Chapter 6

The silence between them hadn’t fully settled.

Veeresh stood there for a moment longer than necessary… then something in him shifted.

Before logic could interfere, he stepped forward.

Closer.

Poornima remained seated, her posture straight, her expression calm—but her awareness sharpened as he closed the distance.

He bent slightly toward her, his presence now unmistakably near.

“I like it,” he said, his voice low, controlled.

Poornima didn’t flinch.

Her eyes met his steadily.

“You could have said that from where you were standing,” she replied, her tone even. “Coming this close wasn’t necessary, Professor Raj.”

A faint smile curved his lips.

“Necessary?” he repeated softly.

Then, leaning just enough to let his words carry weight—

“Because you’re my prey now.”

The words hung in the air—bold, unapologetic.

“And I don’t like my prey staying away from me.”

For a brief second, silence.

Then—

“Prey?” Poornima echoed, one brow lifting ever so slightly.

There was no fear. No hesitation.

Only quiet defiance.

“I won’t fall for your trap, Mr. Raj.”

That made his smile deepen.

Slow. Certain.

As if he had expected nothing less.

His hand lifted—deliberate, unhurried—and he gently held her chin, tilting her face just enough to meet his gaze completely.

“Surely,” he said, his voice dropping further, “you will fall… for our marriage trap, Miss Rai.”

The words were not a question.

They were a claim.

His eyes held hers, unwavering.

“That parting in your hair…” he continued, his tone almost possessive, “…will carry my name in sindoor.”

A pause.

“And around your neck—those black beads… will bear my name.”

Another breath.

“And your toes…” his gaze flickered briefly downward, then back to her eyes, “…will carry my ring.”

The intensity between them tightened—unspoken, unbroken.

Poornima didn’t look away.

Not even for a second.

“Let’s see,” she said simply.

Two words.

But steady. Grounded.

Unmoved.

That answer seemed to satisfy him more than agreement ever could.

His grip loosened, his hand dropping away as he straightened.

“Be ready,” he said, a faint edge of certainty in his voice. “Mrs. Raj… soon to be.”

And just like that—

He turned.

Walked away.

Leaving behind silence that felt anything but empty.

Poornima remained seated, her expression unchanged… but her fingers tightened slightly over the edge of the table.

Not shaken.

Not affected.

But aware.

Because this—

Was no ordinary beginning.

This was a clash.

Of will.
Of control.
Of two people who refused to yield.

And neither of them intended to lose.