Yuhn Hota Toh Kya Hota- Rikara FF

Chapter 26

Omkara kept the phone down as his mother disconnected the call. 

He was relieved to hear Jahnvi's voice, talking to him after so long, not to mention sounding more confident than she had sounded in years. He remembered that brief phase last year, when his parents relationship seemed to improve after Mr. Oberoi and Chhote Papa were discharged and acquitted from the false charges against them, about a girl's suicide. Until their relationship came tumbling down again, with Svetlana's fake accident and entry into the house. To hear that Svetlana had finally left the Oberoi mansion, after three months, was a huge worry off his chest. To add to this feeling of relief, was the fact that it was Jahnvi who threw her out. His mother, on her own, took the reins of her life back in hand. 

Of course, knowing Mr. Oberoi, he would not give up so easily. But Omkara won't give up either. He had signed that contract, he would join the family business, give up his art, and do what his father desired for the rest of his life, if that meant his father would never leave his mother. Jahnvi sounded better but he knew that his mother valued her marriage too much. She would crumble if Mr. Oberoi left her. Omkara won't left that happen. 

Omkara thought it was a strange coincidence that his mother and himself, had both met a stranger yesterday, who conveyed essentially the same message to both of them: to be hopeful, to not give in to darkness. 

Was destiny signaling something to him? 

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"I was hoping to see you here today". said Jahnvi, with a smile, as she saw Gauri entering the temple in the morning. 

Gauri was tired from the exertions of the play last night, and the nightmare later ensured that she didn't sleep well. But seeing Jahnvi again, she instantly pasted a smile on her face, and greeted her brightly. 

"Namaste auntyji! How are you today?" asked Gauri

"I am better than before. Are you free? I wanted to talk to you, but I don't want to eat into your work time." asked Jahnvi

"Work doesn't start until another half an hour. Lets sit by the pillars?" asked Gauri.

Jahnvi nodded her head, and they both sat down. Jahnvi told her all that transpired after her talk with Gauri. Jahnvi tried to thank her for her help, but Gauri cut her off.

"Arey, humne kaa kiya? Jo kiya, aapne kiya." (Arey, what did I do? Whatever happened, you did.) said Gauri, encouragingly. 

"I'm glad I met you yesterday." said Jahnvi. But suddenly she sighed and smiled sadly.

"Kaa huya auntyji? Abhi toh aap khuss lag rahi thi, ab achanak kaa huya?"(What happened auntyji? You were looking happy just now, but now suddenly you don't?) asked Gauri concerned.

"I was thinking I managed to throw that woman out of my house. My son might manage to stand up to his father's expectations. My husband would be forced then, to stay with me and not separate. But at what cost? My son would not be able to pursue his dreams, and what guarantee is there that my husband will not stray? He may stick it out with me our entire lives, but who knows what he does outside home?" Jahnvi despaired. 

"Then you know what to do" said Gauri. 

"What do you mean?" Jahnvi asked.

"Your son sacrificed everything so that your marriage stays intact. That's because he thinks you will not be able to survive another shocker from your husband, that you will not be able to survive if your marriage breaks down. The only way out of this messy situation, is if you prove to your son, your husband and your family, that you are not weak, that you are your own person, that your self-respect and self-worth are more important than trying to keep up a marriage which exists only in name. If your husband is never going to truly commit to this marriage then what's the point of all this?" asked Gauri. She felt that she had overstepped her limits as a stranger, but she said what needed to be said.