Her fingers tightened against the paper.
So that was the game.
Not just intimidation. Temptation too.
How bloody clever of him.
Advocate Khanna continued, speaking about boundaries and future obligations, but Yamini only half-listened now. Her eyes moved over paragraphs while her mind ran somewhere else entirely.
She became aware of Bharat turning a page in his own file.
The sound was small, but in that quiet room it seemed to scratch lightly over her nerves.
She looked at him then.
He was not watching her openly. His gaze was lowered to the contract, his expression unchanged, as if the terms under discussion were routine and uninteresting.
That only annoyed her more.
At least have the decency to look pleased with yourself, she thought bitterly.
Instead, he sat there like a man reviewing a business merger.
By the time the lawyers reached the heirs clause, Yamini’s anger boiled and simmered.
Advocate Malhotra finished the final summary and closed her file neatly. “Those are the principal terms,” she said. “You have already had the opportunity to review the full document. If there are any additions, removals, or modifications either party would like reflected before signing, we can note them now.”
The room went quiet.
Yamini’s gaze moved slowly from the lawyer to the contract and then, finally, to Bharat Jogra.
He wasn’t looking at her.
She sat back slightly and folded her hands on the table, forcing her voice to be calm.
“Yes,” she said. “There is one change I want.”
Advocate Khanna picked up her pen. “Please go ahead.”
Yamini kept her eyes on Bharat.
“The heirs clause needs to be revised,” she said casually. “I want two heirs specified, not one.”
The lawyers looked shocked.
For the first time since she had entered the room, Yamini saw the smallest shift in Bharat’s face. It was not enough for most people to notice. A faint stillness around the eyes. The slightest tightening in his jaw.
Anger. Or maybe distaste.
Good.
She continued in the same offhand tone.
“One child is necessary to fulfill my grandmother’s trust condition,” she said, her tone casual. “The second is because I have always wanted two children. If this contract is supposed to account for obligations and expectations properly, then it should reflect that.”
The room remained silent for a long moment.
Yamini could feel her own pulse in her throat now, but she did not look away.
