Pallavi quickly ran out of the hospital, tears in her eyes, happy because Amma was fine, but sad too because she hated that the only way she could keep such amazing family like Amma and Keerthi with her was to stay married...to Raghav.
She gets to her shop, Baba is there with Nikhil. He barely looks at her, out of shame, he's not angry at her anymore. In fact, he's more angry at himself. Baba asks, "Pallavi, where did you go?"
"I had to go to the hospital, Amma collapsed, she needed surgery."
Baba, shocked, "oh no, is she okay now?"
"Why do you even care, Baba. Wait, I can't even call you Baba anymore, I'm just your former daughter in law, not your daughter," Pallavi retorted, fighting back tears and keeping her voice even.
"Pallavi wait—"
Pallavi left quickly, "Nikhil looks like you have a handle on everything. Drop off the EMI to Raghav's house tomorrow, I don't want to touch the money, obviously Baba won't trust me with it."
Nikhil, furious with his father, "Baba, what is WRONG with you, you tell Aai that you want to ask Pallavi for forgiveness, but you can't set your ego aside to say sorry? Pathetic, Baba, today I'm really ashamed to call you a father. Lock up the store on your own, I have to tell Aai what happened to Pallavi's MIL, we should send something to Keerthi and Raghav and visit them after she is out of the hospital..."
Pallavi reached home...well not home, Raghav's house. It would never be her "home." Her home was with Aai, Baba, Nikhil, Milind Kaka, Mansi, and even Kaku and Amrita. She walked in, not realizing that her dizziness was not because of her tears or her anger, but because she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and she had donated blood...
Pallavi was on the floor, she fainted, hitting her head on Raghav's marble floor. No one home this late in the evening.
Raghav walked into his house, worried for his mother, a half hour later. He wasn't able to convince the doctor to let him stay with Amma as well as Keerthi, and Keerthi refused to leave. Then he saw it, two feet from behind an end table in the living room. Pallavi...god, she can't even sleep in a bed, what's wrong with her, he thought. He yelled, "Saree ke dukaan, I'm not going to carry you to bed, I'm not your servant." She didn't answer, he walked closer. He tried calling her again, and again, the last time by her name. Then her phone rang, it was Keerthi. Raghav answered it, "—"
"Pallavi, Amma just went to sleep, and Raghav just left, make sure to eat something if you're home, you just donated blood, and I realized I didn't even ask you if you wanted juice. I'm so sorry, but you know I was worried about Amma..."
"What?!"
"Raghav, why are you answering Pallavi's phone, where is she?"
"She fainted, probably because she wants to be "mahaan" and donate blood for everyone without eating."
"Raghav, are you crazy, the woman just helped our mother live, and you're insulting her. Call a doctor and wake her up. Give her some water, some juice—"
"Yea yea, I will."
He hung up the phone.
