Chapter 48 — Three Days of Silence

Three days.

That’s how long Poornima had ignored him.

No arguments. No sarcasm. No “Salvatore.” No reactions at all.

Just polite distance.

She spoke to Mrs. Dreewan, handled her routine, went to her restaurant work when needed, came back, and stayed in her own space like Veeresh didn’t exist in the same house.

And that… slowly started getting under his skin.

Veeresh Dreewan wasn’t used to being ignored.

Especially not by her.

On the third night, he finally lost patience.

Poornima was walking through the corridor toward her room when suddenly a hand caught her wrist and pulled her sharply into the adjacent empty room.

The door shut behind them.

Click.

Before she could react, Veeresh pinned her against the wall—one hand beside her head, the other still holding her wrist.

His eyes were darker than usual.

Controlled.

But barely.

Poornima didn’t even flinch.

She looked at him calmly.

“You’re breaking your own rule,” she said flatly. “Don’t talk to me, right?”

That made his jaw tighten instantly.

“Three days,” Veeresh said lowly.

Poornima blinked. “And?”

His grip on her wrist tightened slightly—not painful, but firm enough to make his frustration clear.

“You think you can just ignore me like I don’t exist?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought that’s what you wanted. You told me not to talk to you.”

A beat of silence.

Veeresh stared at her.

Then suddenly—

his voice dropped, rougher than before.

“I am dying to talk to you.”

The words hung in the air.

Poornima went still for a second.

Even she didn’t expect that.

Veeresh leaned closer slightly, his eyes locked on hers.

“You don’t get to shut me out like that.”

Poornima finally looked away slightly, breaking eye contact for the first time.

“Why?” she asked softly.

That question hit differently.

Because even Veeresh didn’t have a simple answer.

His grip loosened slightly, but he didn’t move away.

“I don’t like silence from you,” he admitted quietly.

A pause.

Poornima looked back at him.

“Since when?”

Veeresh didn’t answer immediately.

Because the truth was uncomfortable.

Since she became the only person who could calm his chaos… and also disturb it.

He exhaled slowly and stepped back slightly, releasing her wrist.

“Don’t do that again,” he said more controlled now.

Poornima straightened her sleeve calmly.

“Then don’t tell me to stop talking to you,” she replied.

A faint tension still lingered between them.

But something else had changed too.

Silence between them no longer felt neutral.

It felt like distance.

And neither of them liked it anymore.