Bound by Ashes

Chapter 1 : Ashes of the operating room

Ruhanika's face went cold. Her fingers gripped the phone tighter.

"No, I wasn't."

"They said you were too busy to be disturbed and asked us to handle the formalities. We were asked to proceed directly.

Ruhanika's voice was calm, too calm. "I'll call you back."

She hung up.

Rahi looked up. "Mumma, okay?"

Ruhanika blinked and forced a smile. "Of course, baby. Just work things."

But her mind raced. A wedding? To a man she'd never met? Her past had already scarred her. How could they... how could her family decide without her?

Her gaze fell back on Rahi, who was now happily humming while flipping pages

No one... no one was going to decide her life without asking what Rahi needed.

No one was going to tie her to anyone

 who might one day walk away from this child

Not again.

Not over her ashes.

Scene 3:

The sun had barely crested the horizon when the phone rang.

It was a Sunday. A rare day off.

Ruhanika sat cross-legged on the floor beside her balcony, the pale morning light washing over her tired face. A soft lullaby played in the background as Rahi, now back from daycare, napped curled like a kitten on her mother's lap, her small fingers tangled in Ruhanika's dupatta.

This moment — this quiet, warm silence — felt sacred

And then the phone rang again, shattering it like glass on marble.

She glanced at the screen.

"Maa – Home

Her lips tightened.

She let it ring once... twice... then silenced it.

It buzzed again almost immediately.

A sigh escaped her. Carefully, she slid Rahi's head onto the nearby pillow, brushing a kiss onto her forehead, then stood and stepped inside the living room.

She answered on the fourth ring, voice barely a whisper.

"Hello?"

"Finally!" came her mother's clipped tone. "We've been trying to reach you since last night. Don't tell me you were sleeping. Again."

Ruhanika blinked. "I was with Rahi. She had a fever after daycare—

"And? You're acting like you're the only woman in the world with a child. That too an illegitimate—"

"Maa!" The word sliced out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "Don't you dare—"

"Don't I dare?" the voice on the other side hardened, venom dressed in velvet. "We did what was best for you. It was you who chose to disgrace us. We raised you, paid for your education, gave you a home. And what did you give us in return? A child born out of wedlock, and a scandal we'll never live down."

Ruhanika pressed her palm against her temple.

Same argument. Different day.

"I didn't choose that, Maa," her voice cracked. "You married me off to a man who sold me on our wedding night. That wasn't my choice."

There was a pause. The kind that came when truth stung too sharp.

Then her mother said coldly, "He was your husband. What happened between husband and wife—"