the slap was as loud as a clap and stung her face. it had been an open-handed smack and it had left a red welt behind. just below her eye was a small cut where the ring had caught her. she staggered backwards, clutching her face, eyes watering. the man who slapped her was no other than tej singh oberoi and the girl who was slapped was gauri omkara singh oberoi. everyone just stood there, paralyzed with shock, tej and gauri in the middle of the hall.
tej: my son….my son ditched business for stupid blo*dy art BECAUSE OF YOU!!!! WHY DID YOU ENCOURAGE HIM TO FOLLOW HIS f**kING DREAMS?!
gauri: voh…voh…
tej: voh voh kya?! bolo!!!
he raised his hand but before it landed on gauri, someone held his hand. everyone turned to that someone and saw omkara singh oberoi better known as om. his lion mane was loose, his face had anger in them, his lips carried an angry frown but his eyes…..the whites in his eyes turned a pure black, and as his iris glowered teal. symbols, lines and dots formed in the iris, placed in a sort of manner. circular gallifreyan, they told everyone in the room. his lethal stare felt painful and piercing, as if his glare was tearing their hearts apart with a blinding teal light.
om: how dare you…HOW DARE YOU HIT MY WIFE!!!!!
tej: and how dare you listen to that b*t*h about taking art as a career!! what will you do with music beta?! you will fail in this career!!! business…business is the only career you can succeed in. if not business then medical or engineering but not….definitely not art! and why did you listen to that girl who doesn’t even know English?!
om looked at tej with eyes that could freeze the pacific. then he spoke well he snarled more than spoke “that girl who doesn’t known English helped me get this deal. i didn’t even know anyone in the art business to help me but my wife did. and you know something? i already got paid. i’m out and my wife is coming with me. i’m gonna be independent, get my own place, decorate it better than this shit hole you provide. you’re not a Dad, you’re a fail, a loser. you know what! i realized just today that this quote really is true. any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad!”
his father dropped his gaze to the floor and hooked his thumbs into his suit trousers.
tej: listen omkara! art has no value in this family! art business has no value in this world! and listen! leave this house and all your inheritance will go to the trash!
om laughed. he sidehugged gauri and said: do it then! i don’t care. i earn well. i don’t need your money! also you will see, my wife will speak in English very soon.
tej: fine leave then! leave and never return!
om: fine. chalo gauri, we’ll start a new life without fake people.
tej: JUST LEAVE!
om: is it ok if me and my wife get some stuff?
tej: n..
he was about to say ‘no’ when dadi said: let them tej!
tej: fine. but you only got5 minutes!
rikara went upstairs. as soon as they reached their room, gauri locked the door and said: omkaraji, where are we going to stay? what are we going to do? are you sure this is a good decision?
om went closer to his wife, taking a tissue out of the tissue box as he did. he pinned her to the wall and gently wiped the blood from the small cut, slowly blowing on it. then he left a small wet kiss on it.
om: can’t believe he slapped you baby. he is really mad!
gauri: don’t try and change the subject.
om: i’m not. tell me, do you want to suffer more because of this man?
gauri shook her head.
om: before my mum died, she left me a flat in my name. whatever mr oberoi does, he can’t take away this flat since that flat is in my nanu’s name. he can’t do anything about it whether he likes it or not. now we only got 2 minutes, let’s quickly pack.
he drifted from gauri and got two suitcases out. rikara started packing and then soon went downstairs with their suitcases. before they left, om turned to tej and said: mr oberoi, did i grow up according to plan? and do you think i’m wasting my time, doing things i wanna do? but it hurts when you disapprove all along and now I try hard to make it,
i just want to make you proud. i’m never gonna be good enough for you. i can’t pretend that i’m alright, and you can’t change me! ’cause we lost it all, nothing lasts forever,
i’m sorry, i can’t be perfect. now it’s just too late, and we can’t go back. goodbye forever my so called father.
he looked painfully at his brothers who were crying but looking at tej, he turned, holding his wife’s hand and left the house he was born in, the house he grew up in but he was also leaving the house his mother committed suicide in, the house where his wife was humiliated.
precap: babies are such a nice way to start people.
