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SHATTERED PIECES OF MY HEART- Part One
He had messed up big time by accusing her of something so cheap. As he sat in the chopper, the words he had uttered three months back echoed in his mind, "Jitna maine socha tha tum toh usse kayi zyada giri hui, ghinona aur ghatiya nikli. Who toh acha hua ke maine tumhe rangey haaton pakad liya uss Arjun ke saath. Sab ko bewakoof bana sakti ho, lekin Omkara Singh Oberoi ko nahi. Pata nahi, roz roz kisi zaroori kaam ka bahana banaakar kahan jaaya karti thi tum. Aur kitne mardon se paise aetkar unka bistar garam kar rahi thi." The pain that followed the tight slap from her on his cheek was nothing in comparison to the pain he felt right now. Back then, when he had accused her, she hadn't said a word. But anyone could tell that his words had broken her apart. Without shedding a tear, she had retired to the room she once called hers too, and packed her stuff, while removing every trace of the woman whom her husband refused to acknowledge as his wife, as well as the boy whom his master once called him as his best friend and his buddy.
Shivaay too was unable to defend the girl he called his little sister, and was unable to stop her from leaving the Oberoi Mansion as well. He was faking his memory loss in order to protect the family from a secret, with which his "new wife" Tanya kept blackmailing him. And in order to keep the facade up, he could not reveal to anyone that he was the one who was responsible to send her for classes. Of course, when Annika tried to convince Omkara that Gauri was busy with learning English so as to avoid him from being embarrassed, he had questioned Annika if he saw Gauri at classes. "Nahi, lekin Gauri ne mujhe khud bola tha ke who English classes attend kar rahi hai." Omkara had only smirked cruelly telling Annika that he could not expect anything else from a cheap woman like Gauri, even if Annika tried her level best to talk sense into him.
It had taken more than three months for the truth to come to light, when Omkara had seen Arjun at a wedding store in the mall. Omkara was passing by a store to pick up art supplies when he had seen Arjun with another woman. As much as he hated it, Omkara couldn't help but be annoyed that Arjun was walking hand in hand with an unknown woman while fooling around with Gauri. Following the couple, Omkara landed at a wedding boutique, and was taken aback when he heard Arjun calling out to Gauri. Time stood still for Omkara when he saw the unknown woman come out of the changing room in a bridal outfit, asking Arjun if she looked nice. "Meri Gauri se khoobsoorat aur koi ho sakti hai iss duniya mein?" The woman blushed as Arjun enveloped her in his arms while telling her he couldn't wait to marry her. It was then that Omkara realized what a blunder he had made. He had chosen to imagine the worst possible scenario, and had accused the one woman who loved him unconditionally with the worst label ever.
Then, within a day's time, Omkara was able to find out about Gauri's whereabouts. It shocked him that Gauri had been missing from Shivaay and Annika's wedding because she was tending to her ailing mother, and had refused to inform anyone because she did not want anyone in the house to worry, neither did she want to dampen everyone's elated mood around Shivika's wedding. Even in such a critical situation, she put prioritized his family's happiness. How did he dare to think that she could... He made up his mind; he had to salvage the remains of their broken relationship, come what may.
In an hour, the chopper landed on the helipad and the car awaited him to take him to the place where he first met the woman he married. After a bumpy ride on the muddy roads, the car finally halted at the end of the lane, and Omkara had to walk to her house since the lane was too narrow for the car to enter inside. Omkara noticed that the front door of the house was locked. He asked one of the little boys playing cricket about Gauri's whereabouts. "Gauri Didi kaam pe gayi hai," the boys told him, and informed him about Gauri's job of teaching English to the children at the local school in the community; something that surprised Omkara. When he had approached the school after seeking directions, and had made his way to one of the classrooms, he saw her. There she was, standing on the platform with a broad smile, teaching the children some rhyme.
