Chapter Fifteen: The Fear Beneath the Promise

The night felt heavier than usual.

Poornima lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling of her penthouse in , her mind refusing to quiet down.

The city outside was alive—lights flickering, distant sounds blending into the rhythm of life.

But inside her…

There was only noise.

Thoughts.
Questions.
Fear.

Her fingers tightened around the bedsheet as she turned to her side, her gaze falling on the ring again.

That ring.

A promise.
A decision.
A future she hadn’t planned.

“How am I supposed to understand him…” she whispered softly, her voice barely audible in the stillness.

Veeresh Rathore.

A man she couldn’t read.
A man who didn’t try to be understood.

He had laid himself bare in front of her—but even that honesty felt complicated.

“I don’t love you.”

She closed her eyes briefly.

That didn’t hurt.

Not the way it should have.

Because she had lived her entire life without love.

But what came after…

That was what stayed with her.

“I’ve already been with others.”

Her chest tightened.

That part…

That part unsettled her.

Not because she judged him.
Not because she expected perfection.

But because of what it meant.

What if he continued?

What if after marriage…
Nothing changed?

Her fingers curled slightly as her thoughts grew heavier.

“I can’t…” she whispered, shaking her head faintly. “I can’t live like that.”

Her voice trembled now.

“I’ve already lived a life where I wasn’t enough for someone.”

Her throat tightened painfully.

“I won’t live a life where I’m not enough for my husband too.”

The words broke out of her before she could stop them.

Because that fear…

It wasn’t small.

It was deep.

Rooted in everything she had been through.

She sat up slowly, pulling her knees closer to herself, wrapping her arms around them as if trying to hold herself together.

“I yearn for love…”

The confession slipped out quietly.

Honest. Vulnerable.

“I’m human…”

Her voice cracked slightly.

“I can adjust… I can handle anger… I can handle fights…”

Her eyes filled, but she didn’t let the tears fall this time.

“I don’t mind if he scolds me…”

A pause.

Even her next thought surprised her.

“I don’t mind if he hurts me in anger…”

But then—

Her head shook immediately, more firmly this time.

“No…” she whispered, correcting herself, her voice gaining strength.

“Not that.”

Something shifted in her expression.

A line she wasn’t willing to cross.

“I can’t accept cheating.”

That word…

It held finality.

“I can’t share the person I call mine.”

Her grip tightened around her arms.

“I want honesty… loyalty… respect…”

Her voice softened again.

“And… love.”

The last word barely made it out.

Because that was the one thing she had never truly had.

Her gaze drifted back to the ring.

“Will he give me that?” she asked herself quietly.

Safety.

Not physical.

Emotional.

The kind where she didn’t have to question her place.
The kind where she didn’t feel like she was competing for someone’s attention.

The kind where she was… chosen.

Every single day.

Her heart felt heavy with uncertainty.

Because Veeresh had promised many things.

Honesty.
Loyalty.
That he wouldn’t leave.

But love…

He hadn’t promised that.

And that scared her.

Because she didn’t just want a marriage.

She wanted something real.

Something that wouldn’t break her again.

Her fingers slowly touched the ring once more, tracing its edges as if searching for answers it couldn’t give.

“What if I fall… and he doesn’t?” she whispered.

That fear lingered longer than anything else.

Because falling alone…

Was worse than never falling at all.

She lay back again, staring blankly ahead, her thoughts slowly exhausting her.

Somewhere between fear and hope…

Between doubt and a strange pull toward him…

Poornima Singh Mewar found herself standing at a place she had never been before.

Not completely broken.
Not completely strong.

Just…

Human.

And for the first time—

She wasn’t just afraid of being unloved.

She was afraid of loving someone who might not know how to love her back.