Om - Kindly read the previous chapter for memory recall because the writer is so slow that she eventually have to read it herself before writing another chapter. Khushi.... Why are you taking a toll on me? Your precious Omkara.... Why????

Khushi - 😅 Sorry... I'm just busy with my married life too much...

Om - Anyways. Where was I? Oh yes... If you guys still remember me, I'm the precious protagonist and narrator of this story. For a quick recap, let me remind you that I was in hospital because Miss Sharma tried to kill me and then she threatened me to leave Ishana. I'll continue after that. So here it is....

.............................(3)...............................

After getting the huge revelation about her attempt to murder me, I couldn't sleep peacefully in the 5 star hospital. In the end, I decided to head back home and get some rest.

Next day........

After the nights rest, I was feeling refreshed, the thoughts of getting killed by a mere woman didn't bother me at all. I felt I was overreacting, she might have tried to prank me about the accident, because it was natural as Ishana's BFF to pull a prank on me. I just got played on by her words.

As my mind was starting afresh today, I decided to keep all that aside and spend my day as planned. I was still behind the schedule so I had to keep up my work before my leave for marriage. After the day's work, I came back home and after freshing up I joined my lovely family for dinner.

It was 7.30 pm, I was munching on my paratha and paneer makhani when all of a sudden my mom started a conversation with Shivaay.

"Shivaay... I have invited Om's friend for lunch... So both you and Om have to take off from office tomorrow..." She said before taking a sip of her green tea.

"My friend??? Who??" I asked, I had no idea which friend was free enough to come over and for what special reason.

"Gauri Sharma who else?? I heard from Ishana that she came back to India after many years, I invited her to enjoy some of our Punjabi food. She's Ishana's friend so obviously she's your friend as well naa...." My mom said brimming with happiness.

"My friend.... That Gauri Sharma?? Ehh... Over my dead body...!!!" I wanted to scream those exact words but could only manage to pass a decent smile at my mom. I could guess as of what extent Ishana talked about her friend for my mother to throw a lunch party at her honour... Even if I didn't like her vibes, I couldn't possibly say that to my family.

I couldn't help but laugh at this ironic situation. My dear family didn't have the slightest idea of what havoc I had to face because of that Gauri Sharma. And that's the very reason they decided to invite her to our home... MY HOME!!! Sigh**

Anyways... I was never afraid of anyone to begin with, so I calmed myself before the second encounter with Miss Sharma, I was already convinced that she pranked me before... So there was nothing to be afraid of. (🙂)

I was preparing for the brutal lunch with certain someone, while someone in a faraway nation was experiencing a tough time because of that very certain someone.

STAR KNIGHT STUDIOS, Brooklyn, New York
(7.30 pm in India is 10.00 am in New York, so it's office hours)

A pale native man in his late thirties stormed inside the main gates of the office with a face boiling with anger.

"Gauri Sharma!!! Where the F**k are you...!" He shouted as he passed through the staffs completely ignoring warnings of the receptionist who was trying to stop him. He barged into a room with a "CEO" crafted on its door.

"Eh... Isn't this Mr Browne... What's wrong with him? I heard rumours that he is dating our boss, why is he shouting though...?" Asked Shaun, the Assistant Marketing manager.

"I guess he's angry with boss for not giving him the Big H contract and then leaving him to go to India... I mean she should take care of her boyfriend doesn't she..." Answered Raven, the assistant graphic designer.

"OMG... Is he going to fight with boss?but she went to India... Don't tell me he doesn't know about this..." Shaun stated.

"Oh well... Looks like we have few gossipers here...." said Saumya as she adjusted her glasses before interfering the gossip talk of the employees. Saumya was the personal secretary of Gauri and was known for being the epitome of efficiency. Apparently she managed to survive under the wings of her fierce Boss for more than 7 months unlike her predecessors who couldn't survive more than 2 weeks.

"If you guys are done gossiping, I would suggest you to get to work before Boss gets the wind of you lazing around" Saumya said as a warning. Everyone in the office knew that their boss hates unprofessional behaviour and would never show mercy on anyone who tries to slack off.

"Who's gonna tell her... She's not here anyways" Raven said rolling her eyes. In reply, Saumya gave her a chilling smile that was more than enough for the answer. Saumya was not as scary as their Big boss, but she was definitely capable of holding the reins of the company in absence of her.

"What about that Mathew Browne... I don't want to deal with that jerk?" Saumya thought to herself before taking steps towards her boss's cabin.

