Part 5
( Note : I'm considering their marriage to be one year old so that they can apply for divorce under Indian laws)
The counselling session started with basic questions regarding their age ,profession etc. The counsellor was shocked to know that they had only been married for a year and were already applying for divorce.
When reasons were asked for them applying for divorce , Shiva clearly stated that he hated her and this marriage was more like a compromise.
Raavi didn't have any particular answer so she just agreed to him. The counsellor asked them to rethink their decision as they were young and there were no serious issues like violence or abuse in their marriage. There was a lack of communication and they could sort out their issues if they talked their hearts out. Shiva didn't say anything in particular but moved out of the court followed by Raavi. The next date was supposedly after a month and he didn't know what exactly he could do.
Shiva.. ruk , Raavi called out to him.
Tune suna nahi counsellor ne kya kaha. Humein baat karna chaiye , she said with a slight hope in her eyes.
Dekh Raavi, baat toh wahi log karte hain jisko apni shaadi mein koi bhi hope bacha ho. Par hamari situation alag hai. Hum dono yeh shaadi bhi nahi chahti ti ,toh baat karke fayda, Shiva spoke firmly.
Tu sach mein mujhe nafrat karta hai ,isi liye mujhe divorce kar raha hai , Raavi asked with a broken face.
Dekh Raavi,tu..
But before Shiva could complete his sentence, they saw Gauri coming towards them. Both of them were shocked to see her there.
Shiva ,tu yaha kya kar raha hai , Gauri asked without noticing Raavi.
Woh main.bas... he didn't know what to say.
Raavi decided to speak the truth. She was done with playing the hide and seek game.
Counselling ke liye aayi hai , Raavi said and Gauri looked at her surprised.
Counselling ke liye ? Matlab tum dono.....
Divorce kar rahi hai , Raavi completed her sentence and Gauri looked at them with shock evident in her eyes.
Matlab you guys were married.. Par maine socha Shiva Raavi se...
Before Gauri could complete her sentence , Shiva motioned her to stop and Raavi was quick to notice this.
Kya keha rahi thi tum , Raavi asked and Gauri didn't know what to say.
Nahi ,kuch nahi. Woh toh chodo. I know I'm just a nobody to have a say in your family affairs,but I'm sure aap dono ko koi galat fehmi hua hoga. Aur Shiva jo maine tujhe pehle kaha tu uss ke baare mein seriously soch.
Turning to Raavi she said ,
Tum mujhe jaante tak bhi nahi ho. I'm Gauri aur Shiva ki bahut purani dost hai. Main bas yaha pe apni internship or research ke liye aaya hoon. I hope the next time I see both of you ,aap log khush hai.
Saying this Gauri left and went inside the court making Raavi confused.
Shiva turned to leave and Raavi held his right hand tightly.
I know tu kuch nahi kahega,phir bhi puch rahi hi hoon.Yeh sab kya chal raha hai? . Kya chupa rahi hai tu mujhse ? Aur kyun kar rahe ho yeh sab? Sab kuch achhe se chal rahe the na hamare beech ,phir achanak divorce ke soch tujhe kaise aaya Shiva?.
Raavi didn't know if he would say anything,but she just couldn't stop herself from asking all of these things that has been haunting her mind.
Kuch acche se nahi chal raha tha hamare beech. Tu compromise kar rahe the aur mujhe tera ehsaan nahi chahiye Raavi , he spoke not looking at her.
Ehsaan ? Kya keha raha hai tu?. Aur compromise toh sab karti hai na life mein , Raavi replied blankly not understanding what Shiva was aiming at.
He couldn't understand how she was telling that compromise was such a small issue. Couldn't she understand the severity of the manner?. She was literally burdening herself with this marriage where there was no happiness at all.
Shaadi mein koi compromise nahi karti. Agar aisa hai ,woh zabardasti ki rishta hai. Aur tu kaha khush thi mere saath. Tu ne kaha hum dono zameen aasmaan ki tarah hai ,sahi kaha. We don't match aur mujhe aise zabardasti rishta mein rehne ki shauk nahi hai , Shiva spoke and walked away towards where the scooter was parked leaving Raavi speechless.
