Their mother, a woman of unparalleled strength and determination, had always dreamed of reaching the stars. Born in Pakistan, she grew up with a passion for science, and after years of perseverance, she became an astronaut, the pride of her country. She married Maya's father, a Croatian man with no religion of his own, who had devoted his life to the army. Despite their young age—she was just eighteen, and he, nineteen—love and ambition bound them together.
When their first child was born, their mother still had one foot in the world of space exploration. Even as she juggled motherhood and a job as a scientist in China, she never let go of her dream. In time, she rose to become the astronaut she had always wanted to be. Her husband, a general in the army, supported her unwaveringly, even as their family grew. And though their home was a blend of diverse backgrounds, there was one thing that always remained constant—the rules.
Their mother was a queen, not just in her career but in her home, where she set the rules with absolute precision. After their marriage, she brought her strict upbringing into the family, a rulemaker who held every member to the highest standards. As a joint family, they lived together, united by her vision for discipline, education, and success. Her husband, a general, also followed these rules, as did her sons, who joined the army or ran successful businesses, the path set before them from the moment they could walk.
But her daughters? Maya, Michelle, Jennifer, and Annie, though brought up in the same household, were a different story. To their mother's dismay, they had a knack for breaking the rules. It wasn't that they didn't respect their mother's authority; it was simply that they had dreams that didn't fit neatly into the boxes she had built.
Maya, the eldest, was the one who stood out the most—her spark was impossible to ignore. She had always been a natural leader, with a determination that mirrored her mother's, but instead of wanting to be an astronaut, like her mother, she wanted to soar through the skies as a pilot. This would be her first test: Could she live up to the rules of the house and chase her own dreams? Or would the weight of family legacy and tradition hold her back?
The Kanwal sisters lived their lives as quietly as possible, always under the watchful eye of their mother's rules. But their hearts longed for something more—something that would take them beyond the family's rigid expectations. And when the time came, they would have to decide: stay in line or break free?