"Ek kheechke kaan ke niche lagaunga na tera, sab akal thikane lag jaega! Vedhava!"

If this reality would have been in a cartoon animation film then the residents of Jubilee Hills would have definitely seen the Rao Mansion stretch in twenty opposite directions as if the sheer loudness of its owner's scream has managed to warp their current dimension itself. 

Harish looked like someone had given him an electric shock at the suddenness of the bellow his boss had let out and immediately looked at an exasperated Farhad who tried giving him a reassuring look from behind the former. 

"Udhar kya dekh raha hain!!! Farhad nhi bachaega aaj tereko. Usko bhi dekhta hain main baad mein.. bohot herogiri dikha raha hain aaj kal."

"Anna.. maine kya kiya?"

The man who was looming over his bodyguard whipped around and glared at his right hand with such vehemence that Farhad instantly shut up. Wise as he was, he knew when to shut his trap and start looking for himself. 

Poor Harish though was almost reduced to tears as Raghav Rao stood towering over him, his fists balled into a white knuckled grip as he almost shook with the rage passing through his lean fit muscular frame. 

"Anna.."

Harish tried replying meekly only to stop, shit scared when his boss cut him across rudely. 

"Shut up! Have you any idea what you have done? What could have happened? You nincompoop!"

The Doctor who was stitching what looked like a nasty knife wound on Harish's right bicep sighed and gave Raghav a look befitting an annoyed father who would cast it at his temperamental hyperactive errant son. 

"Raghav! For God's sake! Calm down! How many times do I have to tell you to keep your temper in check. Your body is still weak from the last attack. Do you want a repeat telecast of what happened last week, in the middle of your wedding?"

Raghav looked suitably chastised for a second before the look of fury came back on his handsome features though he remained dangerously mum throughout the next fifteen minutes as the Doctor finished tending to Harish who was looking like he would rather the ground swallows him up or the sky cracks open in his head. 

Farhad had meanwhile brought a glass of water for Raghav hoping mightily that the ice liquid might cool down a bit of that inferno inside him. 

By the piercing look he received in return for his efforts, it was evident that it didn't work. 

"Thank you Doctor. Farhad will see you outside."

Harish leaped up from his seat with a surprising fluidity for such a heavyset man and jumped behind Farhad clutching onto his arm for dear life, terrified of his fate lest the former leaves him alone with Raghav. The Doctor chortled heartily at the scene and shook his head good naturedly. At this rate, if he ever decides to write a book on his most eccentric patient, it would definitely turn out to be a bestseller only if due to this maverick gangster and his equally ridiculous men and their hilarious antics he had been a first person witness to. 

"No worries. I will see myself out. Harish, take this painkillers after dinner. And make sure you do not put any unnecessary pressure on that arm for some days. I would suggest complete bedrest but knowing you... at least try to keep it away from exertion at the least."

At the big man's frantic nodding he turned towards a now scowling Raghav and patted his shoulder lightly. 

"Take it easy tiger. I don't want to see you in that condition ever again, am I clear?"

Raghav blushed slightly at the familiar endearment even as his dark eyes softened a bit with fondness at the genuine affection in the other man's voice. Dr. Iyyer has been his family physician for a very long time and for some weird reason seemed inexplicably attached to him. It was confusing as he knew that he was a less than stellar patient and required the former's services at the oddest of times and in strangely unpalatable situations. 

"Crystal. Sir. Shree will see you out."

Dr. Iyyer knew it was useless arguing with Raghav and called it a night following a half petrified Shree biding a nervously smiling Farhad a goodnight as well and sent a prayer for poor Harish while he was at it. 

It looked like the poor man would need all the prayers he could get, tonight.

Raghav turned towards Harish the moment the doctor left, making the latter squeak in a rather unmanly manner and try to squeeze his body somehow behind the more slender built Farhad. The situation would have looked incredibly comical to a third person. 

