Chapter 18: You Made Me Yours

Poornima's Apartment – Midnight

The rain was pouring heavily outside.

Poornima sat near the window, her hair messy, her eyes swollen from crying. She had barely moved from the spot since she came back. The city was silent, but the storm inside her heart raged louder than the thunder outside.

Suddenly, there was a knock.

She ignored it.

Another knock.

Then the door burst open.

Veeresh.

Soaked in the rain, breathing heavily, eyes red — with pain, anger, and desperation.

> “Poornima,” he whispered.

She stood up instantly.

> “What are you doing here, Veeresh?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Just go. Go back to Sahana. Go back to your perfect past. I don't fit anywhere, do I?”

Veeresh’s jaw clenched.

> “Don’t… test me,” he said, walking in.

> “I’m done, Veeresh!” she shouted. “Just leave me alone. Let me live with the shame, the blame—”

SLAP.

A harsh silence followed. Her face turned, stunned.

Veeresh’s eyes filled with tears the second his hand made contact.

> “Then why, Poornima?” he yelled, voice broken.

“Why did you heal me? Why did you stay when I doubted you? Why did you hold my hand when I pushed you away?”

> “Tell me... was I just a project? Some broken man you wanted to fix for fun?”

She stood frozen.

Tears trickled silently down her cheeks.

> “Say something!” he screamed, his voice raw, collapsing inside himself.

She looked at him — not with anger, but with heartbreak.

> “I stayed… because I loved you,” she whispered.

Silence again.

He took two steps forward, then another — and pulled her into him.

And then… he kissed her.

Deep. Raw. Shaking. Vulnerable.

> “Kiss me back, Poornima,” he whispered against her lips. “If you still feel even a thread of what we had... kiss me back.”

She didn’t hesitate.

Their lips met again, deeply, hungrily. The pain melted into need. The silence turned into gasps and sighs. His hand found her waist and he pinched softly — she winced, and their foreheads touched as they laughed through the tears.

He pinned her against the wall, and they kissed again — until her breath staggered, until the world disappeared, until nothing existed but him and her.

They fell on the couch, his head on her lap, her fingers running through his hair.

> “Don’t leave me,” he said softly.

“I don’t know how to be without you.”

> “Then prove it,” she whispered, her voice steady now. “Don’t doubt me again. I’m not your shadow, Veeresh. I’m your wife. Your partner.”

He looked up at her, eyes wet.

> “You’re not my second… you’re my only.”

And she smiled faintly.

For now… the war was paused.

Two broken people, still healing. Still breathing.

Together.

---

End of Ch