Chapter 15: A Night of Reflection

The Rathore Palace had fallen silent.

Everyone had retired to their rooms.

Inside his bedroom, Veeresh Rathore stood on the balcony overlooking the palace gardens.

A cigarette rested between his fingers as the cool night breeze drifted past him.

His mind replayed his grandfather's words over and over again.

"I have found a marriage proposal for you."

"You have two days."

"If you refuse even to consider it... I will walk away from this house forever."

Veeresh took a slow drag from his cigarette and closed his eyes.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Veeresh: "Come in."

Mahesh Rathore entered quietly.

He looked at the cigarette in Veeresh's hand but said nothing.

Instead, he walked onto the balcony and stood beside his son.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke.

Finally, Mahesh broke the silence.

Mahesh: "You're thinking about what Bauji said."

Veeresh let out a faint, tired laugh.

Veeresh: "How can I not?"

Mahesh nodded.

Mahesh: "There are a few things your Dadu didn't tell you."

Veeresh looked at him.

Veeresh: "What things?"

Mahesh folded his hands behind his back.

Mahesh: "The proposal is from your Dadu's oldest friend, Haji Kareem Qureshi."

Veeresh listened quietly.

Mahesh: "The woman is Haji Kareem's daughter-in-law."

Veeresh frowned slightly.

Mahesh continued.

Mahesh: "Her name is Poornima Qureshi."

He paused before speaking again.

Mahesh: "Her husband left her while she was pregnant with their second child."

Veeresh slowly lowered his cigarette.

Mahesh: "He chose another woman and gave her talaq."

The words hung heavily in the air.

Mahesh: "She has two children."

Mahesh: "A ten-year-old daughter named Ayat and a six-year-old son named Aarhan."

Veeresh remained silent.

Mahesh: "She works as a teacher in Bikaner."

He looked at his son.

Mahesh: "That's all I know."

After a moment, Mahesh gently placed a hand on Veeresh's shoulder.

Mahesh: "Think about it without anger."

With that, he quietly left the room.

Veeresh was alone once again.

He looked at the glowing tip of his cigarette before taking another drag.

His thoughts drifted.

"She was abandoned while carrying her child..."

"She raised two children alone..."

"She's a teacher..."

He stared into the darkness beyond the balcony.

"Would she even want to marry again?"

"Would her children ever accept another man?"

Then another thought crossed his mind.

"And what about Yash... Aarav... and Aadhya?"

He knew how distant his own children were.

How could he ask them to accept a stranger?

He crushed the cigarette into the ashtray.

For the first time since his grandfather had spoken of remarriage, Veeresh wasn't thinking about himself.

He was thinking about a woman he had never met...

A woman who, like him, knew what it meant to have a family broken apart.

Somewhere in Bikaner, Poornima was putting her children to sleep.

And in Rajgarh, Veeresh stood awake under the moonlit sky, wondering if two broken lives could ever become one whole family.