02-05-2026, 09:28 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-05-2026, 09:35 AM by heygiwriter. Edited 2 times in total. Edited 2 times in total.)
Chapter 93 - Hidden Agendas
Saturday morning turned into a restless day for Gowtham.
Gowtham stepped out of the elevator on Saturday morning. His tie felt tighter than usual, and the weight of the weekend’s chaos pressed down on his shoulders like an invisible hand. He nodded mechanically at the security guard and walked straight to his cubicle, but his mind was anywhere but on the quarterly reports waiting on his laptop.
How can a woman—or a girl, really—have a mind this crooked? The thought looped in his head like a bad song. He had heard the office gossip for years: stories of ambitious women who would do anything—anything—to climb the corporate ladder. Flirt, manipulate, sleep their way up, spread half-truths like butter on toast. He had always dismissed them as jealous exaggerations from bitter colleagues. Until now. Until Varsha.
She was sharp, no doubt. The kind of sharp that cut both ways. Gowtham knew the information she held could explode at any moment if she got irritated. One irritated WhatsApp voice note, one calculated leak, and his career, his reputation—everything—could go up in flames.
The memories of her demand keep coming to his mind..
He clenched his jaw. A woman like her doesn’t deserve to be in this company. Period.
He pulled out his phone and opened WhatsApp. His thumb hovered over his boss’s chat. Sir, any chance we can meet today? It’s important. He typed the message but didn’t send it yet. Instead, the app loaded the previous conversation automatically, and his eyes froze on the old messages he had barely noticed in the heat of the moment.
The messages from a few days ago — the ones he had barely read while he was in the middle of sex with Sneha — now stared back at him.
Varsha wasn’t just any trainee.
She was the daughter of his boss’s ex-boss.
Coming from a family like that… why would she resort to such cunning games? Why not play fair? The question burned. She had connections most people would kill for. Yet here she was, playing dirty, pulling strings in the dark. He wasn’t sure anymore how to bring this up with his boss. The meeting suddenly felt dangerous. Instead of fear, a strange curiosity took root. What exactly is she up to? Why is she like this? Maybe his boss—the “head”—had the answers. He closed the app without sending the message.
He decided to meet him on pretext of some work and try to get a clue from him .. He was curious about Varsha what's her real game?!!
At Lawyer office
Across the city, in a quiet lane off DRX Road, Suresh pushed open the glass door of Manohar & Associates at exactly 12:17 p.m. The lawyer’s office smelled of old files, filter coffee, and air freshener struggling to win. Manohar Sharma, a balding man in his late fifties with a crisp white shirt and sharper eyes, rose from behind his cluttered desk.
“Suresh ji, please sit. You said it was urgent.”
Suresh dropped into the chair like a man who hadn’t slept in days. His hands trembled slightly as he clasped them together. “I want a divorce. Quick. The fastest way possible.”
Manohar leaned back, adjusting his spectacles. “Alright. Tell me the details.”
Suresh hesitated. The words stuck in his throat. He gave the bare minimum—married Eleven years, one daughter, wife had been a housewife the entire time. Manohar listened without interruption, then spoke plainly.
“If you are insistent on divorce, you will have to pay alimony or maintenance. Under Indian law, given her status as a homemaker, the court will look at your income, her needs, and the child’s future. But if speed is what you want…”
“I don’t care about the money,” Suresh cut in. “I’ll pay whatever is fair. I just want out. Fast.”
Manohar nodded slowly. “Then the only realistic quick route is mutual consent divorce. Both of you must agree. You sit down, decide on maintenance, custody, property division—everything in black and white. Once the terms are settled and both of you are on the same page, the court process is smooth. Six months cooling-off can sometimes be waived if the judge is convinced. It can be done in a few months, even weeks if prepared well.”
Suresh let out a bitter laugh. “She won’t agree.”
Manohar’s expression didn’t change. “Then it has to be contested divorce. Cruelty, desertion, or… adultery.
But contested means a long battle. Years, not months.”
Suresh’s eyes hardened. “What if she is cheating? What if she is in adultery? The court should grant me the divorce immediately, right?”
The lawyer gave a small, tired smile—the smile of a man who had heard this a thousand times. “That’s the common misconception, Suresh ji. When both parties want to separate, the court has no interest in keeping you together. They will suggest counselling, but if everything is prepared, it moves. In a contested case, only one side wants out and is proving fault. The other side will fight tooth and nail. Counter-arguments, more proofs, cross-examinations, appeals… it becomes a long, ugly road. And after the decree, child custody, visitation, maintenance battles continue for years.”