"Come out here, this instant Harish, or else I will shoot you through Farhad!"

He snapped making both his men almost jump out of their skin and Farhad pushed a quaking Harish forcefully in front, trying to assure him under his breath that their boss wouldn't slaughter him after taking the pains to get his wounds stitched. 

"Anna.. I..I..a..am... so...sorry... I didn't think..."

"That is what! You didn't think. You never think. Because a person needs an important organ for doing that. Which you lack you fatheaded dumbass! It is called a brain!"

"Anna... ab maaf bhi kar dijiye.. bechara.."

"Tujhe bhi khaana hain do chaar Farhad?"

"..."

"Good. Keep shut then."

"Anna...maine jaan bujhke.. nhi.. main toh bass..."

"Tu toh bass? Bass kya? Suicide karna chahta tha? Haan???"

Harish looked dumbstruck at his boss as Raghav started pacing in front of him like an enraged panther, raking his hands through his luscious black hair. The maroon silk robe which had wrapped his enviously chiselled frame rustled unassumingly around his lithe frame as a look of restrained despair replaced the wrath on his face shockingly. 

"You damned little fool! Do you know if Farhad hadn't followed you, what could have happened? Minto D'Souza isn't human, Harish. He is a monster. He is only man who I know can give me a run for my money at my best day."

"He was behind that attack Anna..."

"Yes! It was pretty damned candid as the bastard had almost declared it publicly. But that didn't mean you had to go in all guns blazing in his lair! You.. you absolute.. Gorilla!"

Farhad would have chuckled at his Anna's sudden inability to find any more curses for their resident Hanuman and revert back to his officially designated nickname, had he had not seen the repressed terror in his brother's charcoal eyes. 

All this display of maddening anger at Harish was just the cover for a frightening worry for him which this stupid man couldn't understand. Well, he couldn't be blamed. No one has ever been able to read Raghav even two percent close to his actual unfiltered self. Except perhaps Farhad and the only woman he loved. 

Harish ploughed through digging his own grave deeper, uncomprehending and timid. 

"But.. he hurt you Anna. He could have seriously hurt you. Thanks to Rehman and Madan.. I wish I had been there.. that idiot would have been a stain on the road.. piece of shit."

Harish's sudden vitriolic rage took both Raghav and Farhad aback for a moment. His round face had morphed into a dark anger which chilled both of them slightly. 

"Harish.."

Farhad shook him slightly bringing back the old confused golden retriever look back and Raghav breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes his own men scared him at the maniacal protectiveness they had strangely developed for him. 

Raghav sighed and pinched the bridge of his sharp nose. 

"Harish... please. I know you mean well but leave the strategizing and thinking to Farhad. And DO NOT go hair brained and raring into dangerous situations which could get you killed! Arthamaiynda!"

Harish beamed like a kid knowing he was saved and nodded his head vigorously. 

"Sorry Anna. It wouldn't happen again. But don't worry, I have no problem dying for you. In fact I will be glad to give my li--"

"Chup ho jaa, bewakoof kahike.."

Farhad slapped his uninjured hand whispering dramatically as Raghav's eyes widened before lighting up in fury again.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE DIE HARISH! I will rip you away from the gates of Hell and tear all your limbs myself before feeding your remains to the pigs if you even think of dying!"

"Anna..."

Harish looked crestfallen again and Farhad slapped a hand to his own face. He pushed Harish away out of the mansion, shielding him bodily lest his boss decides to finish what he had started instructing the upset man-child to take a leave tomorrow. 

"Anna ko thoda thanda hone dein, phir aa jaana.. chalo bye bye, good night.. and please.. kisiko marna mat jaatein waqt theek hain.. pichle baar ki tarah main nhi aaunga tujhe jail se chudwane, yaad rahe.. ab jaa."

"Okay Farhad bhai.. par Anna ka security.."

"Main dekh lunga meri jaan.. ab please jaa, before Anna hum dono ko Allah Talah ke paas pahuacha dein."

