Chapter 4

Darkness
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These days he liked playing with black and white, the balance between, which was tricky, a tone darker everything becomes shady; a tone lighter too bright to gaze at. Omkara chased after the subtle gray, the edge between peace and chaos. Sat in a three legged stool, his round spectacles on and hair tied, he fixed the spotlight a little towards left, casting a sash of shadow across the sculpture he was working on and tested the tip of his brush against his thumb.
"Omkara Singh Oberoi!" Her tone was murderous. He put down the brush and wiped his hands before the door was thrown open. There goes his peace!
"Gauri," he kept saying that a lot didn't he? The thought crossed his mind and his brows frowned, before noticing that she was marching towards him. In a second, she had two fistfuls of his collar clutched in her hands. Omkara looked up, calmly into her eyes burning with suppressed fury, his hands unconsciously coming up to cover hers on his collar. 'Paint hai, lag jaayengi," he completed his sentence.
"Go to hell with your paint!" She gritted her teeth, "you pathetic excuse of a human! Kudko kya samajh rakkha hai?"
"Just what you said, Omkara Singh Oberoi," he replied nonchalantly, a hand securely holding her waist.
His fingers pressing against the smoothness of her skin, brought her senses back. Ri blinked, realizing she was almost on his lap, her hands fruitlessly gripping his collar. He wasn't looking at her, but something in his peripheral view. Taking advantage of her momentary lapse in attention he tugged at her and she tumbled on him, their foreheads bumping together.
"Ouch!" He muttered huskily and a wave of static ran down her spine. Then she saw the retreating figure of Tej Singh Oberoi in the edge of her vision. The reality dawned rather fast and Ri pushed him away, scrambling away from him as if he had burned her.
"You did it today," her tone was shaking with anger. "But never you dare -" she pressed the words with her index finger thrown at him. " - repeat it. Hum koi kheelne ki cheez nahi hai!" Ri wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her upper arms up and down with her hands, trying to calm down. She hated that feeling she had had when he had been close, that enticing gaze which played tricks on her senses. She wasn't supposed to feel that way about him; not when she was deeply involved with another - had been deeply involved with another. Was her mind so fickle that she couldn't be faithful to the man she had pledged her heart to? That for a moment there she had almost kissed Omkara Singh Oberoi who wants nothing but to make a pawn out of her? The man and his games - he was getting to her now, and she hated herself for it.
He walked to her casually, as if the threat had no effect on him and grasped one of her wrists. Leading her arm towards the sculpture behind them, he placed her hand there and made her push it into the ground. Ri jumped backwards in shock, knocking into his chest in process. He held her shoulders and followed her gaze to the broken pieces of pottery at their feet.
"Break more if you want, it's a good way to relieve stress." His odd serenity was back, the indifference tanning his tone. "Suppressed anger creates health issues."
She moved away from him, colliding with another statue in process and sending it down to the ground as well. Omkara folded his arms across his chest, watching her with a guarded gaze. Her fists were clutched, jaw still clenched, she inhaled deeply before opening her mouth. He bet her to it.
"I'm not going to apologize for it." His tone had a finite ring to it. One that not many in his family had heard. This was Omkara Singh Oberoi at his negotiation best, a diplomatic man who had no time to give a cent about one's feelings. "You asked me not to go to your dad or mine, you never said anything about his. And before you get any ideas - I did not threaten him, in fact I didn't even go to see him. I just let him know what you two were up to. Coming to you had been entirely his decision - but yeah; I knew he would do so. I just wanted to give you a reality check."
"Do you have any idea that you ruined me?" Her voice cracked as she blinked furiously, trying hard to keep herself from sobbing. Gauri Kumari Sharma never cried in front of anyone.
"You're not ruined." He corrected her without missing a beat. "I kept you from ruining your name, one failed relationship may mean nothing, but one failed marriage would change your life Gauri."
"Huh," she snorted. "What makes you think our marriage won't fail Omkara? What assures you that you won't end up hating the sight of me?"
He shrugged.
"Oberoi khandaan mein divorce nahi hota," he repeated his Daadi's words. "And I don't hate you Gauri."
"But I love him!" She wiped some of his paint bottles to the floor, the sound of breaking glass puncturing her sentence. "I love him damn it! And you - you played me, made me betray him."
"If you'd like to think so," he said stiffly, pulling off his glasses and setting them at a safe distance from her. "But, if you really - really loved him, you'd have taken the risk. Nobody stopped you from leaving Gauri, you, yourself didn't go."
She pushed him with a groan and he held her wrists before she caused him any damage, pulling her closer, his gaze boring into hers.
"Who do you think you are, to question my love?"
"Tumhara hone wala pati," his tone was as gentle as hers had been violent.
She stopped struggling, her body exhausted and her tone was weary.
"I can't marry you Omkara." There was a silent begging in her words, he closed his eyes for a moment, choosing to ignore it. Had it been easier for Shivay? After all he didn't have to go through months of this back and forth struggle; he had simply blackmailed Annika once; at least guilt would not have chocked him. "Why don't you understand? Hum pyaar karte hai usse. This - everything between us - feels like a scam, feels like fake. I feel repulsive when you touch me!"
His grip loosened around her, and she stepped away. Her choice of words, had been impressive. The reality hard hitting.
"I'm sorry," he sounded genuine at last. "It won't happen again, I promise."
"Please..." The word chocked her.
Omkara bit his lower lip, shaking his head at her.
"Poori duniya maang lo, aazadi nahi."
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