Gauri's POV

Lunch ended up being served far later than anyone had anticipated. Bade Thakur was visibly irritated by the cowardly, unexplained rejection, while Baba seemed deeply embarrassed by the entire fiasco, even though none of it was his fault. I, on the other hand, was quietly celebrating my freedom. By the time the meal concluded, the suffocating tension in the house had finally begun to dissolve.