"Namaste Gayathri ji... please come in" welcomed Kalyani with a warm smile on her face and Gayathri greeted her back walking into the living room of the mansion.

Gauri rushed to her daadi to give an affectionate hug while Shivaay and Rudra smiled at the elderly woman in greeting.

"Kaisi hai meri bachi(how are you my dearie)" asked Gayathri kissing her grand-daughter's forehead.

"Thik huun daadi (I am fine daadi)" replied Gauri.

"Hope she isn't troubling you Kalyani ji... bachi hai.. galati hui to maaf kar di jiye...(She is a child... please forgive her in case she faults)... the thing is that she never left home before and I had to see her once... dil baichain tha mera...please don't mind me coming un informed" said Gayathri.

"Aree... nahi Gayathri ji... you can come whenever you want to see your grand-daughter... no need of any formalities..." assured Kalyani "To my utter disappointment ...Gauri never gave me any bahu vala compliants... she hardly does anything wrong... I am just waiting for the chance she makes a mistake...so that I can trouble her" she quipped and the rest chuckled.

"Ye lijiye Bareilly ke laddoo aap sab ke liye... aur damadji ko sweet pasand nahi hai na..(these are Bareilly laddoos...for you... Omkara doesn't like sweets)...so I have made kurmure for him" said Gayathri handing over the delicacies.

"Vaise... where is he? In office?"

"Sorry Gayathri ji... Omkara went to Berlin early this morning... he has an important deal... so he couldn't stay back.. don't mind"

"No.. no.. he is a hardworking man... I know... he would have gone only if it was important... I thought of asking him something.. so..."

Kalyani looked at Shivaay for a moment who gave a questioning look "You can ask us anything daadi ji" he asked her.

"Nothing... I wanted to take Gauri with me to Bareilly for a week or two... vo kya hai na... it is her cousin's engagement Kalyani ji... can I"

"Of course you can...I will inform Omkara once he comes" said Kalyani smiling while Gauri frowned.

Two weeks? And she won't see her husband till then? Oh God...that is too long.

"Uhh... daadi" whispered Gauri making her look to her.

"Do we have to leave now?... I mean... Omkaraji will come back merely two days later... I will inform him and come" she requested in a low tone fearing her daadi's anger.

"I am sure he won't mind Bhabhi" said Rudra who strained his ears to hear his sister in law's bare whispers "You can leave by the morrow... I will inform him.. hai na daadi" he said innocently looking at Kalyani who held back a smile.

"Yeah... we will inform him Gauri... you cannot make Gayathri ji wait for you... it is wrong" said Kalyani supporting her youngest grandson and Gauri turned to Shivaay with a pleading look.

Shivaay having the soft heart for her came to her side "Umm.. daadi ji... Om will come back in two days... let her see him and go"

"Kyun dekhna hai? (Why do you want to see him?)... O has not gone to get a plastic surgery done... he will look the same Bhabhi... really" said Rudra not taking a back step.

"Rudy.." scolded Shivaay.

"Kyaa Rudy kar raha hai tu... thik hi to bol raha hai (Why are you scolding him... he is right" said Kalyani and turned to Gauri.

"Gauri... you tell me.. why do you want to wait for him... then we will give it a thought" she said and Rudra wiggled eyebrows at his Bhabhi grinning widely.

"Umm... vo... it is that... hum... Omkaraji..."

"AA... it is that?" they chorused making her more awkward and stop.

"Shivaay bhaiyya" she whined giving him her best puppy face.

"Daadi, Rudy... enough...stop troubling her" Shivaay said turning to the mischief makers and they made a face.

"Shehh... ye boring insaan ke saath Anika kaise jiyegi daadi (how will Anika live with such a boring person daadi)" asked Rudra and Daadi playfully slapped him.

Gayathri who was happily watching the banter asked "We will have to leave by Monday afternoon Gauri.. will damaadji come by then?"

"Yeah... he will be back by Monday morning daadi" said Gauri eagerly and Gayathri smiled in agreement caressing her head.

"Gayathri ji... your things have been arranged in the guest room... please freshen up.. we will have lunch together.. Gauri show her the room" said Kalyani and her daughter in law nodded her head getting up along with her grandmother.

