Hello everyone...
How are you all?
Thanks to all for voting and commenting on the previous story. Forced Marriage 3 - Just One Kiss (Posted on 10-Oct-2023)
I am so sorry for being absent for so long.
I don't know when I can get back to writing. I'm traveling and my trip is extended. So, don't know when I will get time to write again.
I just wanted to post something, and decided to write a short story.
There was an Arylie story that I wrote called, Udhaar. This story is kind of like a back story for that. But this story is written as a stand alone story, so you don't have to read Udhaar to understand this story.
P.S: Will reply to PM soon
P.S: I am in love with Rocky Randhawa.
Warning : This story is a little bit like
Omkara walks into his home to find his mother waiting for him.
"You're late!" Jhanvi tells him fed up.
"Was I supposed to come early?" Omkara asks confused.
"I told you that tonight we have to go to Sharma's." Jhanvi reminds him.
"Oh... I forgot!"
"What, Om?"
"Please, can I skip it?"
"No... they are waiting for us."
Omkara closes his eyes tired. "It was a hectic day at office, Mom. I've no energy to bear Gauri tonight."
"You just stay out of her way." Jhanvi tells him. "Go and get ready. It's Ridhima's birthday. Since it is a weekday, they invited just us for dinner."
Sighing loudly, Omkara walks to his room to freshen up.
**********
"Happy birthday, Ridhima." Omkara wishes her with a smile as he hugged her.
"Thanks, Om." Ridhima smiles as she hugged him.
"You guys are so late! I am starving!" Gauri says as she glared at Omkara.
"Did we ask you to wait for us? You could have eaten!" Omkara points out to her.
"I am not so mannerless that I eat before the guests arrive." Gauri tells him.
"But you are mannerless enough to be impolite to your guests." Omkara points out.
Gauri growls as she scowled at him.
"And unlike you, we are people who have work." Omkara tells her.
"My college starts tomorrow." Gauri arrogantly reminds him.
"Please! You two. Stop it! It is my birthday. Please don't ruin it." Ridhima requests them.
"Tell him that!" Gauri says as she flipped her hair and walks to Jhanvi. "You live next door, you could have just come. Why wait for him? I would have fainted any second now."
Omkara rolls his eyes hearing that.
"I didn't know you were hungry." Jhanvi sweetly tells her.
Gauri smiles. "Okay, I forgive you. Come let's eat."
"Were you starving the whole day?" Omkara asks her as he followed her.
"I eat my dinner at 6. And it is 9:30."
"6? That is not dinner!"
"It is di's birthday! And the day is almost over! And we still haven't cut her cake!" Gauri tells him.
"Why didn't you cut it at 12 last night?"
"Enough, Om!" Jhanvi whispers to him seeing Gauri turning back to argue.
"Yes, please... let's just eat." Vasundhara says.
Glaring at each other, Omkara and Gauri walks to the dining table.
Everyone sighs in relief and follows them. They were neighbors and family friends. Ever since, Omkara and Gauri were kids, they have been at each other's throat, fighting and arguing. They had a love-hate relation. As they grew older, thankfully their fights have been reduced to just verbal and no longer physical.
Seeing they were about to sit next to each other, Vasundhara starts to ask Gauri to sit elsewhere then stops seeing they were already seated, and she didn't want to start another argument with her request of changing seats.
Before Gauri or Omkara could start another argument, Harsh quickly starts a conversation with Omkara regarding office.
"Here..." Gauri says as she passed the butter naan platter to Omkara.
Omkara looks at the platter, and shakes his head. "I don't want."
Gauri frowns hearing that. "You like butter naan."
"Yeah, I do." Omkara agrees.
"Then why don't you want it? Mom specifically made it for you."
"I just don't want." Omkara shrugs then turning to Vasundhara, he says regretfully. "I really don't want to have it. I'll just have the grill."
Vasundhara nods. "No problem, Om."
"But today is your cheat day!" Gauri insists. "So, why can't you have carbs?"
"Because I don't want."
"We kept the dinner tonight, so even you can eat!" Gauri informs him frowning.
Surprised, Omkara looks at Vasundhara.
Vasundhara nods. "Gauri told me that today is your cheat day."
"I'm so sorry..." Omkara starts.
"Stop apologizing and eat!" Gauri tells him.
"Gauri, please... just let him eat what he wants!" Ridhima tells her in shock. "Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"
"Because things were done for him and he is behaving like this. It doesn't reflect good on him!" Gauri tells her then she turns to Omkara and glares at him.
"I had dinner before!" Omkara tells her fed up.
Gauri gasps loudly. "You were invited here for dinner and you had dinner from out?"
