Arita POV“Are you okay, child?” she asked, her voice laced with worry.At that moment everything in me crashed. I knew Mom had seen everything. She had seen that her little girl was not so innocent anymore.I felt disappointed that I had brought her shame. “I’m sorry, Mom,” I cried.“Oh child, you don’t need to be sorry,” she replied. “The neighbor called me and told me the crowd came protesting at our doorstep. Are you okay?” she asked again.I nodded but replied in words when I realized she couldn’t see me right now. “Yes, Mom,” I replied.“Have you eaten?” Mom asked.I found myself crying more. Even out of everything, out of the chaos, she still asked if I had eaten.“Yes, Mom,” I replied.“Be safe, my baby girl,” she said. “I can’t get off work till five, but I will try to get home as soon as possible.”“Okay, Mom,” I replied, not knowing whether to explain to her how I had accepted to marry King and become a wife at eighteen.My hand pressed the end button, and I gazed into the
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