Omkara held the door open for as they returned after their mood lightening walk. 

"Noodles with tomato ketchup?" Gauri asked.

"Ew, no way!" Omkara answered as they discussed their food habits.

"Thank God, for that." Gauri sighed in relief. He smiled at her exaggeration, as she walked past him. It felt so right to see her happy after the last few days where she was a crying mess.

"Why is it so dark?" Omkara asked warily, as he tried to adjust his eyes to the dull room.

"Everyone went to sleep perhaps. I guess Aunty forgot to switch on the light of the passageway." 

They walked in cautiously and in a few seconds the light went on. They turned to the right to see the other assembled with a cake. 

Gauri looked confused as she caught glimpse of the beautiful birthday cake. Was it her birthday? No. She couldn't forget her birthday. The others smiled and started singing the birthday song, she turned to Omkara who was smiling widely looking at his brother. Oh Jeez! It was Omkara's birthday. And she didn't even know! 

She watched on as Shivaay and Anika hugged him and then there was his remaining family on the iPad screen. When everyone finished their turn she looked at him apologetically. "Happy Birthday!" She gave him a side hug.

"Thank you!" He grinned.

"Why didn't you tell me.."

The others including him stared at her.

"Okay, never mind." She muttered. 

"Yes, let's cut the cake." Anika said excitedly.

"Yeah, she ate less dinner so that's he could feast on the cake!" Shivaay humored.

Anika glared at him. 

"Is it just me or that you're taking after your father?" Omkara teased.

"Om, I can hear you," came the voice of his uncle from the iPad. 

"Chote Papa, i was saying let's cut the cake.." Omkara smiled while the others chuckled. 

Gauri adored the Oberois, as the cake cutting happened. They looked so happy, a big happy family. Omkara's complete attention was on the iPad talking to his family, particularly his younger siblings. She noticed that his parents weren't there on the call. She looked at him and then brushed it away. 

"Cake?" Anika asked, grabbing all her attention.

"I wish... I will puke if I eat anymore." Gauri said. "You should have told me."

"Arey, you know with the gathering the evening and everything, you were so busy.  Even I didn't know about it until you two left for a walk, Shivaay had ordered it in the evening. 

"Oh!" Gauri smiled. 

And she thought they were trying to let Omkara and her spend time alone. How foolish!

The brothers had excused themselves. Anika was helping aunty Shah clean up. Gauri bid them goodnight and walked to her room. She took out her phone. What gift should she buy for Omkara?

* * *

It had been pretty late in the night when Omkara had finally slept. He was filled with bittersweet emotion. His mother was always the first one to wish him ever since he was a kid. However that changed with time. Somehow he didn't miss his mother that much last night. He was mad at himself for that. But being around people he cared for on his birthday was a sweet blessing. 

He was woken up with knock on the door.  He was surprised that he had slept in, it was a few minutes past ten. He wondered why Shivaay hadn't woken him earlier. He walked to the door.

"Hey Shiv--" He stopped midway seeing a smiling Gauri at the doorstep.

"Gauri!" He managed to pull his lips into a formal smile.

He noticed her smile fade. He let out a yawn trying to open his eyes and  figure out why that beautiful smile had faded.

Gauri was excited to give Omkara the gift. But a yawning shirtless Omkara was not what she was expecting. Worse — she had literally checked him out. If he worked out, he'd surely have abs. Not that she didn't like what she saw. She tried to smile and keep her eyes on his face.

"I will let you freshen up!"

"Hmm, okay!" He said and shut the door as soon as she walked away. He walked to the bed and slumped on it to snooze for a while.

Gauri chided herself for being so stupid crossing the passageway to her room. She had bought him a few diaries. After thinking over it for a while before sleeping, she realized that while helping him pack, when he had to leave hurriedly over an year back, she had seen that he had different kind of diaries. So she bought him a set of expensive diaries. 

Gauri sat on the bed,  biting her thumb nail nervously. This thing with Omkara was getting complicated. She felt like a piece of iron slowly been drawn towards a magnet — Omkara! 

