Thank you all for voting and commenting on the previous part.

Omkara was about to ring the bell when he hears a toddler's laughter and a girl's voice approaching him.

"Munna... stop running... don't go out." she says worriedly as she ran out behind the kid.

Om quickly holds the kid to stop him and in a second he was kicking and shouting at Om when the girl came to an abrupt stop seeing him.

"Hi." Om says with a smile at the girl as he offered the kid to her.

She quickly takes the kid and turns to run inside when Om asks her, "Is Shivaay home?"

"He is." She nervously replies.

"Are you Gauri?" Om asks politely seeing the Mehendi on her hand though a little irked by her inhospitable behavior. "I am Omkara Singh Oberoi, his friend."

Gauri turns to him and nods her head. "I'll inform bhaiyya."

"This is for you." Om tells her as he took out a gift-wrapped box from inside his bag. "Congratulations for your wedding."

"Thank you." Gauri nervously whispers to him and turns to run inside as she spotted an old man furiously coming towards her.

"What are you doing here?" he asks her furiously.

"Daddaji, Munna ran out and I came to..."

Before she could finish he slaps her across her face. "How many times have I told you that women in our family don't come out when men outside the family is present?"

"Munna ran out..." Gauri whispers to him in tears as she shivered in fear.

"You can't even watch a small kid? You bloody useless." He screams at her as he slapped her again.

Om watches in shock seeing the way Shivaay's dadaji was slapping Gauri. He knew he was a tyrant, Shivaay had told him about him but this was too much. He looks at Gauri and sees that she was running back inside clutching the kid to her. Now he understood why she was being inhospitable.

"Other than cooking and bedding, women are good for nothing." Balraj conversationally tells Om as he turned to look at him tired at the whole ordeal.

"They did give birth to you and me." Om reminds him in a stern tone.

Balraj waves it off as if it is not a big deal. "Who are you?" Balraj asks him.

"Om!" Shivaay says as he hurried out. "What a surprise?" Shivaay says as he hugged him happily.

"Your sister is getting married and you thought I won't come?" Om asks Shivaay smiling ignoring Balraj.

"When did you reach?"

"I came straight here from the railway station." Om tells him. "I need a shower."

"Come in then." Shivaay tells him as he invited him inside.

"Actually, I have made arrangements for my stay. Let's go there." Om lies as he didn't want to be in the same house as Balraj.

"Okay let's go then."

Shivaay takes Om to a hotel after he found out that Om was lying about the accommodation. Though the place wasn't even fit to be called a hotel by any standard, Om preferred to stay there than breathe the same air that Balraj did.

"Why does he treat Gauri like that?" Om asks Shivaay as they walked into the room.

"I told you. That bastard respects no women." Shivaay furiously tells him.

"Why can't you just take your mother and sister and go to Bengaluru with you?" Om asks Shivaay as he worked in Bengaluru while his family stayed back in Motihari with his Dadaji and other relatives.

"Baba died in that house and Maa believes he is still there. She refuses to leave that house." Shivaay tells him tired.

"She needs to understand, Shivaay. Gauri shouldn't be treated like that just because she is a girl." Om tells him as he sat down on the window ledge his mind still fresh with the slaps Gauri received because of him.

"At least, now she will be free of him." Shivaay says in relief. "Tomorrow evening is the wedding. Tonight there is a haldi ceremony at home." Shivaay informs him.

"I'll just take a shower and come. Then we will go back to your house. There might be many things to be done, right?" Om asks as he opened his bag to grab his toiletries.

Shivaay gets a call on his cell and he answers the call. "Hello Maa... what happened?... okay I will come." Shivaay says and hangs up the phone. "It is Maa... she seemed worried. She asked me to get back home immediately." Shivaay explains to Om.

"Let's go then." Om says as he starts to keep his things back in the bag.

"No... you stay here and freshen up... it might be something silly at home like no garland or something... I'll come back to get you in a bit."

Even after three hours when Shivaay didn't get back, Om decides to go to his house worrying some big problem might have happened when Shivaay reaches there.

"What happened? Is everything alright?" Om asks worried seeing the way Shivaay looked. He looked like he had a major physical fight.

"That bastard!" Shivaay furiously says as he kicked a chair.

"What did he do?" Om asks knowing full well who that bastard was.

"Do you have any drink?"

Om shakes his head in no.

Shivaay sighs as he sits down while Om calmly waited for Shivaay to continue. Om's mind was filled with various scenarios that could have gone wrong the day before a wedding.

"Is it money? If it is money you don't worry about it." Om tells him wanting to somehow help his best friend and also Gauri... he didn't want Gauri to stay in that house anymore.

"He is older than my father!" Shivaay furiously spits out.

"Who?"

"The groom!"

"Whaat?" Om asks shocked.

"He is a fucking widower with two grown children." Shivaay says furiously as he stood up.

"And he lied to you about it?"

"My bloody Daddaji never thought it important to tell us all that."

"Didn't you meet the man before?" Om asks curiously.

"He fixed everything and informed us! And Maa and Gauri just wanted Gauri to escape from this house that they without a thought agreed to the wedding. Today, they found out about all this."

"What is Gauri saying?" Om asks him.

"She refused to marry him. By the time I reached home, Daddaji had her locked up in her room with his goons standing guard. I couldn't even go up the stairs. His goons beat me up. Finally, Maa agreed to leave this hell and that bastard has locked up my sister!"

"Let's go to the police."

"They are all on his pay roll." Shivaay tells him tired.

"Isn't there any other way?" Om asks him.

"He has his men with both Maa and Gauri. I try to go to one the other would be beaten up." Shivaay tells Om helplessly.

They remained silent as they thought of ways to save Gauri.

An hour later, Om tells Shivaay, "Come with me."

"Where?"

"I'll tell you on the way." Om replies as he walked out after grabbing his bag.

"Gauri." Shivaay whispers as he knocked on the window of her room.

Gauri looks up in shock hearing her brother's voice. "Bhaiyya?" Gauri asks softly.

"Open the window." Shivaay whispers as he knocked on the window.

Wiping her tears, Gauri runs to the window and unlocks it. Gauri opens the door and sees Shivaay standing on a ladder.

"Bhaiyya?"

"Step aside." Shivaay instructs her and as she moves, Shivaay quickly jumps in.

"I don't want to marry him, bhaiyya." Gauri pleads him as she hugged him crying.

"You won't." Shivaay promise her just as Om jumps inside.

Gauri turns to look at the sound and sighs in relief that it was bhaiyya's friend and not Daddaji's men.

Om looks at Gauri and flinches seeing the slap mark on her face and the tear stains.

"Gauri... listen to me carefully." Shivaay tells her in a calm serious tone.

Gauri turns to look at Shivaay.

"Om is going to take you from here."

"But..."

"Trust me, Gauri. This is for your best."

"How can I go?" Gauri asks him in tears.

"You both will get married tonight."

"What?" Gauri almost shouts in shock.

"Sshhh... Trust me, Gauri. You will never find a better man than him. He will treat you well."

Gauri turns to look at Om in shock not knowing what to say or do. Marry him? She didn't know him... but she agreed to marry a stranger before.. And him... she trusted her brother... so if he thought this was the best for her...

"What about Maa and you?"

"I'll take Maa to Bengaluru soon. Once all this dies down... we will come to Mumbai to meet you." Shivaay promises her.

"He will kill you." Gauri tells him in tears.

"He won't know I had anything to do with this." Shivaay tells her.

"But bhaiyya..."

"Please Gauri... we need to hurry. There is no time to waste."

Gauri turns to look at Om and then nods her head in yes.

Shivaay hugs her happily. "Everything is going to be fine. I promise."

"Tell Maa.. And take care of her." Gauri tells him as she hugged him.

"I'll." Shivaay promises her. Then turning to Om, he tells him. "I'll go down and see if it is clear. If it is, then I'll signal you. You both come together."

Om nods and soon Shivaay climbs out leaving Gauri and Om alone.

