“I managed that badly,” Bhumika said. She was angry—with them, and with herself. “I should not have been so honest or so forthright. Men with power do not respond to it. Especially from women.” She closed her eyes and steadied herself, forcing the fire of her anger to quell. “What was I like before I chose this path, Jeevan? Was I wiser?” “You were careful with your words,” Jeevan said after a moment. “You would cajole. Mediate. For many years men with power did not listen to you. So you placed people in your debt, knowing they would help you not from fear but from gratitude.”
