Hasta-prāpya-stabaka-namito bāla-Mandāra-vṛkṣaḥ (FF) Ch. 36 p. 15 - Page 11

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Chapter Eighteen

"Ceppu, Farhad!" Raghav answered his phone as he walked Damayanti.

"Anna, we're just finishing breakfast and then we'll drive back from Vikarabad," Farhad reported. "Suniye, Mandar told me that the hospital that issued his death certificate isn't in a hurry to correct the record."

In fact, Mandar hadn't said this to Farhad. Mandar had wanted to ask Farhad for advice yesterday, during their drive, but as his mind dwelt on thoughts of Nikhil doing Raghav's work and going to jail for it, Mandar had reproached himself for the way his heart responded to Farhad's concern for him, and he had kept quiet about his difficulty. Only now, facing Dr. Ramya, who had finally come home from the emergency room around 6 o'clock that morning, after her patient was shifted to a psychiatric ward for observation, Mandar imagined that Amma would somehow guess how he had behaved with Farhad last night. So, it was to distract Dr. Ramya that Mandar, being careful not to look or smile or blush at Farhad, talked about his frustration with hospital bureaucracy, and upon hearing that the Records Committee would make Mandar wait three months, Farhad innocently pulled out his phone and called Raghav.

"Lean on them, Farhad." Raghav felt disappointed that again Mandar had asked Farhad for a favour, and not Raghav directly. Why wouldn't Mandar allow Raghav to be the hero? How would Mandar like it if he was the one being ignored? Anyway, Raghav couldn't act aloof this time. "I want Mandar legally recognized as living right away, so that Celli can put this hit-and-run behind her."

"Jī, Anna." Farhad ended the call, and immediately called the administrative head at Alanka Institute of Medical Sciences. "This is Farhad Nawaz, calling on behalf of Raghav Rao. Raghav Anna would like your Records Committee to meet today. ... Yes, today. Anyone who doesn't attend the meeting voluntarily, I can send a car to escort. ... Not necessary? Good. Make a note of this: the first item on the agenda is to nullify the death certificate of Mandar Deshmukh. ... Yes, that's the name. His application was submitted yesterday with a notarized affidavit, so I'm sure you'll find all of the paperwork in order. I'll call you back in a couple of hours, and I trust you won't go home today until this has been done."

Mandar, who was washing the dishes and insisting to Dr. Ramya that it was fine if she took a nap right away, without waiting for them to leave, heard nothing of Farhad's conversations, but Nikhil was listening. Nikhil couldn't hold back a grin; he was enjoying Farhad's display of power. Nikhil knew that Raghav Rao was a bad example who owed his power to crime. His friend Abhishek always suggested that Nikhil should ask Pallavi Dī for expensive gifts - "Are yāra, don't tell me Raghav Rao's wife can't afford this!" - but even greeting Raghav politely when he visited Pallavi Dī at the shop made Nikhil feel disloyal to Manasi Dī and Amruta. Yet now Nikhil imagined himself in Raghav's or Farhad's place, able to order anyone in Hyderabad to get out of Mandar Dādā's way.

"You're smiling, Nikhil. No headache this morning?" Farhad inquired.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," Nikhil replied. Hesitating for a moment, he said, "Farhad, how does it feel? I mean, when you always get what you want, with no credit limit and no waiting in line, is it just another day at the office, or does it still give you a rush?"

"Sometimes, it does," Farhad admitted. "If there's someone who deserves to succeed, and I make the obstacles go away, it feels like I'm the superhero who saved the world. But it's not always like that. One time, Raghav Anna wanted to impress someone by taking him to a mandira, so I made arrangements that our cars would pull up right in front, the priests would come outside to greet the guest with an enormous garland, and we would walk right in for a VIP darśana, without anyone else in the way. When Raghav Anna saw all of the visitors lined up outside, he scolded me, saying that it wasn't right to make everyone else wait for one person. Anna told me to arrange water and biscuits for all of them, and chairs for the elderly, and wrap up his guest's darśana in five minutes."

Mandar was listening by now, and his mouth fell open with surprise. Bābā had told him that Raghav kept people waiting outside the mandira for over an hour, but Farhad was retelling it as his own idea, as if Raghav knew nothing about his own sacrilege. Of course Raghav Rao knew that the obstacles thrown out of his path landed in front of innocent bystanders! Why would a cruel Rākṣasa like Raghav care? And why was Farhad defending him?

"By the time I returned with the refreshments, Raghav Anna was lying on the ground and the crowd was stampeding past him," Farhad went on. "Anna was having a panic attack, and if Pallavi jī and your Bābā hadn't looked after him, he could have been trampled. Anna's guest was furious because the incident sent his wife to the hospital; then Anna assaulted and insulted his guest, and it cost Anna's business a fortune. So, that time I felt like a loser for pushing our way to the front of a line."

Nikhil didn't know what to say, and Mandar simply exchanged a look with Dr. Ramya. Irresponsibility and insults - yes, that sounded more like the Raghav Rao that Mandar had gotten to know these past three days.

The men quickly said goodbye to Dr. Ramya and got into the car. When they had reached the highway, and Nikhil was tired of making his video, Farhad said to Mandar, "Now I'll tell you the story that I promised." Both Mandar and Nikhil gave Farhad their attention.

"One night in April," Farhad began, "an old lady was hit by a car and left lying in the street. Raghav Anna and I found her and took her to the hospital. Anna noticed Pallavi jī in the waiting area, with her Āī, Bābā, Kākā, Kākū, and another man - we didn't know then that he was her Siddhesh Dādā. I went over to ask if there was anything I could do. And your Bābā slapped me. 'Tell your Anna never to show us his face again! Stay as far away as possible from me and my family,' he said."

"Bābā isn't violent!" Mandar protested, but he couldn't help wondering how Bābā would have reacted to Farhad being gay if Farhad had been at home when they visited his Ammī-Abbū. Mandar looked at Nikhil, who nodded soberly. "Maybe he wouldn't let you help, but why would he slap you? What had Raghav done?" Mandar asked.

"At first, nothing made sense," Farhad resumed. "Raghav Anna came over and grabbed your Bābā, but your Kākū accused both of them of conspiring together. Then Pallavi jī found Anna in the office of one Dr. Kanika, and accused them of conspiring against her. I couldn't understand what was the conspiracy. The next morning, outside your family's shop, we found a group of women harassing Pallavi jī. They had splashed black paint on her saree and they were about to put a string of chappals around her neck. Anna stepped in as the shop's landlord and told them to leave, and one of the women said, 'So, it was your baby that she aborted!' And Pallavi jī accused Anna of bribing Dr. Kanika to lie to her family that she had an abortion, and sending the women to humiliate her publicly. That's when I understood why your Bābā had slapped me. He thought I was faking concern while Raghav Anna was having fun making his daughter look bad."

"An abortion?" Mandar felt even more confused now. "So, Raghav created a fake medical record to convince Bābā that Pallavi spent nights with him? But you're telling the story as if Raghav knew nothing!"

Nikhil shook his head at Mandar, but let Farhad continue.

"No, Mandar, this time the crisis in your family wasn't Raghav Anna's fault at all. It happened before Anna hated Pallavi jī enough to invent a sex scandal about her or turn her family against her. Those are the most hurtful things that Anna can imagine doing to anyone, and he only crossed that line when he mistakenly believed that Pallavi jī had sent Kirti and Jaya Amma to jail. Anna misunderstood Pallavi jī and tormented her from the moment they met; he got into the habit of blaming her for everything that went wrong; he played deceitful tricks to discredit and destroy her business. Without excusing him for any of that, I have to tell you that Anna believed that Pallavi jī had invented a sex scandal about him, which nearly killed his Amma, and Kirti wouldn't let him see Jaya Amma in the hospital. Even then, Anna didn't think of doing the same to Pallavi jī. He took his revenge cruelly, but he stopped short of lying about someone's sexual behaviour or turning a parent against a child."

"Farhad, you've lost me with this story!" Mandar shook his head. It wasn't just that hearing "sex" in Farhad's voice distracted him! Raghav was responsible for everything that Pallavi had endured, wasn't he? But Raghav hadn't bribed this Dr. Kanika to lie about an abortion? "Start from the beginning, please. How could Raghav misunderstand Pallavi?"

Nikhil nodded in agreement; he wanted to make sense of this too. Nikhil knew everything that Krishna had told Mandar Dādā about Raghav's attacks against Pallavi Dī, but when Kirti Dī's Amma had been in the hospital, and Raghav's sex scandal had been in the news, Nikhil hadn't thought that they were connected, or that Raghav blamed Pallavi Dī.

"Sorry, Mandar," Farhad said. "This is how it began. Kirti was being troubled by men on the street, so Raghav Anna assigned Harish to be her bodyguard. Pallavi jī thought that Harish was stalking Kirti, so she told him to leave, or she would publish a video of him. Anna should have felt grateful that Kirti had a friend willing to protect her. If he had made a good impression on Pallavi jī, she might have persuaded Kirti and Jaya Amma to accept help from him. Sadly, Anna was so blindly devoted to his ego, he tried to intimidate Pallavi jī instead."

Mandar remembered what Sulochana Kākū had told him: Jaya Rao had pretended to be a stranger to her vyasanī son. So, when Krishna had said that Raghav sent a man to watch Kirti, she hadn't meant that he was obsessed with Kirti; he was only trying to protect his sister from harassment, as a good brother should!

"Only because Pallavi jī had the courage to call out Raghav Anna's misbehaviour, Anna thought that she wanted to destroy him," Farhad was saying. "Jaya Amma needed medical care, and Kirti persuaded her to move into Anna's house on one condition: Anna would stay out of trouble for two days. Anna almost did it, but then some reporters mobbed him and Amma, asking about some photographs that showed Anna lying naked with a woman. Jaya Amma collapsed, and had to be hospitalized. Anna knew that he had eaten food prepared by Pallavi jī the night before, and he had passed out, and there was CCTV footage of Pallavi jī at a news agency's office, talking to the woman in the photographs, who had sworn revenge against Anna. So, Anna hastily concluded that Pallavi jī had drugged him, she had invented the sex scandal that denied him Amma's forgiveness, and she had put Amma's life in danger."

Mandar thought back to Dr. Ramya telling him that Raghav had had some obscene photographs published, as if Raghav had done it for attention. In Raghav's words, "I am shameless. I can afford to do what I want, with whom I want, wherever and whenever I want." But Farhad was saying that Raghav had been helpless, and for that he had lost his Amma's forgiveness. And Pallavi had paid the price for their reconciliation. Mandar felt heartsick. Last night, he had felt free of shame for the first time. Was it possible to live like that? What if Mandar was helpless before his nature, and failed Pallavi? Would Āī be able to understand and forgive him? No, Mandar believed in decency; he couldn't mistreat Pallavi and expect her forgiveness. He wasn't Raghav!

Nikhil marvelled that someone could mess up Raghav Rao's life, the way that Raghav had messed up Nikhil's. Nikhil knew that Kirti Dī and her Amma had been ashamed of Raghav's criminal lifestyle. Fine, Raghav had been misunderstood that one time, with the sex scandal, but instead of proving his good character like Pallavi Dī, Raghav had pursued revenge with tactics that his mother and sister abhorred. Didn't Raghav want his Amma's and Kirti Dī's forgiveness?

"Why did this other woman want revenge?" Nikhil asked.

