Chapter 29
Veeresh’s POV

I have seen power.

Boardrooms. Decisions that move crores. Men who command without raising their voice.

I have seen control.

But this—

This was something else.

I stood a little behind, watching her.

Poornima.

Not the calm professor.
Not the woman who argues with me.
Not the one who calls me gadha without hesitation.

This Poornima—

She was different.

When she ran toward him, something in me stilled.

No hesitation. No thinking. Just… feeling.

The way she hugged him.

Tight.

Like she had found something she never wanted to lose again.

“I’m so happy… I’m proud of you…”

Her voice reached me clearly.

And I realised—

This was the side of her no one gets to see.

Not easily.

Not freely.

When she kissed his forehead, I felt something shift inside me.

Not jealousy.

Not this time.

Something heavier.

Understanding.

So this is what she wanted.

Not money.
Not status.
Not validation.

Just this.

Love that stays.
Love that shows up.
Love that doesn’t leave.

When he said “Akka…”

I noticed her face.

It softened instantly.

Like all her guarded walls… just disappeared.

And when he asked her to reveal his rank—

She hesitated.

Not out of fear.

But out of emotion.

Her hands moved slowly, carefully, like she was holding something sacred.

And when she placed that cap on his head—

I don’t know why—

But I felt proud.

Of him.

Of her.

Of that moment.

“Colonel Rayesh Rai.”

His voice was strong.

But her smile—

That stayed with me.

It wasn’t forced.

It wasn’t controlled.

It was pure.

The kind she never shows in front of anyone else.

He hugged her again.

And she held him just as tightly.

And I stood there—

Watching.

Learning something I didn’t expect.

Poornima Rai—

Is not broken.

She’s… starved.

Of the kind of love she just gave him so easily.

And maybe—

That’s why she pushes everything else away.

Because she knows how it feels when it doesn’t stay.

My jaw tightened slightly.

Not in anger.

In decision.

I don’t know how long it will take.

I don’t know how much she will fight me.

But one thing became clear in that moment—

I’m not leaving her.

Not now.

Not ever.

Because what she thinks is broken—

Is the most real thing I’ve seen.

And I want it.

All of it.

Her silence.
Her anger.
Her softness.
Her pain.

Everything.

I shifted my gaze back to her.

She was still smiling.

Still holding him.

And for the first time—

I didn’t feel like pulling her away.

I just watched.

Because some moments—

Are not meant to be interrupted.

Only understood.

And I did.