Pallavi walked to the front door to open it for Raghav but before she made her way to it, Ragahv stumbled in. He was drunk.
"Raghav, it's nearly midnight, if you wanted to spend all night partying, you could have at least told Amma, or me—" Pallavi started, walking to Raghav to help him stand up straight.
He pushed away her hand, "Saree ka Dukaan, I am not answerable to you, if I want to spend every day and night out at a bar drinking, tum kyun gussa ho rahi ho?"
Pallavi was taken aback, but she smiled through her concern, "What? Did you take my joke with Amma about you stopping drinking that seriously this morning that you decided to come home after drinking a whole bar, calm down, I was only joking." She came close to Raghav and tried to help him up again.
He walked past her, and made his way up the stairs, stumbling but not saying a word to Pallavi. Based on what he saw today he knew that Pallavi hadn't said anything too intimate to Vikram, how could she have? She was married, no trapped, with him. Despite the anger, the betrayal, he knew that Pallavi, a sanskari middle class girl, would never leave this marriage. He looked at Amma and Keerthi's closed door, and thought, Pallavi would never leave Amma and Keerthi, so he'd have to convince her to leave.
Pallavi followed Raghav into their room, "Raghav, at least eat something, I'll go get some food—"
"I'm not hungry, and I have no interest in eating something you made." Raghav snapped at her, stumbling into the room and tossing his jacket on the floor.
"What?" Pallavi walked to stand in front of Ragahv, "What's going on? I thought after last night—" Pallavi's eyes met Raghav's, but she didn't see the softness that she'd seen this morning, instead there was just anger.
Raghav laughed, "What, you thought that since we slept together, everything had changed now? Main tera dushmann tha, ab hai, aur hamesha rahega. Ardhamaindha?"
Pallavi's confusion grew, "Dushmann? What has gotten into you? Did something go wrong at your showroom today? I—"
"Nothing is wrong, Saree ka Dukaan," it hurt Raghav to talk like this with Pallavi, but along with his betrayal was anger, and a desire to free Pallavi from this prison, "And forget about last night, let a mistake stay a mistake."
"A mistake?" Pallavi's confusion now turned to fury, "A mistake! What the hell is wrong with you?" She pushed him.
"Yes, a mistake. We were both drunk, we lost our senses—" Raghav started, his anger overtaking his other goal, "It meant nothing. Stop with this pathni natak, I know very well what women like you—"
Pallavi interrupted him, "it meant nothing to you? Nothing? Then why? Why did you start it?" She pushed him again, Ragahv stumbled further back, closer to the bed. Pallavi's eyes were full of tears now, no matter how much she tried to hold them back. "The Great Raghav Rao. I should have known. You do nothing but use other people, how could I have been so stupid to think you would do anything else? You know, since marrying you, Sulochana Kaku, and probably every single one of her friends, have been calling me a 'kept woman.' But since marrying you, despite how much you hated me, how much you bothered me, I never felt like an object. Amma and Keerthi made me feel welcome, and even you showed a little respect. But now, your true colors reveal themselves."
Raghav mustered up more of his anger, "Yes, that's exactly how I am. I am not an idiot to fall for your games, understood? I have no interest—"
"No interest? Then why? You promised me, before the wedding, that if I stayed within my limits then you would leave me alone? Then why the hell did you cross your limits? Kya khushi milli rahi hai mujhe its tara bezat karke?" Pallavi wiped her tears on her dupatta, then she noticed the white color.
"Wait a minute, is this why?" She ripped off her white dupatta and threw at Raghav. "You finally realized that you're married to a former widow, and you've decided that's not up to Raghav Rao's 'standard.'"
Raghav looked at Pallavi, her bringing this up was not what he had expected.
Pallavi glared back at Raghav, "Why are you quiet now? It's because I'm right, right? You know, when Mandaar died, the whole world decided that now something was broken inside me. I had to spend my life alone, quiet, invisible. As if I had committed some big sin because my husband died. They all called me unlovable, broken, useless. But I never felt like that. Now though, because of you, the Great Raghav Rao, I not only feel like an object, but an unlovable and broken object that someone's thrown away. Thank you, so much, for reminding me how unlovable I actually am." She turned to walk out of the room, when Raghav grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Don't you dare, don't you dare call yourself unlovable. You are not broken, you are perfect. Ardhamaindha?" Raghav looked into her eyes and tried his best to make her believe his words.
Pallavi pulled her hand back, "What is your problem? Two minutes you can't bear to eat food I make or talk to me, and now you're acting all nice?"
"I know, Pallavi." Raghav said, sighing.
"Know what? What the hell are you talking about?" Pallavi asked him, meeting his eyes.
"You don't have to stay with me anymore, I'll tell Amma it was me. I'll call the best divorce lawyer—I won't stand in the way of you and...him" Raghav forgot his anger, he just couldn't take the guilt of tying Pallavi in this relationship she hated any longer.
"Divorce? Standing in the way between me and who?" Pallavi's confusion was growing, as was her anger. She wiped her away her tears, and glared at answer, "Why do you drink so much if it turns you into such an idiot?"
"You know who I'm talking about. You don't need to hide it any longer. I get it, he's nice, tall, handsome, rich. I'm sure Vikram will keep you very happy." Raghav looked down, trying to hide the pain he felt saying these words, but then Pallavi gave him a tight slap.
He stumbled back, "What the hell, Saree ka Dukaan?"
"Vikram? You think I'm having an affair with Vikram? Are you insane?" Pallavi pushed him again, her anger was becoming uncontrollable even for her. "Tum aisa such bhi kaise sakthe ho?"
Raghav cowered as she pushed him, the look she was giving him was downright terrifying, but then he realized...she didn't have feelings for Vikram? Could this be true?
"But you looked so happy with him in the park today, I thought you were planning to leave—" he stopped himself from saying 'me.'
"Oh yes, all the women in the world who have illicit affairs, they meet with their boyfriends in the park and plan to leave their husbands in public. Of course, how could I forget? You are absolutely insane. Wait a minute, how did you know I was in the park today?" Pallavi raised her finger, and walked toward Raghav.
"I—well, I don't think that matters now." Raghav backed up from Pallavi, genuinely afraid she would slap him again, but also trying very hard to hide his joy.
"You know what, Raghav," Pallavi walked closer to Raghav, as he stepped further and further back, he tripped and fell onto the bed, "you're right, Vikram is tall, handsome, rich, nice, and most importantly he doesn't follow me around or listen in on my conversations like an insecure idiot. If only," Pallavi pulled Raghav by his collar so he was sitting on the bed, "I had the good luck to fall in love with him."
Raghav's face fell, "So you do think about him that way?"
Pallavi smacked his head with her hand, "Akal ka dushman! I love you, you complete idiot."
