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The hospital was silent that night.

The corridors were empty, the world asleep — but inside the ICU, one man sat wide awake, shattered in every possible way.

Veeresh Deewan — the ruthless don, the untouchable king of the underworld — sat slumped beside Poornima’s bed, his head bowed, his hand clutching hers tightly as if his grip alone could stop death from stealing her away.

The room smelled of medicine and faint vanilla — her perfume still lingering on the shawl folded near her pillow.

He stared at her face, pale and still, and something inside him snapped.

He buried his face into her hand and for the first time in years, Veeresh cried. Not the kind of tears that came from pain or anger — but from helplessness, from love, from the unbearable weight of seeing the only light in his life flickering before him.

> “Ruby…” he whispered brokenly. “You said you’d wait for me to come home for dinner… You said you’ll feed me cake again if I ever forget. How can I eat anything without you now?”

His voice trembled as his tears soaked her cold skin.

He took a deep breath, as if trying to steady himself, but the memories came crashing down like a storm.

> “You don’t know… what I was before you came,” he began softly, his voice rough with emotion.

“I wasn’t born a monster, Ruby. I became one.”

He lifted his head slightly, looking at her face, hoping she could hear him — that somewhere inside, she was listening.

> “My parents… they were killed when I was eighteen. A rival gang, just for money and power. I was nothing back then — just a boy who lost everything in one night. I learned one thing that day — love is weakness. Trust kills. So, I built walls around me.”

He let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow.

> “Then came her — my ex. She told me she loved me, made me believe I could be human again. And the next day… she sold me out. I was left for dead, shot, broken, betrayed. That’s the day I swore — never again. No love. No mercy.”

He clenched his jaw, tears falling freely now.

> “And then you came, Ruby. With your stupid smiles. Your silly punishments. Your heart so damn pure it made me feel alive again.”

He looked at her face — unmoving, serene — and his voice broke completely.

> “You changed me. You made me eat dinner with someone for the first time in years. You made me laugh, made me wait for someone’s voice… You made the devil fall in love.”

He pressed her hand to his chest, his heart pounding beneath her fingers.

> “So don’t you dare leave me now. Don’t make me go back to what I was. I can’t, Ruby. I can’t breathe without you.”

His tears fell harder, his voice barely a whisper now.

> “I love you… please, just open your eyes once. Look at me. Scold me. Smile at me. Anything. But please don’t go.”

He kissed her forehead, lingering there, his tears soaking her bandage.

> “You’re the only good thing I ever had… my only reason to still believe in forever.”

That night, the devil cried beside his sleeping angel, whispering confessions into the dark — every tear a promise that he would never stop fighting for her.