Hey guys💞

Hope you all are doing good. Thank you so much for all the love and support. Please do keep showering me with the same support.

I know I have been away for a long time. I'm sorry. Hope you all are still here:)

Ps : This might be a boring update. But don't worry from next update I will make it all the more interesting:)

Let's jump into the story....

Enjoy.....

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"I don't know if I can even call him my ex-boyfriend. We never had a stable relationship. I thought there was a beautiful future ahead of us that I decided to give my best into whatever we had in between us. But what I never realised was that he was actually taking advantage of my feelings." Gauri told with a sad smile as she stared ahead at the river.

Omkara felt a pang in his heart hearing her. The raw pain in her voice and face proved it enough how much had that bastard broken her.

He kept his hand over her hand, which she had placed on the ground.

Gauri sighed.

"All of it started as a silly crush of mine when I was studying in 12th grade. Yadav was a nice friend then. I didn't want to lose that friendship because of the crush I had on him. I spoke about this only to one person during that time, my then best friend - Ishana. One day we had a fight. In a fit of anger, she spread the news about me having a crush on him. All our classmates got to know about it and started teasing me along with him. I don't know what my fault was in that but he bursted out in anger on me and started avoiding me. Later, Ishana came and apologized for her mistake."

"Few days later, our school hosted a science exhibition. That day a girl from another school came to me and told me that she was Yadav's relative and both of them were in a relationship. She told me to forget whatever I felt for him and stop bothering him. I felt insulted. She told all of it in front of many students. You know how teenagers are, I told her that it's not my fault that he assume things after hearing from people instead of asking me. I also told her to ask him to stop considering himself so great that I will have any feelings for him."

"For few months, we didn't talk to each other. Then one day eventually we had to talk. That day he told me he was the one who had sent that girl to me so that he could avoid me. But actually they were not in a relationship. He apologized and told me he didn't intend to hurt me then. I honestly told him that I didn't feel hurt but I felt insulted when she talked all sort of nonsense in front of so many people. That day somehow he managed to make me forgive him and we were back to being friends. But it did not last so long and the cause was again Ishana. She told some senior students that we were in a relation. Then again avoidance from him. After that academic year, I went to a different country for the continuation of my studies."

"But during that time period I realised it was not just a crush but I had some sort of feelings for him. I was trying to forget everything when one day I got a friend request from him in instagram. By that time I was in my second year of college in Australia. Yadav was studying in India. He told me even he felt something for me and he missed me. We became friends and eventually we were in a long distance relationship."

"But he was not the same Yadav I had met in school. He had changed a lot. What I realised late was that I was just one of the many girls he had in his life. He had told me that he used to flirt with the girls in his college. I didn't say anything about it as I thought it was just harmless flirting. But I was just a time pass for him. One day suddenly he asked for a breakup as he thought we won't work out. You know I did not look like this before. I was a chubby girl. The reason he gave me for a breakup was that I looked fat. I was broken. I did not have any energy within me to say anything that time. I agreed for the breakup."

Gauri wiped a lone tear that escaped her eyes. Omkara squeezed her hand tightly.

"We didn't talk for a few weeks but suddenly one day he came to me with full of guilt and regret and apologized for being a jerk. He proposed me and told me that he loved me. The stupid that I was then I accepted him as he flew all the way from India to Australia to propose me. It was the worst decision I had ever made. He had come there as he got admission in a college there. I didn't know about it then."

"Everything went well for the first few days but later I started noticing some changes in him. I felt like he was lying to me and hiding things. Then we had a small disagreement which worsened and led to another breakup. Fed up I asked him whether he had someone else in his life. He callously told me he loved a girl near his house and was cheating on me. Didn't I mean anything to him all these years? He told me the reason why he was with me all these while was because of the friendship we had in school and that was the biggest mistake he had committed in his life. He said he would only become happy once I leave his life once and forever. And I gave him what he wanted. I left my college in Australia and went to London where Bhavya was studying."

Gauri sighed.

"That was the last time I saw him until today. I just hope this is the last time I would see him. I don't have the strength to go through all that once again. It took me months to recover from it. I never let my parents know about it as I didn't want to hurt them and I was scared Papa would do something to Yadav."

"And no one can blame your father if he had done something like that." Gauri was intervened by Omkara.

"Earlier if I had known about what that asshole had done to you, I would have never spared him. If I feel like this we can't even imagine what your father might feel." Omkara told her.

Gauri looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I regret everything. I don't know why I trusted him like that. I was such an emotional fool. In a way, I myself gave him enough chances to break me like this."

Omkara shook his head and wiped the tears that was falling from her eyes using his fingers.

"No, Gauri. It's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself. You just followed what your heart told you to do. Sometimes, listening to your heart can make you do things that you might regret later."

More tears started filling her eyes hearing him.

"He surely is a stupid idiotic moron who didn't understand you or your feelings, Gauri. He doesn't deserve you because you deserve the best."

Gauri slowly smiled at him. Omkara smiled back at her and held her palm between both his hands.

