Chapter 26: Noise Around, Silence Within

Veeresh stepped into the party, the noise hitting him instantly.

Music. Laughter. Glasses clinking. Conversations overlapping.

Everything loud.

Everything unnecessary.

He adjusted his coat slightly and walked in, his expression unchanged, his presence calm but distant. People noticed him immediately.

“Veeresh, you’re late,” someone said.

He gave a small nod.

No explanation.

He wasn’t here to enjoy.

He was here because he had to be.

He took a glass from the tray passing by, holding it for a moment without drinking. His eyes moved around the room, observing everything but connecting with nothing.

This wasn’t his place.

It never was.

“Big deal you closed,” a client approached, smiling. “Impressive work.”

“Thank you,” Veeresh replied, his tone polite but brief.

“Your team did well.”

A pause.

“Poornima handled it,” he said simply.

The client nodded. “She’s sharp.”

Veeresh didn’t respond, but something in his expression softened slightly.

Sharp.

Yes.

He already knew that.

Another group pulled him into conversation—numbers, strategies, future deals. He spoke when needed, answered precisely, kept everything professional.

But even while standing there—

His mind wasn’t fully present.

It moved elsewhere.

Unconsciously.

To her.

He remembered the morning.

The way she had looked at him while handing the file.

The way she reminded him about the tablets.

Not as a formality.

But as care.

Real.

Unfiltered.

His fingers tightened slightly around the glass.

He hadn’t taken the tablets.

Not yet.

The noise around him started to feel heavier.

The lights too bright.

The conversations too close.

He stepped away from the group and moved toward a quieter corner.

His hand went to his temple, pressing lightly.

The beginning of a headache.

He closed his eyes for a second.

And without thinking—

His mind went to one place.

Her lap.

The way her fingers moved through his hair.

The way she knew exactly where it hurt.

The way she didn’t ask questions… but understood everything.

His jaw tightened slightly.

He opened his eyes.

This wasn’t the place.

He reached into his pocket and took out the tablets she had given him.

He looked at them for a second.

A faint memory crossed his mind—her voice, soft but firm, “Don’t forget to take it.”

He took one.

Swallowed it.

For a moment, he stood still.

The noise around him continued.

But inside—

Something shifted.

Not completely calm.

But less heavy.

He walked back, finishing what he had to do, speaking when required, maintaining the same composed exterior.

But now—

There was a quiet awareness in him.

That somewhere, someone was thinking about him.

Waiting.

Without asking.

Without demanding.

Just… there.

He checked his phone once.

No messages.

A brief pause.

Then he put it back.

He didn’t call.

He wasn’t used to that.

But the thought stayed.

As the party continued around him, loud and full of people—

Veeresh stood there, present in body.

But somewhere else in mind.

Somewhere quieter.

Somewhere that felt more like home.