"Raghav Anna had a habit of humiliating women," Farhad explained. "His wealth, his looks, and his attitude made him a ladykiller, with many followers on social media, and he craved their attention, but whenever a woman wanted more than a dance, Anna would know that her interest was superficial, and he would feel disgusted with her, and reject her rudely. This woman thought it would be fun to betray her fiancé, but Anna felt sympathy for him as a fellow man, and told me to call him over. The woman was lying on Anna's bed, waiting for him, when I let her fiancé into the bedroom. Anna ruined her wedding, so she retaliated by taking those photographs and telling the news agency that Anna had deceived and seduced her."

Mandar shuddered. Raghav had exposed a woman out of mere sympathy for another man; what would he do to someone who fell short as a husband to Pallavi? If Raghav found out that Mandar hadn't been faithful to Pallavi last night, that Mandar had wanted to kiss Farhad and hold onto him, forgetting his marriage vows ...

Farhad went on talking. "It wasn't until yesterday morning that Anna found out that when Jaya Amma needed blood, the kalāvā that Anna tied on his wrist while he prayed came from Pallavi jī. Pallavi jī's duā helped Amma to get well, but when the scandal broke, Anna believed that Pallavi jī had almost killed his Amma, and he became obsessed with revenge. His goal was to drive Pallavi jī out of Hyderabad with your family, but he didn't want to subject her to scandal or make her an orphan like himself. Then, unexpectedly, Anna began to look after Pallavi jī. Once, he thought she was missing, and he kept calling me all through the night, using all of his resources to find her. Whether Pallavi jī needed a private taxi, or balm for a bruise, or a deadline extension, or release from police custody, or help to get Amruta home when she had eaten too much bhāṅga for Holī, or a well-lit room to do embroidery, or she had misplaced a saree, Anna stepped up to give it to her. He even gave her what she didn't want from him: prize money from a saree design contest, his protection when she left your house alone at night, advice to squeeze a cheating customer ... The harder Anna tried to insult and defeat Pallavi jī, the more he found himself compulsively helping her."

Mandar and Nikhil were looking at each other and shaking their heads. Farhad and Krishna might imagine that Raghav loved Pallavi, but if her feelings had mattered to Raghav, he would never have hurt her or Bābā or Nikhil. Raghav's obsession by any other name was just as dangerous.

"By the time Pallavi jī accused Anna of bribing Dr. Kanika to lie about an abortion, Anna was used to her fighting spirit. Now he felt hurt that she was disgusted by him. He wanted to be her hero, but he wouldn't admit it. He insisted that he couldn't tolerate his name being linked with his enemy's, and he wasn't doing anything for her. I was delighted that he wanted me to investigate Dr. Kanika, and together we got her to confess who had instructed her to say that Pallavi jī had the abortion."

"Who was it?" Mandar asked.

"Your Sulochana Kākū," Farhad answered.

Mandar looked at Nikhil, who nodded. Obviously, Kākū dislikes Pallavi, Mandar thought, remembering Sulochana's behaviour at the pūjā yesterday, and at lunch the day before. "Why would Kākū slander and harass Pallavi like that?"

"Kākū's plan was to embarrass Pallavi Dī so much that she would leave for Kolhapur with Siddhesh Dādā and Pavani Vahinī," Nikhil explained. "They were visiting us for Manasi Dī's wedding at the time."

"Manasi's wedding?" Mandar's eyes widened with shock. "Manasi got married?"

"No, Dādā," Nikhil said gently. "The wedding was called off because Raghav marched into our house to announce in front of the in-laws-to-be that he knew who had the abortion."

Another shock for Mandar. Poor Manasi! Raghav had ruined her life too! Mandar had thought that the abortion was entirely a lie, but he knew that unplanned pregnancy wasn't abnormal or libidinous. It was even remotely possible after a vasectomy. "Was it Kākū?"

Nikhil shook his head. "No, it was Amruta. I'm sorry, Dādā. I know she's your favourite. Pallavi Dī tried to stop Raghav from saying anything, but he wouldn't let it go."

Mandar's face was burning, and hot tears overflowed from his eyes as he clenched his fists, his fingernails digging in. Amruta is still a child, he thought. If Sulochana Kākū hadn't taken me away, I would have protected her. I failed. And Raghav was in such a hurry to clear his own name, he humiliated a scared teenager for listening to her diabolical mother.

Farhad drove along silently, giving Mandar several minutes to absorb what had happened to his sisters. Then Farhad narrated the epilogue of his story.

"It was also your Sulochana Kākū who took photographs of Kirti changing her saree at the photo shoot for Deshmukh Saree Emporium. She uploaded them to Photogram and used them to get Kirti and Jaya Amma jailed for prostitution. Kirti and Jaya Amma had been nothing but polite to your Kākū, and yet she attacked their respectability because it would hurt Raghav Anna more than anything that she could do to him. And she made Anna think that Pallavi jī had done it. That was how Anna decided to convince your Bābā that Pallavi jī wanted to own his shop and his business, and that Anna was her lover."

"Sulochana Kākū is spiteful, but this much effort - what does she have to gain?" Mandar wondered aloud, while many questions swirled in his brain. Why did Kākū take me from the hospital to Vikarabad? Why did she risk Amruta's reputation, just to drive out Pallavi? Raghav was hurting our family; then why did she instigate him against Pallavi?

"Sulochana Kākū wants to own our house and drive out Āī-Bābā," Nikhil spoke up. "If Bābā hadn't had Pallavi Dī's help, the shop would have gone out of business and he would have had to make a deal with Sulochana Kākū. So, Kākū tried to force Pallavi Dī out of the family. Amruta had a silly fantasy that she could marry Raghav, and Kākū encouraged her, but more than that, Kākū didn't want Pallavi Dī to succeed with Raghav's help. She didn't stop there. After Raghav married Pallavi Dī, when he moved in with us and wanted Āī-Bābā to welcome Pallavi Dī home, Kākū got someone to steal a diamond necklace from Raghav's showroom; she put it in Bābā's bag, and tricked Raghav into handing that bag to Bābā, so that when Bābā was arrested, he thought that Raghav had framed him."

"Bābā was arrested too!" Mandar stared at Nikhil. "Was he put in jail?" The thought of Raghav putting Nikhil in jail had rankled in Mandar's brain since yesterday afternoon. Several minutes ago, Farhad had mentioned that Pallavi was in police custody. Who had framed her? And Bābā, who only wanted to live a quiet, respectable life - Kākū had put him through the indignity of being arrested as a thief!

"Yes, Bābā was in jail, but not overnight," Nikhil reassured Mandar, shivering as he recalled his own night in jail. "Raghav got Bābā released the same day by claiming that he himself had taken the necklace and given it to Bābā."

Mandar remembered, Āī had told him that Raghav had changed; he had started to watch over their family and catch any trouble that came their way. This was what Āī had meant. Raghav wasn't interested in Bābā's scruples about lying to the police; he felt neither respect nor affinity for Bābā; but he was on his side.

"What I'm trying to tell you, Mandar," Farhad interrupted his thoughts, "is that your Sulochana Kākū is utterly dangerous and she has no limits. She didn't stop to think about her own children paying the price for her plots. Watch out for her. Raghav Anna may not deserve your forgiveness, and he may attack you when he finds out that Pallavi jī has chosen you, but he has a conscience. He's aware that Kirti needed your forgiveness, and you gave it, and he could have put Damayanti's life in danger, but you guided him. Raghav Anna's gratitude to you is sincere. His love for Pallavi jī is sincere. His respect for your Āī is sincere."

"Raghav already knows that Pallavi will be my wife. Pallavi told him at the pūjā yesterday morning." Mandar's correction astonished Farhad.

"You mean, when Anna called you outside, he knew? What did he do?"

"He hugged me, and said that Pallavi gave him a chance only in my name. He said, I should get used to him being close to me and watching everything that I do. He said that he wouldn't move on from Pallavi, and he squeezed my hand to threaten me in case I wasn't a good husband."

"He didn't punch you? Or try to scare you off?" Farhad thought aloud. "I've never seen him like this before. Anna is unpredictable, but if he wasn't violent or insulting, it's a good sign. I really hope he doesn't have any trick planned against you."

While Farhad continued to drive along the highway, Pallavi and Krishna arrived to open the shutter of Deshmukh Saree Emporium.

"Dīdī, why are there so many people waiting outside?" Krishna wondered as they approached the shop. "Look - they have microphones and video cameras - they're reporters!"

"Pallavi jī!" a man shouted, as the gathered crowd ran to surround Pallavi and Krishna. "You warned Raghav Rao that you would bring him down and make the world turn away from him. What is he hiding?"

What was this man asking? Pallavi wondered. Before she could try to make sense of it, other questions rang out from the crowd on all sides, relentlessly.

"What was the truth of your marriage that Raghav Rao didn't want his Amma to find out? Anything like his earlier sex scandal?"

"Why did Raghav Rao confess to the hit-and-run that killed your first husband?"

"Did Raghav Rao force you to marry him by buying this shop and threatening to evict you?" When Pallavi didn't reply, a follow-up question came. "Does he call you Sārī kā Dukāna because he thinks women are property?"

"You thought Raghav Rao knew you were a widow. He thought your in-laws were your parents. Didn't he try to get to know you before he married you?"

"Did Raghav Rao put a stain on your reputation as a faithful widow? Is that why your svargavāsī first husband's family disowned you?"

"Stop!" Pallavi cried out, as Krishna put a supportive hand on her shoulder. "Who gave you the right to ask me about my life?"

"We have a responsibility to the public to expose men who prey upon helpless women," one woman replied. "Especially rich and powerful men, because the law won't touch them unless we give their victims a voice."

"Pallavi jī, we were told that you sent this video to the news agency. Isn't that true?" Another woman was shouting now.

"I don't know about any video," Pallavi said, clutching Krishna's hand and looking for a way out of the crowd.

"I will play it for you," the woman shouted. "Friends, be quiet so that Pallavi jī can listen to the video." She held her phone in front of Pallavi and started the video. It was of Pallavi in a white saree, facing Raghav next to the staircase in the house where their wedding reception had just begun. Pallavi listened, and the words brought back the despair and humiliation and fury that she had felt on that horrific day of her remarriage to Raghav.

Raghav: "Yaha kyā mazāka hai, Sārī kā Dukāna?" What stunt is this, Saree Shop? "Tuma yaha safeda sārī pahana kara āyā?" You showed up wearing this white saree? "Yaha party merā Amma aura Kirti ke liye hai." This party is for my Amma and Kirti. "Unako takalīfe mata pahuṃcānā, varanā ..." Don't cause problems for them, or else ... "Jā ke dress change kara ke āo!" Go and make a dress change, then come back! "Ghūra kyā rahā hai?" You're staring? "Bolā nā?" Didn't I tell you? "Jāo, change kara ke āo." Go, change, and come back. "Āpasame fight ke liye time aura space bahuta hai hamāre pāsa." We'll have plenty of time and space to fight each other. "Aba tamāśe mata karanā." Don't make a spectacle now. "Yaha safeda sārī kā matalaba bhī jānatā hai?" A white saree - what it means, do you even know?

Pallavi: "Eka vidhavā ko safeda raṅga kā matalaba samajhā rahe ho?" Does a widow need you to explain the meaning of the colour white?

Raghav: "Vidhavā?" A widow?

