Gauri was stuck in the same place; no matter how much she kept running, she kept coming back to the same spot. A dimly lit bulb over her head, and pitch black darkness around. Her breaths kept getting laboured; she kept screaming for help, but no one could hear her. And then she saw a hand reach out to her from the darkness. Was that her Omkara ji? With a sigh of relief, she stretched her hand out to take his help, but the hand was quick to grab hold of her and push her to the ground. And then she saw the man step out from the dark. Abhimanyu Raheja. She stared at him in horror; she could not afford to live this painful experience again. With a wicked smile on his lips, he bent down and pulled her dupatta off of her. "Let me go..." she screamed, and then called out to her Omkaraji. But her Omkara ji never came. She tried to push the man, but he refused to budge. She felt herself being pinned to the floor, and the man's filthy hands tore the sleeve of her dress. Gauri froze when she felt his hands on the bare skin of her shoulder, as if worms crawled over her flesh. "Omkara ji..." she yelled, while trying to push the man off of her, but her Omkara ji was nowhere to be seen. Abhimanyu bent his head to crush his mouth against her. And that is when she began to frantically thrash her arms, in a attempt to escape.
Omkara tried to hold her, but she wouldn't calm down. She kept thrashing her arms in her sleep, while calling out to him in wretched cries. "Gauri, I'm here... I'm right here..." he kept saying, consoling her, trying to hold her, but she kept sobbing and saying something incoherent amidst her cries. Her nails unknowingly scraped the skin off of his forearms, and Omkara hissed in pain as she drew blood. "Gauri..." he screamed her name calling out to her to wake up, and she suddenly fell limp when she opened her eyes.
Her hands and feet were as cold as ice, her face was damp with sweat, her heart was pounding loud against her ribcage, and above her, she saw Omkara consoling her, wiping her face with his hands. A vivid image of Abhimanyu flashed in front of her eyes fer a fraction of a second and with a force she never knew she possessed, she pushed him away. Except that, she did not realise she had pushed her Omkara, who looked at her in shock. "Gauri..." he called out to her as he took a step and she scampered to the opposite corner, fearing his closeness. Omkara stared at her, his heart breaking every moment of what she had become over a week. "Gauri, main hoon, tumhara Omkara..." "Gauri, It's me... your Omkara..." he said in a soft voice. She stared at him, as if trying to look at him through the thick fog. He cautiously stepped closer after a few minutes, and this time, she didn't run away or flinch. When he wound his hands around her, she simply leaned against him without hugging him back. Omkara held on to her tightly. "I want to sleep, Omkara ji..." she muttered against his chest, speaking directly to him, for the very first time after a whole week. Omkara nodded, and without letting her go away, he leaned back into the mattress. He kept caressing her hair, till he sensed that her breathing was deep. Once she'd dosed off, his mind wandered to the incident that had taken place a week ago.
***
The retro-themed party had been a grand affair, with the celebration for Shivaay's business deal and an exhibition for Omkara's art. The megastar of the film industry, Mr. Abhimanyu Raheja, along with his wife, Mrs Roshni Raheja, were the highlight of the evening. The actor would be the brand ambassador for Shivaay's new business venture, and much to an added bonus, Mrs. Roshni Raheja was an exclusive art collector, who seemed to be interested in Omkara's art. Om had seen how fascinated his wife had been with the presence of a bollywood actor; after Salman Khan, it was this Raheja guy she had been a fan of. He had been annoyed with her; he hated sharing her attention with anyone!
However, by the end of the party, something had gone horribly wrong. Raheja had to be rushed to the hospital on account of a severe injury on his head, while Gauri had gone missing from the crowd. Omkara, in between the party, had gone searching for her, only to find that she had changed into her night clothes and gone off to sleep after turning the lights off. Unusual, he had thought and left her to rest, not wanting to disturb her. When he had returned to the party, the news of Gauri physically attacking Raheja had spread like wildfire among the press and media, where Tej and Shivaay were trying to do some serious damage control. Annika had rushed to her sister, only to find that her Chutki did not respond or react to anything she said. She simply lay there, staring at the ceiling; Bhavya was quick to notice the bruises on Gauri's neck and arms. "What did he do to you, Gauri?" Annika asked, but Gauri did not answer. Instead, the only reaction she got from her were tears streaming down her eyes without a single sob or sniff. When Omkara had tried to come closer to Gauri, in an attempt to hug her in consolation, she had flinched. For the first time, Omkara had seen the Dabangg Gauri close to breaking apart.
