Dhara stole a glance at Shiva sitting morosely on the stairs and frowned. Her child has been off these past few days. He's gone quieter than usual, didn't even lose his temper at anyone. He wouldn't eat much, avoid everyone, spend too much time working at the store. He seemed almost defeated for some reason. Dhara was extremely worried about him. She called out to him.

"Shiva?"

"Jee Bhabhi?"

"Sab thik hai na? Tu kuch pareshaan lag raha hai."

"Nahi Bhabhi aisi koi baat nahi hai. Sab thik hai." Shiva said, giving her a forced smile.

Dhara knew he was lying to her. She sighed. If Shiva didn't want to share, there's no way on earth she can make him talk. She decided to let it go - for now.

"Accha fir aaj tu mere saath market chal. Raavi aur mujhe thodi shopping karni hai."

"Bhabhi pann main kyu - "

"Dekh main kuch ni sunna chahti. Tu hume market le jayega bas. 1 ghante mein tayyar ho jana. Tu bas chal mere saath."

Shiva nodded and she left to call Raavi.

*****

This is the last place he wanted to be. It felt as if the fates wanted to punish him for all the mistakes he ever made in his life by making him watch the girl he loved shop for her engagement to his own brother. When he was younger he used to think he'd kill anyone who would attempt to come near his Chipkali but now that guy is his brother. He chuckled darkly at his own thoughts. Maybe it's time to move past this. He needed to accept that this woman belongs to his brother now. And maybe - just maybe, one day he will look at her and not feel this gut wrenching agony.

He watched her walk ahead with Dhara Bhabhi, bouncing in excitement. They went through a million shops, buying everything they fancied. Shiva was exhausted from lugging their bags around but apparently they were in no hurry to wrap things up. He grumbled, never again would he concede to accompany them for another one of their shopping trips.

"Dhara Di!!! Maine toh Sonal ki reception mein pehenne ke liye outfit liya hi nahi!!! Oh no!! Main kaise bhool gayi yeh!!!" Raavi's panicked voice rang out suddenly and Shiva stared at her in surprise.

"Ae Maami ki behen ki beti! Poore Somnath ke dukaanein khali kar chuki hai. Aur kapde nahi hai unke paas. Tere paas jo hai ussi se kaam chala. Main aur nahi rukne wala tere liye. Bhabhi, sagaai ki shopping ho gayi ho toh ghar chalte hai."

"Shiva! Tu kaisa hai!!! Somnath ki sabse beautiful ladki apni best friend ki shaadi mein puraane kapde pehnegi?? Main teri tarah junglee nahi hu samjha. Chaliye Dhara di! Isko jo karna hai woh kare. Hum woh waali shop mein chalte hai. Wahi se ek pretty sa lehenga utha lungi." Raavi narrowed her eyes at Shiva.

He rolled his own at her response before turning to leave when he collided with someone. His grip on the bags loosened, making them fly everywhere as he tried to balance himself. He grabbed the nearest thing he could find - in this case the person he collided with - but their momentum was too fast for him to maneuver and he fell, pulling the other person along with him. He shut his eyes as he fell, the scent of roses the last thing he registered before hitting the ground.

*****

Raavi watched wide-eyed as Shiva fell down with the girl on top of him, his arms wrapped around her waist. The weird sickly feeling from last week made its return. This was the same girl who was clinging to Shiva in the temple. Raavi fumed as she looked at the two of them on the ground, lost in their own thoughts and all she wanted to do was rip that girl away from her Shiva. With that thought in mind, Raavi stormed ahead with Dhara at her heels but before she could act on her thoughts, they snapped out of their reverie and they got up, dusting their clothes. Raavi watched with satisfaction as they looked away from each other but her relief was short-lived when she heard the girl speak.

"Kehte hai jo ek baar mile woh mauka. Dusri baar mile woh ittefaq. Jo teesri baar mile usse kismat kehte hai."

Raavi watched started when Shiva chuckled in response to her words. Never had she seen him smile in such open amusement before. She couldn't help but stare at him in wonder as he picked up the bags, still smiling.

"Toh ittefaq hi sahi. Waise aap hamesha aise taqraati hui milti hai?" Shiva asked, handing the girl her bags.

She let out a tinkling laughter, shaking her head in amusement.

"Nahi magar aapse shayad taqraane ka raabta ban chuka hai. Waise agar fir mile toh pakka destiny hai. Kuch toh karna hoga iska." She said smiling as she turned to leave.

"Fir mile toh naam bhi zaroor batana. Ya fir Gulabo hi bula loon?" Shiva called after her.

She turned around, her windchime laughter ringing in Raavi's ears.

"Agar kismat hui toh pehchan bhi ho jayegi. Fir se jaan bachane ke iye shukriya." She smiled at him before walking away.

Raavi watched the exchange thunderstuck. Shiva smiling and - dare she say - flirting with a random stranger did not sit well with her. Why is he behaving so out of character?? Where was her grumpy Bhootnath from a few moments back? Who was this flirty mischievous man standing before her?? She blinked in shock. A sharp intake of breath made her tear her eyes away from him and look at Dhara di who was staring at Shiva with the same look on her face, that probably was on hers too.

Raavi was still staring at Shiva when she realised he was talking to her. She shook her head and focused on his words.

"Ae Maami ki behen ki beti! Kabse awaaz laga raha hoon. Tere kaanpur mein hartaal lagi hai kya??" Shiva said, looking at her amusedly. "Agar poora market khali kar liya ho toh ghar chal. Mujhe dukaan mein baithna hai."

Raavi watched him walk away, the uneasiness in her heart increasing with every step he took away from her.

*****

The clock on her cellphone screen read 3:37am. Raavi tossed and turned before giving up. She threw the sheets off of her and sat up in bed. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't fall asleep. She was sick of this constant queasy feeling in her gut. She felt so confused and lost that she couldn't even feel excited about her engagement. She thought of Dev, the person she was in love with since forever. She would be spending the rest of her life with the man she loved, her lifelong dream of being a Pandya bahu was going to come true. So why didn't that thought bring her the peace she hoped for? Why did the thought of tying herself to Dev bring her such discomfort??

"Kya Raavi! Kaise bekaar khayal leke baith gayi tu. Tu pyaar karti hai Dev se. Bohot jald shaadi bhi hone waali hai. Tujhe bas cold feet aa rha hai! Haan! Yahi ho rha hai. Maine padha tha shaadi se pehle dulhan ko aise khayal aksar aate hai!" Raavi thought to herself, suddenly feeling upbeat. She was being worried for nothing.

She lied down in bed and tried to think of all the outfits she bought today. But her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Shiva and that girl. Him talking to her that way made her feel very uncomfortable for some reason. She eventually drifted off to a fitful sleep, her last thought before giving in to exhaustion was the memory of that girl in Shiva's arms.

.........to be continued

Apologies for the errors. Didn't proofread