Posted:
Hello lovely people! I'm back with the #2 of Smoke and Mirrors (during this RiKara drought). This one is for Rex and Swati who wanted a part 2 or a continuation of Smoke and Mirrors. I do hope you like it, Rex and Swati. Thank you for the lovely replies.
Also, drop a line with your feedbacks; I'm thinking of continuing this with another OS and I might pen something down. That is if you guys liked this one.
Oh and the title is from Avicii's Waiting for Love as you guys must have guessed by now!
*******
She avoids him religiously the entire day, running in the opposite direction whenever he approaches and takes to falling asleep in the most unconventional places at nights. So every night, after everyone is shut in their rooms, he finds himself roaming the rooms of the mansion to find his wife. It becomes routine: finding her, carrying her back to their room and settling her on their bed.
Trying to stop him from doing it will be useless, she knows so she makes herself harder to find. Or at least tries to. It doesn't work; she wakes up every morning on their bed, his arm around her waist. She gently disentangles herself, careful to avoid disturbing him and begins her task of ignoring him all day.
Amidst spending a few hours in dejection and with wayward thoughts of setting her free, he'd come to a resolution: to win his wife back, to build the bridge of trust between them, no matter what it took. So he spends his time at home being attentive to her, trying to mend the gap by minute gestures. It doesn't seem to have any effect except for the rare softening of her expressions which go back to their previous state within moments; as soon as they end up alone. Lost in the very same thoughts he wanders over the staircase, wondering his next move.
He hears her scream just as he turns around the corridor to reach his room. The scream makes his blood run cold, because Gauri isn't scared easily. He breaks into a run, barging in their room loudly, leaving the door swinging on its hinges.
"Gauri?" he locates her easily. She is on the floor, face contorted in pain as she tries to hold back tears while clutching her foot. He gauges the cause of her fall to be his white kurta, which is currently entangled in her feet. He moves towards her, reaching out to push her hand away to get a better look.
She tries to move away. "door rahiye hum se."
they are the first words she has spoken to him directly in days, since she had walked out of their room after confronting him about the Goa fiasco. The tremble in her voice betrays her pain so he goes ahead and holds her leg anyway. The swelling is just starting while her pale skin boasts of a rapidly darkening, greenish tinge at her ankle.
"Choona bhi mat hume," she tries to jerk her leg out of his hold. He tightens his fingers just a fraction to keep her in place.
"Chot lagi hai tumhe Gauri! Yeh sab tum baad me kar lena."
Before she could retort with another angry outburst, another crash announces the arrival of Annika and Rudra.
"Gauri, kya hua?"
"Bhaabhi?" their simultaneous worried tones echo in their room, halting a cutting reply from her.
"Woh hum gir gaye. Bas thodi chot lagi hai, hum theek hai," Gauri reassures them both, trying to hide her pain by turning her face towards Om.
"Kaise gir gayi tum?" Annika asks, sliding to the floor beside her to get a better look at her bruise.
"Woh hum... bas..," she hesitates to reply.
"Mere carelessly pheke hue kurte me phas ke gir gayi," Omkara informs them, accepting his mistake. "I'm sorry, Gauri. Mujhe dhyaan rakhna chahiye tha."
"Theek hai ab. Itna zor se nahi gire par dard pata nahi kyu bohot zyaada hua," she dismisses his apology with a wave, still trying to get her leg out of his hold.
"Aapko to yahi bullet lagi thi na?" Rudra too takes a peek at her leg.
"Ha. Shayad." she agrees, reminded of the whole pregnancy fiasco.
"Oho! Thandi me to purane zakhm aur bhi takleef dete hai, Gauri! Tum balm laga lo phir hum doctor ke paas chalte hai," Annika advises her.
"Sahi kaha aapne. Kuch zakhm kabhi nahi bharte. Kuch bhi karlo, baar baar takleef dete rehte hai," she looks straight in his eyes. His eyes widen in horror at the implications of the words Annika is too clueless to understand. "Ab aadat hai hume inn puraane dard ko sehne ki, Bhaujaai. Doctor ki zaroorat nahi hai, painkiller se theek ho jaayega." Her eyes stay unwavering on his, not even noticing as Rudra places the gel tube in Omkara's hand. With a sudden jerk, she frees her leg from his hold. He stays frozen on the spot, furiously trying to muster up the courage to look into her eyes.
"Theek hai. Par agar yeh raat tak itni hi takleef de to hum doctor ko bula rahe hai," Annika warns her before getting to her feet. "Om, tum balm laga doge ya mai laga du?"
"I'll do it," he says curtly. Both of them take the cue and leave, closing the door with a soft sound behind them.
He extends his hand towards her leg again.
"Hum cheekhenge," she threatens, trying to move back slightly. He pays no heed to it and pulls her leg gently to let her feet rest on his thigh.
"Hum sach me cheekhenge," she tries squirming away but his other hand settles on her knee, halting her movements.
"Try karo. This room is sound proof," he smiles a little then, using his thumb to gently massage her ankle. She hisses in pain,Jhoot mat boliye, abhi Rudy bhaiya aur Bhaujaai aa gaye the.
Omkara opens the tube with difficulty, using just one hand before squeezing some of the cold gel on the green patch of skin.