Pallavi: "Bola to aise rahe ho jaise kucha nahīṃ jānate." You're talking as if you don't know anything. "Aba eka vidhavā se śādī kī hai, to usake rūpa ko bhī apanānā paḍegā." Now you've married a widow, so you'll have to accept her look too.

Raghav: "Tuma yaha kyā bola rahā hai?" What's this you're saying?

Pallavi: "Saca." The truth. "Maiṃ eka vidhavā hūṃ." I am a widow. "Deshmukh parivāra kī vidhavā bahū." The Deshmukh family's widowed daughter-in-law.

Raghav: "Tuma unakā beṭī hai nā?" You're their daughter, aren't you?

Pallavi: "Vo mujhe apanī beṭī mānate the." They considered me their daughter. "Lekina jaba tuma merī zindagī meṃ āye, tumane mere sāre riśtoṃ ko dabā kara diyā." But when you came into my life, you suppressed all of my relationships. "Mujhe beṭī aura bahū to choḍa, acchā iṃsāna bhī nahīṃ samajhate aba vo." Forget my being their daughter or daughter-in-law; now they don't even imagine me to be a good person. "Tumane mujhe unake nazaroṃ meṃ girāyā." You brought me down in their eyes. "Aba maiṃ tumhe duniyā ke nazaroṃ meṃ girāūṅgī." Now I will bring you down in the eyes of the world. "Tumhārī vajaha se merā parivāra merā ceharā bhī nahīṃ dekhanā cāhatā." You're the reason my family doesn't even want to see my face. "Aba dekha, vo dina dūra nahīṃ jaba maiṃ pūrī duniyā ko tumase mūha moḍane para majabūra kara dūṅgī." Now look, the day isn't far off when I will compel the whole world to turn its face away from you.

Farhad: "Anna, patā nahīṃ kisī ne lights off karavāyī thī." Anna, I don't know why someone turned the lights off. "Maiṃ just on karavā ke āyā hūṃ." I just turned them on and came back.

Raghav: "Farhad, Pallavi vidhavā hai, yaha tuma jānatā hai?" Farhad, Pallavi is a widow, do you know this?

Farhad: "Nahīṃ, Anna." No, Anna.

Raghav: "Yaha Sārī kā Dukāna Amma ko hamārā śādī kā saccāī nā batā de!" This Saree Shop shouldn't tell Amma the truth about our marriage!

The video ended. Pallavi felt a pit in her stomach; she felt light-headed and the faces around her were a blur. The reporters had proof that she hadn't told Raghav about her first marriage until too late. Subhadra had warned her that if anyone found out this fact, she wouldn't be exonerated of the crime of bigamy, for which the sentence could be ten years in prison.

Pallavi leaned on Krishna for support. Krishna was pleading with the reporters, "Please, step back! Give Dīdī room to breathe! Let me take her inside and get her some water."

The reporters fell back. Krishna opened the shutter, helped Pallavi to sit down, and brought her some water.

How could my private conversation with Raghav have reached the news media? Pallavi tried to think. Why did it happen exactly now? Who would have the motive to punish me? Who would even know that Raghav and I had this conversation? Raghav, of course. But he loves me. Just two months ago, I would have welcomed the chance to tell reporters about Raghav Rao's crimes against me. The police wouldn't listen. But now, if I say that Raghav lied about me and forced me to marry him, everyone will believe that I hid my widowhood from him on purpose.

Pallavi stood up, went to the open shutter, and said the only words that she thought might make these reporters go away.

"I am not a widow after all. My first husband is living. I don't live with Raghav Rao anymore and he is not a danger to me. I am an ordinary middle-class woman whose private life is of no interest to the public. This shop is my property. All of you, leave immediately and let me do my work in peace."

Chapter One on page 1

Chapter Two on page 2

Chapter Three on page 2

Chapter Four on page 3

Chapter Five on page 4

Chapter Six on page 4

Chapter Seven on page 5

Chapter Eight on page 5

Chapter Nine on page 7

Chapter Ten on page 7

Chapter Eleven on page 8

Chapter Twelve on page 8

Chapter Thirteen on page 8

Chapter Fourteen on page 9

Chapter Fifteen on page 10

Chapter Sixteen on page 10

Chapter Seventeen on page 11

Chapter Nineteen on page 11

Chapter Twenty on page 11

Chapter Twenty-One on page 11

Chapter Twenty-Two on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Three on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Four on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Five on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Six on page 13

Chapter Twenty-Seven on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Eight on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Nine on page 14

Chapter Thirty on page 14

Chapter Thirty-One on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Two on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Three on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Four on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Five on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Six on page 15

Please continue soon. LOve this story n ur style of writing.

Chapter Nineteen

"What is it, Rama?" Raghav looked up from his work, and realized that Gorilla wasn't standing in a corner of the den and waiting for orders as he should have been; he was sitting cross-legged on the floor. Catching Raghav's eye, Harish sheepishly took Damayanti off his lap, set her on her feet, and stood upright.

"Sir, there are reporters outside the front door," Ramakrishna reported. "Security is telling them to leave, but they're saying that they want you to comment on a video of you and Pallavi Madam."

Raghav quickly checked the CCTV from his laptop. The reporters' loud voices came through the speakers: "Are you hiding from the public now, Raghav Rao?"

"The woman whom you hunted for your lust was faithful to another man's memory; didn't you feel any shame when you found out?"

"You stained a widow's reputation and banished her from her family; is this a game for you?"

"At your wedding reception, your wife Pallavi proclaimed that you rescued her from widowhood - did you tell her to lie?"

"Does your Amma know the truth of your marriage?"

"What answer do you have for the women who wear your jewelry?"

Starting to perspire, Raghav turned off the sound. The news media had the recording that incriminated Pallavi for bigamy! He should have handled Celli's friend Akshay in Raghav Rao style! Why had he allowed Celli to persuade him that she knew better? Raghav looked towards the whisky, which he hadn't touched since his promise to Amma. He would drink when he could enjoy it, or not at all. Now there was no hope of that - no, it was never too late! He would protect Pallavi, and Celli and Amma too.

"Gorilla, I have to go to Pallavi and keep the reporters away from her. I'll take Madan with me. You stay here and keep me updated. Make sure Amma stays inside until you get rid of the reporters. If she wants to go out, you guard her. Call Johnny and make sure he gets rid of any reporters at Celli's office. I'll call her right away." Even as Raghav spoke to Harish, he was headed out of the den, followed by Damayanti.

Shielded by Madan, Raghav pushed his way through the reporters without a word, got into the back seat of his car, and secured Damayanti in her seat. He called Kirti while Madan drove to Deshmukh Saree Emporium.

"Yes, Raghav, what is it?" Obviously, Kirti wasn't aware that the news media were devouring a scandal.

"Celli, your lowlife friend Akshay didn't listen to you!" Raghav snarled. "There are reporters at our house. I'm on my way to keep them away from Pallavi. Watch out for them at your office, and don't go anywhere without Johnny. At least today, appreciate that you have a bodyguard!"

"All right, Raghav, I'll be careful," Kirti sighed. "I won't say a word to any reporters, but I'll call Akshay and try to find out what happened."

Raghav's next call was to Pallavi. She didn't answer her phone. Then Raghav called Farhad.

"Anna, we're just entering Hyderabad. I have you on speaker phone because I'm driving. What is it?"

"Farhad, there are reporters at the house with that recording," Raghav began hurriedly, then caught himself, realizing that whatever he said through Farhad's phone's speaker, Mandar and Nikhil could hear. Raghav couldn't let anyone find out that he had known about the threat to Pallavi, and failed to deal with it. Celli was finally friends with Pallavi again, and Raghav couldn't spoil that. "I mean, the reporters have a video of me arguing with Pallavi at our wedding reception. Find out who is responsible."

"Jī, Anna." Farhad pulled into a gas station to refill the tank while he made some calls. Mandar and Nikhil got out of the car and stretched. Mandar called Pallavi, but she didn't answer. Nikhil called Bābā.

"Bola, Nikhil," Vijay answered. "Gharī poçalāsa kā?" Have you arrived at home?

"Bābā, āmhī azūna vāṭevara āhota." Bābā, we're still on the way. "Raghav-kaḍūna āmhālā kaḷale kī tyācyā āṇi Pallavi Dīcyā lagnānantara tyāñcyāta zhālelyā bhāṇḍaṇāçā dṛśya purāvā kāhī vārtāhārāṃnā miḷālā āhe." We heard from Raghav that some reporters have found video evidence of a quarrel that happened between him and Pallavi Dī after their wedding. "Tumhālā tyā vārtāhārāṃnī gāṭhale tara -" If those reporters accost you -

"Mī nāhī bhīta tyāṃnā!" I'm not afraid of them! Vijay declared. "Dona mahinyāṃpūrvī kāhī vārtāhārāṃnī malā gherale hote." Two months ago, some reporters had surrounded me. "Hiryāñcyā vyāpārātalyā paiśācyā gādīvara loḷaṇāryā Raghav Rao-çe sāsare rastyāvara sāḍyā vikāyalā basatāta hyāçā tamāśā karāvā, asā tyāṃçā hetu hotā." Raghav Rao reclines on a cushion of money from the diamond trade, and his father-in-law sits on the roadside to sell sarees - they planned to make a spectacle of this. "Tyā vyasanī lāzamoḍyāçā sāsarā aśī mājhī oḷakha asāvī, āṇi tyācyā pāpācyā śrīmantīsamora māzhe kaṣṭāçe cāra paise tuccha lekhale zāveta, hyāçe malā kitī duḥkha zhāle, he śabdāta sāṅgatā yeṇāra nāhī." To be known as the father-in-law of that profligate shame-stripper, and to have my hard-earned few coins regarded as worthless before his sinful wealth, how much pain that caused me, I couldn't find words to tell you. "Paraṃtu mī gāḍhavāṃpuḍhe Gītā vāçalī nāhī." However, I didn't read the Gītā to donkeys. "Raghav-cyā paiśācyā varaliyā raṅgā bhulaṇāryā lokāṃsamora to āpalā kuṇīça nāhī ase sāṅgaṇyāne, kiṃvā mājhyā svābhimānācī garjanā karaṇyāne pariṇāma hoṇāra hotā śūnya." In front of people who are fooled by Raghav's veneer of money, saying that he's no relation of ours or giving a roar for my self-esteem would have had zero effect. "Ulaṭa, āpalīça lāza jagabhara zāyacī." Rather, only our shame will go around the world. "Mhaṇūna mī mauna pāḷūna tyā vārtāhārāṃnā kaṇṭāḷūna nighūna zāyalā bhāga pāḍale." That's why I stayed silent and compelled those reporters to get tired and go away. "Zoṃvara Pallavi tyā mārakyā reḍyālā navarā mānata hotī, toṃvara āpaleça dāta āṇi āpaleça oṭha, aśī āpalī paristhiti hotī." As long as Pallavi considered that violent male water buffalo her husband, so long our situation was that the teeth are ours and the lips are also ours. "Ātā tine tyālā soḍāyaçā nirṇaya ghetalā āhe, maga tyāñcyā zunyā bhāṇḍaṇāçā āpalyāśī saṃbandhaça nāhī." Now that she has decided to leave him, their old quarrel is irrelevant to us. "Hattī gelā āṇi śepūṭa rāhile." The elephant has squeezed through and the tail's on its way. "Koṇī vārtāhāra malā bheṭale tara mī tyāṃnā Pallavi ātā Mandar-cī patnī āhe ase sāṅgūna uḍavūna ṭākato, āṇi tulā bheṭale tara tū suddhā taseça kara." If I meet any reporters, I'll tell them that Pallavi is now Mandar's wife, and send them flying, and if you meet them, you too do the same.

