Recap: Broken & Beautiful
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Still resting his head on hers, Shiva caressed Raavi's face and gently tucked away a few strands of her hair behind her ear. With her eyes closed, she relished in his touch when he said, "Raavi.." She knew he wanted her to open her eyes but she didn't want to. If this was a dream, she told herself, she never wanted to wake up from it.
"Raavi please meri taraf dekh!" He said again softly.
Raavi reluctantly opened her eyes and looked at Shiva. She was instantly reminded of his new outfit and her anger returned. But instead of fighting with him, she stepped back further and took her hands off him. Shiva got hurt seeing her move away so quickly and wanted to say something but she turned her back on him towards the open closet.
His anger returned, too, but he just couldn't bear to fight with her again so he stepped back as well and started to walk away when she said, "Ruk! Kaha ja raha hai?"
Shiva turned around and saw Raavi standing there with his old blue flannel shirt & a pair of black jeans.
She walked to him and said, "Yeh naye kapde bohot acche hai aur style bhi bohot trendy hai!"
He was happy hearing her admire his new clothes but he also knew that she had more to say. So he asked, "Lekin?"
She smirked a little and replied, "Lekin yeh style tera nahi hai!"
She handed him the shirt and the jeans and asked him to change into them. He took the clothes and walked to the closet to get the vest to wear under the shirt but she said, "Nahi! Sirf shirt aur jeans!"
He looked at her half confused and half amused but complied. He opened the door of their room and walked to the bathroom to change.
While Raavi waited for Shiva to come out, her heart felt light and happy. She felt like she could finally breathe! She looked into the mirror and felt shy remembering Shiva's embrace and the feel of him in her arms. Remembering the closeness, Raavi admired, for the first time in her life, Shiva's impressive physique. He was tall and macular and perfectly toned in all the right places. When she had wrapped her arms around him, he had hugged her back tightly and she felt the strength of his broad shoulders, his solid chest, and his rock hard abs. And what about those toned arms and biceps? She asked herself! Her husband was totally hot and handsome, and Raavi reveled with the knowledge!
In the bathroom, Shiva changed into his old clothes and looked at himself in the mirror. He felt so comfortable in his old clothes. While looking at himself in the mirror, his eyes fell on the crook of his neck where Raavi had hidden her face. He remembered the hug and how amazing it felt to be hers. She was the light that came through the crack in his heart and lit up his entire world. She was so soft and smooth that when he had buried himself in her arms, it felt like he was floating. When he had wrapped his armed around her, he felt the curves of her body and the smoothness of her skin. Every time her silky hair brushed her back, he felt twinge of jealousy. She felt so light and delicate in his arms and he loved the feeling. Taking a one last look in the mirror, he smiled and walked out to his room.
Sitting at the edge of her bed, Raavi saw Shiva come out of the bathroom and facepalmed herself. Her dork came out with his shirt tucked-in tightly in his jeans, sleeves completely buttoned and fully covering the arms, and the front buttons closed all the way to the collar. Shiva came in with a small smile and looked at her. She rolled her eyes and walked up to him. She untucked the shirt, opened the sleeves buttons and rolled them up to his elbows, opened the top three buttons of the shirts, and adjusted the collar in a relaxed position. She ruffled his hair a bit to give it a bit more casual vibe and turned him towards the mirror. Siva was amazed by the change. He had had this shirt and that jeans for years but they never looked this good before.
Raavi smiled as if she read his mind and said, "Yeh tera style hai. Hamesha se. Bas tujhe kapde right combination mein pehn na nahi aaya!"
Shiva turned to her and said, "Tujhe mein aise pasand hu?"
Raavi felt a stab of guilt as she realized that he was trying to change himself for her. She looked deep into his eyes and said, "Nahi! Mujhe tu bilkul waise pasand hai, jaisa tu hai!"
She sat down on the bed and said, "Shiva yeh shirt aur jeans puraani hai fir bhi nayi lag rahi hai kyunki tune isse behetar style se pehna. Hai na?"
Shiva nodded and but didn't say anything.
She smiled and said, "Toh inn kapdo ki tarah, tu bhi khud ko behtar bana. Khud ko badal matt. Khud pe bharosa kar ke tu jaisa hai waisa hi bohot accha hai. Humaari pehchaan humaare kapdo se nahi hoti Shiva, unn kapdo ke piche chupe dil se hoti hai. Yeh baat mujhe tab samajh aai jab tune mujhe uss khandar mein bachaaya tha, jab tune mere seedhiyon se girne pe mere zakhamo pe dawaai lagaai thi, jab tu mujhe akela chodke nahi gaya aur mujhe ghar tak chodne aaya tha. Tere dil mein sabke liye jitana pyaar hai na, woh dekh ke mujhe samajh aaya k tu baahar se jaisa bhi dikhe, tera dil bohot saaf hai. Aur mere liye bas itana kaafi hai! Mujhe bas uss dil mein thodi si jagah chaahiye aur kuch nahi!"
Shiva felt like a huge mountain started lifting off of his chest as he knelt on the floor in front of her. He took her hands in his and asked, "Sach?"
Raavi looked at this amazing, kind-hearted, rough-around-the-edges, man who had been her enemy all this time but, in reality, had always had a special place in her heart. He was like a coconut, hard on the outside and soft and light on the inside. She kissed his hands, dropped her forehead to his, and said, "Mein tere liye jeena chahti hu Shiva, tujhe apna banana chahti hu! Mein teri hona chahti hu! I love you Shiva!"
The mountain lifted off entirely and Shive breathed after what felt like an eternity. "I love you, too Raavi! I love you!" he said and took her in his arms. This time Shiva hugged her so tight that Raavi felt like all her broken pieces fit back together and she was whole again.
Still hugging him, Raavi started laughing. Shiva looked at her with amazement and asked, "Kya hua?"
"Aaj maine apna naam roshan kar diya!" She said and laughed again.
Shiva was confused and asked, "Matlab?"
Still smiling brightly she replied, "Ab tak toh bas iss ghar pe chipaki hui thi par ab toh yeh Chipakali tere dil pe chipak gai hamesha hamesha ke liye!"
Shiva couldn't hold back as his started laughing, too! He looked at her cute face and pinched her cheeks as he said, "Gadhedi! Idhar aa!" and hugged her again.
And they lived happily every after... 🤗
