The morning had a fresh feel . Sunlight was piercing through the large glass pane windows of RR Mansion , straight into Raghav Rao's bedroom disturbing his sleep.
He shifted a little to avoid the rays but while moving he heard some noises down the stairs . He tried to cover his ears with pillow but couldn't stop the noises adding much to his annoyance . He woke up , strode out of his bedroom and stood near the staircase to watch all the servants of the house going along the length of the hall following some instructions . They were receiving orders from their 'vahini' , as she likes to be called so, as much as she hears it from Farhad.

The hall was beautifully decorated and the arrangements were made to suit for a proper 'hawan' . He saw her in red kanjeevaram pattu saree and couldn't take his eyes off her . She was looking heavenly beautiful .

While he was lost in her thoughts , a finger snapped in front of his eyes and he came back to senses. He turned his gaze only to find her standing in front of him . He rubbed his eyes to confirm that she is actually present and he wasn't hallucinating . She smiled at his antics and said, " Good morning Raghav ! Janab itni jaldi uth gaye , kya baat hein ?"
He absent-mindedly answered looking at her , " tum sone kahan deti ho ..... Na raat ko na subah ...." to which he earned a playful slap on his cheek from her , " Hey deva , Raghav , kya bol rahe ho ?"

He grabbed her waist pulled towards him saying , " kya mein ne kuch galat kaha hein ?" And winked to which she slightly blushed and nudged him off saying , " kuch toh sharam karo , ghar mein sab log hein , aaj puja hein , kya bake jaa rahe ho ...."
He said , " kisi ne sach hi kaha hein , sach bolo to problem na bolo toh bhi problem " and shrugged his shoulders in disbelief.

She said , " dekho ! Jaldi jao aur tayar ho jao , hume mandir jaana hein aur fir mujhe aai baba ke ghar bhi ..... Fir ghar wapis aake puja bhi toh karna hein hum donon ko aur ....." Reminding him of all the schedules lined up for the day . He was cutely watching her when she stopped and asked , " kya ?" He replied , " tumhe patah hein tum jab pareshan hokar baat karti ho toh bohot cute lagti ho " and planted a small kiss on her cheek . She blushed and said , " patah hein mujhe ..... mein hu hi itni achhi , ab kya karun ? " He said , " achha aisa kya ? " And pulled her to him . She tried to escape but who can come out of the den when the lion is Raghav Rao .
His presence and their closeness always makes her weak . She has to be bit strong to win over her weakness . No physical strength can win over him , she thought .

She inched near his ears and said , " tumse hi seekha hein mein ne , ab chodo , please " and slowly kissed his ear lobe . When he was about to move little closer to her , a servant called his vahini and she shouted , " haa aa rahi hun .... " Near his ears making him instantly move away form her . He started rubbing his ears due to her loud voice . She instantly run out of his hold and said , " jaldi aao , der nahi karna , please Rao!" . He smiled at her and said , " tumhe mein baad mein dekh lunga , aata hun. "

After an hour he dressed up and reached the main hall where she was waiting for him. He said , "chalein ?" And she replied , " Han.... Par yaad rahe koi tamasha nai raste mein .... Varna utar jaungi car se ..." . She always hated that he ends up in a brawl when they are travelling together. She always prefers to go with him only with a driver but today everyone was at work and she had no option than to go with him.

"Haan , haan , patah hein mujhe ... Ab chalo "he answered . He liked her warnings . She sounds like his Amma. He never liked when someone tries to dominate him but when it is his wife he can't just stop admiring her in that avtaar . He wonders how he had let her do that to him and how he absolutely loves it . He drove the car in silence .

They reached temple and went inside . The only thing that irked him was to pray to god . He used to like it when he was young but after the mishap in his life and his fear has made him indifferent towards God and temples . Even today he only visits temple because of his wife , that lady which made him step into temple saying ," shukriya toh kehna padega na unko ki unhone tumhe pariwaar diya hein , maa diya hein .... Kuch logon ko toh woh bhi naseeb nai hota ...." He hated it when she uses such things to convince him . Nevertheless, he goes there only to watch her pray infront of that carved stone. He loves her aesthetic look when she prays with full devotion . He says to that idol , "The only thing which you did right with me was bringing her into my life "

They were about to sit in the car , only then Raghav's phone started ringing . It was Farhad. He picked up , " ha bol Farhad . Achha aisa kya .... Okay .... Tu ek kaam kar yahan mandir aaja aur apne vahini ko mere sasural chodd de .... Mein seedha location chale jaunga .... " She asked , " kya hua ?" And he told her that there was some problem and a client was expecting him to be there at the work place . She said ," arey koi baat nai . Farhad ko kyun pareshaan karna , mein khud chali jaungi rickshaw se aai ke ghar .... " To which he instantly saidn, " nai !! Bilkul nai !!! Tum kahin par bhi akele nai jaana .... Vo aa raha hein na .... Tumhe kya problem hein aur ha tumhe dusre ke pareshani dikhti hein siwai mere ...."