"Where the hell is that b*tch!!??" Mathew barked as he saw Saumya coming into the cabin after him.

"Mind your language sir... Boss went abroad for business purpose... So you may please leave before I call the security... Boss never told me you're allowed to enter this room in her absence." She informed him rather harshly.

"How dare you talk to me like that??!!!! Do you know who I am?! You're just a mere secretary... And you dare to misbehave with me?!! I'm Mathew Browne!!! I rule the AI market and your company dared to rule me out of the contract!!" Mathews self proclaimed his position with authority in his voice. But it didn't seem to get through the person before him. Saumya looked at him with utter pity before repeating her sentence from before.

"You may leave Sir... Even if you were to be some Bigshot Hollywood movie star, you're still standing on my boss's cabin in her absence... You can contact her number if you want but I won't let you stay in the premises for now..." She stated in a mechanical voice without showing any disrespect or anger.

"You bloody wench...!!" As Mathew gritted his teeth in anger, two huge bodyguards appeared infront of him.

"Guards... Show him the way out please..." Saumya ordered before leaving the door for the guards who in the meantime dragged Mathew by his collar before throwing him out of the office premises. The moment he was dropped on the road, his phone rang a bell. GAURI SHARMA was the name flashing on it.

"How dare you ditch me like this Gauri??!! You know how important it was for me... you said you'd give me the contract if I divorce my wife and prove my love for you... I've already send divorce papers to her... what I'm gonna do now?? I'm gonna fu*king kill you for this!!!" He shouted the moment he received the call. In reply he could only hear a chuckle.

"Really?? Congratulations to your wife then, she is finally free... And you my love... you shouldn't claim something you can't afford to have sweetheart... my life is not that cheap to be affordable for the likes of you..." She told him in her chilly cold voice.

"We had a relationship... I loved you!!! How could you betray me and give that big project to someone else at the last moment?!!" fumed in anger Mathews shouted.

"Ssshhhhh... My company, my rules... I'll do whatever profits me... and don't you dare raise your voice against me..." Her calm voice was enough to send chills to his spines.

"or else I will send your pornography to the media..." She continued.

"You know the ones that you performed with dozens of your girlfriends behind your wife's back, it would help her make you go bankrupt... Tsk tsk... You thought you wooed Gauri Sharma with those cheap tricks of yours... You could've just strengthen your company position using those horny braincells of yours... Such a fool you are! You really thought you could get me in your bed and my money in your pocket just like that, huh?? But guess what... I was never your prey darling, you were. I just let you believe what you wanted to, so I can bring you down when the time comes... Men like you are just wastage of oxygen, so I tricked you to save your wife... " She kept insulting him with her effortless words.

Mathew - how dare you!!

"Eh... Don't you already know how daring I'm? And what did you say? You loved me? I can literally see the lust overflowing from your eyes everytime I faced you... How repulsive you are... But people shouldn't lust over poison Mathew... I'm that poison... who's gonna save you from this poison now... huh??" She stated.

"Anyways... now, You don't have my project nor your wife and your reputation is now on the line as well. So let me get this straight. If you want to live in peace, stop messing around me. I don't like to repeat my words, so there won't be a second warning. Your film would be released straight to the paparazzi  and your mighty Father who is blindly funding all your business would slice you into pieces before feeding them to his kittens without a second thought. So don't you ever set foot in my office or otherwise... You know better!" The call disconnected. Mathew was already a pale skinned man and the phone call made him look like an actual corpse with a paler face. He knew better what could happen if his father gets the wind of his deeds... It was better to leave Gauri Sharma alone for the time being.

"Gauri Sharma... Enjoy this victory for now... I'll pull you down on your knees later... Then I'll have you, all of you to myself... I'll torture you night and day as I please... I promise" He promised to himself before leaving.

As the main character of this story, I didn't know about Ms Sharma or her workings at that point, but my dear readers... Let me say this to you as the narrator.... Mathew is one creepy man with creepy desires, remember him because he'll come to the story later.

(Omkara stop giving spoilers🙄)

Yeah yeah okay okay... Now let's get back TO MUMBAI.... I'll give some extra information about another character...

My Secretary Miss Bhavya Dakshinamurthy was preparing for her sleep when all of a sudden her phone rang. A smile appeared as she received the call. It was her younger sister.

Miss Dakshinamurthy was originally from Chennai. She was staying in Mumbai for her job, her parents were in Chennai whereas her baby sister was in abroad.

