The love interests of the three Oberoi brothers watched in confusion, as the trio fought with words over something. They just reached in time to find them unusually arguing and tried to gets bits of information from the conversation.

"Shivaay this is too much. I haven't drove for that long. It is exhausting, let me take Khanna with me," Omkara asked tiredly.

"Nope.. Khanna mera hai," Shivaay said at once earning gasps from the entire household.

"Shivaay?" Anika screamed in heart break while Gauri and Bhavya giggled.

"Umm.. mera matlab hai... There is lot to be taken care of here, we have to plan a wedding. I need Khanna with me for help," he explained and she sighed relieved.

"But Shivaay, we have to travel for twelve hours. I cannot drive and you..."

"Who asked you to drive in one day, take breaks in between, I will book you some good hotels in the way. You and Gauri can both rest in one cozy room," he said earning another gasp from his sister.

"Bhaiyya?... uhh... Why to waste so much money? Send someone to help Omkara ji," she supported her husband praying that they listened to her.

The more time alone with him, the greater she is at risk to shamble.

"See, I told you she won't like it," Omkara said and the brothers rolled their eyes.

"Gauri we have a shortage of drivers today. Otherwise I wouldn't have suggested this," Shivaay said making her pout.

"No problem, you can help him yourself. You said you drove a bulldozer. Car is just any normal vehicle. I am sure you are smart enough for that," Rudra baited.

"U...Haa, but..."

"No more buts, you should start now otherwise you will be delayed more. Come, give me your suitcase," he said allowing no more arguments and dragged her towards the car.

Omkara stared at the bickering two, before he turned to his elder brother and whispered.

"What is all this Shivaay. Is this necessary?"

"Where is my romantic shaayar brother? You have opportunity and you don't utilize it."

"This isn't some movie Shivaay, she will be uncomfortable and I don't want it."

"Good, then drive for twelve hours and for that you need to start now. Go!!" he pushed him forwards.

"God!! you have become a sadist," Omkara grumbled before taking walking ahead.

**************************************************************************

Omkara looked at the watch and at Gauri, who silently looked out of the window. She seemed to be unusually quiet that day and he wanted to know why.

They haven't talked with each other since the exhibition and he feared if she too felt that he didn't want to spell out her name and so took another turn to dodge the question.

"Gauri" he called her after clearing his throat.

"Hmm," she said, not turning to him.

"I... We did not talk about yesterday," he said in a low voice and she decided to give him her attention.

"Are you angry at me?"

"For what?"

Omkara sighed. "You know what I am talking about Gauri."

"Really? I don't know Omkaraji. What are we talking about and why are we talking about it. It doesn't make any difference anymore," she replied tartly before returning to what she had been doing before.

"So, you are angry," he concluded and she stayed silent.

"I can explain myself, please..."

"Can you not talk to me Omkaraji, I want to rest for a while," she dismissed him and he could only mumble an okay helplessly.

An hour later, Gauri woke up to a feeling of a pack of rats running in her stomach. She turned to her side to see Omkara driving silently, his gaze not shifting from the road.

She slightly shifted in her place to sit straight when he turned to her with his charming smile.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

Damn that beautiful smile.... her heart awed while her brain asked it to shut up.

"Hmmm."

"Are you hungry?"

As if you allowed me to have breakfast. Started on an empty stomach only and he asks 'are you hungry'...she mocked him mentally.

"No" she said for reasons unknown and he simply nodded.

"Okay, we will stop nearby. I need to take a break," he said.

"We can stop near a dhaaba Omkaraji," she said enthusiastically and he frowned.

"You just said that you were not hungry."

"Yeah but we are anyway stopping the car so we can eat until then"

"But you said you are not hungry"

"You have to stop the car."

"We can do it anywhere. Why to go to a dhaaba? Why don't you accept that you are hungry Gauri?"

"Why should I accept it when I am clearly not hungry?"

Omkara closed his eyes and tried not to snap at her as he said, "Okay I will stop it at the dhaaba."

"Good."

"You are hungry."

"No," she refused to back down.

*************************************************

Sometime later,

Gauri and Omkara comfortably settled in their seats and the waiter came asking for the order. As a gentleman, he forwarded the menu card which she pushed away.

