Two months later,

Jhanvi eagerly knocked on her son's door all set to inform him a good news. When it took more than a few minutes for the door to open, she frowned and knocked again.

"Om, are you in there?"

When she heard a faint 'coming mom' from the other side, she smiled and waited patiently.

"Did you just wake up?" was the first question she asked looking at the puffy eyes and unclean face of her son when he finally opened the door to let her inside.

"I came in late yesterday. I had to finish a sculpture for tomorrow's exhibition," came the reply as he yawned.

"You should have informed Gauri then. She was waiting for you yesterday," Jhanvi said with a frown.

"Yeah, I realized it late. By the time I checked my watch, it was past two in the morning."

"How irresponsible.."

"Mom, please. Gauri did give me an earful, waking me up at five."

"Good, she should."

Omkara rolled his eyes when the clock chimed twelve in the noon.

"God, it is noon and you did not break your fast. Go, freshen up and get some food Om."

"Yeah, give me fifteen minutes," he said and walked into the washroom while his mother sat on the recliner, going through the documents which she thought of showing him.

Dressed for the day, Omkara came out of the bathroom and sat beside his mother, leisurely wiping his hair with a hand towel.

"Now tell me," he said and she grinned, handing him the documents.

"What are these?" he mumbled as he skimmed through the content.

Jhanvi knew her son liked her gift when a bright smile broke out on his face.

"Art gallery?" he asked in pleasant surprise and she nodded her head.

"Your own workspace in the city's center. You can use it as an art studio as well as for a large scale exhibition. There is an attached penthouse suite to it so that you can take Gauri there whenever you want to work through the night."

Omkara chuckled and she elaborated.

"She keeps waiting for you and you can't sleep without her beside you. Your current workspace is far away so, I thought this will serve as the solution."

"You are the best mom," he said giving her a hug and she embraced him kissing his cheek.

"I have been thinking to give this to you both since weeks. There is something more. Read through the entire thing," she said parting from him and gestured towards the paperwork.

Her son obeyed her and a few minutes later, laughed aloud.

"You named it Rikara?" he asked and she chuckled.

"It was Anika's suggestion."

"Cliché."

"Well, it is your ship name Om. It is a gift for you both and I thought Anika did have a valid justification this time," she quipped and laughed with her son.

"She is giving Shivaay a very hard time," Omkara smiled and his mother agreed.

"I think he has to seek Pinky's help now. Only she can put that wild woman under control. It is high time they both talk to each other like before Om," she said.

"Choti maa still thinks that it is Anika Bhabhi who is responsible for everything that went wrong between her and Shivaay," Omkara told her.

"How dense can one be mom, why doesn't she realize her mistake? Shivaay only wanted that his mother and wife atleast be civil to each other if not like you and Gauri."

Jhanvi sighed and shook her head.

"Let us not talk about depressive things today. You liked the gift right?"

When she got a grateful smile and an enthusiastic nod in return, she caressed his cheek.

"Don't you think you are making her wait too long? Gauri deserves a confession by now Om."

"Mom, she knows that I love her."

"But you cannot deprive her something for which she has been waiting for so long."

"I know. I did ask her to come with me to Germany next month. I was to plan something there but she said she has exams."

"The girl takes her studies very seriously. She needs to chill in between. Did you tell her that you intend to..."

"Come on. If I tell her and do, what is the surprise?"

"You enjoy keeping her waiting. Don't you," she rebuked.

Her son laughed as he explained.

"You should see her occasional cute angry outbursts."

"Oh God, you are are goner. Aren't you?"

"I will make it up to her mom," he told her combing through his hair with a sigh, all the time thinking of his beautiful wife.

Jhanvi smiled and nodded.

"Okay, but don't prolong it way longer than it should be," she said and Omkara shook his head before hugging his mother.

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

"What the hell is your problem?" Himani growled, taking a step towards the annoying person before her.

Gauri and Mithila held each of her arm and pulled the angry woman back.

"Are you jealous that I am not giving you attention, darling?" said the man with a smirk.

"Ajay, enough for today," Mithila warned.

The latter gave a flirty glance to the beauty who ignored his cocky behavior.

"Himani, let us go," Gauri said and dragged her away.

When the trio were about to reach the classroom, Himani pulled her hand out of her friend's grip.

"If you don't give him a slap the next time that rascal eye rapes you, I am going to cut his balls off," she warned in anger.

