A Mistrusted Trust AK/AR *NEW* pt10, pg54 2/05 - Page 40

this is the first time i haveread ur ff.............plz include me in ur pm list.and continue soon.

Here is the next chap, ppl =)

Chapter Ten

Kripa was staring at him quietly as he ate the food like a kid…so carelessly, without caring if the world was watching. It looked like it was just that Italian pasta and him. He resembled the young kid Armaan again; that cute kid with dimples on both cheeks who would always ask her what she brought for lunch each day. She smiled inwardly— to her, he was still as adorable as before…

"Why do you like this pasta so much?" she asked with curiosity.

"because you don't like it," he said cheekily and continued to literally hog on the pasta.

"by the way, when did you go on a hunger strike? You should've told me, I'd order some more delicious pasta and pizza instead of that garbage you're eating", Armaan pointed to her plate still full with untouched food. It mostly consisted of some sort of salad as Kripa always preferred to have a light dinner.

She felt as if she was caught off guard. Obviously he hadn't noticed her staring at him. Regret washed over her as she rebuked herself to be indulging in such a foolish act.

"None of your business, mister. You still have to pay whether I eat it or not," she tried to cover up the jolting emotions inside her and then playfully ticked his forehead with her two fingers.

"Ow! Don't do that," he said getting irritated but she just giggled and did it once more just to annoy him.

"Kripzie?" he said in a low tone.

"Ahan?" she replied in between eating her strawberry-vanilla icecream for desert.

"I was thinking…," he started but got annoyed seeing that she was busy with her dear ice cream and didn't want any interruptions.

"Listen!" he tried again. But the girl was not ready to leave the ice cream's sight. Screaming loudly in his mind, he did what no one dared to….he snatched the cup from her hand and finally interrupted Kripa Kapoor's icecream eating session that she'd hate anyone for.

"ARMAAN! Give it back right now," she whined as expected.

He held the cup away from her and raised it high in the air when she tried to grab it, "nuh-uh. Hear me and solve my problem, then you may get the reward," he winked.

"You just wait and watch, Armaan. Pay back time isn't so far," she gritted her teeth.

"Ooo, I'm so scared….Kripa, please don't hurt me. Happy?" he chuckled.

"Stop it, show off! Now tell me your "problem". What will you do without me, kid?" she faked a sigh and shook her head in dismay.

"Yeah who needs to stop it now, drama queen!" he gave it back to her.

"Armaaaaan! Tell already…my icecream…" she looked with the need for ice cream that was held by villain Armaan at the moment.

"Tsk. Tsk. And I always thought you were my friend but you choose this icecream…this…over ME?" he looked away being melodramatic.

"Dost dost na raha…" he hummed.

"Jesus Christ! You're such a pain at times Armaan," saying that she threw her arms in the air. "Will you do this favour on me and please tell me what you wanted to? I'm serious," she gave him a 'no nonsense' look.

He sighed and returned the same look. She could once again see that tiredness in his eyes that she saw days before. More than that, it was frustration and worry that she pointed this time.

She immediately scooted her chair closer to his, "What's wrong?" she asked feeling a bit nervous.

"Kripz, I think there is something wrong with this girl…you know she didn't even come to Sanjeevani today. I wanted to apologize and try to sort our differences but …I don't know what to do? I think there is something that is amiss somewhere, something that is influencing her behaviour towards me," he laid out his thoughts but ended up making himself more confused.

"Which girl?" Kripa asked, however, before he could reply, she answered it herself, "Ridhimma? The one you told me about…?"

He nodded his head.

"I see. But why would she hold herself back. If nothing, she should care for her profession and atleast try being a good colleague to you," Kripa said wondering about the girl's partial behaviour towards Armaan.

"That would happen if she gives much importance to her profession, Kripz. She shows no interest. When we work together on a case, she tries to run away from it and get out the quickest. I have seen no sincerity from her side but something tells me she has been a good intern. That's why Dr. Shashank wanted her back on duty as a doc," he explained.

