Chapter 75 – The Forgotten Strings

The room was silent, save for the steady beep of the monitor. Veeresh leaned forward, clutching Poornima’s hand as her eyelids slowly fluttered open. His heart leapt—this was the moment he had prayed for through endless nights.

The doctor stepped closer. “Mrs. Raj, can you hear me? Tell me your name.”

She blinked, confusion swimming in her eyes. After a pause, her soft voice broke the silence:

“Poornima… Rai.”

Veeresh’s smile froze. His chest tightened. Rai. Not Raj. Not his Poornima who whispered his name on wedding nights, not the woman who clung to him with trust and fire.

The doctor nodded gently, then pointed at Veeresh. “And do you know who this man is?”

Poornima looked at him, her gaze innocent, unfamiliar. She tilted her head, almost apologetic.

“No. I don’t know him.”

The words were daggers. Veeresh’s throat burned as if the air itself betrayed him. He forced himself to nod, not to break in front of her. He stepped back slowly, then turned and walked out of the room before his heart could collapse entirely.

Outside, in the hallway, the dam broke. He pressed his palms against the wall and cried out, his body trembling with grief. His father, Raghav, rushed forward and wrapped his arms around his son.

“Dad,” Veeresh choked, clutching him like a drowning man, “she forgot me… she forgot us. She doesn’t even know who I am.”

Raghav’s own eyes were wet, but his voice carried steady strength. “Yes, son… she forgot. But you didn’t. And that is what matters. You loved her once in secret—now love her in the open. Claim her, not as a shadow, but as your wife in the light of the world. Win her again. Remind her who she is, who you are.”

Veeresh, broken yet burning, lifted his head, his jaw tight with determination.

“Yes,” he whispered. “I’ll make her mine again. No secrets. No hiding. If her heart forgot, I’ll teach it to remember. I’ll love her so much that forgetting will no longer be possible.”

And in that moment, though his soul ached, a new vow was born in his chest—fiercer, purer than before.