"Bhaiyya ek paneer butter masala, ek daal tadka, beingan ka bharta, malai kofta..

Aur boondi ka raita.. bhaujai ko bahut pasand hai" she said smiling.

"Desi ghee wala rotiya lee ayiyega, achaar to aap layenge hi..mirchi ke saat. Aur saath mein nimbu aur pyaaz bhi, bhoolna mat," she finished.

The waiter looked at a gaping Omkara. He muttered a yes before he turned to leave when she stopped him again.

"Bhaiyya, you didn't take Omkaraji's order," she said making the later softly gasp.

"Gauri," her husband called her patiently "You just said that you are not hungry and you ordered all that?"

"Yeah, I am not hungry and that is why I ordered less.. didn't I?"

"We could share, how will you eat everything when you are..."

"Share? Why? What if my stomach isn't filled properly? We have a long way ahead," she replied and he glared at her.

"Fine, do one thing," he said to the waiter.

"Whatever she ordered, bring two of everything because we are not hungry and we shouldn't eat less," he taunted turning to her, who nicely avoided his eyes.

The two of them had a scrumptious meal after which Gauri excused herself to the washroom.

"Wait, I will come with you," he said getting up following her.

As they neared the toilets, they saw a group of not so friendly looking people starting at the two. They looked like the typical villains from the old Hindi movies, the sorts who would kidnap children went the parents were not careful.

Omkara signaled her to go inside while he waited outside carefully looking out for danger.

One of the burly men talked to his friend in a hushed whisper, "It has been years since I saw someone as beautiful as that girl."

The other man grinned widely looking at the closed bathroom door.

"You took the words right out of my mouth brother, she is pretty."

"Just pretty?" another sniggered.

"If I had the chance of getting her in my hands..." he left the statement open.

Omkara tried to reign in his temper, which spiked hearing to the lustful comments. Fisting his hands, he moved close to the door, passing a deathly glare at them.

"Who must he be?" one of them with a nasty cut on his eyebrow asked his friend.

"Brother?"

"Naah... didn't you look at that glare? He must be her boyfriend. Come let us ask about his experience with her," the first one joked while the rest of them laughed.

The control thread snapped and Omkara took a step towards them when Gauri who walked out called his attention.

One look at his reddish face, she knew he was provoked. She threw a disgusted look to the gundas before she took her husband's hand and pulled him away.

"Hei beautiful, what is your name," one of the bullies guffawed.

"Please take me with you as well, I won't say a no," said another.

Omkara stopped in his steps ready to turn back when she held on to him.

"Omkara ji, please no. They are too many, it is not safe," she whispered to him.

He looked into her pleaded eyes and sighed. Keeping a protective hand around her waist, he led her towards their car, ignoring the lot which continued to laugh, calling him a coward.

*****************************************************************************

The ride then after turned silent with Gauri time and again looking at a seething Omkara. She knew he had anger issues and almost thought that she would bash those guys shrugging her off him. Instead, when he calmly guided her back to the vehicle, he took her by surprise.

Did he listen to her? Like seriously?... The akdoo Nandi singh Oberoi paid heed to Gauri Sharma?.... her brain asked again.

"Are you okay Omkaraji?"

"I will be fine in sometime," he said looking at the road.

"They are not worth it," she said trying to calm him down and he nodded.

"Y..You actually listened to me," she mumbled and he glanced at her for a second before looking at the road again.

"Your safety is more important than my ego," he replied.

Had he looked at her then, he would have noticed the pleased smile on her face. Taking it her responsibility to make him feel better, she assumed her talkative self-telling him about another of her Bareilly tales.

***************************************************

As the evening set in, Omkara felt his muscles getting sore. Gauri's crankiness decreased to a bare minimum looking at the effort he put in trying to hide his discomfort of driving for so long. Not once did he change into his angry-self, making her wounded heart melt and Omkara couldn't be happier.

"Do you want to rest Omkaraji?" she asked in concern and he smiled.

"You won't be comfortable staying in lodges. Just let it be, I will take rest once we reach," he said and she smiled back.

"Your mood seemed to improve," he commented and she gave him a guilty smile.

"Sorry, I was hungry and I might have snapped once or twice. Your anger decreased too," she said.

