Dare To Love#1 (DMG) Parts 1- 28 on Pages 150-154 - Page 114

Before Riddhima could open the message to read it, her cell rang breaking the stillness of the night. Riddhima jumped at the sound and immediately put the cell on silent to stop the noise. Praying that her sister and brother-in-law did not hear the sound she looked to see that it was Armaan calling. Thinking it must be something serious, she picked it up.

Riddhima looked at Muskaan shocked out of her wits, hardly believing what she had just heard.

Armaan and Riddhima stood looking at the scene in front of them. Rahul had been lying flat on his bed for half an hour now, shouting curses at himself, the words - fool, idiot, moron were getting quite repetitive. Finally when Riddhima could take it no longer, she decided to end this charade and set things right so that all of four of them could live happily ever after. And specially after seeing this whole new side of Rahul had convinced her even further as to how much he and her best friend were made for each other.

"Okkk, Rahul, I think me and Armaan both got the point, now could we have a more civilized conversation" Riddhima interrupted Rahul's monotonous singsong.

Rahul showed no reaction except maybe raising his voice a bit higher than before. Exasperated Riddhima looked at Armaan for help. Seeing Riddhima asking for his help Armaan panicked. For the first time in his life he had no idea how to control the situation in front of him. He still could not believe that Rahul had finally proposed to Muskaan. He had not thought that possible, not atleast in this life. Man, he must be really freaked out about that marriage issue, otherwise he would never have been able to gather enough guts to finally confess his feelings to Muskaan. But why did she run away, hmmm, strange girl. Did she maybe like that weirdo her parents had selected for her, but she did not look happy about it when she was talking to Riddhima. And then in dawned on him. Oh no, Riddhima does not know that I sneaked up on her and heard the whole thing, not only me but Rahul also. She is going to be sooooo mad when she finds out.

"Armaaaaan" Riddhima hissed bringing him out of his thoughts. Armaan immediately looked up and saw Rahul looking at him with his eyebrows raised and Riddhima with a murderous expression. Clearly Riddhima had taken matters into her own hands and somehow got Rahul out of his abnormal state.

"Umm yes, go on I am listening" Armaan plastered a huge smile on his face making Rahul snicker and Riddhima look at him in despair.

"As I was saying, Rahul are you sure you proposed to her and not make fun of her or something?".

"I said I love you to her and before I could even finish my explanation she just ran away from there, without saying a thing, clearly she does not love me" Rahul said sadly.

"Oh ofcourse she loves you, why do you think she keeps fighting with you".

"So you really think that she loves me" Rahul asked, suddenly all excited like a kid.

Riddhima looked at him, a smile playing on her lips seeing his excitement,"Yes, Mr. Rahul Garewal, I am 100% sure that my crazy best friend, Muskaan loves you".

"So why does she keep fighting with him at every possible moment" Armaan asked interrupting them.

"Well, thats Muskaan for you, even we became best friends coz we used to fight a lot" Riddhima said remembering her first meeting with Muskaan.

"WHAT???" Armaan and Rahul asked in unison.

Nodding Riddhima started telling them how she and Muskaan had become friends.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flashback (Beginning of Riddhima and Muskaan's friendship)

It was the beginning of a new term in St. Mary's School and the second standard class was full of life. Little girls ran around, meeting each other and babbling about all the fun they had on their holidays. But one girl sat alone at her desk doodling in her book. Suddenly a hush fell all around and the lone girl looked up to see what had caused her chatterbox classmates to shut up. A girl in pigtails stood at the entrance of the class while the whole class accessed her from top to bottom. Finally the new girl stepped in and tried to mix around with the class.

The lone girl just rolled her eyes thinking her as yet another addition to the chatterbox crowd, but no, this one was different. She came upto the girl sitting on her desk and said,"Hi, my name is Riddhima. Whats yours?".

The girl looked up at her and then looked at her outstreched hand,"Muskaan" she replied and shook her hand. Muskaan looked at Riddhima in amazement while Riddhima continued to smile at her.

"Tum itna hass kyo rahi ho?" Muskaan asked her.

Taken aback Riddhima fumbled,"Woh main, mujhe to bas, ummm, actually mera aaj first day hain isliye main khush hoon".

"Ismain khush hone ki kya baat hain, agar school nahin ho tab khush hone ki baat hoti hain" Muskaan retorted and continued with her work.

Riddhima had no answer to that so she just stood there looking at the girl drawing. Soon the teacher came and asked everybody to take their seats. All the girls promptly occupied their seats while Riddhima looked around and noticed that the only seats empty was one which was beside Muskaan and another one behind her. Without a second thought Riddhima sat beside Muskaan who looked at her in shock. Nobody had ever sat beside her thinking her to be moody but this new girl did not seem to mind. Muskaan smiled slightly seeing Riddhima sitting beside her and both turned their attention to the teacher.

It was lunch period and Riddhima was sitting in class eating when suddenly she felt a tug. Turning around she saw Muskaan busy tugging at her pigtails. Getting angry she tried to free them but Muskaan did not let go. Riddhima fumed,"Kya kar rahi ho, choro, mujhe nahin pasand koi bhi mere baalon ko haath lagaye".

Muskaan looked at her,"Lekin mujhe acha lag raha hain".

"Main tumhari complain teacher se kar doongi" Riddhima warned.

"To phir main tumhari complain Head Mistress se kar doongi" Muskaan retorted.

"Tum kis baat par complain karogi".

"Mera mann, kisi bhi baat par kar sakti hoon".

"Ugggh, tum kitni gandi ho" Riddhima said making a face.

"Tum bhi" Muskaan said making the same face.

When Riddhima returned home that day she told her mother about the weird girl but her mother assured her that she was probably just being teased coz she was new in school and it would not happen again. But it happened again and again. Infact everyday, Muskaan used to irritate her on some issue or the other like poking her, pulling her hair, making faces at her and then Riddhima and she would get into a silly fight.

One day Riddhima got tired of the whole fighting, in her entire small life so far she had never fought with somebody as much as she had fought with Muskaan, not even her elder sister, Anjali. She resolved that the best thing to do was to ignore Muskaan no matter what she did and not get into a fight with her. So when Muskaan came upto her, Riddhima totally ignored her actions.

Worried Muskaan gave up after sometime while a truimphant Riddhima beamed thinking she had finally resolved the whole issue. But after sometime a sulking Muskaan came upto her and asked her,"Tum mere saath jhagra kyun nahin kar rahi?".

Startled Riddhima looked at her,"Kya???".

"Maine poocha tum mere saath jhagra kyun nahin kar rahi? Maine tumhe itna tang kiya lekin tum gussa hi nahi ho rahi ho. Tumhari tabiyat to theek hain na?" Muskaan asked suddenly concerned thinking that Riddhima was not fighting coz she was sick.

"Meri tabiyat bilkul theek hain, tumhari kharab hain, mujhe tumhare saath jhagra nahin karna" Riddhima said looking at Muskaan unbelievingly.

"Lekin agar hum jhagra nahin karenge to phir tum mujhse baat nahin karogi" Muskaan said in a small voice.

"KYA????? Tumhe lagta hain ki main tumse baat nahin karoongi, lekin kyu?".

"Kyunki koi bhi mujhse baat nahin karna chahta".

"Lekin main tumse baat karna chahti hoon, jhagra nahin".

"Sach" Muskaan asked hopefully.

"Haan, to friends?" Riddhima asked extending her hand towards Muskaan.

"Friends" Muskaan said, shaking Riddhima's hand and smiling widely.

This was the beginning of their friendship which they always cherish in their hearts forever.

Flashback ends.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riddhima ended her story and turned to see Armaan and Rahul stare at her. "What?" she asked both of them.

"You had pigtails?" Armaan asked gleefully.

"Muskaan bachpan main drawing karti thi?" Rahul asked thoughtfully.

Riddhima looked at both the men in disbelief. This is what they had grasped from her story. Pigtails and drawing????

"Guys, you are missing the point here, Muskaan mujhse isliye jhagra karti thi coz she liked me and wanted to be friends with me. Ussi tarah Rahul ko bhi wo pasand karti hain lekin usmain himmat nahin hain, isliye woh usse jhagra karti hain, GOT IT?".

"Oh yaa yaa, we understood that, hehe, so now what to do?".

"Now we just have to........(mobile ringing) Ek second".

