The haveli was a labyrinth of secrets and sorrow, but in a single, small chamber, a new miracle was unfolding. After months of bitter exile and unrelenting grief, Pankhudi had discovered she was pregnant. The news filled her with a fragile, hesitant hope, a tiny flicker of light in the overwhelming darkness.

As she sat in her room, her hand protectively cradling her swelling belly, a wave of emotion washed over her—joy, fear, and a profound, abiding love. Tears, both of happiness and of lingering pain, streamed down her face. She was finally going to give birth to her baby and she was also afraid of how life would be.