"Once or twice!! like really? I never know you are this pricey. Took your own sweet time to calm down didn't you?" he teased but she stayed silent.

"I am sorry for yesterday Gauri," he spoke after a moment of blissful silence.

"Omkaraji you..."

"Please let me finish," he asked and she nodded.

"I thought you won't be comfortable if I gave out your name. They'd ask you questions which you won't be able to answer because we haven't talked about it before. I just didn't want to drag you into that world, which is filled with hypocrisy, more than artistry," he explained.

Gauri felt guilty for misunderstanding him. Poor thing was as confused as her.

How could she blame him when she herself was not ready?

"That painting, you never showed me," she said after a while.

"That was the memory I had of you while leaving Bareilly after..." he left the sentence incomplete and she filled in the blanks.

When he left her after rejecting her and their marriage... he meant.

"I was a fool not to note the pain behind those tears," he spoke, his voice so low that she doubted if he was talking to himself.

"What about the other one? You were planning to put it up," she asked about the one he showed her a few days back.

"I....uhh..." he stammered and she frowned in confusion.

"What is it?"

"I changed my mind last minute."

"I know. I am asking about the why behind it."

Omkara sighed but concentrated on driving.

"Now I am curious," she commented urging him to tell her more.

"That painting and the events relating to it, I felt that it was our moment Gauri. I didn't want to put up something which was too personal," he finally said out loud.

His words made her realize that while she was stuck in the bitter moments associated with that night, he fondly reminisced their time together before their argument.

She had been looking at the wrong side of the coin and hence couldn't appreciate his effort.

True that you cannot change the past but you can change the perspective.

"It is not that I feel less culpable of what I did that day but I wanted to cherish what we had before I messed up" he said, his voice reeking of guilt.

No one spoke for a long time and the comfort of the silence slowly started to change into something else.

Not wanting the mood to turn dark and depressive, Gauri spoke to lessen his burden.

"Stop blaming yourself over and over Omkaraji. I know you wouldn't have done it had the circumstances been different."

When he didn't move a muscle, she asked, "Can I put on a disk? We can listen to some songs."

Her husband merely nodded his head passing her a smile which didn't reach his eyes.

She smiled back, before rummaging through her duffle bag. As she took out a CD and handed it to him, he inserted it into the car's music system.

In no time, the song 'Om Jai Jagadeesh hare' began to play in the car and Omkara's eyes widened. Gauri swayed in her seat and hummed to the rhythm of the song, too involved in her devotion, to see her husband's shocked look.

Bhajan?.... In a car... Oh Lord... he rolled his eyes and touched the stop button.

Woken up from her devotional trance, Gauri pouted at him as she asked him, "Why did you stop?"

Omkara grinned sheepishly and muttered a sorry, only for formality.

"Umm... you can hear to these songs after we reach the place Gauri. For now can we hear the radio?" he sweetly asked, trying to cut off the sarcasm in his tone.

She frowned at him, not happy at the rude interruption but since she knew he was tired, she decided to grace him with a nod, accepting the request.

Sighing in relief, he parked the car to a side, switched on the radio and tried tuning on to the nearest station.

Station 1- Movie- Hate story 2, Song- Aaj phir

Aaj phir tumpe pyaar aaya hai

Aaj phir tum pe pyaar aaya hai

Behad aur beshumar aaya hai...

Widening his eyes, Omkara swiftly changed the station not bothering to look at his partner.

Station 2- Movie- Rehna hai tere dil mein, song- Zaraa Zaraa....

Yuhi baras baras kaali ghata barse

Hum yaar Bheeg jaaye

Is Chaahat ki Baarish mein

Meri Khuyli khuli lato ko suljhaye

Tu apni ungliyon se

Main to hoon isi khwaayish mein....

This time, Omkara spared a glance to Gauri who gaped at the stereo.

Hiding his grin, he again changed the channel.

Station 3- Movie- RAAZ, song- Aapke pyaar mein

Roop ki aanch see tann...pighal jayegaa.....

Aag lag jayegi mann...machal jayegaa...

Yeh lab Zara takraaye jo dilbar ke honth se...

Chingariyaan udne lagi Shabnam ki chot se.....

