It was a stormy night when Amara finally confronted her parents. Sitting across from them at the dinner table, her heart raced as she spoke the words that had been weighing on her chest for so long.
"I can't do this," she said, her voice shaking. "I can't marry someone just because it's what you want. I have to make my own choices."
Her mother's face hardened, and her father looked away, clearly disappointed. But there was something in Amara's eyes—an unspoken determination—that made them pause.
Raj, too, was struggling with his own decision. He had grown to care for Amara in ways he hadn't expected, but he knew that a marriage built on compromise and tradition wouldn't bring them the happiness they both sought.
The decision wasn't easy, but after countless late-night talks, they both realized that they had to choose their own paths. The bond between them, though deep, wasn't enough to overcome the foundation of an arranged marriage that neither of them had asked for.