As Payal cradled Raghu in her arms, Aradhya turned to her, "Aur tum batao, shaadi ke kitne saal hue hai?"

(How many years has it been since you got married?)

I watched the girl freeze as she stared down. Her fingers trembled slightly, and she began breathing heavily. There were tears in her eyes at the mention of Jagdish.

What had that monster done to her?

"Didi! Dekho maine Keshav Bhaiya ko raste mei pakad liya!" Saarang shouted from the hallway while pulling Keshav towards us.

(Didi! Look, I caught Keshav Bhaiya on the way!)

"Arey dheere chalo chotu, gira doge kya?" I heard Keshav's playful laugh, but he froze upon seeing us- specifically, Payal. He looked away as she wasn't exactly covering her face.

(Arey, walk slowly, chotu. Will you push me over?)

"Maine pakad liya!" Saarang grinned as he ran over to me and fell onto my lap, "Ab mujhe bhook lagi hai, Didi. Yeh kaun hai?" He turned to Payal.

(I caught him! But now I'm hungry, Didi. Who's this?)

"Dost hai..." I smiled and got up with the kids, "Keshav Bhaiya ke saath jaakar haath muh dhokar aa jao. Khaana lagati hu. Rasoi mei madad chahiye, chalo."

(She's a friend... Go wash up with Keshav Bhaiya. I'll bring food now. Help me out in the kitchen, come on.)

I sent both Aradhya and Payal to the kitchen before going upstairs to put the children to sleep. Keshav followed me impatiently, "Woh ladki yaha kya kar rahi hai?" He gritted his teeth.

(What's that girl doing here?)

"Shaam tak yahi rahegi. Jagdish ke maa aur baba aane tak."

(She'll stay here till evening, until Jagdish's parents return.)

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "Par Sanjana woh... Woh yaha kyu hai?!"

(But Sanjana... Why's she here?!)

I glared at him, "Agar woh thodi der yaha rahi toh tumhe kya dikkat hai? Mai apne paas rakhungi. Bachi hai."

(What's your problem if she stays here for a while? I'll keep her near me. She's just a kid.)

"Kisi aur ki biwi hai," Keshav glared.

(She's someone else's wife.)

I rolled my eyes, "Tumhari dushmani Jagdish se hai. Payal se nahi. Aur Maa ko is maamle mei kuch pata nahi, isliye Payal ko yaha rehne di hai. Bhagwan ne use pehle se saza di hai... Hume toh ache se bartaav karna chahiye. Bechari ki kya galti hai?"

(Your enemity is towards Jagdish, not Payal. And Maa doesn't know about the ordeal, that's why she let Payal stay here. God has already punished her enough... At least we need to be kind towards her. What's her fault in all this?)

He groaned while following me into the nursery, "Bhabhi... Aap samajhte nahi. Agar woh Jagdish ke liye jasoosi karne yaha aayi hai toh? Kuch mahino ke baad chunaav hoga... Aur agar is ladki ne Bhaiya ke khilaaf jaakar kuch keh diya toh-"

(Bhabhi... You don't understand. What if she's here to spy on us for Jagdish? The election will be held after a few months... And what if this girl says something against Bhaiya-)

"Keshav!" I snapped, "Tumhe andaaz bhi hai ki tum kya keh rahe ho? Hume tum mardo ki afra-tafri mei math ghaseetho... Payal yaha Jagdish ki patni bankar nahi aayi hai. Meri dost bankar aayi hai. Aur agar tumhe koi dikkat hai toh jaakar apne bade bhaiya se shikayat karo. Jao."

(Keshav! Do you even realise what you're saying? Don't drag us into your mess... Payal hasn't come here as Jagdish's wife, but as my friend. And if you have any complaint, go tell it to your big brother. Go.)

He was quiet as I left the nursery and went to the kitchen to help the others. Payal worked quietly and spoke only when Aradhya asked her something. She wasn't an expert at cooking, so she followed my instructions strictly without questioning anything.

If I remembered correctly, she used to be quite rebellious... But now it seemed like she had given up entirely and accepted her fate. When Aradhya stepped out of the kitchen for something, I used that opportunity to talk to Payal.

"Shukriya."

(Thank you.)
She blinked at me, "Kis baat ke liye, Thakurain?"

(Why are you thanking me, Thakurain?)

"Tumne kabhi kisi se bola nahi... Ki maine davai di thi."

(You never told anyone anything about the pills...)

Payal feigned a smile and looked away, "Haan... Ab davai ki zaroorat nahi hai."

(Yes... Now I don't need those pills anymore.)

I couldn't just pretend not to hear what she said. My heart was racing as I squeezed Payal's shoulder, "Kya matlab hai tumhara?"

(What do you mean?)

She stared at me quietly for a few seconds until her eyes teared up. Payal's lips trembled until she broke down into sobs. If the maids were to see us, they'd definitely mention something to Maa, so I pulled her into the granary and shut the door from inside.

"Payal... Kya hua...?" I cupped her face in my hands. She was trembling as she cried.

(Payal... What happened...?)

"M-Mera bacha... Maine... Maine mera b-bacha kho diya..." She whispered.

(M-my baby... I... I lost my baby...)

