On Thursday morning I was almost prepared for Meera's case. I was feeling a bit uneasy because of all the accusations Akshay had made against Meera.

Meera on the other hand was totally shaken from the moment she received the notice and read the details.

"Meera," I said to the phone as I attended the call. I was in my office when she called.

"Kavya..., I... I cannot believe he said that." She said between sobs.

"Meera, are you crying? What happened?" I asked her

"Notice.. I got the divorce notice today."

"Meera, please calm down. I am coming to your place now."

After I ended the call, I went to Gaurav's cabin.

"Come in Kavya."

"Gaurav is it okay if I leave early today. I mean we do not have any other case scheduled today and it is urgent."

"Of course, but can I know what happened?"

"It is my friend Meera; she received her divorce notice today. She is shaken; I think I should go see her."

"Alright then, go talk to her. I'll see you tomorrow."

Meera's house was a half an hour drive from office.

"Open up Meera, it is me."

I rang the bell a few times before she opened. She had bloodshot eyes from all the crying.

"Kavya..." She hugged me as soon as I entered.

"It will all be fine." I told her.

I made her sit in the nearby chair and went to the kitchen to get her some water.

"Calm down and drink this."

After a while I broke the silence.

"Tell me what happened."

She showed me the divorce notice she received and I started reading it.

I understood why she was shattered. Akshay had accused her of being unfaithful in her marriage and had said that she had an incest relationship with her brother.

I had consulted with Gaurav regarding the questions to ask Akshay while cross examining him. Maybe because Meera was my friend, I think I was more terrified about this case.

I went to meet Gaurav after lunch. The case was scheduled for two in the afternoon session.

"I don't think I can do it." I told him.

"What is the matter Kavya? Tell me what is wrong."

"Can you please represent Meera's case today?"

"But why?"

"I don't know Gaurav, I don't know. I am freaking out about this case."

"You need to calm down Kavya." He rose from his seat and came to stand beside me.

"Take deep breaths."

"What if I screw this up today? Meera is counting on me. She is already broken, I won't be able to handle it if I lose this."

"There is nothing to worry about Kavya, I am sure you can handle it. You've did so well in such a short span of time, you will win this."

After the pep talk, Gaurav agreed to accompany me to court.

Gaurav sat beside me and I noticed that Mr. Vishal Sanghi, a senior advocate was representing Akshay today.

"You need not worry about him."Gaurav whispered.

When my case was called, I rose from my seat. Gaurav gave me a reassuring smile. I saw Mr. Sanghi smile when I stood up instead of Gaurav. I tried to ignore that and proceeded with what I had to do.

"I would like to call Mr. Akshay Sethi to the stands." I said trying to sound confident. He came and stood opposite me in the box.

I started with the basic questions.

"You have accused my client Meera to have been unfaithful in your marriage. Do you have any proof regarding the matter?" I asked after a while.

"She has an unhealthy relationship with her brother. Even though he is already married, he is always with her."

"What you mean is aside from your word, we do not have proof regarding that. Mr. Sethi this court works on evidence not on just your statement."

He did not respond to that.

"Moving on, Mr. Sethi, tell us where you are residing now."

"I am staying with my friend Praveen Gupta and his sister Priya in his flat in Andheri."

"Is it true that Mr. Gupta is mostly out of town?"

"Yes."

"How would you describe your relationship with Ms. Priya Gupta?"

"She is a good friend of mine, we have known each other since we were very young." I tried not to imply the relationship between the two of them since we didn't have hard evidence about the two of them being together.

"No more questions your honour." I said to the judge and returned to my seat.

"You did good." Gaurav told me.

Mr. Sanghi stood up from his seat and called Meera to the stands. We had already briefed Meera on how to answer their questions and not to succumb to pressure.

Vishal Sanghi started his cross just as I did with the basic questions and followed it up with the main ones.

"In your counter petition you've mentioned that Akshay is having a relationship with his friend Priya. What made you say that?"

"I saw them together with my own eyes."

"But, as your lawyer said earlier, you being the witness is not enough. Can anyone else confirm your statements?"

"Actually my daughter was with me when I caught them together, but I don't want to drag my eight year old into this mess."

"That is your wish. So anyone else?"

"My neighbours can verify for the fact that she was there most of the times when I was out of the house."

"Ms. Priya being in the house doesn't prove anything. They also said that your brother visited you every time my client was out of the house."

I saw Meera's eyes watering, she was losing it. I could tell. I clenched my fists. I felt Gaurav's hands on mine, trying to calm me down.

"But he is my brother." She tried not to cry.

"That doesn't explain anything Ms. Meera."

The lawyer concluded his crossing when Meera didn't say anything.

The judge ended the hearing saying he would pass an order soon.

Gaurav asked me to take the day off and be with Meera when he saw her condition. Her brother and sister in law were out of station and I did not want to leave her alone. So I agreed and took her home.