"The meeting got late, and the client mentioned he was hungry and we ordered dinner." Omkara regretfully informs everyone.
"And you had dinner?" Gauri accuses him.
"This dinner, skipped my mind." Omkara guiltily informs them.
Harsh and Vasundhara nods understanding.
"How could you?" Gauri asks offended.
Exasperated, Omkara asks Gauri. "Why are you getting offended? It is not like it is your freaking birthday dinner! Ridhima doesn't have any problem."
"He is right, Gauri. Just stop behaving like a brat." Harsh warns Gauri.
"You do this for my birthday dinner and I'll show you." Gauri mutters as she served naan for herself and starts eating.
Omkara rolls his eyes as he turned to Harsh. "As if I am going to forget her birthday. It comes once in 4 years!"
**********
Gauri stood next to Omkara as Ridhima cut her cake and fed everyone a piece. Then Jhanvi gifts Ridhima her birthday gift.
"What did you give her?" Omkara asks her curiously.
"Her wallet was getting old. So, I got her a nice wallet."
Omkara nods.
"What is your mother giving?" Gauri asks Omkara curiously.
"How would I know?" Omkara asks her back.
Gauri makes a face and asks him. "And what are you gifting her?"
Omkara stops in shock as he looked at her confused. "Gift?"
"Knew it!" Gauri softly declares. Then picking up a bag from behind, Gauri gives it to him. "Give!"
"What is this?" Omkara asks confused.
"Top! And here is the bill, transfer the amount." Gauri orders him.
"Is it nice?" Omkara asks her. Gauri's fashion icon was Ranveer Singh.
Gauri glares at him. "It is a subtle branded shirt."
Omkara looks inside the cover and asks her, "Couldn't gift wrap it?"
"Get lost, you dog!" Gauri tells him and walks to Ridhima to see what Jhanvi gifted her.
Omkara follows her and gives Ridhima his birthday gift.
**********
Next night, Omkara was in his room when he notices Gauri in her room from the window.
Omkara walks to the window and calls out. "Yo, idiot!"
Gauri turns and glares at him as she walked to the window. "What?"
"How was your first day of college?" Omkara asks her.
"Fine!" Gauri mutters softly.
"You okay?" Omkara asks surprised seeing her dull.
"Yeah!" Gauri replies and closes the window and pulls the curtain.
Omkara stops in surprise seeing that. Gauri has never ended a conversation like that.
**********
"Mom..." Omkara walks to his mother's bedroom. "Is Gauri alright?"
"Don't go fight with her today, Om." Jhanvi tells him in concern.
"What happened?" Omkara asks in concern.
"She is upset. Ridhima was saying, she was ragged in college. She won't tell us much." Jhanvi tells him.
"Ragging is normal, right?" Omkara asks confused.
"Ridhima was saying, there were these senior boys... they kind of made fun of her dressing." Jhanvi tells him.
Omkara nods hearing that, Gauri did have horrendous dressing style.
**********
Next day, Gauri and Ridhima come out of their house and sees Omkara's car waiting for them instead of their car. Omkara was leaning on his car.
"What are you doing here?" Gauri asks him as they walked to him.
"Heard you were ragged yesterday." Omkara cheekily says.
Gauri glares at him. "Get lost!"
Omkara looks her up and down. She was wearing a plain color pink top and blue jeans. He has never seen her in subtle colors before.
"You look different today." Omkara chuckles.
Gauri glares at him. "Why are you still here? Get lost."
"Go and change." Omkara tells her.
"Why should I?" Gauri asks him frowning.
"For how long are you going to dress up as someone you are not?" Omkara gently asks her. "Go change."
Hearing that, Gauri worriedly looks at him.
"Go."
Gauri turns around and walks back in.
Ridhima shakes her head. "I had told her not to dress so loudly in college. They really made fun of her. She was humiliated. And now, you are making her dress the same?"
"Why didn't you do anything?" Omkara asks her frowning.
"I found out only after I got home. I'll speak to my classmates. They will speak to those boys." Ridhima tells him.
Omkara nods.
Few minutes later, Gauri comes back, wearing her patchwork shirt and red jeans.
"Get in!" Omkara orders her.
**********
Ridhima walks off to her class as it was in another building, Gauri goes to her college block with Omkara tailing behind her.
"Hey dowdy!"
Someone calls out.
Gauri looks to the sound and sees a group of boys sitting on their bike.
"This weekend why don't you come to my house? It's my nephew's birthday and we are missing a clown." One boy calls out making others laugh loudly,
Omkara walks towards them, and he looks at all the boys. He spots a muscular boy sitting on the bike, who seemed to be the gang leader.
He punches him on his nose and the boy falls back down howling.
