Chapter 8

Chapter Three:

Raavi woke up to the sound of Shiva’s heartbeat and took a moment to look at him in his peaceful slumber. He looked so innocent and calm while sleeping, not a single trace of the devil inside of him present. She gazed at him until her heart was content and she had memorized each and every single detail of his face. She caressed his hair, wishing that she could stay in his arms for the rest of her life. Her heart pleaded to do just that, but she wouldn’t allow herself to be mercilessly broken again by him. She wouldn’t give him the power nor the satisfaction of leaving her a complete and utter mess once again. 

With a heavy heart and strong resolve, Raavi pulled herself out of his embrace which proved to be a difficult task as he had tightly wrapped his arms around her torso. She finally managed to break free of his grasp and nudged him to wake up. She kept whispering his name and hitting his arm, but Shiva was relentless and continued on with his deep slumber. Fed up with his antics, Raavi grabbed the jug of water from her nightstand and threw its contents onto Shiva. 

Shiva woke up from the sudden impact of the water, furious that he had been so rudely awakened. He looked down and noticed that his whole upper body was drenched, and little droplets were seeping through his shirt and making their way down to his pants. He looked back up and found Raavi glaring at him in a half-asleep state. Once she had his attention, Raavi pointed towards the window and snapped her fingers, “Get out.” 

Shiva raised his eyebrows at her tone, but she paid no attention to him, and walked towards the bathroom to get ready. Raavi’s heart was thudding in fear and all she wanted to do was scurry into the bathroom, but she had to maintain her stance, and walked confidently. She had just opened the door when the door slammed shut. Raavi didn’t have to turn back to know it was Shiva that had closed the door. 

“Tumne suna nahi maine kya kaha. Get. Out.” Raavi gritted her teeth and forced the words to come out of her mouth with force. She took deep breaths to calm her nerves and prayed that he would just leave and let her be. Of course, with her luck, that was nearly impossible. Shiva had yet to reply to her since he had woken up and his silence was frightening her. 

He placed both his hands against the door, caging her in between his arms with her back almost up against his chest. Raavi moved closer to the door to put distance in between them but that only caused him to move closer. “Shiva mujhe naahna hai. Tum vapas apne ghar jao.” Raavi stuttered out. 

“Itna naahne ka shauk hai toh main niladeta hoon.” Shiva whispered into her ears while slightly pulling the zipper of her kurti. Raavi immediately smacked his hand away and pushed him backwards with her elbow. “Shiva aapne had mein rehna seekh ja. Jo tu ye kal se karaha hai mere saath voh ab nahi chalega.” 

Shiva grabbed a fistful of her curls and pulled backwards, her head following suit. “Abhi toh maine tujhe apni had dikhaye bhi nahi hai.” He shook his head vigorously, water dripping from his hair onto her face and neck. One of the droplets had rolled down from her neck and into her blouse and he had every intention to follow its path with his mouth. He was proceeding to do just that when his phone rang. He would have ignored it and continued on with the task at hand, but the ringtone was the one he had set for his Dhara Bhabhi, and he reluctantly answered the phone. 

Raavi sighed in relief and seized the opportunity to open the bathroom door and lock herself in the bathroom. Shiva gazed at the closed door in anger but focused on his Dhara Bhabhi’s words. “Shiva subah subah kahan chala gaya hai tu? Jaldi ghar aakar tayaar ho ja. Hume mandir jana hai aaj.” 

“Ji Bhabhi main dus minute main aaya.” Satisfied, Dhara cut the phone and Shiva pinched the bridge of his nose. He had wanted to spend a few more moments with his chipkali, maybe even score a morning kiss but both his Dhara Bhabhi and the chipkali herself, had other plans. He banged on the bathroom door as a warning, “Bhabhi ne bacha liya tujhe aaj. Lekin voh har baar tujhe bacha nahi payegi.” He climbed out of the window and made his way back to his house. 

Meanwhile, Raavi shivered in fear from his words. She knew it wasn’t an empty threat and decided to stay as far away as she could from him as possible. The more she engaged with him, the greater the chances of her falling into his vicious trap.

