A few more days flew by. Gauri was getting restless with every passing day. She was still unable to get her hands on the documents that could prove her father was murdered by Tej. There was a looming fear of getting caught during her mission of destroying Tej, much like the most recent one.
Gauri had stealthily walked into Tej's study given no one was at home - Omkara and Tej had gone to the office, Janhvi had gone with Kalyani and Dolly Bua to the temple for prayers, or so she'd thought. Gauri had avoided tagging along with the ladies saying she wasn't in a mood to travel all the way to the temple and the women had readily given in, asking her to get ample rest. Gauri had looked around inside Tej's study and hadn't found the keys to the locker. She had then decided to snoop around in Tej and Janhvi's room, and much to her luck, she had found the locker keys in one of Tej's drawers in his cupboard.
Although when she had merely walked up to the door of the study room, she'd been stopped by Daadi who quizzed her what she was doing there. Apparently Daadi had a sudden pain shooting up her knee which is why she had decided to stayed back. Gauri had quickly escaped saying that she thought she heard an intruder and was looking around of the intruder had gone inside the Study Room. Daadi had simply laughed and dismissed her worry saying that the Oberoi Mansion had a tight security. Gauri had then secretly procured a copy of the locker key through Dandi by evening after securing the original one back in its place. And ever since, it had been a long wait for another opportunity to find the house empty, so she can finally have a look inside that locker.
On the other hand, Gauri's mother Anuradha was worried for her. "Gauri, I think you should forget about Tej Singh Oberoi for a while and just focus on the health and wellbeing of your unborn baby. The mother's thoughts always affects the child, bitiya, and I don't want your Panchi to be consumed with any such emotion of revenge the way you've been ever since your father passed away". But every single time, Gauri would remind her Amma that avenging her father's cold-blooded murder was her life's main goal.
"And what about your marriage, Gauri?" Anuradha would ask her. Gauri did not want to think about it. She had been having conflicting thoughts about Omkara for quite a few days now. On one hand, she knew she was punishing him and her Panchi for the crimes of the real culprit - Tej. On another hand, she knew there was no way the rest of the Oberoi family would happily accept her after knowing she was plotting against the man of the house. They would not let go of Panchi too, since she has the Oberoi blood running in her veins. And there was no way Gauri could think of being separated from her baby.
Then there was her traitorous heart that skipped beats each time Omkara did something nice for her. It was as if the man had transformed by taking 180 degrees turn from the Nandi Bail that he used to be. He had genuinely started taking care of her and Panchi, each time referring to the little one as 'our Panchi'. However, what shocked her was the fact that, just that about four days back, he'd called the contract - the deal that he had struck between them wherein he'd stated that she would leave after she had given birth to their child - as invalid.
"Gauri, I'm sorry I was such an insensitive jerk when I drew the terms of this contract. You're no longer bound to these papers" Omkara had told her in a contrite tone and, much to her shock, had torn those contract papers into shreds. Gauri had been moved to tears and Omkara had quickly engulfed her in his arms, providing her the immediate solace she'd needed. But in retrospect, Gauri had teared up with guilt, knowing that she never had any intention to stay for long in the first place. So, when Omkara had uttered the next words, "Now you and I will always be together for our Panchi; she will not go through all that horrible pain that I have lived through", she had burst into bitter tears, knowing very well that once her truth was out, Omkara himself would be the first one to throw her out. Guilt had consumed her for all the pain that she was going to give him by walking away forever with their child. Omkara however had assumed that it was just her pregnancy hormones causing her to be overwhelmed.
At present, Gauri stood by the window of her room, thinking about her life. Dandi had informed her that everything was set and waiting for her last move. She was also informed by her secret frenemy, the person she called 'X', none other than Swetlana, that she had her contacts into the media who would help them expose Tej. Gauri had known that her full name was Swetlana Shah - late. Raghav Shah's only daughter, who was killed in the fire that broke out in Kalyani Mills; a fire that Tej Singh Oberoi was responsible for starting, for mere greed of money that would pour in through the fire insurance claims.
