Tripti entered her home, the weight of unshed tears pressing down on her. Her mother, seated on the living room sofa, looked up and offered a gentle smile. Tripti managed a weak smile in return, but her mother's eyes, sharpened by maternal intuition, sensed the deep turmoil within her daughter. Tripti retreated to her room, the need for solitude overwhelming.

As soon as the door clicked shut, the dam broke. Tripti collapsed onto the floor, the silent scream of her shattered heart echoing within the four walls of her sanctuary. She had held herself together in the restaurant, in the car, until she could no longer bear the weight of her pain.