*Early morning at the Oberoi mansion*

[Gauri heads to Om's room to call him for breakfast. She knocks and after his approval, enters the room. She enters and finds Om struggling to put on a tie. She takes the tie out of his hand and holds it.]

Om:(Angrily) Tum yahaan? Phir se? Kya kar rahi ho tum?

Gauri:(Dragging the stool in front of Om and standing on it) Subah ko aisa Kya hota hai ki aap aur khadoos ban jaate ho?

Om:(angrily) Tum jaao yaar, main apna kaam khud kar sakta hoon! Go!

Gauri:(placing the tie around his neck and tying it) Haan Haan, dikh raha hai hume! Seedhe khade hoiye, warna kharaab kar doge

[The stool helped Gauri somewhat balance her height with Om. Om, despite being angry, couldn't stop himself from gazing at her, this time even more closely. He had dated several foreign women when he was in London, but for some reason this Indian girl had a completely different effect on him. He liked the way the bindi adorned her forehead, how she enhanced her big eyes with kohl, and how her fragrance had made him feel so warm and fuzzy.]

Gauri: (Getting off the stool) Yeh lo, ho gaya. Aur haan, neeche nashta ke liye bula rahe hai.

[Gauri left and headed downstairs, while Om followed her]

Anika: Ye lo, aa gaye!

Shivaay: Om, Jaldi chalo! Aaj ki deal agar crack kar di toh kal raat ki party jaari hai!

Om: Ji bhaiyya, chaliye

[Om and Shivaay left for work, and an hour later, Gauri left for the temple.]

*At the temple*

Gauri:(To Chotu) Chotu! Kaisa hai tu? Mandir mein Sab theek hai na?

Chotu: Main first class hoon didi. Aap batao! Hume laga ki aap ab Oberoi ki bahu ban gayi ho toh yahaan nahi aaoge

Gauri: Pagal hai ka? Iss mandir ne ek besahara Gauri Kumari Sharma ko apna banaya hai. Hum iss jagah ko kabhi nahi bhoolenge

Chotu: Aap wahaan khush ho na didi?

Gauri: (Smiling) Chotu, uss parivaar ne mujhe bahut mohabbat aur izzat di hai. Unse mujhe yakeen ho gaya hai ki iss duniya mein acchai hai

Chotu: Aur woh gaadi waale?

Gauri: Unke baare mein nahi pata. Unhone mujhse shaadi ki hai, lekin main unhe apna pati nahi maanti. Abhi tak toh nahi

Chotu: aur woh?

Gauri: Pata nahi. Accha, yeh Sab chod, mujhe bata ki mandir mein ho kya raha hai? Hume jaldi kaam shuru karna chahiye

Chotu: Woh hum bagal waale anaathashram jaa rahe Hai. Wahaan bacchon ko khaana dena hai.

Gauri: Accha toh Chal!

*At the Oberoi office*

[A busy Om is carefully reading important documents when his phone rings. Upon seeing the unsaved number, he ignores the call. However, when the same number calls again, he picks up, angry].

Om:(on the phone, angry) I'm busy right now!

Phone: itne busy ki biwi ka ataa-pataa nahi jaanna chahte?

Om:(Shocked) Kaun bol raha hai? Batao!

Phone: Chalo, ek khel khelte hai. Main gaana gaaunga, aur tum usse andaaza lagaana ki tumhari biwi Kahaan par hai

Om: Dekho tum--

Phone: Om jai jagdish hare, swami jai jagdish hare. Bhakt jano ke sankat---

Om:(Angry) Kya chahte ho tum?! Himmat Hai toh saamne aao! Phone ke peeche kyun chuppe ho?

Phone: Dasajano ke sankat, shan mein door---

Om: (To himself) Gauri mandir mein Hai, lekin usne mujhe bataaya kyun nahi?

[Om disconnected the phone and immediately called up Anika, to find out if Gauri was at home]

Om: Bhabhi, Gauri ghar par hai Kya?

Anika: Nahi Om, Gauri toh subah-subah mandir chali gayi. Kyun, Sab theek toh hai?

Om: Haan bhabhi, bas pooch raha tha.

[Om shoved his phone in his pocket and ran out of his office, and bumped into Shivaay].

Shivaay: Om, Kya hua? Why do you look so worried?

Om: Kuch nahi Bhaiyya, aap please yeh meeting sambhaal loge? Mujhe bahut zaroori kaam ke liye jaana hai

Shivaay: Iss meeting se aur Kya important ho sakta hai? You look worried Om, batao, Kya hua

Om: I promise waapis aane ke baad aapko Sab bataunga. Mujhe abhi jaana hoga

Shivaay: Okay, jao. Take care, okay?

