RagNa SS : You (dont) Belong to me *Chap 12 Pg 51 | 01/09 COMPLETED - Page 3

Engagement

He was jogging down the tracks towards his home. "such a mess he thought. Only for that woman in his house I have to tie a knot". He lost all his patience when Kalpana put her last resort by telling him to get married friend then she will get married to whom so ever she wants. Raghav had no option but to agree to her words in order to just send her away from him permanently.

Shettal was his friend Umm! well a not so great friend during his university. But later became his business partner when her dad died and she inherited the ownership of his dad's firm.

He remembered the day when sheetal came to RM to make Raghav sign on some important papers and how he approached her fuming in anger. Few minutes back he and Kalpana had heated up discussion on Kalpana's marriage and hoe she placed her clause. As Raghav's anger took over, he bluntly approached sheetal and in return sheetal was too shocked to react at that moment. And Kalpana was dumbfolded would be an understatement. Kalpana never expected him to react to her words so quickly. But as he already threw his proposal she saw sheetal threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He sat on the bench near his house and drank his energy drink. Wiping his lips he looked at the sajawat (dcor).

"Laaghav! Tum mujhe lene ghore par ayoge na? par meye dusri dulhan ki tarha blush nahi karungi'bhaag ke aake tumse lipat jaungi and kabhi nahi chodungi".

(you will come in a horse to marry me right? You know I will not blush when I will see you in the marriage mandap, I will run towards you and hug you tightly and will never leave you)

He closed his eyes remembering her words, which she said almost 10 years back, when they went for his cousin's wedding.

He checked his phone and caressed his screen reading something'

**

Finishing off his drink he walked inside his house.

It was their engagement day. The stage adored with white flowers and blue flowers. It was Kalpana's choice to put white with blue. White being her favourite colour and blue being Raghav's.

"yahan, iss jagha hogi humrai engagement, jab tum mujhe apni mumma ka ring pehnaoge Laaghav". (here, right here we are going to have our engagement ceremony, when you will make me wear your mumma's ring). Kalpana wrapped her arms around Raghav's arms and dragged her towards the hall. They stood infront of the mezzanine flood where there was an informal sitting created to watch movies and play games. "yeh sab yahan se hath jayega aur ek bari si stage banegi, white and blue flowers se saji hui". (all these things will get removed and a biiig stage will adore this place decorated with white and blue flowers).

"Raghav! Kahan the beta?" (where were you dear?) an old aged lady stood right behind him touching his shoulder with her wrinkled palm.

Raghav turned towards his grandmother and fixed her glasses.

Subhadra Singhania, grandmother of Raghav sighed and touched his cheeks lovingly. "umm, ab yeh sab sheetal bitiya karegi".

Raghav frowned and looked at her, "kya dadi?"

"yehi, meri chasma ko fix kRaghava, aaj tak Kalpana karti thi, par kal jab who chali jayegi to sheetal bitiya hi karegi na?"

"nani meye hoon na, meye karungi".

"rehne de, dekhliya kitna karega, pechle 27 years se tu hi kar raha hai, hai na?" (let it be Raghav, I know how much you will do, past 27 years you are only doing right?) If Kalpana was not there to mera khayal kaun rakhta?" (who would have takn care of me?)

"ouch! Uff, yeh ghutno ke dard".

Raghav quickly her dadi's hand and helped her to sit on the nearest sofa. "dadi why don't you show it to a doctor? I have been telling you since when even I forgot but you don't listen to me".

"Umm!" she sighed "last ek haftey sey Kalpana maalish nahi kar rahi hai na issiliye". Raghav picked up his lashes while massaging her foot hearing her words.

"Arrey beti, bohot raat ho gai hai, sone ja" (its very late dear go to sleep)

Kalpana cutely nodded her head sideways and arched her eyebrows in denial.

"mera bas chale to meye aapki seva hamesha karun, mujhe achha lagta hai dadi aapke aur Laaghav ke paas rehna, aur aap dono ke liye kuch kRaghava. I enjoy doing these things". (if hope I am able to serve you and Raghav like this. I love doing things for you and Laaghav) Kalpana said while massaging her foot with hot mustard oil.

