Laxmi carried the lunch boxes to the school that afternoon. As soon as she reached the entrance, Arun and Tharun came running toward her, their eyes immediately going to the boxes in her hands.

"Amma, you brought our lunch," Tharun said happily.

"Yes, my child. Take it before it gets cold," Laxmi replied with a smile.

The boys took their boxes and hurried away together, leaving Laxmi holding Raghunath's lunch. She walked toward the staff room, intending to give it to him before returning home.

When she reached the doorway, she stopped.

Raghunath was standing near the window, talking to a woman teacher. They seemed comfortable around each other, and the woman said something that made him smile.

Laxmi didn't understand why the sight bothered her.

She stood there for a few seconds, watching them, and felt an unfamiliar heaviness settle in her chest. She had never considered herself a jealous person, yet seeing another woman standing so close to her husband made something inside her ache.

A memory suddenly returned to her.

Years ago, when she was still a student, a girl had once given Raghunath a chocolate. He had accepted it casually, without thinking much about it.

Laxmi had been hurt.

She had asked him about it later, expecting him to reassure her, but his answer had only made her more frightened.

"It is up to you whether you want to marry me or not, Laxmi. I don't have to explain everything I do to you."

She still remembered how cold those words had sounded.

She had stood silently in front of him, wondering what would happen if he really decided not to marry her.

She didn't want to end up alone.

That fear had stayed with her for years.

Now, standing outside the staff room, she looked at him again.

The woman teacher said something, and Raghunath smiled once more.

Laxmi tightened her fingers around the lunch box.

She knew she had no right to demand an explanation for every conversation he had, but her heart didn't understand what her mind was telling her.

She took a slow breath and stepped into the room.

Raghunath noticed her immediately.

His smile faded as his eyes settled on her face.

"Laxmi, you came?"

She held out his lunch box without saying anything.

He took it, still watching her.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," she replied quietly.

But Raghunath knew her well enough to realize that something was wrong.

Laxmi turned around and walked away, carrying the memory of his old words with her.

It is up to you whether you want to marry me or not

.

She had never forgotten them.