Chapter 22

The Raj Mansion’s study was quiet, the walls heavy with portraits of ancestors who had built the empire Veeresh now expanded. His father’s voice came firm and steady over the secure line, filling the silence of Veeresh’s office.

“Son, are you thinking about marriage or not?”

Veeresh leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable. “I am, Dad.” His tone was calm, respectful, though his mind was far from it.

His father exhaled slowly, as though weighing his next words. “Good. Your brothers… they seem off lately. Something is going on. I don’t know what, but I can feel it. You, Veeresh—you’ve always been the sharper one. Find out, if possible.”

Veeresh’s jaw tightened, but his reply was steady. “Your command is my work.”

There was a pause, then a softer chuckle on the line. “That’s my boy. Always dependable.”

And then his father’s tone shifted, carrying an edge of curiosity. “I see you being nice with Miss Rai lately.”

Veeresh’s eyes snapped toward Arjun, who was standing silently in the corner. The assistant stiffened under his master’s glare, knowing he had been the one feeding these observations to the patriarch.

His father continued, unfazed. “She has spark, Veeresh. Different from the rest. Try, my boy. Not every alliance is about numbers. Sometimes, it’s about what steadies the man holding them.”

Veeresh’s silence was his only answer, but inside, a flicker stirred. Poornima Rai… spark? The word stayed with him.

“Your amma is calling you,” his father said finally, his voice softer now. “Come this weekend. She misses you.”

Veeresh exhaled slowly, his sharp eyes still on Arjun. “Okay, Dad.”

The line went dead.

For a long moment, the room was heavy with silence. Then Veeresh rose, walked to Arjun, and said in a voice low but lethal, “Next time you feed my personal life to him without my permission, you’ll regret it.”

Arjun bowed his head quickly. “Yes, sir.”

Veeresh turned back toward the window, his thoughts drifting unbidden. His father had spoken of alliances, of marriage, of spark. And despite his efforts, his mind betrayed him, wandering once again to Poornima—her fire, her tears, her laughter, her truths.

The woman he could neither ignore nor understand.