Suresh leaned forward, voice low. “I have proofs. My wife has slept with a friend of mine.”
Manohar’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Bring me the proofs. For adultery under the ***** Marriage Act—or whichever personal law applies—there are requirements. It must be voluntary sexual intercourse with another person after marriage. A single act can sometimes suffice, but courts prefer evidence of a pattern—‘living in adultery.’ You may also have to name the co-respondent in the petition.”
Suresh’s face tightened. He could bring proofs. Chat screenshots, the photos on both phones… but naming Gowtham? Dragging everything into open court? His daughter would grow up hearing the whispers. The shame. He shook his head.
“I don’t want to destroy anyone’s name. Especially not my daughter’s future.”
Manohar folded his hands. “Then collect solid evidence quietly. Use it to convince your wife and the other man to come to the table for mutual consent. Threaten the adultery case if needed. People often agree to mutual terms when they realise their names will be dragged through the mud otherwise. But…” He paused, studying Suresh’s face. “You still seem to care about protecting them even after what they did.”
Suresh looked away. “It’s… complicated. They did it after my consent. Kind of. It’s not simple.”
The lawyer exhaled sharply. “Forget complicated. If they can prove you gave consent, the adultery ground collapses. The court will see it as a choice between consenting adults. The case will be thrown out or weakened badly.” He tapped the desk once. “So give it a try. Gather whatever you have and push for mutual consent. It’s still your fastest exit.”
Suresh left the office twenty minutes later, the heavy wooden door clicking shut behind him. The meeting had not gone the way he hoped. No magic wand. No quick stamp of divorce. Only more complications.
As he walked towards the parking lot, one thought crystallized in his mind.
He remembered the chats on his wife’s phone.
The photos on Gowtham’s phone.
He needed those files. Solid, undeniable proof.
He got a plan... He can get only messages and screenshots from wife's phone but... Gowtham phone has a lot more. Getting his hand on it will give him the upper hand he thought.
Tomorrow is Sunday. He would message Gowtham casually. Suggest a beer.
Catch up like old friends. Get him talking.
Maybe get him to hand over the photos willingly… or find a way to take them.
One way or another, Suresh was getting out of this marriage.
Even if it meant playing the same crooked game everyone else seemed to be playing.
Saturday morning turned into a restless day for Gowtham.
Gowtham stepped out of the elevator on Saturday morning. His tie felt tighter than usual, and the weight of the weekend’s chaos pressed down on his shoulders like an invisible hand. He nodded mechanically at the security guard and walked straight to his cubicle, but his mind was anywhere but on the quarterly reports waiting on his laptop.
How can a woman—or a girl, really—have a mind this crooked? The thought looped in his head like a bad song. He had heard the office gossip for years: stories of ambitious women who would do anything—anything—to climb the corporate ladder. Flirt, manipulate, sleep their way up, spread half-truths like butter on toast. He had always dismissed them as jealous exaggerations from bitter colleagues. Until now. Until Varsha.
She was sharp, no doubt. The kind of sharp that cut both ways. Gowtham knew the information she held could explode at any moment if she got irritated. One irritated WhatsApp voice note, one calculated leak, and his career, his reputation—everything—could go up in flames.
The memories of her demand keep coming to his mind..
He clenched his jaw. A woman like her doesn’t deserve to be in this company. Period.
He pulled out his phone and opened WhatsApp. His thumb hovered over his boss’s chat. Sir, any chance we can meet today? It’s important. He typed the message but didn’t send it yet. Instead, the app loaded the previous conversation automatically, and his eyes froze on the old messages he had barely noticed in the heat of the moment.
The messages from a few days ago — the ones he had barely read while he was in the middle of sex with Sneha — now stared back at him.
Varsha wasn’t just any trainee.
She was the daughter of his boss’s ex-boss.
Coming from a family like that… why would she resort to such cunning games? Why not play fair? The question burned. She had connections most people would kill for. Yet here she was, playing dirty, pulling strings in the dark. He wasn’t sure anymore how to bring this up with his boss. The meeting suddenly felt dangerous. Instead of fear, a strange curiosity took root. What exactly is she up to? Why is she like this? Maybe his boss—the “head”—had the answers. He closed the app without sending the message.
He decided to meet him on pretext of some work and try to get a clue from him .. He was curious about Varsha what's her real game?!!
