Raghvi : The Game of Destiny

3.

The day that Pallavi feared had finally arrived. The Deshmukhs were having breakfast when Aai received a phone call from her friend stating that the groom's family couldn't come today due to a family emergency.

"Kya hua Aai? Kiska phone tha?" Nikhil asked.

"Usha Mawashi ka. Woh keh rahi thi ki aaj ladke waale nahi aa sakte." Aai said and Pallavi did a happy dance in her mind.

"Kyu Aai?" Pallavi asked ever so innocently.

"Koi family emergency hai."

"Accha. Thik hai fir mein dukaan ke liye nikalti hoon." Pallavi said and started moving out.

Once she reached the shop, Krishna noticed how happy she looked. She wondered if everything was fine because, just a day before Pallavi was on the verge of crying and now she looked all happy.

"Kya hua didi? Bade khush lag rahe ho aap?" Krishna asked.

"Baat hi kuch aisi hai, Krishna. Woh ladke waale nahi aa rahe."

"Kyu?"

'Koi family emergency aa gayi hai."

"Aaj ke liye bach gayi aap." Krishna exclaimed while Pallavi nodded cheerfully.

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Raghav had sent a car to pick up Amma and Keerti as Atta was coming. He waited for them to come but, got disappointed when the driver informed that they won't be coming.

"Why are they not coming?"

"Ma'am told me that there's some family emergency so, Atta wouldn't be coming and since Atta isn't coming they don't feel the need to come." The driver told Ragha and went back to his job.

Raghav stood there heartbroken. After what happened ten years ago, Amma had sworn that she would never accept Raghav but, Atta convinced her to not disown Raghav like that. Even though Amma did not completely agree with what Atta said, she did not want to disrespect her by not listening to her after all, Atta was the eldest in the family and had done a lot for her and her husband. So, just to not bother her by Raghav's worries, Amma and Keerti shifted to RR Mansion whenever Atta came to Hyderabad. Raghav always looked forward for these moments as he could be with family even if it was for a few days. Now that his Amma was not coming, he left for his office where Farhad was already waiting for him with his days' schedule. Going through it, he realized that he did not have a lot of work and would be free till late afternoon so, decided to visit the new property that he had given on rent to see if the tenants were adhering to the rules. Making a mental note of the same, he got busy in his work.

It was evening and he was done with his work and decided to leave for his new property. As he reached the place, he saw Keerti walking in the same lane. He followed her and saw her entering a shop. Wondering what Keerti was doing in a roadside shop, Raghav stood behind a pillar and tried listening to the conversation. He could see that Keerti was talking to a girl but, he couldn't see the girl as she was back facing him. Raghav saw Keerti's expressions going from a smile to a frown as the girl handed something to her. He couldn't make out the entire conversation but, still waited there hoping that he could understand something by seeing the expressions on Keerti's face.

"Pallavi, tumhe paise dene ki jaroorat nahi hai. Mein kasie bhi karke manage kar lungi. Tum chinta mat karo." Keerti said and refused to take the money that Pallavi was giving her.

"Aise kaise? Sirf naam ke liye dosti nahi ki hai. Dosti ki hai toh nibhani bhi padegi. Aur agar jaroorat ke time dost nahi aayenge toh kaun aayega? Aur mein thodi na free mein de rahi hoon tumhe!! Tumhe tumhare paise milne ke baad, tum mujhe waapas kar dena. Easy!!" Pallavi said and thrusted the money envelope in Keerti's hand.