In the morning, I had to wake up early to do chores. Maa interrogated me about why I was limping. There was no point in hiding it from her, so I told her that I had given some of my wedding jewelry to Keshav so that they wouldn't have to struggle much in a new place. Maa's eyes widened just a little when I told her how her son had thrown the glass of milk at the wall.

She lifted my chin carefully and brushed her thumb over the scar on my cheek. "Tumhe kahi aur chot lagi hai? Bacha theek hai?"

(Are you hurt somewhere else? Is the child alright?)

"Theek hai..." I mumbled, looking away. Of course, she'd be more concerned about her grandchild than about me.

(Yes...)

"Tum Bhairav ka gussa achhe se jaante ho..." Maa sighed, "Aaj shaam tak woh shaant ho jaega, beta. Chinta mat karo. Sirf use zyada gussa mat dilao..."

(You know how furious Bhairav can be... He'll calm down a bit by evening, beta. Don't worry. Just don't push him...)

I didn't know why I had bothered to tell her things when I already knew what she'd say. Be patient and put up with it. Be the perfect wife for him.

It felt so ridiculous.

"Mujhe unse koi shikayate nahi hai, Maa," I replied, "Der ho rahi hai... Mai jaakar bacho ko utathi hu."

(I have no complaints about him, Maa. It's getting late... I'll go wake the children.)

I excused myself and went to the children's room. To my surprise, I found my husband there. Janaki, Raghu, and my brother were all clinging to him as they slept soundly. It seemed like he had gotten so drunk that he had passed out right there.

"Uth jao bacho, subah ho gayi hai... Jaldi nahakar naashta karna hai.

(Wake up kids, it's morning... You need to bathe and eat breakfast.)

My husband stirred first, and the children groaned while leaning into his embrace.

Ugh, I wanted to smack all of them.

"Uth jao, Janu..." I sat on the bed and woke her first gently. My daughter stared at me with sleepy eyes before crawling into my lap. She had a habit of wanting to be carried, first thing in the morning. Raghu fussed and complained while hugging Bhairav Ji.

(Wake up, Janu...)

"Baba... Ke paas... Rehna," my little boy sucked his thumb.

(I want... To stay with Baba...)

Bhairav Ji woke up by then, and I noticed that the fury in his eyes had disappeared. They were replaced with confusion as he had no idea what he was doing in the children's room. He stared at me quietly, but I ignored him and patted Raghu awake.

"Sar dard kar raha hai..." My husband muttered as he sat up in bed. Did he expect me to fuss over him like usual? I had stopped caring since last night.

(My head is aching...)

After bathing the children, I served breakfast for everyone. Aradhya asked me why I was limping too, but I brushed it off as a minor accident. My husband decided to show up at that time, and he sat at the head of the table as usual.

He continued to watch me as I served him breakfast, but I never reciprocated. Usually, I'd sit right beside him at the dining table, but today I sat much farther away, next to the kids.

Everyone, including my own husband, seemed surprised by the change. He stopped eating altogether as he stared at me.

"Sanjana?" His cold eyes were fixed on me.

"Aapko kuch chahiye?" I replied nonchalantly as I fed the kids.

(Do you need something?)

Bhairav Ji was silent for a while. He shook his head and resumed eating, "Kuch nahi."

(Nothing.)

Later that day, my husband remained at home as the villagers came to visit him. They were all furious over what Keshav had done, and from their conversations I found out that Jagdish's family was leaving the village in two days because of the humiliation they faced.

Bhairav Ji didn't talk to me the entire day, or even look at me. I did the same. Aradhya and I spent our time in the courtyard as we painted our hands and feet with alta.

"Malkin," one of the maids came to us, "Barrister Ji aaye hai Malik se milne. Par woh kuch der pehle kahi chale gaye."

(Malkin, the Barrister is here to meet Master. But he left a while back.)

I sighed. Even Maa had gone to the temple. "Use andar bulao..." I replied and fixed my veil.

(Call him inside...)

Paramesh looked like he was returning from the court. He held his coat in one hand and a few papers in the other. There was a strange look in his eyes as he watched me. "Maaf kijiye... Thakur Ji ne milne ke liye bola tha."

(Forgive me... Thakur Ji said I should meet him.)

"Woh kahi bahar gaye hai," I mumbled and resumed applying alta on my feet. Rekha began crying from the nursery at that time, and Aradhya left to take care of her.

(He's gone out somewhere.)

"Aapke pair mein chot lagi hai?" Paramesh stepped closer. Maybe he had noticed me wince in pain. My own husband hadn't.

(Are your feet hurt?)

When I didn't say anything, he sat beside me and continued staring at me. It wasn't appropriate for a married woman to be alone with a man like this. But what could I do? Bhairav Ji was the one who invited him.

"Kya er... Payal ne aapse kuch kaha tha?" He whispered.

(Did uh... Payal say something to you?)

"Kiske baare mein?" I didn't look up.

(About what?)

"Ki woh kaha jaane wali hai...?"

(About where they're going to go?)

"Use wapas zabardasti laane wale ho? Jaise aapne uski shaadi zabardasti karwayi thi?"

(Are you going to bring her back forcefully? Like how you married her off?)

Paramesh swallowed the lump in his throat, "Woh ab bhi bachi hai... Use sahi galat ka andaza nahi hai... Keshav bhi bacha hai..."

