It was cute of you to protect me.” “I wasn’t protecting you, I was protecting myself. You can’t do this, you can’t come to my place without informing me. Next time you do that, I will call the police.” I grabbed her back and pulled her close to me and said “then that is for next time.” “You stink” as she struggled a bit in the beginning but eventually lowered her defense “what do you want.” “You” I said. I lifted her and took her to the bathtub and placed her inside. “You are not my boyfriend” she said in her mellow voice as I started removing her shorts. “Then stop me” as I continued removing her clothes. I turned on the tap to fill up the tub and poured some soap in. “You said, I stink, then we need to do something about it” while I removed my clothes and mounted the tub. “What is it with you,… you are behaving so weird” she said lying there. “Am I?” as I pulled her legs around my head and kissed her down there. Her head was down and her hair was already wet as the water started filling the tub. “Don’t” she struggled as she tried to push my head back. I let her go as the water level was rising. I couldn’t tell if she was shivering because of the water or my misbehavior. While I was still sitting on one side of the tub, she stood up and walked in front of me and said “why did you stop?”. She was already swollen and I made sure she was wet before her legs choked me. She was getting out of control as I gently pushed her back as she almost strangled me. I gave her my hand and guided her down into the tub which was already full. She started churning the water like a kid and splashed the soap bubbles on my eyes. I returned the favor and we spend some time behaving like children. She moved to my side and laid on top of me and said “it’s so relaxing, can’t believe you had such a good idea.” I kept quiet and caressed her breasts with my fingers.

We lay there for quite some time and then she said “you know I was planning to work today, but maybe you can stay a bit longer”. We washed ourselves and helped drying each other. “Do you ever shave?” she said as she stroked her nails on my beard. “I sometimes trim.” She moved really fast and ran wearing her towel to the bedroom and came back with a straight razor. “That is a bad idea” I said “where did you get it?” “Shh…” she said “my dad forgot his shaving kit.” “But, you have no idea how to shave, let alone with a straight razor.” “She didn’t seem to care what I said and took some shaving foam on her palm and rubbed across my scrubby face. “That’s a lot” I said as she placed her index finger on my lips and said “don’t move if you don’t want to bleed.” She didn’t spare any corners and made sharp movements with the blade. I tried to talk but she locked my lips with hers as she swiped up on my throat with the blade. There was little blood on the razor and she imprinted some text on my lips which felt like she said “you are delicate”. Once she was done, she threw me the towel she was wearing and left to her bedroom saying “clean up yourself”.

I did follow her instructions and entered the bedroom, but she was gone. I walked across the hallway and she brought 2 mugs of coffee which kind of surprised me. She handed me the mug and strolled up the stairs to the terrace. I followed her up and was quite intrigued as I had never been upstairs. It was the topmost floor with a small swimming pool and a few workout equipment. However the view from the terrace was phenomenal. She sat next to the pool and looked behind to find me. I sat next to her watching down on the city. It was amazing how one could see the tall buildings surrounded by the small houses and people, but the best part was the view of the sea. Now the beach was already crowded compared to when I was jogging. I looked towards her but she stood up and walked towards the gym and switched on the stereo. Then she spent a few seconds scrolling on her phone and walked back to her seat. The music started playing and I was quite surprised. As she sat down, she started humming and singing along with the song as it played “jeevan ke safar me raahi, milte hai bichhad jaane ko…….aur de jaate hai yaade, tanhayee me tarapaane ko….” She suddenly stopped and asked me “what?” as I was staring at her. I kept quiet as she said “why? A cold hearted bitch can’t appreciate good music”. As a lawyer, I always had something to say, but I couldn’t reply to that and just turned towards the view of the city. After a few songs and coffee, she pulled me towards her and sat on my lap facing me and asked “Enough, now tell me what do you actually want from me”. I smiled and said, “why do you presume that?” She smiled back and said “I know you more than you think I do, I am in a good mood, just ask for it, maybe I will fold”. I looked away and said “I don’t understand you Devika, I did want to ask you something, but now I don’t feel like”. “You want me to put the first offer Rana received from Khandelwal, back on the table.” I looked back towards her but I couldn’t meet her eyes. How could she know, I had no idea. “Since I am in a good mood, I will convince Khandelwal to validate the old offer, but I want something in return.” She stood up and said “Rana needs to give the power of attorney of the land next to the highway to Khandelwal, the one which he promised to Sam. That land means nothing to Rana, but I convinced Khandelwal that he can build a factory there.” I didn’t follow anything she said and looked at her in astonishment. She looked back for an answer and said “Oh, Sam didn’t tell you about this deal, you are so naive, why do you think Sam pushed you to take this case, he can’t pay any fees but he agreed to give this land where she wants to make a school for her orphans.” I replied “and why do you presume I didn’t know about this.” “Then you would be an idiot. Give Rana this offer and everyone wins except Sam, otherwise Rana loses everything. In any case you are obliged to disclose this offer to your client.” “You want me to screw my best friend.” “How is she your best friend if she didn’t share the deal about the land with you and I don’t care whom you have to screw.” She left downstairs and I kept staring at the vibrant city beating at the pace of my heartbeat.

