Poornima was still in his arms when Veeresh suddenly pulled back, his grip on her waist tightening—

not harsh, but desperate, like he was fighting something inside him.

His eyes were darker, filled with questions that had lived there for years.

“Poornima…” he said quietly.

She looked up.

“Veer?”

But he shook his head sharply.

“Shh. Let me speak.”

Something in his voice made her go still.

He leaned closer, his hand holding her waist firmly, almost protectively.

“Why,” he whispered, “did you never see me?”

Poornima blinked, confused.

“Veer… what do you mean?”

He swallowed hard, jaw tight, emotion flickering through his eyes.

“In school,” he said.

“In college. Our whole childhood. You always treated me like an enemy.”

His fingers tightened slightly at her waist.

“You fought with me. Avoided me. Argued with me.”

He stepped closer.

“And you never— not even once— saw me as anything else.”

Poornima opened her mouth, but he cut her off again.

“Shh. I’m not finished.”

His voice had a raw edge now, almost painful.

“We could have been friends, Poornima.”

He looked deep into her eyes.

“We could have been something more… even lovers.”

She felt her heart stop.

He took a slow breath, eyes dropping to her lips for a second before he forced himself to look away.

“But you were always… you.”

He almost laughed, bitterly.

“Fighting with me. Ignoring me. Acting like I didn’t exist unless we were arguing.”

Poornima felt a lump in her throat.

“And you know what?” he continued.

“You never spoke to any boys. Not even once. I saw you.”

His voice softened, a confession slipping out.

“I always saw you.”

Her breath caught.

“You think I didn’t notice?” he whispered.

“You think I didn’t watch you?”

He shook his head, eyes burning.

“I noticed everything. Every time you cried. Every time you hid your pain. Every time you acted brave when you were breaking inside.”

Poornima felt her eyes sting.

“And even then…”

His voice dropped to a low, aching truth.

“I thought about you. About your future. About who you’d marry one day.”

Her lips parted in shock.

He met her gaze—and she finally saw it.

The boy he used to be.

The man he had become.

And the feelings he had carried silently all along.

“I thought about you getting married,” he whispered,

“even when we were just kids.”

Her chest tightened painfully.

“Veer…” she whispered.

He shook his head again, stepping even closer until their breaths mingled.

“I was right there, Poornima. All those years.”

His voice cracked just a little.

“And you never saw me.”

She lifted a trembling hand to his cheek.

“I see you now,” she whispered.

His eyes softened instantly—like those four words healed a wound he never thought would close.

He pulled her into him again, burying his face near her neck.

For the first time, the childhood distance between them truly disappeared.

And maybe…

just maybe…

they were finally meeting each other for the first time.