Chapter 89 — The People Who Saved Her
A few days after Poornima joined Dreewan Industries, Samuel entered Veeresh's office.
"Sir."
Veeresh looked up from his file.
"Yes?"
"The Roy family would like to meet you. They said it's important."
Veeresh immediately understood.
"The family from Scotland?"
"Yes, sir."
Veeresh nodded.
"Arrange the meeting."
Later that afternoon.
The conference room had been prepared privately.
When the Roy family entered, Veeresh stood up respectfully.
For a moment, neither side spoke.
Because all of them knew one thing—
they were connected through Poornima.
Aparna Roy smiled politely.
"Thank you for meeting us, Mr. Dreewan."
Veeresh gestured toward the seats.
"Please sit."
Once everyone settled, Aparna began explaining.
"Sir, two years ago we were travelling in India for a holiday."
Veeresh listened carefully.
Aparna continued.
"We found her."
A pause.
"She was severely injured."
Mr. Roy took over quietly.
"There was no identification with her except enough information for doctors to know her name."
Aparna's eyes softened.
"She was unconscious when we found her."
Veeresh remained silent.
Every detail mattered.
"We admitted her to the hospital immediately," Aparna continued.
"The doctors tried their best."
A pause.
"But she remained in a coma."
Veeresh's jaw tightened.
"How long?"
"One and a half years."
The room became silent.
Even after knowing she had survived, hearing those words hurt.
One and a half years.
While he spent every day mourning her.
She had been fighting to wake up.
Aparna smiled faintly.
"And then one day she opened her eyes."
Veeresh closed his eyes briefly.
Thank God.
"Did she remember anything?" he asked.
Mr. Roy shook his head.
"No."
"Only her name."
"Poornima."
Aparna sighed softly.
"Everything else was gone."
"Family."
"Friends."
"Her past."
"Everything."
Veeresh lowered his gaze.
That explained so much.
Aparna continued.
"The doctors told us her memory loss was related to severe trauma and neurological injury."
A pause.
"But over time, her nervous system healed significantly."
"She became healthy again."
"Happy again."
A small smile appeared on Veeresh's face hearing that.
Aparna laughed softly.
"Then she became interested in business."
"Studied."
"Worked hard."
"And eventually applied for an internship."
Mr. Roy smiled proudly.
"That's how she ended up here."
For a few moments, nobody spoke.
Then Veeresh finally looked directly at them.
His voice was calm.
But emotional.
"Poornima is my wife."
The Roy family looked at him quietly.
"We were involved in an accident."
His eyes softened.
"She saved me."
A pause.
"And I thought I lost her forever."
Aparna immediately understood the pain behind those words.
Veeresh continued.
"I don't think I can ever thank you enough."
His voice carried genuine gratitude.
"You took care of her."
"You protected her."
"You gave her a life when nobody knew she was alive."
Aparna smiled warmly.
"We simply loved her."
Veeresh nodded.
"And for that... thank you."
The room became emotional.
Because everyone sitting there loved the same person.
Just in different ways.
Finally Mr. Roy spoke.
"There is only one thing."
Veeresh looked at him.
Mr. Roy smiled.
"Whatever happens, she will remain connected to us."
Aparna immediately nodded.
"She's our daughter too."
For the first time, Veeresh smiled fully.
A real smile.
The kind nobody in Dreewan Industries had seen for years.
"Yes."
His answer came without hesitation.
"She will."
Because he knew something important.
The Roy family hadn't taken Poornima away from him.
They had given her back.
And for that—
they would always have a place in her life.
Chapter 90 — The Intern With a Secret
A few weeks passed.
Poornima's internship at Dreewan Industries was going exceptionally well.
She wasn't the type to sit quietly and just take notes.
She asked questions.
Lots of questions.
Sometimes so many that managers would look exhausted by the end of the meeting.
But they couldn't deny one thing—
she learned incredibly fast.
Within weeks she had gained experience in:
Corporate operations
Supply chain management
Financial reporting
Restaurant franchise expansion
Client relationship management
Market analysis
Business strategy presentations
Vendor negotiations
She spent hours studying reports after work and often surprised senior managers with observations they had missed.
Even Veeresh noticed it.
One afternoon, he was reviewing an intern performance report.
Samuel stood across from him.
"She's ranking first among all interns, sir."
Veeresh wasn't surprised.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Of course she is."
Samuel laughed.
"She's terrifyingly hardworking."
Veeresh already knew that.
He remembered how she had built her restaurant chain from nothing.
Some things never changed.
Even memory loss couldn't take away her determination.
Meanwhile...
Poornima had developed a problem.
A very serious problem.
At least according to her.
The problem's name was:
Veeresh Dreewan.
She had absolutely no idea when it started.