She asked confused , " ab tumhe kya pareshani hein ?" And he spoke, " ab meri biwi akele rickshaw mein jaye itni dhoop mein toh hogi na pareshani ..... Aur tumhara kya bharosa ki tum teekh se jaogi .... Har baar jab bhi tumne akele jaane ki zidd ki hein , kuch na kuch hua hein . Kabhi gaadi kharab hona , kabhi gunde pakad ke jaana , kabhi ladai , kabhi toh road pe bawal macha diya tha .... Phir Swamy ko itna khilana pada taaki koi case na kare ..... Pareshaani hi pareshani hein tumse..... ek toh itna sajh dhaj ke ayi ho , upar se itni khoobsurat bhi lag rahi ho .... Tumhara pata nai lekin logon par vishwaas nai hein mera ..... Ek aur baat Raghav Rao ko kisi bhi cheez ki kami nai hein aur uski biwi rickshaw mein nai jayegi ..... Bas baat khatam , aur koi behes nai .... Ardam ainda ?"

She was dumbfound by his revelations . How did he manage to speak at such a length when he was man of few words only . She felt a little surprised by his confession about his care towards her and the way he notices her .

She snapped back , " dekho ! Unn sab situations mein , meri kya galti thi , vo hogaya .... Aur ye kya baat hui .... Swamy ko kyun khilaya .... Galti toh uss behuda insaan ki thi jo usne hamari gaadi thoki thi aur bohot akad dikha raha tha .... Isi liye mein ne usko vahi par aukat dikhayi ......."

He spoke , " gussa nakko re biwi , uss dinn tujhe Raghav Rao ki biwi ke avtaar mein dekh ke na bohot khush hua tha mein .... Aur kya headlight toda tha tune uska ... Achha laga .... Par road pe bawaal toh macha tha na .... Ye toh achha hua Swamy aa gaya time pe nai toh...." She retorted angrily , " nai toh kya ... Han ?" He spoke, " kuch nai ... Chodo vo sab ...... Kab tak aogi ghar wapis ...." Trying to cool her down .

She smiled a little at his last line . He never leaves an opportunity to tease her . She spoke , " pooja ke time tak aungi aur ha aaj tumhari koi meeting ka bahana nai chalega .... Amma and Kirti bhi aa rahi hein aur kuch important guests bhi . Hamein saath mein karni hein puja . Isi liye time pe aana " instructed him .

Just then Farhad comes and RR says without pallavi actually listening to them ," Farhad tum apne vahini ke saath hi rehna kyunki mujhe koi bharosa nai hein unn logon par aur kuch bhi hua toh mujhe call kar .... Pichle tarah se mujhe kuch bhi deri nai chahiye .... Ardam ainda ?" To which Farhad said , " Ji Anna ! Mere hote hue vahini ko kuch hone nai dunga " and left with pallavi .

RR leaves the temple for the site . He meets the client there and gets busy in his work.

Here , pallavi reaches her Aai baba's house . Her Aai is elated to recieve her and she hugs her tightly . She says , " pallu , bohot khoobsurat lag rahi hein iss kanjeevaram mein aur laal rang toh bohot suit kar raha hein tumpe . Vaise tumhe itna achha kanjeevaram saree ka khareed " Pallavi feels happy and instantly replies , " arey aai ye toh Raghav ne zidd karke dilwaya tha mere bohot mana karne par bhi . Laal rang mein achha lagta hein tu bolke dilwaya . Itne dinon se andar pada tha toh aaj ke pooja ke liye pehen liya......"

Sharada noticed the spark in her eyes when she spoke of Raghav. Even though she didn't accept their marriage at the beginning , Raghav's extreme care towards pallavi has made her think twice on not accepting them as couple . She was changing her views about him as it was evident from her Pallu's happiness and glow on face . It was only 6 months of their marriage and she has drastically changed in her behaviour , actions and reactions . She noticed that pallavi was actually LIVING HER LIFE and the reason was Raghav Rao!!
Nevertheless the fact remained the same - her baba not accepting her not even them as a couple . All these 3 months she used to come he ill-treated her but she never lost hope . Though she wondered why he insisted her to call pallavi home so that he has something important to speak but was happy that her husband had a change of mind because of pallavi's untiring efforts .

