The house was unusually quiet for a Sunday morning.
Shivangi Singh sat cross-legged on her bed, laptop balanced on her thighs, eyes fixed on lines of code that refused to make sense. Outside her room, the faint clatter of utensils and the low murmur of her mother's voice drifted in, normal sounds, familiar sounds.
Yet her chest felt heavy.
She didn't need to look at the calendar to know what day it was.
Sunday.
Which meant relatives.
Which meant shaadi ki baat.
"Shivi!" her mother called softly, but the softness carried warning.
Shivangi closed her laptop with a sigh and stepped out of her room. The living room looked exactly the same as always, sofa covers neatly tucked, framed family photos on the wall, the smell of fresh chai lingering in the air. Everything was stable. Settled.
Everyone except her.
Mira Singh sat on the sofa, phone in hand, eyes hopeful in a way that made Shivangi uncomfortable.
"Beta, baitho," her mother said. "Baat karni hai."
There it was.
Shivangi sat, folding her hands in her lap, already preparing excuses in her head. Office deadlines. Project pressure. Health. Anything.
"You know Sharma aunty na?" Mira began.
Shivangi nodded automatically. She knew all the aunties. They all knew her too. Too well.
"Unka bhatija hai," her mother continued carefully. "Settled hai. Family achhi hai. Photo bheji hai."
Shivangi's lips curved into a practiced smile. "Maa, abhi office mein kaafi pressure hai. Next quarter dekhte hain."
Mira's smile faltered.
"Har baar next quarter," she said quietly. "Kab tak?"
The question hung in the air, heavier than any accusation.
Shivangi looked away, her gaze drifting to the family photo on the wall. Her brother, happily married. Her sister, smiling beside her husband. Even her five-year-old nephew had more certainty in life than she did.
She was the last one left.
"Main mana nahi kar rahi hoon," Shivangi said gently. "Bas… ready nahi hoon."
Mira sighed, a sound full of worry and love tangled together. "Duniya ready hone ka wait nahi karti, beta."
Shivangi didn't reply.
Because deep down, she knew that.
She knew that one day, excuses would stop working. One day, pressure would turn into inevitability. And when that day came, she would have to choose between her peace and her family's expectations.
As she stood up to return to her room, her mother's voice followed her.
"Next month ek shaadi hai," Mira said. "Saath chalna padega."
Shivangi paused.
Something about the way her mother said it made her heart sink.
She nodded once, without turning back.
She didn't know it yet but that wedding would change everything.
And the life she had carefully protected from marriage… was already slipping out of her hands.
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