Swetlana however was still under the impression that she was the one who had blackmailed Gauri over the MMS clipping of herself and Tej, and had manipulated her into bringing her proofs against Tej in return for that MMS in order to save the Oberoi Family from humiliation. "It's a two-way street, Chul-bul, urf, Gau-ri. Ek haath se lo, ek haath se do," she'd initially told her. Swetlana had been overconfident that Gauri would readily agree to help her. After all, when she was disguised as chulbul, she had been ready to even die for the sake of Omkara. This would just be another opportunity for Gauri to carry out another selfless deed of saving the Oberoi family.
Swetlana had assumed Gauri was helping her out of emotions and sentiments, just the way 'naïve' Gauri had told her in a long speech. "Hum samajh sakte hain ke bina Bauji ki jindagi gujaarna kitna musqil hai. Hum jaante hain, Sultana ji, ke aapne jo kuch bhi kiya, apne Bauji ke liye kiya. Hamare pati Omkara ji ki tarah hum bhi sachchai ki taaqat mein viswaas rakhte hain. Isiliye, sirf aapke Bauji ke khaatir, hum aapki madad karenge, aur unki aatma ko Insaaf dilaane ki kosis mein aapka saath denge. Badle mein, aap hamare parivaar ko phir kabhi bhi paresaan nahi karenge, khaas karke Maaji ko. Unhone bhi bohot kuch saha hai Papa ji ki wajah se, tumhare wajah se. Toh jis din aapka maqsath poora hoga, jis din aapke Bauji ko Insaaf milega, uss din aap iss Parivar se, iss ghar se hamesa ke liye door chali jaogi."
Translation: "I understand how hard it is to live without a Dad. I know, Sultana, you did whatever you had to, for the sake of your father. Just like my husband Omkara ji, I too believe in the power of truth. That is why, just for the sake of your Dad, I will help you and be by your side so that his soul can get justice. In return, you will never ever trouble our family, especially Maaji, again. She's suffered a lot because of Papa ji and you. The day you achieve your goal, the day your Father gets justice, that same day you will go far away from his family and his house."
Swetlana had believed her, assuming that Gauri was still the naïve, uneducated village girl, who fell easily for tears, emotions and drama. She had agreed to hand over that MMS clipping to Gauri, with which she was blackmailing Tej, in return for solid proof that showed Tej had started the Kalyani mills fire which killed her father Raghav Shah.
Swetlana however was unaware till date that Gauri had her own selfish motives in helping her. For Gauri, it was a win-win situation wherein her goal would be reached quicker if she had a helper by her side. And in reality there was no scope for any sort of manipulation or blackmail from Swetlana's side because Gauri kept her cards close to her chest, refusing anyone to even get a hint that she was the bluff-master behind this entire game.
Swetlana had revealed to her that Tej and Janhvi would be leaving to Pune this morning for a dear friend's wedding, and Gauri knew this would be the best chance to complete her final move. As soon as she saw Tej and Janhvi leaving, Gauri made sure that Daadi and Bua Maa were watching Mahabharat in the TV room and wouldn't move away anytime soon. There was a momentary pang of guilt in her heart when she saw the two older women's peaceful smiles, realizing that she was going to rob their smiles soon.
Gauri was still standing by the door when she heard the scene playing on the TV - that of Lord Krishna telling Arjuna to arise with a brave heart and push forward to destroy the enemy. "Considering your duty as a warrior, you should not waver. Indeed, for a warrior, there is no better engagement than fighting for upholding of righteousness. If, however, you refuse to fight this righteous war, abandoning your social duty and reputation, you will certainly incur sin. People will speak of you as a coward and a deserter. For a respectable person, infamy is worse than death. Your enemies will defame and humiliate you with unkind words, disparaging your might. Alas, what could be more painful than that? If you fight, you will either be slain on the battlefield and go to the celestial abodes, or you will gain victory and enjoy the kingdom on earth. Therefore, arise with determination and be prepared to fight."
It was as if the words were spoken to her, giving her the courage to carry on with her final battle against the adharma caused at the hands of Tej Singh Oberoi. With renewed determination, Gauri moved away from the TV room, silently seeking forgiveness for the hurt and pain she was going to cause them. Since Omkara was at work already, she didn't have to worry about him keeping an eye on her. With her hand over her slightly swollen belly, Gauri took a deep breath before entering the study room with her personal laptop and the copy of Tej's locker key. Once inside, she locked the door and quickly began to proceed with her work.