"Akka... How are you??" Her sister asked over the phone.

"I'm doing well... What about you Guddu??" She asked with a smile.

"I'm doing okay Akka... And I have a good news to tell you... Can you guess?" Miss Dakshinamurthy heard her sister chuckling over the phone.

"You know I'm bad at this... Just tell me what good news do you have? Did you get yourself a boyfriend? Don't tell me you're dating a foreigner... You know Appa won't allow it" she said.

"Are you crazy Akka?? Ofcourse not... I'm not here to date anyone..." Miss Dakshinamurthy laughed at the immediate refusal of her sister.

"Then what it is?" She said

"I'm coming to Mumbai!!!" Her sister replied excitedly.

"Really??!! Wow... How come Guddu??" Miss Dakshinamurthy asked. She was really happy as she was going to meet her sister after a whole year.

"My boss is in Mumbai so I was taking care of her business here... But now she wants me there... She said she's missing her cat... So I'm going to take a flight 2 days later along with the cat, now she'll handle the company herself digitally..." Came the explanation from the other side.

"Lol... Your boss made you a cat sitter?" She joked.

"Well Akka... Things are not as they look... After working with her for many months, I know for certain... She may look merciless at first glance but she is really protective of her staff... The company is facing some troublesome people right now and she's not here physically so they might try to harm me instead, that's why she made up this absurd reason to bring me there... Sometimes she reminds me of you, You know... Just how you used to beat the bullies at school... She's good at showing people their real place" Miss Dakshinamurthy hummed as a response, she felt glad that someone was watching over her sister.

"Good to hear that... Anyways, call me after reaching Mumbai Airport okay... I'll make all of your favourite dishes..." Miss Dakshinamurthy informed happily.

"Ofcourse Akka... Your Guddu will be there with her empty stomach soon" Miss Dakshinamurthy chuckled at her reply before disconnecting the call. After that Miss Dakshinamurthy followed her daily routine and went to sleep in her scheduled time.

So... Why did I told you all about this? Many of you can already guess but let's just pretend you didn't guess and kindly follow my narration to know what happened next day.

THE DAY OF LUNCH

I was storming off the stairs of Oberoi mansion in the early morning in order to review some important files in the office when suddenly my mom pulled my brakes.

"Omkara where are you going? Didn't I tell you to take off today? We're having guests..." My mom said.

"Ummm.... I'll come back by the lunch mom... It's urgent... I have to go" I said.

"But Shivaay and Rudra both are in kitchen, preparing for the lunch, they said they want her to try their cooking... How could you leave them alone? She's specifically your guest..." She told me.

"They are doing Whaaaaatt??!!" Why on earth my brothers would go to such extent to please that woman? Ohoooo I couldn't understand.

"They're cooking... Now call Bhavya and inform her that you aren't going... You have to help in the kitchen..." She ordered. Seriously!! I would never want my prepared food to go waste on that crazy woman. Why the hell does it came to this?

"Mom... Shivaay doesn't even know how to cook anything but Italian food... Didn't you say something about authentic Punjabi cuisine? Why are they even trying...? You could've just ordered some food, really " I complained. I might sound like an unreasonable child here but I really didn't want to waste my food on her.

"Shivaay wants to know more about her business... And Rudra is a fan of the games her company makes... That is the reason... Now take off that office attire and wear your apron... Go!!" I received the judgement before my mother pushed me upstairs. Everything was pissing me off... Why Shivaay wants to know about Animation industry? And why Rudra still play games? When is he going to grow up? I wondered before reaching my room. I phone called Miss Dakshinamurthy to inform her about my leave.

"Good morning sir... I was about to call you" Miss Dakshinamurthy said before I can even say hello.

"What happened? Is everything okay?" I asked. I wasn't concerned to be honest. But I prayed for something to happen for real, so I can go to office. But today luck wasn't on my side.

"Nothing sir... Everything is okay... Jahnvi Ma'am messaged me that you're taking off today... So I thought to assure you... You don't have any urgent work today so it's completely fine... You can rest easy." She said. I wish I could really rest easy🙂

"Really?? Are you really sure there's nothing important?" I asked. Trying my luck once again.

"Oh... Yeah there's something I needed to inform you..." Miss Dakshinamurthy said. I never felt such relief ever before.

"Really??!!!!!! What is it??? Tell me... I'll come right now!!!" I said excitedly.