"meri achhi bachhi hai tu" dadi blessed her.

"Mujhe kya milega?" Kalpana asked her cutely.

Dadi smiled and pinched her cheeks, "kya chahiye tujhe?" (what do you want?)

"umm!" she tucked her lips and looked here and there just to see where was her Laaghav.

When he found the ground clear she crawled towards dadi and whispered something in her ears and giggled'

"Chup kar pagal" dadi slapped her head.

she did not see someone was witnessing her craziness standing behind the column.

He thumped his foot for not being able to hear what she said. But when he turned to go he heard dadi saying, "usmein aisa kya hai jo tu uske saath rehna chahti hai, ussey saadi kRaghava chahti hai? Hamesha woh tujhse ladta hai, jhagar ta hai, tujhe bhala bura kehta hai". (why do you want to marry him? He always fights with you, talks so rudly with you, then why you always want to stay with him?)

Kalpana placed her head on dadi's lap and said, "apna samajta hai issiliye kehta hai na dadi?" (he thinks me as his possession dadi, that's why he behaves like this)

She paused for a moment, a lone tear rolled down her cheeks. Indeed Raghav always behaved very badly with her. But she was totally unaware of the the fact why he hated her so much.

"Meine to ussey kab ka rajkumar maan liya hai dadi, aur mera rajkumar uske alawa koi aur ho hi nahi sakta, jaan dedungi aagar aapne meri saadi kisi aur ke saath karwaya to" (I always see him as my prince, and there is no one other than him who can be my prince. And yes if you force me to get married to anyone other than him then I will die).

"Kahan kho gaye Raghav beta?" dadi snapped her fingers in front of him who was totally lost in his own world.

He jerked and looked at dadi.

Dadi wiggled her eyebrows and gestured him "where?"

"Nothing dadi, just some work".

"Hmm! Raghav beta! Can I request you something?"

Raghav looked at her, "of course dadi".

"Please don't fight with her today. Jabse saadi tey hui hai thodi bujhi bujhi si lagti hai. Khana bhi theek se nahi khaa rahi hai" (since her marriage got fixed, she has become a little aloof and quieter and she is not having her food properly also).

Raghav looked down.

Dadi with the help of Raghav got up from the sofa and started walking towards her room.

Raghav in the meantime looked up to see where was Kalpana. But she was not seen anywhere jabse woh enter kiya hai.

"LAAGHAV!" Kalpana slipped down the hand rail of the staircare can and steadied herself on the ground"

"watch out girl" he screamed being a liitle concerned, seeing her doing such a risky act.

Kalpana smiled ear to ear and rushed towards him literally throwing herself.

"Good morning prince". She said kissing his cheeks.

"MOVE!" he screamed.

Kalpana twitched her nose and held it, making a puking gesture she said "LAAGHAV you stink".

"SHUT UP!"

Raghav was back from his morning walk, shading his sweat like a pig. It was a daily affair, whether he liked it or not he was greeted by the person he hates the most, every morning and with her never ending kisses.

An unwanted ring broke his thoughts.

He picked up his phone from the table and saw sheetal's name flashing.

"ya..hmm..hmmm..no...i am fine..hm..back home..hmm..enough..don't irritate now, I have other work to do rather than spending my whole time in his marriage..sheetal...shee..shit..damn it".

"DAMN IT" he screamed again, making dadi flinch on tracks.

"Raghav! Apna gussa ko kabo kRaghava sikho" (try to control your anger) otherwise you will be in deep trouble.

"Dadi! How could she disconnect my phone?"

"You have not behaved with her properly that's why. And mind it everyone is not like your so called class less girl".

"did dadi just now said classless? Did she mean Kalpana? How could she say such a thing for Kalpana? Why suddenly dadi's behavior towards Kalpana changed? Why is she ignoring Kalpana and giving importance to sheetal? Yesterday also she took sheetal for shopping and when Kalpana came down wearing her clothes, they just left".

"dadi! Aap Kalpana ke barein meye aisa kyun bol rehen hai?" (why are you saying like this about Kalpana?)

"kuch galat kahan meine? You only treat her like this right? And what wrong did I say I said your so called class less girl. Not mine".