While Nikhil was listening to Bābā's speech, Mandar called Krishna. "Mandar Dādā? Where are you?" came Krishna's disturbed voice, with a jumble of voices shouting behind her.

"Krishna, I'm in Hyderabad, almost home. Is Pallavi with you at the shop?"

"Yes, Mandar Dādā. There are reporters here, asking about a video of Dīdī and Raghav Jījū - I mean, Raghav Rao." Krishna was still getting used to yesterday afternoon's news that Pallavi Dīdī and Mandar Dādā had decided to stay married, and Raghav was no longer family.

What could be so newsworthy about the argument on this video? Mandar wondered. "As soon as I drop my baggage at home, I'll come to the shop. Can you take care of each other until then?"

"Yes, Mandar Dādā. Here, Dīdī, please tell him you're all right." Krishna passed her phone to Pallavi, who did not feel all right at all.

"Pallavi, mī tithe yetaça āhe." Pallavi, I'm on my way there. "Yā vārtāhārāṃnā je kāhī sāṃpaḍale asela, tyālā āpaṇa ekatra toṇḍa deū." Whatever these reporters have discovered, we'll face it together. Mandar wondered if his voice sounded like a traitor's.

"Mandar, tumhī mājhī kāḷajī karū nakā." Mandar, don't worry about me. "Mī kuṇāhī vārtāhārāñcyā bhītine āpale dukāna soḍūna zāyacī nāhī." I wouldn't leave our shop out of fear of any reporters. "Paṇa yā tumhī." But do come. "Mī tumacī vāṭa pāhate." I'll wait for you. Pallavi ended the call, but she could not stop trembling as her thoughts raced.

How am I going to tell Mandar that I could go to prison? Twice I've promised him to start our married life; will we be twice separated by accidents? No, a prison sentence is only for intentional offenders; either I'll have to pay a fine, or nobody will even bother to prosecute me, but if anyone who knows the law listens to this video and speaks up, it will embarrass Mandar and our family. Already I looked guilty for remarrying with the man who stained my reputation, who had his own scandal before that. Mandar knew that people will say he took back an unfaithful wife, and still Mandar asked me to return to him, even before I told him that I neither loved Raghav nor gave Raghav a husband's privilege. We can't hide from gossip, but this is worse; this is a crime. I didn't want to remarry, so it never occurred to me that the law required me to tell Raghav about Mandar. When did I have time to think? Nikhil was in jail, Bābā was in the hospital, and Raghav had defeated me. If I had one thought, it was that I must punish Raghav; that would be my reason to go on living. And now, Raghav has beaten me at that; I'm disgraced for his crime against me, just as I was when Raghav bragged to everyone that I was spending nights with him. Raghav has won again; he has ruined my life again!

Pallavi was roused from her thoughts by the repeated sound of a car's horn. It was Madan, scattering the reporters so that he could park the car right in front of Deshmukh Saree Emporium. Raghav waited for Madan to open the door for him, and then got out of the back seat, holding Damayanti. Raghav sprang up the steps and faced the reporters.

"Any video taken by my CCTV system - I hold the copyright!" Raghav warned the crowd. "Anyone who publishes it will be sued for violating my and my wife's right to privacy."

"Can you call her your wife, Raghav Rao?" a woman shouted. "Mrs. Pallavi says her first husband is living! Did you know this truth when you married her?"

"Men who mistreat women don't deserve privacy!" a man pointed out. "Mrs. Pallavi made a public statement at your wedding reception, that you gallantly chose to marry a widow, and this video contradicts your chivalry. Your customers and business partners have a right to know: Raghav Rao, did you tell Mrs. Pallavi to lie?"

"In the video, Pallavi jī says that she lost her family's respect because of you. Now she says that she no longer lives with you. Raghav Rao, what is the truth of your marriage?" Another man joined in.

Raghav wanted to punch every one of the reporters, but Damayanti was squirming on his arm, trying to look behind him, where Pallavi was. He had warned the reporters; now he had to talk to Pallavi before they got another word out of him. Raghav stepped into the shop and pulled down the shutter. Only Pallavi, Krishna, Raghav, and Damayanti were inside the shop.

From outside, they heard a woman's angry cry: "It's women who wear your jewelry, Raghav Rao! You took a woman who had a husband, against her will. You told her you didn't know that she was a widow, and yet you kept the car from the hit-and-run while her living husband was declared dead. Answer our questions, or we will make Pallavi jī's threat come true: the world will look down on you and turn its face away from you!"

"Raghav, you have no right!" Pallavi began, furiously. "Do you even know what your video could do to me?"

"Shut up!" Raghav snapped at her. "I already told you I won't let it happen, so keep your mouth shut until your lawyer gets here." He turned to Krishna. "Sārī kā Assistant, you go into the storeroom, close the door, and let us talk in private!"

Krishna looked at Pallavi. Did Raghav still have the privilege to take charge?

"It's all right, Krishna," Pallavi reassured her. "You can pack the orders that came in online. I'll say what I have to say to Raghav, he'll leave, and then we'll see if we get any customers today." Krishna nodded and went into the storeroom, closing the door.

By then, Raghav was placing a phone call and looking tenderly at Pallavi. He was already sorry that he had spoken harshly when she needed comfort - but she didn't want comfort from him. Pallavi had said that she had nightmares about Raghav restraining her; how could he pull her into a hug after that?

"Dhananjay, I've arrived at the shop, Deshmukh Saree Emporium. When you two get here, knock on the shutter and I'll let you in." Raghav ended the call and turned to Pallavi.

"Raghav, why do you want my lawyer to come here?" Pallavi demanded, trying not to accuse him of leaking the video on purpose to intimidate her. He wouldn't do that anymore, would he? "Do you really know why this video worries me?"

"I already called Subhadra," Raghav replied gently. "She's on her way, and she'll tell us what to do. And yes, I know that to be exonerated of bigamy, you had to tell me you were a widow before our wedding. It's my mistake that you never had time to do that."

Pallavi heard Raghav's tone, but she was still suspicious of his intentions. "Subhadra told me that whatever we discussed was confidential. Then how do you know all of this?"

"I know because I talked to my own lawyer, Dhananjay. He's on his way too," Raghav said. "Pallavi, I promise, I will go to prison myself, if I have to, before I let you be convicted of any stupid crime that you would never imagine."

Pallavi remembered what Raghav had said a moment ago. "But when did you tell me, you won't let it happen?"

"The day before yesterday, when I came here to introduce Damayanti to you."

Pallavi thought back to that afternoon. Raghav had said, "I know what's on your mind, and believe me, I won't let it happen."

"Raghav, when you said it, what was on my mind was that I had to tell you I accepted Mandar's proposal. I thought you were saying that you wouldn't let me go back to him."

Raghav smiled in spite of himself. What had happened to the Raghav Rao who would have forced Pallavi to stay with him and driven Mandar out of Hyderabad? "Come on, Pallavi! What about yesterday morning, on the terrace? I promised you that I would never accuse you of taking advantage of me. I meant that you never hid the truth that you were a widow. What did you think I meant?"

Pallavi recalled the rest of what Raghav had said. "The misunderstanding was all in my imagination. Only you and I and Farhad know what was said between us that night at the house where we got married, and none of us will tell."

"You meant the night of our wedding reception? I thought you were talking about the night I moved out, when you padlocked the house where we got married. That night, you said that if I lived there, I could claim it in a settlement, and you would lose the house with your memories. That was a misunderstanding in your imagination, and only Farhad was with us when you said that to me."

"No, Pallavi!" Raghav raised his voice, exasperated with himself. He must have said those distrustful, cynical words to Pallavi, and they must have hurt her, but he didn't remember because he had been drunk when he said them. Why hadn't he just told Pallavi to find a hotel, and kept his insecurities to himself? Amma was right; being drunk brought out his pain in hurtful words and actions that he could never take back. "I meant, I imagined that you were your Āī-Bābā's daughter, and so I misunderstood what your Bindī Vālā Aunty and Dādā-Vahinī said about you."

"All right, Raghav, you gave me hints that I didn't catch. But I still don't understand one thing. You just said that the reporters got the video from your CCTV system. But yesterday morning, you told me that only you and I and Farhad knew what was said between us, and none of us would tell. Did you forget that there was CCTV system footage?" Pallavi questioned.

Raghav felt even more exasperated with himself. Why had he lied to Pallavi? He had known that Kirti was blackmailing him with this recording. Perhaps his desperation to believe that he could get through to Kirti and destroy the recording had come out of his mouth in a lie. He couldn't tell Pallavi about that, nor could he pretend that he hadn't known the risk to Pallavi from the CCTV system footage.

Pallavi saw Raghav's hesitation, and asked, "So, you called our lawyers on your way over here; that means you knew that there would be reporters asking me about this video?"

"Yes, some reporters came for me at home, but I ignored them; I got right into the car with Madan and came to you."

"Well, you must have waited long enough for them to show you the video!" Pallavi remarked, and Raghav shook his head. "No, Raghav? If you didn't watch the video at home, and I know no one showed it to you here, why did you claim copyright of it? How do you know it's from your CCTV, and not recorded by one of the guests at the wedding reception?"

Again, Raghav couldn't answer; he couldn't tell Pallavi that his order to Farhad to edit the footage had provoked Kirti to preserve the recording. Fortunately, at that moment, there was a knock on the shutter.

"Mr. Raghav, I am Dhananjay, with Subhadra." Raghav quickly opened the shutter and let them in.

"You took long enough!" Raghav snapped. "I don't pay you lovebirds to stop for street food!"

Pallavi shot him an annoyed look. "Subhadra jī, how can I protect myself from this recording?" she asked.

"I already claimed copyright, and threatened to sue for violation of privacy, just as you advised," Raghav added.

"Good," Subhadra said, "but it's still unavoidable that the video or its transcript will be published somewhere, thousands of people will see it, and some of those people will know the law."

"I have an idea," Raghav jumped in. "I'll tell the reporters that I didn't mean whatever I said in the video. I'll say, I got mad because Pallavi wore the white saree, and I pretended that her widowhood had slipped my mind. I was being insensitive, sarcastic, but I always knew that I had married a widow."

"I don't want you to lie for me, Raghav!" Pallavi exclaimed. "It's just as wrong as when you took the blame for the hit-and-run to protect Kirti. Whatever I do to get out of trouble has to be truthful."

Picci Ammāyi, Raghav thought, if I had been truthful when Vedant had you arrested for that explosive car, you would be preaching your jñāna from jail right now!

"It won't work, Mr. Raghav," Dhananjay said calmly. "The letter of the law is that Mrs. Pallavi herself had to tell you that she was a widow, no matter who else told you first, and she had to tell you before marrying you. Any judge who hears her telling you after your wedding in this video will believe that she didn't tell you before."

"Also, in the video, Raghav asked Farhad if he knew that I was a widow," Pallavi added.

"All right, Sārī kā Dukāna," Raghav snapped, "if you don't like my idea, what's yours? Why did you feel the need to tell the reporters that Mandar is living and you don't live with me anymore? Now they'll focus on your so-called bigamy, instead of sympathy for you as my victim."

