Chapter 7

Raavi got a call from Dhara as soon as she woke up. Looks like her Dhara di didn’t get any sleep last night. She called Raavi to Pandya house. Raavi was always ready to go to Pandya house so she quickly got ready and left. 

When she entered Pandya house, she found nobody there except her Dhara di. She had even sent Suman away to some puja. Dhara needed to talk to Raavi alone. She made mango shake for Raavi and pulled her to the sofa. Dhara needed to know the truth. 

“Raavi tu mujhe apni Dhara di maanti hai na?” Dhara asked. 

“Of course Dhara di. Aap toh meri favourite ho.” Raavi said. 

“Toh tu kabhi apni Dhara di se jhooth toh nahi bolegi?”

Raavi smiled. Her plan had worked! “Kabhi bhi nahi.”

“Tu sach sach bata Raavi, kya tere aur Shiva ke beech kuch chal raha hai?” Dhara asked. 

Raavi blushed. “Aap aisa kyu puch rahi hai?” She feigned innocence. 

“Kyuki main andhi nahi hu. Sab dikhta hai mujhe.”

“Dhara di...” Raavi intentionally took a pause. She was enjoying this way too much! The impatience on her Dhara Di’s face was mind blowing! “Aap kaise react karoge mujhe pata nahi. Shiva aur maine decide kiya tha ki hum aap logo ko kuch din baad batayenge. Aap toh janti ho ki maasi Shiva ko bilkul pasand nahi karti.”

“Iska matlab sachhi mein tum aur Shiva...”

“Haa Dhara di. Hum bohot pyaar karte hai ek dusre se. Par di aap abhi kisiko nahi bata sakti. Woh bhootnath bohot naraz ho jayega agar usko pata chala ki maine aapko sab bata diya. Toh please Dhara di.”

Raavi knew her Dhara di was exactly like her. Now that she had asked Dhara not to tell anything to anyone, it would become even more difficult to keep it a secret. Dhara looked like she was about to faint, but she controlled herself. How did these two fall in love? 

***

Shiva was thankful that the chipkali hadn’t come to annoy him today but by the end of the day, he began to wonder why she didn’t come to irritate him with another plan of hers. He thought of texting her, but it just felt weird. Why would he text this mami ki behen ki beti? But the biggest question was why was he feeling so restless without her.

At the end of the day, Shiva was about to drive his bike back to his house when his phone vibrated. It was a text from Raavi. He was relieved to know she was fine. 

“Shiva, maasi ne mujhe room mein lock kar diya hai :(  Please mujhe aake bacha.”

“Kyu lock kiya?”

“Main subah subah Pandya house gayi thi, phir main Kirti se milne gayi. Par maasi ko laga ki main tujhse milne gayi hu :(“

Shiva knew maami could do something like this. She needed to be taught a lesson. Instead of going back to Pandya house, he went to Raavi’s house. Parking his bike outside, he entered her house. 

“Ae maami!” He shouted. “Bahar nikal.”

Prafulla, and Anita ran to the living room where Shiva was standing. Prafulla started to remember God as soon as she saw Shiva. 

“Apne bhatiji ko room mein lock karte hue sharm nahi aati? Nikal usko abhi ke abhi.”

“Nahi! Meri phool si bachhi par nazar daalta hai tu raakshash.” Prafulla shouted back. 

“Nikal warna teri shakal ki geography badal dunga. Yaha Dhara bhabhi nahi hai apni kasam dene ke liye.”

Prafulla swallowed hard. This Shiva could kill her. She trusted the murderer inside him, which only came to life when he saw her. He suddenly took a step towards her and she moved back in fear. He took another step, and she was cornered by the wall. 

“Nikal warna...” Shiva showed his fist. 

“Ae Anita ja jakar Raavi ke kamre ka darwaza khol...” 

Anita went upstairs. Raavi suddenly rushed down and hugged Shiva tightly, making Prafulla flinch. Anita took the support of the stair railing to keep herself from falling. This couple was serious trouble.

