"Raavi tera dimaag kharab hai? Tu uske liye suicide karne gayi thi? Uss insaan ke liye jisne tujhe mandap pe chodke kisi aur ka haath thaam liya?" Sanjana shouted at her.

"Sanjana main uss waqt... main tujhe samjha nahi sakti main kya feel kar rahi thi." Raavi said. "Jis insaan se saari zindagi pyaar kiya usne end moment mein mujhe dhokha de diya. Aur kismat dekh, jis insaan se nafrat ki, usse shaadi ho gayi!"

Sanjana sighed. "Waise toh jis tarah se teri aur Shiva ki shaadi hui woh bhi thik nahi tha Raavi par jab ho gayi hai toh tujhe Dev ko bhul jana chahiye."

"Kaise bhul jau? Hum ek hi ghar mein rehte hai. Subah shaam use dekhti rehti hu toh kaise bhul jau? Galat mat samajh, ab pehle wali feelings nahi hai uske liye. Par sharm aati hai yeh sochke ki usne mujhe sabke saamne reject kiya tha aur gussa aata hai bohot. Rishita se jalan bhi hoti hai. Uske paas woh sab kuch hai jo mujhe chahiye tha."

Sanjana hugged Raavi and she wept in her arms. She had been crying a lot these days, but crying in front of her best friend was carthatic, and she knew for once that Sanjana would be able to understand her. She had seen her love for Dev right from their childhood. Raavi told Sanjana all about her plan of marrying Dev. They had spent sleepovers discussing where Raavi would go for her honeymoon, how Dev would take her out every weekend, how many kids they would have, the names of those kids. Sanjana was a patient listener and Raavi loved to talk. That way, their friendship was perfect.

"Dekh Raavi, jo hota hai achhe ke liye hota hai. Tum dono ki shaadi ho bhi gayi hoti toh Dev dil se tujhe kabhi accept nahi kar pata." Sanjana said and Raavi nodded. "Achha yeh bata Shiva ka kya reaction hai iss shaadi ko leke?"

"Pata nahi. Usne ab tak koi reaction hi nahi diya Sanjana. Usne shaadi ke dusre hi din hi keh diya tha ki iss rishte mein main jo chahungi woh hoga." Raavi shrugged.

Sanjana was shocked. "Toh usne tujhse koi jhagra nahi kiya?" Raavi shook her head. "Arrey mujhe toh laga bed ki side aur cupboard ka hissa lene ki ladai karte karte tum dono ne ek dusre ka khoon kar diya hoga."

Raavi didn't reply to that. She didn't want to tell Sanjana that Shiva and her hadn't been sleeping together. Nor had she unpacked her bags properly. He hardly ever saw her face, then how would they fight? Sanjana stopped talking for a while, and Raavi followed her gaze. It was stuck on her unpacked suitcase. Raavi blushed.

"Raavi, pehle tu apna suitcase unpack kar. Phir iss kamre ka kuch kar. I know yeh storeroom hai, but thoda sa toh saja sakti hai. Kuch photo ya painting laga. Kuch toh kar! Trust me, tujhe khud achha lagega jab tu iss kamre ko khud ka kamra banayegi." Sanjana said.

"Ek chudail ke saath dusri chudail free?" Shiva asked as he came into the room and spotted Sanjana with Raavi.

"Raavi ke bhootnath, tune mujhe chodke iss chipkali se shaadi kar li?" Sanjana asked.

Shiva smiled. "Tune late kar di second chudail. Isne mauke pe chauka maara aur kar li shaadi."

"Ab mera kya hoga?" Sanjana made a sad face. "Chal koi nahi, main teri aadhi gharwali hi sahi."

"Puri gharwali bhi chudail aur aadhi gharwali bhi chudail. Kaunse kue mein jaake kudu?" Shiva asked.

"Bakwaas mat kar gadhera. Tujhe Somnath ki sabse beautiful ladki mili hai!" Sanjana laughed. "Aur main as saali. Teri life ban gayi Raavi ke bhootnath."

"Itni bakwaas karne ke kitne paise leti hai tu?" Shiva asked.

"Pure Rs.10,000 tujhse wasoolungi. Jooti toh chori kar nahi payi par paise pure lungi." Sanjana said. "Aaj bas thodi jaldi hai. Next time bina liye nahi jaungi. Bye Raavi. Aur tum dono ko bohot saari badhaaiyaan. I wish you both a very happy married life!"

Sanjana left quickly as she had to give her dad his medicine. Raavi stared at Shiva in surprise. She couldn't believe how normally he behaved with Sanjana. She always thought he was a bit of an anti-social but he turned out to be better at handling such situations. If it had been Shiva's friend talking to her, she wouldn't behave so normally with him. Shiva went to his cupboard and pulled out a different vest for the night.

