My Forbidden Freedom

Life…A word so small, yet it carries a storm within it.

People go through countless struggles. But most, at least, have a place they can call home — a corner of peace, a place where love exists.

But not me. Not outside.And definitely, not inside the four walls I’m forced to call my home.

Since childhood, I’ve craved something so simple — love. The kind that comes naturally from parents. But I never received it. Not even a fraction of it.

Why?

Because I’m a girl.

According to my family, that’s all I need to be. A bride, a homemaker — someone who knows how to lower her eyes and keep her voice down. I’m not allowed to speak loudly, not allowed to laugh freely, not allowed to step outside after sunset.And talking to boys? A sin, apparently.

This... is the life of Bella Oberoi.

From the outside, people think I live a perfect life — rich, privileged, lucky.

But what they don't see is the prison I live in. A prison with golden walls and barbed love.

Because no matter how much money you have, it means nothing if there’s no love, no freedom, no acceptance.

With a family that views me as a burden... with minds drowned in backward beliefs…Life doesn’t feel like life anymore.

It feels like slow death.It feels like suffocation.Like I’m gasping inside a cage I never asked to be in.

I don’t want this life.

I want more.

I deserve more.

“Bellaaa!” A cheerful voice echoed from the hallway, instantly cutting through the silence in my room.

Only one person called my name like that — Mahira, my cousin sister.