The Redux of RiKara

Midnight Charm By the Pool

It was two nights later when Om was wandering the halls of the Oberoi Mansion deep in thought and out of sleep. He had been circling the last sip of his cold coffee reworking the presentation in his mind and making sure he hadn't missed out any details when his mind began to wander. And wander it did to the certain fair-skinned hazel-eyed beauty who hadn't turned up at the station yesterday. He had waited for her so that they could continue what had been abruptly brought to a stop during their impromptu meeting on the train, but she was nowhere to be seen. A pinch of anger clouded his mind at the return of her thought when he pushed it away and concentrated on the presentation tomorrow. He and Shivaay couldn't afford a mistake on this deal. He had been working hard to handle the business after the death of Shivaay's parents and the presentation for the Australian delegates was important to the growth of their company. Amidst the piles of files and paperwork that he had to approve, his mind again danced its way back to the thoughts of Gundi Gauri and the ferocious eyes that only enhanced her beauty. Why hadn't she come? His heart thought restlessly.

Just then, the peace of the midnight was broken with a faint yelp of pain and a flicker of movement at the corner of his eye near the entrance to the kitchen. Suddenly alert, he followed his gaze to the outline of a person who was now opening their fridge...

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Gauri woke up in the middle of the night in the outhouse with a burning thirst and no water to quench it. Next to her, Annika was sound asleep after another tiring day at the Oberoi Mansion in preparation for Priyanka's wedding. When her di had finally made her way to the outhouse earlier that night, Gauri had taken one look at her tired face and offered to cook dinner and clean up after Sahil and chachi while Annika rested her legs on the only bed they had.

Moving through the limited space of the outhouse was still new to her as she had been so used to her chawl and the familiarity of her own kitchen. With a sigh, she slowly made her way to the kitchen to cook some dal rice with lahsun chutney and unknowingly used the last of their drinking water for the day. So, now when she woke up to find a glass to drink from, she realized with a sigh that there was nothing to drink. Hmmm...

She had two options, either go back to sleep and wait for the servants of the Oberoi mansion to deliver their daily supply of water, or sneak into the mansion to grab a quick glass. She would be lying if she said she hadn't seriously considered the second option, but it seemed way too risky to carry out. She was really thirsty though, and it would be hours before the servant arrived with water to use. So, slowly easing out of bed and tucking her snoring Annika di underneath the covers, she made her way to the back entrance where the door was unguarded and coincidentally unlocked for her to enter the back hall of the mansion.

In the darkness, Gauri could hardly make out the stairs and large hallways as she stubbed her toe on the edge of a pillar. She yelped in pain before quickly covering her mouth and hoping that nobody heard her. When there was no sign of anybody coming after her, she eased back into the hallway leading to what looked like the kitchen. Her vision slowly adjusted to the dark as she saw the outline of a stove and the fridge to the far end of the room. Just what she wanted! She smiled at the water jug kept in the door of the fridge and was just about to take it when she felt hands on her mouth and a strong man grasping her tightly like he had caught her red-handed.

Gasping into his grip, she tried to turn, but whoever it was that had held her was having none of it. Instead, he dragged her to the indoors of the mansion where the pool was lit with lights casting a faint glow to the water. Once near the pool, he turned her in his arms and she was caught face-to-face with Omkara Singh Oberoi in a moment of fury that spit fire from both of their eyes.