She said ," achha !!! Toh ye baat hein .... Vaise kya hein tere haat mein ?"
Pallavi : " Aai, mein aur Raghav mandir gaye theiy , vahin se aa rahi hun , ye Prasad hein ..... Vaise baba kahan hein ? Nai dikhre ? Dukaan ko gaye kya ?"
Sharada : " arey kisi kaam se bahar gaye hein , kuch bataya nai hein unhone . La de mujhe prasad , mein dedungi sab ko aur baith yahan pe ."
Pallavi : " vaise toh mein aap dono se milne aayi hun pooja ke liye bulane par baba ne muje kisi zaroori baat ke liye bulaya tha na , kya hein voh?"
Sharada : " patah nai pallu , mujhe unhone kuch nai bola tha "

They have a conversation for a while when MR. Vijay Deshmukh enters the house holding some papers in hand ........

Looking at him entering the house , pallavi runs to him and takes his blessing by touching his feet . He doesn't react and stands there still without any emotions in his eyes .

Pallavi : " kaise ho baba ? Aapne mujhe bulaya tha na .... Mein toh itna khush hogayi thi .... Ab ne mujhe finally maaf kiya hein .... "

He doesn't respond

Pallavi tensing up her face asked , " .....maaf kiya hein na baba ...... ?" Lowering her voice .

He didn't even care to respond .

Pallavi : " Aai , bolo na baba se mujhse baat karein ..... Kya hua hein inhe ...."

Sharada saw the emotionless vijay and was confused by his actions . He asker her to call pallavi home so that he can speak but now he doesn't answer her ? What is wrong with him .....

Pallavi : " Aai ????" Speaks snapping her out of her thoughts

Sharada : " han pallu ! " And she walks toward he husband and says, " aap hi ne toh bulwaya hein na usse , bol kyun nai rahe ho ......?"

Vijay : " sab log yahan aao ....." He shouted so that everyone gathers in the hall

Sulochana , Milind , mansi , amrita , nikhil everyone come out of their rooms hearing him ....... They are all standing in the middle of the hall where pallavi was present . They were all shocked to see that vijay was at his peak mode of anger . The way she shouted scared everyone and even pallavi flinched a little making her shiver .

A little later , a set of ladies enter the house and stand behind vijay .

Sharada was also shocked to see his anger and the ladies behind him. The sight only made her think of the worse .

Their family advocate also arrived with some documents .

Sharada : " Ji ! Ye sab kya hein aur ye log kaun hein aur gaikwad kya kar raha hein hamare ghar mein... Kya hua hein ? "

Vijay : " batata hun Sharada ..... Sabar karo "

He opened the papers he was holding in his hands and showed it to her . She took the papers from his hand and was shocked to see them . Instantly the papers fell off her hands . Milind went near and took up the papers only to be shocked .

Milind : " bhau ! Ye kya hein ? "

Neither pallavi nor rest of the family members had an idea what was going on .

Vijay :" padho Milind uss mein kya hein aur sab ko sunao ..."

Milind hesitantly looked at his vahini and she just rolled her tears down seemingly helpless as he was .

Vijay : " padho Milind " angrily spoke

Milind : " it is hear by informed that Deshmukh's need to vacate the house within a period of one month and give it away to the real owner of the house , Pallavi Deshmukh . If the order is being denied , a legal procedure will be started against them and charges of trespassing will be made against them . The claim is willed according to the statement of MR. Mandaar Deshmukh in full consciousness"

The statement shook the whole family along with pallavi . She was beyond shocked and froze to her place . She couldn't fathom what she just heard .

Vijay : " dekha tumne Sharada ,Ye hein iski asli sachhai ..... Humein beizzat karke isko chain nai aya ki ab hume beghar bhi kar rahi hein ....... Dekho iski asli rang .... Mere lakh mana karne ke baad bhi vo uss Raghav se milti thi , usse shaadi karke humein beizzat karke , humara bharosa todh diya . Dukaan ke saath ched chad kiya , business kharaab kiya , ab jab inn sab cheezon se mann nai bhara tha iska jo ab humari ghar bhi cheen rahi hein ..... Kya tumhe ab bhi lagta hein ki iski koi galti nai hein .... Bolo Sharada bolo..... "

Sharada was dumbfound by his accusations . She now understood why he asked her to call pallavi to visit him . She understood his plan but rather than that she was shocked listening to the legal notice . After 3 years of mandaar's death , how did it all appear suddenly now ?

Sulochana : " wah ! Pallavi wah ! Kya khel khela hein . Pehle uss Raghav ko pataya , uski ghar ki malkin bani aur ab inn sab se chain nai mila toh ab ye ghar bhi Cheen na chahti ho humse ..... Isse zyada aur kitna girogi tum ...."

Manasi : " ye kya hein pallavi ... Mein ne ye sab nai socha tha , tum aise kaise kar sakti ho .....han?"