Riddhima:

Atul:

Riddhima:

Atul:

Riddhima:

Atul:

Riddhima:

Riddhima looked at Armaan wickedly,"I can't believe you came up with that, Muskaan will probably kill me after I do this to her".

"Well I could not let you do all the thinking now could I? As it is you have been working very hard all day, getting shocks, screaming at me, consoling Muskaan, some more screaming at me, I thought of giving your brain some rest" Armaan answered gleefully.

Riddhima looked at him sheepishly,"I am sorry Armaan, woh actually I got worried seeing Muskaan, mujhe aise nahi chilana chahiye tha, sorry".

"Heyyy, tumhe pata hain, main tumhe phoolan devi kyu bulata hoon, coz you look all cute when you shout at me, although I don't think phoolan devi was exactly cute, hehehe, neways I love you basket, gussa and all, haan lekin maine yeh kabhi nahin socha tha ki tum mujhpar doosre din se hi chilana chalu kar dogi" Armaan said teasingly, placing a hand on her waist and bringing her closer.

Riddhima looked at him with a frown on her face but it soon vanished when she saw him smiling his cutie dimple smile at her. Cuddling together they hugged each other.

"Oh don't mind me guys, tum logon ko jab apne romance se phursat mile tab zara meri taraf bhi dekh lena" Rahul interrupted their romantic interlude.

Riddhima immediately moved away from Armaan blushing at Rahul's comment while Armaan made a face at Rahul.

"So are we gonna do it?" Armaan asked looking at Riddhima expectantly.

"Do what?" Rahul inquired.

"Tu chup baith, Riddhima?".

"Haan Armaan, iske alawa aur koi raasta nahin hain Muskaan ko nikalne ka, tum log jaon, hum thodi der main aate hain".

"Cool, maza ayega, bye basket" Armaan said while moving forward trying to kiss her. Riddhima jerked back alarmed and tried to push him away,"Arrmmaaaan, kya kar rahe ho, Rahul dekh raha hain, jao yahan se".

Sighing Armaan looked at her and then turned to Rahul,"Sun to, tu thodi der ke liye peeche mur na". In response Rahul lifted his eyebrows at him while Riddhima turned red with embrassment,"Arrrrmmaaaan, get lost, main jaa rahi hoon, bye". Saying she hurried to the house before he could catch her.

Riddhima walked in her room to see Muskaan just staring into vacant space.

"Haan Riddhima, main Rahul se pyaar karti hoon, bahut pyaar, I can't live without him".

"To phir jab usne tujhe propose kiya to tu wahan se bhaag kyu aayi? Aur tab se yahan ro kyu rahi thi?" Riddhima questioned. Muskaan looked at her in shock. "Ab yeh mat poochna ke mujhe yeh sab kaise pata hain, mujhe uss Rahul ne bataya ke usne tujhe propose kiya tha".

"Riddhima, main darr gayi, pata nahin, kayi mahino se mujhe Rahul ke liye ajeeb ajeeb se feelings ho rahi thi, jab woh mujhe dekhta tha, mujhe acha lagta tha, uska mujhse har baat par jhagarna mujhe hasata tha, lekin main confused thi yaar".

"To phir tune mujhse baat kyu nahi ki?"

"Kaise karti, kitne dino se madam na jaane kahan busy hain, theek se milna bhi nahin hota tha hamara Ridzie". Riddhima looked away guiltily, she had been so busy in her own thoughts and confusion about her relationship with Armaan that she had hardly spend time with Muskaan.

"Lekin jab Rahul ne tujhe propose kiya tab bhi nahin samajh main aaya?".

"Mujhe laga ki woh mazaak kar raha hain, I mean aisa kaise ho sakta hain ki jisse aap pyaar karo woh bhi aap se pyaar kare? Aur Rahul kyu mujh jaisi ladki se pyaar karega?".

"Tujh jaisi ladki se matlab????? Muskaannn, tu hamesha khud ko underestimate kyu karti hain? Bachpan se teri yahin aadat hain aur mujhe tera yeh attitude bilkul pasand nahin. Jab hum chote the tab bhi tujhe lagta tha ki main tere se baat nahin karoongi, isliye mere saath jhagra karti thi. Acha mujhe yeh bol mera koi aisa dost hain, jisse main bachpan se jaanti hoon, tere alawa?".

Muskaan shook her head and Riddhima continued,"Kyunki unn sab main sirf tu hi meri sachi dost hain, unse to main isliye baat karti thi, kyunki woh mere saath rehte the, par tujhse mujhe hamesha baat karna acha lagta hain kyunki tu jhoota dikhwa nahi karti, jo dil main hain saaf saaf bol deti hain, aur chahe jitni bhi gaali tu dede, dil se sabka bhala hi chahti hain, aur Rahul ko bhi tu isliye pasand hain, samjhi?".

Muskaan nodded happily, tears streaming down her face. Finally she was confident about what she wanted. Just then she remembered what Riddhima had said about Rahul and panicked.

"OMG Riddhima, Rahul ka accident, hum kab se yahan baithe baithe baat kar rahe hain, jaldi chal, I hope woh theek ho" Saying Muskaan rushed out grabbing Riddhima's hand.

Riddhima glanced at Muskaan who was praying with her hands folded and suddenly turned very nervous. Ok maybe I should tell her the truth now.

Muskaan ran up the stairs and rang the bell while Riddhima followed at a somewhat slower pace. Not even bothering to acknowledge the "hi" from Armaan who had opened the door, Muskaan entered the apartment looking for Rahul and found him on his bed reading a magazine. Flinging herself in his arms, she started crying loudly while Rahul looked completely dazed.

"Rahul.....sob.......main bhi tumse pyaar karti hoon........sob.........I love you Rahul".

A huge smile broke out on Rahul's face when he heard her, seperating from the hug he looked in her eyes and asked again,"Tum such much mujhse pyaar karti ho?".

"Ofcourse you bhonduram, I love you".

Hugging her tightly to him Rahul shouted,"I love you too my teekhi mirchi".

The two peeping toms giggled at the couple before them and their way of confessing their love for each other. Armaan looked at Riddhima with affection and pulling her close to him whispered,"Thanks jaan, maine Rahul ko itna khush kabhi nahin dekha, and its all coz of you, love you", saying he kissed her on her cheek while Riddhima beamed at him and hugged him tightly.

"Kya matlab tuhe kahin laga nahin, tera accident hua tha na?" Muskaan asked Rahul bringing Riddhima back to earth. Armaan and Riddhima looked at Muskaan looking suspiciously at Rahul and checking him again to see if he had been hurt somewhere.

"Kya kar rahi hain, maine kahan na, main bilkul theek hoon, aur mera koi accident nahin hua" Rahul said irritated that she wanted to inspect him rather than do romance.

Riddhima gulped while Muskaan glared at Rahul,"Ullu de patthe, teri to, tune mujhse jhoot bola, main tujhe zinda nahin chorungi" saying she wound her arms around his neck trying to strangle him.

"Kya.....cough.......chor......Muskaan.........cough......Armaan........bachao" Rahul gasped.

"Muskaan chor usse, kya kar rahi hain, pehle hi din jaan legi kya? Uski koi galti nahin, woh to Riddhima ne........" Armaan said trying to break Muskaan's hold.

"Ridzie????? Tune?????" Muskaan whipped around looking at Riddhima accusingly.

Muskaan looked at all three accusingly. Riddhima stood nervous not knowing what to say while Rahul was still confused as to what accident she was talking about. Finally Armaan stepped up,"Dekh Muskaan, hamare paas aur koi raasta nahin tha, tu kuch sun hi nahin rahi thi, isliye hame yeh sab drama karna para, and look at the bright side, tujhe iss sab se pata chala ki tum dono ek dusre se kitna pyaar karte ho, I mean cmon aur kitne din tum dono natak karte rehta haan?".

When Muskaan still look unconvinced, Armaan continued,"Acha to agar hum tujhe sorry bole to tu maan jayegi".

"Maybe" Muskaan said shrugging her shoulders.

"Muskaan we are really sorry" Armaan said and then shot a meaningful glance to Rahul.

"Main kyu sorry bolu, maine kya......." Rahul started but stopped when he got a glare from Armaan.

"Fine, Muskaan I am sorry too".

"Yes Muskaan sorry" Riddhima said. Muskaan looked at them and then hugged Riddhima,"Its ok, and thank you".

