The air in the room shifted, heavier, more intimate. Veeresh’s sharp gaze never wavered from her, but there was no malice in it—only intrigue, curiosity, and something else flickering beneath.

“I didn’t just find out, Poornima,” he said, voice dropping into that low timbre that always carried weight. “I read them. Every single story you wrote.”

Her heart thudded in her chest. “You… what?”

Veeresh smirked, leaning back in his chair like a king making a declaration. “Those dark romance tales—the way you crafted the villain into the kind of man women should fear but can’t help loving. The heroine who resists, fights, yet surrenders in fire. And the smut…” His smirk softened into genuine admiration. “It wasn’t vulgar. It was passion on paper. Beautiful. Bold. Raw.”

Poornima’s breath caught, her cheeks flushing crimson. No one—not even her closest circle—had ever said those words aloud to her. “But… how? How did you even find them?”

Veeresh’s eyes glinted with devilish amusement. “You think a man like me—king, businessman, underworld don—can’t uncover a pen name? Your style gave you away. Those metaphors, those hidden emotions in between the lines… it was you. I felt it. And when I traced the IPs and followed the drops—” He shrugged with mock nonchalance. “Let’s just say your secrets aren’t as hidden as you thought, Mrs. Raj.”

Poornima stared at him, stunned. “You… hacked into my world? My private space?”

“Not hacked,” he corrected smoothly. “Unveiled. Because I wanted to know you. The real you. Not the broken princess your father dismissed. Not the restauranteur the world praises. But the woman who bleeds on pages, who craves love so fierce she dares to give it to her villains.”

Her lips trembled, emotions colliding—anger, fear, but also something warm and sharp. “And what did you see in me, Veeresh? After reading?”

His hand reached for hers, fingers curling around with deliberate strength. “I saw a woman who writes villains because she wants one to love her. To fight for her. To claim her. Not with pretty words but with scars, sins, and truth. And that’s why you wrote them, didn’t you, Poornima?”

Her eyes widened, glistening, because he wasn’t wrong.

Veeresh leaned closer, his whisper brushing against her lips. “And tell me… now that you’ve married one, will you let the villain love you for real?”