Gauri widened her eyes in horror just for a moment before she sighed and looked heavenwards.

"Shankar ji, why do I have to deal with angry bulls all the time? Is one Nandi not enough that you had to add another to my life?"

Mithila started to laugh and a small smile began to appear on Himani's face.

"For once, Himani is right Gauri," said the elder one.

"Mithila ji, not you too. He is a dog and we need not give him so much attention. He never got physical or I would have shown him what Gauri Oberoi is. Ek jhaap se dewaar pe sat jaye be."

"I like that last line. I want to see you do it once in this lifetime though," Himani scoffed.

"How? you start to fight even before I take notice of him."

"Seriously? And you stop me from.."

"Enough banter girls, let us go inside," Mithila said, reminding them of the class.

"I don't want to listen to his lecture," Himani announced before she turned around and walked away.

"When will she get over him?" Gauri asked in worry.

"Soon."

"Why are you not worried about her?"

"I am, but we cannot do anything about it. Let us just hope that she doesn't stay around when Arjun's wife comes in the evening."

"I don't have a good feeling about this Mithila ji. The girl is very impulsive and if she gets to know that Gauri Shastri will soon join the classes then...."

"Don't think about it for now. We will handle her, come."

Though doubtful, Gauri nodded and along with her friend entered the class.

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

"Good evening madam," Gauri greeted her mentor's wife.

"Please don't do that," the elegant lady exclaimed in horror.

Mithila and Arjun smiled as Gauri looked at her in confusion.

"Do what?"

"Great me as if I am your professor."

"Oh, but I just called you madam because I call him sir," she replied pointing towards Arjun.

"No need of that. You can call me Gauri."

"Umm, I think it would sound weird for me, calling my own name."

"Oh, you are the one Arjun keeps talking about. Nice meeting you Gauri."

"Me too."

"I know Mithila ji here, we met last week," the former said with a nod and a smile.

"Where is the other one, Arjun?" she asked turning to her husband.

"Himani has an extra class today," Mithila smoothly lied and Gauri Shastri nodded.

"We need to give these two separate names so that we don't get confused," Arjun said to divert the topic.

"Yeah, how about AG and OG?" Mithila suggested and both Gauris made faces.

"Ewww, we are fine with Oberoi and shastri. Let us stick to that," said Gauri Shastri looking at Gauri Oberoi who nodded her head,

"Naah, you can't keep calling each other Mrs. Oberoi and Mrs. Shastri when you are close acquaintances," Arjun opposed.

"Acqua..?" Gauri asked in question and Arjun promptly explained the meaning.

"Fine, we will come up with nicknames in some days. For now you go and get the order, we girls will catch up," Gauri Shastri asked her husband who readily agreed.

"Now, what all gossips do you have for me," Arjun's wife asked with a grin.

The other two women smiled at her and shook their heads in a no.

"Can I ask you something?" Gauri Oberoi asked.

"Anything," came the reply.

"Why didn't you study college till now?"

"Oh that. I am a native of Ajmer, Rajasthan. Back then, education was not that important for girls. On top of that my family was very conservative. My father and father-in-law were close friends. Arjun and I got married right after his college. I was barely eighteen then."

"Oh, that is early," Mithila commented and silence reigned for a moment.

"Come on you can ask me, don't be shy."

Gauri exchanged looks with Mithila who then asked, "Was it forced?"

"I wouldn't use that term but yes we both weren't ready. We took our time to know what we want and we love each other after knowing our setbacks. That is all that matters."

"Absolutely," Mithila grinned as her mobile rang with Himani's name.

She excused herself, walking a short distance to attend the call and the other two waited for her to come back.

"So, is Himani still angry with me?"

Gauri widened her eyes making the other chuckle.

"Arjun usually doesn't keep secrets from me," she told her.

Gauri Oberoi tried to numb the slight pinch in her chest and faked a smile.

"The less the secrets, the stronger the relationship," the former continued.

"I wish I could talk to the girl but Arjun said she will not listen."

"Sir is right. Himani will not listen to anyone. She opens up to a very few but once she does that, she will give her everything to make that person feel loved," Omkara's wife said.

"When Arjun first met her, he said she was very rude. 'Angry against the whole world' was what he described her to me," Gauri Shastri divulged.

"He said she was into bad company and he feared that she will fade away if he did not intervene. She was very violent in the beginning but slowly she warmed up to him. He said he never realized she felt for him more than a student for a teacher."

