Chapter 33 — Sleep On My Chest

Veeresh couldn’t sleep.

No matter how many cigarettes he smoked or how much whiskey he drank, his mind kept returning to one person.

Poornima.

By midnight, frustration won over logic.

So now, dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, Veeresh silently climbed toward Poornima’s balcony again like darkness itself belonged to him.

The room lights were dim.

And the moment he entered, his eyes landed on her.

Poornima sat cross-legged on her bed, talking on video call with someone and actually smiling.

Smiling.

The sight irritated him instantly for reasons he refused to analyze.

She looked up suddenly and froze after seeing him casually enter through the balcony like a criminal.

“Why are you here, Salvatore?”

Veeresh walked inside calmly. “I came simply.”

Poornima rolled her eyes immediately before ending the call.

“You know you’re an asshole, right?”

“I know,” he answered shamelessly while sitting on the couch. “But this asshole is your would-be husband.”

She threw a pillow toward him instantly.

Veeresh caught it effortlessly.

Poornima sighed dramatically before lying back against the headboard. “I remember Dad shouting about stopping the wedding.” Her expression slowly faded. “He was angry… that’s why he slapped me.”

Veeresh’s jaw tightened immediately.

She frowned slightly, trying to remember again.

“And then… I don’t know. Something happened.” Her fingers pressed lightly against her forehead. “I think I passed out.”

The confusion in her voice bothered him more than he admitted.

Then suddenly she looked at him seriously.

“Salvatore.”

“Hm?”

“Stop this engagement.”

Veeresh stared at her for a moment before answering calmly, “Not possible, Poornima.”

She narrowed her eyes instantly. “I will not marry you.”

“You will.”

Poornima scoffed dramatically. “Psychopath.”

“Sleep.”

“You go sleep in your own house, Salvatore.”

Instead of answering, Veeresh simply stretched himself comfortably across her bed like he owned the room.

Poornima glared at him.

Hopeless man.

Finally she got up to take her sleeping pills from the bedside drawer.

But before she could open it, Veeresh’s voice stopped her.

“Come here.”

She looked back at him.

“You’ll sleep better without those.”

Poornima stared at him suspiciously. “And why should I trust you?”

Veeresh extended his hand toward her lazily. “Because you already do.”

Annoyingly true.

Poornima walked toward him slowly.

The moment she came close, Veeresh pulled her gently onto his chest.

She gasped softly in surprise before instinctively gripping his shirt.

“Sleep.”

Something about his heartbeat beneath her ear calmed her immediately.

Dangerous man.

Yet strangely safe.

Within minutes, Poornima’s breathing softened completely, and she fell asleep against him without even realizing it.

No pills.

No panic.

Just sleep.

Veeresh looked down at her silently for a long moment before leaning back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling above him.

And somewhere in the quiet darkness of her room, Salvatore Dreewan realized something terrifying—

This girl trusted him enough to sleep peacefully in his arms while the rest of the world had only taught her fear.