Maybe the first day.
Maybe the second.
Maybe the moment she walked into his office and saw him looking at her.
Whatever the reason—
she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Which was becoming increasingly inconvenient.
Because every morning she told herself:
"Today I will behave professionally."
And every evening she found herself secretly checking whether he was still in the office.
Sometimes she would "accidentally" walk past the executive floor.
Twice.
Maybe three times.
Okay...
Five times.
Just to see him.
One afternoon she sat in the cafeteria with her laptop.
Her friend Emma from Scotland was on video call.
Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You have a crush."
Poornima immediately looked offended.
"No."
"You do."
"No."
"You absolutely do."
Poornima sighed dramatically.
"Maybe."
Emma burst out laughing.
"I knew it!"
Poornima rested her chin on her hand.
"He's ridiculously handsome."
Emma laughed harder.
"That's your reason?"
"No."
A small smile appeared on Poornima's face.
"He's kind."
"And smart."
"And calm."
"And when he talks to people, he listens."
Emma immediately grinned.
"Oh, you're finished."
Poornima rolled her eyes.
The situation became even worse because Veeresh was completely unaware.
Or at least she thought he was.
Every time he entered a room, her attention automatically followed him.
Every time he praised her work, her entire day improved.
Every time he smiled—
which was rare—
she remembered it for hours.
And the more she observed him...
the more she liked him.
One evening she sat alone in her PG room.
A notebook lay open in front of her.
She was supposed to be studying business reports.
Instead she was writing:
Pros of marrying Veeresh Dreewan
Then she paused.
Looked at the page.
And started laughing at herself.
"This is insane."
But she kept writing anyway.
Because somewhere in her completely unreasonable mind—
a decision had already been made.
Poornima closed the notebook and fell backward onto her bed.
A smile spread across her face.
"Forget approaching him."
A pause.
Then she laughed.
"I'm going to marry him."
Unfortunately for her—
the man she was secretly planning to marry had already been her husband once.
Chapter 91 — Unlucky in Love
Poornima's internship was almost over.
Three months had passed faster than anyone expected.
Managers praised her work.
Teams requested her on projects.
Senior executives noticed her sharp observations and ability to solve problems quickly.
She had learned far more than most interns:
Business operations
Strategic planning
Corporate finance
Market expansion
Supply chain management
Contract negotiations
Leadership and team management
Even board members had started remembering her name.
"Poornima Roy."
The intern who never stopped asking questions.
The intern who somehow made people laugh during serious meetings.
The intern who worked harder than most employees.
Meanwhile, Veeresh watched from a distance.
Just like he had for months.
Sometimes from his office window.
Sometimes during presentations.
Sometimes through performance reports.
But he never crossed the line.
Never told her the truth.
Never said:
"You are my wife."
Because fear stopped him.
A fear Salvatore Dreewan never thought he would experience.
What if she looked at him with confusion?
What if she didn't believe him?
What if she felt pressured?
What if telling her destroyed the happiness she had rebuilt?
Every possibility haunted him.
One evening, long after most employees had left, Veeresh sat alone in his office.
Mumbai's lights stretched endlessly outside the glass walls.
Samuel entered quietly.
"Still working, sir?"
Veeresh smiled faintly.
"Not really."
Samuel looked at him.
"You were thinking about her again."
It wasn't a question.
Veeresh laughed softly.
"When am I not?"
Samuel couldn't argue with that.
For two years, Poornima had never truly left Veeresh's thoughts.
And now she was physically here every day.
The situation was somehow even harder.
Samuel sat down across from him.
"Why don't you tell her?"
Veeresh looked out the window.
Silent.
Then finally spoke.
"What if she doesn't remember?"
Samuel stayed quiet.
"What if I tell her everything and she looks at me like a stranger?"
Veeresh's voice was calm.
But underneath it was fear.
Real fear.
A rare thing for him.
"I survived losing her once."
A pause.
"I don't know if I can survive her choosing to walk away."
Samuel understood immediately.
Because this wasn't about confidence.
It was about vulnerability.
The one thing Veeresh never showed anyone.
After Samuel left, Veeresh remained alone in the office.
His gaze drifted toward a framed photograph hidden in his drawer.
A picture taken before the accident.
Poornima laughing at something.
Looking completely unaware of the camera.
He smiled softly.
Then memories returned.
The truck.
The crash.
The terror.
And her.
Pushing him away.
Saving him.
Even now he could remember every second.
Every detail.
The fear in her eyes.
The force with which she pushed him out of danger.
Not thinking about herself.
Thinking about him.
Always him.
Veeresh closed his eyes.
"Why did you save me, Poons?"
The question still lingered after all these years.
Because if their positions had been reversed—
he knew he would have done the same.