Amrita : " meri sachhai saamne ayi toh itna sunaya tha .... Tu toh mujhse se bhi chalaak nikli re.... Mujhe lecture suna ti thi na ab kya .... Kya bolegi han ?"

Farhad enters listening to all the noises from the house. He was shocked to here all their accusations and his vahini standing still shocked .

Nikhil came forward and shook pallavi and spoke , " didi ..... Keh do ye sab jhoot hein ..... Keh do ..... Ye kya kar rahi ho tum .... Didi ... Didi...."

Pallavi came back to her senses and tears start rolling down her eyes ..... She slowly walked towards her baba and spoke , " baba , ye sab ..... Ye .......Mujhe .... Ye sab nai pata hein baba ..... Mein ne ye nai karwaya hein .... Aur mein kyun aap ko ghar se nikaalungi .... Kya aapke pallavi par apko bharosa nahi hein .... Boliye na baba.... Boliye " She asked him shaking his arms a little .

"Nahi hein ! Kab ka khatam ho chuka hein mera bharosa " he said loudly pushing her towards other side .

Pallavi was about to fall behind but Farhad held his vahini and made her stand . He was so angry on vijay that for the first time he rose his voice and spoke , " eeeeeyyyyy...... Kya re .... Kya tamasha kar raha hein ..... Mere Vahini ko dhakka dene ki himmat kaise hui ..... Itne dinon tak Vahini ke kehne se chup tha .... Jo ab ho raha hein vo teekh nai hein .... "

Everyone was shocked to hear Farhad speak to vijay like that . Even Pallavi was shocked to hear him . She never expected him to loose his temper even when his Anna scolded or blamed him . She knew he was little attached to her and always respected him like a motherly figure from the day one . But he never back answered his Anna or anyone for that matter . She decided to quiet him and spoke , " Farhad ! Nai ! " by showing her hand ✋ to stop and he instantly moved back .

Vijay : " wah ! Pallavi wah ! Ab doosre jaat ke log se mujhe sunane ka plan banaya hein tumne .... Bohot achhe ...."

Farhad was hurt and Pallavi's anger shot up in her eyes . She was equally hurt of how her baba was speaking .

Farhad : " mujhe kuch bhi keh .... Seh lunga .... Vahini ko kuch nai kehna ka ...."

She knew where this was heading to and she has to speak up

Pallavi : " Farhad ! Tum bahar jaao ...." Spoke with heavy heart as much as she disliked speaking to him like that .....

Farhad : " ..... Par vahini ......"

Pallavi : " .... Farhad .... Tum jao ... Tumhe meri kasam hein ...."

That's it ! Farhad stormed out of the house without any word with lots of anger spurting out of his eyes which gazed every member of the family as if he would burn them down with his anger in eyes .

Just when pallavi was about to speak

Vijay : " ..... Tum kuch bat bolo ..... Mein kuch nai sunna chahta hun ..... Tum saap niklo gi ye nai pata tha mujhe ..... Patah nai kaunsa paap kiye theiy mein ne ki mujhe tujh jaise manhoos se apne bete ki shaadi karwani ke sochi .... Poora samaaj bola phir bhi nai maana tha mein ne .... Par ye sab ..... Akhir kaar tumhe jo chahiye tumne kar dikhaya ...."

Pallavi was shocked to hear this from him. Tears were rolling down incessantly.

Sharada : " ye kya bol rahe ho aap ....? Patah bhi hein kya bol rahe ho ...??? " Spoke angrily in between her sobs .

Vijay : " aur kya bolun mein ..... Ek Anaath ko yahan laya ..... Bete se shaadi karwaya ..... Zindagi sawari aur usne .... Usne kya kiya .... Mere hi bete se zayidaad likhwayi ..... Ghar apne naam kiya .... Bete Ko maar diya aur ab hamein Anaath karne ki koshish kar rahi hein ..... Mujhe toh dar hein kahin isi ne mandaar ka accident toh nai karwaya ...."

Everyone were stumped by his last words

Pallavi shouted , " Baba.....! " Shocking everyone

She was crying badly and taking up every accusation but the accusation of killing someone that too her own husband was beyond her limit of patience .

Pallavi : " ye aap kya bol rahe ho ? "

Vijay : " aur kya kahun ... Tu ek Anaath thi , hein aur ab hamein bhi Anaath karne ki koshish kar rahi hein ..... Hein kaun tera han ? "

"Vo meri hein !!!"

A voice roared in the Deshmukh house scaring the hell out of everyone !!

************* To be continued **********

Note : sabr ka phal meetha hota hein

Thank you guys for waiting so long . Sorry !!

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Writer_Ak signing off ☺️❤️