The night after the engagement felt heavier than the monsoon clouds outside. The celebration had ended, the mansion stood quiet, but inside one of the guest rooms, the silence broke into muffled sobs.

Poornima sat on the edge of the bed, her heavy jewelry now lying carelessly on the dressing table, her eyes swollen from crying. Neha and Priyanka sat beside her, their presence the only comfort left in a world that suddenly felt cruel and unfamiliar.

Neha handed her a glass of water. “You’ve cried enough, Poornima. Please, stop doing this to yourself.”

Poornima shook her head, voice trembling. “I should not have done that to him, Neha. All those years — the teasing, the insults, the humiliation. I thought… I thought it was harmless, just childish.” She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “But I broke him. And now… he’s breaking me.”

Priyanka sighed, her tone softer than usual. “Honestly, Poornima… I didn’t even know he’d turn into this man. The Veeresh Rajawat I remember was that quiet, angry boy who avoided everyone. Now, look at him — confident, untouchable, successful.”

Poornima gave a weak smile through her tears. “He changed. And I forced that change. I pushed him into becoming this version of himself — the cold, powerful man who looks right through me like I’m nothing.”

She took a deep breath, voice breaking. “I made a big mistake.”

Neha gently touched her hand. “So what are you going to do now?”

Poornima’s eyes lowered to the engagement ring on her finger — the ring that felt like both punishment and promise. “I’ll marry him,” she whispered. “I’ll be loyal to him. I won’t cheat or run away. I’ll take everything he throws at me. If this is my punishment, I’ll bear it.”

Priyanka looked at her in disbelief. “You don’t have to think like that, Poornima. You still have a choice.”

She shook her head slowly. “No, I don’t. My parents won’t cancel it, Veeresh won’t back out, and I… I can’t face another scandal. But love…” she looked away, eyes hollow, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to love him.”

There was a long pause — the kind that carried too much truth.

Neha spoke softly, “Then don’t think about love right now. Just… survive. And maybe, if fate allows, try to change him a little. Even the coldest people have a heart somewhere.”

Poornima let out a tired laugh, almost bitter. “Change him? The man I see now doesn’t bend, doesn’t break. He’s everything I’m not.”

Priyanka wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Still, try. You never know what time and truth can do.”

Poornima leaned into her friends, whispering, “I don’t know if I can love him, guys… I don’t even know if I can forgive myself.”

Neha smiled faintly through her own tears. “Life has a strange way of teaching us, Poornima. Sometimes, it gives us exactly what we gave others — just to show us what it feels like.”

For a long moment, none of them spoke. The rain pattered softly against the window, a rhythm of sorrow and fate.

Finally, Poornima reached out, and the three friends pulled into a hug — tight, silent, and trembling with emotion.

In that embrace, they didn’t make promises of happiness or redemption.

Only a silent vow — that whatever came next, Poornima wouldn’t face it alone.