Both the girls hugged each other happily while the guys just stood there looking at them. After a minute when they still did not part, both of them simply shrugged their shoulders and joined the hug clinging to their respective girls and taking the life out of them with their strong hold. Riddhima and Muskaan started coughing loudly and pushing the guys away broke the hug.

"Oye saalon, jaan lene ka iraada hain kya?" Muskaan shouted at them while regaining her breath.

Both the guys smirked but suddenly Rahul turned serious remembering something. Turning to Muskaan he asked seriously,"Muskaan uss langur Pishab Singh ka kya karenge".

"Arre uski to main....... ek minute tujhe uske baare main kaise pata chala" Muskaan asked making Armaan and Rahul nervous.

"Ridzie tune inhe bataya?".

"Nahin to, maine to kuch nahin bataya, how do you know Rahul?".

"Uhh, main.......woh.......actually......Armaan.......Armaan ne mujhe bataya" Rahul said putting all the blame on Armaan who looked shocked when he heard his name.

"Armaan how do you know?" Riddhima asked Armaan who looked at Rahul ready to kill him.

"Ummm, yaad hain tumne hi to mujhe kaha tha, ki Muskaan ko kissi pagal se shaadi karni par rahi hain" Armaan tried hoping Riddhima did not remember that she had not mentioned the guys name.

"Lekin maine naam to liya nahin tha, phir tum logon ko naam kaise pata hain" Riddhima asked suspiciously looking at Armaan who shifted nervously.

"Guyssssss, hum tumse kuch pooch rahe hain" Muskaan probed further.

"Ok hum tumhe bata denge agar tum dono promise karoge ki hum par gussa nahi karoge, naahi chilaoge aur maaroge bhi nahin, specially tu Muskaan" Rahul said.

Riddhima and Muskaan contemplated what to do, then deciding that they could always get the boys later agreed.

"Okkk, so jab tum log class ke bahar baat kar rahe the, chance hain ki main aur Armaan bhi wahi se guzar rahe the aur galti se humne tumhari baatein sunli" Rahul answered casually. The girls looked horrified at being spied on and moved forward.

"Heyyyyy tum logon ne promise kiya tha ki tum kuch nahi karoge" Armaan reminded moving back.

"I can't believe this, tum logon ko sharam nahi aati hamari baat sunte hue, disgusting" Riddhima said looking at Armaan and Rahul.

"Oh cmon yaar, ab itni si baat ka bura mat mano, socho ki uss langur ka karna kya hain" Rahul asked.

"Karna kya hain matlab? Woh to pehle se hi reject hogaya hain, there is no way main apni best friend ko kissi Pishab Singh naam ke aadmi ke saath shaadi karne doongi" Riddhima said firmly.

"Lekin Muskaan ke parents......" Rahul asked still unconvinced.

"Papaji ko main sambhal loongi, tu phikar mat kar" Muskaan said confidently. Rahul beamed and interlocked his fingers with hers.

"Cool, chalo issi baat pe celebration hojaye, lets go out guys" Rahul offered taking Muskaan with him. Riddhima walked upto Armaan who stood their lost in his thoughts.

"Hey Mister, kya hua, kya soch rahe ho? Chalna nahin hain?".

Armaan came out of his thoughts and saw that Rahul and Muskaan had already left the room. Turning to Riddhima he smiled,"Nahin, chalo lets go and have fun". But Riddhima stopped him,"Kya hua, serious lag rahe ho?".

"Kuch nahin baba, baad main batatu hoon, abhi lets go and enjoy" saying he held her hand and led her outside.

But in his mind there was still a worry, when Rahul had mentioned Pishab Singh, he had remembered Sumit. Sumit and his love for Riddhima. How was he to tell him that he and Riddhima were a couple now and how would Sumit take it. He knew he should tell him before Sumit finds out himself. It would also give him a chance to explain and he hoped that his friend would forgive him.

Riddhima looked at Armaan wondering what was bothering him, then deciding that she would ask him later or wait to see when he himself comes and tells her walked out holding his hand. Rahul and Muskaan were already out when suddenly Riddhima stopped in her tracks and smacked herself on the head.

Surprised Armaan turned to look at her,"Ouch, basket, that had to hurt, apne aap ko kyu maar rahi ho, yeh banda hain na aapki maar khane ke liye" smiled widely at her and winked cheekily.

"Off ho Armaan, mujhe Muskaan ko hum dono ke baare main batana hain, isse pehle ki usse kissi aur se pata chal jaaye".

"Hum dono ke baare main??? Hum dono ke baare main kaun si baat, basket?" Armaan asked innocently.

"About us, you know" Riddhima explained.

"Us what?" Armaan asked enjoying her nervousness.

"Ki hum dono............you know" Riddhima fumbled.

"Riddhima, kya I know, I know kar rahi ho, mujhe pata hota to main tumse kyu poochta?".

"Usse (nervous) yeh ki..........hum ek saath.........." Riddhima muttered looking down blushing.

"Hum ek saath kya? Basketball khelte hain?" Armaan teased her.

"Armaaaaannnnnnn" Riddhima said irritated.

"Ridddhimmaaaaaa" Armaan retorted in the same tone.

"Hmph" Riddhima crossed her arms angrily and turned around. Armaan looked at her amusingly, one second she would be all bold and daring and the next instant she would be blushing like a coy girl. She was just too good to be true. She portrayed herself to be this cool, confident, modern girl, but he knew that in reality she was a simple minded person who even though confident never really opened to people quickly. The fact that she had opened upto him and trusted him filled him with pride. She was completely unique, she was his girl.

Armaan bend down and blew lightly on her shoulder causing Riddhima to shiver. Smiling at her reaction he whispered in hushed tones,"Kya kahogi Muskaan se, ke tumne Armaan Mallik ko kaise deewana bana diya hain ki woh sote jaagte sirf aapke baare main sochta rehta hain?".

Smiling at his comment Riddhima turned around and found herself gazing into Armaan's eyes with his lips just inches away from her own. Her face flushed, she looked down not able to stand the passionate stare in his eyes. Thinking that leaving would be the best solution at the moment, she made a run at the door but Armaan caught her hand.

"Armaan.......pleaseeeeee" Riddhima pleaded making a puppy face at him.

Armaan shook his head and held onto her hand making her squirm. "Armaaaan, main Muskaan ko akele batana chahti hoon, pleaseeeeee" Riddhima pleaded again.

Giving up Armaan let go of her hand but not before kissing it and whispering,"For the last time, basket". Riddhima's heart filled up listening to his promise and she ran to tell her best friend, Muskaan.

Rahul walked in to find Armaan smiling to himself and inevitably smiled himself. He thanked God for making life simpler for his best friend. Ever since Riddhima had walked into Armaan's life, his friend had never been more happier and at peace with himself. It was as if she was an angel for him and he prayed for their togetherness and hoped that she would continue to take away the sadness from his life and fill it with happiness.

"Hey man, any idea what your girlfriend and my girlfriend are talking about so urgent that I was interrupted in the middle of romance?" Rahul asked Armaan jokingly.

Before Armaan could answer a loud squeal was heard making them jump. "TU SACH KEH RAHI HAIN?????? OH MY GOD???????? WHEN?????? WHERE???????? YAYYYYYYYYYY" Muskaan shouted loudly making Armaan and Rahul wince at her shrill screaming.

"Rahul, agar Muskaan aise hi chilati rahi, to I am afraid the neighbours are gonna kick us out, yaar" Armaan said making Rahul laugh. Just then Muskaan came rushing inside and hugged Armaan tightly squishing the air out of him. "Oh my goodness Armaan, I still can't believe it, I am soooooooooo happy, you and Ridzie, yayyyyyyyyyyyyyy".

Armaan was completely surprised by Muskaan's actions. Trying to be as enthusiastic as her, he lifted his hands to hug her back when he saw Rahul's face and decided against it. Maybe backing out of the hug would be a better idea before Rahul kills me, Armaan thought and tried to push Muskaan away from him, which was easier said than done coz she was clinging onto him very tightly.

"Hehe thanks Muskaan, umm do you mind letting me go" Armaan said nervously while Rahul fumed and Riddhima giggled seeing Muskaan hugging Armaan.

Muskaan let go of Armaan after sometime, much to Armaan and Rahul's relief. Armaan immediately created a distance between them and went and stood beside Riddhima.

"Awww, you two look so good together, don't they Rahul?" Muskaan gushed.

"Ya they do, I always knew that".

"You knew?" Muskaan asked Rahul shocked.

"Haan, I was their cupid" Rahul said proudly.

