Chapter 14: All in the name of Love
So here is what Shivay asked Om to do, "Meet her, agree if she says she wants to have lunch. Start talking, tell her about a new show case you want her to coordinate for you. Then ask her out for dinner. We know she has feelings for you, so use that to your advantage. Tell her you suspect your work is being sabotaged. Ask for help!".
Had Omkara done this, we would have a very happy Ishana falling into a web that she had spun on her own. They would have caught her red handed in the act, and with his signature hair flick Shivay would have asked for her to be locked away.
But instead this is what happened.
Om finished talking to Ishana and turned to find a very excited Rudy and a nonchalant Shivay waiting on him to have breakfast. "What are you so excited about?" snapped Om at the sight of a jubilant Rudy. "It is going to be so much fun!" started Rudy, "What part of me getting betrayed is funny?" asked Om. "How can you be so insensitive, do you even know how it feels like?she was my friend and how could she ever?" said Om, his tone and anger raising with each sentence he uttered. "Ok Om!, do not yell at Rudy. Besides if you think about it, there were signs that she was a little abnormal" said Shivay calmly. "What do you mean?" asked Om. "Well if you think about it, she has always thrown herself at you, I mean come on, did you forget what happened at your last exhibition?". "Also O, you and Ridhima began to fight a lot after Ishana came into your lives" added Rudy. "You guys,..." began O and then lapsed into a silent introspection. "Yes O" continued Rudy, "She claimed she was too drunk at your last exhibition, but trust me, no one who drinks just 1 glass of a mimosa with 2% alcohol get so drunk that they can't tell if you were a person or a chair." he finished, "Only Rudy's special punch can do that" he added. "Also O" continued Shivay, "I pulled up sales records since the time she started dealing for you, did you not think it odd that your sales steadily doubled every month?. Now don't get me wrong, you are a great artist, but even you know how art sales do not grow linearly, but peak around the time you either announce a new collection or around the holidays. I looked at the books, she had you booked for corporate gifts in the month of June, as far as I know there are no occasions corporations celebrate during that month in any part of the world, well at least in numbers the gifts were ordered for."
O was silent but his brothers knew very well that this silence did little to mask the storm that was brewing inside him. "Lets go!" he declared. "But there are two more hours till 12" said Rudy. "Well OK!" said Shivay, "Why don't we drive around for a bit?". "But bhaiya don't you have a meeting to attend to?" asked Rudy. "I will talk to them over a conference call, lets go!" said Shivay. "You can ride shotgun O" said Rudy. With that the brothers strode out of the mansion.
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All through the ride O was silent and Rudy was trying his best to perk him up. Shivay and Rudy both knew that their efforts would be futile till O got this out of his system, but the O bro code dictated they try and try and try and so that what they did.
"All right 30 minutes till show time!" declared Shivay pulling up into the parking space next to the gallery. "Lets head up to the restaurant. Rudy and I will be in a table away from Ishana's line of sight. I have coordinated cameras and microphones to record conversations that happen on your table. Relax and follow the plan, we got this!" said Shivay giving O a reassuring pat on the back. "Yeah O, get the shrimp, it is delish!" added Rudy. Without a word to either of them Om entered the restaurant and walked straight up to his table.
"I hope he doesn't lose it entirely" whispered an anxious Rudy to Shivay.
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Ishana got there 15 minutes early. When it came to Om, she could hardly contain herself. She spent hours in the morning getting ready. She knew Om liked simplicity and so despite it not being her personal favorite, she picked up a cream colored Anarkali and teamed it with an orange dupatta. A simple peach matte lipstick and eye liner to accentuate her eyes and she was done. On any other day she would have chosen some expensive diamonds to go with her dress, but today she would not wear any jewelry. "He will buy me diamonds" she sang to herself.
She got through the day very distractedly and impatiently. She couldn't wait for the clock to strike 12. The moment it was 11:00 am she started counting down the minutes. Can she arrive 30 minutes early and not look too desperate? or should it be 15. Frantically pacing in her office room, she jumped out the moment the clock struck 11:30. She would take 15 minutes to walk to the restaurant and then she would wait for him. He would be there. He would come walking towards her.
And so Ishana was mildly surprised and immensely happy to see Om wait for her. "Wow he got here early today?" she thought "Yay! for me" she said to herself.
Walking over towards him, she said "Hi Omkara ji, how are you doing?" with one of her biggest smiles. "Fine, sit down Ishana" said Om in a peculiar tone. "What happened Omkara ji? are you not well?" asked a visibly concerned Ishana. "Uh- I am OK!" said Om. "Are you sure? I can help you know" said Ishana, moving to place a hand on Om's shoulder. That was it, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Help me just like you are doing with my art, isn't it?" said Om through gritted teeth. "What do you mean?" asked a genuinely confused Ishana.