It had already been two days since Devika had offered me the deal but I had neither spoken to Sam or Rana about it. Rana had been restless as he would call me almost twice a day to get an update, but I had nothing for him. I couldn’t betray Sam but I had to do something. I was sitting in Sam’s office as I saw the orphan children playing outside, from the window. One side of me told me that whatever Sam did was for these children and my alter ego thought she was selfish as she hid this deal from me to get hold of Rana’s property. In either of the two scenarios, I would lose. If I offered the deal to Rana, I would lose Sam and if I wouldn’t, then I would lose the case. I thought over it for two days already and smoked a dozen cigarettes, but didn’t get any breakthrough. “You know you can’t smoke here” as Sam entered her office. I discarded it as I said “I was almost lost, watching them play. I was just wondering, you didn’t have to work so hard, if their parents were still alive”. “I wouldn’t have a job then” she laughed. “You can’t mean that”, I said looking surprised. “When you start this whole NGO thing, at the beginning you are motivated, that’s the honeymoon period, but then reality punches you on your face and then you starve for funds. I also have to get a living out of it. I don’t have a fancy law degree to feed my child.” “You are right”, I said as I stood up to leave. “Are you going to do something about Rana or not?” she said while signing some of her documents. “That is exactly what I am going to do now” as I left.

As you could have guessed, I shared the deal with Rana, and he and his wife both thanked me for saving their home. I told them, “don’t thank me until the case is settled, we shouldn’t trust Khandelwal.” It had been two weeks and me and Rana were waiting outside the court for Devika on the day of the hearing. It would be a simple procedure where we would just inform the judge that we made an out-of-court settlement before the actual hearing. Devika was already late, which was quite unlike her. I never recalled her being late for anything, which unsettled me. The hearing would be in 30 minutes and the judge gave us an appointment an hour ago. I received a call, it was Rajat, the managing partner at Corp Legal. He never called me as we were never on the same page. “Hi, its Rajat. I know you are at court. Devika had an accident. We just admitted her to Lilavati.” I was shell-shocked. I couldn’t fathom what to do next as my surroundings seemed to fade away. I gathered my senses and left for the hospital.

I went to the emergency and found Rajat waiting in the hallway. “Where is she?”, I asked impatiently. “In surgery…for two hours already”, Rajat replied. “What the fuck is the media doing outside? How did they know?” I yelled at Rajat. “Calm down, I don’t know. It doesn’t look like an accident.” “What do you mean.” He looked around and whispered “someone tried to kill her. Her driver was spot dead.” “Are you crazy, why would anyone try to kill her? Jamal died?”, I exclaimed. He flinched and said “they took his body directly to the morgue for autopsy, his family is informed”. “She settles civil lawsuits, she has no enemies”, I said and looked for agreement. “I gave her all your cases, she made more enemies in a month than you made in a year.” “Are you out of your mind, why would you give her those cases, she is not a criminal lawyer.” “She wanted them, she wanted to settle them before you ever could.” “You are a spineless jerk, Rajat”. “I didn’t call you to humiliate me. I tried to reach her father, but couldn’t. I had no option but to call you.” “Give me her phone.” “I can’t. It has confidential information of my firm.” “Give me the phone or I break your face.” He folded and gave it to me. My brain wasn’t working, who would try to kill her? I searched for Niraj’s phone number and called him from mine, but he didn’t pick up. I searched for her home landline, still no one picked up. I called Ruchi and asked her to call Devika’s mother so that she could contact me as soon as possible. The police was already there and were looking for the doctor, thankfully the hospital security stopped the media from entering the premises. Devika had apparently gained a lot of popularity in the media after handling cases of some politicians. The doctor was still in surgery, so the police asked the nurse about her family. I came forward and said “her family is on their way.” The cop raised his eyebrow and said “Ah, Mr. Bose, you don’t recognize me, I was stationed in Goa last year, you helped us with that boat murder case.” I was completely lost and said, “Ok, do you have questions for her family, you can ask me, I am her boyfriend.” The officer probably realized my state of mind and said “See, Mr. Bose, I don’t know if you are aware, but it looks like an attempt to murder. I didn’t want to burden you with this, but you must be informed.” Meanwhile a group of surgeons came out of the OT and one of them said reading a piece of paper “I need to speak to a family member of Miss…Devika Jaiswal”. I rushed to that lady and said “How is she?”. “The surgery is not complete, we are waiting for a neurosurgeon who is on his way. We will give you the details later, it’s a complicated case, but she could live. We are doing our best.”