"I had no choice," Pallavi shot back. "If I hadn't told the reporters myself just now, they would find out somewhere else and report that I tried to hide the truth! And speaking of the truth, you didn't answer my question. Why were you sure that this video came from your CCTV system?"

"Excuse me, Pallavi jī," Subhadra interposed. "Allow me to explain the law before you discuss anything else. Any charge of bigamy would be given to a prosecutor by a judge, and a judge would only take action based on a matter before the court, such as your marriage to Mr. Mandar Deshmukh being deemed valid upon expunction of his death certificate. Mr. Mandar Deshmukh's application to invalidate his death certificate is still waiting for the Records Committee at Alanka Institute of Medical Sciences, after which it will have to go through the city health office to reach the court. If by that time we have petitioned the court to annul your marriage to Mr. Raghav Rao, it is unlikely that the judge will opt for prosecution."

Listening to Subhadra, Raghav realized that his order to Farhad this morning, to lean on that hospital, meant that Pallavi could run out of time sooner than Subhadra expected.

Subhadra continued, "Whenever you are ready to petition the court for an annulment, let me know. Now, please excuse us; we'll get rid of these reporters and leave you two alone to talk."

When Subhadra and Dhananjay had stepped outside, Raghav said to Pallavi, "I tried to destroy the CCTV footage, Pallavi. It got out anyway. Farhad will find out who is responsible, and I'll punish whoever it is. You don't worry about that."

The thought of Raghav punishing someone didn't comfort Pallavi. The thoughts that had agitated her since yesterday came to her tongue. "You are why I have to worry, Raghav! Everything that you do is suspicious. You hugged Mandar to give him the idea that you got close to me, just to make him uncomfortable with me. Why should that surprise me? You've lied about my character before! Last night, you told Dādā and Vahinī that you will always think of me as your wife, and I should ask you for anything. My asking you for favours was my mistake that allowed you to convince Bābā that I was bad. Shouldn't I suspect that you want me to repeat that mistake and appear unfaithful to Mandar? Now you show up to reassure and protect me, but this video came from your CCTV and you've been hinting about how bad it looks for me! How can I be sure you didn't create this problem on purpose?"

Raghav's fists were itching to punch something. It hurt him to hear distrust and cynicism in that voice he loved. He hadn't done anything wrong! Why was Pallavi being so unreasonable?

"She's terrified," he heard Luṅgīvālā Raghav say. And there he was, perched on a step-ladder next to the shelves of sarees, rubbing his fingers between Damayanti's ears with a sad and serious expression on his face. "She could finally be happy, but she thinks you'll ruin it for her. Again. You can't reason with her, but you can reassure her, if you're honest with her."

"Yes, I'm desperate to stay in your life," Raghav began. "I will listen to anybody who can tell me what you need: your Dādā-Vahinī who only pretended to like me, or your Sanakī Bābā who thinks I breathe to embarrass him, or even your hero Mandar who will talk to Farhad but not to me. I know I can't have you, but I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Excuse me, Mr. Raghav, Mrs. Pallavi." Dhananjay was standing at the foot of the steps in front of the shop. "The reporters have dispersed. Now we'll take your leave."

Raghav nodded, and Pallavi watched as Dhananjay put his arm around Subhadra and held open the door to the driver's seat for her.

"They're married to each other, aren't they?" Pallavi guessed. "You chose Subhadra to be my lawyer because Dhananjay will tell you everything that she does for me. Your lawyer is 'lovebirds,' as you put it, with the person I'm trusting to end my marriage to you."

Luṅgīvālā Raghav grimaced, then hid his face in his hands. Damayanti came to Pallavi and rubbed against her legs.

Raghav considered denying that he did it on purpose, but Pallavi knew his ways, so he only said, "Subhadra is an excellent lawyer and she won't give you any reason to complain. But it's your expense account, so you can pay whichever lawyer you choose."

Pallavi knew that Raghav was right. Without a word to Raghav, she marched to the storeroom door and opened it. "Krishna, Raghav and I are finished talking, and the reporters are gone. Customers will start to come in. Mandar and Nikhil will be here soon, but I need you in front until then."

Krishna came out of the storeroom and began to work at the front of the shop. Pallavi was about to follow, but Raghav came in front of her.

"Please, Pallavi, believe that I didn't give anyone the video," Raghav said. "You're not wrong to feel suspicious of me, but I've changed. I didn't try to give Mandar the wrong idea about us. I love you and I would never turn anyone against you."

"Raghav, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." Pallavi hoped that he would leave it at that.

"I can't erase anything that I did to you in the past," Raghav persisted, "and I'll probably do something stupid the next time I'm angry, but if you believe that you were right to forgive me, if you believe that I love you, tell me that I wouldn't defame you again. If you say it, we'll both know it's true."

Pallavi wanted to believe him, but the words didn't come. She had no doubt that he loved her and he would sacrifice himself to protect her, but he was still Raghav, who had deceived her so many times.

Damayanti rolled on her back, stretching out all four legs to expose her belly, and Luṅgīvālā Raghav translated as he rubbed her chin, "Damayanti says, her Amma has worries pulling her in all directions; she's vulnerable, and you need to show her that you know how that feels, if you want to be friends again."

Raghav sighed. "You're worried about what people will say about you after seeing this video. When I'm feeling threatened, I whack my workout tire with a mallet, or hit my punching bag, or take it out on Gorilla. If it makes you feel better, you can slap me in the marketplace again! That will give the reporters a new story, and they'll forget about the video."

Pallavi remembered how she had met Raghav for the second time, the day after he had rear-ended her scootie and set fire to her textiles. "Raghav, I saw the bruises and cuts on that boy's face, and I thought he was pointing at you to tell me that you had hit him. But you love children. I know that now. I found you beating that old man, but you would never hit a child. Can you tell me what happened that day?"

Raghav obliged. "Gorilla reported that he had located the old man who was stalking Kirti. So, I went to the marketplace, where I found that old man. He was in line at a vendor stall behind the boy, and just as the boy got to the front, the old man shoved him aside and took his place. The boy got a cut on his forehead and bruises on his face. That's when I started to beat up the old man, until you came to help him and slapped me. If I had caught you right after that, I don't know what I would have done to you to prove that no one stops Raghav Rao. But Amma got in my way. She liked your bravery that day, but she didn't yet think I deserved a wife like you to keep me in line."

"So, we were on the same side that day, you and I, but I didn't know," Pallavi mused. "We both wanted to defend that boy. The difference was that you took vengeance for him -"

"While you comforted him," Raghav finished. "I couldn't have done what you did, because I didn't have you in my life yet. All I had was anger. Seeing that boy treated like a nobody, just because he was young and poor - it reminded me of how Kirti's and Arjun's classmates picked on them when I was growing up."

Pallavi remembered what Raghav had told her about growing up poor. He had learned to fight back against bullies, but the anger had stayed with him.

"Now I know how it feels to have taken vengeance on an innocent person," Raghav was saying. "And you know now that I could never hit a child, just as I could never hit Kirti. Then why don't you believe that you've changed me? I wouldn't defame you again."

"I believe you, Raghav."

Raghav heard a sigh of satisfaction. He looked at Luṅgīvālā Raghav, who gave him a thumbs up sign. "You got through to her, Raghav Rao. Now it's the right time to tell Pallavi the embarrassing secret that you've never been able to tell anyone. Tell her the truth that was waiting for her to say she loves you too. Tell her, even if it justifies her choice to leave you. Tell her just because no one but Pallavi will ever have as much right to know."

Chapter One on page 1

Chapter Two on page 2

Chapter Three on page 2

Chapter Four on page 3

Chapter Five on page 4

Chapter Six on page 4

Chapter Seven on page 5

Chapter Eight on page 5

Chapter Nine on page 7

Chapter Ten on page 7

Chapter Eleven on page 8

Chapter Twelve on page 8

Chapter Thirteen on page 8

Chapter Fourteen on page 9

Chapter Fifteen on page 10

Chapter Sixteen on page 10

Chapter Seventeen on page 11

Chapter Eighteen on page 11

Chapter Twenty on page 11

Chapter Twenty-One on page 11

Chapter Twenty-Two on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Three on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Four on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Five on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Six on page 13

Chapter Twenty-Seven on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Eight on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Nine on page 14

Chapter Thirty on page 14

Chapter Thirty-One on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Two on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Three on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Four on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Five on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Six on page 15

Again an amazing chapter. Eagerly waiting for the next. Gal just love ur writing skills.

Thank you all for the reactions and comments. It's really gratifying that with so few visitors to the forum these days, all of you make time to read my new chapters.

While I try to figure out the order of scenes after this and write them out, would anyone like to guess ... ?

1. Who leaked the video?

2. What is Raghav's embarrassing secret?

I retconned two scenes from the show so that Raghav has never slapped Kirti. I think that simply hearing Kirti say that his love is an act would have driven Raghav to get drunk, so that scene didn't need a slap, and the whole scene of Jaya and Raghav trying to stop Kirti from going to Sunny was so ridiculously irrational, I'd rather pretend I never saw it.

On Goriṇṭāku, if I'm not mistaken, Raghav's counterpart Parthu was fighting and accidentally knocked down the boy right in front of Pallavi's counterpart Srivalli. On the February 20 episode, however, Raghav's face looked startled when Pallavi accused him of hitting the boy. Is my explanation of the misunderstanding believable?

Are there any other misunderstandings that should be cleared up?

And what do you think of my reporters' questions? Not as outlandish as the questions for Raghav after the Anjali photos on the show? ("Does this scandal have anything to do with drugs?" "Did your father teach you to be a playboy?") Or worse?

Chapter Twenty

"We're almost home," Nikhil was narrating for his video. "My Dādā is officially back with all of his belongings from Vikarabad. Only his friends are still there, but Mandar Dādā has everything he needs right here, with his family. He'll never have to eat alone or live in a rented room again. Dādā's old memories are coming back fast, and now it's time to make new memories with Pallavi Dī and the rest of us. Manasi Dī knows that we're pulling up to the house now. Let's see if she is outside yet."

Nikhil realized that the driveway was full of reporters. Farhad honked the horn to get them out of the way, and brought the car to a stop right at the door. The men got out, and Nikhil continued to make his video while Mandar began to carry his belongings into the house, with Farhad's help.

"You're Mandar Deshmukh, right?" A woman's voice alerted the other reporters. She had found a photograph of Mandar from the news coverage of Raghav's arrest for the hit-and-run. As soon as Pallavi had said that her first husband was living, the story had acquired a new angle.

"Did you desert your wife, Mrs. Pallavi?"

"Where have you been since 1st December, 2018?"

Mandar had been brought up to answer whatever questions were put to him. He had never had to face reporters before. He smiled, trying to reassure them and himself.

"Yes, I'm Mandar Deshmukh," he began. "Until Pallavi found me three days ago, I didn't know my name. I lost my memories in the accident. I was in Vikarabad the whole time. I wanted to find Pallavi, but I didn't know where."

Manasi came up to Farhad and took the box from his hands. Mandar, carrying another box, followed Manasi into the house and they placed the boxes in the courtyard.

"Aika, Manasi," Mandar spoke gently. "Āpaṇa āza saṃdhyākāḷī bolūyā." Let's talk this evening. "Tujhyāvara kāhī mahinyāṃpūrvī zo prasaṅga ālā hotā, tyābaddala tū malā saṃpūrṇapaṇe sāṅgaśīla nā?" You'll tell me all about the incident that happened to you a few months ago, won't you?

