Chapter 27

The Rai Residence was alive with its usual grandeur. High ceilings, chandeliers, and walls lined with awards of business excellence spoke of power and control. But in her quiet room, Poornima Rai sat by the window, her lamp casting a warm glow over her desk stacked with novels and notes.

Her parents’ voices still echoed in her mind from dinner.

“Poornima, you cannot run away from reality,” her father had said sternly. “You are the daughter of Rai Industries. This… teaching life of yours—it doesn’t befit our name.”

Her mother had added with sharp finality, “Enough of rejecting proposals. This time, you will listen. Marriage alliances strengthen legacy, not your poetry.”

Poornima had listened silently, her calmness masking the storm within. When she excused herself, her father’s parting words had cut the deepest:

“Who will marry you, Poornima, if not for family alliances? You think the world waits for girls who dream of books?”

Back in her room, she stared at the moonlight spilling through the curtains. She whispered softly, almost to herself:

“I don’t need the world. I just need someone who doesn’t want to control me… someone who sees me.”

Her fingers brushed over the umbrella leaning against the wall—the one Veeresh had given her that rainy day. She smiled faintly. Why did she keep it so carefully?

Her thoughts drifted back to him. The sharp way he carried himself, the intensity in his eyes, the dance at the fest, his questions about love that seemed innocent yet probing. And then—today at lunch. His nearness had unsettled her, his voice had almost broken through her walls… and then, suddenly, he pushed her away with coldness.

Poornima exhaled, closing her book. Mr. Raj… you’re a mystery I didn’t ask for, yet one I cannot ignore.

Somewhere, deep inside, she felt it—a thread pulling her toward him. Even if she tried to convince herself otherwise.