Becoming Sweethearts [✓]

Part Twenty Three

“What the fuck?” Gauri almost yelled, and Omkara had to remind her that it was almost midnight and that her scream could wake up not just her sleeping parents, but also her neighbors. “Sorry,” she mumbled sheepishly, after which the frown returned on her face as she asked him yet again, “You mean to tell me that your Daadi might have plans to bring Shit-lana into the Oberoi Mansion thinking that the baby is… ummm… that the child belongs to…”

Omkara clicked his tongue in impatience at her hesitation and said, “Sharma, it’s okay, you can say it!” He didn’t understand why she was hesitating so much in saying it right away, when Mr. Oberoi himself had no shame whatsoever in announcing it in front of the whole family. Omkara continued after a brief pause, “Swetlana Kapoor is not the only one at fault though. I mean, why blame only her when it was Tej Singh Oberoi who strayed? Even if we think that Shit – I mean, Swetlana seduced him,” Gauri suppressed her smile at that, and nodded as Omkara continued, “, that does not give him the excuse to stray from his marriage. Mr. Oberoi should have had some self-control! And now, at the age of sixty, when he is a senior citizen, he believes he is capable of having a baby? Ridiculous!” Omkara spat as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Gauri shrugged her shoulders saying, “Well, technically, men do produce sperm throughout their lives and can father healthy children even in their old - ” Gauri abruptly stopped talking when Omkara threw a sharp glare at her as if warning her to stop talking. “Tu mere side pe hai ya Mr. Oberoi ke? I don’t want to know the technicalities!” She nodded, drawing a long breath as she put her hands up in surrender.

Gauri nodded, not wanting to upset him further as she continued, “But how can Daadi even dream of such a thing? Has she forgotten everything that Mr. Oberoi has done to Janhvi Aunty, to you, to Rudy, to the whole Oberoi family?” Pausing for a while, she said with a forlorn expression, “How is Janhvi Aunty going to feel if Daadi brings Shitlana into the house? To see the woman who wrecked her home right under her nose! Good God, she’s going to be in such pain!”

The thought was enough to make them both feel sad and angry at the same time. Looking at him, Gauri said in a hopeful tone, “But we all know that the baby is not his, after what Janhvi Aunty told us all. Shitlana is either faking her pregnancy, or she is carrying someone else’s child,” to which Omkara continued, “And I think it is the latter case because whatever Tej Singh Oberoi can be, he is no fool. There is no way he would blindly believe Swetlana unless she gave him some solid proof of being pregnant. The fact that she could’ve slept with someone else behind his back must’ve never struck his mind because the man never knew that his rifle didn’t have bullets while he was shooting!”

“Oberoi! Yuck!” Gauri slapped his arm at that with a frown, “You’re speaking about your father!” to which he added, “And also the mistress he’s been fucking. Just because she’s not pregnant with his baby, doesn’t absolve him from anything. What’s your point here?” he asked and gave her a pointed look. She sighed in discomfort, shaking her head. “Forget that, Oberoi. The point is if Shitlana proves that the baby belongs to Mr. Oberoi, and by ‘prove’, I mean to trick everyone into believing that she’s carrying Mr. Oberoi’s child, and somehow, if Daadi decides to bring them back to the mansion, thinking about naam, khoon, khaandaan, then…”

“-Then, I’ll ask Daadi to choose between Mom-Ru-Me, and Mr. Oberoi and his mistress!” Omkara replied, looking away, unsure. While Gauri was sure that the older woman would definitely choose the former, Omkara had his doubts. Not that the older woman was deliberately callous in her attitude towards the rest of the family, but it was just the way she was. She would take any firm decisions, not caring how they impacted the personal lives of everyone else, as long as the hollow reputation of the family stayed intact. Except for one exception, he mused humourlessly.