"Come on, we don't have much time." Gauri said tugging at his hand.

"Anamika." Omkara called as he saw the masked woman standing infront of him. "Is that's you, Anamika?" He cried in happiness.

"Yes, now please start moving." Gauri said as he dragged him with her.

She squeezed herself between the people and guided him towards the darkest corner of the dance floor, where she knew he would be safe.

"Anamika." Omkara said looking down at her.

"Omkara." Gauri smiled looking at Omkara, as they slowly swayed to the music.

"I missed you, I have been searching for you." Omkara slurred.

"I missed you too, Om." Gauri said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Then why did you leave me?" Omkara asked sadly.

"I had no choice, Om." Gauri said.

"Please stay with me, don't leave me again. It pains a lot here, whenever I think of you." Omkara said pointing at his chest.

"I am sorry." Gauri said kissing his chest.

"You are so beautiful." Omkara said looking at Gauri, trying to pull away her mask.

"Don't." Gauri swatted his hand, "You can really see me?" She asked looking into his eyes.

"Yes." Omkara grinned, "I can see how beautiful your eyes are, they are brown and green, no, green and brown." He said trying to figure out the color of her eye.

"I believe that you can see." Gauri giggled.

"When I got my eye sight back, I wanted to see you first." Omkara sighed sadly, "But I couldn't find you."

"I am here now." Gauri said looking at him, as he twirled and pulled her into his arms. "Look at me now, as you are looking at me for the first time." She whispered as she closed his eyes with her hand, and slowly dragged away her hand from his eyes.

Omkara slowly opened his eyes to look at Gauri.

"You can't guess how long I have waited for this moment." Omkara said looking down at Gauri.

Gauri pulled him down by his neck and slammed her lips onto his, initiating a kiss.

Omkara wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her up to match his height, as she cupped his face and kissed him, as their tongues fought for the dominance against each other.

"And it's worth the wait." Omkara smiled against her lips after they broke the kiss.

"I am happy to see you again." Gauri said hugging him tight, resting he rhead against his chest.

"The feelings are mutual, baby." Omkara said as he hugged her back, resting his chin on her head.

"I want water." Gauri hiccuped.

"I will go and get water." Omkara said stepping back.

"What if the tall girl comes to snatch you away?" Gauri frowned.

"Then you can come and save me." Omkara grinned.

"Yes." Gauri giggled.

"I will go and get water, you stay here okay?" He said kissing her forehead.

"Okie." Gauri smiled as she watched his disappear into the crowd.

"Gauri, what are you doing here? I have been searching for you everywhere." Anika said as she finally spotted Gauri.

"Anika... I love this party." Gauri announced as Anika dragged her away from the dance floor.

"I can tell that by the way you got sloshed tonight." Anika rolled her eyes.

"No, no... I can't come with you." Gauri shook her head as she tried to wiggle out of Anika's hold as she remembered Omkara, "I can't leave O..."

"I know you loved Vodka, but it's 12 O'clock Cindrella you have to go home." Anika said as she made Gauri sit in the passenger seat and strapped the seat belt.

"Anika...O..." Gauri slurred before she passed out.

"Anamika..." Omkara called out as he searched for Gauri.

"Omkara..." Shivaay called.

"Shivaay, Anamika..." Omkara said, "I saw Anamika, I met her here."

"God, I can't believe that Svetlana and Tia are so stupid to spike your drink." Shivaay mentally smacked his head.

"Omkara, let's go home." Shivaay said dragging Omkara with him.

"Shivaay, Anamika, she asked me to get water." Omkara said showing the water glass.

"Yeah...yeah... She told me she would now prefer Vodka over Water, and went to get that." Shivaay said as he made Omkara sit in car.

"You met Anamika? Did she tell you that?" Omkara frowned.

"Yes, she also said that you got so high that you are hallucinating things." Shivaay mumbled as he drove Omkara to his apartment.

"My head is paining." Gauri complained as she woke up the next morning.

"The severity of the pain tells you the amount of fun you had last night." Anika said handing over the painkillers to Gauri.

"I had a few drinks and I can't remember what happened after that." Gauri said resting her head on the dining table.

"Go and have a shower, we will go to shopping after having our breakfast." Anika said as she took out the eggs from the fridge.

Gauri stood under the shower as she tried to recall what happened the previous night.

"You can't guess how long I have waited for this moment." Omkara said looking at her.

She pulled him down by his neck and slammed her lips and kissed him.

"What the heck did I do, last night?" Gauri screamed.

"Gauri, are you alright?" Anika asked knocking on her door.

"Yes, sorry I slipped on the floor." Gauri answered, "I am fine."

"Stop scaring me." Anika huffed.

"What the heck, Gauri? How can you go and kiss Omkara, I know he is handsome, sexy and all but did you forget your promise to Uncle Harsh?" Gauri chided herself as she slapped her forehead.

