Om and Gauri started to walk so that they could sneak out from the palace. Gauri soon found themselves in the kitchen. Why were they in the kitchen when they were going to go out for ice cream?

Her unsaid questions were answered when she saw Om at the kitchen back door...funny she never noticed it before.

Om: last time we were in the kitchen, I saw this door but you already must have knew that right?

Gauri nodded....technically she didn't but surely the real Pooja would have known that there was a back door in the kitchen. Did her twin sister sneak out sometimes at night?

Om opened the door and allowed Gauri to go out first. Gauri smiled as she went out and Om followed, closing the door. As they were walking, the two looked at each other, smiling then looked down then did the same ritual - looking at each other, smiling then looking down - multiple times. They weren't talking and the silence was killing them inside. Why was it that sometimes they could easily talk then sometimes they couldn't? If they were going to marry, then they needed to kill this strange kind of silence. 

Gauri: in Mumbai, do you sneak out a lot?

Om: kabhi kabhi. In Mumbai, I was often kept busy at night with the family business's files so I snuck out sometimes when I got bored of the files. You?

Gauri: kabhi kabhi. 

They continued to walk, looking for an ice cream stall as well as continuing this ritual of looking at each other, smiling then looking down. Why were they quiet again? 

Gauri: thank you for today when you kept me on your feet to dance.

Om: it's no problem...I was just trying to make life easier for you. 

Gauri: just two more days of ballroom dancing then we will be free from it. I really don't want another lesson with that Tanviji and Riteshji. 

Om: same. They bore me to death. Their voices want to make me sleep.

Gauri chuckled and said: same here. 

She looked around and saw an ice cream stall...

Gauri happily: ice cream!

Om looked at her with a smile as she ran up to the ice cream stall. She was really excited like a child. He smiled as he walked up to her and the ice cream stall. She was talking to the ice cream bhaiya and as he observed her talking, he noticed that she had this childlike charm to her and it was attracting him to her like a magnet. 

Gauri was given strawberry ice cream by the ice cream bhaiya.

Ice cream bhaiya: Yuvraj Omkara, do you want ice cream too or will you share with Rajkumari Pooja?

Why did he have to know that they were both royals?

At least they got ice cream for free. 

Om: ji nahi, is it okay if you don't tell anyone that we were here at night?

Ice cream bhaiya: theek hai I won't. Thank you for visiting my ice cream stall.

Om and Gauri: your welcome.

They looked at each other with a smile. Before they were about to say bye to the ice cream bhaiya, Gauri felt a tug at her kurta. She looked down and saw a small child looking at her with pleading eyes.

Child: didi, I am very hungry. I haven't eaten in four days....do you have any money?

Gauri looked at the child then at the ice cream which she hadn't eaten yet then looked at the child again but this time with a smile. She bent down to the child's height and said: do you like strawberry ice cream?

Child: haan, I haven't had it in so long. 

Gauri kept the strawberry ice cream tub in the child's hand, saying: you can have my ice cream. 

Child: really didi?

Gauri: haan baba. 

The child smiled and hugged Gauri. Gauri hugged him back then the child went, happily starting to eat the ice cream. Gauri got up and looked at Om with a smile. 

Gauri: chalo let's go.

Om: theek hai.

They waved bye to the ice cream bhaiya and started walking when Om stopped walking, making Gauri stop. 

Om: I think I left my phone at the stall. 

Gauri: let's go get it then.

Om: nahi nahi, you stay here. 

Gauri: but....

Om didn't let her speak. He quickly ran to the ice cream stall, leaving a confused Gauri. Why did he want her to stay here? 

Within seconds, Om came back with something in his hand. Though it was dark, the streetlights allowed Gauri to see that his phone was definitely not in his hand. It was something else. When he came up to her, she saw that it was an ice cream tub in his hand.

Gauri: I thought that you didn't want ice cream.

Om: it's for you.

Gauri: for me?

Om: you gave your ice cream to that child so I thought to get you another one.

Gauri: you didn't have to.

Om: I wanted to. Now have a bite.

Gauri: no it's fine.

Om: have a bite at least.

Gauri kept her lips together as Om tried to make her have a bite of ice cream. After many failed attempts of trying to make her have ice cream.....

Om: Pooja, have a bite...you was the one who wanted ice cream.

Gauri: and I was the one who willingly gave my ice cream to that child. Bechara...he hadn't eaten in days. You know what really hurts me?