Om turns to her and sees her watching him as she gripped her fingers in fear. Seeing him watching her, Gauri tells him "If they catch up with us... leave me behind and you run."

"Do you want to take anything with you?" Om asks her instead of replying.

Realizing that she was really leaving home, Gauri nods and runs to her cupboard grabbing a bag. In two minutes she had packed her bag with some necessary items.

While she packed, Om walks to the window to wait for Shivaay's signal.

"Let's go." Om tells Gauri as he turned to look at her.

Gauri's eyes widen as she realized that she had to climb down through the window.

"We have to go like that?"

"There are men stationed outside." Om explains to her in case she didn't know.

Gauri turns completely pale as she walked to the window and looked down.

"What is the problem?" Om asks her.

Gauri shakes her head as she breathed faster.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me, Gauri." Om tells her in an encouraging tone.

"I am scared of heights. Usually this height is fine... but the thought of climbing down the ladder..." Gauri tells him as she gulped in fear.

She looked ready to faint.

Om nods and climbs out the window and then he takes her bag and puts it over his shoulder. Leaning onto the window, balancing his body and weight on to it half body leaning over the window, he asks her, "Have you ever rode piggy back?"

Gauri nods her head.

"Good... I'll lift you up and cling to me. Keep your eyes closed and hold me tight."

"But..."

"We have no time to waste, Gauri. We have a train to catch too." Om explains to her and without waiting for a reply, he pulls her towards him then before she could even yelp, he lifts her up and swings her around to his back. "Climb on to me." He gasps with the action.

Gauri as if on reflex, clings on him, holding him tight for dear life.

"I am going to climb down. Keep your eyes closed and hold me tight." Om instructs her.

Gauri nods in reply as she gripped him with all her might.

Om slowly start climbing down... this was far more taxing than he had thought. She looked puny but had bone weight.

The moment he took his first step, she started chanting. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was chanting Hanuman Chalisa. He couldn't help smile at that as he climbed down.

"We reached." Om tells her.

Gauri stops her chanting and opening her eyes, she looks around and sighs in relief as she thanked God for bringing them both down to safety. She quickly gets down from Om. "Thank you."

"You are going to be my wife, Gauri." Om calmly reminds her.

"Om... this way." Shivaay whispers to him from a little away and runs.

Om and Gauri start to walk when he hears the sound.

"What is that sound?" Om asks as he looked around.

"What sound?" Gauri asks him curiously.

Noticing nothing out of place, Om shrugs and starts to walk. Gauri starts to walk and the sound again.

"That sound." Om says again frowning.

Realizing it was her anklets Gauri tells him in panic. "It's me." and quickly bends down on one knee as she removed the anklet from the other.

She was removing the anklet when she felt a finger on her other leg on which knee she was balancing. She turns back in panic to see Om on his knees as he lifted her anklet and started turning it around to find the hook. He had to turn it around the whole way twice to find the hook. Finally he unhooks it and turns to Gauri and sees her watching him in shock.

"You removed that?"

Realizing that she was supposed to do that, she turns back gasping to unhook it.

"Gauri!" Om says in a small admonishing tone realizing she was simply dilly dallying. He moves towards her front leg and sees her struggling with the payal. Sighing, he pushes her hand away and removes the hook.

"What happened?" Shivaay asks as he came running back when they didn't turn up quickly.

"My anklets were making sound." Gauri explains.

Shivaay shakes his head in frustration. "Come fast. Everything is ready at the temple."

Om stands up along with Gauri as he put the anklets in his pocket absent mindedly as his attention was on what to do next.

"I'll go ahead and see if it safe. If anyone sees me, I'll try to distract them then you both go to the temple. Gauri knows the other way." Shivaay instructs them and he hurries ahead to check.

When Shivaay gives the signal to come, Om turns to Gauri and offers her his hand. "Come."

Gauri takes his hand and both of them run the way Shivaay had gone. Luckily, without any hitch they were able to get to the temple. They get married and from there they head to the railway station.

They get inside the AC coupe, after keeping their bags, Om turns to look at Shivaay and Gauri. They were hugging.

"Take care of him." Shivaay instructs. "I know he will take care of you well."

Gauri nods in reply. "You and Maa, please be safe."

"We will be fine, Gauri. Once you leave this hell, he can't do anything to you. I'll take Maa with me to Bengaluru. We will come to see you soon."

Gauri nods and steps back. Shivaay turns to Om and hugs him happily. "Om... what you did today... thank you."

Om pats him on his back in reply and he jokes as they part; "Now our kids can never marry."

Shivaay laughs happily. "My kids are safe then."

"My kids are your bhanja and bhanji." Om laughs as he led Shivaay out missing out on the blush that came on Gauri's face hearing about the children's conversation.

Shivaay gets down when the train starts moving and Om comes back into the coupe.

"You alright?" Om asks Gauri as he sat next to her near the window.

Gauri nods her head as she looked at her mangalsutra in surprise. She couldn't believe that she was married.

Remembering to call his parents, Om quickly takes out his mobile and dials them. They pick up on the first ring. "Hello Dad... we are on our way.... No... everything was fine... she is fine... okay will do that... bye." Om hangs up the call.

Hearing him talk to his father only Gauri realized that even he has a family. She asks him nervously, "Your parents know about our marriage?"

"I told them." Om tells her as he kept his phone in his pocket.

"They agreed?"

"They didn't at first. They don't know you, so they were worried a little but when I explained to them the situation here they realized that I was right."

Gauri sighs in relief.

"You are going to be safe and happy in my house." Om promises her.

"Thank you." Gauri replies as tears stung her eyes. She somehow had started trusting him.

They remained silent after that and slowly Gauri slept off.

Gauri wakes up with a jerk when the train jerked a little more than usual. Realizing that she was lying on the berth all alone in the coupe, she looks around for her husband. She looks out the window to judge which place she is at as she held her mangalsutra tightly praying that her husband is safe and Daddaji and his men haven't found them. Realizing the train was moving, she panics as various thoughts filled her mind. She quickly gets up and opening the door, she starts to go out and look for him when she found him buying water from a seller.

After paying for the water, Om starts to walk towards his coupe when he spots Gauri.

"Gauri..." Om starts to ask her what the matter was when she runs to him in relief. Without thinking she throws herself at him hugging him tight.

"Where did you go?" Gauri asks him as she cried in relief.

"You were shivering, so I came to get blanket for you from the attender then I was buying water." Om explains in shock at her behavior.

"Don't ever go away like that." Gauri whispers to him.

Realizing that she had got worried, he smiles tenderly and hugs her. "And you told me to leave you behind and go if trouble comes."

Gauri looks at him in shock and seeing the tears on her face, he gently wipes it. "You are my wife, now. Wherever I go, you are going to be with me by my side." Om tells her with a sweet smile.

Hearing that, Gauri hugs him tight and Om hugs her.

They walk back into their coupe and Om hands her water.

"You might be thirsty."

Gauri nods and opens the bottle and keeping the bottle to her lips she gulps the water down. Once she had her fill, she turns to offer him the water when she realizes that she had sucked on the bottle. She was about to wipe it down for him to drink when Om not realizing that took the bottle from her and keeping it to his lips, drank the water. Gauri looks away as she turned slightly pink as his lips just touched the same place her lips was.

"You go to sleep." Om tells her as he handed her the blanket.

"You are not sleeping?" Gauri asks him curiously.

"I can't sleep in trains." Om lies, he couldn't sleep till he got her safely to Mumbai. He couldn't take any kind of chances with her safety.

Gauri nods and sits next to him as she spread the blanket over them.

"You lie down."

"I'll sit with you." Gauri replies.

Sighing loudly, Om puts his hand around her pulling her close to him and then keeping her head on his chest, he orders her, "Now, sleep."

Gauri smiles liking this closeness with him, he was a stranger but she felt safe with him.

"I feel safe with you." Gauri whispers to him.

