Kal Kya Patah, Mile Na Mile, Nazdeekiyan... O' Saathiya - RiKara TS

Epilogue

It had been a month since Gauri had finally agreed to make him the happiest man in the world. And what a month it had been. A flurry of activity as the Oberois set about creating the wedding of a lifetime for the bride who certainly deserved it and the groom who was desperate to give it to her. Every member of the family was determined to perfect every detail, so much so that they had unknowingly become quite overbearing. For the quiet Omkara, all the pomp and splendor had a striking resemblance to eternal torment, with all the loud music and mismatched colours. But he would have bared it all with a grin, had he not noticed his less than joyful bride.

Omkara had made it his utmost priority to ensure he knew how any circumstance was affecting his Gauri. The best way to do this, he had found after receiving a strict verbal lashing from his mother for bribing her psychologist for the information, was to simply watch her eyes. Gauri's eyes were truly a window to her soul. The held a different expression for every emotion. For months after the horrific ordeal she had endured, they had remained blank... as if those emotional had all been stolen, but gradually, one by one every feeling pooled back in. Happiness, rage, empathy, grief, courage, fear... everything was restored... but still there were those little moments where those hazel gems became shuttered, and those were the moments Omkara was desperate to drive away. Various attempts at drawing her out of melancholy had taught him that it was the little gestures that always brought her back to him... a word of support, just letting her know that she wasn't alone... that he was there.

But how could he do so when they were divided by the presence of numerous loud relations and acquaintances? He was helpless as he watched those glazed and desolate hazel orbs from across the hall throughout their mehendi ceremony. The way she showed little reaction as the ladies complimented the intricate designs on her hands, only really responding to take his name when asked what to write... even then it was as if she was on autopilot... playing a role... a puppet without a string... She barely managed a smile as he made a fool of himself during the sangeet, mimicking iconic Bollywood steps from her favourite Salman Khan. It was not enough that he made her smile later, insisting that he would be the first to check the colour of her mehendi, or that he had managed to secure a private moment in his art studio for their own waltz on the sangeet night that had left her blushing. Omkara found he was making up for not being able to keep her happy throughout the day by stealing moments at night, and it just was not good enough. This wedding was meant to be for his Gauri, so why was she the one putting on an act to please everyone else?

During the haldi, where random women kept rubbing the yellow paste over his wife, ignorant to her stiffening at every contact, Omkara finally slipped the iron control he had on his patience. He had promised Gauri a lifetime of happiness, and this farce simply was not paving the way to that. He didn't want her sacrificing anymore, she'd done enough of that to last several lifetimes. It didn't matter how disappointed his family members became, they could conduct their rituals later, he was going to make their wedding a fond memory for his wife.

Over the past year of being Gauri's best friend, he had learnt much about her... her hopes, her dreams... what she loved... Now it was on Omkara to give Gauri the wedding day she deserved.

Kidnapping the bride on the wedding day was not quite as difficult a task as most would have you believe. In fact, with Rudra, Chubby and Ranvir as his partners in crime, it was worryingly easy. His family seriously needed to work on their idea of security. Rudy's antics were enough to simultaneously distract the family members, guests and the guards as he purposefully set fire to a section of the main hall. It was in all that commotion that Omkara was able to sneak into what had once been Priyanka's bedroom, but now housed his wife as his little sister and her husband Ranvir had moved to a more private wing of the Oberoi Mansion. Omkara's brother-in-law was quite reserved, but they had developed quite an understanding, especially after the kindness Ranvir had shown towards Gauri months ago after finding her in the midst of a panic attack. Omkara had reciprocated by making an effort to include his brother-in-law in family moments, but also ensuring his over-bearing family did not drive him to insanity. Often times the two would slip away for a cup of coffee or scoop of ice-cream with Gauri and Priyanka, in order to avoid the latest drama in the Oberoi household. When he had explained to Rudy and Ranvir that Gauri was not happy with all the lavish pomp and grandeur the Oberois specialized in, they did not try to talk him down, but rather volunteered to form an escape route for him. They both knew Gauri deserved only the best. It was amazing what a trouble-maker and a police officer could do when they put their heads together.