Om shook his head.

Gauri: it hurts me to see hungry children on the streets...they are only small and they have to beg just to have food. Having food is their basic human right and that right of theirs has been taken from them. Poor children. What did they do to deserve a life like that? 

Om: it hurts me as well to see them beg on the streets and you know what hurts me more? 

This time Gauri shook her head.

Om: when people yell at them to get lost...it shows that they have no heart. Would they deny their own children of food? No right....so then why do they deny these poor children of food?

Gauri: we live in a corrupt food. Everything is just...

Om: messed up?

Gauri: exactly, everything is just messed up. I think we should help them.

Om: that's a good idea.

Gauri: after the sangeet, I don't think we have anything to do according to the timetables so we can make meals for the poor.

Om: make? I thought you didn't know cooking?

She actually did, why was she speaking like Gauri? She was supposed to act like Pooja, the twin sister she didn't even know, she didn't even met and the twin sister she will never ever meet. Life is too strange. 

Gauri: I mean...we can help the kitchen staff make the meals. We will learn something and it will be helpful to the kitchen staff as well.

Om: yeah it will be now have this ice cream, it's melting.

Gauri smiled and opened her mouth as Om kept the spoon of strawberry ice cream in her mouth. She knew it hadn't been long since she last had ice cream and that was back in Indore but it actually did feel like forever. The ice cream melted in her mouth....honestly strawberry ice cream was like heaven....it tasted like a fruity delicious heaven in her mouth. 

Gauri took the small tub of ice cream from Om and then kept the spoon near his mouth.

Om: no.

Gauri: have at least one spoon na.

Om: I'm not a fan of ice cream.

Gauri: really?

Om nodded.

Gauri: how can you not be a fan of ice cream? It's the best dessert ever.

Om: it's too cold for my liking. 

Gauri: that's the beauty of it! Please ek bite.

Om: if I take one bite, will you have the rest?

Gauri nodded. Om opened his mouth so that Gauri could keep the spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. Om allowed the cold treat to melt in his mouth as Gauri continued to take bites from the tub. He wasn't a fan of ice cream but this strawberry ice cream actually tasted nice. 

Om: Gauri, can I have another bite?

Gauri: but you only wanted one bite.

Om: that was before I realised how great this was.

Gauri: fine, one more bite.

She fed Om another bite and soon it was Gauri giving one spoonful to Om and Om giving one spoonful to her. Soon they reached the palace. Gauri and Om came back into the palace through the kitchen back door. Thanks goodness no one was there. Gauri kept the ice cream tub in the kitchen bin then they started to walk so that they could go out of the kitchen when Om stopped and pulled Gauri gently by the arm, making her face him.

Gauri: kya hua?

Om: you have some ice cream on your lip.

She felt so embarrassed. Why did there had to be some ice cream on her lips. She left her thumb and wiped her lip.

Gauri: is it still there?

Om: left side of your lip.

Gauri wiped the left side of her lip with her thumb but the ice cream was still there

Om: let me do it.

He came closer to her, their hearts beating fast and in sync. He rested his hand on her face then with his thumb, he slowly wiped the ice cream bit off her lips. As he wiped it off, Gauri looked at his black eyes and he looked back at her hazel eyes. Her hazel eyes were glimmering.

Even though he was done wiping the ice cream bit off Gauri's lips, his hand still rested on her face, they were still looking at each other. Their faces became closer to each other and their eyes closed as their faces became more and more closer towards one another. 

They kept apart when they heard footsteps.....who was walking at this time at night? They tried to find a place to hide in the kitchen. Gauri saw a kitchen storage cupboard....she grabbed Om's arm and dragged him to the storage cupboard, closing the doors. They were in close proximity with each other.

The person who was walking was Natasha. We all know Natasha at this point. Anyway she went in the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she filled a glass, she looked around the kitchen....funny. She thought she heard footsteps in the kitchen earlier. Maybe it was just her night brain. After drinking water, she cleaned the glass, dried it then kept it away. Once she was done with that, she left the kitchen.

Om and Gauri heard the footsteps leaving, once they got fainter and fainter till eventually they couldn't hear any footsteps, they went out of the cupboard. 

Om: I think we should go back to our rooms.

Gauri: me too.

They walked out of the kitchen quietly, careful not to make a single sound. Once they were upstairs, they looked at each other.

Gauri softly and quietly: goodnight.