"You will always be safe with me." Om promises her.

Gauri smiles happily and closes her eyes to sleep. "If they find us... don't leave me behind. Always take me with you." Gauri whispers to him nervously.

"I will." Gauri hears his soft reply as he tightened his hold on her and a second later, she felt a kiss on her forehead. Her first kiss. Gauri blushes happily as she wrapped her arms over his stomach hugging him tight.

"Gauri... wake up." Om gently shakes her awake.

Gauri comes awake quickly and looks around worried, "What happened? Where are we?"

"We are reaching." Om calmly tells her as he stood up.

Gauri gets up as she removed her hair band and brushing her hair with her fingers neatly she ties her hair again. "What time is it?"

"3:30." Om replies as the train came to a stop.

Taking their bags they get down the train.

Om hands the bags to the driver and get in the car with Gauri.

"Gauri... since it is still night, we will stay in a hotel and go home in the morning." Om tells her and Gauri nods in reply.

Few minutes later, Om's mobile starts ringing. "It's Shivaay." Om informs her and picks the call.

"Hello Shivaay."

"Om... did you reach?"

"Yup... in the car now... how is everything there?"

"No one has found out that she is not here yet. Only in the morning they will find out. Till then everything is fine."

"Okay... here talk to Gauri." Om says as he handed the phone to Gauri seeing her watching him.

Gauri quickly takes the phone from him. "Hello Bhaiyya?"

"Gauri... Everything is fine here... you don't worry."

"Did you talk to Maa?"

"Not yet. As soon as I get a chance, I'll tell her. She is going to be happy for you."

"I know. And you don't worry bhaiyya. I am fine here." Gauri tells him and hangs up the phone. She turns to give the phone to Om and sees him watching her. He smiles at her remembering what she had told Shivaay and she smiles back as she handed him the phone.

Om and Gauri reach the hotel and they were quickly ushered to the suite room.

"Congratulations Ma'm and Congratulations sir." the hotel GM wishes them as he led them to their room.

"Thank you." Gauri replies surprised while Om simply nods.

Om and Gauri walk into the room and stops in shock seeing the room decorated for their suhaag raat.

Who in their right mind could think that they would be having sex tonight?

"Mom or Dad?" Om asks the GM.

"Madam." GM replies smiling happily and he quickly leaves from there.

Om locks the door and turns to look at Gauri, and she was staring at the room in shock.

"Relax... my mom is mad." Om gently tells her seeing her so pale.

"Sasuma did this?" Gauri asks shocked.

Sasuma? "Yeah... this is our hotel. So she might have got everything done in such a short span." Om explains as he stretched tired. "I am going to take a shower." Om tells her as he walked towards his bag when he hears his phone ring.

"Hello Mom... what is this, mom? You know under what circumstances we got married and you decorate the room for suhag raat?... okay... okay... fine." Om says tired rolling his eyes. "WHAT? Have you gone crazy, mom?" Om shouts onto the phone in outrage.

Gauri turns to look at him in shock, he was so sweet and calm till now and suddenly he is talking to his mother like that.

"Stop talking, mom... stop." Om sighs tired as his mother went on and on, at the other end. "I'll ask her... if she is fine with it then yes otherwise no." Om tells her in a stern tone and hangs up.

"Gauri..." Om hesitantly calls her name as he turned to look at her.

Gauri looks at him worried wondering what his mother was forcing him to do. She had decorated the room for suhaag raat? He said if I agree... did his mother want us to do it?

"Yes?" Gauri croaks in shock.

"My mom is mad..." Om hesitantly starts.

"What is it?" Gauri asks nervously as she suddenly felt faint. She liked him, had liked it when he kissed her and when they hugged but she couldn't do it tonight. Oh! God! What could she say if he asks her point blank?

"My parents informed our relatives and friends that I am bringing my wife home." Om hesitantly starts. "And they are all coming home tomorrow."

"And?" Gauri asks worried.

"I know you are tired and all, and I totally understand if you say no."

"To what?" Gauri asks him scared.

"You are going to meet everyone for the first time... and she assumed that you don't have appropriate dress. So she has called a designer for your dress. He is here to take your measurement."

"Tailor? Measurement?" Gauri asks in shock then she sighs in relief.

"Just say no, Gauri... I'll send them away."

"No.. no... it is okay. They can come." Gauri quickly says. She didn't want to insult her new family by not looking good.

"You sure?" Om asks her.

"Yes. It's important."

"What important?" Om asks out loud as he walked to the phone to call the reception not understanding the unnecessary hullaballoo.

Few minutes later, the designer comes in with an assistant after the initial introduction the assistant starts to take Gauri's measurement while Om stood back and watched.

"Ma'm please remove your dupatta." The assistant tells her.

Om starts frowning hearing him while Gauri removes her dupatta and keeps it on the table, having been used to taking measurements by the male tailors in the village.

He continues to take her measurement.

"Please lift your hand Ma'm." he instructs her to take her bust measure.

Gauri lifts her hand and the guy puts his hand around her to take the measuring tape around.

"What the hell?" Om shouts in outrage as he charged forward seeing the guy almost hug Gauri.

"Is there a problem?" the designer asks curiously.

"Step away from my wife." Om murderously threatens him.

Gauri quickly moves towards Om wondering what that man did.

"I was just taking measurements." He stammers out seeing the furious look.

"By hugging her?"

"He was not hugging me. He was just bringing the measuring tape around." Gauri softly whispers to him.

"He was breathing on to you." Om furiously tells her.

"I hate it when the husbands hang around for all this." The designer mutters irately. "Mr. Oberoi, your mother put in special request otherwise we wouldn't take overnight orders. She needs a blouse for tomorrow. I need the measurement for that so please corporate."

"This is how they take measurement." Gauri whispers to him.

"Like that?" Om asks Gauri shocked.

Gauri nods her head.

"Do one thing. You take the measurement." The designer tells Om. "Give him the measuring tape."

Before Om could react the measuring tape was thrust to him. Better me than the pervert!

Gauri lifts her hand and Om puts his hand between her arms and brings the tape around. Since it was his first time taking measurements, he didn't know the etiquette of measuring, so when he brings the tape together to read the measurement, his hand brushes against her boobs. Gauri gulps in shock at the touch and Om looks up realizing what had happened.

"This is how you take measurements?" Om furiously whispers to her.

"Yes without feeling up the breast, of course." The designer replies.

Om turns to glare at him when the assistant says. "Under the bust."

Om loosens the measuring tape and brings it down to take that measurement. Again his fingers brush against her boobs, and Gauri turns completely pink.

"Nipple to nipple."

"WHAT?" Om shouts in shock missing out on Gauri's shocked gasp.

"Do you want a perfectly fitting blouse?" the designer asks irately.

Cursing under his breath, Om takes the measurement between both the breasts by keeping one end of the measuring tape on the pointed area of her breast to the other.

Gauri gulps at the sensations his touch was causing her. She was mortified and turned on at the same time.

The moment he touched her breast Om stopped breathing as he fought the urge to touch her again. He couldn't understand the sudden urge to touch her. Then he became furious thinking how the many tailors would have touched her like this when they took measurements.

"Circumference of the breast."

Om without a word takes the measurement as he fumed madly, he was getting so turned on with this then how much would that pervert would be turned on if he was taking her measurements?

"Neck... Ma'm how deep you want your neck?"

Gauri sighs in relief at a familiar measurement. She was starting to get worried whether they would ask to measure her cleavage too. Gauri points it out and the assistant instructs Om on how to take that measurement. Om keeps one end on her collar and the other where she had pointed on and when he did that, his hand directly lands on her cleavage resting on them. Om takes in a ragged breath due to the feelings it was causing him.

"Arm hole."

"What is that?" Om asks confused.

"Here." Gauri replies as she showed him.

"Now back." He gestures Om towards her back.

Om walks behind her.

"Can you put your hair forward? How deep you want your back? Is this fine." He asks as he starts to keep a finger on her back when Om swats his hand away and keep his finger instead.