------------------------------------------

Pallavi ran in frantically and almost collided with Farhad who had walked back in after seeing Harish off. 

"Bhabi aap? Aap log toh Sunday wapas aane walein the na? Kya hua? Sab theek hain? Manasi ki shaadi..?"

"Haan haan sab theek hain. Shadi ho gyi, sab wahi Kolhapur mein hi rukein hain.. main aayi hun sirf.. Par tum batao Raghav theek hain na? Kahan hain? Raghav!"

Farhad smiled gently and teased her slightly. 

"Accha.. aap Anna ko miss kar rahi thi kya?"

"Chup kar. Apne Anna ke saath reh reh ke tum bhi bigad jaa rahe ho Farhad."

Farhad chuckled seeing the subtle blush on his to be sister in law's beautiful face. His boss was truly a luck man. And he couldn't be happier for him. And for himself too. He had come to love this slight woman almost as fiercely as he loved his boss. And he loved the fact that she behaved with him the way she behaved with Nikhil. 

"Arre, ismein bigadne ki baat kaha se aayi Bhabi? Aap Anna ko miss nhi karengi toh kya Vijayji karenge?"

Pallavi couldn't help the explosion of laughter that brought out. She was joined by Farhad as both imagined a prickly Vijay Deshmukh telling a bewildered Raghav Rao how much he missed him. 

"Chaliye maan hi leti hun. Woh kya hain na Farhad miyah, mere huzoor hain hi itne pyaarein, seedha infection ki tarah chipak jatein hain sabse.. phir jitna bhi antibiotic ka course complete karlo, ye bimari toh theek hone se rahi.."

"Uff! Mahshallah! Kya baat boli hain Bhabi jaan aap... seedha dil pe jaake laga."

"Mera bhi!"

Farhad and Pallavi almost jumped out of their skin, their giggles fading out as they saw an unamused looking Raghav glaring at them from the side. 

"Main infection hain? Bimari? Merese picha chudane keliye antibiotic ki zaroorat hain? Kaun sikhata hain tereko ye sab faltu batein.. Bakwas Shayari Ka Dukaan."

Farhad guffawed and immediately struggled to straighten his expression when Raghav glared at him murderously. 

"Aur tu kya hass raha hain. Kal salary day hain, yaad hain ke nhi?"

"Arre Anna, aap toh bura man gayein. Aap toh mere khuda ho.. main kaise hasunga aap pe?"

"Chal hatt! Makhan laga raha hain abhi.. sabhi ek jaisa hain tum log."

Pallavi sniggered and walked into him unabashed. Raghav resisted the urge to wrap his arms tightly around her but it was frighteningly difficult. He had missed her like a dying man misses the very air he is struggling to breathe in. Her proximity was like an addictive drug and he felt like he was going through some serious withdrawal. 

Specially because, she had intentionally washed her hair with his favourite strawberry shampoo and put on his favourite perfume... smelling of frangipanis and water lilies, looking resplendent in a simple green chiffon silk saree. 

Pallavi raised her hands from where they had initially rested on his chest and moved it all over his body as if torturing him further sadistically. Her eyes took in all the small details frantically, as the mirth in her beautiful face had receded to a painful concern. He sighed, knowing that she might have already heard the news. 

He couldn't not hug her then, pretence anger by damned. 

Pallavi sighed as his arms closed around her and she nestled her face inside his chest breathing in his natural scent as if she was a parched traveller in a desert having found an oasis at last. 

"Main theek hain Saree ka Dukaan.. kuch nhi hua..arre re re.. ro kyun raha hain jaan?"

He wiped the tears which had unassumingly trailed down her silken cheeks as she had espied the still bluish veins raised somewhat at the base of his throat. 

"Ghamandi Rao... Attack aya tha kya tumhe? Jhoot mat bolna bilkul. Farhad! I swear, jhoot mat bolna.."

