Chapter 34 — The Decision She Kept Secret

A year had passed.

A year since Poornima had entered the Qureshi mansion.

A year filled with changes neither she nor Veeresh had expected.

Poornima had completed her education.

She had finished her B.Com degree, just as she had promised herself.

Throughout that year, she had changed.

She was no longer the frightened twenty-year-old girl who had cried on her first night in the Qureshi house.

She had become calmer.

Stronger.

More independent.

But one thing had remained unchanged.

Her relationship with Veeresh.

She rarely spoke to him.

If she needed something, she would speak.

If there was something important concerning the house or Noor, she would tell him.

Otherwise, she avoided him.

At breakfast, she would sit quietly.

If Veeresh asked her something, she would answer briefly.

Veeresh: "Are you going to college today?"

Poornima: "No."

And that would be the end of the conversation.

Sometimes, Veeresh would try again.

Veeresh: "How was your day?"

Poornima: "Fine."

Nothing more.

She no longer shouted at him as often as she once had.

That almost made things worse.

Because Veeresh knew that her anger had slowly turned into distance.

She wasn't fighting him anymore.

She was simply living around him.

But with Noor, Poornima was completely different.

Noor had grown tremendously over the year, and Poornima had become one of the most important people in her little world.

Whenever Noor saw Poornima, she would immediately run toward her.

Poornima: "Bubba!"

Noor would throw her arms around her.

Poornima would pick her up, kiss her forehead, and carry her around the house.

She fed her, played with her, read stories to her, and spent hours listening to her little sounds and laughter.

Noor had become Poornima's comfort.

The one person in the house she loved without hesitation.

But behind that affection was another thought that had slowly taken shape.

Poornima wanted a divorce.

She didn't hate Noor.

She didn't even want to take Noor away from Veeresh.

She simply wanted her own life back.

She wanted to build her career.

She wanted to become a chef.

She wanted her own restaurant.

And more than anything, she wanted the freedom to choose her own future.

So one afternoon, without telling anyone, Poornima left the house.

She went to a lawyer's office.

She sat across from the lawyer and quietly explained her situation.

The lawyer listened carefully and then explained the divorce process, including the documents that would be required and the legal steps involved.

Poornima listened carefully.

She asked questions.

She wanted to understand everything before making a decision.

By the end of the meeting, she understood what she would need to do if she decided to proceed.

She thanked the lawyer and left.

She thought no one knew.

She thought she had kept her decision completely secret.

But she was wrong.

Back at the Qureshi mansion, Veeresh was sitting alone when he heard enough through the transmitter hidden inside Poornima's mangalsutra to understand what she had been discussing.

His expression slowly changed.

Divorce.

The word seemed to echo inside his head.

For a long moment, he didn't move.

He had expected Poornima to remain angry.

He had expected her to avoid him.

He had even expected her to hate him.

But he had never expected this.

She was planning to leave him legally.

Veeresh lowered his eyes.

He remembered his father's words from years ago.

Love is not politics.

Love is not a game.

And now he understood the real meaning of those words.

He couldn't treat her decision like another political problem.

He couldn't simply manipulate the situation and expect her to stay.

Poornima had spent a year rebuilding herself.

And now she had made a decision for herself.

Veeresh clenched his jaw.

His first instinct was to stop her.

His obsession screamed at him not to let her go.

But another part of him remembered the promise he had made.

He had told her he would give her time.

He had told himself that one day she would choose him willingly.

And now that choice was being tested.

Veeresh slowly stood from his chair.

Veeresh: "So you really want to leave me, Poons."

His voice was quiet.

There was no anger in it.

Only pain.

He looked toward the staircase.

Somewhere upstairs, Poornima was probably playing with Bubba, completely unaware that he knew about her secret.

For the first time, Veeresh understood that loving someone meant accepting that they could choose a life without you.

And that was the one thing he had never learned to accept.