"That is too deep."

Om slowly drags his finger up as he couldn't take his finger away.

"That is fine." Gauri replies breathlessly as she struggled to control her feelings but his touch was creating havoc in her.

"Your mother-in-law has ordered a new wardrobe for you. So we will take the measurements for that too." The designer informs Gauri. Gauri nods her head and Om starts taking the measurements.

"Can you show him where you put your pants?"

Gauri points at the hip area.

Om kneels down in front of her and moving her hand he keeps the tape through the slit on her kurta touching her bare skin. Gauri stops breathing feeling his touch on her skin. Then she felt a gentle caress. Gauri closes her eyes at the sensation.

The moment his finger touched her skin, Om couldn't control himself and he starts caressing her skin with a finger.

"Ahem."

Om and Gauri turn to the designer in shock.

"It's your suhag raat, right?" he asks as he flipped his mobile. "Why don't you take the measurements faster then? If he was taking it, we would have started stitching by now."

Flustered Om and Gauri quickly get back to the measuring.

"Calf."

Om takes the measurement of the calf.

"Knee."

Gulping Om drags the tape up towards her knees.

"Thighs."

Om looks up at Gauri nervously and she was looking at him with passion filled eyes. Om drags the tape up and slightly moves her Kurta to a side.

"A little higher." The assistant instructs Om.

Taking a deep breath, Om closes his eyes and drags the tape up. His hand brushes against her thighs and Gauri quickly holds his hand unable to take in the sensation that was causing her. Om looks up at her with passion sees Gauri had her eyes closed.

"Okay done!" the assistant announces and they both heave a sigh of relief.

Om quickly locks the door and turns to look at Gauri. Gauri nervously walks towards the window as she tried to calm her heart beats.

"I'll just take a shower and come." Om tells Gauri and grabbing his things he runs to the bathroom to take a cold bath.

Om comes out after his shower and Gauri goes to take her shower. Now that he had his cold shower, everything was fine and under control. Om sighs in relief as he sat back on the couch and flipped through a magazine waiting for Gauri to come, so he could sleep for a bit before they went home. Few minutes later, Gauri comes out after her shower pouring cold water on Om's cold shower and looking all the more alluring and sexy with her wet hair and a plain white salwar. Om gulps seeing her looking so sexy that all the touching and caressing came back to him at once. Feeling himself getting turned on, he quickly sits up to hide it.

"We will sleep?" Om asks Gauri.

Even though Gauri was not sleepy, she simply nods her head as that would help her take her mind of the sexual feelings that she was experiencing suddenly.

Gauri gets on the bed to sleep and seeing her lie on the bed, Om closes his eyes as emotions were going wild. He needed a drink. Om walks towards the fridge and opens it. He takes out a small whiskey bottle and was about to open it when he notices Gauri watching him. Om sighs and keeps it back in the fridge. He decides to just sleep when he notices the anklets kept on the table.

Seeing Om walking towards the bed, Gauri closes her eyes nervously. Gauri feels something on her ankles and opens her eyes to see her husband at her feet, bend over her. Om gently drapes the anklet over her ankle then he slowly lifts her leg and brings the anklet around her ankles and hooks it. Then he moves to the other leg, he lifts her salwar a little and puts the anklet on her ankle. Then he looks up at her and sees her looking at him with passion. Without even realizing, Om's hand softly starts running up her leg as he moved towards her. Gauri looks at him feeling passionate and nervous at the same time feeling his gentle touch. As his hand reach her hips, he feels the opening of her slit and couldn't help but drag his hand further up now touching her skin directly. Gauri gasps feeling his touch and closes her eyes as she gripped the bed sheet. Seeing her reaction to his touch, Om lies next to her and gently brushes away the hair on her face. Gauri opens her eyes to look at him. Om moves towards her and softly kisses her on her lips. Gauri closes her eyes loving his lips on hers. She feels him holding her hand and she losens her grip on the bed sheet and turning her hand around, palm to palm with his, they interlock their fingers, as they deepened the kiss.

Om was going out of his mind as passion controlled him. He had never felt so strongly for anyone or wanted anyone with an urgency like he wanted her. Realizing he had to stop before he lost his mind completely. Even in that passionate haze, he realized that she had just met him today and she might want to wait for a few days before they started such intimacy and due to what happened earlier, she might be overcome with passion just like him. He slowly ends the kiss and closing his eyes he rests his forehead on hers as he tried to calm his hormones. Breathing hard, he leans up and kissing her on her forehead, he softly orders her, "Go to sleep."

Gauri wakes up in shock as she sat up in fear and sweating profusely.

"What happened?" Om asks her as he sat up squinting at her.

"I dreamt that Daddaji came to take me away." Gauri tells him as she turned to him worried.

Om pulls her towards him and hugs her protectively in his sleep. "You are my wife, Gauri. No one can take you away from me."

Gauri hugs him back feeling relieved hearing his words. "I am sorry, I woke you up." Gauri whispers to him as her heart beat came back to normal. When he didn't reply to her, Gauri looks up at him and sees him sleeping with his head hanging to the side. She smiles seeing him like that but soon guilt start replacing that realizing how tiring it must have been for him to bring her to safety here. She gently pushes him back on the bed and makes him lie down. Covering him with the blanket, she lies next to him watching her husband. She was amazed that a man who was a mere stranger till the day before was suddenly someone so important to her. He had become her protector, guardian and her husband. A marriage was a strange bond that connected even two strangers so strongly to each other; Gauri thought with amazement as she gently held his hand and watched him sleep. Soon her thoughts went to the kiss they shared and she blushes remembering how they had kissed. It had felt nice, she thought blushing more.

Gauri comes out of the bathroom and sees her husband still sleeping. Seeing the time was 9 in the morning, Gauri decides to wake him up. She nervously walks towards him and gently shakes him awake.

"Suniyeji." Gauri nervously calls him as she shook him.

Om frowns in irritation as he rolls over in sleep.

"Suniyeji." Gauri calls him again.

Om frowns hearing that and opens his eyes as he turned to the sound and sees Gauri. "Gauri... did you want something?" Om asks as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"It's morning."

"Yeah... so?"

"We have to go home, right?" Gauri nervously asks him not very sure on their plan of action.

"Yeah... we will go after I wake up." Om mumbles.

"It is 9."

Frowning irately Om sits up, "Why won't you let me sleep?"

"It's morning." Gauri tells him scared.

"So?" Om grumbles as he got out of the bed and walks to the bathroom to freshen up as his sleep was broken already while Gauri sighs in relief that he didn't shout at her for disturbing his sleep.

Hearing the doorbell ring, Gauri panics as she looked around wondering what to do. Who could it be? Could it be Daddaji? Did he find out that we are here? Gauri panics as she looked at the bathroom door waiting for her husband to come out.

"Why aren't you opening the door?" Om asks as he stepped out hearing the bell curiously from the bathroom.

Seeing him, Gauri runs to him in relief and hugs him as she shivered in fear, "What if it is Daddaji?"

"He won't reach here so soon and if he did, Shivaay would have informed us before." Om explains to her logically as he gently rubbed her back to calm her. "Relax, Gauri. I won't let anyone take you away from me." Om promises her.

"I don't want to go away from you." Gauri whispers to him.

Om smiles gently liking hearing that. "And I don't like you worrying about that. I am here, let me do all the worrying. You relax and be happy." Om tells her. Hearing the bell again, Om gently releases her hold on him, "Now let me go check who that is."

Om opens the door and glares furiously seeing the designer's assistant.

"You?"

"Sir, we have the blouse ready. Can you ask ma'm to try this on?"

"Gauri!" Om calls out to Gauri as he snatched the blouse from the assistant and walked in. "Come in." Om tells him as he handed the blouse to Gauri.

"Ma'm if there is any alterations then I can do it now. so please try this on and show me."

"Show you?" Om asks murderously.

