Let me count the ways - RiKara OS

Omkara Singh Oberoi was this close to utterly losing it. It had only been three days... he'd tried to shut himself inside his studio and forget that the rest of the world existed. But even his art had abandoned him in his hour of need. Not for any lack of trying on his part... but he'd failed to even set a paintbrush to the mournfully blank canvas that sat on his favorite easel over the last three days. A misshapen lump of clay sitting forlornly on a pedestal told another story of the missing muse.

What had he been thinking when he'd let her go?

Wherever he looked, he saw tiny influences of her presence in his life. The little nightlight on her side of the bed in the form of her favorite Shankar-ji, her bangles arranged in neat little rows on her side of the dresser, the ever present tiny silver pot of sindoor... there was a dupatta of hers carelessly draped over one end of the recliner and a new favorite piece of his, a pair of bright, luminous eyes so very like hers, stared back at him from the back wall of their room.

They'd even compromised on the color of the cushions on the couch... she'd chosen a couple of bright jewel tones and he'd stuck to some creams and golds to offset the dark green of the couch... the effect very distinctive but still harmonious in a way that felt welcoming. No pinks for his wife... the woman was as girly as they came but also very much dabangg... as she called it, on the inside.

She'd managed to pervade into the lives of his family members too... their family members now. She never let him call any of them his family anymore... Dabangg Gauri didn't hesitate to reprimand even her husband when it came to their family. Dadi adored her newest bahu, his mom and Bua Maa were her eternal champions and Anika was an almost long lost sister. Choti Mom was determined not to like anyone who wasn't a crorepati ki beti so she was of no consideration.

Gauri had even managed to wind both his brothers around her fingers. Rudra had always been a bhabhi ka chamcha... First with Anika and now his chamchagiri extended to include Gauri as well. But Shivaay was the most surprising and delightful conquest of Gauri. The Great Wall of the family had fairly crumbled once she started calling him Bade Bhaiyya. He'd been a champion of Gauri Kumari Sharma pretty much from day one.

And now she was gone.

Every second he was in the house, he was able to acutely feel her absence. The room felt too silent without the sound of her chattering as she went about her chores. The swing in the garden felt empty without her sitting by his side, silently watching the stars with her head on his shoulder. He hadn't gotten woken up by her melodious singing first thing in the morning and while it did give him more time to sleep in, it felt wrong somehow to wake up without her voice ringing in his ears. No one else in the house could make his tea like he wanted and the kitchen staff had looked at him like he'd finally gone round the bend when he'd asked them to dissolve a couple of glucose biscuits in his cup of tea. He'd grudgingly yanked the cup from the hands of a hapless cook and done the deed himself, only to find it tasted nothing like when she made it.

In an attempt to distract himself, he'd gone to an art exhibit and upon coming back hours later, found there was no one to hear him go on and on about the fantastic new artists and their techniques he'd discovered that day. All the excitement that had built up during the tour of the exhibit drained out of him as he slumped into the cushions she'd meticulously chosen.

As he'd already discovered earlier, painting or working with clay wasn't helping because he'd lost his muse when she'd left.

With Shivaay and Anika busy preparing for their soon arriving baby, he didn't want to disturb them with his problems. And Rudra had left for Australia because he'd caught feelings a few months after Soumya left to pursue her studies. He missed her too much and found he couldn't live without her around. Omkara had laughed at his younger brother then, not realizing that he too would be going through the same hell in a few short weeks.

Now that his wife wasn't around, Omkara realized just how empty and bleak his life had been before her and how rich and full of color she'd made it with her presence. And he'd been the fool who'd tried to get her to leave him forever... He'd tried so many many times to make her leave, to get her out of his life. She'd always stood by him when he needed her, before him when she felt he needed protecting and behind him in silent support when he had to face his problems himself. Had he gone round the world trying to find someone more perfect for him, he couldn't have rivaled the accidental choice he'd made in Bareilly that fateful day.

And all the reminiscing made him finally lose control. He stood up, careless of the various paintbrushes falling to the floor from the holder he'd tipped, grabbed his keys from the bright yellow paisley painted dish she'd bought for that particular purpose because he kept misplacing his keys and having her search for them. Till date, she wasn't aware that he did it solely to have the pleasure of watching his wife upend their room while she muttered what she considered curses under her breath at having to search for the blasted keys once more.

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Keys in hand, Omkara Singh Oberoi strode out of their room purposefully, making his way to the parking lot to the side of the mansion, uncaring of the fact that it was almost midnight. He was almost out of the house when he felt a hand on his shoulder... a very familiar hand

"Om... itni raat gaye... is anything wrong?"

Obviously, his brother didn't want to ask him where he was going so the runaround question

"Haan Shivaay... everything is fine. Main... wo... bas"

"What's wrong Om? Jo bhi hai tum mujhse share kar sakte ho"

"Nothing is wrong Shivaay...believe me"

"To tum kyun nahi bata rahe ho ki tum inti raat ko kahan jaa rahe ho?"

The reason he hadn't wanted to tell his brother was simple... it was embarrassing. But this was more important than his little ego problems.

"Wo... main... I'm going to Bareilly Shivaay"

It fairly burst out of him and he turned away, knowing what his brother's reaction was going to be. And he was correct in his prediction.

Shivaay started grinning.. then it developed into little chuckles and seconds later, he was outright laughing. He was bent over double, clutching his stomach and laughing at his little brother's angst.

