A/N: Trigger warning for a very brief discussion of drug abuse. Please skip this part if that is an issue. Thank you for reading ❤️
Part 4
“I think this color would look lovely on you, Mansi beta. Right, Pallavi?” Sharda looked over at her daughter-in-law. “Pallu?”
Pallavi came back from her musings with a start. “Hmm? Yes, Aayi – it’s beautiful.”
Mansi smiled fondly as she ran her hand over the heavy fabric of the lehnga, lost in thoughts of her own. “Then this is final for the sangeet.” She clutched it to her chest, eyes shining. “I’m going to show Amrutha.”
“Go ahead, beta. Close the door behind you.” Sharda waited until the doors were securely shut. “Pallavi? Is everything ok?”
Pallavi gave her a bright smile as she started to fold the outfits strewn on the bed. “Of course.”
“You know, seeing the house decorated again, the joy on everyone’s faces, your Kaka running around making sure everything is perfect – it brings me back to when we brought you home.” She placed a comforting hand on Pallavi’s cheek.
Pallavi squeezed her wrist with a soft smile.
“Beta, sometimes even our happiness can remind us of what we’ve lost. And that’s ok. It doesn’t make you a bad person.”
“It’s nothing like that, Aayi,” Pallavi reassured her. “I am beyond happy for Mansi. How can I not be? My sister is getting married!”
“Still, I’m sure it’s not easy…you had dreams of your own once upon a time.”
Pallavi shook her head in protest. “You and Baba have given me everything I could ever want.”
Sharda smiled sadly. “I wish that were true. Can I tell you my dream for you?” She stroked her hair. “I just want you to be happy, with a partner who respects your value and always supports you. You’ve borne so much weight on these slender shoulders.”
Pallavi embraced her mother, closing her eyes against the onslaught of tears that threatened to spill over. A part of her wanted to unload about everything. Her fear that she would trudge through life a lonely bystander, watching the joys of others but never experiencing her own. The precarious balancing act she performed to hide their financial insecurity. The continuous threat to their livelihood. The storm on the horizon that was Raghav Rao.
“You’d tell me if anything was wrong?”
She didn’t hesitate in her answer. “Trust me, there’s nothing to worry about.”
____________
Raghav peered over the steering wheel and watched his mother and sister enter a brightly decorated house, elegantly dressed for the evening’s festivities.
In his desperation he found himself following them for days at a time, no longer trusting his men to do the job right. But every time he tried to approach them he was shunned, denied the opportunity to care for the only family he had left.
He stepped out of the car and stretched, leaning against it as he pondered the situation. He needed another way to get closer to them. Something they couldn’t refuse.
“Oh my god! Are you…Raghav Rao?”
Raghav looked up and saw a young woman staring at him with her mouth open in disbelief. She couldn’t be more than seventeen, he thought, though the heavy makeup and bare midriff suggested a wish to be taken more seriously.
“The one and only,” he grinned, sensing an opportunity. He held out his hand. “And you are?”
“Amrutha,” she sighed, her eyes widening as he bent to place a chaste kiss on her offered hand.
“Amrutha. Beautiful name.”
“Thanks,” she practically giggled. “But, what are you doing here?”
Raghav nodded towards his car. “Broke down on me. Bloody unreliable junk.” He winked as if sharing a private joke. “But I have a man coming to pick me up…soon…” He looked at his watch and frowned.
“Why don’t you come inside and wait?” she exclaimed. “It’s my sister’s sangeet, you’re more than welcome.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t do that. I would hate to impose.”
She melted in record time against his puppy dog eyes. “You wouldn’t be, not at all! You’ll be my guest.”
He smiled and shook his head. “If you insist. Lead the way.”
________
Raghav greeted the family as they entered, offering his congratulations while keeping his eyes peeled for a glimpse of his own family. The girl’s mother’s eyes lit up when she saw him, no doubt already planning another wedding. He excused himself and moved into the main hall, still searching.
“Oof!” He had the wind knocked out of him as he collided with a woman moving full speed ahead. “Hey! Watch where you’re –”
“I’m so sorry, are you –”
Not again, he thought. “Pallavi?”
“Raghav?” She looked around and lowered her voice. “What are you doing here?” she hissed.
“I was invited.”
“Sure you were,” she said sarcastically.
“Are you calling me a liar? I never lie.”
“Oh what a relief.” Pallavi rolled her eyes. “A gangster with morals.”
Raghav clenched his jaw. “Enough with the name calling. I’m not here for you.”
“You’re not here at all,” she said. “I’m uninviting you.”
“I’ll have you know I was invited by the family,” he said smugly.
She raised her eyebrows. “My family?”
“Your family?” he repeated.