"Or him." the assistant says nervously. "Just try it on and tell me if it is fine."

"Okay." Gauri takes the blouse from him and goes to the changing room while Om stood back and glared at the perverted assistant and the assistant looked everywhere but Om.

Hearing the bell, assistant quickly says, "That might be boss." and he runs to open the door.

The designer and two assistants walk in carrying many items.

"Suniyeji." Gauri softly calls from the bathroom.

Om turns to her in shock hearing suniyeji from her. He walks towards her and she was poking her head out of the changing room.

"My name is Omkara Singh Oberoi." Om softly whispers to her.

"I know." Gauri replies surprised.

"Then why were you calling me suniyeji?"

"What should I call you then?"

"Om."

"Om?" Gauri asks surprised.

"Or call me Omkara." Om shrugs.

"But how can I call you by your name?"

"Just like I call you by your name." Om says not understanding why they were having such a silly conversation.

"Wife is not supposed to call husband by their name."

"Who said?"

"Daddaji." Gauri whispers.

"You are no longer under his thumb. So you don't have to follow everything that he says."

"So I can call you by your name?" Gauri asks smiling liking the idea of calling her husband by his name, it gave a feel of being equals and not like a wife should be below the husband's chappal speech daddaji loves to give.

"I would like it if you would call me by my name." Om tells her smiling.

Gauri smiles happily hearing him.

"Is there a problem?" the designer asks Om loudly from the living room.

"Just a sec." Om shouts back and turns to Gauri and asks, "Did you try it on?" and then his eyes widen remembering what the assistant had said, show it to him. is she going to wear that blouse and show it to me? oh God! if measuring for that blouse was such a turn on then how much of a turn on would that blouse be?

"Yes. It is nice." Gauri replies.

"Are you wearing it?" Om asks curiously and a little hopefully.

"No. I changed back." Gauri replies.

Damn!

"Then why are you hiding behind the door?"

"Because there are men there." Gauri reminds him.

"So?"

"A good sanskari girl wouldn't come in front of strangers."

Om remembers the scene he had witnessed and closes his eyes trying to forget that memory. "If a woman can give birth to men then she can come outside and face them too."

"But..."

"Your Daddaji was an illiterate and barbaric man. You don't have to follow his believes."

"Won't sasuma and sasurji mind?" Gauri asks worriedly.

"They would be worried if you keep hiding inside the house like this." Om explains to her as he offered his hand for her to come out. "And call them Dad and Mom. That is what I call them."

"Dad and mom?"

"Yes."

Gauri worriedly comes out and takes his hand. "You sure, it is fine?"

"It is. Yesterday you had no problem then why today?" Om asks curiously.

"Yesterday was an exception, right?"

"So your Daddaji makes exceptions to his rules too?" Om asks teasingly.

Gauri smiles at him happily.

"I like meeting people." Gauri whispers to Om.

Om smiles at her, "You are going to meet a lot of people and you will talk to them too."

"I have to talk?" Gauri asks shocked.

"I don't want them to think that my wife is dumb." Om replies.

"But..."

"It is allowed in my world, Gauri." Om calmly reassures her.

"I like your world more." Gauri whispers to him a little bit jealous.

"It's your world too now." Om tells her as he led her.

"How was it? Is it to your satisfaction?" the designer asks Gauri.

Gauri turns to Om for guidance and Om gently nods his head. Gauri turns to the designer and smiles, "Yes. Very nice. It didn't even feel like I was wearing a blouse."

Om's eyes pop out hearing that.

"That is what everyone says." The designer replies proudly. "Here is your saree." Designer tells Gauri as he nodded at an assistant who immediately took out the saree and showed Gauri.

Gauri gasps softly seeing the beautiful saree.

"This one goes with your complexion. That is why I decided on this. Is it fine with you?" he asks her.

Gauri nods smiling.

"Okay... that is the beautician. I've already told her how to do your hair and everything. Rest of your wardrobe would be delivered over the week. I'll take your leave now."

Om comes back to the room he shared with Gauri, dressed in the suit his mother had send over wondering all the while why his mother was making such a big hungama over the dresses and all.

"Gauri, are you ready?" Om asks her as he walked in and stops in shock seeing the transformation come over in Gauri. She looked nothing less than a celebrity in that branded saree and make up and stylish hair style.

Gauri turns to him smiling excitedly; she herself looked amazed at seeing the transformation in her.

"You look so beautiful." Om tells her in shock.

Gauri cutely blushes at him and starts to walk towards him and trips. Om was by her side in a jiffy as he caught her and helped her balance.

"I can't walk in this." Gauri whispers to Om in worry.

"In what?" Om asks confused.

Gauri puts her foot forward and he sees the heels she is wearing. "I keep falling down."

"You are getting too conscious." The beautician tells her. "Just hold your back straight." She again starts explaining to Gauri on how to hold her posture and walk.

Gauri nods and takes tentative steps nervously.

"That's it." The beautician encourages her and turns to Om who was smiling proudly at Gauri, "Just be near to her all the time, so in case she feels she needs support to balance."

Om nods his head.

Soon everyone leaves, and Gauri and Om were alone again. Om walks towards Gauri and gently caresses her cheek. "You look so beautiful, Gauri." Om tells her as he admired her beauty.

Gauri blushes looking even more beautiful and tells him shyly, "Even you look so good, Om."

"Om?" Om asks smiling.

"You said..."

"I like it." Om cuts her off as he gently kissed her on her forehead. Gauri blushes as she held his hand.

The car drives into the Oberoi drive with Om and Gauri at the back. Gauri gripped on Om's hand nervously as she looked at the people at the entrance waiting for them. Om gets down and helps Gauri out. The moment Gauri steps her foot on the payment, crackers starts bursting and a band starts playing shocking both Om and Gauri. Om holds Gauri's hand and they walk towards Jhanvi and Tej.

"Mom... what is this?" Om asks in a whisper as he pointed at the band and crackers.

"My bahu is coming home for the first time and her welcome should be grand." Jhanvi says excitedly as she looked at Gauri smiling happily.

"Lakshmi is coming home and you expect us to welcome her ainvayi?" Tej asks offended.

Om calms down hearing that, realizing how much trouble his parents had gone to welcome Gauri home.

Gauri's eyes widen in shock hearing that. Since childhood all she had seen was her grandparents making her mother slave around the house because she was a bahu and here she was being welcomed like she is some minister.

"She is so beautiful." Jhanvi says as she cupped Gauri's face lovingly.

"Is it any wonder now why he couldn't bring her home and marry her?" Bua Ma teases Om seeing the beautiful bride.

Om rolls his eyes at his Bua Ma while Jhanvi does Gauri's arti. Jhanvi welcomes Gauri home and taking her right hand, she starts to lead Gauri inside when Gauri quickly holds Om with her other hand nervously. Om immediately interlocks his fingers with Gauri's.

After all the rituals were taken care off, Gauri was introduced to Om's family. Gauri was shyly talking to everyone while Om excuses himself to make a call and walk away.

"How did you meet Om bhaiyya?" Anika asks Gauri excitedly. Anika was Om's cousin sister.

Gauri nervously looks at Anika wondering what to say. "That..."

"Gauri is Om's best friend's sister. That is how they met." Jhanvi quickly answers letting Gauri know about the unspoken rule that the circumstances behind their marriage will be a secret. Gauri sighs in relief that she would never be known as a charity case at her in-law's.

"Gauri." Om calls her aside.

Gauri turns to look at her new relatives and they teasingly smiles at her and some even teases them about how Om can't stay away from Gauri for even a minute. Blushing Gauri gets up and slowly starts walking towards Om nervously. Realizing that she was worried to walk on heels Om quickly comes towards her and holds her hand and takes her aside.

"I talked to Shivaay." Om whispers to her.

"And?" Gauri asks worriedly.