"Hmm…" Kripa started to think deeply. Though it was quite hard for her to formulate any reasoning behind the issue but she knew one thing that Armaan wanted to reconcile with Ridhimma. It was obvious to her that he had been pondering on it for long…she couldn't see him upset.

"I have an idea," she exclaimed in excitement, making Armaan jump from his seat. He gave her a questioned look.

"you wanna talk to her, right? Then, let's do it. We can call her over or go to her house or anything and then you two can talk it out?" she grinned.

"What? No ways in hell! Are you crazy, Kripz?" he couldn't allow this at any cost.

She shook her head in dismay.

"Do you want to talk to her?" she asked.

He nodded in a 'yes'.

"Do you want to solve this problem between you guys?" she asked.

He again nodded a 'yes'.

"Good! So, let's do this now... I can play the referee while you two fight," she joked and held his hand to make him get up.

"Kripz, it doesn't seem the right time…" he tried to interfere again looking at his watch that just struck 10 pm.

"It will be okay. You told me you know Atul and Anjali quite well, right? They wouldn't mind if you ask," she dragged him by the arm outside the restaurant playing deaf ear to his efforts at stopping her.

"You know you can be so impulsive at times?" he proclaimed as he started the car.

"I know," she replied plastering a silly grin on her face.

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Sitting on the cold sand, she watched the waves collide with each other with force and then slowing down as they made their way towards the front. She hugged her knees close to her as a wind gushed past by her. Gathering a few stones nearby, she clasped them in her hand and made her way forward. One by one she threw them against the waves, reflecting the anger rising in her. She felt her body shaking with rage…how could they just send her here to make a fool out of her?

Armaan Mallik barged in their house with a total stranger to them. And to her shock, her di and jiju welcomed those two as if they were some long lost friends. How could they easily send me with him so we can "talk out our problem"? What problem? It seemed that everyone had some sort of complaint to her. Life couldn't get any better, could it. She hated him. She hated his guts. She hated him for telling Atul and Anjali about her behaviour with him. She hated his presence. She hated him for entering in her life just to bring more trouble for her.

"Ridhimma! Come back, don't go too far," Armaan called out. Right then, she grabbed a bigger rock from the damp sand and threw it hard towards the roaring sea.

Armaan and Kripa were sitting far away and quietly observing her. They had managed to get Atul and Anjali's permission to take Ridhimma out with them as Armaan told them about their differences clearly. He was more than glad when they supported him and literally convinced Ridhimma to accompany him and Kripa to atleast get some fresh air outside. The beach was the first place that came to his mind….him and Kripa had always come here to relax and just spend some time in peace. It would be an appropriate setting for their conversation to take place…

"Armaaan, there is something definitely wrong with her," Kripa said bringing him out of the thoughts.

"I told you…just look at her, man" he sounded frustrated.

Kripa patted his back and placed her small arm around his shoulder.

"Go and talk to her," she whispered.

"I don't want to," he replied and frowned.

"You're such a kid," she pinched his nose.

"Hey! That's supposed to be my job," he said and ruffled her brunette hair instead.

"Enough. Now please go…" she insisted.

"Come with me," he requested.

"Nope. You got to do this one on your own, macho man," she said and squeezed his hand in assurance. He nodded in silence and made his way towards Ridhimma while Kripa turned back to go and sit in the car. She was tired and worn out from all the work at the office and felt the dire need to take some rest

"Hi!" he said as he came to stand beside her. Ridhimma shot him an appalled look with livid eyes that conveyed a sense of hatred. He stared at her for a while as if trying to read her expressions. It seemed as he was searching for anything but that visible anger. Unable to find what he wanted, he shifted his gaze back to the ground and stiffened his feet on the damp beach sand.

"You're not going to talk, are you?" he asked observing the waves seeping through the sand and touching his feet.