She cast her eyes towards the heavens. “Don’t play dumb, it doesn’t suit you. This is my house. What happened to, stay out of my business and I’ll stay out of yours,” she mimicked him mockingly.
He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t know.” He glanced at the stares directed their way. “Now are you going to make a scene or can I have some dinner before I go?”
Pallavi sighed and stepped aside.
“Thank you.” He paused for a moment as he moved past. “By the way, you look nice,” he winked, chuckling as she shot daggers at him with her eyes. Too easy, he thought with a smile.
_________
“Can you believe they let her be here?”
“A bad omen, I tell you.”
“Just imagine– her husband drops dead after their wedding. If that’s not bad luck, what is?”
“And such a healthy young man!”
Raghav frowned at the chatter behind him. He never wasted his time with gossip, but this seemed especially vicious.
“My mother always said widows shouldn’t attend weddings.”
“That’s how it was! But these days, no one listens.”
“Look at her, running around as if everything is normal.”
“Pallavi is a sweet girl. But there is a limit to these things.”
Raghav froze. Pallavi?
“Hey boss, let’s keep the line moving. We’re all hungry, right?” The man behind him grinned while his wife chided him gently.
Raghav turned to face the group, towering over them. “My apologies,” he said calmly. “Can I check something on your phone? I forgot mine at the table.”
The man shrugged and surrendered his smartphone. Raghav smiled before turning around and dumping it in a tub of raita.
“What – what are you doing?” he exclaimed. “That’s my phone!” He grabbed the ladle and tried to fish it out, only succeeding in splattering himself in the process. The hubbub of the party around them quieted.
“I’m just going by your thinking,” Raghav growled. “And your thoughts aren’t fit for this century. Where you belong, well, there were no phones back then.”
The man sputtered in indignation, cowering next to his wife as he met Raghav’s angry gaze.
“Raghav!” Pallavi grabbed him by the wrist. “Are you out of your mind? Come with me.”
He let her drag him away, finally catching sight of his mother and her disapproving stare in the corner of his eye. “Wait,” he said. “I have to explain it to her – ”
She pulled him into a room, surprising him with her strength. “No, you have to explain it to me,” she said, quietly seething. “What is your problem? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“You don’t know, they were disgusting people, talking nonsense about – ”
“About?”
He stopped and looked at her, really looked at her. He had been so quick to notice the lack of sindoor. Why hadn’t he ever noticed the sadness in her eyes?
“Listen, I’m sorry about your husband,” he said.
She looked at him as if stunned. “How…oh,” she said sadly as comprehension dawned. All the fight seemed to leave her.
He should have punched the man, he thought. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’m told I’m a pretty good listener.”
Pallavi gave him a small smile. “As if anyone would dare tell you otherwise.” She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. “You don’t think I want to respond when I hear things? Sometimes straight to my face? But I don’t.”
“Maybe you don’t. I absolutely will.”
“That’s not going to solve anything.”
“You think these people can be reasoned with? The only thing they understand is shame.”
She shook her head. “You have to understand, Mandar and I – we were married for mere hours before he took off.”
“Took off?”
She seemed to shrink before him, lost in another time. “He disappeared, never came home that night. We didn’t know what happened, until two days later when someone found him on the side of the road.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Hey – ” He kneeled in front of her. “It’s ok.”
“He had been using,” she whispered. “For quite some time. No one – no one knew, not even his family.” She drew in a deep breath.
“I’m sorry.” Raghav placed a hand over hers, keenly aware of the inadequacy of his words.
“We were able to keep it quiet, told everyone that he passed suddenly from a heart condition.”
“None of that is your fault,” he said firmly.
“Of course not. But you can see why people talk.”
“Those people are superstitious a**holes. Anyone with a shred of decency would never think that way.” He looked into her eyes, trying to convince her of his sincerity.
“You’re right, it’s just…” she stopped. “Thanks. You are a good listener after all.”
“One of my many skills,” he teased, and was rewarded with a reluctant smile.
“Pallavi –what is happening here?”
They jumped apart. “Baba?”
Raghav watched as a frail-looking older man hobbled into the room with his cane. “I won’t ask again,” he said.
“Baba this is Raghav, he’s…” she trailed off.
“A friend,” finished Raghav. “Pallavi and I have known each other for years.”
She shot him a look as if he were crazy.
“And yet this is the first time we’re meeting.” Her father-in-law eyed him suspiciously.
“We very recently reconnected,” Raghav said.
“Baba, it’s time for your heart medicine,” said Pallavi. She glared at Raghav as she passed. “Let’s go to your room and take it. We don’t want to forget in all this excitement.”
He mumbled something about his no-good doctors but let her lead him out of the room.
Raghav followed them out, stopping short as he realized who was waiting for him in the hall. It was his mother.
TBC
Edited by ShyNomad - 3 years ago
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