"Kyunki door open tha. Humaara room soundproof hai Gauri. Mujhe silence ki bohot zaroorat hoti hai, so I saw to it after coming back from London," he explains in a drawl, staring at her considerably swollen ankle with apprehension before moving his fingers in a circular motion, spreading the gel over the area. She hisses in pain again, a thin sheen of tears in her eyes.
"It's gonna be fine," he tries to assure her, massaging the gel lightly in a soothing motion.
She stays silent, his gentle touch bringing her suppressed feelings to the fore for a moment. She busies her mind immediately in digging up a painful memory to evade the sudden attack by her own heart. It pinpoints her to a bittersweet moment, a moment that took place months ago.
"Humaari jagah koi aur bhi hota tab bhi aap yehi karte. Khaaskar agar koi anjaan ladki hoti to. Hai na, Mr. Oberoi?"
The moment the words are out, she wants to take them back. She isn't sure if it is her calling him out using his own words in a condescending tone or whether it is about her calling him Mr. Oberoi but a visible streak of hurt and anger flashes in eyes, reminding her of the old, snarling Omkara she has been privvy to. He stares at her face, a hurricane of emotions clear in his eyes. Shame floods through him after a short jab of pain and anger at himself. He forces it down, aware that it is exactly what he has earned.
She braces herself for an angry retort that never comes. Instead he calmly finishes applying the balm before getting to his feet and picking her up. She yelps in protest, twisting her body to get out. He doesn't let her and deposits her on the bed, throwing his arm over her midriff to hold her down as he rummages through the bedside drawer with the other hand.
"I'm sorry, Gauri. And you're welcome to say anything you want to, I just won't be fighting you anymore," he makes a huge clatter as he pushes things around.
"Yeh lo, khaao," his tone suggests that refusal is not an option as he holds out a pill on his palm. She takes it wordlessly, glaring at him while he offers a glass of water. He taps his foot impatiently as she makes a face before closing her eyes and swallowing the pill by gulping down almost half the glass.
"Thank you," she says hesitantly, handing the glass back to him.
Omkara sighs, the formal vocalisation of her gratitude adding another pinch to his wound. He reaches to push back a strand of her hair, watching as her lower lip quivers just slightly at the small touch.
"Aapko humaari fikar karne ki zaroorat nahi hai," Gauri says softly, feeling a bit lightheaded.
"Zaroorat aur Mohabbat, dono ho tum meri, Gauri. Tumhaari fikar karna bhi mera farz aur haq, dono hai," his fingers brush against her cheek and she stares back at him, stunned for words.
It has always been the same with him, words that leave her speechless for long stretches, numbing her ability to form a reply. She takes a moment, finding it a bit hard to keep his face in focus. Omkara smiles, noticing the shift in focus.
"Its quite powerful par tum dinner tak uth jaaogi," he places the glass back on the table before informing her. He snags a cushion to place it under her feet, elevating it slightly.
"kya?! Hume kaam hai..." she starts protesting indignantly with panic before blinking drowsily, trying hard to keep him in focus. He waits until she is completely asleep to settle down on a corner; taking her hand in his.
Her words hit a sore spot, the tone inflicting fresh wounds. He had found himself in guilt, incapable of replying her. He had gulped down the lump in his throat, trying to find the correct words to defend himself without success. In the fruitless quest though, he had stumbled upon something much more precious. The moment she had said those words, immediate regret and pain had made itself visible on Gauri's face. That look had reminded him of the old Gauri. His Gauri, who cared about him. The Gauri who cared whether her actions or words would end up hurting him. His Gauri whose heart bleeds at his pain.
The look had given him hope, that maybe it was working out. A bit slower than he would have liked, but it was working nonetheless. His Gauri was slowly resurfacing, from the tough, hurt and heartless exterior, one he clearly deserved, the one she had been treating him to.
The despair in her eyes at his hurt had lit a spark of hope in him, prompting him to take an oath to redouble his efforts. He'll find his way to her, slowly and steadily even if his act had been unforgivable. It just meant being patient and being himself, something he was prepared to do with honesty, shredding all walls around himself. He had let her into his heart, allowing even the tiny thoughts of her to invade the entirety of himself and he'd be damned if he didn't remake a tiny nook for himself in her heart, especially after occupying it completely for months. Adjusting the duvet, her unadorned feet catch his attention.
He gets up, grateful that the door of his wardrobe isn't squeaky and punches in the code to the safe to grab the payal that has had a residence there since ages. The other sole occupants: a lock of hair and a taped up card, make his most prized and invaluable possessions. He locks it back after sparing them a fond glance, hurrying over to the bed and uncovering her foot. It feels silly to put it on without the other pair but it is the only one he has and it seems a violation of her privacy to look into her stuff.
After a minute of hesitation, he finally locks it around her feet, the unhurt one, avoiding touching her as must as he could. She doesn't even stir, quite clearly under the influence of the painkiller. Done with his task, he looks at the now payal clad feet for a moment, enjoying the look of it before bending down and kissing her ankle.
Omkara closes the door behind him softly, walking downstairs with a spark of hope in his heart, to ask everyone to avoid disturbing Gauri that night.
*******
Let me know if you guys liked this part! Silent readers, I love to see your name in the like tab!
Fan Fictions
Hindi TV Shows
