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Gauri faced Om, her heart beating fast since she knew she was going to die of embarrassment within the next couple of minutes. 

Ritesh: as you know Omkara, you have to keep your arm around Pooja's waist. 

Om did as he was told then Tanvi told Gauri to keep her hand on his shoulder and their free hands interlocked with one another's. 

Tanvi: remember our demonstration and now music...

She put on some classic melodious music and Gauri-Om had to waltz. Gauri was trying to remember the demonstration Tanvi and Ritesh had shown them. 

Om: ouch. 

The music and dancing stopped since Gauri had stepped on his foot. 

Gauri: I am so sorry. That was by accident. 

Om: it's fine, no need to say sorry Pooja.

Ritesh: let's do this again shall we?

Gauri and Om nodded as they went back to the starting dance position and Tanvi put the music back on. 

Om: ouch!

Once again the music and dancing stopped. 

Gauri: I am really sorry. I didn't mean to bump my head into your face like that.

Om: it's fine, no need to say sorry, no harm done. 

Tanvi: what is going on? This is impossible.

Gauri bit her lip, looking at the ground. She was definitely going to die of embarrassment at this moment in time. Could Yamraj, the God of Death, just come already and kill her? This moment of awkward silence was so embarrassing. 

Om went closer to her, Gauri's eyes shifted from the ground to Om and she stopped biting her lip but her heart was beating uncomfortably fast. He kept his arms around her waist.

Gauri: what are you doing? There's no point of trying again, I am not good at dancing.

Om: you will be.

He tightened his grip on her waist. Within seconds, Gauri's feet left the ground and then they were placed on a surface that didn't feel like the hard marble floor. She looked down to see that she was standing on his feet and her hands around his necks.

Gauri was about to say something but Om kept his finger on her lip then signalled Tanvi to start the music once more. Tanvi didn't want to start the music in case of another interruption but nevertheless she turned the music on.

Once the music started, Om held onto Gauri tightly as he whirled her around the room. Gauri was looking at his eyes as this was happening. She didn't know why but there was something about his black eyes that made her feel so attracted to them. They were the depths of Tatarus holding a thousand souls yet there were none to be seen.

His grasp tightened for fear that she might lose her balance as she was standing on his feet. He had known Pooja for so long and this was the first time he was dancing with her, the first time they were in close proximity.

As the music slowed down, both her hands slid down to his shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder, taking in that familiar scent he always had, lost in this moment of theirs.

Gauri in mind: I have only known this man for a day and yet I can tell that he is so pure, there's something about him that draws me to him but...but he's not mine, he's Pooja. He only knows Pooja and he thinks I am Pooja...he doesn't even know of Gauri's existence.

The music stopped and once the music stopped, the dance stopped. Om gently got her off his feet but the two were engaged in an eyelock ignoring Tanvi and Ritesh's clapping.

Tanvi: that was breathtakingly beautiful!

Ritesh: it really was. That was just perfection.

Gauri and Om didn't really know what their teachers said because they were still in an eyelock but they did give a smile.

Svetlana saw this from the door of the room and sighed then left. As she walked, she was thinking about Om and Gauri dancing, they looked so in love and to her, that was disgusting.

Svetlana: during this sangeet, I will get rid of Pooja. Her chapter has to end.

She looked at her phone, dialed in a number then kept the phone near her ear.

Svetlana: I'm coming to meet you in 10 minutes. Come to the main terrace. Thank you.

She cut the phone then continued walking with a smirk. 

...

Gauri and Om were walking across the hallway after finally being let out of the dance lesson. Ahana wanted them so they were walking to the throne room.

As they were walking, there was only silence lingering in the air till Gauri opened her mouth to speak: I don't think Tanviji likes me.

Om: why do you say that?

Gauri: because I didn't dance up to her expectations. 

Om: expectations...being in a royal family, everyone has all these expectations of you like they expect you to be good at something or they expect you to be perfect at something you do for the first time. 

Gauri: these expectations are tiring. I wish people would stop expecting so much from us. 

Om: same here and I am sure you are a great dancer, maybe you don't like ballroom dancing.

