Chapter 4 – The First Glimpse

The Rajawat haveli was getting busier with every passing minute.

Everyone was occupied with the wedding preparations when Veeresh finally came downstairs.

He had changed into a simple white kurta and pajama. His expression was as calm and unreadable as ever.

He walked toward the living room where Kamala was sitting with Gayathri and Poornima.

Veeresh: "Maa, can I have some tea?"

Kamala looked at him.

Kamala: "Of course, beta. Go and sit. I'll bring it."

Veeresh nodded.

But as he turned around, his eyes fell on Poornima.

For a moment, he stopped.

Poornima was sitting beside Gayathri, speaking softly with her mother.

She hadn't noticed him.

Veeresh looked at her for a few seconds before his expression became distant again.

Kamala noticed him standing there.

Kamala: "Veeresh, go to your room. I'll bring your tea there."

Veeresh simply nodded.

Veeresh: "Okay."

He walked away without saying anything else.

A few minutes later, Kamala entered his room carrying his tea.

Veeresh was standing near the window.

Kamala placed the cup on the table.

Veeresh looked at her.

Veeresh: "Maa."

Kamala: "Hmm?"

Veeresh: "She is Poornima, right?"

Kamala smiled.

Kamala: "Yes. Poornima. Your Bade Papa's daughter."

Veeresh remained silent.

Kamala continued.

Kamala: "She is also a professor in a college in Delhi. Economics."

Veeresh glanced toward the tea.

Veeresh: "I see."

Kamala sat down for a moment.

Kamala: "She has been through a lot."

Veeresh looked at his mother.

Kamala: "Her husband, Rishi, was unfaithful to her. They got divorced."

Veeresh's expression didn't change.

Kamala continued.

Kamala: "But her in-laws supported her. Her father-in-law, Arman, stood beside her and even fought her case. He helped her get the divorce from his own son."

Veeresh raised his eyebrows slightly.

Veeresh: "Her in-laws supported her?"

Kamala nodded.

Kamala: "Yes. They are still very good to her. They never blamed her for what their son did."

Veeresh remained quiet.

Kamala looked at him affectionately.

Kamala: "Poornima is a good girl."

Veeresh didn't respond.

After a moment, he asked casually,

Veeresh: "Does she have children?"

Kamala shook her head.

Kamala: "No. She doesn't have any children."

There was a brief silence.

Then Kamala smiled faintly.

Kamala: "You know, when you both were children, we had even fixed your mangni."

Veeresh looked at her.

Kamala: "But you didn't marry her. You married someone else."

Veeresh's jaw tightened slightly.

He didn't say anything.

Kamala stood up.

Kamala: "Anyway, those are old things. Come downstairs when you're ready."

Veeresh: "Hmm."

Kamala picked up the empty tray and walked toward the door.

Before leaving, she looked back at him.

Kamala: "Don't judge her without knowing her, Veeresh."

Veeresh looked at his mother but said nothing.

Kamala left the room.

The door closed behind her.

Veeresh stood alone.

His mind returned to everything she had said.

Divorce.

Marriage.

Infidelity.

In-laws.

Money.

Promises.

He gave a bitter, humorless smile.

In his experience, people changed when circumstances changed.

Women especially, he thought bitterly.

They loved comfort.

Money.

Luxury.

Status.

And when those things disappeared, so did their love.

He had stopped believing in forever a long time ago.

Veeresh thought to himself,

Everyone is the same.

People stay only as long as they need something.

Everyone is fake.

He looked toward the window.

No one stays forever.

He had no idea that the woman sitting downstairs was nothing like the women he had come to despise.

He didn't know what Poornima had sacrificed.

He didn't know that she had walked away from a marriage despite having every reason to stay.

He didn't know that she had chosen dignity over comfort.

And he certainly didn't know that the woman he had just seen for the first time in years would slowly challenge everything he believed about love, loyalty, and forever.