"You? What the hell are you doing here?" Pallavi snatched her phone from Raghav and pulled him out of the café.
Before Raghav could say anything Pallavi started again, "What? You didn't think I could handle a simple meeting? Or what, did you think I was going to fill poison in Vikram's head against your precious deal. Listen, you're right, I want to destroy you. But if I mess with your work, the backlash on Amma and Keerthi is not something I plan on. So relax, when I destroy you, it will be because of your own mistakes, your own arrogance, your own stupidity. Not because of some business deal with some random person."
Raghav was stunned into silence.
"And after today, if you follow me anywhere, I swear, I will forget any limit. Understood?" Pallavi turned to walk away.
But Raghav regained his senses, he walked in front of Pallavi, "I didn't come to listen to your lectures, this deal, this guy, it seems like a mistake. I just—"
"Why the hell do you care? Are you ending your deal with him? No right?" Pallavi's anger was growing by the second.
"He's trying to get close to you, giving his daughter dance lessons, all these meetings, this deal—" Raghav had no idea why he was saying these things.
Pallavi interrupted him yet again, "Tujhe kyun itne fikhar ho nahi hai? You hate me right? This marriage is a deal. Mere samne yeh pati ka natal math kar. Keep your acting for your Amma and sister."
Pallavi caught an auto and was about to tell her the address, when Raghav said, "I'll drop you, you, find another fare."
"Raghav, I don't need you to drop me anywhere. You have work probably."
"Why? Do you think I'll let you spend every rupee I have on auto rides around Hyderabad. I'm going home anyway. Get in my car." Raghav didn't know why he cared about dropping Pallavi back home, but after saying what he said, he didn't want to take it back.
Pallavi was confused, but she was too excited about her saree designs to care, "Fine, I have a lot of work to do at home anyway, and Amma and Keerthi are probably waiting for me."
Raghav and Pallavi drove back in silence, Raghav wanted to bring up the topic of Vikram again, but every time he tried, he remembered Pallavi's slap, and thought better of it. Even if his anger and the dragon in his chest was slowly eating him alive, he'd have to find another way to get Pallavi out of this deal.
Before dinner, Raghav was working on some jewelry designs on his tablet, and he noticed Pallavi setting the table before Amma and Keerthi came down.
Pallavi looked up and saw Raghav staring at her, "Kya? Stop checking me out." Then she went back into the kitchen to get the dishes she and Reddy had prepared.
When Raghav sat down at the table, Amma and Keerthi were on their way down the stairs. Amma stopped Keerthi and whispered, "Keerthi, let's eat quickly tonight, give these two some way to talk through their problems." Keerthi nodded, "But Amma, I doubt one dinner is going to do it...we'll have to think of something else."
Pallavi brought the parathas out, and saw Raghav sitting in his seat, his plate turned over, looking at her expectantly.
"Kya, apne pati kho khana nahin dhegi?" Raghav asked, smiling, with an eyebrow raised.
"Oh, did you break your hands and I didn't notice? I must remember to send a thank you card to the person that did it." Pallavi sat the casserole with the parathas down and took her seat, "serve yourself, main teri ghulam nahin hoon, samazla?"
Raghav kept smiling and started serving himself when Amma and Keerthi sat down.
"Pallavi, beta, how was your meeting today?" Amma asked, as Pallavi got her plate ready.
Raghav clenched his jaw, looking up at Pallavi, who avoided his eye.
"It was perfect, Amma, there was a moment when I thought we were going to be interrupted by someone annoying, but luckily Vikram left before that could happen." Pallavi smiled, glancing sideways at Raghav.
"So, when is the boutique going to start showcasing your designs, Pallavi?" Keerthi took a bite of her food.
Pallavi sat down, "Soon actually, I'm sending over my final designs to Vikram this week, and we'll be looking at the finished products maybe sometime in the next coming weeks? Then he suggested a shoot to promote the designs, he's thinking about a special 'Bhartiya Naari' issue of one of his magazines." Pallavi went on, about each of her designs, the way she imagined the shoot going, with each breath her excitement was more and more visible.
Raghav noticed the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her work, how her smile made her look innocent but alluring. Then he cleared his throat, "Amma, why don't you ask about Pallavi's new side job she just decided to take on today, teaching dance. Saree ka Dukaan ko lagtha hai uski pass bauth saara time hai."
Amma smiled, "Pallavi that's excellent, who are you teaching?"
"Vikram has a daughter, she wants to learn Kathak." Pallavi responded.
"Amma, did you know Vikram is divorced, I'm not sure if we should—" Raghav started, trying to instigate his mother against Pallavi.
"So what if he's divorced?" Keerthi asked, "It's not like he's a bad person because of it. And he's bringing his daughter to learn from the best dancer in Hyderabad, so he must be a good father."
Pallavi laughed, "I don't know about best dancer, but I do really miss dancing, and teaching, so this will be a fun diversion. You know, Keerthi, I always dreamed that if I ever had children of my own one day, I'd be able to teach them Kathak, it really teaches discipline and makes you so proud of being Indian."
Raghav choked a little on his food.
While Keerthi smirked a little, Amma took no notice, "I don't know about Kathak, but beta, if you want to teach kids discipline, Bharathanatyam is the way to go. It's what I taught my kids, though Keerthi never really got the hang of it."
Pallavi's mind went back to the day she saw Raghav's Shiv Tandav and wondered why God would give someone so horrible so much talent.
Pallavi smiled, "Haan, par, lagthaa hai aapka beta ko thoda aur discipline ki zaroorat hai."
Keerthi laughed.
"What do you mean Saree ka Dukaan? Main disciplined nahin hoon?" Raghav asked, a little miffed at the direction his instigation had taken the conversation.
"I've never seen you practice," Pallavi lied, "nor do I think disciplined people really need to prove their discipline to others. It's just evident."
She got up and started clearing the table.
Amma smiled at Keerthi, "Achaa beta, dinner was excellent, thank you, Keerthi and I are heading to bed, night." The both of them quickly made their way upstairs, doing their best to hide their smiles and giggles.
