I begged him, 'Take me with you. Let me meet your people, see your world.' And every time, he shrugged me off. 'It's just a trip. Why do you need to come?'
Her voice broke slightly. "What kind of marriage is this, Aunty gayatri? He had time for everyone but me. Even at home, he'd sit with his family, laughing and talking, while I was just… there. A shadow."
Her younger brother, Aman, who had been silent throughout, suddenly stepped forward. His tall, steady figure commanded the room's attention. "Enough," he said, his voice calm but firm.
"You speak of my sister as if she hasn't tried," Aman said, looking Piyush directly in the eye. "But tell me—when you married her, did you promise to understand her? To stand by her? Or were those just empty words?"
Piyush shifted uncomfortably. "It's not just me. Everyone says she doesn't try—"
"And you?" Aman interrupted sharply. "Did you try? Or did you expect her to carry the weight of this marriage alone while you sat back, waiting for time to fix everything?"
The room was silent. Aman turned to the rest of Piyush's family. "Marriage is about two people working together. If one refuses to invest, don't blame the other for walking away."
He turned back to Bani, his voice softening. "You're my sister, and I'll always stand by you. But now, it's your choice to decide what you want."
Bani nodded, her heart a little lighter, knowing she wasn't alone. She folded her arms, her resolve unwavering.
Piyush's father finally spoke, turning to Bani's father. "Brother, what do we do? Your daughter speaks like this—"
"She speaks her truth," Mr. Rajvansh replied, raising a hand to silence him. "And I won't send her back unless she chooses to go. I can't force her."
"But she's married! She has responsibilities!" Piyush's mother argued.
Bani's voice cut through the noise. "It's my life. I've tried to make it work, but I won't go back and pretend everything is fine. I won't make him happy, and I won't be happy either."
The dim light of the evening sun streamed through the windows of Piyush's family home. Both families sat on opposite sides of the room, the tension so thick it felt as though even the air held its breath. The silence dragged on until Piyush's mother, whose subtlety rivaled a bull in a china shop, finally broke it.
Well!" she exclaimed, tugging her shawl with exaggerated flair. "If this is how it's going to be, we'll need everything back—down to the last grain of what we gave you! Let's start with the earrings we gifted you for the wedding."
Bani raised an eyebrow, her tone sweet but her smile razor-sharp. "The earrings? Ah, you mean the ones you 'safeguarded' after the wedding? Perhaps we should check your safe to see if they're still there." Without waiting for a reply she opened her bag and placed a small box on the table.
Inside the box lay the gold bracelet. She unfastened her mangalsutra, calmly removing the beads one by one. Holding them out, she said with a sharp edge in her voice.