Raavi was seriously considering Sanjana's advice of making this room hers. She looked around. It really needed a pop of colour. Maybe she could ask Dhara di for some of Shiva's photos and maybe she could put up some of her own photos on the walls. She was sure their wedding photos were terrible. How could they not be? She had been crying, and he had been angry. They did have some old pictures together, but Shiva looked angry in all of them. She had to search for a good one.

"Tu aise uss deewar ko kyu ghoore jaa rahi hai?" Shiva asked, a bit worried about her mental health.

"Main soch rahi hu uss deewar pe hum apne photos lagayenge. Thik hai na?" Raavi asked.

"Teri marzi." Shiva said.

"Aur tu apne kapre thik se side mein rakh. Main kal subah apne kapde bhi almari mein daalungi."

That was it! He had heard Dev complain how Rishita had taken over his entire cupboard and he didn't want the chipkali to do the same. He had seen her luggage. All her belongings would take three such cupboards to fit in. "Bilkul nahi. Mera jitna hai jo hai wahi pe rahega. Tu apna saman suitcase mein hi rakh."

"No Shiva, no way! Iss cupboard mein mera bhi haq hai." Raavi said.

"Exactly! Tera 'bhi' haq hai. Iska matlab mera bhi haq hai." Shiva said. "Tu chahe toh aadha le but mera saman jaisa hai waisa rahega."

"Achha thik hai. Tere kapde wahi rahenge. Main apna half mein arrange kar lungi kisi tarah." Raavi said. "Tu ek cupboard ke maamle mein itna kanjoos niklega maine socha nahi tha."

"Ae maami ki behen ki beti, tujhe humare rishte ko leke jo karna hai kar, iss kamre ko leke jo karna hai kar, bas iss cupboard ka aadha hissa mere liye chod de."

"Okay fine!" Raavi was surprised he'd make such a huge deal about his cupboard.

Shiva went out to change. Raavi took off all her jewellery one by one. Once Shiva was done changing, she went to the bathroom and changed into her night clothes. When she came into the room, she found Shiva keeping his clothes back in the cupboard. He was obsessed with this cupboard, Raavi thought.

Dhara di wanted them to share a room, but Shiva never wanted Raavi to feel uncomfortable. So he would sneak out of their room once all the lights were out in every room. Raavi decided she would let Shiva stay with her. It could be her first step in accepting their marriage.

"Shiva sun.." Raavi blushed. "Tu aaj raat yahi ruk jaa."

Shiva was surprised to hear her say that. He thought it would be very awkward to share a room with her. "Koi zaroorat nahi. Main chatt pe so jaunga."

So that is where he slept, Raavi thought. "Nahi tu yahi so jaa. Koi problem nahi hai mujhe. Waise bhi aisa nahi hai humne kabhi isse pehle bed share nahi ki hai."

"Hum bachhe the tab." Shiva blushed.

"Uske baad bhi ek baar kiya tha. Navratri ka waqt tha yaad hai? Hum kareeb 16 saal ke the. Mere sarr mein dard ho raha tha toh main room mein aake let gayi thi. Phir baad mein pata chala tu bhi usi bed pe soya hua tha."

"Kitna bada shock laga tha mujhe. Paas mein chudail dekh ke. Mujhe toh abhi bhi lagta hai tu jaan bujh ke soyi thi mere paas."

"Oh please. Aisa kuch nahi tha. Tujhe bukhar tha isiliye tu kambal odhe so raha tha. Maine notice nahi kiya." Raavi said. "Khair, tu so jaa. Waise bhi humari shaadi ho chuki hai. Sona toh saath mein hi parega."

Shiva looked at her for a second to see if she would change her mind. She didn't. She proceeded to make their bed and she lay down. Shiva took a long breath and lay down beside her. Both of them felt extremely awkward.

"Shiva tu iss side aa na. Woh meri side hai." Raavi said.

"Toh phir uss side kyu soyi?" Shiva asked. Then he got up.

Raavi quickly exchanged their pillows. "Kya? Main apne pillow ke bina nahi so sakti."

Shiva glared at her. Raavi instead of getting down from the bed and changing their position, leapt up and tried to jump over Shiva but instead she landed right on top on him. She cursed herself for making things more awkward. Shiva grabbed her by the waist and tossed her down to the other side. He shifted to his own side and quietly went to sleep.

Raavi realised that it hasn't been awkward at all. She began thinking of the countless times Shiva pinned her against the wall, picked her up in his arms, held her by her waist, fell on top of her, or she fell on top of him. They were very comfortable with each other physically, and she had never noticed it before. It made her feel safe to be sharing the bed with him. Then she realised she has always felt safe with him, no matter what.