Chapter 6 — Between Rivals

Veeresh stood in front of her silently, his dark gaze fixed entirely on Poornima.

“My name is Veeresh,” he said slowly. “Why do you keep calling me Salvatore?”

Poornima folded her arms stubbornly. “Don’t dodge my question.”

“Answer mine first.”

She stared at him for a moment before a faint smile appeared on her lips.

“I like that name.”

Something unreadable crossed Veeresh’s face.

Nobody had ever said that before.

To most people, Salvatore was a name spoken in fear. But the way Poornima said it almost sounded personal. Intimate.

Dangerously soft.

Veeresh stepped closer to her. “Poornima… you know we’re rivals.”

“I know.”

“You know exactly what you’re asking from me?”

“I know that too.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “Then why?”

Poornima laughed bitterly, though sadness remained hidden beneath it. “Because for the first time in my life, I asked for something without thinking about consequences.”

Silence filled the room again.

She looked away briefly before speaking in a quieter voice. “Everyone in my life decides things for me. My family. My father. My future.” Her eyes met his again. “Tonight, I wanted one thing to be my choice.”

Veeresh’s jaw clenched.

That sentence affected him more than it should have.

Poornima took a step back slowly. “Or else I’ll leave from here if you don’t accept.”

Veeresh stared at her as if fighting something inside himself.

A dangerous mafia king who never hesitated.

Yet this woman standing in front of him made him pause. Made him think.

And Veeresh Dreewan hated losing control.