“Tu aa gaya apni Rapunzel ko bachane?” Raavi asked. “Maasi ne sachhi mujhe Rapunzel ki tarah tower mein lock kar rakha tha.”

“Ae Raavi, itna chipak mat uss shaitan se.” Prafulla said, but she got a glare from Shiva. “Mazak, mazak, tu chipak. Jitna chipakna hai chipak.”

Shiva again stood before Prafulla. “Aage se aisi harkat ki na toh Dhara bhabhi ki kasam bhi mujhe nahi rokne wali.” 

She nodded. Shiva went out and Raavi went to drop him outside. She again hugged him and started laughing loudly. 

“Maasi ki kya class li tune!” 

“Ab hasna bandh kar aur ghar ja.”

“Shiva aaj main aur Kirti Jamna kaki ke peeche gaye the. Woh gym ka bahana karke apne friends ke saath junk food khati hai. Phir apne upar paani spray karke ghar laut ti hai jaise kitni exercise karke aayi ho.”

Shiva couldn’t believe she had started gossiping to him. What had his life come to?

“Mami ki behen ki beti, mujhe tere gossip mein koi interest nahi hai. Aur achha yahi hoga ki tu koi kaam kaaj kar le yeh sab na karke.”

“Par Shiva Maine toh tujhe bataya bhi nahi ki Jamna kaki ki friends unke baare mein pith peeche kya bolti hai. Bohot funny hai!”

“Mujhe koi interest nahi hai. Tu yeh Kirti ko bol.” Shiva got on his bike and kick started it before Raavi could start with her gossip again. 

“Achha chal bye.” Raavi turned to leave but she saw her Maasi spying on them through the window. She immediately turned around and stopped Shiva. 

“Ab kya hai?”

Raavi kissed him on the cheek. Both Shiva and Maami were shocked. Raavi smiled in satisfaction. With one act, she had managed to stun both of them. Feeling pretty great, Raavi returned to her room. 

***

When Shiva returned home, he found everyone at home already. He quickly freshened up and joined his family in the living room. For a minute he thought his Dhara bhabhi was acting strange! She didn’t even ask him how his day was. 

“Tu aaj phir late kaise?” Gaumbi asked instead. “Aajkal tu jaata kaha hai?”

“Kahi nahi. Dukan pe thoda kaam aa gaya tha Gaumbi.” Shiva said.  

Then he noticed Dhara bhabhi again. She just handed him a cup of tea and left without talking to her. Even Gaumbi, Dev and Krish were looking confused. Dhara was acting strange. Maybe something was bothering her. 

“Bhabhi koi baat hai kya?” Shiva asked. 

“Kuch nahi hai.” Dhara answers in an irritated tone.  

“Aap naraz ho kya mujhpe?”

“Of course naraaz hu. Tu baatein chupane lag gaya hai Shiva! Woh bhi apni bhabhi maa se.”

“Aisi koi baat nahi.” Shiva was confused as to why his bhabhi was behaving this way. Did Maami tell her what happened today?

“Kaunsi baat chupayi hai isne Dhara?” Gaumbi asked.

“Zaroor koi kaand kiya hoga.” Krish said. 

“Mujhe kyu nahi bola tune. Main tujhe samajhti hu, teri feelings samajhti hu.” Dhara said. “Ek baat bol diya hota. Main sab kuch handle kar leti.”

“Par hua kya hai? Tu saaf saaf bol Dhara!” Gaumbi asked.  

Dhara didn’t want to say. She had promised Raavi, but she also couldn’t stay without telling anyone. So she silently apologised to Raavi and decided to spill the beans to her family. They deserved to know after all. 

“Raavi aur Shiva ek dusre se pyaar karte hai.” Dhara announced.

There was pin drop silence in the house. No one said anything. They were all shocked, even Shiva who had no idea what was happening. Suddenly Krish started laughing. 

“Kya mazak kar rahe ho bhabhi!”

“Mazak nahi hai.” Dhara said. 

“Raavi! Tu Raavi ko... Uss din tu Raavi ke saath date pe gaya tha?” Dev finally realised.

“Date? Raavi? Yeh sab kya ho raha hai?” Gaumbi asked. 

