"Maa, please don't do this to me," Sara sobbed, her voice choked with tears. "What have I done wrong? Why are you treating me like a sacrificial lamb?" She pleaded, her hands folded in front of her mother, her eyes swollen from crying. "Please, just listen to me this one time. I'm not ready for this. I can't go through with it."

Her mother, stern and unyielding, cut her off sharply. "Shut your mouth and do as you're told. You will marry him in two days. I have given you a chance to accept it willingly, or I will drag you to the mandap myself."