Arnav had grown up with steady support of his family over the years and one of such steady influence had been his father's best friend and brother in law Sanskar Maheshwari ,so when he got a call from his uncle just a day after he met Gauri to visit him in her house . He knew something was wrong, one it has been four years since Gauri met with anyone from his side of the family and the fact she was looking for a lawyer two days ago and his uncle being a lawyer solidified his doubt that she was in trouble.

So yet again he walked inside her house to overhear the tail part of an argument between Gauri and her dad . He didn't want to look as if he listened in ,so was thankful that she noticed his presence and stopped talking immediately. Still his mind kept replaying the last part of her conversation with her dad as he walked inside .

" You know why it won't work dad , isn't there any other way " Gauri had been talking with her dad when he walked in ,unlike the previous time . This time he wasn't alone with Gauri as her father was by her side .He looked around in search of his uncle and aunt who were the ones who called him for a visit but found them surprisingly missing .

" Gauri ,you talk with Arnav beta , I will be in my room " her father spoke up and walked away leaving her yet again alone with him .

" Where is uncle and aunt ?" he asked once her father left because the serious expression in her face worried him .

" They are upstairs with Rahul , they wanted us to talk first ." Gauri answered back making him wonder what was going on that everyone suddenly decided they need to talk with each other after a gap of six years .

" What going on Gauri ,You know you can tell me anything right ?" he spoke up at her continued silence , now wasn't the time to remind her about the familiarity between them but he didn't know how else to make her relax .

" Can you go back and change someone mind from making a mistake. if I could I would do it in a heart beat instead of talking about it now. My husband, I mean Arun  thinks of himself as a great business man, he had one breakthrough invention and he sold the copyright to a company for an enormous amount and retired .

He thought himself of a visionary or something, I don't know what went through that crazy brain of his that led me through this moment . I know I am rambling Arnav , but give me a moment I haven't even phrased it in my mind yet . How does one go and say certain things that seems even crazy to me " Gauri spoke up and he looked at her clutching her hand in nervousness, so he waited for her to speak up .

" It all went downhill ,when he realized he was going to die . He had always been thinking about something ,I should have known he would have been worried about us but I didn't think he would force my hand like this either . I trusted him to understand me and he betrayed that trust by trying to fix everything " Gauri words had lost the calm as she looked close to tears , his mind had registered few aspects like death and her husband betraying her . He was still hung over the fact she talked about her husband death with supposed calmness .

Her husband was dead or maybe still fighting for survival . Her words has just hinted at his sickness and betrayal. But it made sense ,lawyers usually come in during such a change in one's life . And he didn't know how to react ,he was hurt that she lost her husband and felt bad that someone left the world so young . But the news still didn't fully register in his mind yet .

" He wrote a will , he left my son guardianship to his brother . At first I thought he didn't trust me with our son , but still I couldn't understand why his brother when he knew we don't get along well . " Gauri spoke up yet again and he waited for her to finish speaking up ,he felt the unexplainable need to make her problems disappear but he couldn't do it not when he didn't have the full picture .

" So dad brought Sanskar uncle and Swara aunty to see if I could win the case in the court , you see my brother in law already filed for permanent custody . " Gauri spoke up this time giving him more insight to her trouble, he felt like an idiot who couldn't even say a word in return as he waited for her to speak up ,she used to do so even before when they were kids ,tell him all her problems and most of the time she just wanted a shoulder to share her thoughts and he wondered if that was the case , still it didn't make sense it felt like he was forever searching for final puzzle piece as he wondered about his presence in her house
.

" Remember , six years ago . You choose Army over me . I hated your decision back then ,I hated that I wasn't your first priority that you would just leave even when I feared for your safety . Now I understand how you would have felt ,it wasn't fair of me to ask you to choose between two tough choices . Because I can't do it ,I thought I was shameless enough to ask your help but I can't do it " She spoke up and not only did her words ripped the old wounds he thought were a thing of the past but right now her telling him ,she can't ask his help was like a dagger to his heart .

They have known each other all their lives and she knew he would do anything for her and because of his actions of the past ,she couldn't even trust him to help her . That was his life in a nut shell. He lost her trust in him that cursed day .

" Gauri .. You do know that I would do anything for you " he spoke up,  feeling like an idiot who need to reassure her that it may be six years but she could lean on to him . She was still shaken up in her own world that his words made her look up to him in confusion .

" You don't know what I am asking you to do Arnav " She whispered quietly as she looked at him with a flicker of hope and for that brief hint of trust ,he would do anything for her even if it was the hardest thing .

" Then Marry Me , For Six Months ,just six months ." Gauri answered back leaving him confused by the suddenness of her request . He had million questions swirling in his brain at the moment but his answer had been voiced out the next second .

" Okay " he answered back and saw the surprise lit up in her face at his reaction .

" Not a real marriage Arnav . Just so I can win my son case in court , Arun's will said the guardian ship right will pass to my husband in case I remarry . " She spoke up and he already deduced the reasons behind her request and her words just confirmed it .

It should hurt but sadly he had been relieved that he could help her in a way , or that she choose to trust him enough to ask it from him .

" Okay " he said again as he looked at her with a smile. She might not understand his easy acceptance but unlike her it wasn't a tough choice for him . Because the only person he would marry in his life time was before him .

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Gauri name had been changed for the third time since she was born, the first time when she choose to go by her step father surname over the man who ignored her existence . She was proud to be a Singhania and when she got married she wore the name Prasad as a shield that kept her safe and now she was officially Gauri Khanna .

She had scribbled the name on all her notebooks back when she was new to this feelings called love ,she had even went as far as to live with the name in her heart until that day where she woke up from her dream and realized she would never marry him . Yet today because of Arun ,because she choose her son over her heart . She got married for the second time in her life .

She felt the guilt as she looked at him ,signing his name in the Official Marriage registrar with out a expectation from her , he had always been like that strong and reliable even when she was a kid . And the guilt to know he was getting married without his family by his side to the girl they probably hated was a tough pill to swallow .

Kavya ,his sister had been more than vocal about her hatred and yet it was his parents reactions that worried her . Even her best friend parents who stayed behind yet another day for the wedding were keeping it a secret from Arnav family . Arnav told her ,they will tell them in person which meant going back to that city ,she ran away from but she agreed because at that moment she would agree for anything given the fact she was asking such a huge favor from him .

Her father stood in silence ,but she knew he was relieved that she won't be alone . Gauri didn't have the heart to stay behind during the discussion that followed between her dad , her best friend parents and Arnav about the legalities of the marriage . She still didn't know what they told him . Yet again she felt the panic seize her up as she realized she went and married him .

" Don't wait too long Arnav ,I can't lie to bhai for so long " Swara aunty was speaking with Arnav about their marriage and she realized she had brought all four of them into her life by her secrets . Just for six months she told herself as she looked at him, 180 days as Gauri Khanna .

P.S :" That it for now .Let me know your thoughts and Feedbacks. Hit the votes if you liked it "

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Juanita Reid