Sorry for the late part!
Longer than usual, enjoy!😊
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Chapter 6- Pains That Hearts Hold
Hours later, Om walked into the guest room. He found his mother there. She looked up at him concerned.
"She hasn't revived yet!" Whispered Jaanvi.
"I will be here!" Om said tiredly. His mother nodded.
Jaanvi was about to leave when Gauri moved her hand and it touched Jaanvi's. The older lady smiled, and looked at the nurse. The nurse immediately disappeared to call Anika, as she had instructed.
"Gauri!" Jaanvi caressed her hair, kissing her forehead.
Gauri smiled weakly.
Om gulped and stood rooted at the spot.
Anika entered and immediately was beside Gauri, with Shivaay, Rudra and the nurse behind her.
"Gauri!" She smiled her eyes were moist
Gauri whispered her name, trying to sit up. Anika helped her out.
The nurse in the mean while prepared the medicine that was to be given.
"How do you feel now?" Asked Shivaay concerned.
"Better!" Gauri whispered, holding her head.
"But, How did I...?" She looked confused. That's when she spotted Omkara in the room. Slowly memories came back. His accusations, and insults. She remembered leaving and going to the beach. Then?
"You met with an accident Gauri. Thank God you are fine. " Jaanvi kissed her forehead.
Immediately Gauri smiled. She had missed her mother, immensely. Today Jaanvi reminded her so much of her mother.
Anika made a disapproving face and looked at Shivaay. His expression was serious as well. He looked at Om, who simply stared at Gauri. He patted his shoulder, "you okay?" He whispered. Om nodded, making a very brief eye contact.
"Okay now rest!" Jaanvi said, indicating the others to leave.
"Take Care!" Anika whispered into Gauri's ears and kissed her forehead.
Suddenly, Gauri felt life wasn't bad. The feeling of being loved and cared for was overwhelming. One person hadn't left the room, Omkara.
She stared at him. Her stare soon got sharper turning to a glare. Om requested the nurse to leave them alone. Gauri gulped holding on to the bed cover.
He approached her. Gauri looked away.
"Gauri!"
She din't respond.
"Gauri, there is something you need to know!"
"I have heard enough!"
"You were right!" He spoke simply looking defeated. " I should have known the while truth! I am sorry! "
She now turned to him. She was curious. How did he know her?
" I know everything now. Maafi ke laayak nahi hoon. Jaanta hoon. Par there is something you should know..." He prepared himself to tell her the truth.
"Aaj...tum...yahan...iss haalat...mein...Meri wajah se ho!"
Gauri gaped at him shocked. "Matlab?"
"I was driving the car that hit you!" He bent his head down and spoke.
With tears in her eyes, she looked at him.
"Itni nafrat kyun, karte hain, aap hum se?"
A lone tear escaped Omkara's eyes as he looked at her. She was broken . he could see. He knew well the pain the eyes reflected. Today, the pain he saw in her eyes was because of him! He always felt people's pain. But today, he was suffocating in her pain. He dint know why, but her pain was like his. It belonged to him. It was because of him.
"Jo Pyaar ke Laayak Nahi,
Wo Nafrat hi karta hai!" He smiled mocking himself.
"Maafi Maangne Laayak Nahi hoon,
Chaatha bhi nahi hoon ki tum mujhe maaf karo,
Pehle kabhi aisa nahi hua hai,
Par tumhari nafrat mujhe kabool hai!" He said with honesty, looking straight into her eyes.
"Humse, kabhi bhi kisi ne, itni nafrat nahi ki,
Naa humne kisi se nafrat karne ki,
Lekin aapse hum nafrat karte hain."
Her every word was etched in pain and anger.
"Leave." She turned away.
A tear rolled down his cheek as he got up and left. Before leaving he gave her one last look.
It was more painful than he thought it would be!
----
Seven days had passed. Om and Gauri barely spoke. Gauri had happily accepted the apologies of the family saying it was a matter of bad time. But her heart still hated him. She hadn't forgiven him. The others had noticed the cold war between them. But none intervened. They thought with time it would disappear. Anika too had ceased conversation with Omkara. Shivaay, Om and Rudra had noticed. Though on the outside she would happily talk like before, but it was never from her heart.
* * *
"Bhaabhi!" He called out to her.
Anika stopped in track and turned, putting up a fake smile.
"Aap upset hain?" Om asked.
"Main..nahi toh..kyun? Main kyun upset hongi...!"
"I know what happened was wrong, my regret, nightmares and guilt is my punishment. Gauri doesn't talk to me as well. Bhabhi, give me any punishment you want, I will accept it happily. But please don't put up this mask, please don't talk to me like an outsider. " he pleaded.
Anika gulped. He was right. She had started treating him like an outsider. She barely spoke to him from her heart. She spoke to him because she was supposed to as his brother's wife, his family's part.
He stood silently aside witnessing the scene between his wife and brother.
"Om...Jo tumne kiya hai wo galat hai..lekin Jo Shivaay ne kiya hai naa WO zyaada galat hai. Aur tumne unka saath diya hai. Main gussa tum se zyaada un pe hoon. Un pe gussa zyada reh nahi sakti, isliye tum pe utaar rhi hoon!" Anika spoke truthfully as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Gauri ke saath Jo hua galt thaa ..USS raat uski jaan chali jaati toh!?" She looked at Om. He looked dreaded by the thought. Tapping his shoulder she left.
