The first thing Shiva did when he came home was shout at Dev. Why was he leading the girl on? Why did he need to take her to lunch? Dev had acted all innocent and told him it was just lunch. He didn't understand that it wasn't "just lunch" for Raavi. For her, it had been a date and they were more than friends. Shiva didn't sleep that night. He was too angry. His maami ki behen ki beti didn't leave one chance to infuriate him.

The next day, he woke up early. Gaumbi had decided to handle the store so Shiva had the whole day to himself. He decided not to think of his maami ki behen ki beti and just relax. She had literally occupied all the space in his mind and he was sure she did some black magic on him. Otherwise why would he keep thinking about her 24/7? He took a quick shower and went to the dining room for his breakfast.

Shiva sat down for breakfast with just Dhara and Krish. Dev had gone out with friends and Gaumbi had already left for a meeting with a vendor. He was just about to dig into his food when Jamna kaki came to their house. She asked for some dahi. Dhara asked her if she would like to have some breakfast with them and Jamna kaki sat down with them to eat. Shiva rolled his eyes. Jamna kaki kept staring at Shiva. She was about to say something to him, but then she turned towards Dhara instead.

"Dhara, apne devar ki shaadi karane ka time ho gaya hai." Jamna kaki said.

Dhara looked surprised for a second. "Haa Dev ki shaadi ka hum log soch rahe hai. Gaumbi aur main kal hi baat kar rahe the. Raavi ke exams ke baad hum uske ghar rishta leke jayenge."

Shiva felt his heart stop. What was Dhara bhabhi talking about? Were they really planning to get that chipkali married to Dev? Shiva looked at Dhara to see if she was serious and she looked damn serious. Jamna kaki, on the other hand, just looked confused. She looked at both, Shiva and Dhara. Just yesterday she saw them coming out of the store room together. Raavi's hair was disheveled and her kurti was all creased.

"Raavi aur Dev?" Jamna kaki asked.

"Haa. Bachpan se dono ek dusre ko jaante hai. Aur humari Raavi toh bol chuki hai ki woh humare parivaar ki bahu banegi. Dev se pyaar karti hai woh."

Shiva's hands clutched into fists. He was almost mad at Dhara for saying this. Raavi didn't love Dev. She couldn't. She doesn't belong to Dev. Shiva suddenly lost his appetite. He got up from the dining table and walked away. Shiva walked into the store room and punched one of the cabinets. It fell down with a thud but blood started oozing out of his hand. He didn't care the least. How dare his family get Raavi married to Dev? She was maami ki behen ki beti. More than that, she wasn't Dev's. He started pacing around the storeroom and started punching things with his already wounded hand.

Raavi could never marry Dev. He would do whatever he had to do to stop their wedding. But why would they take this decision without speaking to him first? He was the authority when it came to Raavi. Did Dev also love this chipkali? Were they together right now? Shiva felt his fists tightened when he thought of them together. She would be clinging on to his brother if they were together and he couldn't bear that image in his mind.

Without thinking any further, Shiva got on his bike and went to Raavi's house.    

***

Raavi had just come out of the bathroom and was drying her hair with her towel when Shiva burst into her room. She almost screamed when she heard the door opening so loudly. Shiva didn't waste a second to grab her and pin her against the wall. His eyes were very clearly showing the intense anger that he was feeling. Raavi was confused. This time she didn't do anything. Then she noticed his hand and gasped.

"Shiva, khoon!" She exclaimed. "Bohot khoon beh raha hai tere haath se.

Raavi held his hand and checked his wound. He hasn't even bandaged it. The sight of blood made her queasy but right now she needed to bandage his wound. She looked at him again. Some of his anger had disappeared and he was just simple staring at her. Raavi made him sit on her bed and got a first aid box from the cupboard. She cleaned his wound and applied a bandage on it.

"Chot kaise lagi tujhe? Kisi se ladai karke aaya hai kya?" She asked.

"Tujhse matlab?"

"Tu yaha mujhe bandage badhwane aaya tha?"

Shiva rolled his eyes and stood up. He tried leaving but Raavi stopped him. He had been behaving very strange since the past few days and she wanted to know what his problems were. Shiva turned and took a step closer to her. She suddenly felt conscious of how close they were standing. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and Raavi closed her eyes. His finger caressed her cheek but someone barged into the room, ruining their moment.

"Shiva, tu meri beti ke kamre mein kya kar raha hai?" Maami asked. "Nikal yaha se."

"Ohho Maasi, aapko kya problem hai?"

Prafulla looked at Raavi and gasped. "Tu iske saamne aise kapdo mein ghum rahi hai?"

Raavi looked at herself in the mirror. She was just wearing a bathrobe. "Kya kapde? Bathrobe kehte hai ise maasi."

"Ae mera bhogilal, iss ladki ko akkal do!" Prafulla prayed. "Aur tu, jaa yaha se. Meri bachhi ke kamre mein aise kaise ghus aaya?"

Shiva went back to his angry mode. He strode towards Prafulla angrily and she ran down in fear. Raavi chuckled. But Shiva turned around and glared at her. Raavi's feet automatically took a step back.

"Aakhri baar tujhe kehne aaya hu. Dev ka picha chorr de. Bachpane karne ka time chala gaya." Shiva said, and left.

Raavi stood there wondering what was wrong with him. She loved Dev. Where was the bachpana there? She had always loved Dev and she would never leave him. Why did Shiva have to be so stubborn? Shiva had to accept her after their marriage. She was equally stubborn. She would go to Dhara di and speak of their marriage soon. If Dhara do agreed, Shiva won't be a problem. He would never go against his Dhara bhabhi.