Raavi's eyes landed on Shiva walking towards her. She forgot about her dilemma as soon as she realised how handsome he looked. Shaking that thought out of her, Raavi ran towards Shiva and hugged him tightly. Shiva was taken back for a second, but returned the hug quickly. Twinkle was again surprised to watch them hugging.
"Kal se itna chipak kyu rahi hai?" Shiva asked.
"Twinkle dekh rahi hai. Muh bandh rakh." Raavi whispered.
"Kyu? Twinkle dekh rahi hai toh kya?"
When Raavi saw that Twinkle had turned back and gone away, she left Shiva. Shiva was still looking at her questioningly, but Raavi didn't know how to answer him. She just wanted to show Twinkle that Shiva and her relationship would never change. Other than that, she didn't know what to do next. Raavi got an idea as soon as she saw Twinkle leaving after watching them hug. It was a crazy thought, but it could bring her out of her mess.
"Shiva, farmhouse wapas chalte hai. Mujhe kuch baat karni hai."
Raavi dragged him away. She told Dev and the gang that they were going back, and asked for the car to drop them back. It took them less than 5 minutes in the car and as soon as they reached, Raavi dragged him to one of the benches near the swimming pool.
"Rishita ko lagta hai humare beech kuch chal raha hai. Aur sirf Rishita nahi, sab hum dono ke baare mein hi gossip kar rahe hai." Raavi told him. "Aur Twinkle mujhe sunake gayi ki mujhe tujhse dur rehna chahiye. Aur devar wala rishta banana chahiye."
Shiva took a minute to process all the information. "Main tera devar nahi banne wala."
"Pata hai Shiva." Raavi said. "Par agar hum Rishita ki baat maan le toh?"
"Kya matlab?"
"Hum dono ke beech kuch ho sakta hai." Raavi said slowly, fearing Shiva's reaction.
"Kya ho sakta hai?"
"Samajh na! Agar sabko lage ki humare beech kuch chal raha hai toh sab bhul jayenge ki main kabhi Dev ko bhi like karti thi. Shiva yahi best idea hai."
"Ae maami ki behen ki beti, tu ab mujhe lapete mein le rahi hai?"
"Haa toh? Problem kya hai? Main Somnath ki sabse beautiful ladki hu. Tujhe toh khush hona chahiye ki log tujhe mere saath jod rahe hai!"
"Tujhe toh main abhi batata hu!"
Shiva stood up and was about to pull her up too but she ran away. He ran behind her and they continued running around the pool. Raavi ran too close to the edge and slipped. She fell into the pool with a loud splash. She got fully immersed into the water and started panicking. Her fear of water began to act up and her chest began to constrict. She tried screaming for help, but no voice came out.
"Raavi!" Shiva shouted. "Raavi, meri taraf dekh. Main yahi hu."
Raavi relaxed as she felt his arms around her waist. She put her arms around his shoulder and pulled him closer to her. Shiva swam them close to the edge and helped her get out of the pool. Raavi remained sitting on the spot, her heart still beating loudly. Shiva got out and lifted her in his arms. Raavi snuggled close to his chest, as he carried her to her room. He took her to the bathroom and put her down.
"Tu change kar le. Main bhi change karke aata hu." Shiva said.
***
When Shiva entered her room again, Raavi was writing something in her diary. Seeing Shiva enter, she quickly closed it and hid it under her pillow. He scoffed at that. He knew she wrote all kinds of weird stuff in that diary. Raavi sneezed loudly. This girl hadn't dried her hair properly. Shiva took the towel which was lying on a chair and wiped her hair.
"Shiva, kya kar raha hai?" Raavi asked.
"Baal sukha raha hu. Warna abhi bukhaar aayega aur har baar ki tarah tu mujhe pakdegi satane ke liye."
"Sukhana hai toh properly sukha. Waha hairdryer para hai woh use kar." Raavi said.
Shiva kept the towel aside and plugged in the hair dryer. Raavi came and sat in front of the dressing table. Shiva dried her hair, as she sat comfortably. Raavi thought she could get used to this, getting salon like treatment at home. Shiva would make a good boyfriend.
Pari entered her room, interrupting Raavi's thoughts. Shiva left quickly. Pari came and sat down on Raavi's bed. Raavi pretended as if nothing had happened and sat down beside her. She didn't want to get the same lecture from her as she got from Twinkle. But she also knew that Pari would never scold her like Twinkle.
"Raavi, tu mujhe kuch batana chahti hai?" Pari asked.
Raavi shook her head. She had no idea what to say.
"Bahar sab tere aur Shiva ke rishte ke baare mein bet lagake baithe hai." Pari said. "Rishita, Harry aur Ashish ne bet lagayi hai ki tere aur Shiva ke beech kuch hai aur Dev, Twinkle aur Rohan ne lagayi hai ki nahi hai."
"Aur tune?" Raavi asked.
"Tu hi bata de kispe lagau. Mujhe haarna nahi pasand."
Raavi burst out laughing. Pari laughed with her. She was the sweetest friend Raavi had, and for once Raavi felt like it wouldn't be a big deal to share everything with her.
"Pari sab kuch na badal gaya hai." Raavi said. "Dev shayad kabhi mera tha hi nahi. Main hi gadheri thi."
"Ek baat batau Raavi. Mujhe na kabhi tere aur Dev ke beech kuch dikhta nahi tha. In fact, tu toh uske saamne puri badal jaati hai. Na khulke hasti hai aur na khulke baat karti hai. Aise insaan ke saath rehna kyu jiske saamne tu itni badal jaye. Shiva ke saath tu apne unfiltered version mein reh pati hai." Pari said.
Raavi had never realised this until Pari told her. Did she even love Dev or was this just a childish fantasy on her part? If she were being completely honest, she felt more humiliated than heartbroken when she found out about Dev and Rishita.
"Toh kya main tere aur Shiva pe paise laga du?" Pari asked.
"Chal lage de. Par mujhe treat dena parega."
"Arrey, yeh bhi koi kehne ki baat hai."
