Chapter 2: A Decision No One Was Ready For

Poornima sat quietly on the edge of the bed, her red lehenga spreading around her like a story she didn’t feel part of, the veil lightly covering her face, her makeup soft and minimal, her hands resting still in her lap as if even movement required effort.

Outside, footsteps rushed, whispers grew louder, and suddenly the calm broke.

“Riyan is not in his room…” someone said, panic slipping through their voice.

Veeresh frowned, standing up. “What do you mean not in his room?”

A servant hurried forward, holding a paper. “We found this… on the table.”

His father snatched the letter, unfolding it with trembling hands.

Silence fell.

Then his voice cracked. “I’m sorry… I can’t do this marriage… I tried… but I can’t forget her… I’m leaving…”

The words echoed like a slap across the entire house.

“What nonsense!” Veeresh’s mother gasped, holding onto the chair for support.

Poornima’s parents stood still, their faces pale, but no anger, no shouting, just a quiet, heavy disappointment settling in their eyes.

“I’m… sorry,” her father said slowly, folding his hands. “We didn’t know…”

Veeresh looked at them, shocked not by the situation, but by their composure.

“No accusations… no blame…” he thought.

His father suddenly stepped forward. “Please… don’t say sorry.”

Everyone turned.

“We are ashamed,” he continued, his voice firm despite the humiliation. “But we won’t let your daughter walk out like this.”

A pause.

Then words no one expected.

“Will you give your daughter’s hand… to my younger son, Veeresh Thakur?”

Time stopped.

“Appa…?” Veeresh whispered, his eyes widening.

Poornima’s parents froze completely.

“No… no, we can’t,” her mother said immediately, shaking her head. “He is young… he has his whole life ahead.”

Her father nodded. “He is a bright boy… we will handle our daughter… please don’t feel obligated.”

“It’s not obligation,” Veeresh’s mother stepped in, her voice emotional but steady. “We are not asking because she is helpless… or weak…”

His father continued, “We are asking because she is a good-hearted girl… and she deserves respect, not pity.”

The room fell silent again.

Poornima’s father looked at Veeresh. “Ask him,” he said gently. “If he has someone in his life… we don’t want to ruin his future too.”

All eyes turned to him.

Veeresh felt the weight of every gaze, every expectation, every broken moment hanging in the air.

He glanced once toward the closed room where Poornima sat.

Calm… silent… unaware of what was unfolding.

“There is no one,” he said finally, his voice clear.

A small shift in the room.

“But…” he added, taking a breath, “I want to talk to Poornima… once.”

No one spoke.

His father nodded slowly. “Go.”

Veeresh walked toward the room, each step heavier than the last, his mind not thinking about right or wrong, just one thing repeating again and again.

“This is her life too.”

He stopped at the door, his hand hovering for a second before knocking softly.

Inside, Poornima didn’t move.

“Come in,” she said quietly.

Veeresh entered, closing the door behind him, and for the first time, it was just the two of them, away from the chaos, away from the decisions being made for them.

She didn’t look up immediately.

“I heard… something happened,” she said, her voice steady, almost too steady.

Veeresh swallowed. “Riyan bhai… left.”

A small pause.

No shock. No tears.

Just a slow blink.

“I see.”

He looked at her, trying to understand how someone could hold so much within and still remain this composed.

“They… are asking…” he began, but the words felt heavy.

She finally looked up at him. “To marry you?”

He nodded.

A faint, almost invisible smile touched her lips, not out of happiness, but something else.

“Life really doesn’t give me time to breathe, does it?” she murmured.

Veeresh took a step closer. “You can say no.”

She held his gaze. “Can you?”

The question caught him off guard.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Silence stretched between them, not uncomfortable, but real.

“I don’t want sympathy,” she said after a moment.

“And I don’t want to give it,” he replied instantly.

That made her look at him properly for the first time.

“I’m not my brother,” he continued, his voice calm but firm. “And this… won’t be a sacrifice for me.”

Her eyes searched his face, as if trying to find hesitation, doubt, anything.

“Then what is it?” she asked softly.

Veeresh exhaled slowly. “A decision… we both have to live with.”

Another silence.

This time, it felt different.

Less heavy.

More… honest.