Hola guys. This is my version of the confrontation that happened. I'm sorry it got so long, but I needed to get it all out 😆
~~
Pallavi was reeling. She swayed a bit on her feet, still trying to process what had just happened. The devil had just left the house, caging her in a trap that she desperately needed to break free of.
Baba. He was sitting on a chair, looking devastated. Rushing to him, she sat down on her knees before him. "Baba, aap.. aap jante hai na ki wo R-Raghav aapse jhooth bol raha tha. Meri taraf dekhiye na baba.."
Baba looked up at her, then looked away again.
Pallavi clasped his hands, then left them to wipe her tears. She stood up, her mind steadily losing control. She took a deep breath and wiped the next set of tears. No, she had to make Baba understand. He would understand.
Sitting down at his feet again, she began, "Baba, Raghav wo dukaan mujhe free mein nahi de raha! Main use 12 mahine tak EMI pay karne wali hoon—"
"Pallavi." Baba cut her off, his voice cold and resolute. She met his stare, apprehension rising in her chest.
"Bas ek sawaal. Kya wo aadmi sach keh raha tha? Kya tune itne dino se mujhe dhokhe mein rakha? Fake balance sheet dikhati rahi mujhe?
"That's 3 questions, Rambo uncle. Counting bhool gaye kya?" Raghav's voice piped up in her head, all of a sudden. She wanted to punch it away.
"Baba... dhokha? Kaisi baatein kar rahe hai aap? Aapko heart attack aaya tha, yaad hai! Kaise batati aapko ye sab? Us waqt dukaan mein itna stress tha... Jagadish anna rent ke peeche pade the, dukaan cheen lene ki dhamki dete the..." she had stood up again, too frantic to sit still. "Maine naya naya kaam join kiya tha aur saath dene wala, guide karne wala koi nahi tha... Paise bhi nahi the mere paas Baba! Loan lena pada mujhe! Kaise batati aapko ye sab? Mujhe aapka stress kam karna tha, badhana nahi!"
"To aise kam kiya tune mera stress?" Baba had lunged up from the chair towards her, his eyes red with anger. "Nakli accounts dikhake? Jhooth bolke? Apni... apni izzat bechke?" He averted his eyes at the last sentence. He couldn't bear to look at her.
"Baba! Ye aap kya bol rahe hai? Main samajhti hoon aap dukaan ke jhooth ko lekar upset hai, haq hai aapka. But surely you don't believe what that Raghav Rao said about my character? Main aapki beti hoon baba!"
He slowly looked back at her, disgust written plainly on his face. "Sach mein?"
Pallavi felt like she had been smacked in the face. What... what was he saying?
Baba continued, "Humein laga tu humaari shaan banegi Pallavi, iss ghar ki izzat ko sambhal kar rakhegi! Samaaj mein humesha tera saath diya humne! Kabhi tujhe Mandaar ka vidhwa nahi kehlane diya!"
"Baba meri baat to suniye—" Pallavi suddenly realised she was sprawled on the floor. Baba... had pushed her? What was going on?!
"Kis liye tha wo sab Pallavi? Taki tu iss tarah humare ghar pe aise kalank laa sake? Humara sar sharam se neecha kar sake? Tujh jaisi jhoothi besharam aur dhokhebaaz ladki maine zindagi mein nahi dekhi!"
...Dhokebaaz? Besharam??
"Bas kijiye baba! Aap kya kya bole ja rahe hai di ke baare mein?" Nikhil had rushed to his di and helped her up, and was now glaring daggers at his father.
"Tu kuch mat bol Nikhil! Aaj lag raha hai ki sab kuch meri hi galati thi! Iss par bharosa kiya, iska saath diya, ise apni beti maana!"
"Sach mein?"
It was Baba's turn to be shocked. Pallavi, the ever-quiet girl of the house, had spoken.
"Kya sach mein aapne mujhe apni beti maana hai baba? Kya sach mein aapne mujh par bharosa kiya hai? Aaj ek anjaan aadmi mere baare mein kuch bhi bol kar chala gaya, aur aapko us par yakeen ho gaya? Main dhokhebaaz aur besharam ho gayi aapke liye? Aapki beti aapko bol rahi hai, ki usne aisa kuch nahi kiya, par aapko bharosa us Raghav Rao ke baaton par hai! Kyun baba? Pichle 2 saal se dekh rahe hai na aap mujhe? Kya aap abhi bhi mujhe jaan nahi paaye? Kya in do saalo mein maine kabhi bhi aapko shikayat ka mauka diya hai? Kya is ghar mein kisi ko bhi kabhi bhi shikayat ka mauka diya?"
She looked around. Her aai was crying. Milind kaka and Mansi were staring helplessly at her. Nikhil looked like he wanted to run over and give her a hug.
"Maine har din, har pal bhagwan ko shukriya kaha hai, mujhe ek parivaar dene ke liye. Humesha aap logo ko khush karne ki koshish ki maine... Subah uthkar ghar ka kaam, phir dukaan mein jaake kaam, phir ghar aake wapas kaam. Sab kuch khushi khushi kiya... kyunki APNE PARIVAAR ke liye kar rahi thi!" She turned back to Baba again. "Sirf aap hi ne mujhe beti nahi maana baba, maine bhi aapko apna baba maana, aapke sapne ko apna sapna banaya, use poora karne ke liye din raat mehnat ki. Raghav Rao to humari zindagi mein kuch hi din pehle aya hai, par aapki beti to main saalon se hoon na? To aap mujh par yakeen kyun nahi kar sakte?"
