The next afternoon, Laxmi went to the market to buy vegetables.

The market was crowded as usual. Vendors called out their prices, women moved from one stall to another, and the narrow street was filled with the sounds of bargaining and laughter.

Laxmi was choosing tomatoes when a familiar voice stopped her.

"Laxmi?"

She turned.

For a moment, she couldn't recognize him.

Then she did.

He was the same boy from her school days.

The boy who had once stood in front of her with a nervous smile and a single rose in his hand.

She remembered that day instantly.

She had barely taken the flower from him when Raghunath had appeared.

His expression had changed the moment he saw it.

"How dare you give her a flower?"

The boy had tried to explain, but Raghunath hadn't listened.

The argument had turned ugly, and Raghunath had struck him.

Laxmi had stood frozen.

Then Raghunath had turned his anger toward her.

"You're going to be my wife."

His words had frightened her more than anything else.

He had grabbed her roughly and demanded to know why she had accepted the flower.

After that day, something inside Laxmi changed.

She became careful.

She stopped looking at other boys.

She avoided unnecessary conversations with men.

Even years later, the memory of his anger remained somewhere inside her.

"Laxmi?"

The man's voice brought her back.

She forced a small smile.

"It's been a long time."

They exchanged a few polite words before she excused herself.

But the memory followed her all the way home.

By the time she returned, Raghunath was already there.

She placed the vegetables in the kitchen.

He was sitting quietly, watching her.

"I heard you met someone at the market today."

Laxmi paused.

She looked at him.

"I met the vegetable sellers."

Raghunath's expression didn't change.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

He stood.

"Now you're hiding things from me?"

"I have nothing to hide."

He walked closer.

His voice remained calm, but there was a warning underneath it.

"Don't mistake the way I've been treating you lately for weakness, Laxmi."

She lowered her eyes.

"I didn't."

"I've become soft with you."

He paused.

"That doesn't mean I've forgotten the man I used to be."

Laxmi looked at him.

For a moment, she saw the same man she remembered from years ago.

The man whose anger had once frightened her.

"Don't make me become that man again," he warned.

He walked past her and left the kitchen.

Laxmi remained still.

The vegetables lay untouched beside her.

She knew Raghunath had changed in some ways.

He could be gentle now.

He could smile at her.

He could sit beside her quietly.

But somewhe

re beneath all of that, the same possessiveness still remained.