Raghav rushed back home and found Pallavi pacing around the room anxiously. Once she spotted him, she leapt forward to embrace him.
"Thank God. Thank God. Thank God, tum thik ho, Raghav! Meri kal se jaan nikli jaa rahi thi tumhare bare mein soch sochke."
Raghav's heart broke hearing that. Here she was worried sick for him and what was he doing there?
He broke the hug and cupped her face, "Pallavi, I love you a lot but I am...I am really very sorry.'' His eyes instinctively became watery.
''Sorry?'' Pallavi was confused. ''Tum sorry kyun bol rahe ho?''
He walked themselves to the bed and made her sit on the edge while he kneeled on the floor in front of her. Pallavi was super confused. She had no clue why he was being so emotional holding her hands in his.
''Please, mera poora baat sunna....''
He told her everything that happened last night. Everything without any filter.
He stared at her for quite sometime to hear her say something, show any emotion but her face was blank.
''Pallavi, please kuch bolo...''
She stayed unresponsive.
''Pallavi? Pallavi!'' He shook her to bring her out of her trance.
Instead of saying anything, Pallavi stood up and started making her way towards the door.
''Pallavi, kaha ja raha hain tum?'' He held her legs to stop her in her tracks. ''Pallavi, please say something, anything! I know merese bohut bada gunnah huya hain. Tumko merekoe maarna hain? Jitna maarna hain, maarlo but please aise chup matt raho...''
Wordlessly, she walked out with a word.
''Pallavi!''
He didn't follow her thinking she needed space. But he broke down, right where she had left him.
~•~
Raghav had to go office for some work and came back pretty late at night. The whole day he couldn't stop thinking about Pallavi. Her silence and his own guilt were killing him. He had mentally prepared himself to face whatever Pallavi's reaction would be after he reached home.
But Pallavi wasn't in their room when he arrived. For once, he thought she had left him but all her belongings, purse, phone everything was in the room. He went on to search for her in the whole house until he found her.
Ek dil hai, ek jaan hai
Dono tujhpe qurbaan hain
Ek main hoon, ek imaan hai
Dono tujhpe haan tujhpe
Dono tujhpe qurbaan hain
She was in the terrace, sitting on the marbled floor. Staring up at the sky, she was singing the song with occassional hiccups in between. He walked around her to stand in front of her, blocking her view of the beautiful night sky.
''Arey, mere pati parmeshhhhhwarrrrr!'' She slurred with a wide grin. ''Tum...kab aye?'' She stood up on her own.
''Pallavi, tum...''
He was hell confused. She was suppoed to be angry but here she was looking breathtaking in the plain but bright yellow saree paired with a sleeveless black blouse and the miniscule nose-ring.
''Ach...ach...chhi lag rahi hoon na?'' She said, chirpily.
Her question made him realize that he was lost in her radiating beauty and the confusion was back. ''Pallavi, tum yaha...aise...kyun?''
She pouted like a baby, then bent down to pick up a bottle and started drinking straight from it. His eyes went wide upon realization of what it was.
''Pallavi, tum mera whiskey pee raha hain!'' He tried to pull the already 75% empty bottle away from her lips.
''Stay away!'' She yelled, swatting his hand away from the bottle and took another swig. ''Kis baat ka dukh...ho...rrrrraha hain tumhe? Yehi na ki maine...maine tu...tumhari limited edition pachas hazar ki whiskey khatam kardi?''
''Mereko whiskey ka nehi, tumhara chinta hain...'' His voice was soft as he took a step foward towards her.
She broke out into a very loud laughter. Her laughter changed into anger and she yelled at the top of her voice, ''Jhooth!'' Then her tone became normal again, ''Agar meri fikar hoti toh tum mujhe batate how am I looking. Dekho...'' She twirled around to show off her attire, ''Kitne achchhe se taiyar huyi hoon main.''
She wrapped her arms around his neck and said in a seductive whisper, ''Raghav...'' Their lips were mere centimeters away.
She leaned and rested her forehead against his, ''Pata hain tumhe... Maine socha tha ki tum jab wapas aoge, main yeh saree pehnungi and we'll take the next step in our relationship. But you are not even complimenting me! Kyun, Raghav.... Kya main sundar nehi hoon?''
''Ne...'' He was about to deny but she shushed him by keeping a finger on his lips.
''Shush.... Mujhe....answer...pata hain. Yehi na...ki main Esha nehi hoon!''
His eyes widened, ''Pallavi, yeh tum kya bol raha hain?''