She quickly showered, shaking her negative thoughts away and peaked outside the door discretely. She wouldn’t put it past the devil to act like he was leaving but to actually be lurking in some corner, ready to pounce on her. Once she was convinced that the coast was clear, she came outside and grabbed the lehenga. 

The entire time she was getting dressed, all she could think about was Shiva’s warm hands dressing her in the blouse. Bas ab bahoth hogaya Raavi. Shiva ab tera devar bane jaraha hai. Uske baare main sochna band kar aur apne Dev ke baare mein soch. Raavi scolded herself for veering off to the wrong path once again and finished getting ready. 

Her MaasiMa came barging into the room and Raavi thanked the skies that her MaasiMa hadn’t done this during the night. “Raavi beta kitni der hogayi hai. Chal ab mandir ke liye hume nikalna hai.” Raavi nodded her head and her MaasiMa took her nazar off, unaware that the biggest nazar had just left a half hour ago. 

Raavi headed to the mandir along with her MaasiMa, MaasaPa, and Anita Di, anxious to see Dev. All the members of Pandya Parivar had reached the mandir already except for Shiva who had to go back home to get ready. Raavi was relieved to see him nowhere in sight and smiled at Dev shyly. Everyone wanted to wait for Shiva to start the actual pooja, so they began to arrange small necessities such as the thaal for the aarti and prasad. All were busy in these arrangements and teasing Dev and Raavi as they kept stealing glances at each other. 

Shiva had finally reached the mandir and saw his chipkali from afar, this time fully dressed in the lehenga he had seen yesterday. He had to admit that she looked so beautiful in the lehenga, and it was soon becoming his favorite piece of clothing that she owned. He was about to make his way up the stairs when he spotted Rishita crying in the corner while looking at everyone from afar. 

Normally, Shiva would have ignored such a nuisance and carried on, but she was going to be his Bhabhi. He approached her while keeping a hand on her shoulder, “Rishita kya hua? Tum ro kyu rahi ho? Aur mandir ke andar kyu nahi gayi?” Rishita sobbed even more at Shiva’s question. 

“Kaise andar jao Shiva. Mujhse ye sab nahi dekha ja raha.” She replied, leaving Shiva quite confused. “Matlab? Kya tum iss shaadi se khush nahi ho?” 

“Khush? Main kaise khush hosakti hoon. Tumhe nahi dikh tha kya Shiva, main Dev se pyaar karthi hoon.” Rishita yelled at him angrily. Shiva was agitated by her tone and rubbed his head in both confusion and frustration. “Toh teri shaadi ho toh rahi hai uske saath. Problem kya hai?” 

Rishita started at him in bafflement, awed that he would play such a cruel joke on her. She knew Shiva could say the most hurtful things but hadn’t expected him to add even more salt to her wounds. “Ye kya ganda mazak karahe ho mere saath Shiva? Meri shaadi Dev se nahi ho rahi hai.” She screamed at him while sobbing incessantly. Before Shiva could ask her any more questions, she ran away from there. 

Ye chal kya raha hai. Iss gadheri ne toh kaha ye Dev se shaadi nahi karahi hai. To phir kaun hai? Shiva couldn’t handle the suspense any longer and made his way to the front entrance of the mandir. Soon everyone had spotted him and had welcomed him to join in. 

“Panditji sab aagaye hai, ab hum pooja shuru karsakthe hai.” Dhara exclaimed excitedly. Shiva looked around the whole mandir but couldn’t decipher who could possibly be Dev’s bride. The only person that was even near Dev’s age was Raavi and that was completely out of the question. Speaking of Raavi, Shiva zeroed in on her and stared at her intensely, waiting for her eyes to find his. 

But Raavi did no such thing and held her ground. She made sure to look everywhere but at Shiva and purposeful engaged herself in a conversation with Anita Di. Shiva was frustrated by the lack of attention but knew better than to create a scene at the mandir. 