Gauri: maybe.

She knew for a fact that she didn't like ballroom dancing, it was too fancy for her taste

Om: just between you and me, I don't really like ballroom dancing. 

Gauri: really?

Om: well it often depends on who I am dancing with and today I actually loved it. 

With that said, he gave her a wink and a smirk that was enough to make her melt like a cloud in the silent summer heaven.

If Gauri was being honest, though she didn't like ballroom dancing, she did feel that there was something magical about that dance, today it was her first time doing that fancy dance and she was dancing with Om, it felt magical, that dancing moment when no one was getting hurt truly made her feel like a princess. 

Oh wait, technically she was a princess but even though she was a princess, she didn't feel like she was one until that perfect dancing moment. 

Once they reached the throne room, Ahana was with Jhanvi talking. The moment they heard footsteps in the throne room, they looked to see Om and Gauri. Seeing their kids, they smiled. 

Ahana: we have called you because the designers are coming for the colour theme. 

Gauri: which function is this for?

Jhanvi: it's for the marriage function. The designers want to know the colour theme, sherwani type, dress type, yeh, voh so we are doing it now. Now we are just waiting for Siddharth and Tej. 

All Om and Gauri could do was nod. The two kings came and then the couples all went to meet the designers in the meeting room. 

...

Ahana: I think red will look very nice, you know traditional and elegant. Gauri could wear a red sari or lehenga and Omkara wears a golden sherwani.

Tej: red and gold is a very nice combination but those colours are often used.

Jhanvi: peach and blue seems really good. It's elegant and classy, also peach seems like a really romantic colour.

Siddharth: what's this purple and plum? They both are pretty much the same colour right?

As the elders were engaged in their conversation, Om and Gauri were just sitting on their chairs, looking at each other then at their parents, clearly bored to death. They had thoughts on colour themes but no one cared to ask them at all.

Om in mind: guess our opinions don't matter.

Gauri in mind: I want them to ask for our opinions.

Om in mind: wait...how come I can hear you in my head?

Gauri in mind: I should ask you that. How are you in my mind?

Om in mind: you know I heard about couples communicating telepathically.

Gauri in mind: that's strange.

Om in mind: yeah it is.

Tej: Omkara, Pooja.

Om and Gauri at the same time: ji?

Jhanvi: they are really perfect for one another. They even say the same thing at the same time.

Ahana: truly.

Siddharth just nodded agreeing, he looked at Gauri and started to think how he always wanted to take part in planning Pooja's marriage and now....now he would never have that opportunity to plan Pooja's marriage. He was now planning his other daughter's wedding, a daughter he never knew existed till now. It felt weird like yeah sure he was still planning his daughter's wedding but he didn't have that connection with her.

Tej: we want to ask you two about what colour themes you want. If we like it, we'll go ahead with it.

Om looked at Gauri and Gauri looked at him.

...

Svetlana was at the terrace, on her phone, waiting for the person to come. It had been over 10 minutes, her patience was growing thin.

Finally someone dressed in a crisp black suit and sunglasses came.

Svetlana: you took so long, why?

Person: I had to get this security team disguise. Tell me what you want.

Svetlana: Pooja survived last night no thanks to your stupid men! She survived the night she fell off the terrace as well and guess what? She looks completely fine, I would have at least expected her to be in a coma if not dead.

Person: so now what do you want me to arrange?

Svetlana: glad you asked.

She started to talk but no one could hear what she was saying. The person kept nodding. Natasha was with some servants when she saw that Svetlana was on the terrace talking but she couldn't see who she was talking to or what she was talking about. Finally Svetlana was done talking and the person left. Natasha was done talking to the servants and went up to Svetlana just as she was about to leave the terrace.

Natasha: is everything okay Svetlana?

Svetlana: ji haan.

Natasha: I was just asking because I saw you talking to someone, I couldn't see who it was though.

Svetlana: Natashaji, it was just a member of the security team.

Natasha: theek hai.

Natasha left and Sveltana breathed a sigh of relief.

