Chapter 10 – Collision

Poornima was trying.

Genuinely.

Pavan was kind. Patient. He listened when she spoke, respected her silences, never pushed when she withdrew. On paper, he was everything she should have wanted after heartbreak.

And yet… something was missing.

She smiled, laughed, nodded—but her heart never fully arrived. No matter how hard she tried, it refused to forget the man who had broken it. Veeresh was still there, in the pauses between conversations, in the way silence felt too familiar.

She hated herself for it.

That evening, she stood outside a café with Pavan, saying goodbye. He was talking about something trivial—plans, work, the future—and she was listening, or at least pretending to.

That’s when she felt it.

A presence.

Her body tensed before her mind understood why.

Veeresh.

He stood across the street, eyes dark, jaw clenched, watching them. Watching him stand close to her. Watching her smile—even if it wasn’t meant for him.

Something snapped.

The blood in his veins boiled violently, drowning out reason, restraint, every promise he had made to himself.

Before Poornima could react, he was there.

Strong hands gripped her arm, then her waist, lifting her off the ground with shocking ease.

“Veeresh—!” she gasped.

Gasps and startled murmurs erupted around them.

He didn’t stop. Didn’t explain. Didn’t look at anyone else.

He carried her straight to his car and set her down firmly in the passenger seat. The door slammed shut.

She tried to open it.

“Shut up,” he said coldly as he got in. “Sit. No shouting.”

Her breath came fast, panic and anger colliding. “Have you lost your mind? What do you think you’re doing?”

The engine roared to life.

He drove.

Fast.

The city lights blurred past as silence thickened the car. Poornima crossed her arms, shaking—not from fear, but fury.

“You don’t get to do this,” she said, her voice trembling. “Not after what you did to me.”

Veeresh didn’t look at her.

His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles white. “I know.”

“Then why—”

“Enough,” he cut in sharply.

The rest of the drive passed in strained silence, every second heavier than the last. When the car finally stopped, Poornima looked up—and froze.

The penthouse.

His territory.

Her heart sank.

He got out, walked around, and opened her door. “Come.”

She hesitated. “I’m not—”

He leaned down, his voice low, dangerous, and aching all at once. “You’re already here.”

She stepped out, her legs unsteady, knowing one thing with terrifying clarity—

This wasn’t about control.

This wasn’t about anger alone.

This was about two people who had never learned how to let go—

and one man who had just realized he was losing her for real.