Chapter 7

IshqKaRang

@IshqKaRang

Chapter 7 Hai rom rom ek taara

Shiva had this unsettling feeling in his chest. Raavi wasn’t that shallow. She wouldn’t go just for looks. But if that was the case, then Rishita bhabhi had a point. He could give her everything she would want from a life partner. But he wasn’t her choice. And she would never choose him.. And that was what mattered the most. 

“Lo profile tho ban gaya, bas ab Raavi ki ek achchi si pyaari si photo chahiye. Tumhare paas hai kya Shiva? Raavi ki koi achchi photo?” Rishita asked. 

“Main.. Nahi patha.. Main dekhke aapko baad mein bathatha hoon,” Shiva said, quickly walking away from Rishita before she managed to add more cracks in his resolve. He went into the storeroom and shut the door behind him. He closed his eyes for some peace of mind but the image that popped up made him see red. He imagined random strange men from the matrimonial website staring at his Chipkali’s photo and deciding whether they liked her or not. He had this urge to go punch every single guy he could find in the face. No! This matrimonial website business would not work, he decided. But what other avenue did he have? In his mind, he scrolled through the men he knew.

Ashish, that topper from their school. He had gone to IIT and IIM and had his own business. He had been a teacher’s pet - mild mannered, soft spoken, thorough gentleman. But then, he imagined Raavi with Ashish and realized he was so boring he would suck the life out of her too. She needed someone who could match her spunk, her fire.. Like him.. His heart whispered and then stopped in complete silence. Like him? 

Shiva’s heart picked up speed. He would never change himself for anyone in this world but what if he was just what she needed. She NEEDED. Not who she had to make do with because she had been forced into marrying him. Not who she felt pity for because people thought him jungli and gawar. What if his excitingly wild and untamed love was what she needed? What if he could sweep her off her feet without being a Prince Charming? 

She seemed so excited at the prospect of marrying again. Gadhedi! As if he would stand by and watch her become someone else’s. He knew that no one could love her as much as he did. And his was the kind of love she deserved. The all-consuming, devastating kind of love that left you empowered and defenseless all at the same time - the way he was feeling now. She would choose him. There was no other way. No other way he would be able to stay alive and sane. 

***

He slipped into her room through the window. She was asleep already. The soft breeze that came in through the window brought a few strands of her hair onto her face. He walked over to her bed and crouched down beside her. With a soft, gentle caress, as light as a feather, he tucked away the strands of her hair that had fallen on her face. “Shiva..” she sighed in her sleep, holding his hand and turning over to place his hand beneath her head. Had she just whispered his name in her sleep? “Raavi..” his voice was barely a whisper. “Darr lag raha hai. Raavi. I know I am not worthy of you. But there is a stubborn part of my heart that refuses to let you go. I know, I haven’t given you any reason to like me in all these years. But changing all that would mean changing who I am. And I am happy the way I am, Raavi. This is who I am. Even if I try to, I won’t be able to pull off a gentleman facade for long. Tujhse jhagda nahi karoonga tho aur kya karoonga? The ease of comfort we have when we fight, that is where I am comfortable. Every touch of yours when we are not fighting makes me nervous, makes my heart pound. Shayad.. Shayad mujhe tu achchi lagne lagi hai, Raavi. Aur isi liye Sneha ki woh baatein aur teri diary ki wo baatein mujhe itni chub gayi. Ki main tere laayak nahi. Samajh nahi aa raha aisa kya karoon jiss se ki main tere laayak ban jaoon.. Par ek baar, sirf ek baar, apne darr ko side mein rakhkar, koshish karna chahtha hoon. I am not the Prince Charming you hoped for, Raavi. But maybe I can win your love the way I am? Kya lagtha hai, Raavi? Tu mujhe mauka degi? Main koshish karoon, Raavi?”

She was fast asleep and probably hadn’t heard a single word he said. But he desperately hoped for a sign that would tell him what he was thinking was right. As if his prayers had been answered, her eyes fluttered open. She gave him a sleepy smile as she moved closer towards him, placed her head in the crook of his neck and nestled into his warmth. And then, with a sudden jerk, she moved back, eyes wide and her perfectly kissable lips forming into an O. Afraid she might scream and wake up all of Somnath, Shiva placed his hand on her mouth and clamped it shut. 