Om: goodnight.

Then they went their separate ways to their rooms, as they walked into their rooms, they were thinking about that small moment in the kitchen....

...

Gauri went into the room, took off the hazel contacts revealing her brown eyes then went on the window seat and laid down there, thinking about Om wiping that ice cream off the lips then their faces coming closer.

Gauri in mind: did we almost....did we almost kiss? No, maybe we didn't almost kiss...but did we?

...

Om went on his bed, thinking about that almost kiss.

Om in mind: did we really just almost kiss? Surely I didn't almost kiss Pooja....but I really feel that the moment was left incomplete without that kiss...

...

Gauri turned to her left side, thinking about that almost kiss and then she was thinking more about Om.

Gauri in mind: I only met Om and I feel some sort of connection with him. It is said that God has made a match for everyone in this world. Maybe me finding out about my royal truth was meant to be because if I didn't find out that I was a princess then maybe I would have never met Om. 

...

Om looked at the ceiling and as he did, he continued to think about his fiancée. 

Om in mind: the Pooja I saw today was different. Pooja never cared for the poor, when we were kids, she looked down at the needy. In the news, they have said that Pooja only focused on upper class people but maybe the news lied because the Pooja I am seeing is selfless, caring and she had this charm that is making me fall for her. Ek minute, I am falling for her? I need sleep.

He turned to his right side and closed his eyes, drifting away to his dreamland.

...

Gauri in mind: but Om...Om isn't mine. He is Pooja's. This feeling, this connection, why am I feeling all this for my twin sister's fiancé? 

She felt a tear falling from her eye and rolling down her cheek. She was so confused and she needed to talk to Inayat about this, the woman who was actually like a mother to her. Inayat was the one who she always went to when she was confused about something. But how could she talk to Inayat? She had nothing to contact her with. 

Soon her eyes closed, allowing her to sleep.

...

In Ahana and Siddharth room, the couple was sleeping when Ahana woke up, sitting up being engaged in her thoughts. Siddharth felt her waking up so he opened his eyes, sitting up as well.

Siddharth: what happened Ahana?

Ahana: I am thinking about Pooja and Gauri. Is Gauri safe here?

Siddharth: she seems to be safe why?

Ahana: remember what happened to Pooja...I fear for Gauri's safety.

Siddharth: nothing seemed to happen yet.

Ahana: Pooja was completely fine until that one day. I am scared if I lose Gauri.

Siddharth: if you cared that much for her, why did you give up her? You only told me part of the story. 

Ahana: theek hai, so after our first set of twins died, three years later, we found out I was pregnant again and I went to Guruji to know about the baby in the womb. There I found out I was expecting twins. I didn't want to lose them again. At the time, I was very suspicious. Guruji told me that the times were against me and that the twins were in danger...Guruji then told me that if I wanted to save both children, I had to give one up. I didn't want to but I wanted my children to be safe and now....now one twin lost her life in what looked like a planned murder and I fear for the other twin so stop hating Gauri for no reason. I am the one who deserves to be hated because I was too suspicious. 

Siddharth: Ahana...listen, I understand you was scared for the twins because we lost our first twins but I wish you shared your worries with me instead of believing in these suspicions. It feels weird knowing I have another daughter with the same face as Pooja. I don't really know how to react to the news of having another daughter. 

Ahana: I know it might feel weird but she is your blood....will she be safe? I don't want to lose another daughter.

Siddharth: I will talk to the palace stuff to enforce stronger security. Now sleep, we got a lot of sangeet preparation to do. 

Ahana nodded as the two laid down.

...

As Gauri was sleeping peacefully, her peace was disturbed when she heard that voice once again....

"Be careful..."

That voice yelled louder than Jupiter's thunder.

"Be careful at the sangeet...."

That voice yelled again.

"Your life is under threat. I don't want you to die young like I did."

Gauri squirmed, turning to a side, covering her ears with her hands.

"Try ignore me all you want but I am serious....BE CAREFUL! NOT EVERYONE IS TRUSTWORTHY! THEY MAY SEEM TRUSTWORTHY BUT THEY ARE SNAKES! THEY CAN BACKSTAB YOU ANYTIME!

The voice yelled once again....Gauri got up with a jolt, breathing heavily. Why was this voice back in her head? Who was this voice and why did this voice kinda sound like her? Why would Gauri be warning herself? 

Gauri: who is this voice? Am I going crazy?

