Chapter 37 – The Shattering Truth

The library’s quiet stillness pressed around them, broken only by the rhythm of their uneven breaths. Veeresh sat heavy in her lap, his confession still lingering in the air like a wound laid bare.

Poornima finally found her voice. Her fingers, which had been resting lightly on his shoulder, curled slightly as she whispered, “It’s not only you, Mr. Raj… I feel it too. These emotions—strange, consuming… they frighten me, but I cannot deny them.”

Her words made his heart jolt, his gaze snapping to hers with something close to hope. But then she added, her voice trembling, “And yet—I am getting engaged… to Ridhabh Raj.”

The name struck him like a blade. His body stiffened. He sat more firmly on her lap now, his eyes narrowing, his jaw tightening as if the very ground had shifted beneath him.

“What… marriage?” His voice was hoarse, sharp, disbelief lacing every syllable.

She looked away, her eyes glistening though no tear fell. “Because my parents said they would end their lives if I refused. They said I brought shame by rejecting alliances, by choosing teaching instead of their empire. They could have disowned me, stripped me of wealth, cast me out of Rai family… but instead, they chose to cage me. And I… I just accepted.”

Her voice cracked at the end, though she fought to keep her composure. “It wasn’t weakness—it was fear of losing them. Even after all the ways they crushed me, I still… couldn’t bear the thought of them ending everything because of me.”

Veeresh’s breath grew heavy, a storm raging inside his chest. He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms, fury flashing in his eyes—not at her, never at her, but at the cruel fate, the toxic bargain her family had forced upon her.

He wanted to scream the truth—that Ridhabh was his brother, that the marriage was not only a betrayal to her heart but a dagger to his own. But the words burned in his throat, trapped by timing and duty. He couldn’t—not yet.

Instead, his restraint shattered in another way.

Without another thought, Veeresh’s hands cupped her face, his eyes blazing with pain and passion. He pulled her to him and kissed her—fiercely, hungrily, desperately. This kiss wasn’t gentle; it was raw, full of fire, his soul pouring into hers, declaring what words couldn’t.

Poornima gasped against him, her body trembling, but she didn’t push him away. Instead, her hands found his back, clutching his shirt as if anchoring herself to the man who had finally broken through every wall she had built.

The kiss deepened, longer, fiercer—her surrender mingling with his defiance, her unspoken tears meeting his unspoken rage.

When they finally broke apart, their foreheads pressed together, both trembling, their breaths uneven.

Veeresh’s voice came low, almost guttural. “You are not theirs to trade. You are not a bargain, Poornima. You are mine… even if the whole world stands against it.”

And in that moment, though neither knew how the storm ahead would destroy or remake them, one truth burned between them—undeniable, irrevocable.

They belonged to each other.