She swatted his hand away. “Tu yahan? Iss waqt?” She whispered. For a moment, Shiva considered telling her honestly why he was here at this hour to see her. “Kahin aisa tho nahi ki tu mere bina reh hi nahi paa raha?” She asked, mischief sparkling in her eyes, as she pulled him by his collar closer to her. “Ay Chipkali! Apna anaar daane jitna chota sa dimaag zyaada math chala! Woh main tho..” “Tu tho kya? Itni raat ko, sabse chup chupakar, deewar laangke, khidki se koodkar, Somnath ki sabse sundar ladki, but more importantly, paraayi ladki ke kamre mein kya kar raha hai?” She asked, challenging him. “Pehli baath, tu sundar nahi, chachundar lagti hai aur doosri baath tu ladki kahan hai? Aur bachpan se lekar aaj tak mere sar pe naachthi aayi hai tab tho tujhe khayal nahi aaya ki tu paraayi hai?” he said angrily. It was her turn to jump out of her bed and clamp his mouth shut with her hand. “Dheere bol, gadhede! Maasima ya Mausapa sun lenge,” she whispered urgently. “Tho kya? Aane de unhein. Main kya dartha hoon unse?” he shot back. “Arey itni raat ko mujhe tumhare saath dekhenge tho? Apni nahi tho kam se kam mere izzat ke baare mein tho soch leta. Kitni badnaami hogi meri,” she replied. “Badnaami? Kaisi badnaami? Kisi aur ke saath hai kya tu? Apne pati ke saath hi tho hai,” he replied. 

Deja vu hit them both at the same time and Raavi quickly moved her hands away from him, looking away. “Tu.. tu yahan kya kar raha hai?” she asked again. “Main.. woh.. Main tujhe batane aaya tha ki, kal ladke se milne jaana hai..” He missed how her face fell for a split second before she masked it up with joy. “Kya? Itni jaldi tu ne dhoondh bhi liya? Naam kya hai? Kahan se hai? Dikhtha kaise hai?” she tried to infuse enthusiasm into her voice. “Kal subah 7 baje taiyaar rehna,” he replied. “7 baje? Itni jaldi? Bahut dur jaana hai kya usse milne?” she asked. “Dekh ek minute bhi agar tu late hui na, tho phir main chala jaoonga. Phir khud dhoond lena apne liye ladka,” he said, as he walked towards the window. “Shiva..” she called to him and he stopped to turn around and look at her. There was a strange, vulnerable look in her eyes that Shiva could not decipher. “Kya hai?” he asked curtly. “Kuch nahi,” she shook her head and he jumped out her window into the darkness of the night. 

***

At 7 AM sharp, Raavi was pacing in front of the door of her house. She had, after much deliberation, worn the pink saree she had shown Shiva yesterday. If her plan had to work, she would have to go all out. It was a huge risk, putting herself all out there for him. But there was no other way, at least that she could think of, to make him realize that he deserved her, and her feelings for him did not stem from any sympathy or compromise. 

The bhootnath took his own sweet time coming to pick her up but it was all worth it. The moment he spotted her, he lost control and the bike swerved, depositing him in a pile right at her feet. Raavi couldn’t help the chuckle that sprang forth from her as she proceeded to help him get back on his feet. As she bent over to help him, his gaze unwittingly landed on her bosom and he swallowed nervously. “Yeh, yeh kya kar rahi hai tu..” he muttered, forcing himself to look away as he dusted himself and got up. 

It was Raavi’s turn now to swallow nervously. The bhootnath looked exceedingly handsome in a plain white shirt, one edge tucked carelessly into the waist of his dark denim jeans, sleeves rolled up to the elbows and the top two buttons undone, his trishul locket catching the sunlight and gleaming against the bronze of his skin. He took his helmet off and ran a hand through his already tousled hair and Raavi felt weak in her knees. And he thought he wasn’t good enough for her, she mentally rolled her eyes. The guy clearly had no idea how hot he was and how he affected her. 

“Kya kar rahi hoon matlab? Teri help kar rahi hoon. Aur kya?” she replied. Shiva ran an appreciative gaze over her. Raavi in sarees was a definite weak spot for him, he realized, especially the chiffon ones. He had never understood Bollywood’s love for chiffon saree clad females, till this very moment. She looked breathtaking. The saree hugged her in just the right places and Shiva almost wished he was an artist of some kind so he could capture her beauty and perfection into a painting or sculpture. Her golden skin glowing in the first rays of morning light, her big doe eyes lined with kohl, making them even prettier if that was possible. Her lips glistened in their natural shade of pink. Simple golden jhumkas dangled merrily in her ears as she chuckled and bangles that matched her saree perfectly clinked against her slender wrists. She was wearing that flimsy golden blouse that seemed to beg him to tear it off her. He would never admit this out loud but he had, on occasion, wondered how it would be to make love to her. In that moment however, he knew with certainty that it would be wild, passionate and uncontrolled - just the way they had always been. He frowned as he thought that she had dressed this way to meet some other guy. There was no way he was letting another guy set his eyes on her when she looked so ravishing. 

“Ghoor kya raha hai? Khaayega kya?” She asked him. He would have given anything at all in that moment to say yes and mean it, toss her over his shoulder, take her far away from the eyes of the world and have his way with her. Anything at all. That was not possible.. Yet.. 

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have some fun though. “Haan..” he replied, gauging her reaction closely.  

***