My name is Maliha. I live in India and come from a typical middle-class family. Being the eldest daughter, I learned to shoulder responsibilities at an age when I should have been playing with dolls. People say the eldest daughter is the pillar of support for her parents—but who supports her? Doesn't she crave love and care too?
I used to believe the world was a beautiful place, where relationships offered protection. I thought love never betrayed; that it only brought peace to the soul. But I was gravely mistaken.
I trusted everyone blindly, without a second thought. At that time, I had no idea that this very habit would one day cost me everything I held dear. I was incredibly innocent, sheltered from the world. My father was strict, and the only time I left home was for school. Beyond that, I had no permission to go anywhere.
While my mother was friendly, the atmosphere at home was often heavy. We were two sisters and one brother, living under the critical eyes of my grandmother. Finding faults in everything was her second nature. Sometimes, I just longed to run away from it all. But I never prioritize my own happiness. As the eldest, my life was bound by duty, and I performed my responsibilities perfectly, never giving anyone a reason to complain. Yet, despite my best efforts, I could never truly please my grandmother.
I dreamed of giving my parents every bit of happiness they deserved. I was a dreamer, a lover of novels, forever lost in my own thoughts. I believed love was food for the soul, and that people were exactly who they appeared to be.
But the truth is far more bitter: people often use you to fulfill their own needs, and once the need is met, the relationship vanishes. I thought every sweet word spoken was the truth. I believed promises were meant to be kept, that a person would never lie after taking a sacred oath. I was naive because my family had never introduced me to the harsh realities of the outside world.
The biggest mistake of my life was about to unfold—a mistake that would shatter my world and change me forever.
At sixteen, I was about to make a choice that would change everything.