Om: Yes Bhaiyya

[Om entered his car and drove to the temple at the fastest speed. As his car moved closer to the temple, his heart started beating faster. Those goons couldn't have possibly taken Gauri, could they? He was certain they were Uday Thakur's men. Despite trying his best to be optimistic, he couldn't stop his mind from imaging horrible things. He felt as if Gauri being taken away would mean that someone took his soul away].

*At the temple*

Om: (Frustrated) Gauri! Gauri!

[Om run upstairs towards the temple and searched everywhere, but he couldn't find her. He ran out of the temple and searched around it, but his attempts were in vail. A large lump formed on his throat. This was possibly the first time Om felt so afraid. He didn't know why he was finding himself constantly protecting and caring about her. Deep down, his head and his heart knew that he liked Gauri, but not so much that his life depended on her. He was worried about a woman who called him names, insulted him, told him that she didn't believe in their marriage. Despite that, why was he so scared of losing her? Just then, he heard a woman's voice and the laughter of children along with it. The voice seemed eerily familiar. He turned and saw the voice playing with a group of children. A wave of relief flood over him. It was Gauri. Gauri was safe.

Just then, his phone rang. This time, from the same number.]

Phone: Surprise kaisa tha?

Om: (Angrily) Kameene!

Phone: Yeh toh sirf trailer tha, boss. Uday Thakur se panga loge, toh nateeja kabhi accha nahi hota

[The phone disconnected, and Om walked towards the orphanage, where Gauri was].

Om: (Worried) Gauri, tum theek toh ho?

Gauri: (Face going blank) Aap? Yahaan?

Om: (Holding Gauri's Hand) Chalo

Gauri:(Letting go of Om's hand) Yeh ka kar rahe ho? Aapko sharam nahi aati?

Child: (Smiling) Didi! Didi! Yeh kaun Hai? Aapka rajkumar?

Other child: Wahi rajkumar jo kahaaniyon mein hota Hai?

Gauri: (Sternly, while looking at Om) Rajkumar sirf qisson mein milte Hai bacchon. Yahaan sirf raakshas milte hai, jinka chehra rajkumaar jaisa dikhta hai. Chotu, tu inhe sambhaal, mein kal aaongi. Bye, Bacchon!

[Om and Gauri walk towards the car, and Om drives off].

Om: Kal se tum mandir nahi jaaogi

Gauri: Ji?

Om: Kal se tum mandir nahi jaaogi

Gauri: Aur yeh faisla lene ka haq kisne diya?

Om: Kissi ne bhi nahi, main apne faisle khud banaata hoon

Gauri: Aur main bhi. Dadi ne mujhe mandir mein kaam karni ki ijaazat di Hai, toh main mandir zaroor jaaongi

Om: Tum mandir nahi jaogi, toh nahi jaogi.

Gauri: Hum mandir jaayenge, aur koi hume nahi rokega. Samjhe aap?

Om: (Angrily) Tum itni ziddi kyun ho yaar?! Main tumhaari bhalai ke liye keh raha hoon, please behas mat karo!

Gauri: Koi zaroorat nahi hai meri parwah karne ki! Hum apne aap ka khyal rakh sakte Hai!

Om: (Slamming the brakes and shouting) Ek ghante pehle mujhe Uday Thakur ke aadmiyon ne phone kiya tha! Woh tum par nazar rakh rahe the! Shukr hai ki unhone kuch kiya nahi, lekin agar kiya hota, toh aaj tum, Chotu aur tumhaare bacche zinda nahi hote! Samjhi!

Gauri: (Speechless)

Om: Mujhe pata hai ki tumne puri zindagi kasht saha Hai, lekin har koi insaan bura nahi hota!

Gauri: Woh--

Om: Kuch jaane bina zubaan chalana acchi baat nahi hoti, samjhi?!

[The rest of the car ride was quiet, and Gauri was miffed but surprised. This was the first time someone told Gauri to not speak mindlessly. Her anger towards Om increased ten-fold, but deep down she was beginning to feel that she too, met her takkarwaala].

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New update!!!

IM SO SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING YESTERDAY, I WAS OUT THE WHOLE DAY AND CAME HOME PAST MIDNIGHT AND I WAS SO TIRED

I really hope this chapter was worth the wait!! Please vote if you liked it ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for reading my loves!!