*At the party*

Gauri: (To herself) Yahaan par toh saare log itne ameer aur raees nazar aa rahe hai. Pata nahi kyun, lekin hume yahaan par bahut ajeeb lag raha hai.

Guest: Arre Om, yeh hai tumhari biwi?

Om: (Confused) Biwi? h-Haan, Haan mishraji, yeh meri biwi Gauri

Guest: Namaste bhabhiji! I still can't believe he got a girl like you!

Gauri: (Unable to understand) K-ka?

Om: (Covering up Gauri) Kya mazaak kar rahe ho! Darling, I think Anika bhabhi bula rahi hai, jaake check karogi?

Gauri: (To herself) Darling? Lagta hai iss Nandiji ko line pe lana padega

[Gauri walks towards Anika, in a bid to save herself from utter boredom].

Gauri: Bhojaiji, aapne bulaya?

Anika: Haan Gauri, kuch log tumse Milna chah rahe the. Yeh shivaay aur Om ke business partners hai, Mr. Arora. Inke saath deal sign hui hai

Gauri: Accha! Namaste! Humara naam Gauri Kum--

Om: (Interrupting) Gauri Omkara Singh Oberoi, right, darling?

Gauri: (To herself) Yeh khadoos phir se yahaan aa tapka? Aur yeh Darling-darling ka hai?

Gauri: (Fake smiling) Ji, Ji

Arora: Tum bahut khushkismat ho, pata Hai? Om ko main bachpan se jaanta hoon

Gauri: (Annoyed) Khushkismat nahi, badkismat!

Arora: (Confused) Ji?

Om: (Fake laughing) Hahaha! Meri biwi ko mazaak karna ka bahut shauk Hai, right darling?
(Whispering to her ) Kya kar rahi ho? Meri band bajaogi Kya?

Gauri: (Fake smiling) Haan, Haan! Hahaha! Maaf kijiye, hum abhi aate hain!

[Gauri excuses herself and walks to the lawn, to get a breathe of air.]

Gauri: (To herself) Yeh koi party hai ka? Jahaan jaaoon, sharaab ki badboo aati Hai, aur yahaan dhang ke gaane bhi nahi bajaate hai. Uff!

Om: Tum yahaan par ho? Kab se dhund raha hoon!

Gauri: Aap pehle yahaan aayie, baat karni hai

[Om obediently walks towards her, a little annoyed, but attentive nevertheless].

Om: (Annoyed) Bolo

Gauri: Hum jab aapse pehli baar mike, Tab ka kaha tha aap se?

Om: (Mocking) Agar gaadi chalaane nahi aati, toh chalaate kyun ho!

Gauri: (Annoyed) Uff! Woh nahi! Kuch bahut jaroori baat kahi thi!

Om: (Irritated) Yaar dimaag kharab mat karo, bolo Kya bolna hai!

Gauri: Humne kaha tha ki aap na, daayre mein rahiye! Ee 'darling-varling' ka chakkar ka hai?

Om: Yaar woh natak ke liye tha! Mujhe koi shauk nahi tumhe woh bulaane ka!

Gauri: Accha ji, isliye party shuru hote hai hamaara kamar kass ke pakad rahe the, kyun?

[Om, rather than turning red from embarrassment, came closer to Gauri, trying to intimidate her and make her nervous.]

Om:(Folding his arms) Mujhe aisa kyun lagta hai ki tumhe yeh sab accha lagne laga hai?

Gauri: (Nervously) k-ka? Hume? Tauba hai! Ka accha lagne laga hai hume? Batayie!

Om: (Coming closer) Mera tumhe 'darling' bulaana, mera tumhaara kamar pakadna, mera...

Gauri: Chee chee! Aapka dimaag nahi, kacchre ka dibba Hai! Isliye, isliye bata rahe Hai ki roj baba mirchiwaale ke shabd suno! Aapka dimaag apne aap saaf ho jayega!

Om: Accha, accha!

Gauri: D-D-Dekhiye, hume darling mat bulaayie! Jaa rahe Hai hum!

[Just as Gauri was about to leave, she felt a grip on her wrist. Her breathe became heavier and heavier as Om came closer to her, and whispered something in her ear].

Om: (whispering) Tum mujhe jitna kameena samajhti Ho, utna hoon nahi. Tumhaare haq ki izzat karta hoon. Yakeen maano, yeh sirf ek naatak hai, aur kuch nahi. Ab chalo, andar jaana hai.

[As Gauri walked indoors with Om, she felt a slight sense of disappointment. A disappointment she couldn't understand. Behind all this 'naatak', she did, deep down, like the way his touch felt. She scolded herself for having such shameless thoughts, but deep down, she secretly liked how slowly, Om was beginning to value her voice and body. Something she hadn't seen in any man since her birth. She was slowly beginning to understand that all men aren't bad, selfish and sexually hungry animals.]

*Inside, at the party*

Host: Come on, folks! Music shuru Karte Hai! Time for some dancing!

Gauri: (To herself) Yeh hui na baat! Gaane ke bina party ho hi nahi sakti!

[Gauri's excitement dulled when a slow song played. Her eyes grew wide in confusion when she saw females and males dancing together, very intimately. Confused, she went to ask Om what was happening.]

Gauri: (Whispering) Yeh ka gaana lage ke rakha Hai? Aur yeh log chipak-chipak ke kyun nach rahe hai

Om:( Annoyed) Uff, yeh...

Arora: (Interrupting) Romantic talks between the newly married couple I see! Come on, dance, you two!

Gauri: (Confused, whispering to Om) Ka bol rahe Hai yeh?

Om:(Holding Gauri's hand and taking her to the dance floor) Chalo, Darling!

[Gauri faced Om, and he slowly put placed his hand on her waist, while Gauri stood there confused].

Gauri: Yeh ka kar rahe ho aap?

Om: (Placing her hand on his shoulder and her other hand in his) Sorry, woh Arora yeh sab bakwaas chahta Hai

Gauri: Yeh dance hai? Chee! Kaun karta hai aisa dance? Hume toh nachte-nachte neend aa rahi hai!

Om: Yeh slow dancing hai, romantic hai

Gauri: Inn saare logo ko baba mirchiwaale ki jaroorat Hai!

Om: Haan Haan, duniya ke saare log pagal hai, sivaai tumhaare!

Gauri: Humaare saath behas karna toh aapke liye time pass ho gaya hai na?

Om: aur tumhe har waqt bakwaas karna time pass ho gaya hai, na?

Gauri:(Annoyed) Hum jaa rahe hai

[As Gauri left, she felt a tug on her arm, and her body spun to meet Om's. He gradually placed his hand on her waist, enticing Gauri. There was something about his touch that Gauri couldn't get over. She wanted to hate it, but couldn't.]

Om: (Whispering to her) Sorry, agar tum gusse mein chali jaati, toh logo ko shakk ho jata. Thodi der aur thehr jao, please

Gauri: J-ji

[That evening had taught Om and Gauri a thing or two about each other. Om learned that he couldn't treat women any way he wanted to. He had to respect them, and Gauri learned that maybe this world had good men too.

They both also learned that they found the other irresisitbly attractive. Was romance finally blooming behind all this 'naatak'?]

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Yay!! New update!! Hope you guys liked this chapter!!

I was blushing so much when I wrote some bits of the story, uff!

Also, did y'all notice the subtle title mention in Omkie's dialogue at the end?

Thank you so much for reading my loves!! Please vote if you liked it!!