"da.."

"I need sometime of yours, if you could come along with me to my room".

Raghav frowned not understanding anything and started following the old woman towards her room, still stealing glances towards Kalpana's room hoping to see her once.

But to his bad luck he couldnot see her face once.

**

Feeling a little low he sat on the chair looking at his grandmother taking fiddling with something inside her cupboard.

She looked the cupboard and turned towards Raghav who was texting something on his phone.

"erm! Raghav beta, I want you to give this box and the accessories inside the box to sheetal today before your engagement".

He looked at the box and widened his eyes.

Subhadra Devi handed over the box to him and asked him to open it.

Opening the box Raghav immediately took out his mother's ring.

Gazing at the ring..

"Kya kar rahe ho aaplog?" she chirped as she walked towards Raghav and dadi, who were sitting on the bed in dadi's room with an silver box in front of them.

Kalpana quickly glaced at Raghav eyes which were teary and she started panicing "LAAGHAV! Tum ro rahe ho? Big guys don't cry and mera LAAGHAV kabhi nahi rota hai, kisine tumse kuch kaha kya? Mujhe batao meye batati hoon ussey. How can someone make you cry?"

Raghav wiped his tears and hugged dadi.

Kalpana suddenly started crying seeing tears in his eyes "kya huya dadi? LAAGHAV ro kyun raha hai?"

"tum ussey Laaghav kehke bulate ho na isiliye".

Kalpana's jaw dropped, she couldnot believe he can cry for this reason. She slowly crawled up the bed and hugged him from behind embracing dadi also and said, "I am sorry Nan'I mean Raghav. Meye tumhe kabhi us naam se nahi bulaungi aagar tumhe itna kharab lagta hai to". (I will never call you by that name in future if you are so hurt)

Raghav jerked back making Kalpana fall on the bed on her back, "yes! Today I am crying just because you Kalpana gupta, but not for what you call me but for'"

"Stop it Raghav!" dadi shouted at Raghav to stop him from telling Kalpana the actual reason.

Raghav immediately stopped and closed the lid of the box.

Kalpana again got up and crawled towards him and this time hugged him from the front murmuring sorry against his chest.

Raghav closed his eyes in hatred and anger but did not protest due to dadi's presence.

Kalpana opened her eyes and her eyes fell on the silver box.

"yeh kya hai?"

"This is Raghav's mumma's box".

"Mumma's box?"

Kalpana used to call Raghav's parents as mumma and baba. She has leRaghavt it from Raghav only since her childhood. Raghav felt disgusted whenever she took their name and wanted to throw her out, but he couldnot due to dadi's protection and the oath that he took before his dad took his last breath.

Kalpana excitedly opened the box and found some jewelry in it. Amongst all very expensive jewellery made of highly expensive stones, her eyes got stuck in a simple ring made of platinum and a solitaire.

She quickly slid the ring in her index finger and asked dadi "can I take this dadi?".

Dadi looked at the cute girl admiring Raghav's mom's engagement ring, the traditional ring which the singhania bahu is made to wear during engagement.

"Jab tum bari ho jayogi anf tumhari saadi fix ho jayega tab meye yeh ring tumhe dunga".

"REALLY?" Kalpana excitedly hugged dadi.

**

"Par dadi, yeh ring to Kalpana ki hai".

"Nahi Raghav, yeh ring Kalpana ki kabhi nahi ho sakti".

"but you have promised her that you will give it to her, when her marriage gets fixed".

"woh to maine aise hi bol diya tha just to give her happiness at that moment. She doesnot deserve this ring. This ring belongs to singhania bahu's and aaj yeh ring tum sheetal ko pehnaoge".

Suddenly Raghave heard faint sobs coming from the door. It was non other than Kalpana who was standing their and he could easily feel her presence.

Raghav gritted his teeth and said "nahi dadi, I cannot put this ring on sheetal's fingers. I have already order a ring as per my choice and which will suit our reputation. I want her to wear the costliest ring. And I cannot make her wear something which that middle class female chose.

Kalpana couldnot bear any more and she ran towards her room crying bitterly.

**