"Stop it!" thundered Om. "I am done with your charade, you are so good at faking things, you should have tried to copy my pieces yourself" he said, raising up and kicking back his chair. Luckily for them, Shivay had anticipated such a reaction and booked the entire restaurant. A very preoccupied Om and a very excited Ishana failed to notice this.
At that very moment, Ishana's face underwent a huge transformation. From one of genuine happiness, her face contorted into one of deepest anguish. "I did it for you" she whispered. "Well I am glad you are not denying it" said Om, "But why?" he added. What happened next was truly unexpected. Ishana blinked at him, went perfectly still for a minute and then erupted into laughter. Looking at Ishana laugh that way had Rudy really concerned. He began to move towards them when Shivay's hand restrained him. With his eyes he signaled Rudy not to interfere. Om was dumbfounded, he expected her to cry and deny her wrong doings, instead here was Ishana laughing like a maniac. "Why the hell are you laughing?" he asked, frustration and confusion evident in his tone. "Why am I laughing he asks!" mocked Ishana, "Because I love you and I always have, and you just can't see it, no matter how much I try to show you", she added. "I tried every trick in the book to get you to love me, I even hurt myself at times with the hope that you would notice, but NO, you don't even love me as much as those inanimate objects you make" she said in bitterness. "I love you from every single atom in my being, but you, you first love that two faced Ridhima, and then like as if she was perfection, you go swear off all women" she spat. Ishana was clearly hysterical oscillating between rage and disappointment. "What do I lack?" she asked "I am beautiful and talented and above all I love you" she said. "You disgust me!" declared Om, turning away from her. "Don't you dare turn away from me!, like your dad" she said and threw her arms around him. "Look, we will figure this out OK?, I apologize, I know if you love me, you just don't see it" she cajoled. "Get off me you mad woman!" said Om and began to break away from her embrace. "Oh come on, look at me!" she pleaded holding on to him, "Let us kiss and make up OK?" she said now batting her eyes coyly. "Get away you crazy lunatic!" declared Om and pushed her off him. Eyes blazing Ishana picked up a knife from the table and said "You come right back here, Omkara Singh Oberoi, or else I will cut myself at this very moment" she threatened.
That was it, that was Shivay's cue to intervene. It would less theatrical had Om followed his plan, but he knew he had to have plan B in place. "Get her officer" he declared. And just like that, a team of women officers came and surrounded Ishana. Prying the knife off her hands, they cuffed her and began to lead her away. "I curse you Omkara Singh Oberoi, that you shall suffer and pine for the woman you love, just like I do".
That was the curtain call on this drama.
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With Ishana admitting to her fraud, she was charged and her license revoked. However given her unnatural obsession with Om she was declared mentally unstable and a restraining order was issued. She was to never set foot within a 5 mile radius of Om. That being done, her gallery was now being managed by her sister. Om closed his dealership there. Impressed with Raju's ability to copy some of his really complicated pieces, Om hired Raju to work and learn from his craftsmen at his local gallery. He mentally vowed to thank Anika better once he had calmed down.
That day he did not want to talk to anyone. But the O bro code would not let it happen. Coaxing and cajoling O with some Kadhi chawal, Shivay and Rudy got him to talk to them about this entire fiasco. Initially reluctant and in denial, Om opened up about Ishana and how he genuinely missed the signs she was giving him. Sure Ridhima was flawed, but that did not mean he would fall in love with Ishana. However after some careful reflection he declared "I guess it is is unsettling to be ignored, but some one you don't want to be ignored by" he sighed. The memory of a charm bracelet and some wild curls flashed in Shivay's mind at that very moment. "Nonsense!" he declared. "You are all healed up, I need to go" he declared and quickly strode out of the room. "What is that all about?" asked a puzzled Rudy to an equally puzzled Om. Shrugging his shoulders to indicate he didn't know Om let Rudy's chatter wash over him.
This would be the end of a really long day.
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Anika was going through her usual morning chores when Joshi aunty came running into her house. "Anika beta! a slightly elderly woman and a very pretty young girl are making their way up to your house from the Hanuman mandir gali" she panted. Joshi aunty was a nosey busybody who loved to gossip. "They look very wealthy, who are they?" she enquired. "Not the Oberois!" sighed Anika.
Originally posted by: samiksha1993
🤗
OMkara and his lack of worldly ways. Absolutely straight forward...a spade is a spade and I will call it so. I knew he would come straight to the point. I love this entire episode. You brought out the difference between the Obros so well. Is this the end of Ishana or we will see more?Waiting for the next update.
Originally posted by: Arshi143
Just read all the chapters in one sitting! loving your characters and looking forward to more!!!👏
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