The soft rays of dawn crept into the room, spilling golden light across the floor. Poornima stirred slowly, her body heavy with a quiet ache — not of pain, but of remembrance. Every breath carried traces of the night that had changed her life forever.

For a long moment she didn’t move. She simply lay still, feeling the warmth of the man sleeping beside her. Veeresh’s face was calm, his features softened by peace she had rarely seen in him before. His hand rested near hers, almost touching — as if even in sleep, he was afraid to let her go.

Poornima’s gaze lingered on him, and a faint, shy smile touched her lips. Her heart felt full — so full that it ached. The echoes of his whispered words, his tenderness, the way he had looked at her as if she was the only woman in the world… they all flooded back, washing away years of loneliness that had quietly hollowed her.

For the first time in her life, she felt seen. Not as a widow, not as a mother, not as someone bound by duties — but as a woman.

She brushed her fingers across her face and felt the warmth rise in her cheeks. Her body still carried the memory of his touch — marks that weren’t of possession but of love, each one a silent promise that she wasn’t forgotten or unloved anymore.

Tears filled her eyes — not from sadness, but from a strange, deep happiness she had never known. For years she had lived in the shadow of silence, convincing herself that her heart had forgotten how to feel. And yet last night, Veeresh had shown her that she was still alive — that her soul still yearned to be cherished, that love could bloom even after life’s harshest winters.

She turned slightly, watching him breathe, and whispered softly, “Thank you, Veeresh… for giving me back myself.”

Poornima closed her eyes again, resting her head on the pillow, feeling the quiet rhythm of his breath beside her. The world outside was waking up — birds chirping, light spilling gently — but inside her, a whole new world had begun.

She was no longer the woman who had been broken by time.

She was reborn — a wife, a lover, a woman complete in every sense.