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

"Daadi.. here...take this towel... do you want anything else?" asked Gauri beaming at her grandmother.

Gayathri laughed 'Nothing... you are happy right?" she asked patting her head and the smile on her face widened.

"Yes daadi... Vo bahut ache hai" she said

"Vo?,.... Oh Kalyani ji...yeah she is a very friendly woman"

"Nahi daadi... vo..."

"Phir se vo.. oh haa... Shivaay and Rudra... yeah.. they are good kids too" Gayathri said with an unemotional face making Gauri frown in irritation.

"Daadi.. vo nahi... I am talking about Omkaraji" she said and her daadi laughed aloud.

"Haaw... aap bhi(not you too)" asked Gauri shocked.

"My naïve chirayya... come here.. I missed you bacha" she said taking her into a warm hug and Gauri smiled tightening the hold.

"You are still naïve... blushing while taking his name... am I getting my grandchild any time soon?" she asked and Gauri got out of her hold to glare at her angrily.

Gayathri chuckled "Okay... take your time... no hurry... of he is keeping you happy... it is enough for us at the moment... it was all we ever wanted for you Gauri" she said and her grand-daughter nodded her head.

"Our house feels so silent after you came here Gauri... your dad misses you too"

"Papa? Missed me?" said Gauri raising her eyebrows.

"What does that mean Gauri"

Gauri scoffed "As if I begged you to marry me off this soon and throw me out to wash your hands off my responsibility"

"We did what was good for you... stop being insensitive Gauri" rebuked Gayathri and Gauri turned away.

"Achaa baba... let us not spoil your mood... give me that lovely smile... my chirayya" she coaxed holding her chin and Gauri sighed smiling at her.

"I don't know... this feeling that disturbs me since the last few days... that something wrong is about to happen... that is why I rushed here... after seeing that everything is in its place I am happy Gauri" she revealed.

Gauri's smile dimmed for a fraction of the second before she recovered.

"Okay... I will come in a few minutes" Gayathri said and walked into the washroom.

Gauri stared at the closed door lost in thoughts. She was successful in pushing the thought of her husband going to a foreign trip alone with his witch of a secretary until then.

 Why can't she just keep calm and not behave like a possessive wife... So what if he had a past... She knew he loves her.

Sighing, she shook her head trying to get rid of the creepy thoughts and proceeded to the dining hall to help her in laws.

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"Om... is everything okay? You haven't called and it has been a day.. the deal must have been finalized right?" asked Shivaay worriedly.

"It is still hard to believe Shivaay... I... don't know what to say" said Omkara.

"It is okay Om... there is always a next time.. don't think about it... come home... Gauri is missing you... everybody is" said Shivaay fearing that his brother might have failed again.

"If I come home who is going to attend the party tonight Shivaay?"

"Party... that would be for acknowledging the business partnership right...?" asked Shivaay confused.

"Yes... and our company is an official partner Shivaay" said Omkara now laughing "Shivaay... I did it... on my own" he revealed making Shivaay immensely happy and proud of his brother.

"Ye nakhre... band kab hoga tera.. dara diya mujhe... (you scared me) You are a married man... you should stop this wickedness"

"Nope.. not gonna happen" came the arrogant reply.

"I will tell the others... so you are coming tomorrow morning... is that it?"

"Yeah... umm... don't tell Gauri.. I will call her" said Omkara and Shivaay grinned "Right!! Call her.. she was worried that you didn't call" he said before he hung up.

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Gauri was using the washroom when her phone rang with the contact ring tone assigned for her husband and Gayathri looked at it in doubt.

Gauri who heard the song, yelled from inside "Daadi.. please answer the phone and tell him to wait for a few seconds I will be out"

Gayathri took the mobile and frowned when she clicked on the green button and the ring didn't stop. "Gauri... how to answer?"

"You need to swipe up the green button daadi... please do it fast.. he didn't call me yesterday"

"Okay" she said and hurriedly did as told but in the process she also touched the speaker button.

"UMMMMMMMMMHAAAA" Omkara's loud kiss boomed through the room and Gayathri threw the phone on the bed closing her mouth in embarrassment.