My eyes widened at her confession. Payal cried into my shoulder as I hugged her tight. Jagdish had forced himself on her and gotten her pregnant. But she lost her baby. I couldn't fathom the kind of pain she was in... That too at such a young age.

"M-maine bahut... Mana ki... Par... Par... Jab use pata chala ki mai davai le rahi hu... Usne bahut m-maara. Aur woh sab bhi kiya... Mai kuch nahi kar payi..." Her broken sobs made me feel awful.

(I- I tried refusing him... A lot... B-but... But... When he found out that I'm taking pills... H-he hit me a-a lot. And he used m-me as well... I- I couldn't do anything...)

"Jab mujhe pata chala ki mai pet se hu, woh bahut khush the par... Mai us rakshas ke bache ko janam nahi dena chahta tha. Mujhe pata nahi ki maine kya pee li par, ek mahine baad bacha kho gaya... Uske liye bhi bahut maara... Mai... Mai nahi jeena chahti waha... Mai uske paas nahi jaana chahta... Haath jodti hu, Thakurain Ji! Bacha lijiye..."

(When I found out that I'm pregnant, he was very happy... But I didn't want to give birth to that monster's child. I don't know what I drank, but after a month... I lost the baby... He hit me a lot for that as well... I... I don't want to live there... I don't want to go near him... Please, Thakurain Ji! I'm begging you... Save me somehow...)

I gulped and caressed her hair, "Payal... Mai... Mai kaise madad kar sakti hu?"

(Payal... I... How can I help you?)

Why did she expect me to save her?

I was just as powerless as she or any other woman in the village. Just because I had a few maids under my command didn't mean I could help her.

Payal quietened down and pulled away from me. She wiped her eyes with the end of her pallu, "Maaf kijiye. Maine kuch zyada hi bol diya... Um... Ab mai jaati hu."

(Forgive me. I talked too much... Um... I'll be leaving now.)

She slipped out of the granary before I could stop her. But while stepping out of the kitchen, she almost bumped into Keshav. He squeezed her shoulders to steady her, but I could see how flustered he had gotten while glaring at her, "Dekh ke nahi chal sakti?"

(Can't you watch where you're going?)

Payal gave him a murderous glare that made him retract his hands immediately. He gulped while stepping to the side. She fixed her pallu and stormed past him to the verandah, where Maa and Aradhya were.

"Kaisi aurat hai woh?" My devar muttered, but I didn't have the patience to deal with him.

(What kind of a woman is she?)

"Badi malkin, ab mujhe nikalna hoga... Bahut der ho rahi hai. Ghar jaakar khaana bhi banani hai," Payal told Maa.

(Badi Malkin, I need to leave now... It's getting really late. I need to cook dinner as well.)

"Dopahar ka khaana toh khaakar jao, Payal. Kaka aur Kaki shaam tak nahi aane wale," I interjected. To my relief, Maa sided with me, "Haan beta, mehmaan ho. Khana khaye bina kaise jaane de sakte hai? Aur apne parivar ke liye bhi kuch lekar jao. Tumhara kaam aasaan ho jayega."

(At least have lunch and go, Payal. Kaka and Kaki won't be back until evening.)

(Yes beta, you're our guest. How can we let you go without eating? You can pack something for your family as well. It will make your job easier.)

Payal couldn't protest against Maa, so Aradhya and I took her back inside. She was quiet the entire time while serving lunch for everyone. Dadi praised her for something, and I watched the girl blush against her will. Keshav sat at the head of the table this time, his eyes fixed on her.

"Khaane ki aur bhi dekha karo..." I eyed him. He was suddenly embarrassed that I had caught him. Keshav quietly ate his lunch. Even though I asked Payal politely to sit with us at the dining table, she refused. She kept insisting on eating after everyone had had their share. I couldn't compel her anymore, so I sat with the kids.

(You should look at your plate as well...)

"Muh kholo," I told Saarang while feeding him morsels of rice. Janaki was on my lap, giggling and playing with him. In a way, it was a good thing because Saarang didn't notice the vegetables that I made him eat. Raghu was being pampered and fed by both Maa and Dadi at the other end of the table.

(Open your mouth.)

Keshav cleared his throat, "Payal kaha hai?" He asked out loud.

(Where is Payal?)

"Keh rahi thi ki sabhi khaane ke baad kha legi..." I sighed.

(She was saying that she'll eat after everyone else is done...)

"Aise kaise ho sakta hai?" Keshav muttered, "Haveli mei mehmaan hai. Bhabhi aap jaakar use bulakar laiye. Mehmaan ko pehle khaani chahiye."

(How can we allow that? She's the guest here. Bhabhi, please go and fetch her. The guest should eat first.)

The others didn't pay much attention to his tone, but I did. There was a hint of desperation in Keshav's voice that was hard to miss. I promptly got up with Janaki and asked Payal to come eat with us.

"Humare devar ki aagya hai," I smiled at her, "Aur Thakuron ko mana karna sahi nahi hai."

(It's my devar's command, and it's not right to deny Thakurs.)

Payal hesitated, but she finally complied and sat beside Aradhya. Keshav tried to be nonchalant like his brothers, but I could see the faint smile on his lips as he ate.

The sensible part of me realised that he was playing a dangerous game. But I believed he wouldn't take it very far. He wasn't as ignorant as my husband or as impulsive as Bhargav, so I trusted him.