The neurosurgeon had entered five hours ago, and all eight surgeons were still inside. Finally they all came out and the neurosurgeon, probably in his fifties retired on the bench across the OT, showing severe exhaustion. I ran across the corridor towards him as he showed me his palm. A nurse brought him a glass of water, which he drank in one go and said “she is a fighter, she will probably outlive you, unless you quit smoking of course.” I didn’t know that guy but I loved him the most at that given point in time. He pointed at one of the other surgeons and said, “he will explain everything” and left. The officer hurried towards us and the surgeon immediately said “she is still unconscious and no one, not even family meets her” giving me a glance. “Mr….?” he asked raising his eyebrows “Bose, Aditya Bose.” I replied. “Please follow me.” He took me to another room and said “She is now in ICU, she has around forty-six broken bones, a damaged right kidney, punctured arteries, massive blood loss, broken ribs, skull fracture and a clot in her brain. We didn’t expect her to make it, but Dr. Banerjee was able to fix her. The clot was very close to her brain stem, I cannot stress the fact how lucky she is to come out of this without any major neural damage. I cannot promise you if she will regain all her voluntary movements as before but it looks positive. You can have a look at her only from the window there.” “Thanks doc” I said as I ran towards the window. “I was not able to recognize her. Her face was red and swollen, I couldn’t see the rest of her body but the amount of medical equipment which crowded her with a network of pipes, I could tell that her condition was still serious.” I took my phone to call Sam, when I realized I missed a bunch of calls. I didn’t feel like talking to Niraj, but called her mom instead. “Hello aunty, her surgery went well, but her condition is still serious. We are at Lilavati, please come soon.” As soon as I hung up, Ruchi called “How is she? I am on my way”. I replied “ok, but they are not letting anyone meet her. It’s a police case, there might be some interrogation.” I hung up and the officer and Rajat came towards me as I entered the corridor. Before they could say anything I said “Her condition is still critical, I don’t think she will gain consciousness tonight. Probably you should come tomorrow morning, officer.” “Mr. Bose you know better than me, we have to get the first statement from her. It will be a murder investigation by CBI, apparently she is the chief legal advisor of a minister in the union cabinet. He takes these things seriously. There will be a lot of background check, so as a fellow colleague I would suggest you to provide me any information you think is important.” I could see Rajat turning pale but he held his nerves and so did I. I nodded and said “Sure officer, I will inform you about everything I think might be important.”

The moment the officer left, Rajat looked at me and asked “did you know, she was advising a cabinet minister?” I replied in a distasteful way “What do you think? She doesn’t tell anyone anything. I am not that close to her. You are her boss, you should be knowing these things.” As we were talking, her parents arrived. I had never seen Niraj in tears as he asked “how is she?”. “I don’t know. She is lucky to survive, but it’s still critical.” She regained consciousness after 14 hours, but none of us could meet her. There was Z-level security outside the ICU and the minister himself came to visit her. They only allowed her parents to go inside. Niraj told me that she wanted to see me but I couldn’t go near her because I was in the suspect list. After two days, I could meet her but only accompanied by a security personnel. I sat next to her as she was breathing heavily through her tubes but she noticed me. She tried to speak but I held her hand and said “shh..”. I had never seen her cry, but she did today over her still swollen face. “You will be fine, the doctor told me you fought against all odds. No one could survive this but Devika Jaiswal”, I said as I stood up to leave to let her rest. She clutched my hand  with the little strength she had left but I looked back and said “you need the doctors more than me, I have to leave, they won’t let me stay.”