"Everyone found out that you left. They are searching for you in Motihari. Your Daddaji has vowed to bring you back before the muhurat and get you married to that guy. Shivaay has t0ld your Daddaji that he doesn't know where you are but he is going to find you and take you with him. He seemed to believe that even Shivaay doesn't know where you are. After we left, Shivaay removed the ladder and tied up some of your clothes and put it down the window. So they think that you escaped like that without anyone's help."

"Will they come here?" Gauri asks worried as she gripped his hand in fear.

"As of now, they have no reason to think that you left with me. Even if they come, they can't do anything to you." Om tells her.

"You won't let anyone take me away, right?" Gauri asks him worriedly.

"I won't." Om reassures her.

"Did bhaiyya say anything about maa?"

"He has told her that you are with me and when everything dies down she will call you." Om tells her.

Gauri nods and hugs him.

At night, Jhanvi was helping Gauri settle into Om's room.

"Did Shivaay call? What is happening at your home?" Jhanvi asks Gauri finally getting some privacy.

Gauri tells her everything Om told her. By the time she finished, she was visibly shaking in fear.

"Why are you getting scared, Gauri?" Jhanvi asks her in concern as she sat next to Gauri.

"Daddaji will find me." Gauri whispers to her in fear.

"He might find you but he will not take you away from here." Jhanvi gently tells her with a smile.

"I am scared of him."

"You don't have to be scared of him anymore. You are Oberoi's bahu. No one will dare to touch you here." Jhanvi tells her as she wiped Gauri's tears lovingly.

Gauri wanted to hug her mother-in-law as she was reminding her of her mother but she was scared as a bahu never hugged her saas. Jhanvi leans towards her and kisses her forehead shocking Gauri at the gesture. Om walks in to the room just then and smiles seeing Jhanvi and Gauri together then noticing the room decorated for suhag raat Om looks at his mother in shock he was about to say something to her when his mobile rings and he walks out again.

"Gauri... yesterday I had the hotel room decorated for suhag raat..." Jhanvi hesitantly starts to explain to Gauri. "I didn't intend to make you both uncomfortable. There are rituals attached to a marriage and I thought if we didn't do all that you might feel unwelcome here and that is why I did that. But Tej explained to me how it would have made you two feel uncomfortable and that is when I realized that maybe I was wrong. I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to show you that I accept you."

Gauri gapes at her in shock hearing the hidden apology in her explanation. "It's okay." Gauri tells her quickly touched with the respect she was showing her and the concern her mother-in-law has for her.

"And today, if we didn't decorate the room everyone would wonder why we didn't do that. I didn't want you to feel slighted in front of our relatives."

"I understand." Gauri tells her.

"Om, he doesn't understand all these things. He is not bothered about what people say. Whatever he feels, he says it out open. He won't care if people say anything about anyone because he believes that those who are true to us would understand the truth in us." Jhanvi explains to Gauri. "I always try to make him understand that when we live in a society we have to make some adjustments and compromises for them and he sees it as being fake. He says it is better to be rude than be a fake."

Gauri nods hearing her understanding why Om had screamed at his mother the day before.

"What I am trying to tell you is that, he is going to be upset about this decoration again. I have given upon him. You explain to him that when we live in a society we have some obligations to the people and society." Jhanvi tells her.

Gauri nods in reply amazed that her mother-in-law thinks that she could make Om understand something that her mother-in-law had failed at. Back at her home, if her mother tried to explain something like that to her father then her grandparents would say that she was trying to brainwash him and if her father agreed to anything her mother said, which most of the time he did, they would call him henpecked.

Om walks back into the room frowning lost in thoughts.

"Now, don't start screaming at me for decorating the room like this. Today is Gauri's first night here..." Jhanvi starts to explain when Om cuts her off.

"No, Mom... you are right. Gauri is coming here for the first time, there shouldn't be anything lacking in her welcoming." Om agrees as he walked towards them making Gauri shyly smile while Jhanvi beamed.

"Wow my son got married and he became samajhdar overnight?"

Om gives his mother a look and then turning to Gauri he grins at her making Gauri blush all the more.

"Dad was looking for you, by the way." Om informs her.

"Oh! You both sleep then. I'll talk to you in the morning." Jhanvi tells them and leaves quickly.

As Jhanvi closed the door behind her, Om walks towards Gauri and sits next to her. "How was your first day here?"

"I like it here. Everyone is so nice." Gauri tells him smiling.

"I am glad you feel so." Om tells her smiling at her.

"I'll go freshen up?" Gauri asks him.

"Okay."

Gauri gets up and walks towards the cupboard. After she takes her clothes she turns back to remove her heels and keep it in the shoe rack when she notices her husband smiling at her.

"What?" Gauri asks smiling at him.

"You learned to walk in that." Om tells her smiling.

"Haan." Gauri smiles excitedly at him. "I was getting nervous for no reason. All it needed was some practice."

Om smiles at her proudly.

They were getting ready to sleep when Gauri curiously asks Om. "Why did you marry me?"
"What?" Om asks her confused.
"You didn't have to marry me. You could have brought me here just like this and later bhaiyya could have come for me. So why did you marry me?"
Om looks at her surprised realizing she was right. He could have kept her safe here till Shivaay came or he could have taken her to Banglore to Shivaay or even got her a job here and helped her settle here. "I have no idea. I never thought of all that. I just wanted to save you and the only thought in my mind was marriage then." Om tells her amazed himself.
Gauri didn't know what to reply to that.
"But I am glad those thoughts didn't come to me." Om tells her smiling.
Gauri smiles shyly as she took out the Laughing Buddha from her bag and walked towards the side table. Om notices Gauri keeping a figurine on the side table. He curiously looks at it while Gauri smiles at him happily.
"What is that?" Om asks her curiously.
Gauri's smile drops and says, "Laughing Buddha."
"Hmmm. Does that hold some special value to you?" Om asks curiously since she had remembered to take that when she left home.
"You gifted me that." Gauri tells him shocked.
"I did? That is what the gift was?" Om asks shocked.
"Yes. You didn't know?"
"I didn't know what you gift a girl, so I told Mom to get an appropriate gift for you. I had assumed that she would get some jewellery or something. Not this." Om says surprised.
"This is a good gift."
"It is?" Om asks doubtfully.
"When someone gifts you Laughing Buddha it brings good luck."
"Oh!"

"Do you think it is true?" Om asks curiously as they settled on the bed.
"Laughing Buddha?"
"Yes."
"I never thought of it much but now I do believe it is true."
"You do? Why?" Om asks her as he turned to look at her.
"Because of you." Gauri tells him. "I got you."
Om looks at her surprised then he gently starts smiling. He leans towards her and kisses her on her cheek even though he wanted to kiss her on her lips but remembering the circumstances he decides otherwise. "Good night." Om whispers to her.

Two weeks later, Om and Gauri were getting ready for bed.

"Tomorrow tutors are going to come." Gauri tells Om.

"For what?" Om asks curiously as he gets on the bed.

"To teach me." Gauri tells him as she also got on the bed.

"What?" Om asks.

"Mom said etiquette, then some grooming."

"What is wrong with you now?" Om asks frowning feeling insulted for Gauri being made to go through grooming classes.

"Nothing is wrong with me." Gauri tells him confused. "This will help me when I meet people."

"You want these classes?"

Gauri nods her head in yes. "Everything is so different here from what I have seen. So this way I know what is allowed here and what is not. Yesterday, I didn't know that we are supposed to use different spoons and if you hadn't helped me secretly I would have embarrassed all of us. So I told Mom to teach me everything and she called these tutors."

"Hmmm."

"Someone is coming for english classes too."

"You don't speak English?" Om asks curiously as Shivaay spoke good English.

"I do but bhaiyya says my diction is not good." Gauri tells him.

"What did you learn Gauri?"

"MA in Sanskrit."

"You did your post-graduation?" Om asks surprised.

"Yes. Daddaji doesn't know but." Gauri whispers to him as it is a big secret to her.

"Then how did you learn?"