"Eh... No no you don't have to Sir... The thing is, my sister is coming to meet me the day after tomorrow, so I'm gonna take a leave as well..." She explained. My smile vanished again.  I really have to cook for that woman.

"Oh... Okay... Your sister... Yeah yeah... Ummm... She works somewhere in abroad right? What was her name again?" I asked, trying to prolong my conversation. I need some diversion so I can calm myself and prepare to meet that woman.

"Sir Her name is Saumya... Saumya Dakshinamurthy... She works for Star Knight Studios... It's an animation studio." She replied.

"Star Knight?? Hmmm.... Where did I heard this name again???" I thought to myself for a second before continuing my conversation.

"Good good... You can take leave when she comes... See you later... If anything happens today, do inform me right away okay... Take care." I cut the call and took a deep breath.

"You can do this Omkara... Don't let her disturb your peace of mind... You can do this" I told myself and proceeded to change into normal clothes before heading to the kitchen.

......................................................................

Everyone was present at the hall when Ishana along with Miss Sharma came, Ishana hugged me casually before greeting my mom. The time she went to greet my mom my eyes sharply turned towards Miss Sharma who politely smiled at me. Woah... No one there other than me could even imagine how fast this polite smile can turn devilish. I smiled back helplessly.

She greeted everyone starting from my dadi to Rudra, then she placed a box in my mother's hand before thanking her warmly.

"Jahnvi Aunty, Ishu have been talking so much about you all that I was super excited to meet you... Thank you so much for inviting me here today... Umm... It's a small thing I prepared, I hope you all like it..." She said with a smile.

"My goodness beta... Young one's should be receiving gifts not us... There was no need for such courtesy... Just make yourself comfortable okay... Think of it as your own house..." My mom said. I was still staring at the box. It might sound unreasonable but I had a feeling she was giving my mother a bomb. What if it blasts and we all die?

"What's in the box Miss Sharma???" I couldn't control myself and asked.

"Uhh... just bombs Mr Oberoi..." She replied immediately. I looked at her in shock as she kept smiling, did she just said bomb??!!!!

I just started wondering if she was capable of reading my mind when suddenly the rest of my family along with Ishana started laughing.

"Omkara... She's joking... These are desserts.... She prepared Red velvet cocoa bombs..." Ishana explained to me.

"You made it??" Rudra asked enthusiastically. Miss Sharma nodded her head before introducing herself to him.

"Hi... Gauri... And you are..." She extended her hand.

"Hi I'm Rudra Singh Oberoi... the youngest one here... And let me tell you... I'm the biggest fan of your games... I never imagined such a pretty girl like you would be behind such an action packed game" he stated. I was seeing my brother in a new light... He was fanboying over Miss Sharma.

"Thank you very much... Don't forget to check out the new arc our company is introducing next... I'd love to know your reviews" she said.

"I'd love to know your reviews too Gauri... On the food I mean... Me and my brothers prepared it specially for you" Rudra chimed.

"Ohh...." Miss Sharma raised her brows before looking at me with a smirk on her face.

"Rudra... Enough talking... Let's just go and eat... Miss Sharma must be hungry..." I said cutting out their annoying conversation.

During the lunch

Miss Sharma was trying all the food items one by one giving out compliments to my brothers in wholesale.

"So you're running an animation studio... It's quite an interesting occupation... I must say" Shivaay said. There goes my brother's business mind.

"We covered the whole gaming world in America and we are planning to expand it to other nations as well." She proudly said.

"Wow... Do you plan on covering India as well?" He asked.

"Well India is widely known for it's knowledge in IT but Animation is something many people don't see as a career choice here... So before we can actually start operating in India... I want people to know how awesome this profession is... My team is working on it... Hopefully in the next 5 years, we might be able to produce some great games from here as well" she answered. I could see the stars in Shivaay's eyes. That man was planning to join hands with her.

"You are really impressive Gauri... Controlling a company alone like this... Is this your family business?" He asked. Ofcourse it would be, that's what I thought, but the moment I saw how drastically Miss Sharma's face changed, I realised something was off with the topic of her family.

"Let's stop talking business can we now?? Gosh Shivaay... Why don't you just share some recipies with me instead so I can impress your brother a little bit more" Ishana smoothly changed the topic. The moment she interfered, I was sure Miss Sharma wasn't comfortable with the conversation about her family.

After finishing the lunch, we all sat in the hall, talking on various things, the servents then took out the special dessert Miss Sharma made and served all. I was staring at it suspiciously as Ishana hit me with her elbow implying to stop staring at it.