Gauri was distracted momentarily when she felt an air of familiarity around her; as if she could sense his presence. She looked around, and then sighed. When would her heart ever learn to accept the truth that Omkaraji was no longer a part of her life? He had spoken ruthless things despite all that she had done for him and for his family. The bell rang indicating the end of the hour, and Gauri picked up her books and walked towards the staff room. But a major shock awaited her when she entered the room, for she saw him sitting on the seat opposite to her table. Her heartbeat fastened and fresh tears welled up in her eyes. All of his words came rushing back to her mind, almost on the verge of breaking her apart again. However, she took a deep breath. She had to come to terms that she was no one to him, no matter how difficult, and she would not let him know that his presence affected her.
Omkara stood up when he saw her walk up to her table, and was quite upset when she did not look at him or pay any special attention to him. Well, royal ignorance from her was expected, and he knew he was being subjected to silent treatment. However, he was in for a shock when she said calmly, "Kuch kaam tha aapko, Oberoi Sahab?" How he craved for her to call him Omkaraji, and the formality with no emotion in her tone frustrated him. "Mujhe tumse baat karni hai, Gauri." She looked up at him, and he was forced to blink hard to see her eyes, that were once filled with warmth and love, filled with nothingness. "Kis bare mein, Oberoi Sahab?" There, that formal tone again! "Hamare bare mein, Gauri. Aur kis cheez ke bare mein?" he said with an edge of irritation in his tone. However, he could not lose his temper or become frustrated. He had hurt her and he very well deserved the cold shoulder she was giving him. "Hamare bare mein?" she questioned, and he nodded his head. She smiled, her eyes still lacking any emotion, "Jahan tak hamein yaad hai, hamare beech mein aisa kuch nahi raha jiske bare mein baat kar sakein?"
He opened his mouth to say something, but she held her hand up, "If you don't mind, Mr. Oberoi," she spoke in confident tone, surprising him with the command over the language, "I have a class to teach. So, if you wish to talk to me, you may meet me here at 4.30 PM, after I am done with my classes." Saying this, she picked up another set of books and walked out of the staff room. Omkara looked at the time on his wrist watch. He had to wait for another three hours. "Maine pehle hi bahut dair ki hai, Gauri. Ab agar tumse baat karne ke liye, tumse maafi maangne ke liye, aur tumhe manaane ke liye mujhe poori zindagi bhi intezar karna pade, toh bhi main karoonga" he whispered to himself as he saw her walk away.
Gauri's eyes threatened to spill tears onto her cheeks as she walked away from Omkara. She lied to him; she had no class to teach, but she needed to get away from him. She simply ran towards the staff washroom, and locked the door from inside. Standing in front of the mirror, she felt her cheeks turning wet with her tears. And soon, soft sobs echoed in the silent room. She looked at her reflection and a broken woman stared back at her. Despite breaking her heart into pieces, every single broken piece still yearned for him. He had never even considered their relationship valid; never given her the position of being his wife. Yet, she craved for him. She was even ready to change herself for him. And how did he reward her? By accusing her of sleeping around, and calling her a characterless, promiscuous woman who could sell herself to any man?
She wiped her tears away. He did not deserve her tears. She had lost much more than her self-respect. Splashing water on her face, she exited the washroom. Informing the headmistress, she excused herself and walked home, not caring about the person who was waiting for her in the staff room. She was done thinking about others. It was high time she thought about herself.
Five hours later, there was a loud knock on the front door of Gauri's house. Even before she could see who it was, she knew, surprised at how her heart did not fail to acknowledge his presence even after trying to hate him after so many months. When she opened the door, she saw him stand at the portico, eyes glaring and nostrils flaring. "Main wahaan pagalon ki tarah tumse baat karne ke liye tumhara intezaar kar raha tha, aur tum yahan araam se ghar pe baithi ho?" She took a deep breath, "Woh main bhool gayi thi ke aap mera intezaar kar rahe the." His hands balled into fists which did not go unnoticed by her, and while gritting his teeth, he asked, "Kya main andar aake baat kar sakta hoon?" Gauri hesitated momentarily. She knew that there was something about him that would convince her to forgive him even for a cold-blooded murder. But could she risk it all again? "Gauri?" he called out to her in a much softer tone. Her heart was already broken, what more could she lose? "Come in..." she said taking in a deep breath, both oblivious to where exactly their little conversation would lead them.
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That's a wrap on the first part, do let me know your take on it.
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Part Two- Page 7
Part Three- Page 14
Cricket
Anupamaa