Without hesitation.
Without regret.
A small smile appeared on his face.
Bitter.
Affectionate.
Hopeless.
"How unlucky am I in love?"
He laughed quietly to himself.
The first woman he truly loved had forgotten him.
The universe had returned her to him.
Yet she remembered everything except the life they shared together.
Sometimes fate had a strange sense of humor.
Still...
when he thought about Poornima laughing in meetings...
arguing with managers...
secretly staring at him when she thought nobody noticed...
his heart felt lighter than it had in years.
Whatever happened next—
whether she remembered him or not—
Veeresh knew one thing.
He would rather have her alive and happy as a stranger...
than lose her again.
And for now,
that was enough.
Chapter 92 — Noodles and Fate
The evening had been normal.
Until Samuel's call.
Veeresh was driving back from the office when his phone rang.
"Sir," Samuel's voice came through. "Mr. Rathore has been released."
Veeresh's expression hardened immediately.
For a few seconds he remained silent.
"I know."
Then he disconnected the call.
He wasn't in the mood to discuss Rathore.
Not tonight.
His mind was already occupied.
By Poornima.
As always.
A few minutes later, while driving through a quieter road near residential apartments, another car suddenly swerved.
The impact wasn't severe enough to be fatal, but enough to damage his car and throw him against the steering wheel.
"Dammit."
Blood trickled from a cut near his forehead.
Veeresh stepped out of the vehicle.
His head was throbbing.
The other driver had already sped away.
Before he could call anyone, a familiar voice spoke behind him.
"Sir?!"
Veeresh turned.
And froze.
Poornima stood there holding grocery bags.
Apparently returning from shopping.
She immediately rushed toward him.
"Oh my God, you're bleeding."
Veeresh almost laughed.
Because somehow—
whenever he was hurt—
she appeared.
Like fate had assigned her the responsibility.
"I'm fine."
"You are not fine."
She ignored him completely.
The same way she used to.
"Come."
"Poornima—"
"No arguments."
Veeresh stared at her.
Then smiled.
And followed.
A few minutes later.
He found himself sitting inside her apartment.
A small, cozy place.
Books scattered around.
Business notes everywhere.
A tiny indoor plant near the window.
Very Poornima.
She disappeared briefly and returned carrying cotton, antiseptic, and bandages.
"Sit still."
Veeresh obeyed.
Again.
The great Salvatore Dreewan obeying an intern.
If Samuel saw this, he would never stop laughing.
Poornima carefully wiped the blood from his forehead.
Her expression was focused.
Concentrated.
Completely unaware of the effect she had on him.
Meanwhile Veeresh simply watched her.
Smiling.
Because this felt familiar.
Dangerously familiar.
Like old memories wrapped in new circumstances.
Poornima finally noticed.
"Why are you smiling?"
Veeresh shook his head.
"Nothing."
In reality he was wondering:
How is it possible that every time I get hurt, you're there?
After finishing the bandage, Poornima suddenly walked to the kitchen.
A minute later she returned.
Holding a chocolate bar.
She offered it to him seriously.
"Here."
Veeresh looked confused.
"Chocolate?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
"You'll feel better."
For the first time in years, Veeresh genuinely laughed.
A proper laugh.
Not the polite corporate version.
The real one.
Poornima looked pleased with herself.
"See?"
He accepted the chocolate.
"Thank you."
She immediately pointed a finger at him.
"No."
"What?"
"Don't be thankful."
Veeresh raised an eyebrow.
Poornima folded her arms.
"If we don't help each other, then what kind of humans are we?"
For a moment, Veeresh just looked at her.
Because she had always been like this.
Kind without effort.
Good without trying.
The same girl.
Just without the memories.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Fair enough."
A little later.
Poornima placed two bowls on the table.
Instant noodles.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing luxurious.
Just dinner.
She sat down opposite him.
"Eat."
Veeresh looked at the noodles.
Then at her.
Then at the noodles again.
The billionaire CEO of Dreewan Industries was having instant noodles in an intern's apartment.
And strangely—
he couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed a meal this much.
Poornima happily started eating.
"This is my comfort food."
Veeresh took a bite.
"It's good."
"Obviously."
She grinned.
"I'm an expert."
They sat there eating together while talking about random things.
Her internship.
Scotland.
Funny office incidents.
The weather.
Nothing important.
Yet somehow—
it felt more peaceful than any boardroom victory.
At one point Poornima looked up and smiled.
And Veeresh realized something.
For the first time in two years—
he wasn't remembering her absence.
He was simply enjoying her presence.
And as she continued talking while eating noodles, completely unaware of the battle inside his heart—
Veeresh thought quietly:
"Maybe fate is giving us another chance."
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