I was drowning in guilt, though I managed to escape from Hriday last night. The plan was simple, yet my heart trembled through every step of it. I ate dinner early, pretending the dull ache in my temples was real, faking the headache so convincingly that even my family’s concern didn’t feel misplaced. But Hriday,he knew. He always did. When he entered the room later, the quiet shift of the bed beside me made my breath hitch. I wasn’t asleep, just lying there, cocooned in the darkness, pretending to dream while shame and fear clawed at my insides. It felt as though I had betrayed something sacred,not him, but myself.