“Hone wale dulha aur dulhan ko yaha par beta diya jaye.” The panditji gestured towards the seats next to the havan and Dhara signaled Dev and Raavi to take their places. Shiva eagerly awaited to see who would come and sit down. His face instantly dropped when he saw Raavi sitting down in the bride’s spot, but he chuckled at her foolishness and got up to tell her that the spot she was sitting on was for Dev’s future wife. 

“Shiva aur Krish. Jao jaake Raavi aur Dev ke peeche bet jao.” Shiva was confused about why no one was telling Raavi to get up from the seat but Krish had pulled him down to sit next to him. 

“Ye Raavi yaha pe kyu baiti hai. Ye jaga toh Dev ki hone wali biwi ki hai na.”, Shiva whispered to Krish. “Kya Shiva, tu kya subhe subhe bhaang peeke aaya hai, voh bhi mandir main? Kuch toh sharam kar. Raavi Dev se shaadi karke hum dono ki Bhabhi bane wali hai, ab ye baat tu bhi maan le.” 

It was as if time had stopped still, and every sound had fallen silent. Shiva couldn’t hear or see anything, even breathing seemed to be a difficult chore. Every cell, every nerve, every part of his body had come to a standstill, and he felt paralyzed for what felt like an eternity. When he did regain a part of his hearing back, all that was ringing in his head was Dev, Raavi, and Bhabhi on repeat. Dev, Raavi, and Bhabhi. Dev’s Raavi and Krish’s Bhabhi. Raavi’s Dev and Shiva’s Bhabhi. The loop was endless, and he wanted to scream his lungs out for it to stop. 

The pain he had felt was fleeting, it was the rage that was slowly building up inside him that was going to be everlasting. His hands curled up into fists and all he could think about was punching the living daylights out of his own brother. Shiva would first break his legs for every single time he had the audacity to stand next to his Raavi. Then he would twist his arms for every time he had presumably held his Raavi’s hand. When Dev would be double over in pain, Shiva would then pull his head up by his hair and punch him straight in the mouth for using it to say yes to marrying his Raavi. 

Shiva had almost acted upon his murderous thoughts but noticed his surroundings and willed himself to sit in his seat. The longer he forced himself to sit down, the more barbaric his thoughts had become. His anger towards Dev began to subside and it was instead redirecting towards Raavi. How dare she? Apne aap ko samaj thi kya hai? Shiva burned holes into her back and though Raavi wasn’t facing him, she could feel the fire radiating off of him. 

She shook her head at her stupidity as she was literally sitting in front of an actual fire. Tu kuch zyada hi soch rahi hai Raavi. Pooja pe concentrate kar. 

With each ritual Dev and Raavi performed together, Shiva burned in fury. Especially since more than half of the rituals required them to hold hands and drop offerings into the fire. Each time Dev’s hand touched his chipkali’s, Shiva thought of breaking his hand. If it were up to Shiva, he would break Dev’s fingers one by one so that he would feel the same burn Shiva felt each time Dev touched Raavi.

Soon the pooja had come to an end and everyone was happy as the first ritual of the wedding had been completed successfully. Watching everyone’s happy faces, especially Dev and Raavi’s, Shiva vowed that this would be the first and last ritual that would reach completion. Just when he didn’t think his patience could be tested any further, he witnessed Dev grabbing Raavi’s hand and pulling her closer. 

“Pehle nahi bol paya par tum bahoth achi lag rahi ho aaj, voh bhi mere naam ki lehenga mein.” Dev whispered into Raavi’s ear, but Shiva had heard every single word and his body practically ignited on fire. The last straw to his patience was Raavi profusely blushing at Dev’s words. Before she had a chance to reply back, Shiva had picked up a gallon jug full of water and threw it towards the fire, drenching Raavi and Dev in the process. 

Everyone looked at him in shock while the Panditji exclaimed, “Ye kya kiya tumne beta? Aise aag ko bhujana abshagun mana jata hai.” Dhara glared at Shiva upon hearing the Panditji’s words. “Su kare Shiva? Ye kya harkath thi?” Shiva stood silently, his anger not wavering for a single second. He kept staring at Raavi, daring her to look up just once. 

