Baba was standing away from everyone, confused at everyone's happy mood. Yes he was happy that Mansi and Rahul were getting married. Yes he was happy that Pallavi was happy, that Sharda and Nikhil were elated. But he couldn't avoid the thought that all this, whatever Raghav had done, would come to hurt Pallavi in the end. He had to fix this, Pallavi may have said she had forgiven him, but she would never really come back to Deshmukh Nivas until he could show her what a destructive, cruel, and disloyal man Raghav was.
Pallavi tried to catch Baba's eyes as everyone started dancing, Mansi had pulled her to her feet to get her to dance with her, but after a few halfhearted steps, Pallavi just wanted to make sure that Baba was okay. She knew that her decision to stay with Raghav after that day at the showroom opening had hurt Baba, but Baba didn't know how much Raghav had changed. Baba didn't know that everything that Raghav had done had a reason. Even if Raghav was wrong, even though Raghav had hurt her and everyone in her family, he did it because he thought he was avenging his family. She knew now that Amma was wrong when she had asked her to marry Raghav. She didn't have to change Raghav's ways, she just had to get him to feel safe enough to share his problems, his fears, his hopes. Because Raghav was and always will be Amma's son, Keerthi's big brother, he wasn't a bad man, he was misunderstood, and throughout his life, the wrong choice always rewarded him in his world, but in the past month and a half, Pallavi had seen him recognize how the right choice could always be a reward too, no matter how difficult it was.
As she tried to look for Baba she felt someone pull her by her wrist and waist away from the crowd and to another room. When she turned around to yell at the person, she saw it was Raghav, and they were in his dance studio.
"Raqhav, what are you doing, everyone else is outside, and I was looking for—"
"Me?"
"In your dreams, Gamandi Rao."
"By the way, I hired the best mehendi artist in Hyderabad for later, but I don't think she will be able to fit all your amazing names for me, Gamandi, Badtameez, Duffer, Ziddi, Baby, Shona," he traced a finger up her arm and stepped even closer to her, "Jaanu."
Pallavi smiled sarcastically and turned around to leave, "If I put all of that on my hands it would be easy for you to find, and you're not one to run away from a challenge are you?"
Raghav smiled and pulled her by her wrist close to him again, his breath heavy in her ear, "I haven't forgotten the first challenge we set this morning, and I plan to win that too. And on that note, everyone put haldi on you, but you didn't even ask me? Very rude."
Pallavi pulled her wrist out of his hand and turned to face him, "there's no ritual where the groom puts haldi on his bride."
"Ah, but you forgot this wedding is happening Raghav Rao style," and Raghav took some haldi off the back of his hands, and wiped some on her cheek. Slowly, smiling as her eyes looked into his with shock and then closed with pleasure. His touch sent a shiver down her back, her mouth went dry, her heart seemed to stop beating.
"Kya hua? Mujhe haldi nahi lagogi?" Raghav asked.
Pallavi grinned at him, she stood on her toes and moved her cheek to his, Raghav pulled her closer to him, his eyes closing, their faces barely a centimeter apart—and then—
"Here you go!" Pallavi laughed as she stepped back and wiped some haldi on his nose, and turned away starting to leave.
"Not fair, Pallavi!" Raghav made to pull her back when Baba stepped in the room, Pallavi's smile didn't falter, "Baba, what are you doing here, come on, let's get back to the party."
"Beta you go, I'll be right there."
Raghav's eyes narrowed as Saanki Baap turned to him, glaring.
"What was going on here?" Baba asked as he noticed the fresh haldi on Raghav's nose?
"That was between a husband and a wife, it doesn't concern you." Raghav said as he started to pass Baba to leave the room.
"Shut up, you two may be technically married, but you can never be her suhag. You don't understand the meaning of the word husband, it means loyalty, trust, faith, support—"
"Like you did with your wife the day you kicked Pallavi out of the house?"
Baba stood silent, his fists clenched.
"Why do you look so angry...Baba?" Raghav smiled, "fine, consider my education in how to be a husband in "progress," let me at least assure you I will not be taking any lessons from you, ok?" And with that, Raghav walked out of the room.