"Oh, so you mean to tell me that you knew about them and you did not tell me?" Muskaan questioned Rahul.

"Arre, what do you mean I should have told you, tumhe bol deta to tum Riddhima ko nahi bolti, aur agar Riddhima ko pata chal jata to phir Armaan mujhe zinda nahi chorta, phir Muskaan tumhara kya hota haan, tum dookh ke maare apni poori zindagi mere naam kar deti, how could I let that happen sweetheart" Rahul sighed dramatically.

Muskaan made a face at Rahul's dramatics and turning to Armaan and Riddhima excitedly asked,"Ok so what happened, how did you propose, when, where, ooohhh I want all the details".

"Muskaan, chill, all this later, I thought ki hum kahin bahar celebrate karne jaa rahe the, so where are we going guys?" Armaan asked.

"I know, I know, lets go see Ghajini" Muskaan suggested looking at Riddhima in glee who shot her a dirty look. Ever since that movie had been released Muskaan had been pestering Riddhima to watch it, but Riddhima who hated watching action movies had refused. But now she would have to go if the guys say yes, which they would coz all guys like action movies. Congratulating on her wonderful strategy, Muskaan patted herself mentally.

"Hey, thats a good idea yaar, what say?" Armaan added. Seeing Armaan all for the idea Riddhima gulped. Oh no no no, I cant see that movie, its bloody scary.

Riddhima and Muskaan were sitting in the middle with Armaan and Rahul on their either side. As soon as the movie began both the girls started concentrating on the screen while the guys were concentrating more on how to reduce the distance between them and their girls.

Armaan saw Riddhima totally engrossed in the movie while munching popcorn. Smiling a little he shifted so as to sit more close to her and held her hand. Riddhima turned to look at him with a questioning look while Armaan simply smiled at her and entangled their fingers together.

"Kya hua? Do you need anything?" Riddhima whispered to Armaan.

Armaan looked at her confused. Why would he need anything? He bent and whispered back,"No, why do you ask?".

"Did'nt you hold my hand to call me to ask for something?" Riddhima replied confused when he continued holding her hand.

Armaan looked at her for a moment and then took his hand back. Riddhima smiled at him and turned to watch the movie while Armaan found it a bit hard to stop his giggle. He could'nt believe how innocent Riddhima was. He knew she had never had any relationships before him and all this was new for her. But somehow he still could not believe that in today's world where having a boyfriend had become a must, something like an accessory, there were still girls like Riddhima who were naive and did not commit just to show the society. In a way it was becoming new for him too coz he was so used to girls throwing themselves at him while at a movie hall and here all Riddhima was interested in was the movie playing before her.

While Armaan was thinking all this, Riddhima was being blasted at by her conscience.

Riddhima turned and looked at Armaan who was still smiling at himself and felt so foolish. She quietly held his hand and interlocked their fingers just as he had done. When Armaan felt Riddhima's hand in his, he smiled to himself. He knew that sooner or later she would figure it out in her head.

Being in a mood to tease her a bit he whispered," Kya hua? Do you need anything?".

Embrassed Riddhima shook her head and whispered,"Sorry".

Armaan looked at her in happiness and placed a tender kiss on her hands,"Its ok basket, main jaanta hoon tumhe inn maamlo main experience nahin hain, lekin maine kaha tha na dheere dheere main tumhe sab sikha doonga, mujhe bahut experience hain" he said wickedly.

Riddhima gasped and smacked his hand. Folding her hands before her chest she pretented to watch the movie while Armaan continued staring at her. Finally after sometime when she could no longer bear him staring she looked at him faking anger. Armaan held his ears and said sorry making Riddhima smile. They interlocked their hands together and sat back to enjoy the movie and each other's company.

On the other hand Muskaan was getting increasingly fidgety. Rahul had his arm wrapped around her which restricted her movement and moreover she could not even have her popcorn properly. She had tried to free herself from his grasp but to no avail. He held on tightly as if she was running off somewhere and kept munching her popcorn.

"Oye Gadhe, apna haath hata aur meri popcorn khana band kar" Muskaan whispered.

"Teri popcorn?????? Muskaan, whats wrong with you?" Rahul looked at his girlfriend incredulously.

"Problem?? Meri problem tu hain, ulle de patthe. Pehle to apna haath hata aur doosra agar popcorn khaana hain to apni khud ki laa, meri mat le".

"I don't believe this, abhi do ghante nahi hue hame ek doosre ke saath aur tu already mujhse jhagra kar rahi hain. And what do you mean by ulle de patthe, pyaar hogaya hain, ab to gaali dena band kar aur naam se bula" Rahul said unbelievingly.

"Ab jo tu hain woh mere pyaar karne se badal to nahi jayega na?" Muskaan said cheekily and nearly shouted when Rahul took a handful from her bag of popcorn again,"Petumal, meri poori popcorn khatam kar di, itni bhook lagi hain to apne liye doosri lekar aa na".

"Nahi main to teri popcorn hi khaunga, kya kar legi? Aur apna haath bhi nahi hataunga, kahin tu uss Pishab Singh ke saath bhaag gayi to".

"Urrrrggghhhhh Rahullllllllll mujhe acha nahi lag raha" Muskaan said angrily.

"Deal with it" Rahul said equally angry. Both looked at each other fuming, finally Muskaan gave up and Rahul beamed at his victory.

When the movie got over all four walked to the parking lot to their cars. Armaan and Rahul were having a coded conversation while the girls discussed the movie walking a bit ahead from the boys. Smiling at their plans Armaan and Rahul gave each other a thumbs up and then caught up with the girls who stood near the cars.

"Ok Riddhima lets go" Armaan smiled widely as he led Riddhima to his car.

"Chal Muski" Rahul smiled widely as he led Muskaan to his car.

"Hum ek saath nahi jaa rahe?" Riddhima and Muskaan questioned them.

"Kaise jaa sakte hain? Meri aur Rahul ki gaadi dono idhar hain" Armaan sighed although he felt like doing the samba, finally he would get to spend time alone with his girl.

"Exactly, hum dono ko drive karna padega, ab gaadi yahan to chor nahi sakte" Rahul also sighed although his eyes were dancing in excitement, finally he would get to spend time alone with Muskaan ever since their confession.

"Oh, ya right" Riddhima and Muskaan sighed genuinely.

"Ok bye Armaan, kal college main milte hain, bye Ridzie, raat ko phone main baat karte hain" Muskaan waved them goodbye as Rahul started the car.

"Bye" Riddhima waved them goodbye as Armaan and Rahul smirked silently. There was no way the girls would get to gossip tonight, they would make sure of that.

Riddhima listened to the song on the radio as Armaan tackled the task of driving them back through Mumbai's peak traffic hour. She looked at Armaan in between and saw his face contorted in concentration. Smiling slightly she placed her hand on his hand which held the gear and he immediately turned and looked at her. His face relaxed and he tightened his grip on their hands.

After sometime Riddhima realized that Armaan was driving away from her home. Thinking he must have got confused she turned to tell him,"Armaan, I think tumne koi wrong turn le li hain, yeh mere ghar ka raasta nahi hain".

"Pata hain madam, don't worry aapka boyfriend itna bhi bhulakar nahi hain ki usse aapka ghar ka raasta nahi yaad hoga, hum abhi ghar nahi kahin aur jaa rahe hain" Armaan answered.

"Kahin aur? Kahan jaa rahe?" Riddhima asked.

"Jab pahuch jayenge tab bata doonga" Armaan answered.

"Batana nahi chahte to mat batao, mazak urane ki zaroorat nahi hain" Riddhima said grumpily.

Armaan laughed looking at her grumpy face while Riddhima cursed him under her breath. After sometime Armaan stopped the car and Riddhima looked outside to see where they were. Seeing the beach she got excited and looked at Armaan happily who winked back at her.

Rahul turned to see Muskaan looking at him angrily. Ignoring her angry looks he turned on the radio and smiled widely when he heard the song.

"Sumit? Why.........why would you want to talk to Sumit about us?" Riddhima asked Armaan nervously.

Armaan looked at Riddhima and sighed. He had kinda expected this reaction from her. Any mention of Sumit and she would become awkward and nervous. He wondered for the hundreth time why did Sumit's name make Riddhima uncomfortable, was it just because she knew he loved her or something else.

"Riddhima, woh mera dost hain, and I don't want any complications, isliye main usse personally hamare baare main baat karke explain karna chahta hoon" Armaan reassured her.

