FF: PALLAVI by Jalebi Jane SEE NOTE PAGE 117 - Page 73

Perfect

Na kam na jyada exact amount of salt to saizzle 😀

Here Pallavi too aware of situation and more outgoing and street smart

Good one.

Hi

A story needs its characters to meander through mistakes and bad decisions so that when they arrive where we want them to, we share the euphoria.

The last couple of episodes were .... Interesting to say the least. Now I want Pallavi to choose Raghav. No matter what the expectations of the society or her family. No matter how appropriate her other options.... She needs to arrive at that decision herself. Your Raghav deserves that much.

Wow, back to back weekend, good episodes..Pallavi, you defintely have developed a deeper crush than what you are aware of..

Raghav, what to say, inspite of knowing the truth, you are behind a girl you want, you will cross any path to get to her..loving you.

EPISODE 34

Earlier that day at the shop—before they had been interrupted by Rakesh—Raghav had alluded to a ‘most important conversation.’ And as he didn’t strike her as hyperbolic in speech, that teasing tidbit had revisited her throughout the day.

Was what he wanted to share now related to that?

‘Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy.’ Despite being a keen student of Baji Rao, Pallavi found herself ignoring this admonition.

She followed Raghav Rao indoors.

She saw they were not alone. Farhad was standing next to the dining table where a young man was hunched over a laptop.

Raghav pulled out the chair next to the young man and indicated to her that she should sit.

Again, Pallavi hesitated. She looked at Farhad. He did not speak but he gave a very slight solemn nod. And despite a strong premonitory sensation, she sat down.

Raghav said, “Farhad remembered a scene at the casino last year in which a man lost a large sum at the gaming table. He believes that man is Mandhar Deshmukh.” He gestured to the young man who applied his fingers to the keyboard, and then angled the screen so she could study it.

It was footage from a security camera. It ran—and yes, it was Mandhar.

When was this?

Pallavi asked the young man. “What is the date of this footage?”

The young man indicated the date and time at the bottom of the screen.

It was a week after their wedding!

As though Raghav read her thoughts, he said, “He was using another name which is why he evaded the police.” Removing a folded piece of paper from his trouser pocket, he handed it to her. “He was using this name.”

Pallavi unfolded the paper. It was a receipt from the same day showing an amount of just above one crore paid from Jayati Jewellers to Mr Mann Desh for a two-carat cushion green diamond ring.

One crore!

Hot tears instantly filled her eyes—and overflowed. She lifted the edge of her dupatta but found a crisp white handkerchief pressed into her palm. It was Raghav’s. She mumbled her thanks.

He said, ‘Watch this footage—”

She dabbed at her eyes and looked up.

It was of a man and a woman leaving a shop. Jayati Jewellers showroom presumably. She leaned closer. It was Mandhar—clearly!—but he wore a turban and an outrageously large moustache. So he had adopted a fake name—and a disguise!—to remain undetected in Hyderabad.

Her blood boiled at the depth of his cruelty. His bride and his family were nearly demented with worry—while he was wandering these same streets with a turban on his head, and this creature on his arm—!

As any woman would understand—any woman who has been betrayed by a man—Pallavi wanted a better look at her.

“Can you show me that bit again? I want a closer look at the woman,” she asked the young man.

He ran the footage—paused it—then zoomed in on the woman’s features.

“She looks happy,” Pallavi said, unaware she had spoken out loud.

Raghav said, “Of course, she does. She has just received one crore for taking another woman’s ring off her husband’s finger.”

Pallavi met his eyes and asked, “How long have you known? About the ring, I mean. When did you learn that I came to the casino that night because I was interested in the ring?”

Raghav replied, “Only since this morning when Farhad reminded me of this incident at the casino last year. The exact amount ‘Mann Desh’ lost that night was what I paid for this ring. I followed a hunch. I checked the records at JJ and the receipt confirmed it was the same man—”

“—And the same amount,” she finished.

Mandhar had pawned her treasure—and thrown away the money at a gaming table! She couldn’t remain seated as this reality hit her.

Getting up from the table, she strode out to the terrace—and continued to the edge of the barrier. The moon hung so beautifully right above her. Almost taunting her with its perfection.

What hurt the most was not Mandhar’s recklessness—but her foolishness. How could she have married him? How could she have believed herself in love with him? How could she have been so incredibly stupid to fall for his empty words?

“You got off easy,” came Raghav’s voice.

She had not heard him approach.

She swung around in a temper. “Easy? Is that how you see it?”

“You are alive and free,” he pointed out.

“Yes,” she shook her head, “If your philosophy is measuring everything against certain death—then I suppose I should be doing cartwheels at how excellently things have turned out for me.”

She flounced away marching the length of the pool, turned at the end—her lengha twirling at her ankles—and returned to his side. “Let’s tally my blessings.” She began to count on her fingers. “I married a bigamist. He faked his death. He pawned the only thing I had left of my parents memory. I’ve been forced to live like his widow for a year—while he—” she waved off into the distance, “—is living it up in Mumbai with his real wife—who, by the way, is pregnant. But I am free and alive, as you point out.”

“So you know where he is?”

“Yes. I suppose you know that as well.”

He nodded.

“How?” she asked.

“I hired a private investigator.”

