Hi, nothing to say, but enjoy!Epilogue
Beautiful Scars
Jhanvi Singh Oberoi loved her daughters in law as much as she loved her daughter, but in the case of Gauri or as she was fondly called Ri, she was a tad bit bias. After all, even mothers in law were allowed to have favorites. She couldn't help but feel drawn to the girl who seemed to remind her so much of her own youth. Priyanka was her meek and beautiful baby, Sumo was intelligent and sweet, even Annika with her gentle gestures and kind understanding, was not what Ri was. She was strong, independent, witty and sarcastic. Jhanvi could not help but love her unconditionally. She could hardly wait for six months more, to be able to officially call her family. That wretched family priest had set the wedding date as far away as possible! But the girl spent most of her time in Mumbai (when she was not engaged in work for Rivani), at home with them. They did not mind, although Pinky had few times muttered something about traditions and well mannered girls, everyone was glad to see Omkara happy after a long while, smiling more often like he used to. It was another reason why Jhanvi was grateful to Ri, she had brought her son back, from the abyss he had lost himself in.
But she was not very happy to see her that morning, around ten, skipping into Oberoi Mansion, dressed in her favorite denim shorts and a sunny yellow long sleeved loose shirt, removing her Bluetooth, from her ear. Before she knew it, Jhanvi was pulled into a breath knocking hug by the whirlwind of a girl.
"Hi MOM!" she announced loudly. "You look ravishing!"
"Hmm," said Jhanvi. "I can say the same about you too. But upar mausam karab hai," she said in a conspiratorial tone, hinting at the stair case.
"Oh," Ri's mouth fell open. "He knows?" Jhanvi nodded and Ri cursed softly. "Rudra! I would have murdered him if I wasn't worried of widowing my best mate! Kher," she turned to leave. "Wish me luck Mom, if we meet again we can laugh!" Jhanvi laughed and patted her shoulder, before walking off to find Pinky and discuss their shopping list.
Omkara heard his Mom laugh, and knew instantly his fiancee was home. She was the only person who could make his mother laugh so warmly. He frowned at the wet mound of clay he was working with, what were the two conspiring about this time? And before he reached to a conclusion, someone, he had a very good idea who, banged into his room.
It was no longer his room was it? It was theirs. There were subtle touches of her presence everywhere. The dream catcher on the French doors leading to the balcony, the guitar perched on the corner, the silver fur cushions on the windowsill (at least they weren't god awful pink!), her casuals hanging on his wardrobe or the headphones and the hundreds of jazz albums. He had no idea when the changes came, but they felt a part of the room and familiar as if they had been there for ages. He almost relaxed into her arms slithering around his torso, before remembering he was being angry with her. He pulled himself free, dismissively and started to work on his new sculpture without giving her a glance.
Ri stepped to his side, clearly visible in his peripheral vision and pouted.
"Omkara?" her tone was innocent. He ignored her. "I came here directly from the Airport and I'm so tired." Ah victimization, no, he was not going to fall for that! "Tume phone bhi kya tha..." He rolled his eyes. She ran a finger down his cheek. "Naraz ho?"
"Haan." His tone was curt.
Why?" She still managed to sound clueless. Her hand played with his open hair, massaging his scalp, almost making him forget the reason for his frustration. "What have I done this time?"
He washed his hands, still huffing and turned to face her. She was once again dressed in a loose fitting shirt and shorts.
"I told you no more tattoos right?"
"Haan," she fiddled with the ham of her shirt, letting her voice trail off. "But had to get this last one done."
"No!" He cut in. "You said they were scars, reminders of bad memories. I - don't - want - you - to - have - scars!" He pressed each word. "I try to make you forget things and you go and get a fresh wound open. This isn't fair Gauri!"
She locked her arms behind his neck, putting her bare feet on his and reached up so that she could look into his eyes. Her espresso eyes were different from the first time he had seen them, they were glowing, open and inviting. She smiled slowly, letting him breathe her in. That lavender and mint fragrance came in whiffs and Omkara finally wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in the crook between her neck and shoulder.
"This one was not a scar," she muttered, her fingers running through his hair. She loved his locks, that were way healthier and gorgeous than hers. "And I know you love my tattoos Mr. Oberoi -"
"I don't," his voice was muffled against her skin and his breath tickled her as he spoke. Ri chuckled.
"Lying are we? I can remind you a series of incidents that would prove otherwise, why wasn't it the last time at -" she gulped as he raised his head to look at her, his eyes full of smoldering passion as he gave her a look that clearly said are - you - sure - you - wanna - remind - me - that. "Don't you want to see it?" She switched tracks innocently, averting her gaze and pulled her shirt sleeve up, revealing her forearm.
There against her milky skin, made out of curly black ink was of the symbol of Om. Omkara inhaled deeply, fingers draped around her wrist and sighed.
"What was the need to hurt yourself for something so - measly?" His tone was bitter. Ri's face darkened a little. "You know I'm not that kind of a person, I don't want to mark you as some property or something. You are much more than that, and no one, not even me, can own you." He stretched out a hand and caressed her cheek, her eyes misted over.
"I know that," she said, mirroring his action, her smooth fingers running over his stubble. "That's so not what this stands for. It's just a reminder for myself, that there is someone who will always be there with me, that I am not lonely anymore. That there is no need to destroy myself for there's someone who can't live without me. It reminds me I am wanted, that I am loved. It makes me feel like I'm carrying a part of you around, etched on my being forever."
"Don't love me so much," was all he said, before gathering her to a tight hug. Ri let him, happily wrapping her own arms around his torso and closing her eyes.
"Cheesy enough to mash you into a puddle right?" she laughed a little. "And that reminds me, you're yet to say those three magical words."
Omkara crooked an eyebrow.
"You're here, are you not?"
"Yes, but."
"We're almost getting married right?"
"Yep, still.."
"So what's the point of me saying something you already know so well?" His chest rumbled with laughter as she hit him with her fists.
"I hate you!" She groaned knowing she could never make much damage with her fists.
"Sadly, you're trapped for life my dear!"
"Who knows I might run away from the wedding again?" She mused, evilly.
"Then I should start planning for an on air wedding and honeymoon in an isolated island."
"You're spending too much time with Rudra," she chuckled. "I might murder you in that isolated island."
"Oh really?"
They continued to bicker and the family members who heard them shook their heads. Soon their laughter rang all the way down to the central hall of the Oberoi Mansion and Jhanvi smiled to herself, pausing in her conversation with Pinky. She was not wrong to love that girl, who had completed her family after so many long years. All was well.
**
Now we can officially start on our teary good byes!😭😭
God, how much I looked forward to post a new chapter each time, and then to wait breathlessly for your comments! ❤️With each new comment, my heart used to skip❤️❤️. That is a feeling I'm never to forget. I really loved writing YAIC, and sharing it with you guys. You lovelies made the entire journey ten folds more fun than it actually was, with your motivating messages, guesses and reactions.😃😳🤗
Did you enjoy this entire ride as much as I did? If so, it's time to tell me what you felt on the way, for one last time.
Hope you enjoyed the read and thank you so very much for giving YAIC a chance and bonding with Ri as much as you did along the way.😊😊
Hopefully we'll meet each other again, on a different tale, at some point.
Till then, have wonderful lives!😃😃
Love,
Sakura
PS: I'm planning to write two bonus shots for this series, it will be after confession before wedding kind of incidents. You can demand what you want to have in there, if you have any scenarios in mind which you wanna see in YAIC universe. I''ll try to include them in these two chapters.
See you sooon!
S
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