***
Omkara sat alone in his cabin, lost in thoughts. It was a week since Khanna had presented the entire information that he'd asked him to retrieve. The moment he had gone through that file, Omkara had experienced every sort of emotion. He was filled with fury to know the way Kali Thakur and his brothers had treated the women in Bareilly, and had been consumed with mad rage on reading the details of how they'd made Gauri suffer. Blackmailing her by threatening to kill her Amma; manipulating Gauri's uncle and aunt to sell her off to the Thakur brothers; putting chains on her ankles and dragging her away like an animal; falsely accusing her of being responsible for the suicide of Janhvi Thakurain, of being a homewrecker and a gold digger, of being immoral in character; getting her stoned by the village folks, forcing her into a polygamous marriage with all the three Thakurs, attempting to molest her, and then sending goons after her to kill her.
Omkara then felt ashamed and pained at the way he had treated Gauri. She did everything for him and his family, including putting her life at stake and almost getting killed. And in return, he left her to die at the hands of the same monsters. Not once, but twice. Omkara had never been angrier towards himself, than he had felt when he recalled all of his deeds. In a way, he was no different from Mr. Oberoi. In fact, he felt he was worse than the man he hated. He was a worse monster than his own father.
That same evening, Omkara had torn the contract papers and had freed Gauri from all shackles. When she had sobbed, he had felt each of her innocent cries stab his heart and the least he could do was to offer her the solace she needed. When she had broken down bitterly in his arms, he had tears streaming down his cheeks too - tears of anguish, pain, sorrow; most of all, tears of regret and silent apology. He couldn't even beg pardon from her and let her know he had learned the truth after getting Khanna to dig the truth about it. It would be another insult to her, and he was done hurting her. As she sobbed in his arms, he had promised himself that he would soon free her from the shackles of this relationship too. He knew he had no right to keep her bound in this forced marriage. He would set her free and then seek pardon from her, making penance for his deed. Of course, he would always love his baby - hopefully a little girl, but he would never want her to be another Omkara. He would love his child from afar, as he would have a soft corner for the mother of his child, for he did not believe he was worth expecting anything beyond that.
However, two days later, he had read another file - the entire truth of Gauri Kumari Sharma. The file mentioned she had never lived in an orphanage, but with her own father - a certain Arvind Sharma, who was an officer at an insurance office in Mumbai. The woman she called Amma, Anuradha Sharma, had never been married, and in reality, was Gauri's father's sister, who looked after Gauri like her own child after his demise. Her details also informed him that she wasn't a fifth grader, but an undergraduate from a government university in Bareilly.
However, that wasn't what drew his attention. The shocking part was that Gauri's father was killed in a police encounter while he had attempted to escape from the police custody after being arrested for bring involved in case of bribe. Apparently, the man had tried to attack one of the police personnel with their own pistol and the police were forced to shoot him in defence.
Omkara had realized there was more to it when he'd found out through private investigators that Arvind Sharma was the one who had inspected the Kalyani Mills incident and had written a report on it which was to be produced before the court. Around the same time, his office in Mumbai was burnt down due to a short-circuit. Surprisingly, only his office space had burnt down along with everything inside the space. There were reports of his government quarters being vandalized as well. Arvind Sharma's last report on Kalyani Mills accident was never submitted to court. Omkara knew from the Oberoi Industries' history - it was the money from the fire insurance claims that helped to repay all debts and bring it back into a leading position in the market. The report that was submitted by another officer to the court had clearly stated that it was an accidental case that burned down the mill. To Omkara, all of this somehow seemed interconnected, like a spider's web.
And so, Omkara had, since then, been disturbed. He'd wanted to address the reality of Kalyani Mills with Mr. Oberoi, without bringing Mr. Arvind Sharma's name in the middle. He wondered if Gauri knew that her father had something to do with the Kalyani Mills incident, with the Oberoi Industries. Because, if she did, then it changed his entire perspective on her. Going against his will and conscience, he had pulled out a copy of her phone records and was surprised to see a few outgoing and incoming calls from Swetlana in it. Apart from them, she had spoken several times to her Amma, and someone named Dandeshwar whom she addressed Dandi Bhaiyya, and the doctor Saatvik Rathore.
