"Rudy bhaiyya aapko kaise pata?!" and "Shut up Rudra!" rang out together. And there for a whole 30 seconds, there was a heavy silence as everyone stared at Gauri
"Mujhe kaise... kya pata?"
Rudra was confused but he knew that there was something here that they were missing
"K..Kuch.. Kuch nahin... kuch bhi to nahin"
Anika looked at the shaking Gauri, her hands twisting the cap and wig she held nervously, and knew that she would have to reach out to this girl in a calm and collected manner... maybe appeal to her emotional side.
"Gauri... jo bhi hai, humein bata do. Abhi kuch mat chupao... humara jaanna zaroori hai. Omkara ki jaan khatre mein hai"
Though all of them were looking to her for answers, Gauri's eyes met with Shivaay's and held his stare as she answered
"Hum... ye baat shayad humein aapko nahin batana chaahiye... Aapke bhai... unse aapko poochna chaahiye. Ye humara raaz nahin hai... agar Omkara ne aapko nahin bataya to uske peeche koi wajah hogi jo hum nahin jaante"
The amount of distress that showed on her face was disconcerting to all of them, particularly to Anika and Soumya, who'd already formed some sort of an emotional bond with the pretty girl who'd pretended to be a boy for so long. But whatever distress she might feel at the moment, it would be nothing to what all of them might feel at a later date if whatever this truth was, wasn't dealt with at the right time and in the right way. Anika knew she would have to be the one to take the lead in this...
"Gauri... agar main sawal poochoon, to haan ya na mein jawab de sakti ho na?"
Gauri looked a bit torn at that but she nodded after a moment's thought. At her nod, Anika continued
"Kya... Kya tumhari shaadi ho gayi hai?"
Gauri looked at all of them in turn, waiting with bated breath and slowly nodded yes. Anika's suspicion, which had only been that, slowly solidified into an unsettling thought in her mind. She knew she would have to ask the next question and she couldn't decide what she wanted Gauri's answer to be
"Kya tumhari shaadi O...Omkara se hui hai?"
Again, Gauri looked at each one of them in turn, her eyes pleading with them to not make her answer this, but she nodded again. And again, there was a long, heavy awkward silence where no one knew where to look.
Shivaay, oscillating between shock and anger, turned away from the rest of them to stop himself from doing or saying something that he might regret at a later date. He couldn't believe that his brother, his Omkara, had kept something so monumental from him. Hadn't he been a good enough older brother, told him enough that he would support Om in any and every decision he made, help him in every way he could? Had he failed in being the Great Wall of Shivaay?
How had so much happened and Shivaay hadn't even had a whiff of it until now? Why did he need to hear from someone he didn't even know, that his own brother had not only married a total and complete stranger but also left his bride to languish in Bareilly? Shivaay had been there in Bareilly and Om still hadn't said anything about this Gauri.
Suspicions and doubts were running rampant through Shivaay's mind. He didn't have any reason to believe this girl and her assertion that she was his brother's bride. But he did have to focus on the fact that Kaali Thakur seemed to be alive and after his Om... that could be focused on at the moment because it was a real threat to their peace and safety. This girl and her claim of being Om's wife could definitely be dealt with at a later date once this immediate threat was neutralized.
With that in mind, Shivaay discreetly called a private investigator that was on his payroll and had him get everything he could on Gauri Kumari Sharma from Bareilly and her connections to Kaali Thakur. There was a possibility that this girl was mixed up with that monster and wanted to trap all of them in some heinous scheme.
As the oldest sibling, it was up to him to be careful and save all of his family members when they got themselves in trouble. If this girl had information and was willing to share, he would use her to extract what he needed and set her aside till he could figure out what her plan was and neutralize any threat to Omkara that existed from her.
Rudra to be honest was happier than he wanted to be, Gauri had been pretty cool as a guy and very pretty as a girl... and he got along well with her as far as their interactions went, which ticked all the boxes on Rudy's checklist to a good relationship. He was sure Shivaay would take care of all the background checks and other pertinent information about Gauri. He also knew that she would not be having a very comfortable time once Omkara came back. For the moment, Rudra felt sorry enough for Gauri to stop himself from judging her for what she had done without listening to her side of things.
Anika and Soumya didn't know what to think. On the one hand, there was Omkara, who'd supposedly kept something so big from them and on the other there was this girl who they didn't know at all since five minutes ago, telling them that she was married to him. Instead of trying to understand something they had no clue about, Soumya decided to do the right thing...
"Gauri... abhi humare paas thoda time hai... Can you tell us kya hua? I mean... tum aur bade baal waale bhaiyya kaise mile? How did you end up married to him?"
Gauri looked at everyone who also nodded at Soumya's question. Sighing, she got up with a wince she tried to hide, cradling her right elbow discreetly out of their sights, both of which was noticed by Shivaay but he chose to remain silent for the moment. They all followed her to the couch area in Omkara's room and made themselves comfortable. Gauri sat opposite all of them on the edge of the bed, looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"Hum jo aapko batane jaa rahe hain, shayad aapko yakeen na aaye, magar hum Shankarji ki kasam khaake kehte hain ki hum sach hi bol rahe hain. Jo bhi hua, hum sach sach aapko batayenge"
"Bade bhaiyya, Rudy bhaiyya aur Anika bhabhi, hum aapse pehle bhi baat kar chuke hain. Yaad hai aapko, jab Omkara Bareilly aaye hue the to unka phone kho gaya tha aur ek ladki ne aapse baat ki thi? Wo ladki hum hi the..."
And she started her story from Bareilly, from her childhood... she left nothing out, not her thoughts, her feelings or her decisions that had led to this point in their lives.
As she got to the end of her narration, Anika, Soumya and Rudy had teary eyes and Anika was reaching around the coffee table, folding her in a hug and crying into her shoulder.
"I am so sorry Gauri... ki tumhe in sab haalaton se guzarna pada."
Gauri's throat clogged up and tears swelled in her eyes for the first time since she'd started to speak.
"Kisise humein humdardi nahin mili aaj tak... aur ye sab jo hum keh rahe hain, aap ki humdardi ke liye bhi nahin keh rahe hain. Humara yakeen kijiye aap... hum aap sab ko dhokha nahin dena chaahte the. Hum ne jo bhi kiya, haalaton ki vajah se kiya. Hum kisi ko dukh nahin pohonchaana chaahte the... na hi kisise jhoot bolkar kuch haasil karna."
Shivaay was still holding back on his reactions. He needed to know the whole story from both perspectives... so far, from Gauri's version, his brother had not come out of it smelling like a rose and Shivaay needed to know if this girl was lying to gain his sympathy. So he held back on his reactions and reserved his judgment.
"Bade bhaiyya, agar aap bura na maanein to humein aapse kuch baat karni hai... akele mein"
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That's that for Gauri's revelation and backstory for now... Hope y'all liked this update.
Please don't forget to like and comment your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.
As always, any and all feedback will be melted down, forged into the One Ring and cherished forever.
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