It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Prafulla listed out the names of all the eligible bachelors in Somnath for both her daughters. For Raavi, she had atleast ten boys in mind. The problematic one was Anita. Not only was she past her golden years, she was still hopelessly in love with Gautam.
Prafulla decided to think about Raavi later. First she would solve the problem of Anita's marriage. There was only guy who came to her mind when it came to Anita. He was her age, maybe a bit older and he was still a bachelor. As far as Prafulla knew, he was doing quite well with his life. But the best part was that he was Dhara's older brother. Imagine her face, when she realises Prafulla got Anita married to her own brother. This plan gave Prafulla a huge sense of relief and excitement. Dhara would end up losing her own brother.
However, the problem was still Anita. She refused to look at any other guy except Gautam. Prafulla had to make Anita fall in love with Hardik. But how? Anita wouldn't listen to her. Hardik didn't like her either. But Hardik was a nice guy, and a person with a good heart could always be manipulated.
Prafulla knew from some earlier detective work that Hardik would go to the market every Sunday morning to buy his weekly groceries. So without wasting any time, Prafulla went to the market. She had a plan ready. She found Hardik buying vegetables from a vendor, so she pretended to buy her own vegetables, without looking at him. When she was sure Hardik saw her, Prafulla intentionally fell down and screamed in pain. Hardik came running.
"Ae mera bhogilal. Mera pair!!" Prafulla screamed.
"Aap thik toh ho?"
"Mera pair." Prafulla kept shouting.
"Aap shant ho jao. Main aapki help karta hu." Hardik took her groceries bags and helped her stand up.
"Ae Hardik, mujhe zara ghar tak chorr de." Prafulla requested him.
Hardik agreed to. Prafulla sat in his car and Hardik drove her home. Her plan was working. Now all she had to do was make Hardik and Anita fall in love. Hardik was still a bachelor and Prafulla was sure he wanted someone in his life. It had to be easier to make him fall for Anita first. Maybe after spending some time with him, Anita would move on and realise that she needs a guy in her life.
"Mujhe andar tak chorr de. Bags leke aa." Prafulla said.
Hardik took her bag and Prafulla walked into the house with a fake limp. As soon as she went in, she fell down again with a thud. Anita came running to see what the matter was. Hardik kept the grocery bags aside and helped Prafulla. Both Anita and Hardik helped her get up and sit on the couch. She looked at both of them and saw that they looked amazing together.
"Main gir gayi thi." Prafulla frowned. "Yeh toh achha tha ki Hardik mujhe ghar le aaya. Jaa Anita, jaake Hardik ke liye thodi chai ke aa."
"Iski koi zaroorat nahi hai." Hardik protested.
"Zaroorat toh hain. Tune jaan bachayi." Prafulla said. "Anita chai le aa. Aur tere woh pakode bhi le aana. Anita sabse best aloo ke pakode banati hai."
Anita went to the kitchen. Prafulla smiled at Hardik who smiled awkwardly. The way to a guy's heart was through his stomach. She was sure Hardik would fall in love with Anita as soon as he tasted her pakode. Poor guy mustn't have had a girl cook delicious food for him anyway.
***
Raavi went to the Pandya house to check what was happening there. She hoped Dhara di hadn't convinced Shiva of marriage. As soon as she entered Pandya house, she smelled halwa. Raavi panicked. Dhara only made halwa when there was some good news. Shiva hadn't agreed to the wedding right?
The whole family was chatting and Dhara was serving halwa to all of them. Raavi pouted. The whole family looked happy. Did they already find a bride for Shiva? It was impossible. She knew everyone the Pandyas knew, and none of the girls in their vicinity was suitable for Shiva. Dhara noticed Raavi and called her inside. She gave her some halwa.
"Aaj halwa kis khushi mein Dhara di?" Raavi asked, already dreading the answer.
"Tu bhool gayi?" Dhara asked.
The whole family looked surprised. Raavi shrugged.
"Aaj Dev ka birthday hai!" Dhara said.
Raavi was shocked. She had never forgotten anybody's birthday in the Pandya family. It was all because of Dhara di and her maasi's bet. She was trying her best to stop Shiva's wedding. She apologised to Dev and wished him a happy birthday. Dev being Dev didn't mind that she had forgotten. Dhara asked her for help in the kitchen. Raavi followed.
"Maami ki kya khabar hai?" Dhara asked. "Tum dono ki shaadi leke kuch kaha unhone?"
"Aapne jaise kaha maine maasi pe nazar rakhi hai. Woh mere liye eligible bachelors ka list banayi hai par iss baare mein mujhse kuch baat nahi ki. Kuch kahegi toh main saaf mana kar dungi." Raavi said.
"Chalo achha hai. Aur Shiva ka kya? Mana payi use?" Dhara asked.
Raavi hated lying to Dhara, but she had to. For Shiva's sake. "Nahi di woh nahi maana. Use shaadi nahi karni. Par aap tension mat lo. Main maasi ko humari shaadi nahi karne dungi. Toh shart woh nahi jeetegi."
"Kab tak Raavi? Kisi na kisi din toh shaadi karni paregi. Shiva ko bhi aur tujhe bhi." Dhara said. "Aur yeh shart mujhe hi jeetni hain. Shiva ko thoda sa emotional blackmail karungi toh shayad maan jayega."
"Par yeh toh galat hai!"
"Everything's fair in love and war. Aur yeh toh maami ke saath war hai." Dhara smiled and walked away.
Raavi couldn't believe that Dhara and her Maasi were ready to sacrifice their lives just for the sake of one bet. Knowing Shiva, he would say yes to Dhara in a heartbeat if she emotionally manipulated him. She had to do something! But what? Raavi was thinking and pacing the kitchen when she suddenly tripped on someone's feet and he caught her by the waist. It was Shiva, she recognised his touch. She turned around to face him.
"Dev ka birthday kaise bhul gayi?" Shiva asked. "Aaj tak toh kabhi nahi bhuli."
"Itna stress hai Shiva. Kya karu?" Raavi pouted.
"Kyu ab kya hua?"
"Shaadi!! Life ki sabse badi problem." Raavi said.
"Kiski shaadi?"
"Teri!"
"Ae gadheri, meri kaunsi shaadi? Mujhe koi shaadi nahi karni." Shiva said.
"Woh toh mujhe pata hai Shiva. Par tu bata. Agar Dhara di ne tujhe apni kasam di toh tu kar lega na shaadi?" Raavi asked.
"Yeh tere dimaag mein shaadi kyu ghusi hai?" Shiva asked. "Haa, Dhara bhabhi ne kasam di toh karni toh paregi."
Raavi frowned. How would she save him then? Raavi didn't see Dhara was looking at them secretly. Now that she was sure of Raavi's feelings, all she had to do was make them fall in love with each other. Prafulla would lose the bet as well as her daughter to Dhara.