Omkara however had learned from his previous mistake of jumping to conclusions. In the last week, every time he saw Gauri, he was tempted to ask her the truth; nothing, but the whole truth, no matter how ugly it was. But he didn't want to stress her unnecessarily too. She was pregnant with their baby and any emotional turmoil or stress did no good to the expecting mother or the unborn child. Omkara had decided to wait and keep a keen eye, merely observing as to what is happening around. He could've asked one of his servants to keep an eye on Gauri inside the house, but he was already ashamed of mistreating her for so many months, that he didn't have the heart or the courage to insult her further, even if there might be something suspicious. Hence, he had no option but to wait and ask only his most trusted person- Khanna to find out more on whatever he could find on Tej Singh Oberoi, Arvind Sharma, Kalyani Mills, Swetlana and Gauri. Until then, every passing minute would be equivalent of carrying burning coals on his head.
***
Inside the study room, Gauri's eyes welled up in tears when she saw the original report on Kalyani Fire Incident signed by Insurance officer - Mr. Arvind Sharma. A quick glance at the report told her that her father had clearly mentioned there was a foul play in the incident and requested for another thorough inspection. Along with that were a couple of photographs of Kalyani Mills that had burnt to the ground. Gauri also read the names of the five people who were killed in the fire; Swetlana's father, Raghav Shah was one among them.
Gauri saw the pictures of their burnt bodies and closed her eyes. Her palm flew to her belly, caressing Panchi, as if helplessly apologizing to her little one for making her witness all of this gruesome, horrific details. All of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, and could barely be identified. The fire report mentioned that the five men were trapped inside the room with no way to escape, given that the door was locked from outside.
"They were murdered, deliberately; their deaths were no accident!" Gauri whispered as tears spilled onto her cheek, feeling sorry for the five victims and their families. For the very first time, her heart genuinely pained for Swetlana, understanding the motive behind all that she did. The only difference between her and Swetlana was that the latter intentionally punished the whole family for the crimes of one.
Gauri was shocked to read the report stated that there had been solid evidence found to prove Tej Singh Oberoi's presence on that day at the Kalyani Mills, seconds before the fire had started. Gauri quickly looked through a hard drive that contained the footage of the same. Tej was clearly seen on site, arguing with someone to meddle with the wiring of the Mill. And that certain someone was Tej's partner in crime - Inspector Kumar. Wasting no time, Gauri quickly copied all of that into her own laptop. Quickly scanning the documents, she transferred all the data into the system.
Gauri was about to shut down and put everything back in its place when her gaze fell on another pen-drive that was hidden at the very corner of the locker. Curious, she took it out and checked it out connecting it to her laptop. To her shock, it was another CCTV recording of her father being beaten in a place that looked like an abandoned warehouse.
Gauri trembled with anger, hurt and sorrow as she saw, on the laptop screen, Tej watching Inspector Kumar ruthlessly beating up a bound and gagged Arvind Sharma. "You'll write a report? You'll tell the world about the Kalyani Mills truth? Bohot shaukh hai sachch bolne ka tujhe? Yahan se zinda niklega toh apna mooh kholega na?" Kumar scoffed at him. Gauri's fingers touched the screen as her father was struggling and pleading to be freed.
Her gaze turned fierce as she saw Tej speak, "Socho Sharma, teri beti aur behen ka kya hoga jab unko pata chalega ke tujhe rishvath ke liye giraftaar kar liya gaya hai? Imagine the shame they'll go through! Who will marry the sister of such a corrupt man? What will your daughter think of you? Tumhari behen aur beti ka guzaara kaise hoga? Everyone will spit on their faces because of you!"
"Arey Tej Sahab," Kumar gleamed wickedly, "Guzaara kaise nahi hoga? Iski behen hai badi khubsurat; ek baar Sharma sahab se milne aayi thi. Khubsurat cheezon ka bahot mol hota hai bazaar mein. Bech degi apne aap ko. Iski beti bhi kaafi sundar hai, lagta hai apne maa pe gayi hai. jab woh jawan hogi, toh woh bhi apne Bua ke nakshe kadam pe chalegi."
