Chapter 37

Smoke and Promises

carried the plate upstairs and found on the balcony, smoke circling around him like his unspoken thoughts.

She didn’t like the smell anymore.

But she ignored it.

“Veeresh, come eat dinner.”

“I already had.”

“Don’t lie. Come.”

There was something firm in her tone.

He looked at her for a long second, then followed.

He sat, eating quietly, cigarette still between his fingers.

“Stop smoking, Veeresh.”

He crushed it in the tray without arguing.

They ate in silence.

Not cold.

Not warm.

Just careful.

After freshening up, he returned to the room.

Inayat came running in.

“Did you eat?”

“Yes, dada.”

“Sleep.”

She obeyed.

When Poornima returned after keeping the plates downstairs, she found him lighting another cigarette.

This time, she didn’t stay quiet.

“Why do you smoke so much?”

He said nothing.

She walked to him, took the cigarette from his fingers, and threw it away.

In one second, he pulled her back.

“What the hell was that, Poons?”

“Stop smoking. One pack every day. What will happen to you?”

“What? I’ll die?”

She grabbed his shirt tightly.

“Don’t say such things, Veeresh.”

“Why?”

Her voice trembled.

“I don’t know… but be there. For me. For Inayat. For this child.”

For a moment, something shifted in his eyes.

Something raw.

Something unguarded.

He pulled her closer and kissed her.

Not angry.

Not cruel.

Deep.

Desperate.

Like a man trying to silence his own fear.

She responded without hesitation.

He tilted her face slightly, breath uneven.

“It’s not easy.”

“It can be,” she whispered. “You can kiss me when you feel like smoking.”

For the first time, he almost smiled.

She wasn’t fighting him.

She was fighting for him.

One line:
Kabhi kabhi kisi ko jeene ki wajah banne ke liye… bas uska haath pakadna padta hai.