My Nepenthe

Chapter 25

After a teary goodbye to her newfound ally, Gauri nervously followed Omkara for her first air travel. As he helped her get in, he could feel her shiver of fear.

"It is going to be okay," he tried to reassure and she nodded clinging onto his arm as she sat beside him.

Securing the seat belts, he asked her to take deep breaths closing her eyes before he gave the signal to the pilot. As the blades started to turn, she closed her eyes and gasped loudly at the sound which decreased considerably after he made her wear the acoustic protector.

She didn't hear him speak there after but she did feel the comfort he tried to give her by placing one hand around her shoulder while he pressed her hand with his other.

The journey back home was reduced from a twelve hour drive via car to a two hour flight via their chopper.

While they landed at Mumbai and took the car to go to the mansion, Gauri knew she was being more silent than normal but she couldn't bring herself to talk. Her mind constantly thought of ways to push him to his room sooner, so that they could avoid unwanted encounters until Shivaay returned the next day.

Omkara's mind on the other hand, stuck on her conversation with Dandi. He couldn't tell if she was lying or if she really planned to leave the earliest. In fact, after what he had done to her, he wouldn't be surprised if she told him she wished to leave that very weekend when her brother forced her to do so.

But didn't she say that she has forgiven him?

"Sir, we reached," said the driver and the couple came out of their thoughts to look out of the window.

It was the same mansion they left four days ago but they weren't the same people who left it then.

They were two individuals unsure in their relationship on the day they last saw the place. Now, they were wife and husband who wished to give a new start to their life.

"Omkara ji, should we go in with the idol?" she asked him.

"O!" Rudra's voice reached them before the man himself.

Omkara smiled as he was engulfed into a bear hug by the younger Oberoi.

"I missed you," Rudra said parting from the hug while his brother rolled his eyes at the cliché.

"We were away for just four days Rudy."

"So?" he asked and turned to his sister in law.

"Gauri... no bhaabhi," he stressed earning a smack from his brother.

"I have the right to call you that. Hain na?" he wiggled his eyebrows and she smiled at him.

Soon, she too got a welcoming hug and she returned the sweet gesture.

"Is the coast clear," she whispered into his ears.

"For now, yes. But we have to hurry up," he replied back in a low tone.

As she parted from the hug, she discreetly nodded her head and turned to her husband who was instructing their house help to take the luggage inside.

"Come inside, Daadi is waiting for you," said Rudra.

"Good, I need to have a word with her," he said

"Rudy bhaiyya, what about the idol?"

"Daadi said we will have a pooja tomorrow. I will have someone put it covered, near the mandir for today," her brother in law informed.

"Okay, let us go then," she said and the trio walked in.

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