Translation: "Tej Sir, how will they not survive? You should see how gorgeous his sister is. I'd seen her when she'd some to meet Sharma Sahab once. There's always a good price for anything that's beautiful. She'll sell herself. Even his daughter is quite pretty, and seems like she'd gotten her mother's features. After she grows up, she'll also join her aunt."
Gauri was disgusted and furious at the way the men cackled. Her heart bled at the way her father, in spite of being in an almost-dead condition, was enraged at the way the two of them were mocking him by spewing rubbish about her Amma and her. "Bauji!" she whispered in bitter tears, as she wept at how he was being slapped for attempting to answer them back despite being gagged.
"Now, now, Arvind!" Tej said to him, "Only you know that there's been a foul play in the Kalyani Mills incident. If you are willing to change that report of yours and mention that it was an accident, then you will be able to see your family again. Also, I promise to give you so much of money, that it would be more than enough for your next few generations. You and your daughter can have a luxurious life; your sister can get the best proposal and settle down; hell, even you can get as many gorgeous women to keep your bed warm at nights with the money that I'm going to give you. All of this in exchange for your one signature on the report that you will draft as I tell you. Deal?"
Kumar pulled down the gag that was in Arvind's mouth, and holding his chin, gave him a shake, "Jaisa bola jaaye waisa kar. Isme inka aur mera faayda toh hai hi, lekin tera bhi faayda hi hai. Kuch aur nahi toh apni bachchi ke baare mein soch le..."
Gauri cried in hysterical sobs as she heard the exhausted voice of her Bauji saying, "Apni beti ke baare mein hi soch raha hoon. Agar meri chutki ko kal pata chala ke uske Bauji ek bhrasht afsar hain, jisne paison ke liye apni imaandaari bech di, unn paanch logon ke qatal ko 'accident' bolke rafa-dafa kar diya, toh main ussey kaise nazrein milaunga? Isse achcha hai ke aap mujhe maar hi do. Kam se kam, khud ki nazron mein main ek sachcha imaadaar insaan hi rahunga."
Translation: ""I'm thinking about my daughter. Tomorrow, if she comes to know that her father is a corrupt officer who has sold his honesty for merely money, and have labelled the murder of those five people as an accident, how will I ever be able to meet her eyes? Instead, it is better you kill me. At least, I would remain a true, honest person to myself."
"So, you'll not change your report?" Tej asked in a warning tone. Arvind shook his head in a no and he said, "I will tell the whole world what a fraud you are. That report is seated on my desk, waiting to be submitted to court tomorrow morning, after which you will - ".
In the next second, Tej pulled the gun that was in Kumar's pocket and shot a bullet into Arvind's chest. Gauri's breath hitched as she watched her father being murdered - the price of being an honest officer with his struggling breaths and his blood.
She numbly watched on the screen- Kumar panicking and Tej coolly suggesting to frame her innocent Bauji under corruption, and then kill him under the pretext of an encounter for trying to attack the police while being arrested. She watched her father breathe his last breath as his head lolled to the side. She watched how coldly Kumar picked the gun and shot another bullet into her father's knee so that the encounter would seem more believable.
With that, the screen on her laptop turned blue. Gauri leaned back, now feeling uneasy and agitated, feeling the bile rise in her throat, while she tried to take deep breaths and calm herself by caressing her tiny baby bump. "They killed Bauji only because he refused to be a part of their fraud?" she whispered, still in shock after witnessing the scene that had played in front of her eyes.
Gauri had to remind herself that she had to get out of the study at the earliest and was about to close her laptop when the video came back to life. The video clipping was attached to the previous one, but was recorded in a different setting. It looked like a private space and seemed like it was shot a couple of months ago. Inspector Kumar appeared on the screen and smiled as he spoke, "Good evening, Tej Singh Oberoi"
Gauri noted the arrogance in the man's voice as he continued in a mocking tone, "By now you must have gotten an intuition as to what I'm going to say. So let me come straight to the point. You gave me a sum of ten crores for helping you set fire in Kalyani Mills, covering it up to make it look like an accident, locked those five people up in the store room before they could start going around and revealing your true colours, helped you cover up Arvind Sharma's murder and made it look like an encounter, arranged for an report that helped you claim insurance for Kalyani Mill. I'm not too greedy, Oberoi Sahab, but you surely cannot expect me to keep following your orders for an entire lifetime just because you paid me ten crores back then!"