Hum sanam... hadh se aage...guzar ne lage...

Is kadar aapp se humko mohabbat hui...

Before he could hear the next seductive line, Gauri turned the channel off, having had enough.

"What was the next line?" he asked trying hard not to laugh while she glared at him.

"No, actually the lyrics were pretty descriptive, lab zara takraaye jo dilbar ke honth se... waah kya likha hai... nice naa" he said in mischief and earned a gasp.

"Omkara ji?" she nearly screamed in outrage making him finally give up the pretense.

As the sound of his laughter filled the silent car, Gauri couldn't help but admire him silently, her heart beats resonating with love for him.

Why can't he stay like this forever? Peaceful and unrestricted?

"Oh God!! your face looked so funny," he said, calming down after a while, a smile still intact on his face.

Not getting a response, he turned towards her and found her staring at him moon eyed.

Love shone brightly through those hazels and he could clearly sense it.

A happiness never known to him filled his heart. His past and his pain no longer mattered to him nor the unsureness of their relationship. Just by looking at her, all worries seemed to vanish and everything appeared perfect.

Does she know that she loved him or was it his discovery?

Raising his hand to touch her cheek, he softly called her name, "Gauri."

His voice didn't break her haze but his touch did. Turning her face away, she sat straight in her seat staring straight ahead making him retrieve his hand.

How could you be so careless... she scolded herself.

"Umm... I think we should hear some news," she spoke and took out her phone to open the app.

With a small smile, Omkara shook his head and started the car while she increased the volume so that he too could listen.

"An important note..." said a reporter from the news channel.

"It is in the reports that in the area near to Shiv Parvathi mandir in the Meerala village located in the outskirts of Mumbai, folks have reported unusual activities. Numerous people's missing cases have been filed and when enquired, the villagers gave witness that they were taken away by an unholy force."

"The police still did not come to any plausible conclusion on the happenings. It is believed that those were the doings of a ghost who was awaken from its sleep by one of the native villagers."

Gauri worriedly looked at Omkara who only rolled his eyes.

"We thereby alert you to be careful while travelling via road by private vehicles, as the said ghost is likely to target them rather than the public transport," the reporter finished.

Gauri shut her phone at once and asked, "Omkaraji, we are going to the same village right? d..do you believe that..."

"No Gauri, it must be some burglars and the villagers cooked up some story."

"But my aunt in Bareilly used to say that in her youth, she saw one or two ghosts. May be in Mumbai also there might be a few?"

"Gauri, how can you think that news is real?" he scolded and she pouted cutely making his heart melt.

"There is nothing like ghosts in real life Gauri. I am sure we will be okay. Stop getting anxious," he said and she sighed, though she clutched on to her bag nervously.

They travelled for an hour more, after the sun had set and the night began. With the onset of darkness, Gauri's fear increased.

Shifting uncomfortably, she rummaged through her bag as if to find something.

"What are you searching for?" Omkara asked.

"I... I usually bring Hanuman chaalisa with me Omkara ji. Seems like I forgot it today," she replied worried.

"Gauri, I told you not to get tensed. Even if there is something like a ghost, it will harm us only if we get down right? We are not stopping here."

"It will not be in our hands Omkara ji," she said.

"My aunt told me that if ghosts wanted to harm us, it will do something to stop us. Did you check the car's condition before we started?"

"Of course. I made sure of it. The staff sent it for servicing just a day ago. Everything is in perfect condition," he assured.

Gauri nodded before she spoke again, "What if the tyre got punctured?"

"We have a stepney and I know how to change it fast,"

"What if two of them get punctured? Then..."

No sooner than she said that a loud boom sounded in the air followed by Gauri's panicked scream and the car screeched to a stop.

***********************************

Well, let me see if I can try writing horror as well...👻👻👻

Despite the show's short comings I cannot help but feel awed by certain bits and scenes of Rikara. They had always managed to make me smile whenever they were on screen... both the humor filled smile😆 and the dreamy smile... 😍

I am sure you feel the same...😇😇

So, I couldn't help but include those scenes which were my favorites.

That is all, bye until the next update, which will be on next Sunday.

Love you all..

Please vote and comment.

Signing off...yours Soujanya.