...

It was finally the sangeet...the day after their ice cream trip, they did have another lesson with Tanvi and Ritesh. Tanvi had mentioned that Gauri shouldn't dance on Om's feet in the actual sangeet but Om and Gauri decided to ignore her unwanted advice. 

The inside of the palace was decorated with dark purple and white flowers. It shone brighter than a million diamonds. The marble floor was so perfectly polished that you could see yourself in it.

The men were dressed in black whilst the women were dressed in dark purple. Om had kept his hair straight and a half ponytail in his hair. He wore a classic perfect midnight black suit paired with a crisp white shirt and a black tie. He was waiting for his dancing partner, his fiancée Pooja....or Gauri as most of you know.

Om was still thinking about that almost kiss moment in the kitchen. He had definitely came to the point that yes they nearly kissed in the kitchen before they heard footsteps and had to hide. 

As he was waiting for his fiancée, Svetlana looked at him from a distance. She twirled a strand of her hair, smirking with her dark pink lips. After tonight, Om would be all hers. She and her mother knew about the fact that Siddharth put in stronger security but what they didn't know was why. 

But stronger security wasn't stopping Svetlana's plan that her mother knew of course. Svetlana was getting the most desired man of India and nothing was going to stop her. 

Suddenly Gauri came down the stairs, her hair was in delicate waves...she managed to convince Ahana and Natasha to let her have her natural wavy hair...her face carried light makeup and she was wearing such a beautiful dazzling dress - she wore an off shoulder dress with 3/4 sleeves and it was in a byzantine purple net. To complete the look,  the dress was embellished in embossed thread embroidery all over further embellished in sequin work all over.

She caught Om's eye and he was memorised seeing her, Gauri was also memorised seeing Om. She reached the end of the stairs and Om went up to her, extending his hand for her to hold. She kept her hand in his and they walked to the middle of the ballroom so they could dance. Om kept Gauri on his feet and the slow soft music started. 

With his hand in her hand and his other hand around her waist and her other hand on his shoulder; Om held onto Gauri tightly as he whirled her around the room. Somehow her feet left his feet. She looked at him but he gave her a reassuring look and said in a low whisper that only she could hear: just do your best. If they judge, I will sort them out.

She smiled at him as they waltzed. Spinning, circling, shuffling to the slow, rhythmic music. It was paradise and it was felt more like paradise when their eyes meet. 

His eyes were so breathtaking that she felt like she was going to melt, her knees felt weak and her lips began to quiver a little bit...he slightly narrowed his eyes and chuckled, going closer to her. She thought that he was going to kiss her making her heart skip a beat but he didn't. 

The music, that was slowly pacing, spun around them lifting away gravity. She couldn't count how many times she had squished his foot under her own. Still he smiled brightly as their heels clicked over the ballroom floor.

Om watched as her hair spun and bounced more with each move and beat. This was perfect. This was dancing and art coming to life, strong pointed moves didn't matter here. All that mattered was the person in front of you.

Soon the music slowed down....slow music twirled like thread around them. she rested her head on his chest, and let him sway her body around and around again. The violins came in, then the piano, and then the slow and sure beating of a drum. 

Gauri in mind: I think I love him, I think I can marry him but I think I should tell him who I really am. I can't marry him without him knowing my truth. 

The music went slower and slower, this music was so relaxing. Om gave a small smile at her and pulled Gauri closer to him till she could feel his heart beating against her chest. Gauri felt her cheeks burning, she knew that she was blushing on the outside, Om's smile only grew bigger.

They danced together, their bodies so close, his hand still grasping hers. 

The sound of the music went even slower. He dropped her hand and then kept his arms around her waist. His kind smiling face met hers and she felt her sweet, warm breath on her face. Within a blink of an eye, their lips met.

She had never been kissed before.

He had never been kissed before.

But this first kiss felt perfect. 

When their lips met, the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. 

Svetlana burned in anger....that was it, she wasn't waiting any longer, Pooja was going to die and she was going to die tonight by all means!

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I am very sorry for a late update, feel free to throw chappals at me. I wrote a long chapter to make up for the late update. 

Questions of the days:

So the real Pooja is dead, anyone suspecting who did it?

Will Gauri get to know why her real mother gave her up as a baby?

What does Svetlana got in mind?

Will Om soon know about Gauri's real identity? 

Target: 20+ votes and 10+ comments