||RishNa SS - Wooing Mrs. Shrivastav|| Chapter 5 Page 7 *Updated*

||RishNa SS - Wooing Mrs. Shrivastav||

Chapter 1

Chindi wanted a divorce from him? Rishabh sat shocked on the edge of his bed. Okay. A) No woman ever rejected Rishabh Shrivastav! He had always had women vying for his attention and always, always he was the one who called it quits in a relationship - never the woman. And B) this was Chindi Chameli they were talking about. How could she want to go away from him? For as long as he could remember, she had been best friends with Rakhi and had been a constant part of his life! Agreed that every single time they came face to face they'd want to strangle each other but.. She had always been there! If he had been able to pull himself together after Rakhi's death, it was only because of her. Heck they'd even managed to destroy the devil incarnate Brahmarakshas together too. Then why? Why did she want to leave him, end this marriage and go away? Rishabh wondered, his heart thudding painfully against his rib cage.

Yes, it was a fake marriage - they'd gotten married without any rituals in the most inauspicious of places only to kill the Brahmarakshas. But it was also true that since the day, Raina hadn't taken off her mangalsutra or sindoor. It was also true that since that day, since she'd said she believed in the marriage, he had made space for her, rather effortlessly, in his room, his cupboard, on one side of his bed and his life. Why didn't she see any of that? He would give his own life to save her without blinking an eye and yet she accused him of not caring for her.

The truth was, he admitted to himself, that he cared. He cared about her way too much. He cared about her joys, her sorrows, her pain, her stubbornness that put her in the path of danger time and again. He cared about her deeply and it was unlike the way he had ever felt before. And that was why her decision to get a divorce and go away was putting him through such emotional turmoil. Was he in love with her? Was that even a possibility? How could he? No.. Why couldn't he? Why couldn't he be in love with her? With renewed determination, he bounded out of the room to find his chindi chameli.

***

She was sitting by her father's bed, her eyes moist as she held his hand. Rishabh walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She saw him out of the corner of her eye and tried to shrug his hand off of her shoulder.

"Raina.."

His voice sent tiny shivers down the back of her spine. He almost never called her by her name. She had always been Chindi to him. And she dared not hope to be anything else to him.

"I need to talk to you Raina.. Please.."

There was a strange huskiness to his voice, as if he were weighed down by too many emotions to be able to speak. She turned to tell him she had no interest in talking to him whatsoever. But when she turned, her eyes met his and in them she saw something different than his usual casual, carefree frivolousness. Something much deeper that she'd seen only on rare occasions. And maybe that was what compelled her to nod her head and place her hand in his and let him lead her back into their.. No, she corrected herself.. Into his bedroom.

Once inside he firmly closed the door and locked it as if it make sure she wouldn't run away. If it weren't for the fact that the Brahmarakshas was dead, she'd have thought he was planning to make her a bait again to lure the demon.

"What is all this Rishabh? What do you have to talk about? Please make it fast. I've got to start packing," she said hurriedly, unable to meet his intent gaze for some unknown reason. Maybe it was the realization that they were alone, truly alone, with no agendas and missions lurking in the back of their minds, for the first time since their marriage, as husband and wife, in whatever odd way that they were, in their.. No, no, no, no.. She mentally smacked herself.. In his bedroom.

Maybe it was the way he was looking at her so intently, as if he was seeing her for the first time. It didn't help that he was looking absolutely dapper in the indigo blue blazer and trousers, his hair not the unruly mess that it usually was but gelled neatly. It didn't help one bit that the woman in her was aware of him and craved his proximity. She had to remind herself that whatever she felt was entirely one sided. He did not feel anything for her as he himself had said.

And not to forget, his greatest betrayal - handing her over to Aparajita as a bait to lure the Brahmarakshas without speaking a word to her about it. If he'd only asked her once, she'd have been more than happy to be the bait. She'd been one before and she could do it again. But he hadn't. He had just handed her over to Aparajita and hadn't even looked back. As if he was relieved to get rid of her. That made her angry again. To get over her own tumultuous emotions, she started blabbering, "As soon as I reach Mumbai, I'll have the lawyer draft the divorce deed and I'll send it to you. It shouldn't be much of a.." She couldn't finish the sentence as Rishabh placed his finger on her lips.