"I assure you it's not poisonous..." Miss Sharma taunted me with a smile as if she realised what I was thinking. All the others laughed at her remark.

"Hehe... Why would I think that... Ofcourse not..." I denied her accusations. Don't blame me for doubting her, that woman would have run her car over me yesterday but I was saved by an inch. Ofcourse I was suspicious of her.

I took a bite of it while praying my god... Surprisingly the cocoa bomb was remarkable... It didn't felt like homemade at all. I enjoyed every bite of it with, obviously a guilt, because I thought it was poisonous.

"Looks like you like it Omkara... Strange... I have never seen you eating sweets so delightfully... You don't like sweets" Ishana said. True, I don't like sweets but even if I hate to say it, I still have to admit that Miss Sharma's cocoa bombs were out of the world.

"It's not that sweet so it's okay" I explained myself as to why I liked the sweet.

After the eating phase was over, Ishana started talking with my mom and chhoti maa about the arrangements of our wedding, she asked me to show Oberoi mansion to Miss Sharma.

*Screamss - why me!!*

I took her to a short tour of our Oberoi mansion starting from our Puja ghar and ending with showing her the magnificent garden.

"Such a magnificent house you have Mr Oberoi..." She said.

"Thank..."

"Oh well... Ofcourse... It's not technically yours but your grandfather's, am I right...??" She didn't even let me complete the "Thank you" I was supposed to say her for complimenting our house.

"Yes ofcourse... Miss Sharma my father, chhote papa, Shivaay, me and Rudra, we are proud of what our predecessor left for us, we want to protect it so we joined the legecy of our family. Even our Gardener Ramesh kaka also stays in his small house which was made by his father who was also our Gardener before him. That's how the legacy of every family maintains Miss Sharma, that's how our culture is, even if it's a mansion like this or a small house like Ramesh kaka's, everyone wants to protect the memories and legecies of their elders that stays with them..." I replied to her in equal manner. I was not going to step back on this no matter what. How dare she taunt me about my grandfather's house?!! We Oberois take pride in it.

She simply smiled at me before reverting back to the flowers. It was awkward for me because we really didn't have anything to talk about.

"Looks like you're really proud of being an Oberoi... Then, there's a place where a legacy I have for myself as well...  would you like to join us for the trip Mr Oberoi? Ishana is going with me as well, It would take few hours to go there." She offered.

Fishy... It was damn fishy. Why does she want me to join her...? why me? I don't even know her, what if she kills me and name it an accident? What if she frames me for a crime and throw me into jail?? I was well aware how crime webserieses works, there's no way I would agree to it.

"I won't murder you... Or frame you for any crime Mr Oberoi... What I said about the accident was a joke... You just have a terrible common sense to understand it." She said. I don't know if it's a joke or not but she can read minds and that's definitely not a joke.

"Excuse me??" I uttered. I didn't miss the part that she called me terrible.

"Let me get this straight... I don't like you or trust you... I don't think you deserve to be with Ishana... But I promised her that I would know you better before passing any judgement on you... And I don't make any promise to break it. And yeah... you going with us have nothing to do with that promise as well" she said.

She was talking more than the previous chapters, Khushi didn't give me such lines ever... I'm upset.🥺

(Stop being so dramatic Omkara 🤦‍♀️)

"If the trip have nothing to do with your promise with Ishana, why do you want me to join?" I asked.

"Ishana said you used to do paintings before joining the business... If I'm not wrong, you kept your hobbies aside for the business of your family... The legecy you're so proud of, made you sacrifice the talent that could've been your own legecy... So I just want to show you how I treated my family's legecy, I want to show you what you lost when you start following your predecessors... I want to prove you wrong and I dare you to join me on this trip and prove you don't regret your decisions" she said confidently.

It would be a lie if I said I don't miss my art, but following my father's footsteps was a decision I made myself and I don't regret it... I would never regret it.

"Okay fine... I'll go with you" I said. If I refused to go, she would still think I was scared of her proving me wrong, I didn't want that, so I agreed.

"Okay then... I'll wait for you..." She said before going back to the hall where everyone else were. But I kept standing by the garden.

"What just happened??" I asked myself. I don't really understand why I behave so oddly with her, why do I loose my composer when she opens her mouth... I didn't like her either but I couldn't tell anyone about it... How could she do the opposite and still sound reasonable? I kept thinking and the chapter came to an end

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