जीवन ज्योति आयुर्वेदा

  Chapter 3: From One Hell to Another — The Stolen Youth ​As I mentioned in my previous post, a new turning point arrived in Radhika’s life that completely devastated her world. That turning point was her stepmother . ​As soon as she arrived, she forced me to quit school. Every single household chore became my burden. Every moment was filled with sorrow, but I was more worried about my siblings than myself. Our stepmother began tormenting them in every possible way—be it food, clothes, or basic needs. I was only 11 years old. I never complained to my father because I feared that we had already lost one mother, and if we lost this one too, we would be completely motherless. Because of this fear, my three siblings and I remained silent and never complained to anyone. ​As time passed, the stepmother's cruelty intensified—physical abuse and leaving us hungry for days. Our lives became worse than hell. This continued for about five years. By the time I was 16, I had become a bit more...