Chapter 23: Poornima’s POV — Caught Between Two Worlds

After coming back from college, Poornima sat quietly on the edge of the bed.

Her books lay untouched.

Her mind wasn’t in the room.

She kept asking herself the same question again and again.

Should I go… or not?

The image of Veeresh from the morning came to her—how carefully he spoke, how he never pushed, how he waited without demanding anything. His patience, his guilt, his silent effort to earn forgiveness played in her thoughts.

“He is trying,” she admitted to herself.
“Every single day.”

A deep breath escaped her lips.

“Maybe… I should also try.”

She stood up, freshened herself, and opened the cupboard. She chose a simple green salwar—nothing flashy, nothing dramatic. She neatly combed her hair, slid on her bangles, and looked at herself once in the mirror.

She didn’t look like a wife going to a party.

She looked like herself.

Taking her bag, she hopped into an auto and gave the address. Her heart raced the entire way.

When she reached, she saw him.

Veeresh was waiting outside.

And the moment he saw her, the happiness on his face—his eyes lighting up, his shoulders relaxing—said everything. That look alone made her chest ache.

She followed him inside.

The way he introduced her to everyone—proudly, without hesitation—made her feel something she wasn’t ready to name. She spoke politely to his teammates and manager, stayed quiet during dinner, listened as he talked about his project.

She didn’t interrupt.

She didn’t feel invisible either.

Later, back home, they changed their clothes and lay down to sleep.

Poornima turned slightly toward him.

For a brief moment, she wanted to hug him—to rest the way she had the night before, to let herself feel safe again.

Her hand even twitched toward him.

Then her parents’ faces flashed before her eyes.

Her mother’s slap.
Her father’s silence.
The word disowned echoing in her head.

Tears filled her eyes.

She wiped them away quickly.

“I can’t disappoint him,” she thought.
“And I can’t betray my parents either.”

Stuck between guilt and gratitude, anger and comfort, she turned away from him.

Her heart was heavy, torn in two directions.

With unanswered questions swirling in her mind, Poornima closed her eyes.

And sleep came—not peacefully,
but as an escape from everything she wasn’t ready to face yet.