"Yakeen?" Sulochana kaku stepped in. "Tum par yakeen kare hum sab, tum par? Kyun Pallavi? Jab Amruta pe baat uthi thi tab to jhat se maan liya tha sabne, to tumhare liye special treatment kyun? Aur yakeen ka to sawaal hi nahi uthta.. jab dada vaini yaha nahi the, maine khud dekha hai tujhe, kisi bhi bahane Raghav se milne chali jaati thi tu! Holi ke din bhi gayi thi tu uske ghar! Dekh Mansi dekh," she said turning to her elder daughter, "isi ladki ne teri zindagi barbaad ki hai! Khud to rang raliyan manati rahi, aur aisa dikhaya jaise teri kitni chinta hai ise! Arey main to pehle se janti thi ye kitni besharam—"
"BAS KAKU!" roared Pallavi, furious. "Apne hadh mein rehkar baat kariye aap! Ekbaar pehle bhi aapne mere character pe sawaal uthaya tha, mere khilaf saazish rachi thi. Tab maine kuch nahi kaha tha aapko, chup chap maaf kar diya tha. Iss baar aisi umeed mat rakhiyega!"
Sulochana stepped back a bit, shocked. She was used to Pallavi-the-doormat Deshmukh, the one who would silently bear all her taunts and keep shedding tears. This new raging Pallavi... she didn't know how to deal with her. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little scared of her.
"Aur kis Amruta ki baat kar rahi hai aap? Wo, jo holi ke din bhaang peeke Raghav Rao ke ghar chali gayi thi tamasha karne? Wo, jo raat ke do baje tak bahar party kar rahi hoti hai? Wo, jisne family ko bina bataye apna abortion tak karwa liya! Arey isne to apne abortion ka ilzaam bhi mujh par daalna chaha! Aur ha Kaku, aapki Amruta hi wo wajah hai, jis liye mujhe Holi ke din Raghav ke ghar jaana pada! Nashe mein dhut hokar naach rahi thi uske ghar mein ye, aur Raghav uske khilaf police complaint karne wala tha! In sab baaton ke liye kabhi use sunaya gaya? Nahi na? Use dhokhebaaz ya besharam bola gaya? Nahi na? To yaha pe uski baat aap mat hi kijiye. Ye mere aur baba ke beech ka matter hai, isme tadka lagane ki koi zaroorat nahi!"
Yeah, Sulochana was definitely scared of this woman. She looked like a female Raghav Rao!
"Aur baba aap." Pallavi walked over to him. For the first time, she was standing tall in front of him. Her posture was completely lacking the deference it used to carry, he noticed.
"Ek pita ko sabse zyada bharosa apni beti par hota hai, khaas kar jab baat uski izzat ki ho. Main, aapki beti, aapse phir ek baar kehti hoon... mere aur Raghav ke beech mein aisa koi rishta nahi tha. Ab aap mujhe bataiye, kya aapko mujhpar bharosa hai?" She stared straight into his eyes.
Baba was baffled. The girl in front of him was oozing confidence in a way she had never before... but he didn't know if it was her innocence or her shamelessness showing. "Wo saare saboot jo usne dikhaya..."
In that exact moment, Pallavi's heart broke into pieces. She knew she had her answer already, but she still wanted to try once last time. This was her family. The only one she ever had.
Blinking away the steadily forming tears, she said, "Baba, aapne mujhse ek sawaal poocha tha. Ab maine bhi aapse ek hi sawaal poocha hai. Aur mujhe bas usi ka jawaab chahiye. Kya aapko mujhpar bharosa hai?"
Something in her gaze made Vijay Deshmukh look away, he couldn't hold her stare anymore. "Dekho Pallavi, hum tumhe ek aur mauka dene ko taiyar hai. Par iss baar tumhe waise hi rehna hai jaise iss ghar ke usool hai. Humare ghar ki izzat—"
There was a loud cackling laughter. It took him a few moments to realise it was coming from her. Pallavi. She was laughing hysterically, looking deranged. Slightly concerned, he touched her shoulder. "Pallavi beta—"
"Don't!" She jerked away from him, her laughter suddenly gone, her eyes blazing in rage. (And, if one looked closer, pain and sadness. But unfortunately, Vijay Deshmukh was never a man of good eyesight.)
"Don't touch me, and don't ever call me beta. I tried so hard to be your beta, so hard. Par yaha to main beti hi nahi ban payi kabhi. Humesha bahu hi banke reh gayi..." The last words were uttered so softly, no one heard them but herself. Herself and her broken, crying heart. A single tear fought its way through her eyes, rolling down her cheek. She wiped it away and smiled. She had one last thing to do.
Bending down, she touched his feet. He was startled, but in a moment she rose back up. "Aaj aapka aashirvad lena to banta hai Baba... sorry, Mr Deshmukh." She was smiling serenely now. "Aaj aapne mujhe apne life ki ek bohot important seekh di hai, jo main kabhi nahi bhoolungi. Aaj se pehle, maine humesha Pallavi ke aage Deshmukh ko rakha hai. Aaj ke baad, main sirf Pallavi ko aage rakhungi. Sirf Pallavi ko. Iss seekh ke liye bohot bohot shukriya."
She turned and started walking away. Away from the only family she had ever known, the only people she had cared so much about, the only people she had given the right to hurt her. She walked out the door, and kept walking until she was out of their sight.
Then, she shattered.
~~
I'm sorry if it was crappy. I had a long day, and then I watched the episode, got frustrated by sanki rambo, wrote this out to feel better. Haven't proofread, so sorry about any mistakes.
On a side note, I can't wait to see the fierce Pallavi in the precap! Now the show gets interesting 😈
Jhanak
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