"Ho, Dādā," Manasi agreed. The memories of her wedding to Rahul, ruined by Āī's indiscreet behaviour at every event, were still painful. What should have been the first happy occasion in the family after Mandar Dādā's death had been disrupted by the death of Sharada Kākū's mother, and turned into a grotesque spectacle with Āī telling everyone that Raghav took shameless liberties with Pallavi. When Manasi's turn had come to be the bride deserted and marked with ignominy, like Pallavi after her wedding, Manasi had missed her big brother more than ever.

"Hyā vārtāhārāṃçā Pallavi-lā trāsa hoū naye, mhaṇūna mī ātā dukānāvara zāto." These reporters shouldn't trouble Pallavi, so I'll go to the shop now, Mandar was saying. "Paṇa mī kāhī tulā visaralo nāhī." But I haven't forgotten about you at all. "Āpaṇa doghe bolū, Amruta-lā ādhāra deū, āṇi Nikhil punhā çukīcyā mārgālā lāgū naye mhaṇūna prayatna karū." The two of us will talk, give support to Amruta, and make an effort so that Nikhil won't go on the wrong path again.

Manasi smiled and nodded. Whenever Mandar Dādā talked to her like this, she didn't feel helpless anymore. Mandar Dādā was the captain of their team.

Mandar turned around and stepped out of the house to get another box. He found Farhad in front of him, with his arms full, and took his burden.

Farhad leaned close to Mandar's ear. "You can just say, 'No comment.' You don't owe these reporters anything."

Mandar smiled, put the items in the courtyard, and followed Farhad out through the door again. He thought, these reporters are just doing their jobs. Raghav said, they're pursuing a video of him arguing with Pallavi at their wedding reception. If they're about to report that Pallavi held Raghav responsible for defaming her, causing Bābā's heart attack, putting Nikhil in jail, and forcing her into marriage, Raghav deserves that embarrassment. Pallavi told me not to worry about her. But Farhad is telling me to be careful, and I should listen. Farhad is sensible, and obviously Raghav has given him plenty of experience with bad publicity.

Realizing that Mandar wasn't avoiding them, the reporters formed a line facing him, and asked him their questions in turn. Sharada and Sulochana came out of the house and stood beside Mandar.

"What is your reaction to the video of Mrs. Pallavi and Raghav Rao?" one man asked.

"I haven't seen this video," Mandar replied. He should see it before trying to comfort Pallavi, he decided, as the reporter played it for him. Mandar felt a shiver as soon as he saw Pallavi wearing a white saree. He could see the animosity on Raghav's face as he ordered Pallavi not to make a scene in front of his Amma and Kirti. How dare he talk to her in that tone! Pallavi's voice was uncharacteristically dull as she informed Raghav that she was a widow. She must have been terrified of this Rākṣasa who had forced her to marry him, but she kept her composure as she stood against him alone.

Mandar heard a sob escaping from Āī's throat as Pallavi was saying that Raghav was the reason that her family didn't want to see her face. He put an arm around Āī, who was trying not to cry.

"Your reaction, Mandar Deshmukh?" the reporter asked as the video ended.

"Pallavi was never at fault," Mandar replied. "She is an exemplary daughter-in-law who lifted every burden of my family. If anyone mistakenly thought that she wasn't a good person, that was only because of lies told by Raghav Rao. All of you, trust me, Pallavi will never feel rejected again. She will receive her rightful husband - me, and her place in our family."

Farhad sighed. He couldn't blame Mandar for telling the truth about Raghav. He was more worried that Mandar, trying to keep his commitment to Pallavi, would suffer for rejecting his true self.

"Has Mrs. Pallavi agreed to return to you?" asked the woman next in line.

"Yes," Mandar gave her a reassuring smile. "We are living apart for a few days to adjust, but our reasons for getting married are still strong, and we believe in our marriage."

"What would you like the public to know about Raghav Rao?" was the next question.

Mandar hesitated, thinking, should I say, Raghav Rao is a racketeer who corrupted my little brother and sent him to jail? No, it would only hurt Nikhil if the news reported his disgrace now; he is trying to be a good boy. Mandar thought, could I say, Raghav Rao is ruthless and selfish; he doesn't care if he humiliates a child, ruins a girl's wedding, or drives a father to attempt suicide! But how can I say that? I haven't even talked to Amruta and Manasi yet. Bābā wouldn't want his suicide attempt to be in the news, and Nikhil said that Raghav got Bābā out of jail. If I didn't owe Raghav that much ...

"I owe my life to Raghav Rao," Mandar finally said. "When I was lying unconscious in the road after the car hit me, Raghav stopped and took me to the hospital. That same Raghav Rao is a gūṇḍa who harassed my wife relentlessly for months, and tried to wipe out my father's life's work illegally. My family is more important to me than myself, so I want that gūṇḍa to answer for his crimes." As he spoke, Āī took Mandar's hand in hers, and squeezed it gently.

Farhad looked away. Mandar was trying to be fair to Raghav, but he was obviously troubled by the pain that Raghav had caused his family. Would that make it impossible for Farhad to spend time with Mandar?

"Are you sure that he saved your life, Mandar Deshmukh?" another male reporter asked. "Can you explain why Raghav Rao confessed to the hit-and-run that was thought to have killed you? Or why the car from the hit-and-run was in Raghav Rao's possession?"

Mandar's knees buckled with the shock of what he had just heard. As Sharada struggled to hold him upright, Farhad stepped between Mandar and Sulochana, and put his arm around Mandar's waist. Mandar put his arm on Farhad's shoulders, and willed himself to stand.

"Mr. Mandar Deshmukh, did Raghav Rao save your life, or did he cause your accident?" the man repeated.

Mandar's thoughts were racing. When my DNA sample was taken yesterday to compare with the hit-and-run car, that car came from Raghav! Has Raghav confessed? When? Why? Raghav didn't mention it on the phone with Farhad just a half-hour ago. Pallavi and Kirti and Farhad all say that the accident was caused by someone named Sunny Ahuja. And Farhad says that Raghav met Dr. Janaki when he took me to the hospital; that has to be true. Should I tell the reporters that I was admitted to S. K. Venkatesh Criticare Hospital by Raghav? Sulochana Kākū is standing right here, and if she alerts Dr. Janaki that I know ... Farhad warned me.

"After the car hit me, I was unconscious," Mandar said. "I don't think I saw the car, I remember nothing about going to the hospital, and I didn't know that Raghav confessed. I have to finish unloading my friend's car so that he can go to work, so please excuse me."

As Mandar moved to the car to attend to the remaining boxes and bags, followed by Farhad, Farhad's phone rang. A minute later, Farhad excitedly told Mandar, "That was the administrative head at Alanka Institute of Medical Sciences. The Records Committee met today and decided to invalidate your death certificate."

"Farhad, that's amazing! Wait, why would they call you? You did this for me? I only told Amma at breakfast ..." Mandar was almost shouting with excitement, and without thinking, Farhad pulled him into a hug.

"Yes, Mandar, I was listening, and I thought, this is a chance to do something good with Raghav Anna's influence."

Sulochana had stepped in front of the reporters. "My name is Sulochana Deshmukh. I am Mandar's Kākū, and I'll be happy to tell you all about what Pallavi did with Raghav Rao while Mandar was gone."

"Sulochana, āttācyā āttā gapa-cupa gharāta zā!" Go into the house quietly-silently right now! Sharada took her by the elbow, but Sulochana shook her off; she was not going to miss her moment of publicity.

"Pallavi is greedy, treacherous, promiscuous ... just what you might expect of an orphan girl!" Sulochana declared. "She convinced Mandar to marry her, and brought only bad luck to this family. On the wedding night itself, Mandar was almost killed in an accident. Then Pallavi found out somehow that Raghav Rao was covering up the crime, and contrived to meet him. Raghav enjoys making a tamāśā of girls' ruined reputations, and Pallavi let him take liberties with her shamelessly, until his mother thought that they had gone too far, and told them to get married. Raghav thought that their sex life was casual, and since neither of them believed in the sanctity of marriage, it would be a joke between them, but as you see in this video, Raghav didn't know Pallavi at all. He thought she was an unmarried bad girl, but she was a calculating widow. She wanted to blackmail Raghav Rao for his role in Mandar's accident, and walk away with his wealth, of course!"

Sharada was shaking her head and tapping an index finger on her temple to signal that Sulochana was delusional, but it was hardly necessary. The reporters were visibly bored by Sulochana's effort to smear Pallavi. They all knew that the video's selling point was the indomitable pativratā Pallavi standing up to the lecherous villainy of filthy rich Raghav Rao, and Mandar being discovered alive gave this modern Sāvitrī the vindication of a happy ending.

Keeping an eye on her boys, Sharada noticed Mandar grinning widely as Farhad hugged him. A woman's voice brought her back to the line of reporters in front of her and Sulochana.

"Madam, who are you? Are you related to Mandar Deshmukh and Pallavi jī?"

"I am Sharada Deshmukh, Mandar's mother. I am Pallavi's mother equally," Sharada declared. "Whatever this Sulochana says is made up by her own imagination. She has brought no proof, so it is slander. All of you have an obligation to report the truth. Do not defame an innocent person like Pallavi."

"Of course, Madam. What is your reaction to the video?"

Sharada took a deep breath and tried her best. "The truth is that Pallavi was faithful to Mandar's memory, and Raghav tried to ruin her by falsely claiming to have a casual relationship with her. Pallavi did not want to remarry, and Raghav forced her. I myself tried to stop the wedding, but by the time I arrived there, the saptapadī had already taken place, and Pallavi refused to leave with me. As you can see in this video, she wanted Raghav to understand what a despicable thing he had done. If you can do a serious investigation and find evidence to hold Raghav accountable for whatever he did against the law, I will cooperate. However, as far as I saw, Raghav did not confess any crimes in this video. There is nothing to be gained by showing this video to the public. Raghav respects Pallavi now, and I hope he will never harm an innocent person again. Everyone grows from life experience, and young people more easily accept their mistakes and learn to do better." Sharada shot a look at Sulochana. "The injustices that life brought upon Pallavi are being cleared away at last. Pallavi and Mandar have a chance to be happy. So, I request you not to disrupt their life with this video from three months ago."

Mandar and Farhad had finished bringing his baggage into the house, so Nikhil and Sharada went indoors with them. Only Sulochana remained outside, so the reporters quickly dispersed.

Manasi had brought water and snacks for everyone. Mandar called Subhadra and gave her the good news about the Records Committee's decision. Subhadra said that she would call the hospital and the city health office to make sure that the death certificate expunction request was sent and received.

Then Mandar asked Farhad, "The hit-and-run driver's name is Sunny Ahuja, right? Then why did Raghav confess? Why did Raghav have the car?"

"Sunny was the driver, and Raghav Anna was only there by coincidence," Farhad confirmed. "When Sunny hit the brakes, he slumped over in his seat. Kirti was next to him, and she climbed over him, using her full weight to push him upright. Kirti heard Raghav Anna shouting from behind the car, and she looked out of the driver's side window. At that moment, Anna saw Kirti, and he assumed that she was the driver who had hit you. Then Sunny drove away with Kirti, and Anna took you to the hospital. In the morning, after he was informed that your family had taken you home, Anna found Kirti's friend whose car she had borrowed, bought the car from him, and hid it in a shed."

