Chapter Seventy-One: The Love She Walked Away From

The news reached even the quiet corners of .

It came casually, like any other piece of information—someone mentioning it, a passing conversation, a name she had buried… spoken again.

“Veeresh Rathore is remarrying… with Ridhima.”

That was all it took.

Poornima stood still.

For a moment, she didn’t react.

As if her mind refused to understand what her ears had just heard.

Then—

It sank in.

Her breath hitched.

“No…” she whispered, but it wasn’t denial.

It was… realization.

This was supposed to happen.

She had left him.

She had signed those papers.

She had walked away… so that he could live freely.

Then why—

Why did it hurt like this?

Her legs gave in slowly, and she sat down, her hands trembling as her mind began to replay everything she had tried so hard to silence.

The first time he slid the ring into her finger—

Not like a fairytale.

Not with soft words.

But raw.

Honest.

“I am not perfect… I am flawed…”

“I don’t believe in love… but I will be honest.”

That was his proposal.

No promises.

No illusions.

Just truth.

And still—

He chose her.

Even after knowing everything about her past.

Even after knowing what the world would say.

He didn’t step back.

He stepped closer.

Her fingers instinctively moved to her neck.

The mangalsutra.

Still there.

She froze for a second.

Two years…

Two years had passed, and she had never once removed it.

Not even after signing the divorce.

Not even when she told herself it was over.

Because somewhere—

She never truly believed it was.

Her grip tightened around it, her eyes filling as more memories came rushing in.

The way he chose a lighter, delicate mangalsutra for her daily wear—

Because he noticed her discomfort without her saying a word.

The way he stood for her.

That day… in the restaurant…

When he slapped Ridhima.

Not once.

Twice.

For her.

“For my wife…” he had said.

His voice.

His anger.

His protectiveness.

No hesitation.

No doubt.

Everything—

Every moment—

Came crashing back at once.

Her breathing broke, her chest tightening as tears finally spilled over.

“I left him…” she whispered, her voice shaking.

“I left him…”

Not because he failed her.

Not because he hurt her.

But because she thought—

She was protecting him.

And now—

He was moving on.

Like he should.

Like she wanted him to.

Then why did it feel like something was being ripped out of her?

Her hand clutched the mangalsutra tighter, as if holding onto it would somehow hold onto him.

“I couldn’t stay…” she cried softly.

“I couldn’t be the reason he suffers…”

Her tears fell endlessly now, her body shaking with the weight of everything she had buried for two years.

“I wanted love…” she whispered, broken.

“And I had it…”

Her voice cracked completely.

“And I left it…”

Because for the first time, Poornima understood that the pain she was feeling wasn’t just about losing him—it was about realizing that the love she had always longed for was given to her without conditions, and she walked away from it, believing she didn’t deserve to keep it.