"What do I do now?" Gauri mumbled as she marched to and fro in her room. "I hope he doesn't remember last night, he looked as drunk as I am."

"What if he remembers?" Gauri asked herself.

"I can deny that it wasn't me, I can tell him my name isn't Anamika but Gauri. And there are many people around with masks on so he might not even recognise me." Gauri gave herself a pep talk.

"I am Gauri Sharma. And I don't know who the heck is Anamika." Gauri repeated it like a mantra.

"Trust me Shivaay, Anamika was there at the party. I kissed her, we kissed each other." Omkara tried to explain to Shivaay.

"Omkara, it's the speck of your imagination." Shivaay reasoned, "Svetlana and Tia spiked your drink."

"It felt so real." Omkara said rubbing his face with his palms.

"I know Omkara, you are thinking about Anamika day and night that you might have had a hallucination about her." Shivaay consoled him.

"Last night, I was happy thinking she came back to me." Omkara said sadly. "I was sure I met her, we kissed too." He said touching his lips.

"It's your imagination, Omkara." Shivaay said, "There is no chance for you to meet Anamika in New York, in a high end masquerade party of Hernandez's. Aren't you the one who told me that she comes from an economically backward family, and she hasn't even completed her high school education?"

"True, maybe last night I was imagining things." Omkara sighed.

"Don't be disappointed, Mishra is doing his duty, I am sure he will find her soon."

"Here, we will leave space for the porch and waiting area." Gauri explained to Omkara, in the construction site, on Monday morning.

The entire weekend she spend dreading about Omkara realising that she is Anamika, and everytime a car passed in her street, or bell rang in her apartment she feared it to be Omkara. When Monday morning came, and she came infront of Omkara, the neutral look on his face made her breath in relaxation as she realised that Omkara didn't remembered anything from the Friday party.

"Let's plan for a glass door to seperate the porch and waiting area, so that the people in the waiting room could get a nice view of the lawn." Omkara suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea." Gauri said, making the notes.

"My team will be starting the construction starting next week." Omkara informed Gauri as they walked towards his car.

"Till next week, we can add the changes to the plan, to improvise it." Gauri said as she sat in the passenger seat.

"But I want the plan to be all set by Thursday, so the builder can get an exact idea of where and how to start." Omkara said as he drove his car.

"Sure." Gauri said as she took notes in her tab.

"Would you mind, if I take a quick stop to get some coffee?" Omkara asked Gauri.

"No, I won't." Gauri said.

He parked his car near a small cafe around the corner.

"Please feel free to order for yourself." Omkara said as he scanned through the menu.

"One coffee with one sugar, and a splash of milk. And a cheese sandwich." Omkara said to the waiter.

"I will have a cup of tea." Gauri said.

"That's a change, you usually drink coffee." Omkara pointed out, as he had observed her drink coffee in the office during the meetings.

"I prefer tea over coffee but in the office I can only get coffee, because I like my tea to be freshly brewed." Gauri explained. "Nothing can beat the taste of freshly brewed tea."

"I agree." Omkara said, "I used to love the tea but no one seems to make the tea in the way I like, I tried tea at different places but nothing matched the taste of tea that I was used to, so eventually I stopped drinking tea."

"Sometimes it's not about the taste, it's about the person." Gauri said, "the way they make the tea, it changes from person to person. Otherwise most of the tea powders taste the same if they are brewed in the right way."

"I would agree with that also." Omkara smiled as he took the coffee from the table.

Gauri watched Omkara as he enjoyed his coffee, it was a different sight for her to see him in the formal suits as she had always seen him in his casual attires during her stay in Oberoi Mansion.

"He really looks like a model." Gauri thought as she watched him drink his coffee looking out of the cafe through the glass window beside them, "I wish for him to be a model, then his face will be plastered everywhere in life size cutouts, magazines, paper, media everywhere, then I would find his life size cutout and would get it home keep it with me and would drool over it day and night."

"Why are you staring at me?" Omkara asked as he wiped his face with a tissue.

"With such a handsome face infront of me, I couldn't help it. Only if you could see you through my eyes." Gauri mumbled with a dreamy sigh.

"What?" Omkara frowned.

Gauri's eyes widen in shock as she realised that her mind to mouth filter failed her job again.

"Nothing." Gauri said hurriedly as she choked in her spit and began to cough loudly.

"Here, have some water." Omkara said passing the glass of water to Gauri.

"Thank you." Gauri breathed out after she drank the water.

"Let's go." Omkara said, and they walked out of the cafe after paying the bill.

"Gauri." Mukesh, the intern in the engineering team, called walking towards Gauri.

"Yes, Mukes." Gauri asked turning around.

"Gauri, it's MukesH." Mukesh corrected her.

"Yes, I call you the same, Mukes." Gauri frowned making Mukesh shake his head.

"Carter asked to get the approved plan of the backyard area, of Walter's project."

"Oh, Omkara sir has the plan with him, he took home the file yesterday." Gauri informed, "I will go and get it from him." She said trying to find Omkara.