"I did privately. After Baba passed away, Daddaji refused to send me to college as he felt it was waste of money as I am a girl. So I got books home and learned. During exam time, I would force Maa to come with me to Mumbai and we would lie to Daddaji that we are going to Bengaluru to meet bhaiyya and before that to Pune when he was in college."

Om starts smiling proudly at Gauri for being a little rebellious even when she was suppressed by her grandfather.

"Maa was so worried but bhaiyya supported me when I told him I wanted to study."

"When you are educated why didn't you fight against your grandfather and realize that he was wrong?" Om asks her curiously.

"I don't know. I was raised like that and I thought it was the way it is." Gauri tells him. Then turning to him she tells him amazed, "You know, the other day Anika was talking so loudly and laughing I was getting so worried for her."

"Why?" Om asks as he turned to face her.

"Because if we speak barely above a whisper then Daddaji would get angry. And I was so scared that someone would come to shout at her for talking so loudly. I like her. but then no one bothered about it."

"Is that why you speak so softly?" Om asks her surprised.

Gauri nods her head.

"There is nothing wrong if you talk loudly here." Om tells her.

"I know. And even I talked loudly." Gauri tells Om excitedly.

Om smiles seeing her excitement. Gauri had been a like a caged bird who wanted to fly but her wings were tied down. He had been happy to notice the way Gauri was becoming more confident every day, suddenly he realized that the grooming classes would do Gauri only good and no way would it be an insult. It would make Gauri more confident about herself.

"I will scream. Do you want to see?" Gauri asks him excitedly.

Om chuckles and tells her, "Maybe during the day time. You might scare everyone here if you scream in the middle of the night."

"What everyone? Everyone left." Gauri grumbles sadly.

Om smiles hearing her, he had been surprised when one by one his relatives had left, Gauri had become sad each time and when Anika left, she had cried scaring him completely. She didn't even hide her displeasure that everyone had left and only his parents and they both with the servants were at home now. Then it struck him, Om looks at Gauri in shock wondering why he never realized it. Gauri had shown her displeasure, everyone had found it cute in his family that he had missed the truth behind it, it meant only one thing, she had felt confident and secure enough to show her true feelings to everyone without worrying or being scared of getting scolded for it.

Om leans down and takes her lips in his, feeling so happy for her acceptance of his family. Wrapping her arms around him, Gauri kisses him back. After that day, they had been scared to kiss again worried that other wouldn't like it.

Couple of days later, Om was getting ready to go for work when Gauri hugs him from behind. Smiling, Om turns around and hugs her. They were slowly getting physical with each other and they were happy with the pace as neither wanted to rush into it soon.

"Mom and I are going out today."

"Ahaan... Where?"

"Shopping." Gauri tells him excitedly then she smiles remembering how her husband had forbid her from getting any clothes stitched from now on and everything she wears should be ready made.

"Use the card I gave you." Om tells her as he took her lips in his and softly nibbled on it.

As they ended the kiss, Gauri hugs him happily. "I am so happy, Om."

"Even I am happy." Om tells her happily.

"But I get scared at times." Gauri tells him worriedly. "What if all this gets snatched away from me? What if Daddaji find me?"

Om stiffens hearing that then ignoring the guilt he tells her possessively, "I am not going to let anyone take you away from me. You are mine."

Gauri smiles relieved and hugs him tight.

Gauri was ready and waiting for Jhanvi to get ready when her phone rings. Smiling she picks up the call, "Hello Om."

"Gauri... where are you?"

"At home. why?"

"I called to tell you when you go out, get something for Mom. She has been gifting you a lot right? Get her some gift from both of us... okay?"

"Okay. What should I buy?"

"I don't know. Whatever she likes."

"I'll buy for Dad too?" Gauri asks him.

"Yeah buy for him too." Om tells her and he hangs up after that.

Gauri smiles happily as she cut the call and softly starts humming a song she had heard that day on TV.

"Gauri, are you singing?" Tej asks her.

Gauri quickly stops as she nervously gulped. "I accidently started..."

"Let me hear." Tej tells her smiling as he made her sit and he sat next to her.

"You want me to sing?" Gauri asks shocked.

"Yes."

"But..."

"But what?" Tej asks curiously.

"Daddaji says..." Gauri starts to explain and stops her explanation. She should forget everything Daddaji taught her. Om is right, he is not right and his believes are wrong.

"What does he say?" Tej asks curiously.

"He used to say that a girl from good family doesn't sing." Gauri whispers to him with bend head.

"What? Does he think that all the good singers in the world are from bad family?" Tej asks shocked.

"He is wrong. Om says he sees the world through his eyes and small mind." Gauri tells him.

"I am happy you realize that he is wrong." Tej tells her smiling. "Now, let me hear you sing."

"Gauri, let's go?" Jhanvi asks as she walked towards them.

"Gauri is going to sing for me." Tej tells her.

"Really? Let me hear." Jhanvi says as she sat opposite to them.

"But I don't know to sing." Gauri tells them worriedly.

"What little I heard I felt it was nice."

That was all the encouragement Gauri needed. "What song should I sing?"

"Any song."

Gauri sings the songs that she heard that morning in a soft voice and after singing the two lines she stops.

"Why did you stop?" Jhanvi asks outraged.

"That is all I know." Gauri helplessly reply.

"You sing so nicely." Jhanvi tells Gauri smiling happily.

"We should find a music teacher for you." Tej tells Gauri thoughtfully as he thought of how to find a good teacher.

"You never told me that you sing." Om tells Gauri surprised.

"I thought it was a bad habit." Gauri tells him smiling.

"Sing for me." Om tells her.

Gauri shyly sings for him and Om smiles happily. "Very nice, Gauri."

"Dad is going to find a music teacher for me." Gauri tells him excitedly.

"Imagine... if you become a famous singer." Om tells her smiling happily.

"I don't sing that well."

"But still... imagine. And I'll be known as Gauri Omkara Singh Oberoi's husband."

"You won't feel embarrassed to know as my husband?" Gauri asks sidetracked.

"Do you feel embarrassed to be known as my wife?" Om asks her.

"No. I actually love being known as your wife."

"And I would also love to be known as your husband." Om tells her smiling.

Gauri smiles happily hearing him and takes his hand and kisses on it lovingly.

"I love you." Om tells her as he caressed her cheek.

"I love you." Gauri whispers to him as she shyly closed her eyes.

Om leans down and takes her lips in his. The gentle kiss quickly turns passionate and they hungrily kiss each other as Om starts to remove their clothes.

Next morning, when Gauri was in the shower Om secretly calls Shivaay.

"Hello Om?"

"I can't do this anymore." Om furiously whispers to Shivaay.

"Om... listen... this is for the best." Shivaay calmly explains to him.

"I feel like I am cheating her."

"You are just protecting her."

"Her grandfather is in the hospital and here I am..." Om stops midsentence realizing what he was going to tell Shivaay about their last night. Shivaay was not just his best friend, he was Gauri's brother too.

"You what?" Shivaay asks curiously.

"I am hiding it from her. When she tells me about her worry of someone coming from there to take her away, I feel so fucking guilty for hiding that her grandfather is in the hospital as he had a heart attack."

"Because she ran away and he was humiliated in front of everyone as he couldn't keep his vow and bring her back." Shivaay says from the other end.

"She should know, at least it would ease her worry." And he wouldn't feel so guilty for consummating and romancing her when her grandfather was in hospital fighting for his life.

"What will you do if she says she wants to see him?" Shivaay asks him furiously. "Will you be able to deny her wish of seeing her dying grandfather?"

"No." Om whispers tired.

"And if she comes here, people are here to eat her alive for what happened. None of my relatives have gone back. Everyone is camping here and if she comes into the middle of that..."

"What if she doesn't want to see him?"

"What if she wants to see him?" Shivaay asks back.

Om sighs and say, "I'm cheating her."

"You are protecting her. And she is happy now, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"Then let her be happy. She deserves to be happy."

"Okay. I'll call you later." Om says tired.