Dhara shook Shiva aggressively, “Maine kuch pucha Shiva. Ye kya tha? Tune toh bola tha ke tu khush hai iss shaadi se.” Shiva still refused to answer, his gaze never leaving Raavi who was shivering from both the cold and in fright. 

“Kya karu main iss ladke ka. Ab ja dono Dev aur Raavi ko ghar lekar ja. Ye dono aapne kapde badal lenge aur phir tum teeno humein shaadi ke venue pe milna.” Shiva nodded at her words and both Dev and he started walking towards the car. Raavi was rooted to her spot and Shiva harshly clutched her hand, “Chalo Raavi Bhabhi.”

Raavi finally looked up into his eyes for the first time since this morning and she instantly regretted her action. Shiva’s eyes were trained on her with a look that couldn’t be described with a small word such as fury. She couldn’t understand what exactly had ticked him off this much but knew she would be the recipient if she didn’t listen to him. 

Silently she sat in the back of the car while Dev and Shiva sat in the front. The whole car ride Dev tried to make conversation but neither Shiva nor Raavi indulged much. Shiva kept shooting glares at Raavi through the rearview mirror, his attention on her more than the road. Raavi settled for looking out the window most of the time, as she wasn’t ready to burn from his smoldering eyes. 

They finally reached Pandya Niwas and Dev got out of the car. “Raavi tum aage aajao ab.” Raavi was startled by Dev’s statement and realized that Shiva would be the one taking her back to her own house, alone. She was so lost in her thoughts about why Shiva was angry that she didn’t realize she would have to go with him alone. “Dev main yaha change karlongi. Faltu main ghar jaane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai.” 

“Aare Raavi tumhare yaha koi kapde nahi hai. Shiva tumhe lejayga ghar, chinta maat karo.” Dev said while pulling Raavi out of the backseat and pushing her into the front. Dev left in a hurry and Raavi was left alone with Shiva. She could sense him looking at her and knew that any second, he would eat her alive. 

She tried to get out of the car, but Shiva had locked the car. Still not giving up, she was about to open the lock when Shiva grabbed her hand and started driving the car. Usually, she would have smacked him away, but she was terrified of his bubbling anger and remained silent. The grip on her hand was becoming increasingly painful and she whimpered in pain. 

Shiva shot a glance at her and loosened his hold on her momentarily before remembering her betrayal and tightening his grip even more. This time a few of her bangles broke but his grip didn’t relent. They finally reached her house and Shiva had let go of her hand to park the car. Raavi took advantage of the split second and ran out of the car, Shiva tailing right behind her. 

She kept running, hoping to put some distance in between them but he had covered the distance in long strides and picked her up in one sweep. He threw her over his shoulder and carried her to her bedroom, paying no heed to her tiny fists slamming against his back. He let her down once they reached the room and pulled her hair backwards. Raavi cried in pain and try to remove his hold. “Shiva ye kya kar raha hai? Chod mujhe. Dard ho raha hai.”

“Tujhe dard ho raha hai? Oh really, Raavi. Tujhe dard ho raha hai. Aur jo dard tumne mujhe diya hai uska kya.” Shiva yelled at her and Raavi flinched back. Angered by her retreating form, Shiva ripped the lehenga’s dupatta off of her shoulder and threw it across the room. 

“Shiva how dare you? Aur konsa dard diya hai maine tumhe?” Raavi sobbed at his roughness, still trying to break free of his grip on her hair. 

“Tumhari himmat kaise hui ye sochne ke liye ke tum Dev se shaadi karlogi. Tum sirf aur sirf meri dulhan ho samjhi.” Shiva screamed, pulling her hair even more while bringing her body closer to him. Raavi’s entire torso was glued to his and she desperately wanted her dupatta back. With as much strength as she could muster, she pushed Shiva back and the bobby pins in her hair fell out from the impact. 