The investigation was a goddamn nightmare. Me, Rajat, Jamal’s family, her family and almost every person she knew was interrogated by the CBI. The intent to murder was not clear yet. It was a head-on collision with a truck on the highway. The truck driver escaped and no one could identify him. The Mercedes was split into half, and she was lucky to be seated in the half which didn’t hit the divider. The truck license plate was under the name of a transport service in Haryana, who reported this missing truck few days back. According to Devika’s statement, she didn’t receive any threats and didn’t suspect anyone in particular. Even Rana and Khandelwal were interrogated. Even after a month, nothing came out of the investigation. She was recovering, but very slowly. She needed a kidney transplant but the doctors waited until she could bear another round of general anaesthesia. She spent 10 weeks in the ICU with Z-level security and five more weeks in the hospital. On the day she would be released, Niraj and me went to pick her up. Her parents moved to her apartment, so that they could take care of her. Since I had charge sheet filed against me, I couldn’t be with her alone until the case had further resolutions. Her face was less swollen now, but she was not able to walk by herself. The coming weeks were challenging for her recovery, but I visited her often. The case remained unsolved and our charge sheets were revoked. Khandelwal agreed to the initial offer he gave to Rana in exchange of the highway land. Sam was upset with me that I made a deal against her. She didn’t talk to me ever since.

Half a year passed by and she almost recovered. It was nothing short of a miracle. Devika insisted her parents to go back as she could manage all by herself. I met her almost every day during her recovery but never had the chance to have a private conversation with her, but the four of us were enjoying the last couple of weeks at her place, playing board games, watching tv series and the world cup. We have been sleeping together for the last six years, but I never felt as connected as now. Maybe it was love or just friendship but it seemed to last. Today Niraj and his wife were leaving for Varanasi to offer respect to god for the recovery of their daughter. I went to drop them off at the railway station, Devika wanted to join but I insisted her that she should rest. After their train left, I came out of the station lighting my cigarette and looking for a tea stall. From a distance, I saw Saeed and Shayara entering the platform. It had been a long time I met Shayara, given my situation with Sam. I shouted “Saeed” but I had a feeling that he ignored me and went inside. I threw away my cigarette and followed him as I shouted his name again. No response, and I gained pace. Shayara was on the back of his shoulder as she saw me and shouted “Adi chachu” Saeed stopped following that and turned around to greet me. “What are you running from?” I asked jokingly, and he replied “I was not running, we have to catch the next train” in a defensive manner. I was taken aback and asked “Where is Sam?”. Before Saeed could respond his daughter said “mummy left us last week.” Saeed corrected her and said “she didn’t leave us, she went for work, we will see her soon.” “Where are you guys going, it’s been such a long time, maybe we can drink tea together before your train arrives”. “Taane, taane” Shayara said. “No, we need to hurry, may be later Aditya.” “Bohut bolti hai”, said Saeed looking angrily at her before saying “Goodbye”. I waved at her as they disappeared in the crowd. I was wondering why Saeed was behaving in this weird fashion. Was it because of the Khandelwal case, but there was something fishy. I called Sam’s assistant and asked if she was at work. “No, she went out of town last week. She didn’t provide specific instructions. Who should I say, called?” her assistant told me. “No, it’s ok, I will find another way to reach her” and I hung up. Before I came back to Devika’s place I took a detour to the bank.

