The days after that first Sunday stretched like a slow, burning fuse inside our house. Payal tried to act normal for Preeti’s sake, but the change in her was obvious to me. She moved carefully, as if her body still remembered the stretch and the fullness. She avoided being alone with me at first. When I tried to hold her at night, she would go stiff for a second before melting into my arms with a quiet sob.

On Monday evening, after Preeti had gone to sleep, Payal sat on the edge of our bed and started crying again. Real, heavy tears.