The Loneliness That Broke Her

The night had deepened, but sleep refused to touch Sejal's eyes.

Every ticking second felt like an eternity. Every beat of the clock echoed like a reminder—her father was in the hospital, and she wasn't there.

She sat by the window, staring at the empty streets. The city outside was still alive—cars sped past, people moved about, lights flickered in tall buildings—but her world had gone eerily still.

Her father—the man who had been her pillar, her protector, her guiding light—was lying unconscious somewhere, and she couldn't even hold his hand.

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she held them back.

She had no right to cry.

Not when she was the one who had brought disgrace upon her family.

Not when she was the reason she couldn't be by her father's side.

Her own existence had become a secret that needed to be hidden.