Few days later,....

"Uncle I had no idea that Ajay would be this careless," Svetlana protested.

"Where did you bring that scumbag from? Did you know that he was planning this?" the voice continued to scold her.

"Not exactly uncle. I know that he planned to trap Arjun and Gauri together but I did not know about the way he would do it."

"If Omkara knows that Gauri was molested and that Ajay is the one responsible for it, he will kill him. I am afraid that the guy will open his mouth when faced with a death threat."

"He assured me that Gauri has not confessed to Omkara of what happened to her uncle."

"How can he be so sure?"

"He said he had an accomplice who heard Gauri and her friends' private chat. It seems they were insisting that she confides in him. So, we can be assured that Omkara doesn't know."

"For now," the voice pointed out.

"It might be very soon that she might tell him and we all might be doomed."

"I understand..."

"No you don't sweety," Girish Goenka insisted.

"We are one step away from destroying the Oberois. We have Shukla with us, we will get the tapes in time and if Gauri is in our favor, there is no stopping our success. We waited so long for this Svetlana, we cannot afford a mistake at this stage."

"Gauri will be in our favor uncle. No matter how much she loves Omkara, if she knows that her husband doubts her, she will leave him. At least I hope that she has some self-respect left in her," Svetlana replied.

"We just got lucky that she didn't yet tell Omkara of the incident. Act fast so that they will be taken by surprise. When is Ajay planning his next step?"

"In a day or two. He is waiting for the right time."

"We don't have time to wait sweety. I cannot keep Siddharth with me for long. Shivaay and Karan are both behind us. We need to hurry up," he said.

"Sure uncle. I will ask Ajay to speed up things," Svetlana assured.

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

Anika was ecstatic.

It wasn't everyday that she gets such khidkitood news about her brother in law. A slip of tongue from Jhanvi was all it took for her to land up with the sensational news that Omkara will profess his love for his wife in the most romantic way possible.

"Aren't I a genius Jhanvi maa ji," she said with excitement.

"I named the studio Rikara even before Omkara decided to set it up for his grand day. I have an unmatchable vision. Don't I? The name now suits it beyond point."

Jhanvi shushed her and looked around to see if anybody was in the vicinity.

"Please Anika, this was supposed to be a secret."

"I am sorry. I just can't hold in my happiness. Gauri will finally get to hear the three magical words," she spoke in a hushed whisper.

Jhanvi smiled at Shivaay's wife. She herself couldn't hold her happiness when her son told her of his decision a day ago. That was the very reason that Anika, being the most observative one in the household could tell the visible spring in her steps.

A mere chat of five minutes and she managed to let out Omkara's plan. Her son would be disappointed with her but only if he knows of the slip. So, she pleaded with the wicked daughter in law, to keep the information to herself and not let it out at any cost.

"How can I be of help? I am sure he would want to decorate the place. I know Gauri's tastes. I can be..."

"No," Jhanvi shook her head in negative.

"You will not do anything. Omkara has a plan and he doesn't want any interference," she informed.

"This is unfair," Anika pouted like a candy-deprived child and the elder one could only chuckle.

"You must be such a grumpy kid when you were small," she commented.

Anika's eyes lost their twinkle and Jhanvi thought that her statement must have hurt her.

"I was just finding you cute Anika. I did not mean to.."

"My sister was the grumpy one Jhanvi maa ji. I was a very silent child," Anika said with a small smile.

Jhanvi widened her eyes at the statement.

"You have a sister? I did not..."

"I had a sister maa ji. My two rupee fate took her away from me," came the reply.

Jhanvi could not a film of water in the ever smiling woman's eye. She scolded herself for even broaching the subject.

"I am so sorry Anika," she said, giving a gentle squeeze to her shoulder.

"No maa ji. I am happy now. I have all of you as my family," the latter said wiping away a tear.

"Yes, we are family," Jhanvi assured her with a smile.

"You know Jhanvi maa ji. Whenever I am with Gauri, I feel like I am with my sister. I cannot explain to you how happy I am knowing that she will get what she has been waiting for since so long a time."

"You and Gauri are the life of this house Anika. The bond you two share is something I longed for. Me and Pinky, we could never be you two. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn that you both are sisters connected by blood and not merely by bond."

"I sometimes get overboard with my teasing but the way she blushes, I cannot stop myself from bringing that out," Anika said with a happy chuckle.

Jhanvi laughed and shook her head.

"Tease her all you want the day after tomorrow. For now, the secret should stay safe between us," she reminded the younger one who nodded in response.

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

"Are you sure Gauri?" Himani asked her friend.

"No," came the reply.

"I just feel that he is wantedly keeping me away. He has been talking on the phone in hushed whispers and when he sees me he stops the conversation all together," she explained.

"That doesn't mean he doubts you Gauri. He must be planning something to make it up for his absence," Mithila tried to assure.

"Could be, but I ..."

"When you are at fault, you seem to relate all the happenings to that fault," said Himani making her friend sigh.

"How long will this continue? You hiding something from him and he doing the same," it was Mithila who rebuked this time.

"I understand that this must be difficult for you Gauri but he is your husband. He has the right to know and it is your responsibility to tell him. Of course you need not do it if you think he will not understand..."