Gauri nodded her head, respect for her teacher increasing by the minute.

"You know Gauri, I had never seen Arjun that distressed."

"She will understand madam. It was so nice of him to help a stranger. It is bad that things did not go as planned."

Arjun's wife nodded her head and said, "Arjun told me that Himani reminded him of his best friend. They are not together now but he misses him. It was the very reason why he felt he should help her. Bad that she misunderstood his intensions."

"Best friend?"

"Yeah, his college mate, O..."

"Alright ladies, here is your food," Arjun returned with the trays in hand and Gauri at once got up to help him.

"You should have called me sir. Why did you bring all these alone?"

"Well, as a gentleman and a good teacher, I cannot let my wife and student do all the work for me," he said with a smile.

"I am back, what did I miss," Mithila returned after the call and the conversation shifted to food and favorites.

*********************************************************************************
Gauri entered her bedroom and found it to be empty. Taking that her husband must have been stuck up at work, she locked the door and kept her bag on the study table.

As a routine she walked to the dressing table and looked at her image through the antique mirror which her sister in law insisted she bought the week before.

Lost a couple of grams,..she mused shaking her head with a smile. Intermittent fasting is yet to give the desired effect, she thought of giving her sister in law an update of the same.

Sighing, she pulled her long hair into a messy bun and next pulled off her top. Just as she unzipped her pants, the bathroom door clicked open and out walked her husband.

Emitting a shocked gasp she scrambled and picked up the discarded top to cover herself.

"Wow, such an erotic view," her husband chuckled looking at his scantily clad wife.

"Omkaraji, I thought you were at work," she tried to maintain a neutral tone though she blushed red, noting the heated look he gave her.

"My wife was angry at me this morning because I come late from work. So I thought I should humor her sometimes," he replied pulling her to him.

The red on her cheeks turned darker as his hands caressed her waist in a not so innocent manner.

"I need to change," she mumbled.

He stared at her with his piercing gaze.

"Am I stopping you?" he whispered in his classic seductive tone.

In a daze, she shook her head in a no making him smile and lean towards her.

"Isn't it too early for..."

"Did you think I care for timings," he asked before taking her lips into a searing kiss.

She reciprocated, her hands holding the top forgetting their job to wind around her husband's neck.
Omkara pulled off the barrier of cloth between them and groaned into the kiss feeling her soft flesh meeting his hard chest.

By then Gauri knew that once started, her husband will not stop until he got her exhausted.

Slightly pushing him away, she mumbled weakly.

"But I badly need a bath Omkaraji."

In reply he sniffed her neck and leaned back with a playful smirk.

"Right, you do stink," he laughed as she slapped his arm.

"Well then whatever you want my lady," he said and lifted her up in his arms to walk towards the bathroom.

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

By the time the couple finished their shower and came out, Gauri's phone rang more than a few times.

"Did you put that on the silent mode Gauri? I can see the light flashing through the screen," Omkara asked pointing towards the gadget, as he wore his shirt.

Gauri took her phone and frowned seeing the number.

"Why did Mithila ji call so many times?" she wondered aloud and called back.

Omkara watched as his wife quietly listened to the other end before her face turned pale with worry.

"I am so sorry that I did not call you sooner. I will come at once," Gauri said and ended the call.

"Is everything alright?" She heard her husband ask and shook her head in a no.

"Can you take me to the city hospital?"

"What happened Gauri?" Omkara asked again and she hugged him tight, as she sobbed.

"It is Himani Omkaraji. She attempted suicide and is admitted in the hospital," she spoke in between her sobs and he rubbed her back assuring that the girl will be alright.

Not long after, the couple rushed out of the mansion to reach the hospital to be near the friend at the earliest possible.

****************************************************
Hi.

Can you be nice to me and come up with nicknames for Omkara's and Arjun's Gauri, if you can?

The next part will be updated after 25th of this month because I am going for a vacation.

A much needed one I must say.... phew...😌😌.

Also if anybody is wondering why the updates have been irregular, that is because of the dwindling and lazy response from the readers.

I sometimes think of giving up on this but then there are a few people who are really nice and comment on every update without fail.

That has kept me going, but guys a writer needs inspiration. One must know what the readers think about the current plot line so that it becomes easy to plan the plot further.

I hope you understand....

See you later...🙋‍♀️ have a nice weekend.

Signing off....yours Soujanya.