"Why do I have to talk? Who are you that I should apparently be obliged to answer all your questions? I don't think we know each other…so why the hell are you so interested in interfering in my matters?" her voice sounded severely bitter and reached a higher note as she said each word. She clutched the rock in her hand and pressed it with so much strength that it managed to leave a deep imprint.

"What gives you the idea that we're total strangers? I work with you and I take my work quite seriously, if you don't. So, if I'm having trouble with you, I'd contact you and not just sulk away in a corner or ignore it, Miss Ridhimma Gupta," he looked at her, trying to meet her eyes while she avoided to look back. His patience was still intact as he tried to not let the anger get the best of him.

"I don't wanna talk about this," saying that she moved back and got ready to walk away like she always had. Run away. Walk out. Put up a pretense….all of this seemed way easier instead of facing the problem, the truth, that very harsh reality...

"Ridhimma, stop!" he shouted as he noticed her turning away, "we can talk peacefully. I'll listen whatever it maybe. I'm just trying to help you…"

"SHUT UP! Just shut….okay?" she motioned with her shaking hand as she yelled back.

"you wanted to insult me by calling me here like this?" her voice roared like thunder as if to compensate for the sudden urge to cry.

Armaan clasped his hand into a tight fist to make an attempt and control the bolt of anger rising inside him. He took a deep breath and moved forward.

"You're taking it all wrong. It's nothing of that sort, why would I humiliate you?" he asked.

"oh really? Then what were you doing when you complained to Atul and Anjali about me? What were you doing when you brought this total stranger here to listen to us quarrel and prove that I'm the one with issues? Ofcourse, you weren't insulting me at all," she shot him a disgusted look.

"woah! Hold on there. She, who you're calling a stranger is my best friend, so please don't say a word about someone you don't know well. I was only helping you…" he was enraged at her talking about Kripa like that but dare she listen to him for once.

"Don't you dare throw that crap at me! I'm done here with you and your taunts on me…enough of your attempts at being the sacrificing angel who only cares about others. Show all that bull to someone who cares!" her voice was miffed as a small sob penetrated through her. She closed her eyes tightly to in fear of letting her emotions out.

He felt the patience, which he tried to keep with him, drifting far away and anger and rage replacing it rapidly. This was really the limit. It had been a while since he stayed as calm as he could and gave her the chance to speak…but she just does NOT understand it at all. Armaan was no saint after all and had a tolerance level like every other human.

He swiftly moved ahead and grabbed her by the shoulders; "would you listen to me for once?" he shook her firmly, stopping her from escaping anymore. His hold on her grew stronger without him realizing as he waited for her response.

"you're hurting me!" her small voice cried in pain. In just a few moments, she busted into tears and wailed loudly. Her body trembled as she felt her self weaken. The sudden change in her astonished him, leaving him dumfounded. He blinked a few times to regain his stance and then slowly let go of her. He had gone too far. This was no way to treat someone. The guilt started to built up inside him.

She shook involuntarily, weeping her heart out. The feelings that she had kept locked deep down in the realms of her heart for years were pouring out like heavy rain. Armaan was taken aback by her sudden outburst. He felt the need to console her somehow as he placed his hand on her shoulder lightly. Reacting to the little support, she unconsciously clutched on to his shirt before she could possibly fall down from weakness.

****************************

Precap:

"Can I trust you?" she asked with a slight hope in her heart. Her eyes were still moist and the tears glistened under the moonlight.

Armaan scanned her face for a second and then nodded his head lightly, "yes, you can". He then added a reassuring smile when she looked hesitant.

Ridhimma lowered her eyes and whispered, "but just don't ever trust me, please".

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Originally posted by: Armaan-KSG

awesome ff...just read all of it in one go!

andd hmm..riddhimas really different here..wonder whatsup wit her...pleasee reveal her past soon! :D..

and armaans cool..

angad-krips are cutee..fiting all the time

butt i really want these jodis to fall in lovee...have some connection..LOL

continuee sooon

and pleasee pm me ;D