Chapter 39

Where Men Break

stood alone in his penthouse, the city lights blinking below like distant stars that never belonged to him.

He poured a drink.

The liquid burned less than his thoughts.

Why is everything like this with me?
First, his mother left.
Then the woman he once loved walked away.
Now Poornima — his rival’s wife… his responsibility… his wife — was slowly becoming something dangerous.

His peace.

And peace scared him more than pain ever did.

“Veeresh…”

Her voice cut through the silence.

He stiffened. “Why are you here?”

didn’t answer. She walked toward him and knelt in front of him, her saree touching the cold marble floor. She gently wiped the tear that had escaped without his permission.

“What happened?”

“Nothing,” he muttered, lifting the glass again.

She took it from his hand and kept it aside.

His jaw clenched.

“I want to cry loudly,” he said, voice breaking. “But I can’t cry here.”

Her eyes softened. “Then where do you want to cry?”

He looked at her like a lost child.

“Come with me.”

She nodded.

No questions.

He drove without speaking, headlights cutting through the dark road. The city faded behind them until only silence and the sound of the river remained.

He parked near the outskirts, beside the flowing water.

He walked to the sand and sat down heavily.

And then—

He broke.

A raw, wounded scream tore out of him.

Not anger.

Not rage.

Pain.

Years of swallowed tears shattered into the night.

Poornima felt it in her bones.

Each cry carried abandonment, betrayal, loneliness, guilt.

“It hurts, Poornima…” he said hoarsely. “Very badly. I don’t know how to do this… how to be normal… how to trust… how to breathe without feeling something will be taken away.”

She moved closer and wrapped her arms around him.

But she didn’t stop him.

Didn’t silence him.

Didn’t preach strength.

She just sat beside him.

Let him cry.

Let the river carry his broken pieces.

For the first time, Veeresh wasn’t the ruthless businessman.

He was just a boy who never learned how to grieve.

And Poornima understood —

Some men don’t need advice.

They need a place to fall.

One line:
Kabhi kabhi sabse mazboot aadmi ko bhi tootne ke liye ek kandha chahiye hota hai.