Chapter 20

                                    

                                          

 
                          
Two weeks passed since their so called wedding. Just 14 days yet it felt like an eternity, she mused. Omkara never spared even a minute to scold her, criticize her or taunt her. He never liked anything she cooked or did in the house. He made her work till late night and gave her tasks to wake up early morning. She was not allowed to go out of the house. The area in which the house situation was devoid of any kind of connectivity. Her only solace was daily drives he took her to get mobile connectivity so that she could talk to her mother and occasional visit to nearby internet cafe for video chats with her mummy. She was happy that Ira was getting better and hoped to see her soon. Apart from their first night, Omkara never asked her to sleep with him. She was confused whether it made her happy or depressed.  You were duped. I did some sweet talk and you gave yourself to me, she recalled his words. Though in the beginning she believed that those were mere lies to torment her, she was unsure later. 
                          

                          
She was done with another day. She had hot shower to soothe her tired muscles and got ready for bed when he knocked. She was never allowed to bolt the door so he opened it after another knock, "I will be leaving tomorrow for few days". She nodded. "I wasn't informing you. Go and wash my car", he ordered. She was too tired to comply, "I am done for the day ,taken bath and changed to my night wear. I will do it tomorrow morning ". "I said NOW", he yanked her out of the bed and pushed her out of the door. It was very cold and he didn't give her time to grab her pull-over. She grabbed the bucket and dragged herself to his car. She was furious and threw the water in bucket with full force, just to realise her mistake. The water bounced back, drenching her. She wanted to scream but had no energy. She slowly started to scrub his car with sponge. 
                          

                          
"Still not done?", he came after half an hour. "Done", she replied. "What's this? The tyres are still dirty. Wash them again properly". She felt defeated and had zilch energy to argue. She silently went to fill the bucket again and brought it near the car. She felt dizzy and fell down causing icy cold water to wet her completely. "Gauri!!", she heard him calling her before it all went dark.
                          

                          
Omkara was shocked to see her unconscious on ground. He called her name and slapped her cheeks slowly to wake her up but she didn't. He quickly lifted in his arms and dashed to his room. He noticed she felt lighter and lost considerable amount of weight since their wedding. Once she placed her on bed, he checked her again. Still unconscious and she was shivering vigorously. He quickly removed her wet clothes and covered her with duvet yet she was shaking.  He stripped himself and got beneath the cover. He embraced her closely transferring heat of his body to her. Slowly her body temperature rose and her breath was even. "Omkara", she called faintly. He was relieved to know that she was fine. "I am here, Gauri. Everything will be fine", he assured her. "I am sorry. Everything got ruined coz of me", she mumbled in her sleep. He didn't know whether she was referring to recent event or something in past, still he said, "It's okay". Her hands softly moved on his firm chest to his shoulder and snaked around his neck. She snuggled to him, rubbing her forehead to his cheeks. Her innocent action were definitely arousing him. He had a tough time avoiding after their suhaag raat. He could never have just s*x with her, he made love to her. He could betray whole world but not himself. He knew he still loved her, truly, madly & deeply. Yet his mind always reminded him, she doesn't deserve it. She needs to be chastised for her misdeeds. So he kept her away from his bed, found new ways to torture her but all in vain as he ended up taking care of her, again. She lifted her face and opened her eyes. Her eyes were drowsy but for sure they were awake. He couldn't decide whether to move away or bend down to her. Gauri spared him the skepticism , as she gently meet his lips. Her hands wound around his neck to pull him closer. It was enough to snap his control. He pinned her to bed and kissed her fervently. She successfully woke the beast of desire in him. Unlike last time, he wanted to taste her slowly, savouring each moment, enjoying every inch of her. "I missed you so much, Gauri", he managed to utter. "Me too", she agreed to her need for him. Night passed away witnessing their passion.
                          

                          
When he woke up, warmth on her side made him aware of her presence. He was happy that she stayed back. He extended his hand to touch her creamy skin. God, she is burning,he realised. He felt her forehead and knew that she had high fever. He felt guilty of ravishing her without considering her health. He quickly made her wear one of his long kurta, got medicine and kept wet cloth on her forehead. He did  everything to make her feel better. Omkara cancelled his plans and stayed back with her. Gauri felt happy to fall sick, atleast now she got glimpse of his former self, a man who loved her to the moon and back. He hired a cook and maid for day time. "I didn't hire them for you. If you continued the way you cooked and kept the house, I would not have survived", he explained while feeding her soup. A week had passed, her fever subsided still she was very weak and he ensured she was well fed. She remained in his bedroom and he had shifted her stuffs there. As he gathered food tray to leave, she held his hand, "Thanks for everything". He smirked, "Don't be happy, Gauri. I want to you to be hale and healthy. There is no fun in tormenting an invalid". She smiled, "I will try my best to gain back my health".  Omkara left his room and climbed down thinking, what am I doing? Get a grip buddy. You need to find new ways to hurt her. Something to scar her deeply. He passed tray to the maid and asked her, "Banu, can you stay for night too for coming week ?  I have to travel and Madam will be alone.". The maid agreed. He went back to Gauri to inform about the same
                          

                          
A week passed since Omkara left for his business trip. Gauri felt lonely. Banu was a good woman, she gave her company and took good care of her. They regularly walked to cyber caf for conversing with Ira. Gauri was feeling much better. She missed him terribly though. She was sure that once he is back , he will start his torture but she still longed his presence. Banu has to return back to her family by end of the week. As she was feeling better Gauri even gave her a day off. By evening when she heard sound of his car, she rushed to meet him. However the scene she witnessed , literally shook her. Omkara visibly drunk, hanging on a skimpy cladded female, probably one of his models. "Om darling, who is she ? I thought we were going to be alone here", she whined at him. "She is just a paid companion, honey. If you are uncomfortable then I will ask her to leave", he assured her. Omkara threw car keys and wallet at her, "Hey you. Go take the car for a spin. Stay away for couple of hours and come back late", he ordered. When she looked flabbergasted, he shouted, "Leave NOW". Gauri quickly left and drove away in his car. As she left Omkara regained his posture, "Thanks Nicole. I know I made you do something vile. I am sorry and thanks again", he told his friend. "You owe me big time, Om", she told him.
                          

                          
Gauri was driving aimlessly. She was weeping and didn't know how to handle the situation. Her thoughts were broken by ring of a mobile. She realised that Omkara has forgotten his phone in car. She attended it , only to be greeted by a familiar voice. "Hi O. how are you? ". "Rudra !!!" she was so happy to hear him. "Gauri? Is that you? How did you answer O's phone? Are you with him?" , Rudra sounded anxious.