Rikara Scribblings by Savina

Yeh Tune Kya Kiya : Part 1

Part One

"Humeyaapsekuchkehnahai, Omkara ji" she whispered in a timid, hushed tone. He brushed the knuckles of his fingers against her cheek, and cupped her face with a small smile. "I know Gauri. Samajhtahoon main tumhe. I understand you've not yet coped with the loss, and trust me, main bhikabhikabhisochtahoonke agar wohhaadsanahihota, toh things would've been different." He leaned closer to her and placed a faint kiss on her forehead, to which she heaved a breath with her eyes closed. Holding her arms, ever so lovingly, he made her lay on his bed, their bed, and lying next to her, he tucked those loose strands of her hair behind her ears. Heaving a sigh, he spoke, "Ussbacche ko khoney ka ghummujhebhihai, Gauri. Aajbhiuss din ke bare meinsochtabhihoon, toh..."

Omkara left his sentence incomplete as he recalled that fateful day when the doctor announced the awful news to him. He had recalled how happy he was to know that the baby in her womb was a girl. Even if he hadn't discussed it out loud, not even with his brothers, Omkara had already begun dreaming about his unborn daughter, back then. However, his happiness was short-lived when, the very next day, he received the dreaded phone call from Bhavya, asking him to rush to the hospital because Gauri had fainted after an intense uterine pain. His heart had been shattered to pieces when the doctor had told him that she had suffered a miscarriage because the embryo's heartbeat had stopped functioning. And when he had entered the private room in which his wife was admitted, and had seen her pale face lined with a thin film of sweat, he felt like he'd been punched in his gut. Although he hadn't been in love with Gauri back then, he had surely begun to see her in a new light, solely due to their baby that was conceived as a result of his intoxicated state. The news of the baby had slowly made him question his opinion he had of her, and he'd slowly begun to realise how wrong he'd been when he'd named her a gold-digger, a home-wrecker and a characterless woman. Her devotion and adulation towards him had made his heart flutter with pride, and something akin to love, at times.

And suddenly, the reason that had bound him to her was lost. In the hospital, he hadn't said a word, and neither had she. With bitter tears in their eyes, he'd simply wound his arms around her with no words spoken between them. It was only a week later that he'd found out the ugly truth about the conspiracy behind the miscarriage- his BuaMaa. The woman whom he loved so dearly, as much as he loved his own mother, had caused the death of his own baby, just because it was a baby girl, and not a boy. The venomous confession she'd spew to Gauri had been recorded on tape where BuaMaa had proclaimed that she'd made Gauri drink a concoction because she wanted her Ratan to be back, and that the baby girl in her womb had ruined her evil intentions. BuaMaa hadn't had the slighted guilt about killing that child, and when confronted, she'd laughed about the same. The family had been too late to realise that BuaMaa needed medical help and therapy post Ratan's death, and that realization had come with a price; a price that was paid in return for the life of his unborn daughter.

Presently, his grip around her body tightened as his thoughts drifted back to the incident that claimed his baby's life. Only when he felt her shudder, he immediately loosened the grip with regret on his face for hurting her with his tight hold. Looking into her eyes, he cupped her face and said, "Anyway, I'm sorry I brought that topic up. Nahikarengebaatuss bare mein." Holding her hand in his, he kissed the knuckles of her fingers.

Gauri looked into his eyes that were misty and distant, and a new wave of guilt passed over her. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that her one lie would lead her to spin a web of lies, each lie being covered with another lie, causing so much of pain to her and everyone around her. She had never been pregnant. She was forced to lie to avoid being thrown out of the house by BuaMaa, once Omkara had been back from coma. And had she been thrown out of the Oberoi Mansion, it would be impossible for her to protect her Omkara from the evil intentions of his BuaMaa. The only reason she could think of, was to announce her pregnancy- a lie that had the slightest possibility to be proved true, all because of that intoxicated drink which lead to Omkara trying to be intimate with her. And although, there was no physical relationship established between them in that moment, it was easy for her to blurt out this lie because BuaMaa believed Gauri blindly that she was pregnant with Om's child. Such was BuaMaa's desire to receive Omkara's child into the world. It was easier to make Omkara believe her because he did not remember what exactly happened between them and to what extent. And then began her web of lies- something which even Bhavya became a part of, unintentionally. Gauri had made up her mind several times to disclose the truth to Omkara, but stopped every single time because he wouldn't even think twice before dragging her out of his house for lying to him and his family because of his hatred for lies; he would never consider her intentions behind lying to him. And once BuaMaa would learn the truth, she would certainly plot other ways to harm Omkara, and Gauri couldn't let anything happen to the one who had saved her life, as well as her mother's life. She was indebted to the man who married her, and she would go to any extent to protect him.