"Armaan, tumhare doosre bhi to dost hain college main, jaise unhe pata chalega waise hi Sumit ko bhi pata chal jayega, why do you have to explain about us to him?" Riddhima asked a bit irritated.

"Riddhimaaa, gussa mat ho baba, Sumit ki baat alag hain, I......I have to talk to him and I know he will understand".

"Understand what???????" Riddhima shouted,"Kya tumne Rahul ko hamare baare main kuch bhi explain kiya tha? Nahin na? To phir Sumit ko kyu kuch explain karna chahte ho, is he a better friend than Rahul??".

"Riddhimaaaa, Rahul ki baat alag hain aur Sumit ki alag, you know na" Armaan said exasperated. He did not want to get into a fight with her over Sumit. He knew it was a sensitive matter for her but he also could not ignore it and hurt his friend.

"No i don't know Armaan, all I know is that Sumit is your friend. Fine, I can live with that, but why do you have to explain our relationship to him as if you are ashamed of it and are justifying it to him".

"Enough Riddhima, I am not ashamed of our relationship and neither will be. But Sumit, he has loved you for a long time and being his friend I can't hurt him" Armaan shouted. He did not want to mention Sumit's love for her but she had made him. It hurt him to think that Sumit loved Riddhima and he could not do anything about it.

"Armaan, tumhe jo karna hain karo, mat suno meri, but all I know is that Sumit Kapoor has never loved me and thats the truth, whether you except it or not" Riddhima said with a finality in her tone making Armaan look at her and wonder why she said it. Riddhima looked at Armaan one last time and then getting off the car started walking to the college gate without turning back.

Armaan looked at Riddhima walking away and shaking his head parked his car. Her words Sumit Kapoor has never loved me still rung in his ears and he sat down on a bench outside the college building thinking about it. She had definitely meant what she said and had not wanted to argue with him on the matter. But he could not understand why she felt so. Was it because she knew she could never love him or something much more deeper than that. Still lost in his thoughts Armaan failed to notice somebody walk upto him and only looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder to see a face smiling at him.

Riddhima walked to the Students lounge and sat down. She did not feel like attending her lecture specially when Armaan would be there, and most probably Sumit. She knew she had been a bit unfair to Armaan by shouting at him but she could not comprehend on how to make him understand about Sumit. Armaan felt that Sumit loved her but only she knew that Sumit's feelings towards her were anything but love. Thus, she had not wanted Armaan to talk to Sumit about them. So lost was she in her thoughts that she did not notice somebody sit beside her and only looked up when she heard somebody calling her to see a face smiling at her.

"Kya hua, kab se awaaz de rahi hoon, Ridzie ke baare main soch raha hain kya" Muskaan teased Armaan as she sat down next to him.

Armaan smiled at her and shook his head. Muskaan noticed his sombre expression and wondered whether she should ask him what the matter was or call Rahul to talk to him. Then thinking that Rahul would most probably be in class she decided to talk to him herself. After all now he just wasn't Rahul's best friend but Riddhima's boyfriend too.

"Kya hua Armaan, kuch problem hai kya?" Muskaan started.

"Nahin Muskaan, woh to bas aise hi, tu class main nahin hain?" Armaan asked hoping to divert the talk.

"Nahin re, woh actually Mr.Deshpande ka lecture hain aur main apna assignment karna bhool gayi isliye class hi nahin gayi, waise bhi last time buddhe ne bahut jhara tha" Muskaan laughed but stopped when she saw Armaan was hardly paying attention to her.

"Acha ab saaf saaf bol, Ridzie se jhagra kiya kya?" Muskaan asked directly.

"Jhagra???? Nahin to..........nahin Muskaan aisa kuch nahin hain" Armaan replied uncomfortably.

"Aisa kuch nahin hain to itna ghabra kyu raha hain, bol na kya hua? Kis baat pe jhagra kiya? Tera chehra dekhkar to lagta hain mamla serious hain".

Armaan looked at Muskaan and wondered whether he should talk to her about the Sumit issue. Maybe he should, after all, Muskaan knew Riddhima and Sumit back at school and maybe she would be able to tell him why Riddhima reacts in such a different manner listening to Sumit's name.

"Woh actually Muskaan main Riddhima se Sumit ke baare main baat karna chahta tha lekin woh gussa hogayi" Armaan said looking at Muskaan whose face fell as soon as she heard Sumit's name.

"Hey Riddhima, tune Muskaan ko kahin dekha hain?" Rahul asked Riddhima who seemed a bit lost to him.

"Muskaan ko? Nahin Rahul main to abhi aayi, woh shayad class main hogi" Riddhima answered.

"Nahin madam class main nahin hain, tabhi to usse yahan dhoondh raha hoon, pata nahi kahan chali gayi" Rahul replied smiling at Riddhima.

Riddhima managed a small smile but soon her face turned serious again remembering her conversation with Armaan. Rahul was quick to notice the change in her expressions and also how she sat alone missing her lecture. It was not like Riddhima to miss out on her lecture, from the day that she had joined the college Rahul had never seen her miss a single lecture till date.

"Hey kuch problem hain kya? Aise akeli kyu baithi ho?" Rahul asked.

"Nahin Rahul woh bas aise hi, actually class attend karne ka mann nahin tha, isliye" Riddhima lied.

"Riddhima Gupta ko class attend karne ka mann nahin tha, baap re, aaj to red letter day hoga" Rahul teased her.

"Rahullllll" Riddhima giggled listening to him.

"Chalo hasi to sahi, ladki hasi matlab fasi" Rahul remarked smartly.

"RAHUL!!!!!!" Riddhima reprimanded him.

"Kya hua? Don't worry main tumpar line nahin maroonga, warna Armaan mujhe apni nazron se hi maar dega".

"Agar pehle Muskaan tumhe zinda choregi to?" Riddhima retorted and both laughed out loud. Rahul smiled seeing Riddhima relaxing, maybe now she would tell him what the problem was.

"To bolo, kya hua? Uss idiot se jhagra kiya kya?" Rahul tried again.

Riddhima stopped laughing when she heard him and merely lowered her eyes in response to Rahul's question. Rahul immediately understood and shook his head mumbling curses to his stupid friend.

"Sumit? Sumit Kapoor?" Muskaan confirmed turning to Armaan.

"Haan, Sumit Kapoor" Armaan replied looking at Muskaan's face which had turned serious as soon as she heard his name.

"Tum uske baare main jaante ho?" Muskaan asked.

"Haan, Sumit ne mujhe bataya tha that he likes somebody from his school days aur......" Armaan hesitated.

"Aur kya?" Muskaan probed.

"Aur maine uss din tumhari aur Riddhima ki baatein bhi sun li thi, remember on Riddhima's first day" Armaan confessed.

"That means tumhe pehle se pata tha, ki Sumit has a thing for Riddhima?".

"Haan, aur yeh bhi ki Riddhima usse pasand nahi karti, but Muskaan Sumit ab bhi mera dost hain, aur jab usse mere aur Riddhima ke baare main pata chalega to obviously woh hurt hoga, isliye main Sumit se directly baat karke sab clear karna chahta tha, par Riddhima to uska naam bhi sunna nahin chahti" Armaan sighed.

"Tumhe lagta hain ki Sumit tumhari baat maan lega".

"Ofcourse Muskaan, woh mera acha dost hain, haan usse bura lagega lekin in the end he will be happy for me aur koi misunderstanding bhi nahin hogi, lekin Riddhima ko to lagta hi nahin ki Sumit usse pyaar bhi karta hain, woh to kuch bhi sunna nahin chahti".

"Tumhe aisa kyu lagta hain ki Sumit Riddhima se pyaar karta hain?" Muskaan asked Armaan looking at him carefully.

Armaan turned and looked at Muskaan incredously, why did everybody doubt Sumit's love for Riddhima. "Muskaan, Sumit is sincere, just because Riddhima usse pyaar nahin karti iska yeh matlab nahin ki woh Riddhima se pyaar nahin kar sakta, woh hamesha kehta rehta hain ki how much he loves Riddhima".

"Kehne se kya hota hain? Tum bhi to Riddhima se pyaar karte ho lekin I am sure tum yoon sabko kehte nahin phirte" Muskaan said confidently.

Armaan gave a confused look to Muskaan not understanding what she meant by her sentence. Why was she comparing his love for Riddhima to Sumit's love for Riddhima?

