"Pallu, please listen to me," her Aai called her from behind.
Pallavi turned, Aai looked like she could cry.
"Everything you've done for us Pallu, everything you've done, it's more than anyone can expect, even from God."
"Aai, I don't want to talk to him, I'm fine, we're fine."
"Please Pallu, just let him apologize."
"Pallavi," Baba came up to them, "please wait, just listen, I will do anything for you to forgive me, you've built this showroom from the ground up, you've made all our dreams come true—"
"I didn't do it for you, Mr. Deshmukh, I made a promise to myself, that I would bring Deshmukh Saree Emporium to new heights...for myself, for Mandaar. But I stopped thinking about your dreams a while ago."
"Pallavi please, forgive me. I should have never doubted you, I should have asked you more often if you needed help. I should helped you fight against Raghav, not judge you baselessly on his nonsense."
"Mr. Deshmukh, forgiveness and apologies are for people we consider apna, and we're strangers now, I'm just someone who used to live in your house, someone who used to be married to—" Pallavi broke off at the thought of Mandaar. Then she caught Raghav's eye cross the room, smiling and then turning back to Farhad and Keerthi.
"Pallavi, you didn't do build this showroom for me, ok. I know, but the fact that you built it yourself, that showed me how wrong I was. Every human is capable of a mistake—"
"Woh galthi nahin tha, Baba, woh dhoka the!" Her voice raised a little.
Raghav hears her voice over the crowd and looks her way. Raghav's brow furrows as he catches who she's talking to, and realizes why she sounds angry and...so sad. He starts to walk closer to her to hear the conversation
"Pallavi, I want you to take this showroom, I want you to have the shop too, Aai and I don't need anything. Listen, just come back home. I can't let you rot in that hell of a house anymore. Every day you come to the office sad, only these past two weeks I've seen you get happier as you worked more on the showroom—"
Pallavi thought about that evening Raghav caught her dancing in his studio, how he helped her with her pallu, falling asleep on his shoulder and waking up feeling safe for the first time in a long time.
"—Pallavi please listen to me, I want you to come back—"
Pallavi felt a hand on the small of her back, and then noticed a familiar scent of musk, whiskey, and sandalwood.
"Wah, kya baat hai Saanki Baap. A month ago, Pallavi wasn't good enough for you to stay in the same house, but today, now that she's brought the store back into profit and opened up a new showroom, suddenly she's the apple of your eye—"
"That was because of you Raghav, and take your hands off my daughter."
"Raghav," Pallavi whispered, "don't make a scene. I'm handling this."
"Sorry Pallavi, but aah toh scene hi banta. Rambo Dad, aapko kya lagta hai, I can't see your greed behind those glasses of yours."
"Greed," Baba was confused, and slowly getting angry.
"I think you and your entire family are doing fine with your small shop on your small street, since Pallavi has done all the work for this showroom, seems sort of greedy to let you be the owner or the manager, no?"
"I don't want this showroom, I want my daughter back." Baba said, raising his voice.
More people looked to see what the commotion was.
Pallavi started to get nervous. Why was Raghav saying this, what did he care? He was the reason that I had to leave my home in the first place.
"Raghav, please stop." Pallavi whispered louder.
"Rambo sir, I know, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, I'm the reason you doubted your daughter in the first place, but the truth is: real fathers, real family, don't leave their daughters behind, real fathers don't kick their daughters out over the words of some man, while the other daughters in their house are literally spending their nights drinking and doing god knows what."
"Eh, Raghav Rao," Sulochana had heard the last thing Raghav said, "don't drag my daughter into this."
"I will, I will drag everyone into this. Your whole family, Saanki Baap, is crazy. First your son, Nikhil is a gambler. Your sister-in-law is the devil incarnate, your niece is spoilt to the brim, your brother can't stand up for himself even if someone gave him a walking stick to hold onto, and you are the biggest hypocrite I have ever met in my whole life."
"Raghav, that's enough." Pallavi grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the crowd, luckily the press hadn't arrived yet.