Soft glaze became a fiery glare as she pushed him away very hard, making him stumble backwards.
''Sahi bol rahi hoon! Main kal se yeh soch soch ke marrrrrr rahi thi ki tum kaha hoge, kaise hoge, kya kar rahe hoge, tumne khana khaya hoga bhi nehi... Lekin tumne kya kiya?!'' With that, she smashed the bottle on the ground. ''Ab toh mujhe doubt hain ki kabhi tumne mujhse pyaar kiya bhi hoga ki sab drama tha...''
He took quick strides to reach her and held her hands in his, ''Nehi, Pallavi. Main tumse bohot pyaar karta hain. Tum mera zindagi hain.''
There was genuity in his tearful eyes. He was broken too just like her but he was at fault.
''Phirrrrrse jhooth...'' Her voice was low this time as she got emotional seeing tears in his eyes. ''Agar tum mujhse pyaar karte toh vo nehi karte jo tumne kiya...''
She took a deep breath and controlled herself. Removing her hands from his grasp, she said, ''Kya kaha tha tumne kuch din pehle... 'Tum mera one and only limited edition hain, Saree ka Dukan. Tumhare liye main whiskey nehi chhod sakta?' Aur kal kya kiya tumne?''
He couldn't meet her eyes anymore, thus looked down.
''No, look at me!" She held his collars, ''Badla liya na tumne mujhse? Waise bhi humari shaadi toh thi hi samjhote ki. Itne mahino se jo jo hua humare bich, sab plan tha na tumhara? Pehle bharosa jeetoge, phir pyaar ka natak karoge aur mauka milte hi ek jhatke mein saba khatam kardoge!''
''Pallavi, I agree mere se jo huya, usska koi maafi nehi hain but don't doubt my love. Please mereko chhod ke matt jana. I can't live without you... Tumhare bina marr jayega main.''
She stared at him for a few moments before smirking, ''Aise kaise marrne doon tumhe, Raghav Rao? Neh!''
She let go of his collars and took a few steps backwards, but maintained the eye contact. ''Pehle maine bhi socha ki tumhe chhod ke chali jaun. Phir socha ki nehi... Tumhe toh main harr rooz thoda thoda karke, tadpa tadpa ke maarungi. Just wait and watch, Mr. Raghav Rao.''
With a final glare, she spun around and walked away.
~•~
The next morning, Raghav woke up to some weird noises coming from very nearby. He opened his eyes to see Pallavi vomiting beside the bed.
He panicked, "Pallavi, are you okay?'' He was about to touch her, but she was quick to raise a hand to stop his advances.
''Don't you dare touch me.'' She said in such a cold tone which could make anyone shiver.
His hands retreated and watched her get off the bed and go to the bathroom.
~•~
Later in the morning, Pallavi reached the dining area where the whole family was already seated for breakfast. Wishing them morning, she took her seat beside Raghav. He took a quick glance at her before turning back to his food.
''Pallavi beta, tum thik hain na?'' Amma asked in concern, ''Maine suna tumko subha bohot ulti huya.''
''Haan, Amma, but I am fine now,” Pallavi replied with a assuring smile.
''Par vo ultiyan...'' Amma trailed off.
Pallavi looked up from her food at Amma and finally understood what she was trying to imply. "Amma, jaisa aap soch rahi hain waisa kuch nehi hain. Bas thoda food poisoning hogaya tha.''
''Toh waisa kab hoga? Tum dono toh Mama-Mami banne wale ho par mujhe bhi toh Bua banna hain.'' Keerti expressed with excitement.
''Amma, Keerti...'' Pallavi turned to look at Raghav for a second before continuing to say, ''Humse jitna koshish ho sakta hain hum utna kar rahe hain.''
Raghav, very audibly choked on his food, hearing that. The food was forgotten, his complete attention was now in the conversation.
Pallavi royally ignored his choking and continued, ''Ab age...baki toh bhagwan ki marzi hain. Ain’t I right, Raghav?'' She turned to Raghav, who was staring back at her in disbelief.
''Ah...haan, Amma.''
Pallavi gave him a deadly smirk. He was unable to understand what Pallavi was trying to do.
~•~
''What the hell was that!'' Raghav asked Pallavi, when they came back to their bedroom after breakfast.
''What was what?'' Pallavi answered, nonchalantly.
''Tumne Amma aur Keerti se yeh kyun bola ki hum bachche ke liye koshish kar rahe hain? Yeh toh jhooth hain.''
