Chapter 20 An Answer He Did Not Expect

The office was busy again.

Files covered the table, voices moved in measured urgency, and discussions around the upcoming elections filled the room. Veeresh stood near the large board, going over district data with his team.

“We need stronger ground presence here,” he said, pointing to a section on the map. “And the outreach program must begin before the opposition sets the narrative.”

One of the senior members nodded. “We will coordinate with the local leaders.”

Veeresh listened, adding a few more instructions, his mind sharp, his decisions precise.

But just as the discussion reached a pause, his phone vibrated.

He glanced at the screen.

Poornima.

For a fraction of a second, everything else faded.

“I will take this,” he said, stepping aside.

He answered the call.

“How was it?” he asked immediately, his tone calm but attentive.

“Not bad,” Poornima replied.

He could hear the faint sounds of college in the background, voices, footsteps, life moving around her.

Then she continued, more casually than he expected.

“That guy… he understood.”

Veeresh’s expression shifted slightly.

“He asked me to be friends,” she added. “And… are you okay with it?”

There was a pause.

“Tell me fast, Mr Qureshi,” she said. “I didn’t know what to answer, so I thought I would ask you.”

Veeresh remained silent for a second.

His mind processed the question.

Not as a politician.

Not as someone who always had answers ready.

But as a man who suddenly realized that his answer mattered.

“CM saab,” she said again, a hint of impatience now, “answer.”

He exhaled slowly.

“If I say no… will you not talk to him?” he asked.

There was no hesitation in her reply.

“Yes.”

Just that.

Simple.

Immediate.

Certain.

Something in him stilled.

She did not weigh options.

She did not argue.

She did not question his right to answer.

She just…

Accepted it.

“Okay,” she said right after. “I will tell no.”

The decision was made before he could even respond.

“I will go home in an auto,” she continued lightly. “You carry on your work.”

There was a small pause.

“Bye, Mr Qureshi. See you at home.”

The call ended.

Veeresh stood there, the phone still in his hand.

The noise of the office returned around him, but he did not move immediately.

Her words echoed.

“Yes.”

That simple answer.

No conditions.

No delay.

No resistance.

He frowned slightly, not in confusion, but in thought.

Why?

Why would she listen to him like that?

After everything.

After the anger.

After the accusations.

After telling him she hated him.

He ran a hand through his hair slowly.

“This is not right,” he murmured under his breath.

Not because she asked.

But because of the way she trusted his answer.

Without question.

Without demand.

He turned slightly, looking out the window.

For the first time, the decision felt heavier than it should.

Because it was not about that boy.

It was about her.

And what he was becoming in her life.

He picked up his phone again, staring at the screen for a second.

Then he locked it.

“She should decide for herself,” he thought.

But she hadn’t.

She had asked him.

And followed it.

Without waiting.

Veeresh exhaled slowly.

For the first time in that office…

The man who controlled every decision…

Felt unsure about the one he hadn’t even given yet.