“Tum kya pagal ho gaye ho? Main Dev ki biwi bane ja rahi hoon. Aur tumhe kya laga ke main tumahare jaise junglee jaanwar ki dulhan banongi? Kabhi nahi Shiva kabhi nahi.” Raavi screamed at him, while trying to cover herself. 

“Main jaanwar hoon?” Shiva asked while taking a predatory step towards her. Raavi wanted to run to a corner and curl up into a ball, but she remained still. “Haan.”

“Main jaanwar hoon?” Shiva asked once again, this time with a warning in his voice. Raavi knew that she should just say no and end the matter, but her stubbornness won. “Haan tu jaanwar hai. Junglee jaanwar.” 

“Toh ab dekh ye junglee jaanwar tere saath kya kartha hai.” Shiva said menacingly while pulled Raavi towards him by her elbows. Raavi had anticipated his next move and covered her mouth quickly, as he had bent down to kiss her senseless. Shiva’s anger skyrocketed and he remembered that she was still wearing the lehenga that was supposedly marked as Dev’s. He growled under his breath at the implication and vowed that he would have her out of this lehenga within minutes. 

With one swipe, he pulled on all of the doris of the blouse, ripping them in the process. His nails had scratched her back in the process, but he couldn’t care less. Raavi had not expected for him to brutally tear her blouse and her hands flew from her mouth to the back of her blouse. Shiva used this opportunity to place his lips on her own, aggressively biting her lips. Raavi refused to respond which enraged him and he grew even harsher with his kisses, drawing blood from her lips. He tried his best to open her mouth and slip his tongue in, but Raavi didn’t relent and just when he thought there was an opening, she pushed him backwards.

Before he could process the separation, Raavi slapped him across the face, tears running down her cheeks. He moved towards her furiously, but she slapped him one more time. She kept sobbing while observing him intently, ready to deliver another slap if necessary. He rubbed his cheek and made his way over to her cupboard. Raavi stared at him in confusion as he took out a random pair of kurti and jeans. 

He threw the clothes at her face and ordered her, “Lehenga uthar ke aa.” Raavi shook her head in response, refusing to do anything he told her to do. 

Shiva pulled her in once more and whispered in a deadly voice, “Chup chap lehenga uthar ke aa. Nahi toh mujhe uthar na aata hai.” Raavi’s eyes widened at his threat, and she ran into the bathroom. She pulled the lehenga off and dressed into the kurti and jeans while crying uncontrollably. She sat on the floor of the bathroom, prolonging her return to the room. If it was up to her, she would have stayed in the bathroom as long as possible, but she heard Shiva calling her name. She knew if she didn’t walk out now, he would come barging in and make things even worse for her.  

She walked out and found him waiting for her sitting on her bed. He was sitting with a calm poise, but Raavi knew that he was anything but that internally. He stalked towards her, and she expected another aggressive hold, but he walked past her into the bathroom and came out a few moments later with the lehenga in his hand. 

With the lehenga in one hand, Shiva gripped Raavi’s wrist in the other hand and dragged her throughout the house. She protested the whole time, but he saw no reason against his fury. He dragged her to the courtyard and mercilessly pushed her to the ground. Raavi twisted her ankle from the impact and screamed in pain, but Shiva had other plans in mind. 

He threw the lehenga next to her and poured gasoline all over it. Once he was satisfied that every inch of the lehenga was covered, he lit a match and threw it on top. Raavi watched in horror as her lehenga burned right in front of her eyes. Shiva knelt down to her level and sadistically smirked at her. “Jaise ye lehenga jalaya hai vaise hi pure Somnath main aag laga dunga agar tune socha bhi Dev se shaadi karne ki.” 

He moved a piece of her hair from her forehead and placed a quick but forceful kiss on her lips. He looked at the burning fire one more time, happy with his work and walked out to his car. Raavi was once again a sobbing mess and laid on the floor of the courtyard, crying her heart out. 

He had burned what had been marked as Dev’s, but her heart and soul were reaping the lethal effects.