She looked at him wide eyed as he kept looking at her as if he was trying to reach her soul. She looked away and stepped back. "Please Raina.. Listen to me.. Just this once?" He pleaded and Raina couldn't help but given in. "I don't want this divorce.." he said. She looked at him suspiciously before shaking her head. "Stop it Rishabh! Grow up! Its not the time for jokes." "Arey, but I'm not joking!" Rishabh tried to defend himself but Raina raised her hand in a gesture asking him to stop. "You don't want the divorce? Why? Give me one good reason why you wouldn't want the divorce? You've told everyone time and again that we got married just to kill the Brahmarakshas. Now that our goal has been achieved, what's the point to this marriage? And what was it that you said yesterday? That you are and always will be the Rishabh that you were before this sham of a marriage. This marriage isn't going to tie you to me in any way. You'll keep flirting and hooking up with girls. Oh and how can I forget? That you will enjoy your suhaagraat with a new girl every night!" Raina finished angrily, a sickening feeling rising from the pit of her stomach at the thought.

"I didn't mean any of that Raina! I only said that because I wanted you to go far away from here!" Rishabh tried to explain. "So that's what I am doing right now, aren't I? After this divorce you will actually be free to do whatever you please!" Raina said. "Goddammit Raina! Are you even listening to me? I do not want this divorce! I do not want us to separate! I don't want you to leave!" Rishabh exclaimed frustrated to his wits' end. "Okay, really now.. What new drama are you up to Rishabh? Even the Brahmarakshas is dead now, what use could you possibly have for me? What happened all of a sudden to change things?" Raina asked. "Because I love you, you stupid foolish Chindi Chameli!" Rishabh declared frustrated out of his mind.

Raina's eyes widened in shock at his confession. "You know what Rishabh Shrivastav? You are sick.. absolutely disgustingly sick. If this is one of your humorless senseless ridiculous pranks or jokes.. All I can say is you are sick. And I can't bear to be in this room with you anymore." Without giving Rishabh a chance to explain or say anything more, she stormed out of the room.

Outside the room, she stopped and placed a hand over her crazy heart doing cartwheels in her chest. Rishabh said he loves her? That had to be the joke of the century but her foolish heart had literally jumped with joy hearing those words. Thankfully, she had come to her senses and realized the joke for what it was before she had listened to her heart and confessed her feelings to him. Shaking her head at her impossible situation, Raina quickly made her way downstairs.

Inside the room, Rishabh sat on the bed holding his head in his hands. What had just happened? For the first time in his life, he'd had honest feelings for a girl and he'd confessed them to her only to have her think he was pulling a prank on her! What the heck?! Did this mean that she had no feelings for him? How was that possible? What was going on?

He was brought out of his reverie when the ground beneath his feet began to shake. The whole house was shaking and cracks appeared along the walls. Worried for his family's safety, Rishabh ran downstairs. The elders of the house were screaming asking people to leave the house saying it was an earthquake. Rishabh's first thought went to Raina and her dad. He rushed to their room and forcibly pushed Raina out before safely escorting her dad outside the house. The ground was still shaking when the whole household had assembled outside. A fireball streaked across the sky and landed a few feet ahead of them. Everyone stepped back horrified and right before their eyes, the fireball transformed into the Brahmarakshas! He was burning from within, seemingly from the fire that they'd tried to burn him in. His bestial growl thundered in the air. "I came back for you!" He growled, in the direction where Appu Mom and Mom were standing. "Each one of you has tried to stop me! You've tried to kill me.. I will not spare any one of you! All of you will die!! You will die!!" And just like that he transformed back into a ball of fire and sped across the night sky.

***

Index:

Chapter 1 Page 1

Chapter 2 Page 2

Chapter 3 Page 3

Chapter 4 Page 5

Chapter 5 Page 7

Chapter 2

"How is he alive? Rishabh stabbed him with the trishul. Apu Maa stabbed him with the tiger claw. I set him on fire. We all watched him burn to ashes right in front of our eyes!" Raina exclaimed worried. "I don't understand. How is this possible?" Nalin chipped in.

"It is possible!" Phooli declared and everyone turned to look at her.