"Haan, haan... has lo jitna hasna hai. You must be finding this so funny right?"

"Sorry... sorry. Abhi che mahine pehle bhi I wouldn't have thought ki main ye din bhi dekhoonga. You guys were fighting like cats and dogs Om. Par you've caught it bad huh? Bohot miss kar rahe ho kya?"

"I don't know Shivaay... Uske bina kisi bhi cheez mein dil nahin lag raha... I just wanted to see her once"

"Idiot... wo bas ek hafte ke liye hi to gayi hai apni Maa ka khayal rakhne ke liye. She'll be back in two or three days. Jab waapis aa jayegi to jee bhar ke dekh lena apni wife ko"

But Om looked restless and unhappy, something his brother recognized from feeling that way himself whenever his own wife was away from him even for a day.

"Okay... I understand ki tum donon pehli baar separate hue ho tumhari second wedding ke baad and you're missing her. Theek hai. I'm not gonna stop you. But you don't have to drive all the way, I'll have the jet ready... tum use lekar jaana. I'll also have a car ready for you when you get there... Ab khush?"

Watching his brother's face light up from within was reward enough for Shivaay who also got glomped on by a grinning Omkara before the younger one fairly sprinted out to his car yelling thanks. The smile that split his face at seeing his brother so happy, stayed on till he walked into his room after two different phone conversations, prompting his lovely wife to question him in curiosity

"Kya hua? Aap aise has kyun rahe hain?"

"Hum teenon Oberoi brothers ko tum teen itni perfect biwiyan mili hain na? Uske baare mein sochkar"

"Acha? Perfect?... Kya hua aaj Stone Singh Oberoi bade Sweet Singh Oberoi ban rahe hain?"

He walked up to their bed, where she sat comfortably ensconced in a mountain of pillows and rested a loving hand on her perfect little baby bump

"Jab tum ne mujhe is world ki sabse precious gift di hai to kya main apni pyaari biwi ke liye Sweet Singh Oberoi nahin ban sakta?"

He leaned over to fit his lips against her questing ones, both of them sighing into the kiss at the feeling of coming home after a long day of dealing with problems and not having any time for each other.

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Dawn was creeping up and painting the sky in shades of pink and purple when Omkara's Range Rover made its way through the sleepy streets of Bareilly. He'd usually have spent a few moments enjoying the beauty of nature and the sky awash with colors as he often did when he woke up early enough or didn't sleep till late enough to witness it. But today, his attention and nerves were all focused on the possible reactions of one single person in the tiny house that was last on the lane he'd just turned into.

Slowing to keep the noise from his vehicle down, Om parked the huge SUV in the side of the road a couple of houses over and walked up to the outer door of the house that belonged to his Mother-in-Law.

He'd just lifted his hand to push the door open when the door moved away from him as if by magic, revealing the beautiful face he'd travelled over 1500 kms to see.

"Gauri..."

"Om aap..."

Without a care to her neighbors and anyone else who might see them, Gauri flung herself into his waiting arms, burrowing herself into his chest and holding herself tight to him. With a sigh that felt like it came from the very depths of his soul, Omkara gently wrapped his arms around her petite form and pulled her infinitesimally closer, his lips lingering on a soft kiss at her crown as his body finally relaxed in the feeling of her presence.

"Tumhe kaise pata ki main aane wala hoon? Shivaay ne call kiya tha kya?"

She pointed down by their feet where her duffel bag lay packed and ready to go.

"Humein pata nahin tha... ye dekhiye... hum yahaan se Mumbai waapis aane ke liye tayyar ho rahe the. Maa ki tabiyat abhi theek hai aur..."

"Aur kya?"

She buried her face back into his shoulder and tightened her hold on him just a bit.

"Aap ko andaaza bhi hai ki hum ne aap ko kitna yaad kiya hai in teen dinon mein?"

The words sounded a bit muffled as they were spoken into his chest but Gauri did not seem ready to let him go at the moment and he certainly wasn't complaining

"Utna hi jitna maine tumhein miss kiya... Tumhare bina ghar ekdum khaali khaali sa lag raha tha... everyone else was there but tumhare bina mera man kisi bhi cheez mein nahin laga. It was so empty and dull without you my little chiraiyya"

She looked up into his dark chocolate eyes at that and said with an almost fierce expression

"Waada kijiye humse ki aap hum ko chhod kar kabhi nahin jaayenge. Hum aapke bina ab ek din bhi kuch kaam ke nahin rehte hain. Aaj tak kitni mushkilon ki wajah se bohot din humne aap ke bina guzaar liye... ab aur nahin hoga hum se"

The fierceness in her hazel eyes, the passion in her voice and the way she was looking up at him made him react the only way he knew how to at that moment.

Omkara leaned down, and right there at the doorstep of his wife's childhood home, in full view of the entire street and it's waking population, with absolutely no care for anyone other than the woman in his arms, slanted his lips over hers in a soul stealing kiss, affirming his absolute promise to never leave her from that day on.

"I promise you Gauri... forever."

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And they lived happily ever after... JK... Gul Mata and the CVs will never allow that to happen.

So they lived happily from Friday to Monday before some other major problem loomed over the horizon disrupting the action packed lives of the Oberois.

Anyways, I hope you guys liked this OS.

Please do like and comment your thoughts, ideas and suggestions if possible, I absolutely love hearing from you