It was not a question of whether she wanted to be here; it was that she needed to be. It was a question she had asked herself a million times before, and she’d wound up with the same answer each time. This was what she had to do to survive.

Gradually, this became a pattern. No matter how assiduously Minati tried to evade her father-in-law, he would find ways and means of crossing her path. And touching her inappropriately.

Now Jaya had only one unfinished business-- to find a suitable boy for her daughter and arrange her wedding. Then she would be free from her responsibilities.

“We all have our own ways of grieving,” Namrata said in a firm voice. “Sandhya was always close to her father. She does not need to justify her actions to outsiders.”

Many nights, she would think about how Sharada had pulled through those tough times. Would she be able to do something like that?