"Shivaay sir." Gauri called running towards Shivaay. "Have you seen Omkara sir? I have been trying to find him to get the approved plan."

"Omkara is on leave today, since he wasn't feeling well." Shivaay informed her.

"What happened to him?" Gauri asked, worried.

"I don't know, he just told me he won't be coming to office since he isn't feeling well." Shivaay shrugged.

"The builders need the plan today." Gauri informed.

"Ok, wait I will check with him." Shivaay said pulling out his phone to call Omkara.

"Okay." Shivaay said disconnecting the call.

"What did he say?" Gauri asked.

"He said to send someone to pick up the plan from his apartment." Shivaay informed.

"I can go and pick it up, that way it would be easy. Since I am headed towards the construction site." Gauri said, as wanted to see Omkara to make sure he is fine.

"Okay, I will message you his address." Shivaay shrugged.

"Gauri, please come in." Omkara coughed, as he opened the door. "Shivaay informed me about your visit ."

"How are you feeling?" Gauri asked as she followed Omkara inside his apartment.

"I have a terrible headache, cold and fever." Omkara rasped as he walked towards his living room coach. "And my throat is killing me."

"Have you taken the medicines?" Gauri inquired.

"Yes." Omkara said pointing at the strips of medicines on the coffee table.

"I have made few improvements to the plan." Omkara said giving the file to Gauri. "Please take care of the work, till I get back to health." He coughed.

"Sure, please take care of yourself." Gauri said as she felt helpless seeing him in that condition. "Do you want any help?" She asked as she saw him, shiver.

"I am fine, I am feeling cold, I would make a hot coffee after sometime and I would feel better." Omkara informed as he leaned back in his coach closing his eyes.

"I can make the coffee for you." Gauri offered.

"It's okay, Gauri." Omkara said.

"Please, I insist." Gauri requested.

"Okay." Omkara went back to his position giving up.

When Gauri came back to the living room carrying the tray, she saw Omkara laying on the sofa, in the feutus position.

She placed the tray on the coffee table and carefully touched his forehead with the tip of her index finger to check his body temperature. He had a high fever.

"Omkara sir." Gauri called making Omkara open his eyes slowly. "I made Ginger tea for you, it helps you with your cold and sore throat." She said handing him the cup.

"Thank you." Omkara said as he took a sip of the tea.

"What happened?" Gauri asked as he stilled.

"You are right about it, when you said it's about the person not the tea." Omkara said, "This tea tastes good, haven't had this good tea in past three years."

"Good to know that." Gauri smiled. "Please let me know if you need anything." She said and left to the office.

Gauri's day at work was uneventful as she was constantly worried about Omkara's health. By the end of the day, she was so worried that he didn't even take her call.

"Gauri?" Omkara asked looking at Gauri, who was standing infront of his apartment. "Do you need any other document?" He asked.

"No, I was passing by your apartment, and thought of checking on you. You looked so weak in the morning." Gauri answered.

"I am feeling better." Omkara said as he invited her inside his apartment, "But I would be happy if you could make me a cup of tea." He requested.

"Omkara sir, I made you a cup of tea and some soup, which would help you with your fever and cold." Gauri said placing the tray infront of Omkara.

"Thank you, Gauri." Omkara smiled, "Please call me Omkara, we are not in office."

Gauri nodded.

"This soup is good." Omkara appreciated.

"It's a family recipe." Gauri informed.

"Where are you based out in India?" Omkara questioned her.

"I am from Rajasthan." Gauri answered.

"From Rajasthan to New York?" Omkara asked her.

"Yes, my Uncle wanted me to do my master's here and later I got placed in SR tech through placements so I decided to stay back here."

"Do you miss India?" Omkara questioned.

"A lot." Gauri smiled, "I miss India and the people over there." She said looking at Omkara.

"Who all are there in your family?"

"It's just me and my Uncle, my parents died when I was three years old." Gauri informed him, "Since then he is taking care of me."

"I am sorry for your loss." Omkara said.

"It's okay, I don't remember them a lot," Gauri nodded. "But at times I feel like had they been alive, my life would have been different."

"I know that feeling." Omkara agreed.

"I think you should take rest now, you look tired." Gauri said collecting the soup bowl and tea cup. "I will leave after leaving these empty bowls in kitchen."

"Thanks for checking in me, Gauri." Omkara said as he laid back on the coach.

By the time, Gauri dumped the bowls in the kitchen and came back to the living room Omkara was fast asleep due to the effect of the medicines.

"I wish I could stay by your side and take care of you, Om." Gauri said, looking at Omkara, "Get well soon." She whispered as she covered the duvet properly on him and gently pressed her lips against his forehead trying not to wake him up.

"Anamika..." Omkara whispered in his sleep.

"Shh...sleep..." Gauri whispered patting his hair, and soon he went back to sleep.

Gauri looked at Omkara, one last time and walked away.