Gauri watched with a bated breath as he said, "Now you want me to finish off your son's wife and make it look like an accident. Uske liye alag daam lagega na? Now when I tried to negotiate, you insulted me before you walked out of the room. Ab mere dil par se zyada mere ego pe lag gayi aapki baat. So now, here's the deal. I will definitely do this job for you. Aakhir itne saalon ka partnership raha hai hum dono ka, nahi? But, in return, you will pay me twenty crores. Now, don't say you're running short of funds. Because, my sharp nose has already sniffed out the news about the deal you've struck with the Thakur Brothers in Bareilly."
"The Thakur Brothers have some personal enmity with your son's wife, and will want to finish her themselves. But you'll anyway have to pay me if I've to keep my mouth closed. So, first thing you'll do is, take me along when you meet the Thakur Brothers. We'll discuss how they want to carry out this accident. And then, you'll pay me up - full in cash in exchange for my silence. Oh, and don't discard this video." Kumar gave a teasing chuckle and continued, "I just learnt video editing and this is my very first video; so it's special. Mere paas do aur copies hain. One in my google drive, and other in the pen-drive that is pack and kept ready to be sent to the media. Agar kahin mera bhi 'accident' ho gaya, mujhe thoda prepared rehna padega na? Anyway, aapse vidaa lene ka samay aa gaya. Aapke Maata ji aur Bua ji ko mera pranaam, aapke gharwali ko namaste, baharwali ko hello, aur bete ko 'whats up'. Agar bahu abhi bhi zinda hai, toh usko bhi 'hello-hi-bye-bye'. Video agar pasand aaya toh agli baar meri tareef zaroor kijiyega. Signing off, tata bye bye."
Gauri took a deep breath and looked at the screen, shocked at all the information she'd absorbed over the last half an hour. Still numb and broken on the inside, she quickly put back everything in its place, collected all of her things, rechecked if she'd left anything behind and quickly marched to her room. She called up Dandi and asked him to meet her near the temple in half an hour.
***
Omkara was looking out of his window from his cabin, when his phone rang. It was Khanna. "Sir, Gauri Ma'am is leaving from Oberoi Mansion. She informed Daadi that she was headed to the Shiva temple." Omkara nodded and instructed him to follow her and to keep him updated. Omkara waited for two minutes and then unable to sit back calmly, he picked his car keys.
***
Gauri frowned when she saw Omkara's call. She answered it after two rings and heard him ask causally what she was doing. "Kuch nahi. Hum mandir jaa rahe the." she answered truthfully. "Mandir? Iss waqt?" he quizzed and heard her chuckle, "Haan. Mandir jaane ke liye, Ssankar ji ko yaad karne liye, unse baatein karne ke liye waqt thodi dekha jaata hai?"
For a moment, Omkara felt guilty for having doubted her when all she wanted was to genuinely visit the temple. Just then, he received a message from Khanna that Dandeshwar was already waiting at the Shiva Temple. Omkara's suspicions grew. "Of course," he answered in a calculative tone as he swallowed a lump.
"Tumne khaana khaaya?" he asked, and she closed her eyes. She was beginning to detest the way he had started caring for her and for Panchi. He was only making it more and more difficult for her as time neared for her to leave him and his whole family forever.
"Jee. Aapne khaaya?" she asked on an instinct. Omkara wasn't sure if she was asking him genuinely or was diverting his mind. A part of him was happy that she cared enough to ask him, in spite of all that he'd done to her. He hummed a yes. "By the way, if you are free, aaj shaam ko ice cream khaane chalein?" he asked, wanting to know her response.