Svetlana: I think she didn't hear what I said, after all I was being quiet.

She then smirked.

Svetlana: now you wait and watch Pooja.

...

Om: I always liked white as a colour theme.

Gauri: white and baby pink is a really pretty colour theme.

Om: it really is.

Jhanvi: I like it.

Tej and Siddharth: us two.

Ahana: so it's official, baby pink and white?

Everyone nodded so the designers took a note of the colour theme then asked about the sherwani type and dress type.

Om: the raw silk sherwani works for me.

Tej: okay and Pooja?

Gauri: I don't mind...

Her eyes caught Ahana. Yes she hated her real mother for letting her go at birth but looking at Ahana, she saw that Ahana had waited for Pooja's wedding for years and it was every mother's dream to plan their daughter's wedding.

Gauri: mum, what do you want me to wear on my wedding?

It felt weird calling Ahana mum but for Ahana, her heart danced with joy. Gauri only called Ahana mum since she was around others and Ahana knew that...the queen was not born stupid but still it made her happy hearing Gauri call her mum.

Ahana: well, I think a lehenga choli will suit you Pooja.

Gauri: then I will wear that.

She gave Ahana a smile as the queen confirmed it with the designer. Her adoptive mother, Inayat, wanted Gauri to wear a lehenga choli on her wedding and Ahana did so she was happy to wear that dress type for her wedding.

...

It had been a long day for Gauri, she was finally in a simple comfortable baby pink kurta and in her room where she could relax. Being a royal was hard and having your day sorted by a timetable...Om seemed to be used to a routine sorted by a timetable but Gauri wasn't. Normally her day consisted of watching TV with her mother, hanging out with Ekta, her same age friends and younger friends, selling duapattas since she worked back in Indore, and just being able to do whatever the hell she wanted to. No restrictions. No nothing. She couldn't even eat what she wanted. Natasha had said that for the first and second day, they would let her eat whatever she wanted off the dining table but Gauri didn't like whatever there was...anyway now from tomorrow, Gauri would have to eat food that was really healthy, basically Natasha told her that Gauri would have to diet from tomorrow because it's a tradition in the palace that brides to be diet and then a day before their marriage, they would have to fast.

Gauri: I hope after this marriage, I can eat ice cream....why wait now? They better have ice cream in their kitchen or so help me, I will create a scene.

She went out of her room and started to walk down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she started walking, seeing if anyone was there. As she was busy doing that, Gauri bumped into something hard, nearly falling but that thing held her....it was definitely not a thing but a person.

And that lovely person was Om. She gave him a smile and he smiled back at her.

Gauri: sorry voh...

Om interrupting: it's fine.

She went back on her feet and looked at him.

Gauri: so...

Om: so...

Gauri: what are you doing here?

Om: what are you doing here?

Gauri: are you copying me?

Om: no, I just want to know what you are doing here sneakily.

Gauri: I want to know that too and you will have to answer me first because I asked you first.

Om: but ladies first so you should answer me first.

Gauri: first you.

Om sighed, she was not going to give in so he decided to give in and said: just thought to go on a walk, you?

Gauri: I didn't really eat anything at dinner so thought to have some chai or ice cream.

Om: do you want to come with me?

Gauri: why?

Om: maybe we might find some ice cream stall during a walk.

Gauri: will anyone notice?

Om: paparazzi is never there at night.

Gauri was confused...she didn't know whether to just get ice cream from the kitchen and go to bed or go with her future fiance and get ice cream with him?

Gauri: I'll go with you.

She didn't know if there was ice cream in the kitchen, most likely there wasn't ice cream and going with Om meant that she could perhaps get to know him better.

After all, if she was being made to marry him the least she could do was get to know him right?

.

.

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I am very sorry for a late update, feel free to throw chappals at me.

Questions of the day:

Everyone finally getting the clue of what happened to Pooja?

What has Svetlana planned for Gauri or Pooja?

Will Siddharth finally see Gauri as his daughter?

What will happen on Om and Gauri's walk?

Do you think Gauri will reveal her identity to him?

Target: 20+ votes and 10+ comments