Shivaay followed his wife from the other side.
"Anika!?" He called out to her.
She turned immediately.
" I heard that!"
"Great!" She said with sarcasm intact.
"Don't you see ...he is drowning in guilt already... Gauri doesn't even acknowledge his presence, isn't that enough!?" He took his brother's side.
Anika folded her arms. "If I was in her place even I would have done exactly that!
" Don't do this to Om!" He pleaded, knowing that no matter what her behavior would affect Omkara.
"I won't!" She said looking at him. "Why should I punish him? When you are the one at fault!"
She turned and left. He closed his eyes nd sighed. He had had enough. But for his brother he would face this.
* * *
Anika's words echoed in his ears, once he was in the limits of his room. His breathing became staggered. He was struggling. What if she had died? What if she had died that day? He closed his ears. No. She din't his heart screamed but his overpowering mind silenced the heart. He needed to break through it all. He quickly locked the room and got back to the world where his weakness din't eat him up.
* * *
Gauri was still seated in the living hall of the Oberois. She had heard the conversation between Omkara and Anika faintly. She felt bad for being so hard on Omkara. He hadn't purposefully attempted to kill or hurt her. But his words still made her heart wince. How could he say those to her? But how long would she be upset with him? Maybe forever. But what would that give her? Nothing but pain and bitter memories. She couldn't afford to live with anymore. Besides she had seen Omkara, he would be still more silent than before. Two days back she had also heard Jaanvi speak to Pinky about Omkara slipping into an unknown silence after the accident.
Her thought process was interrupted by Jaanvi.
"Gauri, there is something I need to ask you for! She said sitting beside her.
" Yes Aunty, Tell me! " she spoke turning to the elder lady.
"Can you please forgive, Omkara. At least tell him you have. I know I m asking for too much. But please do me this favor." Jaanvi folded her hands before Gauri.
"No Aunty! " she said holding her hands. "I m the one who has been bestowed with favors, love and care from you all!"
" As a matter of fact, I was just thinking about the same, Aunty. I had come to Mumbai to start a new life, and where I am stuck. Naaraazgi sirf dard chodti hai! "
Jaanvi stifled a sob. "I can't see Om go back in time. Phir se usse tute huge nahi dehk paaungi!"
Gauri looked curious. She had always felt that Omkara had many secrets, painful ones.
"What do you mean? If I can ask that..!?"
"It was Prinku's graduation. The three of them were proud brothers. Especially Om and Shivaay. After all they were the reason why Prinku was allowed to take up science. Tej was against it. He enter Prinku to join family business, after OmRu were adamant of not joining it. That night the brothers gifted her a car. She was beaming with excitement. Shivaay had to leave abruptly for a meeting and Rudra had fought with Prinku. They always find reasons, trust me I don't know how!" Jaanvi smiled and continued. "So Om and Prinku went for a drive after the function had ended. Prinku was driving, they went to some ice cream parlor. On return Om decided to drive as it was a windy dark night and Prinku wasn't that well experienced. Their car hit a woman on the bridge, how it happened no one knew. That woman was never found. "
Gauri gasped shocked.
"After that accident Om resorted to drugs!" Gauri blinked shocked.
"He was never like that. Mera Om bahut alag thaa, humesha WO smile uske chere pe rehti aur aakhon mein chamak. Dino kho gaye. Thanks to Shivaay, he put him into rehab, spent months with him, living like his sole reason was to take care of Om. Quite honestly, even me and Tej haven't done that much for him. Uska dar , uska paagalpan, Sab jhela Shivaay ne. He got back Om!"
Gauri smiled. She had herself noted the undying live between the brothers. It only increased her desire for having a sibling.
"Then that Shwetlana came and spoilt everything again. Om is very sensitive. Tej wanted to marry Shwetlana. Om could not take it. He couldn't see me break. So in order to make Tej realise that Shwetlana was wrong he made a deal with Shwetlana. He would give her all the money she wanted but she had to leave our lives. She din't accept it, she wanted the Oberoi title. So he ...Om engaged Shwetlana. Tej realised his mistake. But Om can't forgive him till now. Om wasn't like that, the stone kind of person. Situations have made him that! He has been cheated time again. Riddhima also left him when he needed her the most."
Gauri looked intrigued at the mention of the name.
"Ridhhima!?" She asked.
"His fiance! She forced Om into business and they broke up! Then Shwetlana! He finally ended up being a part of business. He works like a machine. He went to Bareli then, and ever since he came back, he was different. He was never the same Omkara. I don't know what bothered him. Still bothers him. ...Anyway main yeh Sab ntumhe iss liye nahi baa rahi hoon ki tum humdardi jaata sako, par isliye, ki tum usse samaj sako. Look Gauri, I don't know ki tumhaare baat karne se usko farak padega yaa nahi, but I can't see him drowning in guilt. I can't!" Jaanvi ended up crying bitterly
Gauri too had tears in her eyes. A mother's plight, she understood well. Se hugged Jaanvi promising to talk to Om. If there is anything she could do to soothe the pain of a mother who looked after her like her own daughter, she would!
* * *
P.S
Hope you are enjoying this story.
If not, please let me know, what you like and what you disliked, that would help me shape up the story better. I wanted to be done away with a certain things naturally than dramatically.
Rikara always happen very naturally in my writings. Hope you all liked it!
Please do leave your honest comments it will only encourage me! :)
Edited by Khidki - 7 years ago
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