Chapter 8

The file lay closed on the table.

But Poornima Rai… or rather, Mannat… had not left his mind.

Veeresh picked up his phone again, this time without hesitation. His fingers moved with precision as he typed a single word into the search bar.

Mannat author

The screen filled with results.

Anonymous author
Identity unknown
No public appearances
No interviews
No verified background

A slow, deliberate smile formed on his lips.

“So you hide well,” he murmured.

He opened her profile.

A list of books appeared.

His eyes scanned the titles, one by one.

“Crimson Vows”
“The Devil’s Claim”
“Bound by Sin”
“His Ruthless Obsession”
“Queen of Ruin”

He leaned back slightly, reading them again.

Each title carried weight. Darkness. Possession. Intensity.

Not soft love.

Not gentle romance.

Something deeper. Sharper.

His thumb tapped on one of the books. He skimmed through excerpts, his expression unreadable at first… then slowly shifting.

The male characters—

Dominant. Calculated. Unapologetically intense.

Not heroes.

Villains.

Men who didn’t ask.

Men who took control.

Men who claimed.

His jaw tightened just slightly as he read a particular line.

A man who does not chase… but makes the world come to him. A man who does not beg for love… but becomes the reason it cannot be denied.

Veeresh exhaled slowly.

“Villain,” he said under his breath.

Not disapproval.

Recognition.

His eyes darkened, a certain understanding settling in.

“So that’s what you write…”

A quiet pause followed.

“And that’s what you think.”

As if on cue, his phone buzzed.

Robin.

“Yes,” Veeresh answered.

“Sir, one more thing,” Robin said. “About Mannat.”

Veeresh’s gaze sharpened.

“Go on.”

“No one knows who Mannat is,” Robin continued. “Not even the publishing circles have confirmed details. There’s no record of gender, nationality… nothing. Completely anonymous.”

A brief silence.

Veeresh’s lips curved slowly.

“Hidden in plain sight,” he said.

“Yes sir. It could be anyone. Male or female. No trace.”

Veeresh ended the call without another word.

His eyes returned to the screen.

To the books.

To the words she had written.

A woman who lived simply. Quietly. Away from power.

And yet—

She wrote men who ruled.

Who dominated.

Who didn’t lose.

His grip on the phone tightened slightly.

“You write about villains…” he said softly.

A faint smile followed.

“Let’s see what you do… when you meet one.”

He placed the phone down, his mind no longer scattered.

Everything was aligning now.

Her silence.

Her depth.

Her control.

This wasn’t coincidence.

This was design.

And Veeresh Raj had just found something that matched him… not on the surface—

But underneath.

Dangerous.

Unseen.

Unclaimed.

For now.