Raghav and Farhad shared a pained look from above her head, both men knowing fully well that she would get immensely hurt. 

"Pallu..."

"Tumhe meri kasam.."

"Aiyaiye tum phirse tv serial ka herione ban gaya?"

"Tumhe tv serial ka villain banna hain kya abhi? Bolo chup chaap.. attack aaya tha ke nhi?"

"Saree ka Dukaan.."

"Matlab aaya tha.."

She turned in his arms to look at Farhad who immediately shifted his gaze to everywhere except at them. He couldn't lie to her face and if she sees his eyes, then she will know. Farhad had found Pallavi to have an uncanny connection with him, with regards to anything related to Raghav. She sensed it immediately after looking at him, like a bloody magician. 

It was like he had become her mirror for his boss. 

"Thoda bohot.. woh Minto ko kisi tarah pata chal gaya tha ke mereko claustrophobia hain.. and anxiety attack aata hain bohot severe.. isliye.. uss din stampede karwaya tha event pe. Police aa gaya tha.. sambhal gaya tha Pallavi.. don't worry. I have taken medicine, I am fine now."

Pallavi crushed her eyes closed against the burning onslaught of tears and rested her face sideways against his chest again, putting a hand over her face as if trying to hide her emotions from the two men. 

But in vain. 

She felt Raghav's kisses on the top of her head and Farhad's hesitant but warm hand on her shoulder for a second. 

"Shant sweetheart. Baitho yaha.. aram se."

Raghav made her sit on the sofa and sat beside her, hugging her waist as she leaned over him fully. Farhad kneeled in front of her and kept a hand on her knee comfortingly. 

"Have faith in me Bhabi. As long as I am alive, nothing will happen to Anna... or to you."

"I hate to admit it but he is right. Farhad fevistick hain, koi isko pasand aa gaya toh chipak jataa hain, phir lakh koshish karo nhi chutega. He has kept me alive through some of the worst times possible.. phd karke rakha hain iss subject mein."

"Distinction ke saath.."

Farhad added cheekily to Raghav's playful discourse getting a light cuff on the back of his head from the latter and a slew of muffled giggles from Pallavi. 

"Now, tell me where do you want to go for the honeymoon?"

"Raghav!"

Pallavi blushed furiously as Farhad immediately got and almost ran away knowing fully well, what was about to happen within a few seconds. He had unfortunately been witness to a few of his Boss's flirty episodes with his fiancé' and it's best not reiterated for the general good of the public. 

"I have a mansion in Palm Jumeirah. It's pretty chic. Always wanted to take you there.."

"Dubai?"

"We could go to Switzerland too, of you want. Have a farmhouse in Zermatt. That's pretty nice too.. but I thought you liked the sea better...?"

"Is there a place where you don't have a property yet?"

"Do you want to go to Timbuktu then Saree Ka Dukaan?"

Pallavi glared at him making Raghav tap her nose playfully. She raised an eyebrow at him and he braced himself for a witty retort instantly recognizing the ensuing gleam in her beautiful marble grey orbs. But he was definitely not expecting what she said next. 

Trust his Saree Ka Dukaan to always surprise him when he least expected it. 

"What does it matter where we go, mountains or the sea? I think we'll be too tired to leave the bed anyways."

He gawked at her who was smirking mischievously, looking upwards at him and then gave her the brightest grin ever making her heart soar like a jet plane cutting through the clouds at the thought that she had managed to make him smile like that. 

"You are a riot Pallavi Deshmukh, aren't you. A perfect minx."

He whispered against her temple affectionately and she closed her eyes turning in his embrace further, almost nuzzling into his chest, wrapped around and inside him comfortably like a soothing blanket of softness. 

"No I am not. But Pallavi Rao definitely is."

She smiled against his skin feeling herself shake along with the powerful tremors of laughter going through her to be husband's body and sighed mentally. 

She was home.