“Why are you so late? I tried to call you several times. Papa told me you left at 9” she asked. “I went to the bank, had to settle some unfinished business.” “Bank? Problems?”. “Nothing, I can’t deal with. Let’s have lunch, did you take your medicine?” “Yes sir”, as she gave me a fake salute. As I was removing my shoes she said “you do realize, we are alone after a long time”. “Yes, I know”, I said as I saw her blush. She sat very close to me but I didn’t reciprocate. “Something wrong?” she said softly, bringing her face in front of me. “No, you are weak, it’s a bad idea.” She smiled, and placed her palm on my cheek and turned my face towards her and said “you wont hurt me.” I held her palm between my hands and kissed them. She lay there on the couch and me next to her. We kissed, as I undressed her slowly. I didn’t want to rip off her stitches as all of them didn’t heal. This was the first time I saw her without clothes after surgery, the number of injuries she survived was incredible. I lifted her and went to the bedroom. I realized, that sometimes she was trying to hide some of her wounds, but I whispered in her ears “there is nothing to hide” as I kissed them. The biggest scar was from the kidney transplant she had, running on the side of her waist. We laid there for a long time caressing each other. She broke the silence and said “you seem quiet after coming from the bank. Is there something I can help you with?”. My head was resting below her breasts as I was stroking around her belly button with my fingers. “What did you have on Khandelwal?” She didn’t reply as I looked up to her face which was smiling back at me. “What did you find out?” she said. “Nothing, but I find it hard to believe that he went back to the previous offer, without any extra gain. He never settles unless he has the upper hand or he thinks he is winning.” She stopped my finger and said “it tickles. He is not a saint, it was not difficult to find something against him”. I raised my head and looked her in the eye “you do realize he is a dangerous man, and blackmailing him is perhaps not the best idea.” My expression gave away as she realized I was serious. “What do you know?” she asked. “Did he try to kill me?”. “I am not sure, but there is no point going after him, you have no evidence” I said as I looked away. “You are lying, there is more to it” as she covered her breasts with the blanket and stood up to wear her clothes. “Why did you go to the bank? I know you financials, there is nothing there which would make you worry” she said while looking at the scar on her waist in the mirror. “It was a mistake giving you my account details.” “Don’t evade, tell me what do you know?”. I stood behind her and gently guided her to sit on the bed as I sat on the floor in front of her. I told her what happened at the railway station but she didn’t follow. “When Sam found out that I made that deal with you she was furious. She struck a bargain with Khandelwal behind my back. Khandelwal offered you, I am guessing 50% commission on that plot in Thane close to the highway in exchange of keeping his dirty secret and giving Rana the original offer. Sam wanted that money and I think colluded with Khandelwal to…” I said as she interrupted “kill me.” “I am not sure, Devika. What I know is her husband lost his job a year back, from his bank statements, and she was going through a financial crisis. What I also found out that she received a huge sum of money by wire transfer few months after your accident. I am guessing Khandelwal also offered her some kind of partnership in the factory he is going to build in Thane”. She sat there listening to me comprehending every bit of information and said after a pause “so when you said, don’t go after Khandelwal, you actually meant don’t go after Sam.” I looked down and said “she has a three year old. Her mistake is unforgivable but this will ruin Shayara’s life.” Devika stood up and before leaving the room said “I don’t want to see you again. You can leave.” I protested “Devika, I am not defending Sam, I know she tried to kill you and I hate her more than anything, but I was hoping not to go back in time.” “And what about justice” as she ripped her t-shirt apart “look at me, just look at me, it seems like I have been through autopsy.” I moved closer and covered her with the blanket and said “please”. She moved my hand away and said “don’t touch me. I never expected you to love me, but today you made me doubt about the thing I loved and respected about you the most. You can’t be a lawyer if you are so weak. The day you defeated me in that pretend case in law school, I thought I would never be as strong as you because I am a woman, but thanks for proving me wrong.” She was right, in every bit she said as I left her apartment.

Everything went as expected. Devika dragged Khandelwal down to his feet and brought his whole life down. She was able to prove the connections he had with that truck and how it was a planned murder. Sam and Saeed both were charged of conspiracy and were held in custody. The case went on for 3 years already but I played no role in the proceedings. I had to testify on multiple occasions and I always told the truth about everything I knew. 3 years back when both Sam and Saeed were arrested, I asked them if I could take care of Shayara and both agreed. Although she was young, I think she could understand that her family was broken apart. I admitted her to kindergarten so that she could possibly make some friends and be away from the nightmare. I never took her to court as I didn’t want her to see her parents in that situation. I never wanted to visit Sam or Saeed as I hated them, but I sometimes had to, in order to share Shayara’s life. She was growing fast and this year she got admitted to a primary school. Although I was super busy raising a child, I missed Devika, I missed her a lot. However, I didn’t have the courage to face her after I displayed my weakness in front of her. In India, these cases go on for eternity, you could settle in case of a civil lawsuit, but in this kind of a criminal case there was nothing to settle for, it was all about justice. Given the scenario, Sam and Saeed agreed that I could legally adopt Shayara to perhaps give her a better life. We did the paperwork and by her age she could understand what was happening.

Like every morning, I was getting her ready for school when someone knocked at the door. It was Devika, as she looked more beautiful than ever wearing a purple sari tightly wrapped around her petite body. “Hi” I said as Shayara ran to the door to check out who came this early in the morning. This was the first time she saw Devika and was shy. She hid herself behind my legs and peeked at the mysterious woman at the doorstep. Devika looked at Shayara and smiled as she said to me “Congratulations on the adoption.” Then she looked at me and said, “I came to invite both of you for dinner at my place.” She gave Shayara a bag of candies which she was at first hesitating to take, but then she accepted it and said “Thank you”. Devika smiled back and started to leave. I asked “coffee?” as she turned back and said, “may be at my place”. Shayara pulled my hands and asked with her knitted eyebrows “who is she?”. I replied “She is superwoman.”