Omkara had rushed to the hospital when Bhavya had told him the probability of what might have happened. The doctor who had checked Gauri had confirmed she hadn't been raped, but probably molested and bruised during the assault. And, if one percent of what he heard was true, that Raheja had tried to even think about his wife- his Gauri with wrong intentions, Omkara was sure he would strangulate this Raheja to death; damned be the consequences. However, the man had been saved by sheer luck, because he had slipped into coma. The Oberois had pooled in their resources against this superstar, and the forensics had already done their job too well. The skin and dried blood under the nails of Raheja was proved to be Gauri's. Now all that Omkara hoped was for this man to wake up from coma, so he could give him a worse punishment for having dared to mess with Mrs. Gauri Omkara Singh Oberoi.
If Omkara thought that Gauri would recover soon, he was wrong. For, with passing time, she became worse. First of all, she refused to talk to anyone. She would sit by the window of their bedroom, staring at the sky quite animatedly. In the beginning, tears used to fill up her eyes, but now, the tears had dried up. She ate what was put in her mouth; she drank when the glass was held against her lips. For the first three days after that incident, she detested a man's presence around her, including Omkara's.
The doctor had asked to give her medicines to help her sleep. But that did not help either. For, during the time she was asleep, she would scream and howl her pain out, sobbing about pleading to be left alone. And Omkara would only hold her in his arms and cry with her, hurting from within about how agonized his wife was.
It was only on the fourth day that she did not push him away when he sat next to her. He was trying to engage her in a conversation, and showing her the sketchbook he'd made, most of which contained her charcoal sketches. She stared at the book, looked at him, and looked at the sky without any reaction. He'd held her hand, in hopes of telling her not to punish herself and that she wasn't at fault. But the moment he placed his hand on hers, he sensed her shiver. The fear of being touched was evident in her eyes. And so, he pulled his hand away.
It was during one of those nightmares that Gauri had forcefully woken up to see Omkara holding her. she had wriggled out of his hold, and had began to have a breakdown, but had slowly calmed down when Omkara had repeatedly told her that he wouldn't let anything harm her, nor would he dream of hurting her. Breathing slowly along with him as he told her to, she calmed down. The sobs had begun, but atleast she did not hesitate to break down in his arms.
***
Gauri was dying from within. She couldn't think straight. Every time she closed her eyes, she heard Abhimanyu Raheja's evil laugh; she sensed his disgusting touch. She felt him rip her garment, all over again. She felt him grope her body. She felt the devil's hands dig into her flesh with an attempt to satiate his self. She felt him scratch her body and force himself on her. Her screams grew louder, but went unheard against the loud music playing downstairs. She had tried to push him with all her might; she kept calling for her Omkara ji, but unaware of his wife being assaulted, Om was occupied with showcasing his art to the collector. She shivered in fear when she heard him pull his leather belt off. Her Shankarji must've come to her aid, when he was momentarily distracted in pulling his belt off, and she grabbed one of Omkara ji's works- his sculptures- and smashed it against his head. She had pushed him off of him when he fell back on the floor while howling in pain, and she'd ran into the bathroom. There, she'd sat under the running shower-head, trying to wash away his touch from her body, while ignoring the stinging pain of the bruises as the hot water fell on her skin.
***
Gauri opened her eyes, and looked at her husband, who had been trying his level best to calm her down. He had dosed off to sleep, but his arms were still around her. Suddenly, she felt suffocated, as if a huge rock was placed on her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe. Panic and dread started to fill her up; she knew there was no reason for her to panic. This is her husband, her Omkara ji, who would do anything to protect her and keep her safe. Fighting against her own fear, she tried to let her heart and mind win.
Just then, Omkara, who was still asleep, leaned into her and unconsciously dipped his head into the crook of her neck. This was certainly not the first time he had tried to get intimate with her, but for the very first time, Gauri felt a sharp pain course through her entire body. She knew he wasn't misbehaving or crossing his limit, or even trying to hurt her. In his sleepy state, he wasn't even aware of his proximity to her. And Gauri's heart knew she shouldn't be scared of him. She lay there still, hoping that the irrational-yet-real fear will pass away. Any moment now. But with each passing moment, the fear increased multiple folds. She felt her heart pounding in her ears; she wished to say something; she wished to scream. But when she opened her mouth, it was impossible for her to make any sound. To her utter horror, she found herself freezing with fear when she felt his hand gently caress her waist. She tried hard to stop herself from flinging his hand off of her. She lay there sobbing.
Omkara woke up with a start when he felt her body shiver. To his shock, she was hysterically sobbing, staring at him. It didn't take him a minute to realise that his closeness made her uncomfortable. Quickly he pulled away from her. He should have been more careful; how could he be so insensitive? He cursed himself mentally and looked at her. She had closed her eyes, laying down rigid, and the fear was visible in her entire demeanor. "I'm sorry, Gauri... I didn't mean to..." he said, and realised there was no point in apologising to her. The chirpy Gauri, who was full of life, would never push him away; in fact, she welcomed him with open arms. The Gauri lying in front of him barely seemed like his Gauri. This woman in front of him seemed lifeless, timid, weak; she seemed like everything that his Dabanng Chiraiyya wasn't. What had she become! Omkara looked at her in pain; to hold her or to not; to console her or not to; to comfort her or not to!
