7 allergic to cubic zirconia

Piyush's mother's jaw dropped. "The police?! Over a few rupees? You'd drag your poor, frail mother-in-law to jail?"

She turned dramatically to her husband. "Do you hear this? She wants to imprison me over rice and lentils!"

"A poor, frail woman wearing gold bangles thicker than my wrist," Bani quipped, her expression unchanging.

Before the argument could escalate further, Piyush's father, who had been silently studying the ceiling, cleared his throat. "Enough. Let's return her belongings and put an end to this nonsense."

Piyush's mother glared at him. "Fine! Let her take her gold, her chain, her… whatever. But mark my words—she'll regret losing my son, the diamond of this family!"

Bani rose to her feet, her smile unshaken. "Don't worry. You can keep the diamond. I'm allergic to cubic zirconia."

As Bani and her brother stepped out into the cold evening air, her brother chuckled. "You know, you could've just ignored her."

Bani smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

The crisp air felt freeing, like stepping out of a suffocating room into an open sky. Bani smiled to herself, feeling lighter than she had in months. Then again, she thought with amusement, perhaps it was just the lack of gold weighing her down.