Gauri wanted to refuse but the mere mention of ice cream sent a thrill through her. She frowned running a hand on her belly. Panchi and her cravings! There was another reason Gauri did not want to refuse. If the timeline was as planned, by tomorrow noon Tej could be arrested, and by night she would leave Oberoi Mansion. Which meant, tonight was her last night with the family. Gauri felt her heart sink at that and couldn't fathom why. She had seen this coming and couldn't even wait till this day had arrived. For some reason, she no longer felt the craving for ice cream anymore. Instead her whole mouth felt bitter.
"Gauri?" Omkara called out, slightly alarmed, when he heard her tell the driver to quickly stop the car. Gauri threw the phone on the car seat, and quickly opened the door as the wave of nausea hit her. "Madam, aap theek hai? Paani lijiye!" he heard the driver speak after a whole minute. Omkara was worried. Holding the mouthpiece, he asked his driver to speed up to reach the Shiva Temple quickly.
"Haan, woh, thodi si ulti..." Gauri said with a tired sigh leaning back on the car seat as she picked up the phone and spoke to him. "Listen to me, will you? Go home right away, Gauri. Mandir kisi aur din jaa sakti ho tum," Omkara said in a stern tone.
Gauri refused, "Hamara aaj mandir jaana bohit jaruri hai. Please..." she finished sounding exhausted, not realising that Omkara had noted she had said 'please' and not 'pleej' like she usually did. He closed his eyes, wondering if there was any time she did not pretend in front of him. He recalled the previous time she had said 'thank you' to him, and when he'd asked her, she'd covered her folly up. So she isn't a trained con artist if she has slip-ups, his inner voice told him. Not wanting to spark an internal debate with himself, he wound up the call asking her to get good rest and drink some coconut water on the way back.
Gauri looked at the phone and sighed. His care was affecting her more than she had anticipated; so much, that she now had tears spilling down her cheeks, which in spite of wiping away, kept trickling down her eyes. Omkara, on the other hand, instructed Khanna to wait around the corner without taking his eyes off Dandi. "Jaldi chalo," he hurried the driver.
Gauri, feeling much better after alighting the car, walked up the steps to the temple. She bowed her head in adoration in front of the deity of Shankar ji and prayed in solemn silence. When she opened her eyes, she realised Dandi was standing next to her with his hands folded and eyes closed in prayer. The temple priest handed the thaal back to her with the prasad in it, just as he handed the thaal to Dandi. Gauri discreetly placed on his plate something that looked like a box of sweets inside which she had placed her pen drive that contained all the proof. "Mere iss yuddh ka anthim adhyay kal tak khatam hoga," she spoke to Dandi, looking at the deity, "Aur kal main uss ghar aur gharwaalon ko hamesha ke liye alvida kahoongi." Dandi looked at the box on his plate when he heard the sorrow in her voice, and heaved a sigh. "All the best," he said softly to her and stayed seated there, while she nodded and got up from her place.
From a distance, Khanna stood by the pillar watching Dandi, and quickly ducked when he saw Gauri leaving from there. Gauri walked to the car and asked the driver to leave, knowing that the next step was for Dandi to meet Swetlana, through whom the proof would be leaked out to the media. Gauri closed her eyes and rested. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Unknown to her, Omkara who had reached a few minutes back waited till Gauri left in the car. After that, he alighted and walked up to the temple. As he'd expected, Dandi was just leaving. "Dandeshwar," Omkara called out, and could see the shock written all over the man's face. "Omkara Singh Oberoi," He introduced himself, continuing, "You certainly know Gauri, right? I'm her husband; not that you wouldn't know about me!" Momentarily pausing but without giving him any chance to talk, Omkara said, "Dandi, tumse kuch zaroori baat karni hai, shall we?"
Dandi was about to turn away to move swiftly, when Khanna blocked his path, and before he could realize what was happening, Khanna took Dandi's phone away. When Dandi looked worriedly at Omkara, he assured they would just talk in the car. Dandi had no option but to follow Omkara because Khanna ushered him.
As soon as they were in the car, Omkara pulled up the partition window between them and the driver, giving them complete privacy to talk. Khanna waited right outside the car, just in case Dandi acted oversmart. Dandi gulped nervously, as Omkara came straight to the point without a warning, "I want you to tell me the truth; the whole truth. About everything you know."