"Hum thak chuke hain, Omkara ji... ladte ladte, bhagte bhagte..." "I'm tired, Omkara ji... of fighting, of running..." she said in an inconsolable cry, "Hum ab nahi seh sakte itna sab kuch... Hum sab kuch bhool jaana chahte hain, lekin yeh dard ka saaya hamara peecha nahi chod raha hai..." "I cannot bear all of this anymore... I want to forget it all, but the pain does not let go of me..." She wailed as she clasped her hands in fear. Omkara ran his hand over her hair, and that made her look up at him. "Hum iss andhere mein khud ko khona nahi chahte hain, Omkara ji..." "I don't want to lose myself in this darkness, Omkara ji..."
Omkara sat up, opening his arms, waiting for her to come to him. She cried as she sat up straight, facing him. "I'm hurting..." she said through her tears. He gave her a sad smile, "So am I, love. Watching you this way, i too am hurting. But we'll fight this together..." She broke down into tears, while his arms were still open wide. "I don't know how long I will take to..." she said throwing her hands over her face, bitterly weeping. "Even if it takes a lifetime, I will be with you." She looked up at him as he said, "We're in this together. In happiness, in sadness, in pain, in laughter... You're not alone... I'm with you, by your side..."
At this point, she threw her arms around him and he enveloped her in a tight embrace. Placing a soft kiss on her head, he said, "Gauri, with you, for you, I'm ready to even walk through hell. And I promise you, I will make things right..." She cried clutching the material of his shirt in her fists, "Stand by me, Omkara ji. That's all I need..." With that, he made her lay back and hushed her to sleep. "Don't leave me alone..." she said holding the sleeve of his shirt. The insecurity and fear was evident in her eyes. "Never..." he said, as he patted her forehead and hushed her to sleep.
***
Over the next few days, her nightmares continued, but it had reduced a lot. She had slowly begun to start eating her food at the dining table, where everyone made things seem as normal as possible. Annika and Shivaay would start their silly argument, bringing a smile on everyone's face; Rudra would comment something funny causing Bhavya to retort and call him a baby. Gauri's smile that had been lost was returning slowly; she was taking baby steps, but at least her life did not stay still or stagnant. She no longer hesitated to seek comfort in Om's embrace. Although, she still seemed to be startled when he would hold her when she would be lost in thoughts. But he was quite sure she would overcome all her hesitations and fears; and he would stand by her side, come what may.
***
Three weeks later when the family was seated in the living room, Omkara received a call, "Mr. Raheja has come out of coma. Would you like to see him?" Omkara looked at Gauri, who sat between Annika and Bhavya, trying her best to smile at whatever was being said by them. She still seemed to be uneasy, although she was at least responding to what was being spoken. Gauri's eyes met Omkara, and at once she realised something was wrong. She sat up with her spine straight and raised her brows. At this point, Annika and Bhavya too looked at Omkara, who stood with the phone at his ear. "What happened, Om?" Shivaay asked, and Rudy too frowned looking at him frozen. Omkara looked at Gauri, "Raheja has come out of coma. The doctor is asking if I would like to see him?"
Annika held Gauri's hand, and even before she could respond, she said, "Nahi, meri Chutki uss darinde ki shakal bhi nahi dekhegi, Itne mushqil se iske zakhm bharne lage hain, main nahi chahti key eh zakhm phir se kuredhe jaaye..." "No, Chutki will not go to see that devil. After a lot of difficulty, her wounds have begun to heal, I don't want these healing wounds to be scratched open again..." Gauri looked at Annika, and placed her hand on hers, "Nahi Jiji..." Then standing up, she looked at Omkara. "Tell them I would want to see that man, first thing tomorrow morning." Saying this, she walked to the bedroom. Omkara looked at her with pride as she walked with her head held high. His Gauri Omkara Singh Oberoi may have been missing for some time. But he knew, Gauri Kumari Sharma from Bareilly had definitely been waiting for this time to come. "We'll see Raheja tomorrow morning." He said to the person on the other side and cutting the call, he followed her to the room, leaving the rest stare at the two of them.
"Are you sure?" Omkara asked entering the bedroom, looking at her standing near the window with her back turned towards him. Gauri looked at the sky, this time with much more confidence, and asked her Shankar ji to be with her when she would face the devil who tried to strip her modesty off of her. She didn't say a word, but simply turned around and looked at him. The raging fire in those eyes said it all. He walked to her and placed his palms on her shoulders. "I am with you..." he said in a determined voice. Her eyes softened a bit when he said that, "I know..." she whispered, knowing that her Shankar ji, and her Omkara ji were with her.
***
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