The night sky was heavy with stars, the cool breeze brushing softly against the marble terrace.

Veeresh stood near the railing, cigarette glowing faintly between his fingers. Each drag was slow, deliberate — as if burning away the last traces of his old anger.

He heard footsteps behind him but didn’t turn.

Sahana’s voice sliced through the quiet.

“Well, well… looks like my sister is keeping you happy.”

Veeresh exhaled a thin stream of smoke, eyes still fixed on the city lights. “What do you want, Sahana?”

She smirked. “Just a talk. Or maybe a reminder.”

She stepped closer, her heels clicking softly. “Did you forget what she did to you? The bullying, the insults, the humiliation — all for your stepbrother’s attention. You, of all people, should remember that pain.”

Veeresh finally turned, his eyes calm — too calm. “I remember,” he said simply.

“Then how can you love her?” Sahana’s tone was sharp, almost desperate. “After everything she did?”

Veeresh smiled faintly — not out of mockery, but out of understanding. “Because she didn’t cheat me, Sahana. She didn’t use me.”

Sahana frowned, confused.

Veeresh took one last drag and flicked the cigarette away. “You see, Poornima was wrong — but she accepted it. She was cruel — but she changed. Even after the way I treated her, she stayed. She didn’t run. She didn’t lie. She didn’t betray me for convenience.”

He stepped closer to her, his voice low and steady. “You, on the other hand, betrayed me when I trusted you. You took away your sister’s happiness, her love, her place, just to feed your ego. And now you’re trying to ruin what’s finally good in my life.”

Sahana looked away, her face tightening. “You’ll regret it someday, Veeresh.”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “No. For the first time in my life, I won’t. Because I’m happy I married your sister, not you.”

There was no hate in his tone — only quiet finality.

“Poornima is better than you, Sahana. And I’m proud to call her my wife.”

Sahana froze — the last words hit harder than a slap.

Veeresh turned his back on her and walked toward the door, leaving her standing there in the cold silence.

---

A few feet away, hidden by the shadow of the pillar, Poornima had been standing the whole time.

She had come to look for him — but she had found something more.

Her heart pounded as she heard his every word. Her eyes shimmered with tears, not of sadness, but of relief.

For so long, she had prayed for forgiveness, for a sign that he saw her not as his punishment — but as his peace.

And tonight, she got it.

She pressed a hand over her heart and whispered to herself,

“Thank you, Veeresh… for finally choosing us.”

Then she quietly turned and walked away, a smile trembling on her lips — soft, genuine, full of love.