"Nahin na? Logon ko bolne se pyaar nahin hota, pyaar dikhana parta hain. Armaan tumhe pata hain Riddhima ko Sumit se pyaar kyu nahin hua, kyunki woh shayad usse dil se nahin chahta tha. Sach bataon to mujhe bhi kabhi Sumit ko dekhkar nahi laga ki woh sachi Riddhima se pyaar karta hain, warna main Riddhima ko usse consider karne zaroor kehti" Muskaan clarified.

Armaan was lost in his thoughts. Were Riddhima and Muskaan actually right? Was Sumit's love just a farce?

Seeing Armaan lost in his thoughts Muskaan continued,"Acha Armaan mujhe yeh batao ki kya Sumit kabhi kissi ladki ke saath date par nahin gaya?".

"Nahin gaya hain, kayi baar. Kyu?" Armaan asked not seeing the connection.

"Agar woh Riddhima se pyaar karta hain to doosri ladkiyo ke saath date par kaise jaa sakta hain? Aur unhe apna girlfriend kaise bol sakta hain?".

"Oh cmon Muskaan, uss waqt Riddhima London main thi, what do you expect ki Sumit devdas bana baitha rehta?" Armaan defended his friend.

"Nahin, lekin Riddhima ko London se waapas aaye hue almost 3 mahine ho gaye, are you telling me ki inn 3 mahino main Sumit kabhi kissi ladki ke saath date par nahi gaya?".

"Ummm.........nahin gaya hain" Armaan fumbled,"Lekin just because he knew ki Riddhima would not go out with him".

"Haan to phir problem kya hain? Jab woh doosri ladkiyon ke saath jaa sakta hain to Riddhima kyu nahin? Aur kya problem hua agar woh ladka tum ho to. Tumhe usse explaination dene ki zaroorat nahin hain, haan chaho to usse sirf alag se bol do, par usse apna relationship justify karne mat jao. Aisa lagega ki tum usse permission maang rahe ho".

Armaan still looked a bit unsure."Armaannnnn, main nahin jaanti, lekin Riddhima Sumit ko lekar hamesha se kaafi tensed ho jaati hain, to usse iss baat par zyada behas mat karo, woh nahin samjhegi. Aur tumhe bhi guilty feel karne ki koi zaroorat nahin hain, tum Riddhima se sacha pyaar karte ho aur apna relationship kissi ko justify mat karo".

Armaan finally smiled at Muskaan and nodded happily. On the other hand in the student's lounge Riddhima and Rahul were still busy talking.

"Uski galti nahin hain Rahul, shayad main hi thoda impulsive ho gayi" Riddhima said sadly.

"Phir bhi Riddhima, uss langur ko koi haq nahin tumse jhagra karne ka, itni achi girlfriend phir kabhi nahin milegi".

"Rahul, meri tareef karna choro aur Armaan ko ajeeb ajeeb naamon se mat bulao".

"Acha, kuch nahin kehta main mahaan Armaan Mallik ko, lekin yeh to batao ki tum dono ka jhagra hua kyu?".

"Woh actually Armaan hamare baare main Sumit ko batana chahta hain" Riddhima started.

"Sumit? Kaun Sumit Kapoor, hamara dost?".

"Haan".

"To ismain problem kya hain? Tum nahin chahti ki college main tumhare aur Armaan ke baare main sabko pata chale?".

"Nahin Rahul, mujhe sabko batane main koi problem nahin hain, lekin Armaan Sumit se alag se baat karna chahta hain aur hamare baare main samjhana chahta hain".

"Ismain samjhane waali kya baat hain, tum dono ek doosre se pyaar karte ho and thats why you are together, simple".

"Haan, lekin Armaan ko lagta hain ki Sumit bhi mujhse pyaar karta hain" Riddhima confessed.

"KYA?????? Uss idiot ko aisa kyu lagta hain? Pagal ho gaya hain kya?" Rahul asked shocked.

"I think usse Sumit ne bataya".

"Oh........lekin tumhe nahin lagta ki Sumit loves you, right?" Rahul asked.

"Mujhe lagta nahin, balki yakeen hain ki woh mujhse pyaar nahi karta" Riddhima said vehemently.

Rahul looked at Riddhima's determined face and wondered what her equation with Sumit was and how the hell was she so confident about his feelings. Keeping all these thoughts aside he decided to solve the situation at hand first and then think about other things.

"Riddhima, mujhe nahi pata ki tumhare aur Sumit ke beech kya connection hain, aur trust me main jaanna bhi nahin chahta hoon, lekin Armaan Sumit ko apna bahut acha dost maanta hain aur woh kabhi nahi chahega ki uske wajeh se Sumit hurt ho. I hope tum samajh rahi ho" Rahul said gently.

"I know Rahul, main jaanti hoon Armaan and Sumit are good friends, lekin iska yeh matlab nahi ki usse hamare relationship ke baare main Sumit se baat karna pare, why does he have to give an explanation? Agar Sumit ko koi problem hain to Armaan se aake pooche aur phir agar Armaan clarify kare, to theek hain, lekin apne aap jaake usse samjhane ki koshish karna is ridiculous" Riddhima argued.

"Riddhimaaaa" Rahul said giving them, then deciding to try it in a different manner asked,"Acha Riddhima agar tumhe pata chale ki tumhari koi dost Armaan se pyaar karti hain, to kya tum yeh nahi chahogi ki tum usse explain karo, how you and Armaan got together, taaki woh hurt na ho?"

"Haan, but only if I am sure that she loves Armaan, and is not faking it".

"Shayad Armaan ko lagta hain ki Sumit is serious about you, isliye woh bhi yeh karna chahta hain".

"But Sumit does not love me Rahul" Riddhima said adamantly.

"Tumhe aisa kyu lagta hain ki Sumit does not love you? How can you be so sure?" Rahul asked curious. Why did she keep repeating this sentence, he wondered. And how the hell was she so damn sure about Sumit's feelings?

"Woh......I...........actually.....ummm" Riddhima fumbled. Flashes of an incident 3 years ago started coming back to her as she desperately closed her eyes to block them out. Rahul realized that his question had disturbed Riddhima and feeling guilty immediately said,"Hey hey hey, its ok, its not important, sorry, maine to bas aise hi pooch liya".

Riddhima looked at Rahul giving her an assuring smile and she smiled at him, genuinely. Sitting back she thought to what Rahul said and for the first time saw the situation through Armaan's perspective and realized that he was right in a sense.

"You are right Rahul, main galat thi, I created a big issue out of nothing. Armaan is somewhat right" Riddhima relented and turned to look at Rahul smiling cheekily.

"This day would go down in history, pehli baar ek girlfriend ne apni galti maani hain aur admit kiya hain ki uska boyfriend sahi hain, wah wah wah. And yeh impossible feat has been accomplished by none other than the great Rahul".

Riddhima smacked Rahul on his chest and giggled when he let out a fake Ouch. Rahul was glad to see that Riddhima was back in her normal mood.

"Ek baat kahoon Riddhima, Armaan ke liye uske friends bahut important hain, woh apne friends ke liye kuch bhi kar sakta hain, isliye shayad woh iss baat ko lekar itna determined hain" Rahul explained.

"I understand Rahul, I understand" Riddhima sighed, she just hoped that the idiot Sumit would also understand and not create a problem in her life again.

Muskaan looked at Riddhima standing beside her making weird faces. Sigh how did she ever agree to this. How could she let Riddhima drag her when she had a talk with Anjali Di. Well atleast she could postpone talking about Rahul to her parents for one more day, she thought gleefully. Realizing that Riddhima had no intention of opening the door Muskaan tried grabbing the key from her but Riddhima held on tightly. Exasperated Muskaan rung the bell and at once the door opened making Muskaan and Riddhima jump. On the other side stood Anjali smiling wickedly making Muskaan smirk and Riddhima more nervous.

"Hello girls" Anjali greeted them. She had been waiting for this moment impatiently and finally it had arrived, she was going to enjoy teasing her little sister to the hilt. Thank God for that guy Armaan, she already liked him, even before she knew anything about him. He had given her a chance to torment her little sister and she could'nt be more thankful.

"Hey Anjie Di" Muskaan greeted her while Riddhima just stood silently looking at her sister with trepidation.

Only one person could save her now and that was her dear jijs. Oh God jijs where are you?

"Riddhimaaaa" the call brought her back to the scene and she saw di and Muskaan looking at her. Seeing her attentive Anjali teased,"Thinking about somebody?".