So, Raghav concealed evidence, just so that his sister could forget about leaving me to die! It might be too much to expect a criminal to value my life, Mandar thought, but it is still infuriating. He looked around to make sure that Sulochana Kākū wasn't around, as Farhad looked at him with sympathy, and continued.

"Two weeks ago, on your birthday, Pallavi jī found your engagement ring that Anna had kept, and he lied to protect Kirti. Anna said that you had dropped the ring when you hailed a rickshaw near the Hotel Crosto on Outer Ring Road. Pallavi jī went there and found the watchman who had witnessed your accident. Anna, who thought that the watchman had seen Kirti driving, paid him to say that Anna was the hit-and-run driver."

What Raghav did was witness tampering! Mandar shook his head, thinking, Raghav believes that having money entitles him to buy his way out of any crime. He has no conscience!

"Fortunately, Pallavi jī believed in Raghav Anna's conscience," Farhad said. "She guessed that he was protecting Kirti, and she asked me to help by getting Kirti to confess. I did it, but Anna stole the recording of Kirti's confession, and turned himself in to the police along with the hit-and-run car. Then Pallavi jī realized that Kirti doesn't know how to drive. She tricked Kirti into exposing her boyfriend Sunny as the one who was driving drunk."

While Farhad was explaining to Mandar, his phone rang and he answered. Raghav's information technology team had sorted through the CCTV footage of the news agency from which the video was shared, and they had identified a few individuals who weren't regular visitors.

"Mandar, I'll have to go and see who might have leaked this video, and report to Raghav Anna. Please take good care of yourself and Pallavi jī, and tell her I'll see her at home tonight, but she can always call me if she needs anything. If I have time this afternoon to look into your questions, I'll call you and pick you up, all right?"

Mandar understood that Farhad was hinting at a visit to Dr. Janaki. "Yes, I'd like that," Mandar replied. "Farhad, thank you for everything yesterday and today. There were a lot of surprises for me, but you helped me to cope."

Nikhil and Manasi were already busy moving Mandar's belongings to their proper places by the time Mandar saw Farhad to his car and returned. Sharada came in front of Mandar, and remarked, "Farhad-śī tujhī ātā çāṅgalī maitrī zamalī āhe, ase disate." You've forged a good friendship with Farhad by now, I see. "To svabhāvāne agadī guṇī mulagā āhe, āṇi tyācyā āī-vaḍīlāṃnī suddhā tyālā barobara mārgadarśana dile asaṇāra." He's quite a virtuous boy by nature, and his parents too must have given him proper guidance. "Phakta Raghav-cī kusaṃgatī āḍa ālī, mhaṇūna Farhad çukīcī kāme karato." Only Raghav's bad company got in the way, that's why Farhad does work that is wrong. "Zoṃvara Pallavi tyācyā gharī rāhateya, toṃvara tujhī tyācyāśī bheṭa ghaḍata rāhīla, āṇi kāhī nā kāhī tujhyā zabābadāra vartanāçā tyācyāvara pariṇāma hoīla, ase malā tarī vāṭate." As long as Pallavi is staying with his family, so long you will continually meet him, and your responsible behaviour will have some effect on him; at least, I think so.

Mandar nodded. "Ho, Āī." After last night, he knew very well what effect he had on Farhad, and he could not tell Āī how Farhad had affected him. He had to leave for the shop right away; Pallavi was waiting for him.

Chapter One on page 1

Chapter Two on page 2

Chapter Three on page 2

Chapter Four on page 3

Chapter Five on page 4

Chapter Six on page 4

Chapter Seven on page 5

Chapter Eight on page 5

Chapter Nine on page 7

Chapter Ten on page 7

Chapter Eleven on page 8

Chapter Twelve on page 8

Chapter Thirteen on page 8

Chapter Fourteen on page 9

Chapter Fifteen on page 10

Chapter Sixteen on page 10

Chapter Seventeen on page 11

Chapter Eighteen on page 11

Chapter Nineteen on page 11

Chapter Twenty-One on page 11

Chapter Twenty-Two on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Three on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Four on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Five on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Six on page 13

Chapter Twenty-Seven on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Eight on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Nine on page 14

Chapter Thirty on page 14

Chapter Thirty-One on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Two on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Three on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Four on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Five on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Six on page 15

Chapter Twenty-One

At Deshmukh Saree Emporium, Raghav was standing still, unwilling to leave Pallavi's presence and unable to tell her the secret that would have changed everything between them, if there could have been anything between them.

Pallavi said, "Raghav, thank you for trying to shield me, but this video has brought out the truth, and I will have to face whatever people say about me. The reporters are gone, and Mandar is on his way with Nikhil. You should go. Goodbye, Damayanti." She knelt and kissed Damayanti's forehead.

Raghav envied Damayanti; he had been close enough to inhale Pallavi's scent many times, but never again. With Damayanti's leash in his hand, he said, "I'm going, Pallavi, but if anyone gives you trouble, you call me, artham ainadā?"

Raghav stepped out of the shop, led by Damayanti, with Luṅgīvālā Raghav following them dejectedly. He turned back, and seeing that Pallavi and Krishna were out of sight, he told Madan to go and buy him some biscuits, and call Harish and Johnny to make sure that the reporters weren't bothering Amma and Celli.

Alone with Luṅgīvālā Raghav and Damayanti, Raghav snapped, "Nēnu piccivāḍinā?" Am I crazy? "Why should I tell Pallavi that secret, now that it doesn't affect her?"

Luṅgīvālā Raghav rolled his eyes. "Damayanti said, show Pallavi that you know how it feels to be vulnerable. And your idea of vulnerability was everyone watching as a woman dared to slap Raghav Rao. That's old news. Your real vulnerable moment will be when you tell Pallavi our sexual history and face her reaction, whatever it is: disgust, horror, pity ..."

"That's my sexual history. I'm not a good boy like you." Raghav looked defiantly into the eyes of his alter ego.

Luṅgīvālā Raghav shook his head. "I have all of your experiences, Raghav Rao. I am the part of you that awakened to Pallavi, because you haven't forgotten how to be a good boy. Let her understand you."

Raghav closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temples. "No! Pallavi is already paying for what I did to her. If I tell her now, she'll think I was hiding her death sentence!"

"Are you all right, Raghav?" It was Mandar's voice.

Raghav opened his eyes and saw Mandar and Nikhil standing right next to him. Apprehension and confusion were plain on Nikhil's face, but he kept his resolve to stay out of trouble with Raghav. Mandar's face showed curiosity and concern.

Raghav realized that they had heard him talking to himself. Out of all the people in Hyderabad, it had to be these two who found out that he wasn't honest with Pallavi!

"Nikhil, tū puḍhe zā āṇi Pallavi-lā sāṅga kī mī kāhī miniṭāṃta yetoya." Nikhil, you go ahead and tell Pallavi that I'm coming in a few minutes, Mandar said, and Nikhil obeyed.

Damayanti moved to sit next to Mandar, while Raghav scowled at him.

"Mandar Deshmukh! You caught me off-guard, just like when you twisted my arm, or when I had a panic attack. That's dumb luck. Don't count on it. I am still Raghav Rao. No one wins a fight with me."

Mandar smiled. "I don't think talking to Damayanti is a sign of weakness. It's healthy." He reached down and stroked Damayanti's head.

Raghav stared at his enemy. Was Mandar being friendly?

Mandar continued, "But what were you saying? Your sexual history and a death sentence for Pallavi?"

How do I shut him up? Raghav thought furiously. I can't punch him or threaten him; Pallavi would find out. What should I say? None of your business? I was just muttering nonsense? I'm losing my mind over Pallavi?

"No matter what you say to him, he'll take this to Pallavi," Luṅgīvālā Raghav advised. "He knows you're hiding something serious from her. Promise him that you'll tell Pallavi."

"You're talking about something like HIV," Mandar guessed.

Raghav shut his eyes. He couldn't look at Mandar anymore, to see his utter humiliation reflected on Pallavi's husband's triumphant face. Mandar would tell Pallavi, and she might never speak to Raghav again.

"I don't believe it," Mandar said. "You want me to think that you have HIV, and you gave it to Pallavi. Why? You expect that I'll reject Pallavi, and then she'll come back to you."

What? Raghav's eyes flew open. He had been burning up internally with embarrassment, but what Mandar was thinking about him was even worse. Well-behaved, healthy, chaste, middle-class Mandar with his decorous arranged marriage and Marathi courtship of Pallavi! How dare he think that I would play such a trick on my Pallavi!

"It won't work," Mandar spoke firmly. "I won't listen to you; Pallavi told me what sort of relationship you had, and I believe her because she's honest. And you? You said it yourself: you are still Raghav Rao! You enjoy making women look bad, and when a woman did the same to you, you blamed Pallavi and became obsessed with her. You lied about her character to convince my Bābā to reject her; then you forced her to marry you. And now, to get me out of the way, you're lying about her health! No, Raghav, Pallavi won't pay the price for your dishonesty this time. Never again."

"Tell him you just want to take care of Pallavi!" Luṅgīvālā Raghav pleaded. "For once in your life, Raghav Rao, ask someone to understand!"

"Mandar, I told you yesterday, Pallavi cares what people think, and I won't let anyone talk bad about her. I meant that," Raghav began. "I didn't know you were listening, but since you got the wrong idea, listen. I never took a chance with Pallavi's health. I have HIV, and Pallavi doesn't know. ... I was waiting for her to want me to say I love her, and then I would tell, and we would be careful, ... but you came and took ..."

Raghav was perspiring, and breathing with difficulty by now. He knew the feeling of constriction in his chest; he was having a panic attack. Mandar held his secret; Pallavi would find out; and that would be the end for Raghav. Pallavi would remember him as a deceitful, impure lover.

Mandar helped Raghav to lie down on the hood of the car, loosened his vest, and lifted Damayanti in his arms so that Raghav could see her.

"You're under the wide sky, Raghav. Breathe in ... and out. I know you're telling the truth. Breathe in ... and out. It will be all right. Breathe in ... and out. Damayanti is right here, look! Breathe in ... and out."

Raghav was able to take a few breaths. "Mandar, now that you know ..." He couldn't finish.

"It makes no difference," Mandar reassured him. "Pallavi says you kept your distance, and I believe her. Whatever you want to say to Pallavi is your decision."

"Thanks." Raghav almost never said this word to anyone, but he said it sincerely to Mandar. He felt comforted that his enemy understood.

Mandar couldn't help smiling. "You're welcome. And thank you for telling Farhad about what happened to me at the hospital, with Dr. Janaki."

As Raghav was still lying on his back and trying to breathe, Mandar decided to keep talking to him. "Raghav, I know you're not always the Rākṣasa that you were to Pallavi and my family. You don't exploit women who give you the chance; those photos of you and that woman weren't your fault; and having HIV isn't a crime. The world is full of ordinary people living with HIV. I'm not the only person who was lying unconscious in the road and rescued by you; there was that old lady, and there was Pallavi. And you didn't send those fake police to kidnap Pallavi."

Raghav looked at Mandar with astonishment. When Pallavi had accused him of that kidnapping, even Farhad had thought that he must have been responsible. "You believe I didn't do it?"

"Nikhil says that it was his online gambling creditors. He let out the secret yesterday, after drinking the Long Island Iced Tea that you left behind in your car. You should be more responsible, Raghav!"

