Chapter 62 – Distance of Duty, Ties of Love

Far away from the city lights, in a remote safehouse, Veeresh Raj sat hunched over a desk filled with files, coded documents, and intercepted mail chains. His sharp eyes scanned every detail of the trafficking syndicate his team was tracing. Again and again, the same names surfaced—names that made his blood turn cold.

His two elder brothers.

The very people his father still trusted.

Veeresh leaned back, his jaw tight, his chest heavy. He wanted to storm in, break everything apart, demand the truth—but his spy’s discipline held him back. Not yet. Not without proof strong enough to shatter the mask they wore.

He reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a small, worn photograph. It was of him and Poornima—taken secretly at the college fest when she had been laughing with her students. She had never even noticed the camera, her smile wide and genuine.

His thumb brushed over her face. His voice was low, raw.

“I miss you… every heartbeat. Every second.”

His eyes burned, but he didn’t let the tears fall. He whispered to the photo, as if it could carry his message across the distance.

“I’ll finish this. I’ll break them. And then I’ll come back. To you. To our baby. To the family we deserve. Just hold on, Poornima. Please.”

He kissed the photo lightly before tucking it safely back inside his suit.

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Meanwhile, in Rai Mansion, Poornima stood before the mirror in her room. Her fingers brushed gently across her belly—just a month, but already her heart could feel the life growing within. Her lips curved into a smile.

But the moment passed as she heard voices downstairs. Her parents—planning her engagement to Rishabh Raj.

“Next month, the date is perfect,” her father said firmly.

“We can’t afford any more disobedience,” her mother added.

Poornima closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. How do I tell them? That I already belong to someone else. That I carry his child within me.

She couldn’t. Not yet. If she did, they would destroy everything—her, Veeresh, and the baby.

So she wrapped her shawl tighter, hiding her growing body beneath layers of fabric. She avoided her mother’s sharp eyes, avoided standing too long in front of her father. She smiled when asked questions, nodded when told plans.

But every night, she sat before her temple lamp, folded her hands, and whispered the same prayer.

“Bring him back to me, God. Safe, alive, before our baby comes. That’s all I ask.”

Her tears fell, but her smile remained. Because deep down, she trusted him. Trusted his promise.

In her heart, she spoke to her child.

“Your appa will come. He promised he will hold you first. We just have to wait.”

And so, while Veeresh hunted shadows in a dangerous world, Poornima silently carried his light within her.