"Dhara diiiiii" Raavi shouted and came to hug Dhara tightly. "Mere bachelors degree finally khatam! Yeh lijiye, muh meetha kijiye." She fed a laddoo to Dhara.
Dhara smiled and looked at Raavi curiously. She had to be smart about this otherwise her plan might fail. Also, she needed more information to proceed. She looked at Shiva who left the house in anger. Then she looked at Raavi who started laughing at Shiva's exit. Was this something? Or was she overthinking? There was only one way to find out.
"Raavi, aaj teri maasi ne tujhe kuch bataya hai?" Dhara asked.
"Aap dono ki bet ke baare mein? Haa. Aake hi shaadi ki baat shuru kar di. Kangan nahi khona chahti Maasi." Raavi smiled. "Par Dhara di, yeh shart lagane ki kya zaroorat thi? Ab Maasi shaadi ke liye meri jaan khaa jayegi."
Dhara felt a little bad for Raavi and Anita. Well, not so much for Anita, but Raavi deserved a good guy. She was a pure soul. It was her dream to become a Pandya family bahu. So what if she became Shiva's wife? The same guy who Prafulla called jangli and jaahil would become her son-in-law. Dhara almost smiled, but she controlled herself. She had to find out if it was even possible.
"Ab kya karu? Gussa aa gaya uss waqt." Dhara said. "Par Raavi, yeh shart mujhe jeetni hai. Apne shaadi ke gehne nahi de sakti Maami ko."
"Main toh aapki team mein hu Dhara di."
"Toh phir Shiva ko shaadi ke liye mana aur ek achhi si ladki dhoond de mere devar ke liye."
Dhara wanted to see Raavi's exact reaction at this, and she was so happy to notice that Raavi looked crestfallen and confused. That was exactly she reaction she wanted. Raavi was speechless for a whole minute. Dhara only wished she had some popcorn. Raavi's expression showed her an entire film.
"Dhara di, woh nahi maanega." Raavi said.
"Haa par tune ek din kaha tha na ki tu usse koi bhi baat manwa sakti hai."
"Haa par.... Yeh nahi maanega. Aur usse shaadi kaun karega. Kisi se thik se baat tak nahi karta. Aur uske liye koi bhi pasand nahi hai mujhe. Aapko Shiva ki hi shart kyu lagani thi? Dev ki laga dete. Ladkiyon ki line lag jaani thi. Shiva kyu? Matlab Shiva aur shaadi ek saath nahi jate."
Dhara laughed. She was so cute when she was in denial and seems like she forgot her crush on Dev right now. "Maami ko pata hai na ki Dev ke liye line lag jayegi. Isi liye toh unhone Shiva ki shart lagayi. Aur tune toh kaha tu meri team mein hai. Toh meri help nahi karegi?"
Dhara saw the devasted look on Raavi's face and felt bad. But atleast now she had her answer. Raavi was the only girl Shiva talked to. They fought, of course, but Dhara had seen a special bond develop between these two. No matter how much Shiva said that he hated his maami ki behen ki beti, Dhara knew it wasn't true. Raavi was the girl who led a chole andolan for Shiva. She had spoken for Shiva in front of Prafulla too many times. Shiva was a closed shell, but she knew Raavi could open him up. Plus the look on Prafulla's face was would be icing on top.
"Mere dimaag mein koi nahi hai Shiva ke liye." Raavi said.
"Achha tu bas use shaadi ke liye mana. Main ladki dhoond lungi."
"Par Dhara di... Kyu? Shiva ko nahi karni toh zor kyu? Ek shart ke liye not fair na."
"Aaj nahi toh kal shaadi toh karni hai na Shiva ko. Ab aaj karle toh kya problem hai?" Dhara asked. "Mera Shiva bhi ek life partner deserve karta hai jo uske dil ki baat samjhe aur saari zindagi uska saath de. Tu bata, tu mana payegi ya nahi use?"
"Koshish karungi."
***
Raavi went to Pandya store to talk to Shiva as she had promised to Dhara di. Why didn't she understand that Shiva didn't want to get married? Of course, it was her Maasi's fault for egging Dhara to make this bet. Poor Shiva was caught in the crossfire now. Who would marry Shiva anyway? No girl could handle his temper and his rudeness, except her. Every girl in Somnath thought that he was a jaahil, gawar. Only she knew he wasn't like that. Those stupid girls didn't deserve him anyway.
"Kya hua? Fuse kyu ura hua hai tera?" Shiva asked when he noticed her.
"Tera shaadi ke baare mein kya khyaal hain?" Raavi asked.
"Kya? Shaadi? Mera dimag kharab ho gaya hai ki main shaadi karunga? Ek bande ki life puri barbaad ho jati hai shaadi karke." Shiva said.
Raavi was relieved. He had no plans to marry. Then she thought about Dhara losing her wedding jewellery. She didn't want that to happen. But Shiva shouldn't have to marry either. There was no way she could convince her Maasi to drop the bet. What if Dhara di really got him married to some girl? Poor Shiva.
"Ab khare khare mera muh kya dekh rahi hai? Bhaag yaha se." Shiva said.
Raavi smiled. If he kept talking like this, no girl would ever marry him. But then Dhara di would lose her bet. There had to be some other way. Her brain wasn't working. She got none of her excellent ideas.
"Tu seriously shaadi nahi karega? Pakka?" Raavi asked.
"Ae maami ki behen ki beti, subah subah kya bhaang chadhake aayi hai? Yeh kya shaadi ki rat laga rakhi hai?"
"Teri bhalai ka soch rahi hu aur tu mujhpe chadhe ja raha hai. Gadhera kahi ka!"
"Tujhe koi zaroorat nahi hai meri bhalai sochne ka. Main khud ka soch lunga. Aur yeh shaadi waadi ke chakkar mein mujhe mat fasa."
"Dekh, abhi shaadi ke liye bohot pressure aayega tujhe." Raavi said. "Tu bas sabko na kar dena. Bol dena ki tujhe shaadi nahi karni. Koi kitna bhi force kare, tu haa mat bolna."
Shiva sighed. He grabbed her hand and took her out of his store. "Jake dimaag ka ilaaj karwa ke aa."
Raavi sighed in relief. Shiva wasn't going to be a problem, but she had to do something about this bet. What if she delayed Anita di and her wedding? That way Maasi wouldn't win the bet either. Anita di wouldn't agree so easily and neither would she. This way she could save Shiva! Not a bad idea.
