Chapter 1
"You are 24, Anaya. What exactly are you waiting for?"
Anaya looked up from her plate.
Her Father sat at the other end of the dining table, his newspaper folded beside him. He had been unusually quiet throughout breakfast, which she had learned was rarely a good sign.
She placed her spoon down.
"My career"
For a moment, there was silence. Then her Father gave a short, humourless laugh.
"Your career?"
"Yes"
He leaned back in his chair. "How long do you plan to keep saying that?"
"Until I have one"
Her mother's eyes moved nervously between them.
"Anaya," she said softly, "Your Father is only thinking about your future."
"My future?" Anaya repeated
"Yes"
Anaya looked at the envelope lying beside her Father's newspaper. She already knew what was inside.
Another Photograph
Another Family
Another man she had never met.
Another Conversation about marriage disguised as concern for her future
"I don't want to meet him", she said
Her Father's expression changed
"You haven't ever seen his photograph properly."
"I don't need to"
"He has a good job. His family is respectable. They live in Delhi"
"I said I don't want to."
Her Father pushed the photo across the table.
"You are 24. It is perfect time to get married"
"No, I am not" Said Anaya.
"It is perfect time to build my career. Building a life that belongs to me."
Her Father's jaw tightened.
"In our family, women don't need to work outside the house. We have everything, and your future husband can afford a good life."
Anaya felt something inside her. She had heard those words before
But this time, they didn't sound like advice.
They sounded like a sentence.
She slowly stood up.
"Then maybe" she said
"Maybe what?" her father said.
"Now, I am tired of living by rules. I just want to build my career. I don't want to depend on anyone." she said.
She walked away from the table before anyone could answer.
upstairs, she opened her wardrobe and pulled out a small suitcase.
For the first time in her life, she wasn't sure where she was going.
But she knew one thing
she wasn't staying.
Sometimes, the hardest decisions are not about choosing the right path but about having the courage to leave the one that was never truly yours.