The rest of the boys jumps up in shock.
Omkara pulls up the boy and warns him. "Next time, anyone troubles her. Anyone so much as hisses at her, I'll find you and I'll make your life a living hell. Got it?"
The boy nods his head worriedly as he held his nose crying.
Omkara lets go off him and turns to look at Gauri, and sees her proudly smirking at the boys.
He walks to her.
Gauri sweetly smiles at Omkara.
"Next time, handle it yourself. Don't make me come here!" He arrogantly tells her.
Gauri scowls hearing that.
Omkara turns and walks off.
Gauri furiously runs behind him and calls out. "No one asked you to come here!"
"Always the ungrateful brat!" Omkara calls back.
"And you'll always be an asshole!" Gauri shouts at him.
**********
"Om..." Jhanvi gently calls him as she walked into his bedroom.
Omkara who was working on his laptop, looks up from his bed. "Yeah?"
Jhanvi smiles at him and sits opposite to him. Seeing her smiling so sweetly, he smiles back at her.
"What is it?" Omkara asks her grinning.
"I was just talking to Vasundhara. They are thinking of Ridhima's marriage. They have started looking for a groom for her." Jhanvi tells him.
"Okay." Omkara nods.
"I was thinking..."
"What?"
"It is time for you to get married too." Jhanvi tells him hesitantly.
"But Mom..." Omkara starts confused.
"I was thinking of speaking to Vasundhara. If you agree, I'll send the proposal?" Jhanvi asks him eagerly.
"But Mom, she is still studying." Omkara tells her in confusion. "What is the hurry? Let her finish her studies."
"That she can finish after marriage also."
"Hmmm." Omkara thoughtfully looks down.
"Just meet and speak. If you both agree only then we will proceed." Jhanvi promises him.
"What is there to speak?" Omkara asks shrugging. "Okay, Mom."
"So, we will go there tomorrow?" Jhanvi asks excitedly.
"Yeah." Omkara replies smiling.
**********
Later, Omkara was getting ready for bed when he notices Gauri on her window. Just as he was looking, she looks at him.
"What?" Omkara asks her.
"What?" Gauri asks him back, frowning.
"Stop looking into my bedroom." Omkara tells her.
"first you stop looking into my bedroom!" Gauri tells him.
"I'm looking because you are looking!"
"Who wants to see you?" Gauri asks him back as she pulls her window and closes it. "Get lost!"
Omkara chuckles as he closed the window.
**********
"Jhanvi had called." Vasundhara says excitedly at the breakfast table.
Harsh, Gauri and Ridhima look at her curiously.
"What is new about that?" Gauri asks smiling, seeing her excitement.
"She wants Ridhima and Omkara to get married." Vasundhara tells them excitedly.
"What?" Gauri shouts in shock.
"That is excellent." Harsh says excitedly.
"Om agreed?" Ridhima asks in confusion.
"Yes. They will come in the evening, so you both can talk and take a decision."
Gauri looks at her parents in shock. Her heart breaking into pieces.
"What do you think, Ridhima?" Vasundhara asks her.
"But Gauri can't stand him." Ridhima says in shock. "I want my husband and my sister to get along."
Gauri gets up and walks off as her eyes filled with tears.
"See... she is not happy." Ridhima says worriedly.
"We'll make her understand. Maybe, once you both get married, they will learn to get along." Harsh says.
"But... I haven't thought of Om like that." Ridhima says unsure.
"You talk to him. Then only we will take a decision. If you decide against it, then it is okay. No pressure." Vasundhara promises her.
Ridhima nods.
**********
Gauri falls on her bed as she burst into tears.
Omkara and she never spoke of it, but she thought it was them forever. Ever since they were kids, they have been together. As friends and enemies.
And she believed that it is them that would be together forever.
She thought even Om believed that.
But he wanted to marry Ridhima.
What about them?
Gauri cries as she looked at their childhood photo, which she had kept in her wallet.
It was the day after his birthday party. Something had caused them to fight during the party. Next day, their parents had met, so they could apologize to each other. They had grudgingly apologized to appease their parents. The photo was taken then. He had bandaid on his chin and she had on her forehead.
Hugging the photo to her chest, she cried.
**********
Seeing him, smiling and talking to everyone, she wanted to slap him hard. Break his teeth and nose.
She looks down, dejectedly, as she tried to fight her tears. She couldn't even look at him.
"All okay, Gauri? You are awfully quiet today." Omkara cheekily asks her.
Gauri ignores him as she continued to look down.
"Don't start now, Om." Jhanvi softly tells him.
Omkara chuckles.
"You both go and talk." Harsh tells them.
"I don't know what is there to talk." Omkara replies confused.