At Lawyer office
Across the city, in a quiet lane off DRX Road, Suresh pushed open the glass door of Manohar & Associates at exactly 12:17 p.m. The lawyer’s office smelled of old files, filter coffee, and air freshener struggling to win. Manohar Sharma, a balding man in his late fifties with a crisp white shirt and sharper eyes, rose from behind his cluttered desk.
“Suresh ji, please sit. You said it was urgent.”
Suresh dropped into the chair like a man who hadn’t slept in days. His hands trembled slightly as he clasped them together. “I want a divorce. Quick. The fastest way possible.”
Manohar leaned back, adjusting his spectacles. “Alright. Tell me the details.”
Suresh hesitated. The words stuck in his throat. He gave the bare minimum—married Eleven years, one daughter, wife had been a housewife the entire time. Manohar listened without interruption, then spoke plainly.
“If you are insistent on divorce, you will have to pay alimony or maintenance. Under Indian law, given her status as a homemaker, the court will look at your income, her needs, and the child’s future. But if speed is what you want…”
“I don’t care about the money,” Suresh cut in. “I’ll pay whatever is fair. I just want out. Fast.”
Manohar nodded slowly. “Then the only realistic quick route is mutual consent divorce. Both of you must agree. You sit down, decide on maintenance, custody, property division—everything in black and white. Once the terms are settled and both of you are on the same page, the court process is smooth. Six months cooling-off can sometimes be waived if the judge is convinced. It can be done in a few months, even weeks if prepared well.”
Suresh let out a bitter laugh. “She won’t agree.”
Manohar’s expression didn’t change. “Then it has to be contested divorce. Cruelty, desertion, or… adultery.
But contested means a long battle. Years, not months.”
Suresh’s eyes hardened. “What if she is cheating? What if she is in adultery? The court should grant me the divorce immediately, right?”
The lawyer gave a small, tired smile—the smile of a man who had heard this a thousand times. “That’s the common misconception, Suresh ji. When both parties want to separate, the court has no interest in keeping you together. They will suggest counselling, but if everything is prepared, it moves. In a contested case, only one side wants out and is proving fault. The other side will fight tooth and nail. Counter-arguments, more proofs, cross-examinations, appeals… it becomes a long, ugly road. And after the decree, child custody, visitation, maintenance battles continue for years.”
Suresh leaned forward, voice low. “I have proofs. My wife has slept with a friend of mine.”
Manohar’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Bring me the proofs. For adultery under the ***** Marriage Act—or whichever personal law applies—there are requirements. It must be voluntary sexual intercourse with another person after marriage. A single act can sometimes suffice, but courts prefer evidence of a pattern—‘living in adultery.’ You may also have to name the co-respondent in the petition.”
Suresh’s face tightened. He could bring proofs. Chat screenshots, the photos on both phones… but naming Gowtham? Dragging everything into open court? His daughter would grow up hearing the whispers. The shame. He shook his head.
“I don’t want to destroy anyone’s name. Especially not my daughter’s future.”
Manohar folded his hands. “Then collect solid evidence quietly. Use it to convince your wife and the other man to come to the table for mutual consent. Threaten the adultery case if needed. People often agree to mutual terms when they realise their names will be dragged through the mud otherwise. But…” He paused, studying Suresh’s face. “You still seem to care about protecting them even after what they did.”
Suresh looked away. “It’s… complicated. They did it after my consent. Kind of. It’s not simple.”
The lawyer exhaled sharply. “Forget complicated. If they can prove you gave consent, the adultery ground collapses. The court will see it as a choice between consenting adults. The case will be thrown out or weakened badly.” He tapped the desk once. “So give it a try. Gather whatever you have and push for mutual consent. It’s still your fastest exit.”
Suresh left the office twenty minutes later, the heavy wooden door clicking shut behind him. The meeting had not gone the way he hoped. No magic wand. No quick stamp of divorce. Only more complications.
As he walked towards the parking lot, one thought crystallized in his mind.
He remembered the chats on his wife’s phone.
The photos on Gowtham’s phone.
He needed those files. Solid, undeniable proof.
He got a plan... He can get only messages and screenshots from wife's phone but... Gowtham phone has a lot more. Getting his hand on it will give him the upper hand he thought.
Tomorrow is Sunday. He would message Gowtham casually. Suggest a beer.
Catch up like old friends. Get him talking.
Maybe get him to hand over the photos willingly… or find a way to take them.
One way or another, Suresh was getting out of this marriage.
Even if it meant playing the same crooked game everyone else seemed to be playing.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)