She shook her head. "You're just overthinking, Gauri. Don't think about that, think about all this legal stuff and all the work that needs to be done." She remembered she had to talk to Shivaay. Maybe she could do that, while Omkara probably had a shower. She closed her eyes, and warned her mind to not even make a mental image of that.

Almost an hour later, Omkara joined them in her father's home office. He greeted them appearing as bright as sunshine. Gauri smiled. Seemed like he was having a cheerful phase in life. She barely saw him disturbed in the past few days. She wondered what it could be. 

Did men have hormones cycle too? Probably or probably not. Whatever!

"Hey! Happy Birthday!" She said soon after Shivaay greeted Omkara and went back to reading the document. That particular man was workaholic to the C!

"Thank you!" Omkara said with a smile.

"That was an awfully long shower," She said casually, and then looked up. As she noticed Omkara glance at Shivaay and back at her rather awkwardly, she realized it wouldn't have sounded right so she added, "I wanted to give you your birthday gift!"

"Right. Where's it?" Omkara asked, ignoring the sly smirk Shivaay hid behind the file. He was sure his head was totally on the conversation between him and Gauri, and no where on the document he pretended to read.

"Oh, in my room!" 

"It's okay, I will take that later. Coming to you both, what's brewing."

"I am looking at the papers of this house." Gauri answered.

"And, I am looking at the papers of the real state holdings."

"Okay, I guess, I will just go with Anika for shopping!"

"She's going shopping on her own?" Shivaay asked, placing down the file.

"Aunty Shah is taking her." Omkara answered.

"God save her!" Shivaay muttered under his breath. 

"I would say God save you, she has two of your credit cards. I hope you've told her that a dollar is not an equivalent of a rupee." Omkara humored.

"I told her it's seventy-five rupees because I didn't have the patience to explain to her why it fluctuates." Shivaay sighed.

Omkara chuckled and Shivaay joined. Gauri tried to hold back her smile. 

"On a serious note, I guess I will go out with Anika." Omkara said looking at the piled up files. He was in no mood to get a headache trying to understand the clauses.

"Okay, your call. Don't tell me that you got tortured on your birthday!" Shivaay said. 

Omkara rolled his eyes, his gaze moving to Gauri. "I will see you later then!"

"See yaa!" Gauri muttered, regretting declining Anika's offer to go shopping. 

* * * 

The space from Omkara had given Gauri some time to think about what she wanted in life. She had pitched her idea to Shivaay— that of liquidating all her father's assets and redirecting the money to Indian investments. He had improvised on the idea way too much than she had expected, explaining to her all the pros and cons. Discussion with Shivaay was nothing short of a brainstorming college lecture. He was simply hundred steps ahead of her in thinking.

Gauri stood by the railing, observing the scene in the living room downstairs. Omkara had just returned. Watching his bonding with Anika, she felt odd. That woman could make him laugh and smile at the drop of a hat. She knew she was being plain stupid. Anika was his sister-in-law. She really had to get a grip on her feelings which off late were all over the place, especially when they were for Omkara. 

She quietly walked back to her room. She sat in the silence trying to sort her feelings. Why was she feeling this way? Why all the possessiveness for Omkara? She remembered not liking him looking at his ex with that weird expression— a mix of softness and regrets perhaps. Now his rapport with Anika pissed him. Weirdly she craved to be the only one who could get the Omkie behind the nonchalant Omkara. 

"Busy?" A voice made her look up and out of her mind.

"Hi!" She smiled.

He sauntered in with a smile on his face. "Thought you'd want to give me the gift?"

"Right. Gift!" Gauri mumbled, getting off the bed. She walked to her table picked up the box and walked back to the bed where Omkara had taken a seat. 

"Here you go, it's a very simple gift." She said handing him the box, while sitting beside him. She watched on with a smile, whilst he quickly unwrapped it, systematically.

"Wow, these are nice." He smiled looking at the set of diaries. He was surprised how they matched his taste. It was probably the most simplest gift he had received but it meant so much. He loved, or at least used to love, penning down random thoughts, sometimes poetry, drabbles and a lot more of his observations and inferences, in his words, in his writing. He glanced at her. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" She asked perplexed.