Ridhima's eyes widen hearing that.
"But still, Om..." Jhanvi tells him.
"You only said, not to start..." Omkara reminds her as he started to get up.
Jhanvi looks at him confused.
"Go, Ridhima." Vasundhara tells Ridhima. "You both go outside and speak."
Omkara frowns seeing Ridhima standing up and Gauri sitting put.
"Why should I speak to Ridhima?" Omkara asks confused.
"What?" Harsh asks confused.
"You came to speak to her, right?" Vasundhara asks confused.
"Her? As in Ridhima?" Omkara asks shocked.
"Om, what are you saying?" Jhanvi asks him confused.
"Mom..." Omkara starts.
Gauri cuts him off as she stood up angrily. "Why are you here?"
Omkara turns to her and stops in shock seeing her tear filled eyes. "Why are you crying, Gauri?" Omkara asks her.
"Why are you here?" Gauri asks him.
Omkara stares at her in shock, then he turns to his mother and everyone and asks at his wits end. "What is happening here?"
"Om..." Jhanvi walks to him in shock. "What are you doing? Why are you acting like this? You said you will speak to Ridhima and..."
"Ridhima?" Omkara screeches in shock.
Ridhima, Harsh and Vasundhara look at each other in confusion.
"Why are you here?" Gauri asks him fed up.
Omkara turns to Gauri and sees her, murderously glaring at him, with hands on her hips.
"Answer me, you asshole!"
Omkara murderously glares at her. "To fix our marriage, you bitch!"
Vasundhara gasps in shock, hearing the B word.
"What?" Gauri whispers in shock.
"And why the hell are you crying for that?" Omkara asks Gauri.
"Om..." Jhanvi starts and Gauri cuts her off.
"Because everyone here thinks that you are here to fix your wedding with di, you dimwit!"
"Ewwwe... Ridhima and me?" Omkara asks feeling icky.
"Om..." Jhanvi starts as she looked at everyone looking at Gauri and Omkara in shock.
Omkara turns to his mother and asks utterly confused. "You said that they were looking for a groom for Ridhima."
"And I asked whether I could send your proposal for her." Jhanvi replies confused.
"For Ridhima? Are you crazy, Mom?" Omkara asks shocked.
"But, Om..."
"And you all thought that?" Omkara asks everyone in shock. Seeing them staring at him in shock, he screams. "Oh my God! Have you all lost it? Ridhima and me? My God, she is Gauri's sister for me. She is more or less a sister to me!"
"You and Gauri love each other?" Ridhima asks confused then turning to Gauri, she asks, "Why didn't you say anything, Gauri?"
Omkara turns to Gauri and asks her. "You thought I was here for her?"
"What am I supposed to think?" Gauri asks him back.
"And you didn't even think of asking me?" Omkara asks her angrily.
"You dressed up and came here looking handsome to see my sister... what am I supposed to ask?" Gauri asks him back angrily.
"Oh my God! All these years and you don't know what is between us?" Omkara asks her exasperated.
"I am not the one, who got dressed up to come and see my sister for marriage!" Gauri accuses him.
Omkara turns to his mother and accuses her. "How could you even think that I would agree to marry anyone other than Gauri, Mom? Why would you even speak of another girl to me?"
Jhanvi stares at her son in shock and whispers, "I always lived in fear that she will kill you one day."
"That one day, we will definitely murder each other. So, you think we should never get married?" he asks her. "But how could you think that I would marry someone else?" Omkara asks her.
Omkara turns to Gauri and asks her, "Why the hell would you keep quiet when they were speaking of Ridhima's and my wedding? Are you such a chicken?"
Gauri glares at him.
"And you all thought that..." Omkara stops and asks them possessively. "Don't you all know that Gauri is mine?"
"Oh please! I am not yours!" Gauri scoffs.
Omkara turns to her and points out. "I am better! At least, I spoke up! Unlike you!"
"This whole issue is because of you!" Gauri reminds him. "Get lost!"
"Fine!" Omkara says and turns to his mother. "Come, lets go!"
"But..." Jhanvi says confused, seeing that everybody was in shock.
"Can't you see? She needs to grow up before she can even dream of marriage! Let's go!" Omkara says and walks off with Jhanvi worriedly following him.
"Says the man who didn't even know who was the prospective bride!" Gauri calls out to him as she turned around and walked off to her room.
"Are you okay?" Vasundhara worriedly asks Ridhima.
"I just had a narrow escape. I am ecstatic." Ridhima replies still reeling from her shock.
*** The End ***
I know this was a crazy story with no proper ending.
When I get time, I will write another proper story.
Please vote and comment.
- Lazy