Shiva had no answer. He was more stunned than anyone in the family. 

“Shiva, dekh Raavi pe gussa mat karna. Maine hi usse pucha tha. Toh usne bata diya. Woh mujhse koi baat nahi chupati. Aur usne mujhe kaha tha ki main kisi ko nahi batau.”

Of course, the chipkali was responsible for everything. He wasn’t going to spare this maami ki behen ki beti. But how would he save himself from this situation right now? His entire family was looking at him as if he were Shahrukh Khan sitting with them. 

“Bhabhi, iss baare mein baad mein baat kare?”

“Nahi bilkul nahi. Yeh kaunsa cross connection lag gaya? Hume toh Dev-Raavi ka pata tha.” Krish asked.  

“Ae Krish, bohot bol raha hai.” Shiva warned.

“Par Shiva, yeh hua kaise?” Gaumbi asked. 

“Gaumbi kal woh chipkali aayegi na. Aap logo ko jo puchna hai usse puch lena.”

Shiva got up and walked away. He knew his family wouldn’t stop questioning him, and but he had to kill this chipkali first.

***

Pros of fake dating Shiva-

1. Dev’s brother
2. I trust him. So he won’t take advantage of me 
3. I can go to Pandya House anytime I want
4. I can annoy him!
5.  He gave me a chocolate because I couldn’t handle the chilli. 
6. Took a stand for me when Rishita tried to humiliate me. 
7. Saved me like Prince Charming!

Raavi was about to text Shiva as usual, but he called her instead. She couldn’t believe this bhootnath was calling her on his own. Maybe her company had rubbed off on him, and he was turning a little romantic. 

“Hello Shiva!”

“Ae mami ki behen ki beti! Yeh kya raita felaya hai tune? Tujhe toh main nahi chorunga. Bhabhi ko kya jhooth bola tune? Main tujhse pyaar karta hu? Meri jooti karti hai pyaar. Ab tune jo bigara hai use thik kar warna-” 

Raavi stopped him in the middle of his sentence. “Shiva Shiva Shiva, saans toh le aur thoda chill kar. Yeh sab mere plan ka hissa hai.”

Shiva huffed in anger. “Tere plan ki aisi ki taisi.” 

“Dekh tu shant ho jaa aur mujhe bata kya hua. Bhabhi ne sirf tujhse baat ki ya sabko bata diya?”

“Sabko bataya hai. Sab log meri jaan ke peeche pare hai.”

“Chalo achha hai. Dev ka kya reaction tha yeh sunke?”

“Sabka ek hi reaction tha! Shock. Itna bara jhatka kisi ko nahi laga hoga aaj tak. Kal tu aayegi aur sab ko sach batayegi.” Shiva said. 

“Kal nahi! Thoda time se mujhe. Main bas 2-3 dino mein sab clear kar dungi. Main jiska wait kar rahi hu woh toh ho jaye!”

“Maine pehle bhi kaha hai ki Dev tujhse pyaar nahi karta. Yeh faltu cheez karke kuch nahi hoga. Tu nahi bolegi toh main bhabhi ko sach bata dunga.”

Raavi gasped. He couldn’t do this. She was so close to getting what she wanted. “Shiva please please please aisa mat kar. Mujhe bas 3 din de. Please. Phir main khud bata dungi sabko. Sirf 3 din.”

Shiva sighed. “Ek shart hai.”

“Koi bhi shart ho manzoor.” Raavi said. “Kya shart hai?”

“Ab yeh plan tu nahi main lead karunga. Ek baar tujhe prove kar diya ki Dev tujhse pyaar nahi karta phir shanti.”

Raavi wanted to say no but she was trapped. “Haa thik hai.”

Shiva smirked. “Okay. Ek aur baat, kal tu aayegi aur meri family ko har kyu kaise ka jawab degi.”

“Done.”

“Toh phir goodnight. Kal subah aa jaana. Main pickup nahi karne wala iss baar.”

Raavi cut the call and threw her phone on the bed. She was extremely mad at Shiva for ruining everything. God knows what will happen now!