Broken

10.

Shiva only hoped Krish's comment wouldn't scare away Raavi. He wanted her but this wasn't the right time. Only when she was absolutely fine and ready would he.... What would he do? Shiva wasn't the kind of man to propose. It would have been so much better if Raavi had liked him instead of Dev. She would've have spoken to Dhara di about their marriage and Shiva wouldn't have refused. Liking another girl was out of question for him. For him, his heart only belonged to Raavi. He blushed thinking about that. If only he'd been nicer to her, Dev wouldn't have stood a chance.

"Bhai ek choti si problem hai." Dev suddenly came before Shiva.

"Kya hua?"

"Rishita aayi hui hai." Dev said. "Woh bina bataye aa gayi hai aur zid kar rahi hai ki main usse isi waqt shaadi kar lu."

"Kya? Pagal hai woh?"

"Shiva... use main sambhalta hu. Raavi ka kya? Mujhe uske liye tension ho rahi hai."

"Raavi meri problem hai. Tu Rishita ko sambhal."

They heard Rishita shouting Dev's name loudly. Everyone heard that. Dev immediately rushed to stop her. Shiva got down from his bed. His feet was hurting a lot, but he had to go to Raavi. She said she was fine. But what if she wasn't? He didn't want to risk it. Somehow limping he went to the entrance and found Rishita shouting. Raavi was also standing there. She looked at Shiva and immediately rushed to him. Shiva thought she was upset and was coming to hug him, but she seemed worried about him instead.

"Shiva, tu pagal ho gaya hai? Yaha kyu aaya?" She asked.

"Dev tum abhi mujhse shaadi karo. Mere dad ne mera rishta kisi NRI ke saath fix kar diya." Rishita hugged Dev in front of everyone.

Shiva was looking at Raavi dreading that she would break down any moment, but Raavi shook his head and smiled at him. It was her way of reassuring him that she was fine. She took Shiva's arm and put it over her shoulders, giving him support to stand. Now that she was fine, he could focus on the drama before his eyes. This Rishita seemed to be the opposite of Dev. How did they ever fall in love? Dev tried to drag her outside and talk to her privately but she didn't budge.

"Rishita tum fikr mat karo. Hum tumhare ghar rishta leke jayenge." Dhara said.

"Aap rishta leke jayenge aur Dad maan jayenge? Woh kabhi nahi maanne waale. Aur waise bhi mujhe aap logo pe koi bharosa nahi. Maine suna hai ki aap mere Dev ki kisi aur ladki se shaadi karwane waale the." Rishita saw Dev trying to stop her, and then her eyes fell on Raavi. "Woh tum hi ho na? Bachpan se mere Dev ke saath obsessed ho aur usne na kaha toh seedha suicide karne pahuch gayi tum? Wow... Tumhe toh psychiatric treatment ki zaroorat hai. Aur besharam ki tarah yaha bhi chali aayi. Bechara mera Dev faltu mein kitna guilt liye ghum raha hai tumhari wajah se."

Shiva saw it clearly. Raavi's tears returned and he literally felt her heart break again. She clutched on to him again tightly and looked at him for support. His heart broke but more than that he really wanted to kill this Rishita. It took so many days for her to come out of depression, but this Rishita destroyed all the progress that she made.

"Dev, apni iss heroine ko samjha de, agar isne meri Raavi ke baare mein kuch aur kaha toh main apne aap ko control nahi karunga." Shiva warned.

"Dev tumhara bhai mere saath aise baat kar raha hai aur tum kuch nahi keh rahe?" Rishita asked Dev.

"Rishita, jaha tak mujhe dikh raha hai psychiatric treatment ki tumhe zaroorat hai. Aur Dev koi bechara nahi hai. Isne tumhare baare mein kisiko nahi bataya tha, toh kya hume sapna aata? Aur yeh Raavi hai, humari bachpan ki dost aur humari family. Tum hogi Dev ki girlfriend 2 saal ki, par Raavi ko iss ghar pe aane ka pura haq hai. Aur tumhe Raavi se problem hai then get lost."

"Dev-"

"Rishita bas-" Dev dragged her outside.

Shiva looked at his family who were looking at him shocked. Dhara looked slightly upset at his misbehaviour but she deserved it. How dare she come here and insult his chipkali? She was lucky he didn't kill her. Shiva looked at Raavi who was in tears. She deserved better. He held her by her waist and lead her back inside. She sat on his cot and got her some water. Then he knelt in front of her trying to read her expression. He wondered if he should just pull her into a hug or give her space. Raavi held his hands and he knew she didn't want any space.

"Woh thik hi toh keh rahi thi. Main sachhi mein pagal thi jo bachpan se Dev se pyaar karti aayi. Maine toh kabhi usse pucha tak bhi nahi ki woh mujhse pyaar karta bhi hai ki nahi. Shiva yeh mera fault hai." Raavi sobbed.

"Haa thoda sa toh hai. Par uska bhi hai na. Bolta tha main use ki tujhse dur rahe par nahi."

"Sab mujhpe aise hi hasenge saari zindagi."

"Ae maami ki behen ki beti, logo ka kaam hai kehna. Teri life jitni bhi perfect ho, gossip woh log karenge hi. Sabko goli maar. Tere life mein jo important hai woh humesha tere saath honge." Shiva said.

"Tu bata? Tu nahi hasega na mujhpe?" Raavi asked.

Shiva shook his head and Raavi hugged him. She wiped away her tears on his shirt and pulled back. Shiva pretended to be mad at her but she pinched his cheeks and reminded him his shirts were always dirty. At least her tears would wash some of it.

"Shiva, tune jab 'meri Raavi' kaha na, mujhe bohot achha laga." Raavi smiled.

"Galti se muh se nikal gaya."

"Bakwaas mat kar."

"Tu thik hai na Raavi?" Shiva asked, cupping her cheeks.

Raavi nodded. He took her in his arms one more time. This time he needed reassurance that she was fine. Raavi knew that and snuggled closer to his chest. Her hair smelled of Jasmine and he loved Jasmines. He kissed her on the top of her head. Shiva saw Krish grinning at them from far away. Shiva took a pillow and threw it at him without breaking the hug. Krish ran away looking at the furious expression on his face.