"Don't think you are not strong, Gauri. You are stronger than what you think. You faced all these alone and just look at how much you have achieved in your life. You will also start your own business within a few months. You made a life of your own in which he is not even a part of. Start enjoying your present instead of looking back at what happened in the past."

Gauri stared at him contemplating.

"Someday, everything will make perfect sense. So for now laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason." He said.

"That's deep." Gauri said with a smile.

"I just realised." Omkara replied with a chuckle.

Gauri chuckled.

"Thank you, Omkara." She said with a smile.

Omkara smiled at her before his phone started ringing. He picked up the call seeing it was his mother who was calling.

"Yes, Mom!"

"Oh, okay. We will come now." Omkara said before he hanged up the call.

He turned to Gauri.

"Let's go. They are back." He said as he stood up.

Gauri nodded and stood up. She looked at him surprised when he handed her his hand kerchief.

He gestured her to take it. She again smiled at him and took it to clean her face while he called back Rudra and Avanthika.

"By the way I would prefer chubby girls to skinny girls. You know why?" Omkara asked.

Gauri looked at him curiously.

"Cuddling in bed is best with chubby people." Omkara cheekily grinned at her.

Gauri gasped in shock hearing him. Seeing the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, she hit his arm.

Omkara laughed. She also started laughing along with him.

After a while, Omkara stopped laughing and watched her with a smile as she laughed forgetting her miseries. If someone sees this girl for the first time no one would say behind her smile there is a hurting heart. He knows she is a strong girl. But no matter how strong a girl is, she always has a breaking point. Everyone has a breaking point. And don't know why he is feeling such an overwhelming need to be there for her. To embrace her and take away all her pain. Wasn't it wrong to feel that way?

His thoughts were broken when Avanthika and Rudra joined them.

They soon joined the elders who told they were ready to go back home.

"But Mom, we thought we will be out the whole day." Rudra pouted.

"If you want to go somewhere then go. Just drop up us at home. We are tired." Jhanvi said.

"Okay, and take this boring person with you." Rudra said pointing at Omkara.

Omkara scowled at his brother.

"Why should I stay at home? I'm also coming."

"O, I guess you forgot. Then let me remind you, you have got a lot of work to do. Then how will you come with us?" Rudra asked with a smirk.

"I will patiently answer you later, Rudra. First let us drop them home." Omkara said pointedly looking at him.

Rudra gulped.

After dropping the elders at home, others went to the beach.

As everyone played in the water, Omkara stayed away and enjoyed watching them.

"O! This is why I told you to stay at home. If you dont want to step into the water, then why are you even coming to a beach? COME HERE!!" Rudra screamed.

When he refused to come, Avanthika turned to Gauri for help.

"Gauri di, now only you can do something. Please go and bring him here." She said.

"But how will I-"

"He only listens to you. Please, please pleaseee!" Rudra said showing his puppy eyes.

"Fine!"

Gauri walked towards him and stood beside him watching the sea.

Omkara turned to look at her. Her hair was flying in the wind making her look all the more beautiful. Few strands were caressing her face. For a moment he wished if those strands of hair were his fingers. She looked ethereal just then.

He looked away realising what was he thinking. What the hell!? What is wrong with him? Why was he thinking like this? Gauri is Vishaal uncle's and Anjali aunty's daughter. He shouldn't think about her like that.

And why not? His heart whispered.

Because it's not right.

And why isn't it right? His heart asked again.

His internal conflict was interrupted by Gauri.

"Are you not coming there?" She asked looking at Rudra and Avanthika who were splashing water on each other.

"Should I?" He asked.

"Why shouldn't you?"

"I don't like playing in water."

"Hmmm."

"Do you want me to come?" He asked her.

Gauri looked at him.

"Will you come if I want you to?"

Omkara nodded.

"But I thought you didn't like playing in water." Gauri raised her eyebrows at him.

"If you insist then I will think about it." Omkara said grinning at her.

Gauri shook her head with a smile.

They together went near Rudra and Avanthika.

Few minutes, Rudra tried to push Omkara into the water but he didn't move an inch.

Omkara turned to Rudra and giving him a mocking smile, he pushed him into the water.

Avanthika started laughing. Seeing that Rudra pulled her too in the water.

She glared at him and then her glare was directed at Gauri who was laughing loudly. Within minutes, Gauri was with Rudra and Avanthika in the water.

When she glared at Avanthika, she saw Rudra showing her some weird actions. She frowned when she understood that he was pointing at Omkara. When she realised what he was trying to say she grinned.

Turning to Omkara, she pulled his leg resulting him in falling in the water along with others. The other three started laughing as Omkara sat up and wiped his face using his palm.

Seeing them laugh without any care, he couldn't help but smile. He closed his eyes when someone splashed water on his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw Avanthika grinning at him.

Without her knowledge Omkara scooped up some water in his hand and splashed it at her. Soon there was a water splash war going on.

PRECAP : Marriage Proposal

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So how was the chapter?

I know it was kind of boring. I wanted to reveal Gauri's past completely in this chapter.

From next chapter, we will get into the main plot:)

Wait till then
With love
Devu❤️