Was he thinking that she was staying in this relation without being happy. Is it why he wanted it to end?. She started regretting all that she said to him in grief and anger. Initially she thought she was compromising on her happiness by staying in this marriage ,but she was wrong. It was just a thought that had arisen due to her sheer stupidity. She was always happy to be around him ,but started realising it only when he distanced himself from her. She missed their tiny fights ,pranks and what not. She realised her whole life was literally surrounded by him and their marriage had only made it stronger further. She couldn't live without him being by her side. That was impossible.
Even if he wouldn't talk to her what was in his mind,she wanted to tell him her feelings. She didn't know how but she should do that before it's late. At least she wouldn't regret that she didn't tell him her dil ki baat.
Jo tu soch rahi hai ,woh sacch nahi hai Shiva, she told him before getting into the back of the scooter.
He looked at her amused but didn't say anything. Maybe he needed time , atleast that is what she thought.
The whole journey back home was silent. Raavi was thinking how to talk to Shiva and Shiva was thinking about what Raavi told him.
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Raavi was leaving college in haste. It was already 5:30 which was an hour past college time. She was working on an important project for which she had to stay back after college. Most of the students had already left except a few who were busy with assignments and other works.
As she was moving past the college gate , somebody caught her right hand. She turned around and saw that it was Rahul. She could feel anger coursing through her veins at his mere sight.
Kya kar rahe ho tum ,mera haath chodo she shouted and he smirked looking at her.
Soon a few others joined him and raavi started getting scared. She didn't know what they were upto. The security was nowhere to be seen and that information did nothing to stop her raging heart.
Chodne ke liye thodi na pakada hai. Aur tu toh badi sherni ban rahi thi us din. Ab kya hua. Dar gayi kya , he asked coming closer to her and Raavi kept silent.
Dekh ,agar tumne meri haath nahi choda toh main complaint karungi , she said as a last resort.
Tu kuch nahi karega. After all tu ek ladki hai he smirked and came close to her. He started caressing her cheeks making her turn her face to the other side in disgust.
Ab kya karegi tu?. Yaha pe koi bhi nahi hai. Tu chal mere saath ,main tujhe aisa ehsaas dilwaunga ki tu woh junglee gawaar ko bhi bhool jayega.
Raavi pushed his hands off her cheek and stood a little away from him and spoke , Shiva Pandya hai uska naam aur woh mera pati hai. Khabardaar agar tum ne phir se uska badtameezi ki.
Raavi's face raged in anger and Rahul laughed at it.
Jis insaan tujhe chahti tak nahi hai ,uske liye itna pyaar. Kya jaadu kiya usne tujh par?. Lagta hai ki usne tujhe bohot zyada "khushi" di, he said stressing on the word khushi and Raavi understood what he meant.
Woh mujhe khushi dega ya nahi ,yeh hum dono ki beech ki baat hai. Tumhe usmein interfere karne ki zaroorat nahi hai. She said and started walking away but Rahul again caught her hand.
Tujhe itni asaani se jaane nahi dunga main. Tune mujhe sabke saamne thappad maara aur tujhe lagta hai ki main uske liye tujhe maaf karunga , he pulled her towards himself and Raavi fell right onto his chest. She felt her eyes glistening with tears and she started wishing if Shiva was here.
She tried pushing him away but he held onto both her hands tightly. She started feeling helpless and didn't know what to do.
Rahul shoved away her dupatta from her neck ,making Raavi shocked. She tried to pull away from his grip but to no use. He started coming closer in an attempt to kiss her and she turned away her face. Before his skin could even touch her somebody pushed him from the back making him fall down on the ground with a thud. Rahul's friends were shocked to see Shiva standing there with fury in his eyes.
Raavi looked at Shiva and he assured her with his eyes that he will deal with them ,making her at peace.
Shiva picked up the fallen dupatta and handed it over to Raavi. He pulled her towards his back as if he was her shield and marched towards Rahul and held his collar.
Teri himmat kaise hui Raavi pe haath lagane ki , he punched Rahul on his face and blood came out from his mouth.
Two of his friends tried to hold Raavi but before that Shiva held her hand and pulled her close to him. She gazed at him for a second and that is when Rahul tried to attack Shiva.
Shiva she screamed and Shiva was cautious.
He leapt forward and held both of his hands and punched him on his stomach making him groan in pain.
Before Shiva could further attack him ,two of Rahul' s friends came and held his hand. Raavi who saw this became alarmed.