Ghaṭotkaca is breathing normally; I can be honest about his faults now, Mandar thought, as his fingers stroked under Damayanti's chin. "I will make sure that Nikhil tells Pallavi the truth, although one less kidnapping hardly helps your record. My little brother made mistakes, but he didn't deserve to spend a night in jail for your purpose. You did that to him, and saying you're sorry won't undo the harm."

Raghav reflected that he had never said to Nikhil that he was sorry. Nikhil avoided talking to him, and Raghav didn't care. Maybe he should have made the effort; Nikhil was important to Pallavi.

"I am sorry, Raghav," Mandar said softly.

"No one gets to feel sorry for Raghav Rao," Raghav warned, sitting up and giving Mandar a fierce look. He had felt his strength returning as Mandar was speaking to him. If Mandar, the man whom Pallavi preferred, could find the good in Raghav to weigh against his sins, and expect him to do better, then Raghav's future life wouldn't be totally empty. Raghav didn't hate Mandar, he knew that now, but if Mandar was being friendly out of pity, if Mandar's belief in him wasn't true ...

"Not because you're HIV positive," Mandar clarified, placing Damayanti on Raghav's lap. "You can live a long and healthy life even with HIV. You take antiretroviral drugs regularly, right?"

Raghav nodded. Mandar's reaction to this part of his secret gave him hope. Maybe Pallavi will forgive me, whenever I tell her, I'm HIV positive and I will always want you to love me anyway. The rest of my secret is so hideous, though! Even Amma couldn't look at me ... I can't expect anyone to understand, not Mandar and especially not my idealistic Pallavi.

Mandar resumed what he wanted to say. "I am sorry that Amruta helped Sulochana Kākū to slander you regarding that abortion. My baby sister wasn't like that a few years ago; she didn't hate anybody. The way she talked to you yesterday caught me by surprise."

Raghav laughed at that. "All little girls are sweet, and then they grow up and think that men who don't jump them must be gay."

Mandar didn't like the crude way that Raghav spoke of Amruta's interest in him, but he wondered if he would be able to "jump" Pallavi convincingly, or even lean in to kiss as he had with Farhad last night. He shouldn't think about that; he couldn't afford to be off-guard with Raghav!

"Amruta may have deserved to be exposed for falsely accusing you, but she is just a teenager," Mandar argued. "The thought of you making her face ridicule infuriates me. And Manasi was innocent - why did she have to pay the price for you to play hero to Pallavi? They're my baby sisters, and their bruises affect me more than yours; I can't help that."

"Should I worry about Amruta and Manasi, or should their own mother, that Bindī Vālā Aunty?" Raghav demanded. A thought came to him: would Pallavi have learned to love me if I had treated Mandar's sisters the same as Celli?

"I have my own Celli, meaning Kirti," Raghav said, as Damayanti licked his face.

"I know," Mandar replied. "When Kirti was accused of the hit-and-run, you confessed because you couldn't stand by and see her life ruined. If I had been here to protect Amruta and Manasi, I don't know what I would have done to you."

It occurred to Mandar that he hadn't said everything. "When Sulochana Kākū got Bābā arrested, you found a way to get him out of jail. Thank you for doing that."

"Of course, Mandar; I couldn't let the wrong person pay for the crime. It was almost the first time something went missing from Jayati Jewels." Raghav cuddled Damayanti and tried to joke about the unpleasant affair. That Sanakī Buḍḍhā had insisted on believing that Raghav had framed him; Raghav had felt helpless to win him over for Pallavi.

"Almost the first time?" Mandar was intrigued by Raghav's choice of words.

"It happened once before, but not really. I was walking around a Jayati Jewels showroom, and I bumped into a woman who was hurrying out, covering her face with the end of her saree."

"That's suspicious behaviour," Mandar remarked. Who would dare to shoplift from Raghav's showroom?

"The head of security had heard a saleswoman shouting that this woman had lifted a necklace in her saree. He deployed the security cage. It came down around me and the woman, just as she lost her balance and I caught her. I was looking into her terrified eyes."

"Did she recognize you?" Mandar asked, thinking, if this woman had heard of Raghav Rao's destructive nature, she would have thought her life was over.

"That was what her eyes were telling me. She knew me, and if I kept looking into her reflective green eyes, I would see myself for real. I didn't have enough time, though. She stood upright and I let her out of my arms. She turned her back to me, and said that she hadn't stolen the necklace, it was stuck on her saree just behind her shoulder, where she couldn't reach it. I had to take it off for her."

"So, she was innocent, but caught in the cage with you," Mandar said. "She must have felt totally unprepared for what was happening to her."

"She was moving around, grasping the bars of the cage, as if she could get it to open and she would escape from me. And I just stood there until the manager let us out, thinking how wrong it was that she was afraid of me. I was sure that she was honest. I wasn't going to let anyone blame her. When she was finally free, I think I felt as relieved as she did."

"Raghav, you are talking as if this woman was important to you. Wasn't she a stranger?"

"I thought I might never meet this mysterious woman again, but our lives were linked. That same day, I met Pallavi in the evening, and she was still wearing that same saree. Pallavi had catered dinner for my guests and me to earn some extra money. I recognized her large green eyes right away."

These were Raghav's feelings for Pallavi! Mandar thought of how it felt to look into Farhad's eyes; Raghav was speaking as if Pallavi had affected him equally deeply. Then Mandar remembered what Farhad had told him: Raghav had passed out after eating food prepared by Pallavi. "Was that the food that you thought Pallavi had drugged? After that dinner, you began tormenting Pallavi to drive her out of business and force her to leave Hyderabad, right?"

Raghav sighed. "It took me a whole day to misunderstand her. And in those hours of clarity, I felt like my younger self, before I had to watch out for people trying to use me. Pallavi's disrespect for my power didn't matter anymore. I let go of my need to dominate her. When I took Pallavi at her word, when I watched her as she talked to my guests and moved about the room, when I savoured the food that she had cooked, and the next morning, when I answered her Marathi insults with my Telugu charm, so that we made nonsense together ... all of that made it seem possible that we would be friends."

Could Raghav sincerely love Pallavi? Mandar wondered. Farhad said so this morning. But Farhad was worried that Raghav would plan a trick against me. Abusive husbands can be very eloquent to prove how deeply they care for their wives. Raghav may act like he loves Pallavi, but his obsession could turn dangerous again.

Raghav was watching Mandar's face intently. It was incredible, but real; he was sharing the story of his love with Pallavi's husband, as if they were friends. Of course, they were enemies; Raghav wished that Mandar hadn't come in his way, and Mandar hated Raghav's cruelty to Pallavi and his family, but they couldn't deny what they owed to each other.

"Farhad told me that Pallavi was in police custody once, and you got her out. Who got her in trouble that time?" Mandar asked.

"It was Ved Pillai, my former business partner," Raghav answered, and Mandar's skin crawled, hearing that name. "Do you remember Ved? He recognized you when I was lifting you into my car after the hit-and-run. A few weeks ago, on the Vaṭa-Sāvitrī day, Ved told me that the man he thought I had hit with my car was Pallavi's first husband."

"Ved was my classmate in college," Mandar said, hoping that Raghav could not see apprehension on his face. Mandar was thinking, Farhad said that Ved is out of prison again. Ved didn't leave Pallavi alone. At any time, he could tell her, or Raghav, or all of Hyderabad why he called me to meet him that night.

"Ved must have been following me that night," Raghav mused, and Mandar felt slightly relieved that Raghav didn't suspect the truth. "Ved had escaped from prison, and he was caught, but four months ago, when he was released, he called himself Lion and sent death threats to me. He caused an accident of the taxi that Pallavi was supposed to take, and the taxi driver was seriously hurt. Ved told Pallavi that he was Krishna's cousin Abhijit, and he came to work at the shop with her. Ved parked a car full of gunpowder in front of my house, and he registered it in Pallavi's name; that's why she was arrested. I claimed responsibility for the fake registration, and told the police to let Pallavi go."

Ved is a killer! Mandar, who had just recovered his memory of calling the police to arrest Ved for blackmail and extortion, did not know how he would face Ved the escaped prisoner, Ved who smuggled drugs, Ved who had tried to murder Pallavi and Raghav.

"I was almost too late to figure out that Lion was Ved and in disguise as Abhijit," Raghav said. "He was holding a gun to Pallavi's head, but she and I together managed to overpower him and get him arrested. I thought Ved would spend the rest of his life in prison, but he must have a judge in his pocket, because he was released for good behaviour already. I know he'll come after me, and I have security, but he could go after Pallavi or any of you. Who knows? He could even be responsible for this video being leaked."

As Mandar tried to absorb what Raghav was telling him, Raghav's phone rang. It was Kirti.

"Raghav, I talked to Akshay. We remembered that while he was clipping the CCTV footage for me two days ago, a furniture vendor came to the door to deliver the new couch that Akshay had bought. The vendor overheard me saying, Raghav wants this footage destroyed, so I want it preserved. Yesterday morning, Akshay called the vendor to demand that he take back the couch because it was damaged and painted over, obviously not new. The vendor agreed right away, and Akshay thinks that when the vendor came to pick up the couch, he deliberately distracted Akshay so that his assistant could copy the video from Akshay's computer."

Raghav asked Kirti to tell him the furniture vendor's name, and Mandar saw his expression changing from curiosity to contempt.

Chapter One on page 1

Chapter Two on page 2

Chapter Three on page 2

Chapter Four on page 3

Chapter Five on page 4

Chapter Six on page 4

Chapter Seven on page 5

Chapter Eight on page 5

Chapter Nine on page 7

Chapter Ten on page 7

Chapter Eleven on page 8

Chapter Twelve on page 8

Chapter Thirteen on page 8

Chapter Fourteen on page 9

Chapter Fifteen on page 10

Chapter Sixteen on page 10

Chapter Seventeen on page 11

Chapter Eighteen on page 11

Chapter Nineteen on page 11

Chapter Twenty on page 11

Chapter Twenty-Two on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Three on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Four on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Five on page 12

Chapter Twenty-Six on page 13

Chapter Twenty-Seven on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Eight on page 14

Chapter Twenty-Nine on page 14

Chapter Thirty on page 14

Chapter Thirty-One on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Two on page 14

Chapter Thirty-Three on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Four on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Five on page 15

Chapter Thirty-Six on page 15

I appreciate every one of my readers for what they express spontaneously for this story. For example, someone who has never reacted or commented here nominated this story for the Readers' Choice Awards; that was really gratifying for me, and totally unexpected.

Since I like to know what you think without any prompting or pushing by me, I avoid tagging readers unless they show sustained interest in the story by commenting or reacting, and I usually don't create a post just to tag more than the first five people. However, I realized that people who have no reason to check the forum may still be interested in this story.

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Reactions/Likes are always welcome, comments are better, and the best comments are those that discuss the details of the story. Only if you feel like telling me, of course.

Is Raghav's character growth since Chapter One what you would like to see? Are Mandar's mixed feelings about Raghav believable? Do the Pallavi-Raghav scenes feel authentic? Have I resolved loose ends and misunderstandings from the show in a way that satisfies you, and what other issues should I address? When I drop hints, are you able to guess what is coming next?

I haven't found any other story on India Forums with an HIV positive character. How do you feel about my choice to reveal one in Chapter Twenty-One? What are your thoughts about the character's past and future now?