Flashback:

Dhruv, then 17, had just returned home from school, his face unusually dull. As he walked into the house, his sister Muskan looked up from her homework.

“Bhaiya(elder brother), isn’t today your best friend’s birthday? Where’s the party?” Muskan asked excitedly.

Dhruv, putting on a brave face, replied, “They’re going to that new restaurant on the city's outskirts. I’m not going, Mom didn't allow me to go that far.”

Muskan’s face fell. “But why? Did you tell them Mom wouldn’t allow you to go that far?”

Dhruv nodded, dropping his school bag by the door. “Yeah, I told them. They’ve wanted to go there for a long time. It’s fine.”

Muskan murmured, “They could have chosen a place whe...

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