RiKara SS - Catching Feelings Part 5 on Pg 16 (04/11) - Page 10

Omkara had a silent bet with himself as to how long the little dynamo could remain quiet and congratulated himself for betting correctly when she pretty much tore into him at the two minute mark.

"Ye aap kya kar rahe the? Akele jaane waale the na us Sultana ki problem se nipatne ke liye? Kab samjhenge aap ki saari problems akele akele solve nahin hoti. Humare baare mein aap kuch achha nahin sochte ye to humein pata hai... magar hum hi the jis ne Chulbul ke roop mein aap ki madad ki thi jab us Sultana ko ghar se baahar nikaalna tha. Aur aap ne hum se kuch kaha tak nahin? Patni to aap humein maante nahin... ek dost bhi nahin maante? Jo bhi rishta aap ke aur Chulbul ke beech tha ab wo bhi nahin raha?"

"Aisa nahin hai Gauri..."

Omkara was speaking to her in a soft, gentle voice and in her haste to make her point in what she was sure would be a long drawn out argument with her Nandi Singh Oberoi, Gauri didn't hear the change in his tone.

"Aisa hi hai Omkaraji... aap humein agar apna dost maante to hum se kuch kehte nahin?"

"Agar kehna chaahta bhi to kaise kehta Gauri?"

"Kyun? Hum ne aap ko kab roka kuch kehne se?"

"In dinon tum to mujhe ek dum se avoid jo kar rahi ho. Do din se tum se baat karne ki koshish kar raha hoon aur tum ho ki kabhi dikhti hi nahin ho aur jab dikhti ho to saare parivaar waalon ke beechon beech rehti ho. Mujhe samajh mein aa gaya ki tum mujhse baat nahin karna chaahti... isi liye maine bhi tum ko force nahin kiya"

All of this was said in the same gentle tone, that she hadn't heard from him in a long, long while. He'd been hesitant and quiet when she'd tried to leave and he'd stopped her... but the last time she remembered hearing this deliberately gentle and soft voice had been while she'd been Chulbul or when he'd been acting around Dhurandhar and his assistant Kranthi.

For a short second she wondered if he was acting and then dismissed the thought because one, she could hear the sincerity in his voice and two, they were alone in a car driving off towards the road that led to Panchgani, out of Mumbai. He wouldn't need to act for anyone else... unless, he wanted something from her.

"Aap ko humse kya chaahiye?"

The abrupt tone of her question made him stare at her for a second before he turned back to concentrate on the road.

"Aise kyun pooch rahi ho? Mujhe kuch nahin chaahiye... haan, I wanted to talk to you but I don't want to force you into anything you don't want"

"Aap ko hum se kuch nahin chaahiye to hum se aise kyun baat kar rahe hain?"

Again, Omkara turned to stare in confusion at his wife before looking back at the road

"Kaise baat kar raha hoon tum se?"

"Aise... ek dum..."

"Ekdum?"

"Aise... aap... hum se aise baat kar rahe hain jaise aap hum se naraaz hi nahin hain"

"Main? Tum se gussa? Maine kab kaha tum se ki main naraaz hoon?"

"Aap to hamesha hum se naraaz hi rehte hain na? Isi liye humein laga ki aap ko hum se kuch chaahiye tha aur usi liye aap hum se aisi aawaaz mein baat kar rahe hain.."

Now Omkara was curious...

"Kaisi aawaaz?"

Gauri, who'd been contemplating his reasons for being so... normal with her, was caught woolgathering

"Huh?"

"Kaisi aawaaz mein baat kar raha hoon tum se?"

"Oh... wo... soft,soft... ekdum... jaise aap dadi se ya apne ghar waalon se baat karte hain... pyaar se"

Gauri, involved as she was in trying to describe what it was she now heard in his voice, failed to be aware of his reaction to her words. Omkara for his part, was beyond shocked. Were things so bad that she had to wonder at him talking to her in a gentle voice? She feared he wanted something from her because he was being polite to her? What had he become if someone who lived with him thought he was trying to get something from her because he was talking to her in a gentler tone?

While Omkara was trying to wrap his head around the fact that Gauri was genuinely worried about his behavior, Gauri was panicking silently beside him. She'd said too much and now she was worried about his reaction to her unfiltered words

"Wo... humara wo matlab nahin tha Omkaraji. Hum jaante hain ki aap hum se... wo... ki aap humare baare mein kya sochte hain. Hum aap se ye nahin keh rahe the ki aap ke dil mein humare liye koi bhi feelings hain. Hum to bas..."

The barrage of words spilling from her lips trickled to a halt as Gauri failed to explain her thought process to an increasingly angry looking Omkara. What she didn't know however was the anger that showed on her jatadhari pati's face was all self-directed.

"Hum ne kuch galat kaha to humein maaf kar dijiye. Humara aap ko naraaz karne ka iraada nahin tha"

Again, in that same deliberately gentle tone, Omkara interrupted her

"Aisa kuch nahin hai Gauri. Main naraaz hoon... magar tum se nahin, khud se. Khair... mujhe actually tum se kuch confess karna hai"

"Con...fess?"

"Haan... actually mujhe tum se baat karni thi, without any interruptions from our family. To maine Rudra se kaha wo tum ko bataaye ki main Svetlana ki wajah se baahar jaa raha hoon. I knew ki tum definitely mujhe akele jaane se rokne aaogi... Isi liye..."

He chanced a glance at her while still concentrating on the road, only to find her looking at him with her eyes and mouth wide open in shock and astonishment. As the silence lengthened between them, Omkara grew more and more antsy, knowing that Gauri was still staring at him with the same wide-eyed look.

"Gauri?... Kya hua? Aise kyun dekh rahi ho?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see her literally jerk out of her reverie at his voice. And when she spoke, Gauri sounded almost dazed like she couldn't believe what she'd heard.

"W-Wo... aap ne... jhoot bola. Humein aap ke saath laane ke liye, aap ne jhoot bola"