Pallavi kept the hair brush on the dressing table and turned to him, ''Sach aur jhooth ki baatein tum na hi karo toh achchha hain.''
''Pallavi, tum unnko jhootha umeed de raha hain. Jab humare bich kuch thik hain hi nehi toh yeh sab...''
She intervened, ''Woh hi toh main chahti hoon! Duniya ko lagega ki humare bich sab thik hain, sabke samne we'll be the perfect couple, par sachchai sirf humein pata hogi.''
She walked, circling him, ''Harr rooz tum mujhe dekhoge aur guilt mein maaroge ki tumne mujhe kaise dhoka diya. Sochoge ki baki sab humein jo perfect couple soch rahe hain kaash…woh sach hota. It will be so much fun to see you guilt-trip everyday!''
Raghav sighed deeply, ''Pallavi, tum aisa kyun kar raha hain?''
''Punishment. Yeh tumhara punishment hain aur ise tumhe zindagi bhar bhugatna hoga. Ardhamainda?''
He didn't have any more arguments because he knew he deserved it.
''Hmm... Ek aur baat karni thi tumse.'' She took the file kept on the bedside table and extended it to him.
He took it and read it. ''Yeh kya hain?''
She rolled her eyes, ''Padhna bhul gaye kya? It's clearly written, you are filing a sexual harassment case on Esha.''
''Haan but how will we prove it?''
She played a video on her phone. It was Esha sitting at gunpoint.
''Tum goli matt chalana. Main...main batati hoon sab." Esha was trembling as she spoke. ''Yeh sab mere aur mere husband ka plan tha, Raghav se paise nikalne ke liye.''
''Shuru se batao sab!'' It was Pallavi's voice, yelling at Esha.
Raghav was shocked. He looked up from the video to see Pallavi continuing to get ready for the day, absolutely unaffected.
''Woh whiskey...'' Esha had began narrating the whole ordeal, ''Uss mein medicine mili huyi thi jisse hallucinations hote hain. Jab Raghav behosh hogaya, use laga ki main tum ho. Sirf 'Pallavi, Pallavi' kar raha tha, pata nehi kya kya bol raha tha! Baad mein mere pati ne ake usske kapde utar diye. Jab Raghav ki neend khuli toh use laga ki humare bich kuch hua tha raat ko. Par aisa nehi hain.'' The video ended.
Raghav took slow steps toward Pallavi, ''Tumne yeh sab... Tumko mujh pe trust tha ki maine kuch nehi kiya.'' It wasn't a question, it was more of a statement because he knew it was true.
Pallavi wouldn't ever hold a gun to hurt anyone unless her loved ones were in danger. If she hadn't trusted him then she wouldn't have gone all the way to get Esha to confess.
''Save it, Raghav. Mujhe kuch nehi sunna. Just because I am helping you with the case doesn't mean that I have forgiven you. Nor I ever will! Maine tumhe nashe ke halat mein dekha hain. You pass out immediately! Ek ungli hilane tak ki takat nehi hoti tumhare aur yeh toh...'' she trailed off and sighed. ''Maine bas sach ka saath dia, nothing else.''
She tried to walk off, but he held her hand. ''I am really sorry, Pallavi. Please maaf kardo...''
''Kabhi nehi, Raghav. Tumne mera bharosa todha hain. Haan, maanti hoon woh one-night-stand nehi tha lekin tumhare behosh hone tak jo jo hua, woh sab tumne full consciousness mein kia. Tumne mujhse promise kiya tha kabhi alcohol ko haath nehi lagaoge but you got drunk! Ekbar bhi mera khayal nehi aya tumhe? Aisa kya hogaya tha ki mujhse kiye huye waade se zyada important tumhare liye peena hogaya tha? Main bina soche samjhe tumhare liye maut ke muu mein chali gayi par tum mein itni himmat nehi ki mere ek simple promise ki kadar kar pao...''
He was silent. She pulled her hand out of his.
''Rishta sirf pyaar nehi banta, Raghav... Hum dushman se pyaar tak ka safar tay kar paye kyun ki we had built a strong foundation of trust. Par aaj tumne woh neev hi hiladi.''
Her watering eyes were the reflection of how badly she was broken. He wanted to wipe her tears and give her all the happiness in the world but he couldn't because this time he was the reason of her unhappiness.
She herself wiped her tears and walked away.
....and they lived happily ever after.
_________________________
Other MHRW works:
OS: Never Say Never
because it's as if these two are back to square one but this time it's so much more personal and painful.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