"Listen... my leave is getting over and they are not going to give me any more extension. I would be going to Bengaluru soon but Maa can't come with me now. So don't tell her that Maa is going to be staying here alone."

"Why don't you just kill me, you dog?" Om asks furiously.

"You love her... huh?" Shivaay asks smiling.

"Yes." Om tells him sighing.

"And she?"

"She is crazy about me." Om replies pompously.

"I feel you are the one who is crazy about her." Shivaay teases him.

"Just hang up the phone." Om tells him irately. "Any improvement in his condition?"

"No. He got fever this morning." Shivaay informs him.

"What? What is the doctor saying?"

"The same old, let's hope for the best." Shivaay replies tired.

"Okay... keep me posted."

"What did your music teacher say?" Om asks Gauri as he watched her as she put curls on her hair; she had been taught that in her grooming classes along with all kinds of make-up Om thought.

"He said that I sing well but lack of practice is very much visible." Gauri tells him as she looked at him through the mirror.

Om nods. "You liked the teacher?"

"He looks strict." Gauri tells him.

Om chuckles hearing that. "Does he teach well?"

"We didn't have any class today. He said we will start from tomorrow."

"Okay. By the way, I am ready."

"I am almost done. I just need to change my dress." Gauri tells him hurriedly.

"Om..." Gauri nervously calls his name from behind.

Curiously Om turns back to look at her and stops in shock seeing her wear a knee length sleeveless dress.

"Do I look bad?" Gauri nervously asks him.

"This?" Om asks shocked seeing her in modern clothes.

"Anika gifted this before she left. Should I change it?"

"No... no... you look very nice in this." Om tells her smiling as he walked towards her. "I never thought you would wear such clothes."

"I wasn't very sure at first but then this is so pretty and I felt like wearing it. Do I look vulgar in this?" Gauri asks him nervously.

"You look perfect in this." Om tells her smiling.

"Will Dad and Mom mind? When Mom saw the dress she had said it is pretty but still.."

"No, Gauri. They won't have any issue." Om reassures her.

"Do I look naked to you?"

"No." Om replies then he adds, "But I do want to get you naked."

"Stop it!" Gauri hits him on his chest. "You are always thinking about that."

"How did you wake me up today morning, Gauri?" Om asks her in a challenging tone.

Gauri blushes hearing the question and she walks away towards the dressing table mumbling on how she doesn't remember it as she had been half asleep then.

"Liar." Om chuckles hearing that.

Om comes back home from office unexpectedly one day and he takes Gauri to their room.

"What happened? Why do you look so tensed?" Gauri asks him curiously.

"Gauri... sit down." Om tells her and he slightly pushes her on to the bed making her sit and he sits on the bed facing her.

"What happened, Om? Did Daddaji find out about us?" Gauri asks worried.

"Gauri... your Daddaji had a heart attack." Om gently starts to tell her.

"Oh my God." Gauri gasps in shock. "How is he?"

"On the day you were supposed to marry." Om finishes.

Gauri looks at him in shock. "That was more than a month back."

"Yes. When he couldn't bring you to the mandap... the groom's family started talking. And he was humiliated there and he suffered an attack."

"Oh no." Gauri gasps in shock.

"He was paralyzed all these days."

"Why didn't bhaiyya tell me?"

"He was worried that you might ask to go see him."

"He is not well, Om." Gauri tells him worriedly.

"He passed away." Om informs her.

Gauri gasps in shock as tears filled her eyes. "because of me?"

"Not because of you. His actions led him to that, not you."

"But I caused him that humiliation."

"If he had considered you as his granddaughter and treated you like a human, you wouldn't have had to run away from home. So it was not you who caused him his humiliation, he himself brought it upon himself."

Gauri hugs Om as tears fell from her eyes. "I want to see him."

"I'll take you but the situation there hasn't been all that calm." Om explains to her.

"Did you know that he was not well?" Gauri asks him curiously.

"Yes but Shivaay told me not to tell you."

"Why?"

"Because he was worried that you might insist on seeing him and people there are still angry with you."

"Will they try to stop me from coming back? Or will they hurt us?" Gauri asks worried.

"I won't let that happen." Om tells her confidently.

"No... no... I don't want to go." Gauri tells Om scared.

"However he is, he is your grandfather and if you want to see him then I will take you."

"I don't want to see him. I want to be with you." Gauri tells him worriedly as she hugged him tight.

"But Gauri..."

"No... and if I go then there will be problems and I already humiliated him, let him have a peaceful funeral."

In Om's opinion, Balraj didn't even deserve that but since Gauri was upset over his death, Om kept his opinion to himself. He didn't want to make her more upset because he knew it would take her a little while to accept his death.

A month later.

"Maa!" Gauri shouts excitedly as she ran towards her mother and hugged her tight.

"How are you, Gauri?" Pinky asks her as she hugged her daughter tight.

"I am perfect here, Maa. How are you?"

"I am good."

"She is just upset about leaving Motihari." Shivaay informs her.

"Bhaiyya." Gauri hugs him tight. "Thank you, bhaiyya."

Shivaay chuckles hearing her.

"Come, I'll introduce you to Dad and Mom." Gauri says excitedly as she took Pinky's hand and led her towards Jhanvi and Tej.

Pinky was admiring the changes that had come over her daughter. There was a confidence in her and her dressing had also changed, she was wearing a sleeveless salwar and makeup, though she didn't approve of that dressing, she didn't comment on it because she was just too happy seeing her daughter so happy, in fact the happiest in her young life.

"Maa... see this." Gauri excitedly tells her. Pinky curiously looks at Gauri and Gauri howls loudly.

"What are you doing?"

"See Maa... I screamed and there is nothing wrong in that. No one is saying anything." Gauri tells her excitedly.

Pinky worriedly looks at Gauri's in-laws and they were smiling at Gauri, they were watching her like they watch a kid. Gauri howls again excitedly and laughs loudly.

"Gauri, give a care to my poor ear drums." Tej teases her making Gauri laugh all the more.

"Maa stay here for a few days." Gauri tells her.

"I have to get back to work day after, Gauri. So we have to go tomorrow." Shivaay tells her.

"But Om is coming back only tomorrow." Gauri says upset. "You didn't meet him, Maa."

"I will see him tomorrow right?" Pinky tries to appease her with a smile.

"Just half a day. Then you didn't meet Bua Ma, Anika... anyone."

"There is time for all that, right?" Pinky asks her.

"Time for what?" Om asks curiously as he walked in.

"OM!" Gauri shouts in excitement seeing him and she runs to him happily. Om smiles seeing her excitement and hugs her as she threw herself at him.

"You said you were coming back tomorrow."

"I was missing you both." Om whispers to her.

Gauri smiles happily.

"Did you tell them?" Om asks her.

"No. you tell them." Gauri whispers to him.

"You talk a mile per second and you couldn't tell them this?" Om teases her.

Om takes Pinky's blessing while Gauri excitedly introduced her husband to her mother.

"Shivaay!" Om says as he hugged Shivaay happily.

"Where did you go leaving my sister?" Shivaay asks teasingly.

"Well, we were planning to go together but then we had some doubt so we thought we will wait till it was confirmed before Gauri travelled."

"What doubts?" Jhanvi asks jumping up from her seat excitedly.

Om grins at her.

"Oh my God!" Jhanvi gasps excitedly as she hurried to Gauri along with Pinky who had happy tears. Tej also follows them.

"What happened?" Shivaay asks confused.

Om grins at him widely and opening his arms he says, "Congratulations, mamu!"

"WHAT?" Shivaay shouts in shocked excitement as he hugged Om happily.

"I want a daughter." Gauri whispers to Om as she snuggled to him.

"Aishi." Om whispers her.

Gauri smiles hearing that realizing even he wanted a girl. "She is going to grow up believing she is a blessing on us."

"God's gift." Om tells Gauri. "That's what Aishi means."

Please vote and comment

- Lazy