Chapter 66 — When Memory Slips Away

Sanjay finally caught up to Poornima a little distance away from the restaurant.

She was standing near the side walkway, trying to catch her breath, but her body was still shaking.

“Poornima, calm down,” Sanjay said gently, holding her arm so she wouldn’t fall.

She blinked rapidly, trying to steady herself.

After a few seconds, her breathing slowed slightly.

Sanjay guided her to a quieter corner and made her sit.

“Listen to me,” he said carefully. “You need to breathe. You’re safe.”

Poornima nodded faintly, but her eyes were still distant.

Then she whispered, almost lost in her own thoughts.

“I keep forgetting…”

Sanjay frowned slightly. “Forgetting what?”

She shook her head slowly.

“Everything…”

A pause.

“I don’t remember properly… but I feel like I’m losing parts of myself.”

Her hands clenched slightly in her lap.

“And him…”

Her voice cracked a little.

“I don’t remember everything about him either.”

Sanjay softened his tone immediately.

“Poornima, he cares about you.”

She looked up at him quickly.

“But I don’t remember,” she said helplessly. “How can I trust something I don’t even remember feeling?”

Her voice trembled.

“And he thinks I’m a murderer…”

A pause.

“So maybe it’s better this way.”

Sanjay shook his head firmly.

“No.”

He leaned closer slightly.

“He doesn’t think you’re a murderer anymore.”

Poornima frowned slightly, confused.

Sanjay continued, slower now.

“He’s angry, yes. Hurt too. But it’s not what you think.”

A pause.

“He likes you.”

Poornima blinked, as if the words didn’t fully land.

“But I don’t remember liking him,” she whispered.

Sanjay exhaled.

“That’s the problem, isn’t it?”

Silence.

Poornima looked down at her hands.

“I don’t know what’s happening to me,” she said softly. “Why I forget… why I panic… why everything feels like it’s slipping away.”

Her voice broke slightly.

Sanjay shook his head gently.

“Don’t cry,” he said quietly. “You’re not alone in this.”

Poornima stayed silent after that, staring at the ground.

Somewhere far behind them, the weight of everything unsaid between her and Veeresh lingered like a storm that hadn’t finished breaking yet.