(She's still a kid... She doesn't know what's right or wrong... Keshav is a child as well...)

I scoffed, "Aur aap sab itne padhe likhe ho, mard ho, hai na?" He didn't reply. Maybe it was a blow to his ego.

(And the lot of you are quite literate, manly, aren't you?)

"Mard ho... Isliye man marzi chala sakte ho... Aapne kabhi Payal ko behen ka pyaar diya hai? Jagdish ke karan usne do bache kho diye hai, pata hai?"

(You're a man... So you can do whatever you feel like... Have you ever given Payal the love of a brother? She lost two children because of Jagdish, you know?)

His eyes widened, "K-kya...?"

(Wh-what...?)

"Aur aap use wapas usi rakshas ke paas bhejna chahte hain. Aapko lagta hai ki Keshav bacha hai? Mujhe nahi pata ki aap log apne aap ko samajhte kya ho... Agar yahan koi bhi mard hai, toh woh sirf Keshav hai. Sirf usne Payal ka dhyaan rakha hai, aur usse pyaar kiya hai."

(And you want to send her back to the same monster. You think Keshav is a child? I don't know what you people think of yourself... If someone is a man here, then it's just Keshav. Only he's taken care of Payal, only he has loved her.)

He sat quietly for a long time.

"Mai use... Wapas nahi bhejunga. Use ghar wapas le jaana chahta hu-"

(I won't... Send her back. I just want to bring her back home-)

"Uske baad?" I looked up, "Phir se kisi aur se zabardasti shaadi karwaoge. Jab woh kisi ke saath khush hai toh aap use akele kyu nahi chod sakte?"

(And then what? You'll marry her off forcefully again. If she's already happy with someone, why can't you just leave her alone?)

He looked offended as he stared at me. Paramesh leaned closer, "Tum bhi toh rakshas ke saath jee rahi ho. Bhairav ke karan tumhare pair mei chot lagi hogi, aur tumhare gaal pe bhi..." He gulped, "Phir bhi usse itna pyaar kyu karti ho? Mere saath kyu nahi aati? Usse behtar dekhbaal karunga..."

(You're also living with a monster. Because of Bhairav, your feet are injured, and your cheek as well... Why do you still love him so much? Why don't you come with me? I can take care of you better than him...)

God, he just never knew when to give up. He thought he was better than the monster I married? At least, my husband didn't seem like a coward.

Besides, even though I didn't care about my husband anymore, I couldn't leave because of the children. They had to grow up with both parents.

"Kya ho raha hai yaha?"

(What's going on here?)

I flinched at Bhairav Ji's loud voice. Dear god, that man would give me a heart attack one day. Paramesh immediately backed off, "Main bas... Thakurain Ji se baat kar raha tha-"

(I was just... Talking to Thakurain Ji-)

"Andar aane ki ijazat kisne di?" My husband nearly barked as he walked towards me. "Bahar intezar karne keliye khaa tha na," he squeezed my shoulder.

(Who permitted you to come inside? Didn't I ask you to wait outside?)

What was this now? A pathetic attempt at branding me as his?

I didn't care if Paramesh was watching or not. It disgusted me to have Bhairav Ji's hand on my skin. I pushed it off immediately and tried to leave from there.

There was thick silence as I tried to walk away. Bhairav Ji grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

"Kahin nahi jaa rahi," he gritted his teeth. I could see that his patience was snapping. He barked at Paramesh again and shooed him out of the haveli.

(You're not going anywhere.)

I hissed in pain as Bhairav Ji pulled me towards him again. "Kya kar rahi thi uske saath?" He muttered.

(What were you doing with him?)

I tried to push him away, "P-per... Per dard kar raha hai... Ah..." I groaned.

(M-my feet... They're hurting... Ah...)

His grip loosened at that time, and for a flicker of a second his eyes became soft. Without warning, my husband scooped me into his arms.

"Eek! Neeche rakhiye!" I squirmed. What the hell was he doing in broad daylight?!

(Eek! Put me down!)

He didn't listen, as usual, and carried me all the way up to our bedroom. I could swear that a few maids must have seen us like that.

Bhairav Ji placed me on the bed carefully before sitting beside my feet. He pulled them onto his lap and inspected the wound.

"Davai lagayi thi?" He asked softly while rubbing my feet. I pulled them out of his grasp and tucked them under my thighs.

(Did you apply medicine?)

"Haan. Ab jaiye," I muttered.

(Yes. Now leave.)

"Sanjana..." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, "Tum mujhse bina puche sab kuch kyu karte ho?"

(Sanjana... Why do you do things without asking me?)

I didn't reply. As I got up from the bed, he caught my hand, "Acha... Mujhe maaf kardo. Gussa mat raho... Bache ke liye theek nahi-"

(Okay... I'm sorry. Don't be mad... It's not good for the baby-)

"Aapko ab bache ki fikr hai?" I snapped at him, "Kal shaam ko nahi tha?"

(You care about the baby now? What about yesterday evening?)

"Maine maafi maangi hai na..." He gritted his teeth.

(Didn't I apologise?)

"Maafi maangne se har gunah maaf nahi hota," I pulled my hand out of his grip and walked out of the room.

(Not every mistake can be forgiven with a simple apology.)