Chapter 4: Sacrifices and Second Chances

Half a month later, Meera scraped together 8 lakh and sent it to Z Company. She must have borrowed from relatives, pawned her jewellery, maybe even mortgaged her mangalsutra. In India, a woman doing this for her husband is no small matter.

Priya kept her word, issuing a receipt and a letter of forgiveness in the format I requested.

I submitted everything and filed a compromise settlement with the prosecutor.

Sure enough, the prosecutor agreed. Arjun was released.

The day he walked out, the sky was overcast, and the smell of wet earth filled the air. Meera and I went to pick him up.

Arjun hugged me. "Good brother! I got out without a sentence—all thanks to you."

I kept a straight face. "Don’t thank me—thank your wife."

He turned to Meera, voice choked. "Wife, I was wrong. Thank you for handling everything. I’ll never do a galti like this again, pakka."

Meera didn’t scold him. She leaned on his shoulder and burst into tears.

Arjun cried too, snot and all. The scene looked straight out of a Zee TV serial. Even the watchman stared.

Why was I worrying about someone else’s family?

Meera told Arjun, "Your brother is really reliable—professional, trustworthy, and a good person. But he’s still single. I want to introduce someone to him."

Arjun grinned, "Of course, leave it to me."

But as we left the police station, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that some secrets were better left buried.