Chapter 10 The First Crack in the Wall

Poornima walked back to the room slowly, her thoughts still tangled in what she had just heard.

Dangerous for him.

And yet he said nothing.

The door was slightly open. She stepped inside quietly, but the room was empty.

A faint sound of running water came from the washroom.

She moved toward it instinctively and stopped at the entrance.

Veeresh stood near the sink, one hand gripping the edge tightly, the other splashing water onto his face again and again. His expression was no longer composed. His breathing was uneven, and the redness in his eyes made it clear.

The spice had hit him harder than he showed.

Poornima watched for a second, something shifting inside her.

Without thinking further, she stepped in, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him toward the shower.

Before he could react, she turned the water on.

Cold water fell over both of them, soaking through instantly.

Veeresh stiffened at first, caught off guard, his eyes snapping toward her.

“Poornima, what are you—”

But his words stopped.

Because in the next moment, she stepped closer and kissed him.

It was not planned.

Not soft in the way love stories describe.

It was sudden, unfiltered, driven by something she did not understand herself.

For a second, Veeresh froze.

Then something inside him stilled.

The burning from the spice, the irritation, the tension… it all seemed to fade into the background.

Not because of the kiss alone.

But because of the silence it created.

A pause.

A moment where nothing else existed.

When she pulled back, her breathing was uneven, her eyes uncertain.

She immediately reached for his hand and pulled him out from under the water.

“You couldn’t tell me?” she said, her voice carrying a mix of frustration and something softer. “Your spice tolerance is low. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Veeresh looked at her for a moment, water dripping from his hair, his face calmer now.

“I didn’t want your first day to get spoiled,” he said simply.

The words were not dramatic.

But they landed deeply.

Poornima blinked, taken aback.

After everything…

After what he had said the night before…

He still thought of that?

Something inside her broke again, but this time it was not anger.

She stepped forward and hugged him tightly.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice muffled against him. “I don’t know how to do all this.”

Her fingers clutched his shirt, holding on as if she needed something steady.

“It hurts,” she whispered. “Everything feels… wrong.”

Her voice trembled again.

“I’m sorry.”

Veeresh stood still for a moment, her words settling into him.

Then slowly, he lifted his hand and placed it on her back.

Not hesitantly.

Not formally.

Just… there.

He held her.

Not tightly.

But enough.

For the first time since the marriage, the distance between them did not feel forced.

It felt… reduced.

Not gone.

But changed.

The anger had not disappeared.

The pain was still there.

But something else had entered between them.

Understanding.

And perhaps the beginning of something neither of them had planned.

They stood there in silence, the sound of water still dripping softly in the background.

And for the first time…

Neither of them pulled away immediately.