"N....no.....no di, main kiske baare main sochugi" Riddhima replied.

"Mujhe nahi pata, tujhe pata hain Muski?" Anjali asked turning to Muskaan who was enjoying Riddhima's slow death.

"Hmmm, lets see shayad tum mom ya dad ya Atul, ya hmmm kya naam hain, haan Armaaaan ke baare main soch sakti ho?" Anjali continued enjoying teasing her little sister.

Riddhima's face turned red when she heard Armaan's name and she hastily answered,"Nahin di, main to, main to......." she fumbled while Anjali looked on waiting for her to continue,"Haan main Rahul ke baare main soch rahi thi" Riddhima answered surprised at herself.

Her answer jerked Anjali and Muskaan both. Muskaan's eyes widened when she heard Riddhima take his name and she warned Riddhima not to say anything more about them, while Anjali was a bit surprised. She expected Riddhima to crumble or give some other stupid answer, where did this Rahul guy come from?

"Ridzie, tum Rahul ke baare main kya soch rahi thi?" Anjali asked still confused.

Without thinking Riddhima replied,"Woh di Rahul aur Muskaan saath kitne ache lagte hain, main woh soch rahi thi" and immeditely bit her tongue. She saw Muskaan ready to kill her while Anjali stood shocked at what she had just heard.

"You.....you mean......sirf tum nahi.....but Muskaan" Anjali mumbled turning to Muskaan who was thinking of ways to kill Riddhima.

Muskaan was interrupted with her thoughts when she heard Anjali ask her,"Muskaannnnn, even you are seeing somebody?".

"Umm....Anjie Di......woh kya hua na ki...........main woh" Muskaan stuttered under Anjali's stare and cursed Riddhima for putting her in such a tight spot.

"I don't believe it, tum dono mujhse itni bari baat chupa rahe the, tum dono ko pyaar ho gaya aur mujhe bataya bhi nahi. How could you? Yaad hain, jab mujhe Atul se pyaar hua tha, tab maine sabse pehle aakar tum dono ko bataya tha, Atul ko bhi batane ke pehle and you two! Hmph! Meri koi kadhar hi nahi hain, after all main hoon hi kaun, sirk ek di na. Mujhe kyu bataoge? Sniff. Tum dono ko kya matlab mujhse? Sniff" Anjali sat down and started crying loudly. Being pregnant certainly played with her hormones and she reacted very extremely nowadays.

Riddhima and Muskaan were shocked to see Anjali crying. She cried very rarely and only when she was really mad or upset. Most of the time she would be angry but she never cried over matters. Then they remembered that she was pregnant and realized she was more sensitive than before. They sat beside her and tried to calm her down before she exerted herself.

"Di, di I am really sorry, seriously, I wanted to tell you but I became nervous, sorry" Riddhima said.

"Haan Anjie Di, I am realy sorry aur maine to kal hi Rahul ko kaha, aur socha ki aaj aapko bataungi, sabse pehle. Maine abhi tak apne parents ko bhi nahi bataya, sachi" Muskaan reassured her.

"Sniff, tum log sniff, sach bol rahe ho, sniff" Anjali asked calming down a bit.

"Haan di" both Muskaan and Riddhima nodded their heads vigourously. Anjali finally stopped crying and smiled at them. Then holding both their ears said,"Agli baar mujhse kuch chupaya to acha nahi hoga, samjhi" she warned.

All three then sat down as Riddhima and Muskaan started narrating their respective confessions and Anjali laughed loudly when she heard of the plan Armaan and Riddhima made to get Muskaan to confess her love. They were constantly interrupted by Muskaan's cell which kept ringing and which she had kept on silent. But even then it did not stop vibrating. Finally exasperated Anjali said,"Muski, plsssss apna phone utha le, warna lagta hain bechara mar hi jayega".

Riddhima giggled while Muskaan turned red and cursed Rahul promising to murder him tomorrow. Picking up her phone she went outside and Anjali and Riddhima could hear faint sounds of her fighting with Rahul over the phone.

Anjali turned to Riddhima when Muskaan went and asked her seriously,"You really love this Armaan guy, don't you?".

Riddhima nodded and hugged her sister happily. She wanted to talk to her about the Sumit issue but decided against it. She thought that she would wait and see Sumit's reaction to the news and if anything went wrong then she knew that her sister would be there just as she had been 3 years ago.

Before the four knew it a week had gone by. This last week had probably been the best in all four's lives. They had found that special someone in their lives and just enjoyed the feeling of being in love. Rahul and Muskaan still fought and called each other various names but you could always see the love in their eyes. Armaan and Riddhima laughed to see their friends not change one bit even though their relationship had changed. Riddhima had got comfortable beeing Armaan's girlfriend, well atleast she stopped getting the vicious looks from girls when they had come to know about her and Armaan. All in all it was a good week.

"Basket give me back my book" Armaan shouted at Riddhima who ran seeing him following her.

A mad chase was witnessed by the collegians. Their president running after his girlfriend for a book. Some found it amusing while some (note girls) found it plain silly. Riddhima laughed loudly as she teased Armaan running around trying to dodge him. She ran into a deserted corridor and looked behind to see if Armaan was in sight when she suddenly banged into somebody.

"Ooops, I am sorr............" the words got stuck in her mouth when she saw Sumit standing in front of her smiling widely. Even before she could respond she felt Armaan grab hold of her and shout,"Got you".

Armaan grinned widely when he finally caught Riddhima but his smile vanished as soon as it had come when he saw Sumit looking at the two them suspiciously.

Armaan grinned widely when he finally caught Riddhima but his smile vanished as soon as it had come when he saw Sumit looking at the two of them suspiciously.

"Oh...hi Sumit" Armaan said letting go of Riddhima.

"Hey man, missed me?" Sumit asked hugging Armaan but still looking at Riddhima.

Riddhima shifted uncomfortably when she saw Sumit looking at her. She decided to go back and leave Armaan to have his talk with Sumit, but as soon as she turned back Armaan held her hand and grasped it firmly. Sumit pretended to ignore the gesture and continued talking to Armaan normally although his gaze did not waver from their interlocked hands.

"So, where did you vanish all of a sudden? Bataya bhi nahi ki ek week ke liye baahar jaa raha hai?" Armaan asked.

"Woh actually mom got sick so achanak jaana para, tera number try kiya tha par laga nahi, lagta hain kaafi busy hain" Sumit remarked looking at Riddhima.

"Hi Ridzie" Riddhima looked up when she heard Sumit address her. She looked at Armaan who was still holding her hand. All of a sudden she wanted to flee from here, she did not want to be anywhere near this guy nor talk to him. She understood what Armaan was trying to do but she did not think that she could be cordial with Sumit even for Armaan's sake.

"Hey.........umm....Armaan mujhe kahin jaana hain, hum baad main milte hain" saying so Riddhima freed her hand from Armaan's grasp and went away.

Armaan sighed when he saw Riddhima leave, he wanted her to be atleast comfortable with Sumit if not friendly with him. He thought that they could tell Sumit about their relationship together minus the explanation of course but by the looks of it Riddhima could not stand Sumit for more than a minute. Still perplexed he decided to tell Sumit about them by himself.

"Sumit, buddy mujhe tujhse kuch kehna hain" Armaan started as he lead Sumit to a corner.

"Sure, bol kuch problem hain kya?" Sumit asked.

"Na koi problem nahi hain, well in a sense if you call pyaar a problem" Armaan joked winking at Sumit.

"Py...pyaar?" Sumit stuttered, he could see where this conversation was going.

"Yup man, guess what, I am in love" Armaan declared smiling widely.

"You! And love?" Sumit asked shocked.

"Haan kyu? Mujhe pyaar nahi ho sakta kya? Main koi alien hoon kya?" Armaan asked a bit offended.

"Nahin, I mean, maine tujhe kabhi kissi ladki ke saath serious nahi dekha isliye".

"Serious isliye nahi dekha coz I was waiting for the perfect girl, aur ab mujhe woh mil gayi".

"Wh......who's the lucky girl?" Sumit asked wondering if he really wanted to know the answer.

Armaan looked at Sumit and hoped he would not hurt his friend by saying the girl's name. He prayed fervently that Riddhima and Muskaan were infact right about Sumit's feelings towards Riddhima and he would turn out to be wrong, atleast this way Sumit would not mind that much.

