Unsteady | ✓

Chapter 6 : Of Bygones

"Anika, where is Gauri?" Shivaay asked entering his bedroom to find Anika seated alone on the bed.

"She left!" Anika answered still thinking about whatever had happened. Luckily, her mother was returning the following morning. She didn't want Gauri to be alone. Besides, her mother knew Gauri better than she knew Gauri.

"Oh!" Shivaay expressed his surprise, shutting the door of the room. He looked at her. She was visibly lost in her thoughts. He walked up to the bed and sat before her. She didn't even bother to spare him a glance.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, his hand reaching out to rest on her thigh.

Anika looked at him. Should she tell him about it or hide it? They had established a deeper understanding. She had begun to trust him. Her mother had said that she must confide in him just like she confided in her. Anika took a deep breath. She wanted to be honest with him. She wanted to confide in him. She placed her hand on his, "Umm, Gauri and Omkara have a past."

Shivaay was caught off guard. He had expected it to be something about her or him or them. But hearing Omkara and Gauri together definitely shook him. "What! What do you mean?"

"They know each other from before, they had a past." Anika didn't know how to say it in better words at the moment. "I witnessed them talking about it." She added.

"Okay, umm, it's well, not something I expected," Shivaay said pulling his hand back, thinking about what he had just heard. Was Gauri one of the many women Omkara had just had a fling with? But she just returned from the Philippines after two years, so how was that possible?

Anika let him absorb the little piece of information so that she could give him more. "Shivaay, there's more.." she began and his sapphire blue eyes darted back to her brown ones.

"It was Omkara, the person who left Gauri pregnant!"

Shivaay stared at her astounded. "What!"

Anika simply stared at him while he stared back at her as though she had grown two horns. "You must be mistaken, Anika, Omkara and... no way!" Shivaay was very sure that his brother wouldn't be that reckless. He only hooked up with women who were interested in just one-night-stands or temporary flings. He was certain that Omkara would not let things go that far and certainly not leave a woman alone if it went that far.

"No, Shivaay, I am not. Gauri was pregnant when Omkara left her."

"Anika, there has to be some misunderstanding, Om will never do something like that!"

"There is no misunderstanding Shivaay, Gauri told me! Besides, considering Omkara's life habits, it doesn't surprise me."

Shivaay turned his face towards her with his blue eye blazing. "What do you mean by that?" He asked sharply.

"I think he has affairs. He flirts on phone calls. Walks into the house late at night or sometimes in the wee hours of mornings with lipstick stains and creased clothes."

Shivaay stared at Anika shocked. She knew! He tightened his jaw racking his brain. "Don't judge a book by its cover, Anika. You don't even know Om!"

Anika stared at Shivaay dumbfounded. He had blind trust in Omkara. But then Anika knew people were like this after working for NGOs that helped women. Especially men. The families would never let anyone go against their son, even if they knew the bitter truth. It just hurt to find that Shivaay was no different.

"I am not judging, Omkara. Even if I am... the issue isn't that. The truth is that he – "

"You know what, Anika, I am going to go and talk to Omkara." Shivaay rose from the bed. "I am pretty sure, all of this is anything but the truth."