"Gauri?? what was that sound? are you there? hello?" asked Omkara still on the call.

Gauri rushed out the next moment and grabbing the phone, she turned away from her grandmother hiding her smile while putting off the speaker mode.

"Hello Omkaraji" she called him lovingly, knowing he called to inform her of some good news if she took signs from his happy mood.

"What happened? I kissed you and you won't reply?" he asked and she hummed her voice shaking with the laugh she was holding back.

Omkara frowned "Is anybody near?"

"Hmm"

"Come out of there and give me a proper kiss"

Gauri sighed but obliged getting into the balcony of the room closing the door behind her.

"Ummmmhaa... now tell me"

"I gave a bigger one"

"Omkaraji..." she put up a scolding tone though she was smiling madly.

"Fine" he said and she imagined him making a face.

"You seem to be in good mood... bagged the deal?" she asked.

"Better than that... I am coming back with a partnership in hand" he said and she cheered for him.

"Congratulations husband... I am so happy for you... when are you coming back...?"

"Ohh... so Shivaay was right... someone is definitely missing me"

More than you can ever imagine... she wanted to say.. but didn't.

"Silence is not the answer to everything Gauri" he said tiredly I can't see your face now and she smiled.

"When are you coming back?" she asked again.

"Tomorrow morning... I miss you baby" he said grinning making her heart fall for him again.

"I can't wait..." he started but someone called him when he replied 'Uhh.. Yeah okay' to the person.

"Gauri... listen I have to go now... sorry... I will come back soon... I love you so much" he said and before she could answer back, he ended the call.

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Riya stared at the tiny packet in her hands.... her mind screamed that this is wrong on many grounds but she needs to make Omkara realize her importance and this was a mandatory step.

When every talk she tried to initiate, regarding his marriage and personal life was brushed off or shrugged away by his not so subtle insults, she was left with no other choice other than resort to drastic measures that too, when she knew he would get rid of her in mere days now that he had his deal in hands.

She helped him achieve bigger than what he planned thinking he would recognize her efforts in always giving him greater than what he asked for... because she was a capable woman. But when he merely thanked her with a hug and a bonus of whatever amount she asked for, she realized he was playing blind to her feelings... knowingly.

Riya Mehra had always been an achiever... Whatever she wanted, she worked hard to get it... and this time isn't any different.

In satisfying her ego, she did not realize that what she was going after this time wasn't a goal but a man... one who has a right in deciding what he wanted and whom he loved.

"Riya?? Are you done with the presentation?" Omkara asked walking into the make-shift study that the hotel had arranged for them, close to both of their rooms for their convenience.

"Yeah..." she said as she smiled and hid the packet in her handbag. "Just revising it... You have to go through it once before attending the meeting in India... early Monday"

Omkara nodded "Thanks for everything Riya... I really appreciate your hard work... if you wanted any favor please do tell me... I will surely help" he said sincerely and she grinned.

"Can we take a break and go to the party? I need a drink or two... to wear of the stress"

"Sure... I was going to ask you to come.. are you ready?"

"Yeah... let me change... it would take a few minutes" she said and walked out of the room.. saving her work and closing the laptop.

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"Omkara please....just one drink for me... I am not asking for much... Am I??" Riya pleaded making him sigh.

"Okay... one drink and that is all... we have a flight to catch and I don't want to be delayed" he said and she gave him a smile of triumph before rushing to the bar counter.

Riya looked around and removed the packet from her handbag. Ordering the drink which she knew was Omkara's preference, she waited patiently, her mind still cautioning her about the sin she was about to commit.

"Your order mam" said the bartender in German and she smiled taking the whiskey. Giving one last look at Omkara who was engaged in a conversation with one of the German delegates, she turned around and emptied the content of the tiny packet into the drink. Within seconds the powder dissolved into the drink without a trace and she sighed satisfied.

Taking definitive strides, she walked to her love with intentions of making her plan work, her mind and heart both in utter chaos though her signature smile was intact on her beautiful face.

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I will try and update soon guys...

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The faster you vote, and the more the comments, the faster will be the update.... the target is set in my mind...

Signing off... your Soujanya.