Solace

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***

With each passing day, my emotions had been all over the place. Not because of my periods, but because of my husband's absence. I missed him—I missed him a lot.

I was grating ginger, as I disliked the smell of store-bought ginger powder. I planned to dry it and grind it myself later. Meanwhile, the tea was on the burner, and I added a bit of fresh ginger to the saucepan.

Halfway through my task, I was abruptly startled by a commotion coming from the dining room. Alarmed, I dashed out of the kitchen.

There, I saw a visibly furious Aadarsh and a tear-stricken Roshni. She was dressed in an off-shoulder balloon top, loose-fit jeans, and ankle-strapped heels, clutching her sling bag in one hand while her phone blinked incessantly in the other, likely from an incoming call. I remained in the doorway, my gaze shifting toward the other family members present—Maa, her sister-in-law, her kids. Shreya. Mausaji, Mausi, and Abhishek had left for the U.S., for a month, and they had planned to return soon.

"Roshni, go to your room," Maa said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"No!" Roshni cried, her voice trembling with emotion. Tears continued to stream down her face.

"You never stop Aadarsh Bhaiya! He goes wherever he wants without question," she protested.

"Roshni, he goes out for work," Maa replied in a composed but firm voice.

"Not always! He goes to parties too! But you never let me step out!" Roshni argued, her frustration mounting.

"Roshni, it's not safe outside," Aadarsh interjected, trying to maintain his calm.

"Oh, and why is that? Because of men like you?" she shot back, her voice filled with defiance.

"Roshni!" Aadarsh reprimanded, his patience wearing thin.

"Stop generalizing!" he shouted, clearly frustrated now.

"You agreed when Bhaiya first asked you, but now suddenly you have a problem?" he challenged her.

"Don’t twist my words!" Roshni retorted sharply.

"I might as well turn myself into a man just so I can live my life freely!" she snapped.

"There are other ways to enjoy your life," Aadarsh mimicked her mockingly, only fueling her anger further.

"I don’t even talk like that! Maybe your girlfriend does," Roshni fired back.

I desperately wanted to intervene, to ask them to take their argument to a private space, especially since Revati was discreetly recording snippets of their fight—likely to use them as gossip later.

"Aadarsh," Maa’s voice cut through the tension.

"Maa, I don’t have a girlfriend," Aadarsh said in a no-nonsense tone, his irritation evident.

In a fit of rage, Roshni hurled her phone across the room, the device snapping into two upon impact. She then flung her purse to the other corner before storming off toward her room.

"I won't go to college anymore! Even that is unsafe!" she declared, her voice quivering with frustration.

"There are so many boys—they harass girls. That’s unsafe too!" she added bitterly.