"It is possible," she repeated as she walked into the center of the gathering. "How? Why?" Mohini asked Phooli. "A Brahmarakshas cannot be killed by anyone. He can only attain salvation when his motive is fulfilled. When he kills the person who turned him into a Brahmarakshas," she stated, staring pointedly at Aparajita. Aparajita looked away. "Even if you harm the human in him with weapons or fire, how do you kill the demon in him memsaab?" She asked Raina. "He is equal parts human and demon. You cannot kill him unless you destroy both. You only managed to destroy his human form - using a trishul, a tiger claw and fire. The demon in him has absorbed the power of these three now. He has the power of fire at his will now. He cannot be harmed by a trishul anymore and he has the power and strength to attack like a tiger now. If anything, you've only managed to make him more ferocious!" Phooli declared emphatically.

"Arey if you know so much about the demon then why didn't you tell us before?" Yug yelled angrily. "And if you do know so much then you'll surely know the way to get rid of him as well," Nalin added. "Whose words are you listening to? This woman is crazy! Don't pay any attention to her," Aditya interrupted them. "I might be crazy, but everything I've said so far has come true, hasn't it?" Phooli asked. "I warned you, as soon as I got to know these people were coming here for a wedding I'd warned you to stop them. I'd warned you you'd be inviting the demon into your house and that there would be blood and gore and death. And look, that's exactly what is happening now!" She turned to Yug and said, "I've been telling all of you ever since you got here that the only way to get rid of the Brahmarakshas is to give him the one he is seeking. There is no other way out. But honestly, when all of you came together to fight him earlier, for that little while, even I hoped against hope that this could miraculously somehow be his end."

"Now what do we do?" Rishabh asked. "There has and will be only one solution to this," Phooli turned towards Aparajita as she spoke, " give him the woman he is seeking. Give him the woman who betrayed him and gave him such a brutal death. Give him the woman who is the reason he became a Brahmarakshas. This game of death will end only then!" With that Phooli walked away.

"How do we find out who turned him into a Brahmarakshas?" Raina thought out aloud. Nalin, Aditya and Aparajita exchanged sly glances. "Whatever needs to be done, we will think about it tomorrow, with a clear mind. A lot has happened today. We all need to rest," Aparajita said and everyone nodded in agreement.

Lost in thought about how to tackle the Brahmarakshas, Raina walked toward Rishabh's room. She stopped before stepping in as she remembered their confrontation a while ago. She turned away determinedly when Rishabh caught hold of her hand. "Rishabh, let go of my hand!" She said angrily, trying to free her hand from his grasp. "Where are you going Raina?" Rishabh asked. "How does it matter to you where I am going or what I do?" And then she added, "I get it! Now that you know the Brahmarakshas isn't dead, you still need me to be your bait to lure him, right?" Rishabh shook his head and started to speak but she cut him off. "Don't worry. Your bait will be safe. But I can't stay in the same room with you and play along in this pretend marriage anymore." With that, she freed her hand from his grasp and turned only to come face to face with Mohini.

"What is all this Raina?" Mohini asked. "Aunty.. I.." Raina cast a quick glance in Rishabh's direction. "I thought you said you'd accepted this marriage? We just finished celebrating your marriage! And now you are saying it's a marriage of pretense? What is going on between the two of you?"

Raina cast an angry glare in Rishabh's direction before speaking up, "Aunty.. actually.." Mohini raised her hand gesturing Raina to stop. "First of all, I'm no longer your Aunty. Whether the two of you accept it or not, I have accepted you as the daughter in law of the house. Not just a daughter in law but as my own daughter! After Rakhi's death, it's like God sent you to help us fill her void. I cannot afford to lose you, either of you, or see either of you upset and hurting. I don't know what problems you have with each other but whatever they are, surely they cannot be bigger than a mother's plea?" Mohini folded her hands together. "Please! I request you. The two of you are my biggest hope to bring happiness and love back in this family. Our family has seen the worst of times in the past few weeks. And now that we know the Brahmarakshas is still alive, it doesn't look like our troubles will end any time soon. When you decided to get married, it was your decision. But if the two of you are unhappy and don't stay together, the whole family will be affected. Please, I beg of you. Whatever differences you have, set them aside. Be together and help me hold my family together, help me bring happiness back into our lives. Please, I beg of you!" And Mohini broke down crying.