Rahul came towards Shiva and spoke,
Tu apna aapko bada hero samjhta hai na. Dekh tu meri aur Raavi ki beech mein interfere math kar warna bohot pachtava hoga.
Shiva used all his strength and pulled himself away from the grip of those two and walked forward towards where Rahul was standing.
Main hero nahi hoon villain hoon. Aur yahi baat Raavi ki ,tu hote kaun ho uski. Dost hai toh uski tarah behave karo. Agar aage se kisi bhi ladki ke saath tune aise behave kiya na ,toh tu zinda nahi rahega , Shiva spoke with rage evident in his eyes.
Tujhe lagta hain ki main teri baat manunga?. Tu divorce karne wala hai na Raavi ko ,phir bhi kyun interfere kar rahe ho hum dono ke beech mein. Waise bhi tu khud use izaat nahi karta ,then don't expect me to do that. Actually mera plan use kahi hotel room pe le jaane ke tha par..
Before Rahul could complete his sentence , Shiva slapped him hard and started beating him. Rahul's friends tried to stop him but he wouldn't budge.
He held Rahul by his collar and shouted, Kya kaha tune ,use hotel leke jaaunga? Teri himmat kaise hui itni ghatiya baat karne ka?. Raavi meri biwi hai aur jab tak main zinda hoon tu use kuch nahi karega. Aur yahi baat divorce ki woh hamara personal matter hai aur hum sort out karenge. Par abhi tak talak hua nahi hai aur agar hua bhi toh ,woh phir bhi family member hai. Us din tujhe chodna nahi chaiye tu jab tune kaha ki Raavi ko leke bhaag jayega. Aage se aise soch bhi tere ghatiya dimaag mein aayi na toh mujhse bura koi nahi hoga. Samjha tu ?.
Rahul was now getting scared seeing Shiva's rage and nodded his head. Shiva let go of him and walked towards his other two friends and said , Agar tum logo ko bhi aise dose nahi chahiye toh chali jaa yaha se.
Rahul felt weak and his friends supported him in walking. Shiva still looked at them furiously and they started walking away as fast as they could.
Meanwhile Raavi who heard everything what Shiva said was standing in the corner and crying. Shiva felt a pang in his heart seeing her tears. He went towards and held her shoulders and she shivered.
He said softly, Raavi woh log chala gaya.Sab kuch teek hai.
She immediately hugged him and started crying , Shiva main bohot dar gayi thi. Woh Rahul mujhe choone ki koshish kar rahe the. Agar tune time pe aaya nahi to...
Ssh..tujhe kuch nahi hone dunga main. He caressed her hairs and tried comforting her.
Shiva allowed Raavi to cry till she wanted and slowly pulled from the hug. He wiped her tears and made her stand straight.
Aaj se tu college akeli nahi jayegi. Main drop kardunga tujhe. In logon ka koi vishwas nahi hai , Shiva said.
Kab tak Shiva?. Kab tak tu yeh sab karega?. Agar divorce hojaye toh phir.. tera mera kya rishta hai, she cried in the last sentence and held onto his arm for support.
Shiva now understood that he needed to talk to her. He couldn't decide for himself what she wanted. She should decide it for herself.
He looked at her and said , Jaise tune pehle kaha humein baat karna chahiye. Aur mein tujhe promise karta hoon ki tu jo chahe wahi hoga Raavi.
Raavi looked at him in surprise and Shiva nodded at her.
Agar tu teek hain ,toh hum ghar chalte hain. Agar tujhe kuch time akela chahiye ,toh hum beach pe chalte hai ,teri favourite jagah.
Mere baare mein itna sab kuch jaan ne wala Shiva ko meri dil ki baat kyun samajh nahi aayi , she questioned him and he didn't have an answer for that.
Tere har baat ka jawaab dunga Raavi,abhi ke liye hum chalte hai.
Raavi nodded her head and held his hand. To her surprise he held her hand even more firmly and took her to where the scooter was parked.
Shiva ,tu achanak college kyun aayi , Raavi asked him before getting into the scooter.
Woh main Krish ka fees bharne aaya tha. Par ab yeh kal karna padega, Shiva said.
Raavi held onto his waist tightly and Shiva understood that she was still scared. He allowed her to do so. He wanted her to be happy and everytime she spoke about the divorce she was upset. If he truly wished for her happiness he had to listen to her. With that thought Shiva drove towards the beach. This conversation will probably decide the future of their relationship.