"No Himani," Gauri cut her off.

"No for what? You wont tell him or will he not understand?"

"He will understand and I will tell him."

"When?" her friends chorused.

"Soon," came the reply after which she got from her place to walk towards the library.

The other stared at her until she went out of their sight.

"Are we pressurizing her?" Mithila mumbled to herself.

"If it wasn't this personal, I would have talked to Omkara myself."

"Don't even think about it," came the warning.

"I know girl. He has to know it from her and no other. My lips will stay zipped on the matter," Himani assured and her friend sighed in helplessness.

"She needs the push Mithila. Didn't Arjun's wife tell us that happened that night might be a set up? If you ask me I would vouch that Sonia is the culprit behind this."

"How can you be so sure Himu?"

"I can just feel it in my bones. She thinks I am not watching her but I know her every move. It was just yesterday that I saw her sneaking on us."

"How are we to prove it Himu. We don't have any evidence to complain."

"If you go by the rules, you will never get the proof. Just do what I say and I will get the truth out of her," Himani urged.

"But...."

"No more buts Mithila. Gauri needs us and this is right within our reach. Just trust me on this."

Mithila Agarwal stared at her friend in contemplation. She was the one who always stuck to protocol but she knew that Himani was right. If they followed rules, they cannot be of help.

"Will you ask me to threaten her?" she asked in dread.

Himani scoffed loudly.

"Why will I give you the fun part Mithila. I only want you to distract her. I will take care of the rest," she said and her friend nodded in response.

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

"I will take care Shivaay," Jhanvi heard her son say as she walked into the comfort room of his own studio.

"Is that your busy brother? When is coming back?" she asked him and noted the look of surprise on her son's face.

"Mom, I wasn't expecting you now."

"I thought I will check on you and see if you have developed cold feet," she grinned cheekily.

Omkara laughed, gathering her into a hug.

"Are the preparations done as per your taste?" she asked parting from him.

Her son brought her into the hall and gestured her to look around.

Jhanvi looked around the place and noted the half done decorations.

The high glass walls of the place were covered with silk drapes and the floor had posh Masland carpets colored a soft pink. Large chandeliers hung from the mosaic painted ceiling giving the place an artistic look.

Gigantic hurricane candle holders decorated the corners waiting to be lit and the smell of their wax filled the air with subtle romance.

"A few more touch ups here and there. Should be done by tomorrow," Omkara smiled at his mother's wonder struck face.

"Your portraits..." she mumbled, still in daze.

"Will be brought here soon," he replied and she smiled happily.

"This place is so beautiful. I am so happy Om," she gushed and pulled him into a tight hug to show her appreciation.

The son reciprocated her gesture and chuckled at his mother's enthusiasm.

"I hope she likes it mom," he said and his mother assured him to remove his silly doubts.

"She will love it Omkara. You just don't back away at the last moment," she said.

"I won't," he said and she parted from him.

"Good then. I brought you lunch," she said pointing to the package she put in his room earlier.

"Come home early and stop acting weird. I am sure you are avoiding her these days."

"I am afraid that I will say something to her mom," her son replied.

"Well, we only got one day so, that shouldn't be a problem. I think you can zip your mouth until then," she asked and he nodded his head.

"Mera acha bacha," she pulled his cheeks and he slapped away her hands.

"By the way, Shivaay..."

"He will be here soon mom. It is just a matter of a few more days."

"Anything serious?" she asked noting the way her son avoided details.

"Nothing that we cannot handle," he assured.

"Okay, I will leave then," she smiled at him and left the place in a happy bliss.

Omkara turned back to look at his place.

It is silly to feel the nervous flutter in his stomach when he knew that his wife loved him beyond reason but he still couldn't help it. He wanted this to be bigger and grander but he knew he had delayed it for long.

Will she like it? .... he questioned himself for the nth time and smiled envisioning the bright cheerful hazels.

"Sir, there is a parcel for you," he heard a staff calling him and got out of his thoughts.

"Thanks," he said and took the envelope from him.

He turned the paper around and frowned looking at the empty from address.

Curiously, he opened it to find a letter in it and another cover.

"Do not think that your wife is a saint," the letter read, making his frown turn more prominent.

He picked at the other cover and opened it to see the first of a few photographs.

Sucking in a breath, he stumbled to see his wife hugging his once best friend. He turned through the rest of the pictures with a heavy heart and widened eyes to find more of such gory images which would only give him nightmares.

Bile rose up his throat but he tried to calm himself down assuring himself that the nasty images were fake.

The shrill sound of his mobile shook his thoughts and he picked it up, happy for the distraction.

"Did you receive the parcel Mr. Oberoi?" he heard an unfamiliar voice from the other end.

It took him a moment to register and he growled into his phone in response.

"How dare you. What nonsense....."

"You can scold me all you want but before that listen to me. Those photographs are not edited. You can get them checked anywhere," the voice cut him off.

"Once we proved the fact, we can talk Mr. Oberoi," the voice added.

Omkara reigned his temper with great effort and silently listened.

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

The end is near.....

Hope you are still with me...💓

Until the next update... 🙋‍♀️ yours Soujanya.