Both Rishabh and Raina stepped forward and clasped Mohini's folded hands. Raina looked at Rishabh as his hand covered hers but did not pull her hand away. "Mom.. please don't say such things," Rishabh said. "Arey you know Chindi and me na? We've always been fighting over something or the other all our lives. Now just because we are married, we can't change the way we've been with each other overnight, can we?" Mohini looked to Rishabh hopefully. She then looked to Raina who nodded her head rather reluctantly. "Is it true Raina?" Mohini asked, "Is it true that there are no serious problems between Rishabh and you?" "Yes mom. Whatever Rishabh is saying is absolutely right. We just.. keep fighting over petty things.. In fact we can't sleep at night if we don't fight with each other," Raina said with a fake smile. Mohini smiled and wiped away her tears. "Just stay happy always. The happiness in our family lies with the two of you," she said, cupping both Rishabh and Raina's cheeks fondly. With that she wished the both of them good night and left.

Back in the room, Raina stormed into the bathroom and shut the door before Rishabh could start a conversation. He waited for her patiently and when she came out in her night suit, he started to speak, "Raina.. I don't know why you are so upset with me. Is it because I sent you off with Apu Ma without telling you?"

Raina grabbed a pillow and blanket from the bed and threw it on the floor as she made her bed on the floor. It's because you didn't care enough to ask me or turn to look back at me, she thought to herself. "What are you doing?" Rishabh asked as he saw her make her bed on the floor and lie down to sleep. Silence was his only response.

Why the heck was this Chindi Chameli so frustratingly annoying? Why couldn't she just speak up and tell him what was wrong so they could resolve their issues? But if she was Mrs. Raina Chindi Chameli Shrivastav, he too was her Mr. Rishabh Rakshas Shrivastav! He wouldn't let go that easily.

He too picked up a pillow off the bed and plopped it right next to her on the ground before lying down next to her. Raina got up angrily and said, "what nonsense is this?" Rishabh got up too and pulled his most innocent face as he replied, "what? I am just following my wife. Haven't you heard that husband and wife are supposed to share everything - happiness, sorrow. If you are going to sleep on the floor, like an ideal husband, I will sleep on the floor too, right next to you!" "Stop it Rishabh!" Raina said frustrated. "No Raina. All of those vows we'd taken during our wedding, I intend to abide by each one of them," Rishabh replied solemnly. "It was a fake marriage Rishabh! Fake wedding, fake vows, fake you.. everything was fake!" Raina yelled. "No Raina. I admit I went into it thinking of it as fake wedding, but now that I know that I love you.. I want to give our marriage a chance!" Rishabh replied. "Shut up! Just shut up Rishabh!" She picked up her pillow and blanket and moved to the couch.

As she lay down on the couch, Rishabh grabbed his pillow and followed her. He went and sat on her feet and she yelled, " what do you think you are doing?" "How many times do I explain to you Raina. I am going to follow you wherever you go. If you sleep on the floor, I'll sleep on the floor next to you. If you sleep on the couch, well, we are kind of low on space on the couch but don't worry, I'll adjust in the corner right here. It would've been better if I had room to stretch my legs out but never mind, I'll adjust. I can do this for my love now, can't I?"

Oh the guy infuriated her and how! She grabbed her pillow and blanket and said, "So you mean to say you'll follow me no matter where I go?" Rishabh grinned as he nodded his head. "Fine!" She said as she went into the bathroom and bolted the door before he had a chance to react.

Darn this Chindi! Rishabh thought. She'd outwitted him but he wasn't about to give up. "Hawww Chindi! You were just telling me how you consider our marriage to be a sham and now you are trying to lure me into the bathroom with you?" He could envision in his head Chindi trying to strangulate him from across the bathroom door and he chuckled silently. He loved these little nok jhoks that they had. There was never a dull moment in his life with her around and that was quite possibly the reason he'd fallen in love with her as well. He loved her and that's why he couldn't watch her suffer.

"You don't have space in there to sleep Chindi. And don't forget, if you fall sick, how will you face the Brahmarakshas? If not for me, for the sake of our family, come out and sleep on the bed. I promise you I will not touch you against your wish. I hope you have that much of trust on me," Rishabh said sincerely. And just like that, Raina felt her anger vanishing. No. She wasn't going to give in that easily. She leaned against the countertop and waited to see what he'd do or say next.

Long moments later, as silence prevailed and sleep started to get the better of her, Raina finally decided to give in and opened the door. To her surprise, Rishabh had fallen asleep sitting right by the door. She squatted down next to him and watched him as he slept peacefully, his features relaxed, the lines of worry that had etched themselves on his forehead since Rakhi's death smoothed away in the blissful abandon of sleep. She sat down next to him and before she knew it, she was fast asleep nestled against his chest.

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