Prologue

BrhannadaArmour

@BrhannadaArmour

Kā Te Kāntā? Kas Te Jāmātā?

(Who's Your Girlfriend? Who's Your Son-In-Law?)

Prologue

Raghav woke up and saw his ex-girlfriend standing next to him with a swollen belly. "Raghav, hamāre pyāra kī niśānīse merā yaha śṛṅgāra huā hai," she said.

Blinking his drowsy eyes, Raghav reached out his hand and touched her belly. He heard a squeak. "A balloon?" he asked, incredulously.

"Yes, this balloon is a symbol of what our love was: overblown, hollow, cheap, short-lived, destined to shrivel. When I heard that the doctors were bringing you out of your induced coma, I thought I would have a little fun with you."

"What are you even doing here? Where is Pallavi?" Raghav demanded.

"She's at the office. She had to take over Jayati Jewels when you hit your head on the blunt end of a nail and the doctors had to put you in a coma for four months. Pallavi put a stop to all of your cost-saving workarounds, shall we say, and so she had to lay off all of the designers, but she pays them a commission from sales of their past designs. I offered to work off the record because my husband and I are in the witness protection program, and we don't need the money. Pallavi's friend Rashmi Singh introduced me to her. We didn't know when exactly you would wake up, so I volunteered to work from your bedside. So, here I am."

"Did you say Lakshmi Singh?" Raghav wanted to make sure.

"No, Rashmi Singh. Akash's sister in Bhopal. Oh, I forgot that you wouldn't know Akash. Kirti was still with Sunny when you had your accident. Sunny got violent with Kirti when he found out that Pallavi had your power of attorney and she wasn't going to let him move into the mansion. Then Kirti took a plea deal to send Sunny to prison. Her new boyfriend Akash is very nice. He's an electrician."

"Sunny kā sunset hone ke bāda Electric Bulb lagānā to cāhiye," Raghav muttered with resignation. "Anyway, tell me, Pallavi was never shot? And Nirupa - I mean, Sharada Āī was never paralyzed?"

"Never. Your in-laws are all fine. Your Bābā visits every day, and pours a special tīrtha-water into your mouth. I think he said it comes from bathing Gaṇapati Bāppā during pūjā."

"I didn't get drunk with you and ..." Raghav couldn't even finish the thought.

"Alcohol and sedatives don't mix."

"And is Mandar back from the dead?" Raghav had to make sure.

"Yes! Raghav, how could you know? You must have heard him talking to you while you were sleeping. Mandar and Pallavi got divorced, and now Mandar is Farhad's boyfriend, so they visit you together. Mandar's nickname for you is Gadādhārī Bhīma."

Raghav shook his head. Why did that one part of his dream have to be true?

Just then, he heard the loud voice of the one and only Sulochana Kākū, entering his hospital room with a peacock feather in her hand. "Are, Svapnila Raghav! Tū zāgā zhālāsa! Āṇi bolatoysa suddhā! Āndhaḷā māgato eka ḍoḷā, āṇi Deva deto dona!" Hey, dreamy Raghav! You are awake! And you're even talking! The blind person asks for one eye, and God gives two!