"That I will appreciate this."

"I remember seeing a few diaries in your room. So that's the best I could come up with, in the short time."

"This is wonderful. Thanks!"

Gauri grinned. "You seriously are appreciating a very very simple gift, like."

"Simple is not easy Gauri." He said as his eyes met hers.

Gauri's amusement disappeared and she smiled, deeply understanding those words. She couldn't agree with them more. His smile strangely seemed to be alluring her. She leaned closer. He reciprocated, by shifting closer. 

Omkara hated feeling helpless, like he did in the moment. If only life could be simple. If only he could kiss her without think of what after that. He looked away abruptly, giving her the time to recover from her daze. Earlier he only cared for his heart, his pain and the risk of heartbreak he would take. But now, he knew that Gauri liked him. He wasn't dumb to not notice that she was drawn to him. Just like he was. Except that he knew how to conceal it while she wore her heart on the sleeve.

"I love these.." He said, glancing at her with a smile. 

Gauri forced a smile, pretending that his sudden withdrawal hadn't made her feel bad. 

"Anyways, Shivaay wanted to talk about something. I will see you later!" Saying that Omkara quickly got to his feet.

"Yeah!" Gauri mumbled, unable to meet his eyes. 

Omkara bit his ligand glanced at her over his shoulder just before leaving the room. She was folding the gift wrap paper. He closed his eyes and walked away. Why couldn't love, relationships and trust be easy too?

He stormed into his room shutting the door behind him. He glanced at Shivaay who stepped into the room from the balcony hearing the sound.

"Not now Shivaay, I want to be alone for sometime." He muttered dumping the diaries on the table.

"What happened?"

Omkara sighed placing his hands on the chair. "I don't know why I ma doing this to her. It's all so.." He hit hi plam on the chair.

"Om, I think you should accept the fact that you are in love with her."

"Love isn't enough, Shivaay. There's a lot more that a relationship needs. And I don't think she deservesto be with someone like me... "

"Quit it!" Shivaay interjected.

Omkara turned to meet his eyes. 

"It's in your head, Omkara. You are perfect, you can make a commitment it's just that you're being a coward."

Omkara scoffed. "I don't need advice from you!"

Shivaay looked at him with a penetrating gaze. "Om, I am just saying hat you are being..."

"Stop. Please!" Omkara hollered. "Leave me alone Shivaay!"

"I am not going to. I can't let you do this. You are ejust being a coward..."

"Enough Shivaay. You don't understand me. Forget me do you even understand Anika? Do you know how you've come to hurting her with your belittling humor and taking her for granted attitude. Do you even see that she's the one whose trying to fit.. "

"Enough!" Shivaay screamed, glaring at Omkara, taking a step closer to him. "I won't hear a word more. You're crossing the line."

"Wow, so you can say whatever yhe hell you want and I need to shut up?" Omkara scoffed. 

"Omkara, I have made it clear in the past and I say it again. I won't tolerate anyone commenting on my relationship with Anika." Shivaay warned.

"Anika is not happy... she's the only one compromising Shivaay. And before you know, she.." his words faded as a slap landed on his face.

"Not a word."

In a fit of anger, Omkara pushed him away. Enraged Shivaay punched him. He staggered behind knocking of a few things from the table. 

"Leave!" Omkara shouted.

"You're projecting your issues on me!" Shivaay seethed in anger. 

Omkara's piercing gaze looked at him, as he pressed his plam against his cheek. "You're being delusion Shivaay, you're the one whose not seeing that she's not happy.  She's pretending to be happy and with time that's going to..." He received another blow.

"Not a word!" Shivaay warned holding him by the collar, his eyes glimmering with rage.

Omkara pushed him away as the door flew open and a frantic Anika stepped in calling their names.

"Shivaay," she whispered, holding his arm looking ag the things scattered on the floor and finally at Omkara.

"Om!" She gasped. 

She looked between the brothers. Shivaay walked past her and stormed outside the room. A visibly shocked Anika followed his trail.

-Anami!♡