The planning only took a couple weeks, and luckily Pallavi was so busy with work, she barely noticed when Aai was at the house whispering about something with Amma. She did notice that Raghav was a little more distant with her than before their lunch. But something at work always put this worry in the back of her mind.
Finally the day came, Raghav was intensely protective of this surprise, and so he made sure to give Sulochana Kaku and Amruta a very clear carrot for helping and a clear stick if they messed it up. Kaku and Amruta agreed to shut up about the surprise, Raghav promised Amruta and Kaku an all expenses paid vacation after the wedding to wherever they wanted for two weeks. The whole family was happy with this bribe, mostly Milind Kaka. If Amruta or Kaku messed it up, Raghav, Mansi, and Rahul guaranteed that Mansi's wedding would not happen, and only Kaku and Amruta would be blamed.
Baba, in Deshmukh house on the morning of, "Sharda, why is all this necessary?"
Raghav glared at him, "Listen Saan— I mean Baba, I have told the whole sordid tale to Mansi, Rahul, and Nikhil because they wouldn't agree unless I told them. Amma and Keerthi already know. Aai and Kaka know because Nikhil explained it to them, and that bindi Waali Kaku and ChipkuLadki do not care. So if you wanted the whole story, you should have asked earlier. Long story short, we're giving Pallavi the wedding she always wanted AS WELL AS giving Pallavi the wedding she always wanted for her sister. Got it."
Baba glared, but Sharda just pulled him to a chair on the side and told him to keep quiet.
Raghav's Masterplan Step 1 began at 8AM in the morning on a Saturday. Keerthi takes Pallavi out of the house to go to the salon because she needs to get her nails done, and "Akka, I don't want to go alone. No, the dukaan and showroom are fine today, no excuses Akka." Keerthi and Pallavi will be out of the house for at least a few hours.
Step 2 was even simpler, Raghav gritted his teeth and hired Akash and his team to decorate his house. But he couldn't resist warning Akash, "anything breaks you pay for it, with a broken bone of your own, and if you talk to keerthi for more than three minutes, I break two bones." (This would be the best decoration and lighting job Akash would ever do.)
Step 3, get all the guests to his house by noon. "Farhad, If they're late, they're denied entry." Farhad did not take this request too seriously. Anna was just nervous because Allah had listened to Farhad's prayers and brought Pallavi and Raghav together.
Step 4, get all the materials ready for the first three events of Saturday, and the main event on Sunday.
Step 5, bring Pallavi back for the big reveal.
At around 11:00, Keerthi was getting impatient, the bimbo doing Pallavi's nails was taking too long, and now raghav was texting her every two minutes for an update.
"Please go faster aunty ji," Keerthi asked the manicurist.
"Why, what's the rush?" Pallavi asked.
Keerthi muttered, "I'm just trying to avoid my murder by my brother."
"What?"
"Nothing, I just got a call from Amma, she's asking us home for something urgent in fact I knew about it this morning, but then we had to go to the salon, so."
"Keerthi, if you knew Amma needed us to stay back, why did you?"
"I forgot! Akka, sheesh!"
Pallavi was very confused. It looked like weird behavior was a common thread among the Rao children.
Keerthi and Pallavi rush home, Pallavi getting more confused by the moment. She started to feel like something was very wrong.
As Keerthi knocked on the door, Pallavi stood in front of her, "what is happening Keerthi, what's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, Amma is waiting for us, we should go inside."
"But—"
Before Pallavi could finish her question, the door opened behind her, and she heard a massive, "SURPRISE!"
She turned around, the whole house was decorated like it was a wedding house. Pallavi took a step back, what was happening? And then Mansi and Rahul stepped forward (Rahul who's actually Mansi's fiancé, not the other Rahul).
"Pallavi didi, guess what," Mansi and Rahul held up their left hands, and Pallavi clapped her hands to her mouth when she saw they had their engagement rings back on their fingers.
"WHAT!? Asha Aunty agreed? But why? How?" And then she saw Raghav, smiling a big grin in the background, standing next to a beaming Amma on one side, and Asha Aunty, smiling on the other side.
Pallavi ran forward and first hugged Mansi and Rahul, and then ran to Asha Aunty and thanked her profusely, over and over again.
"This is all because your husband is very persuasive, and I think we might all have judged him a bit prematurely." Asha Aunty said, glancing at Baba and Kaku.
Pallavi looked at Raghav, and she wanted to hug him, and thank him, and perhaps forgive him for everything he did, but she was afraid. She didn't care what Baba or anyone else thought, she just worried that Raghav's mood has been helpful before, and it always felt like the calm before the storm. She remembered back when he tricked her into signing a false contract, when he lied to her whole family about both of them.
As her smile fell, Raghav knew he hadn't doneenough.