“I don’t understand,” she asked, her brows drawing together. “What is your interest in him?”

“In him?” He gave a laugh. “I’m not interested in him.”

“Then why launch this enquiry?”

“Do you need me to speak the words, Pallavi?”

It’s been a while since I commented and so much has happened. Raghav has fallen and fallen hard . I must say that did quite surprise me. So now this truth is out and hopefully he’ll give Pallavi the ring. I wonder if he’s going to propose to her in the next part and if so what she says. Also shout out to you for updating regularly despite the fact that your break is over. Keep the chapters coming.

So I guess Raghav is going make his intentions clear now. That's not going to go well. But I can't for to read it either! 😆😊

Thanks for the update ❤️❤️❤️

So Raghav is gonna make his intentions more clear I guess since pallu did not get his hints

She must be so annoyed ..but is she itching for revenge against Mandhar ??

Stay safe

YES RAGHAV U NEED TO SPEAK IT AWHDDJDKSKS

Wow, there are no MU, clear cut message and closure from RR. Beautiful way to take story forward.

EPISODE 35

“Do you need me to speak the words, Pallavi?”

His eyes were fixed on the terrazzo floor. His voice so quiet, so subdued, she barely heard him. Pallavi instinctively moved closer. Now only a wrought iron table and matching chairs separated them.

“Yes—because I don’t understand why you would go to these efforts to learn about what happened to Mandhar,” she said.

His head tilted upwards and met her eyes. “Because I want you. And I needed to assure myself that you were free of him.”

I want you!

Pallavi’s knuckles whitened as she clutched the twisted arm of the iron chair. She felt both hot and cold at once.

“How can you want me?” she shook her head in denial. “You don’t know me. All you know of me is pretence and disguise.”

“And all you know of me is threats and commands,” he retorted. “But can you honestly tell me that there is not something between us?”

She couldn’t.

She had admitted that much to Krishna, so why should she lie to herself?

There was no future for them but she was not heartless. For a man like him to confess what he felt could not have been easy. He was a man who acquired power in every situation—to make himself vulnerable to her meant he had to give away power. He deserved as honest a reply as she could give.

Blushing—and hoping the moonlight would not give her away—she said, “I won’t deny it. I’m drawn to you. Physically. And it has—I mean you have—helped me realize that I am lonely. But I feel nothing beyond that.”

He gave a hollow chuckle which held a note of mockery. “You will have me in your bed but not in your life. Is that what you are saying, Pallavi? Fine. I’ll take that. For now.”

Pallavi’s eyes widened, and she stared at him. “No!” she quickly said, her voice flustered, “I didn’t mean that. I wasn’t suggesting that we—you know!”

He was now smiling. He was enjoying himself. “You just said you wanted me—”

“Yes, but you trapped me. You are an attractive man. You know that very well. And if I were that sort of woman, I might—”

“—Might what?”

“Have you in that way.”

Oh, Bappaji!

What was this man doing to her? She was now beginning to sound like Krishna with her euphemisms for sex: you-know and that-thing.

Gathering her scattered mind, she straightened her spine, with chin up and in the most brittle tone she could conjure, “Let me be clear, Mr Rao, you are not in the category of men I would choose to be with.”

“I see,” he nodded, as though he understood her qualms perfectly. “I’m a gangster. I operate under the law. I’m hated. I’m feared. What you want is a good boy from a good family who runs a good little shop. But—wait! You’ve had that. And how did that work out?”

Now anger flared in her and she stepped away from the chair and towards him with clenched fists. “That’s not fair. Mandhar set out to betray. He deliberately presented himself as something other than what he was.”

Raghav caught her fist and used it to draw her closer. Holding it to his heart, he said, his voice almost tender. “Pallavi, with me, you get what you see. I’ll always speak the truth. I may try to get what I desire from you, but it will be done openly. I will never manipulate you with empty words. Don’t dismiss me before you try me.”

And with that he let her arm drop to her side—but he did not release her hand.

Pallavi realized she had been holding her breath throughout his speech. She tried to wrench her hand away, but he wouldn’t allow it. He slipped his other arm around her waist, his hand splayed across her naked back, and he murmured, “You asked me earlier whether I had ever experienced a proper kiss. Tell me, is this a proper kiss?”

He brought her fully against his frame—and before she could understand his intentions, his lips were on hers, slanting over her mouth, moving hungrily, coaxing her mouth open. His tongue momentarily teased her lips, lightly—then plunged within to devour her. Without being aware of it, she melted into the kiss, and met his tongue—first hesitatingly—then fully—and he responded by sliding his hand down over her buttocks, pressing her hips to his—

She gasped at the intimate contact and broke away—!

He released her immediately, with a soft chuckle. “This is inevitable, Pallavi. Let’s not fight it.”

Pressing her shaky hand to her heart, she wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t form the words.

“Where is that handkerchief?” he asked.

It was bunched in her hand. She offered it to him. He took it, and wiped her lips. And then his own mouth. “Less lipstick from now on. You don’t need it. And I certainly don’t.”

He showed her the door. “Farhad will drive you home. I know I should—but I don’t trust you after that kiss.”

*As future episodes will include graphic sexual scenes, I'll post the remainder of this tale on my website.*