Taking a deep breath Armaan blurted out,"Riddhima, Riddhima Gupta".

Sumit stood shocked for a minute as the name registered in his head. Did he hear right? How could Armaan and Riddhima be together? But then he had just seen them chasing each other and holding hands, it was so obvious that they loved each other.

Sumit looked at Armaan who was waiting for his reaction. Smiling a little he mumbled,"Tha.....thats great, I mean congrats man.........wow, you and Riddhima.....ummm cool".

Armaan saw the effort in Sumit's words and felt guilty, but he was happy that for his sake his friend accepted them, just like he had hoped. And Riddhima was worrying for no reason.

"Sumit, I know tere liye asaan nahi hai, par seriously main kabhi tujhe hurt nahi karna chahta, mujhe pata hain ki you like Riddhima but.........but you know na man, that she does not like you" Armaan confessed.

"Oh cmon Armaan, tu kyu guilty feel kar raha hain, yeh sab to poorani baatein hain, and you know school main to sabko crushes hote rehte hain, mujhe bhi tha, I am really happy for you man, congrats, seriously" Sumit said happily.

"You really mean that?" Armaan asked surprised.

"Of course I do, Riddhima is a great girl and I am happy for both of you".

"Thanks man, main jaanta tha ki tu samajh jayega" Armaan said hugging Sumit.

Riddhima was sitting in the canteen talking with Rahul and Muskaan but her mind was elsewhere. She wondered what Armaan and Sumit were talking about and how Sumit had taken the news of their relationship. Suddenly she heard some loud voices and turned to see Armaan and Sumit entering the canteen together talking and Sumit was.......laughing???????

Riddhima looked wide eyed at Armaan and Sumit as they each took a chair and sat down. Armaan looked at her gaping at them and winked happily. Riddhima still could not fathom what had happened. Was Sumit ok with her and Armaan being together?

"Hey Ridzie, heard you managed to hook our President, cool. Ab isse koi bhi kaam karwana hoga to seedha tere paas ayenge" Sumit joked and extended his hand towards Riddhima for a hi five.

Riddhima looked confusedly at Sumit and his hand. Only when Armaan nudged her did she clap her hand with his and managed to smile a bit. Looks like Sumit is really ok with us.

Lady:

Muskaan:

Muskaan's Mom:

Muskaan:

Muskaan's mom:

Muskaan:

Muskaan's mom:

Muskaan:

Muskaan's mom:

Muskaan:

Muskaan's mom:

Muskaan:

Muskaan's mom:

Riddhima:

Muskaan's mom:

Riddhima:

Muskaan's mom:

Armaan:

Riddhima:

Armaan:

Riddhima:

Armaan:

Riddhima:

Armaan:

"Tum?" Riddhima asked surprised to see him.

"Hi Ridzie" Sumit whispered in a voice which send shivers down Riddhima's spine and took her 3 years back.

Keeping her cool she tried to free herself,"Let me go Sumit! What the hell are you doing?".

"What does it look like?" Sumit retorted still holding her tightly.

"Mujhe chor do Sumit warna main.........." Riddhima said trying to wiggle herself out from his tight grasp.

"Warna tum kya? Pehle ki tarah mujhe maarogi?" Sumit asked raising his voice a bit.

Riddhima froze when she heard him. She looked up in his eyes and in that moment she knew, she knew that he remembered everything.

"Tumhe yaad hain?" Riddhima asked still looking at him shocked.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flashback (Riddhima and Sumit's past)

It was the last day of school and the juniors had thrown a lavish party to bid farewell to their beloved seniors. The whole school was outside enjoying the party and dancing to the hip hop tunes played by the DJ. Even the teachers had joined in the fun and were shaking a leg with the students on the dance floor. Today everybody was just living the moment, no tension about exams or results or placement.

Riddhima entered the vacant school building still breathing heavily. She had been dancing non stop for over two hours and decided to finally take a break and also to quench her thirst. As she was walking towards the water room, she suddenly felt a pull and a strong pair of arms grabbed her into an empty class room.

She felt a hand jam over her mouth making her incapable of shouting. Using her quick mind she placed a strong kick from her legs to her assaliant. Not expecting the kick he let go of her for a brief moment which was enough for Riddhima. She ran towards the door but he caught her again and in the wild tussle Riddhima's hands switched the lights on.

Riddhima gasped when she saw that it was Sumit in front of her. He looked fierce and menancing. His eyes looked droopy and his breath was stinking. Alcohol????????? But there were no hard drinks served at the party then how had Sumit managed to get drunk?????

"Tum?" Riddhima asked surprised to see him.

"Hi Ridzie" Sumit whispered in a husky voice.

"What do you want Sumit?" Riddhima asked freeing herself and this time he let her go. She started moving back to create a distance between them but he kept coming closer to her.

"I want YOU" Sumit whispered as he suddenly lunged forward trying to grab her again.

"What rubbish!!! Sumit, get a grip on yourself. You are drunk" Riddhima said and went towards the door.

"Bahut ho gaya Riddhima, do saal, do saal maine tumhara intezar kiya lekin tum.............huh, tumne kabhi meri feelings ko samjha nahi, shayad tumhe pyaar ki bhasha samajh main nahi aati".

"Sumit, for the last time, I don't love you, why don't you get that simple fact?".

"I don't care whether you love me or not, I want you Riddhima Gupta and what Sumit Kapoor wants, Sumit Kapoor gets".

"You are sick" Riddhima said disgusted and gave him a tight slap.

Sumit kept his hand on the cheek where Riddhima had slapped him and became even more angry. Moving forward he grabbed her and pushed her to the wall. Riddhima struggled but Sumit was a lot stronger than she was. But Riddhima did not give up, she tried to avoid Sumit as he came forward to kiss her and using all her strength pushed him away from her and ran to the door.

Sumit followed her but Riddhima was already outside the door. He tried to open the door but Riddhima anticipating his actions banged the door open with such force that it hit Sumit right on his head and he lay on the floor in a pool of blood, unconscious.

Riddhima stood still over his unconscious body and the first thought that came to her head was that she had killed him. Suprisingly instead of fear she felt a sense of joy and relief. She was glad that she had managed to save herself from his evil clutches. She shuddered to think what would have happened otherwise.

But then common sense prevailed and she realized she could not simply leave him here, dead or not dead. She bent down and checked his pulse and with a sigh of relief realized that he was still alive. She summoned her teachers to help her, and when asked concoted a story as to how she had found him by mistake.

Sumit was taken to Sanjeevani Hospital and her teachers insisted that she come too. Riddhima sat on the hospital bench alone outside the room where Sumit was being checked by the doctors. All the teachers had surrounded his bed while a few attempted to inform his parents.

"Ridzie?" A voice called out.

Riddhima opened her eyes when she heard the familiar voice of her sister calling her and feeling confused looked up to see her sister stand before her, a bit worried. Immediately the tears that she had kept bottled up started running down her cheeks as she hugged her sister and cried loudly. Anjali patted her sister's back reassuringly as she waited for her to calm down and tell her what the matter was.

After crying for sometime Riddhima finally quietened down. Anjali backed out of the hug and wiping the last few tears on Riddhima's face asked sweetly,"Ridzie, kya hua? Are you hurt?".

Riddhima nodded in a no as she wiped her own tears away and tried to calm herself.

"Ridzie, sweetheart, di ko nahi bolugi kya hua?" Anjali tried again. She felt miserable seeing her strong sister break down like this and wondered what the matter was. She had been taking a break from her rounds when she had seen Riddhima sit alone on a bench. And had approached her still wondering why she was at the hospital rather than her school farewell party. She hoped nothing bad had happened to her.

"Di..........woh..........woh.............usne" Riddhima tried but could not continue.

"Haan Ridzie, bolo. Kya hua?" Anjali encouraged her.

Taking a deep breath Riddhima narrated the whole sequence of events that had occured a few hours ago and how she had landed at the hospital. Anjali's temper kept rising as she heard Riddhima's story and she had a good mind to go upto this Sumit guy and mess a few organs around. She had always been the more short tempered one among the sisters and could not tolerate anybody misbehaving with her sister.

As Riddhima finished her narration, Anjali got up and with a determined face walked towards the room where Sumit was being treated. Riddhima saw the look on her sister's face which spelled disaster. She knew she had to stop her before both of them were arrested on the charges of physically assaulting a man.

"Di, di, suno to" Riddhima called out as she stopped her sister from going in.

"Ridzie get out of my way, I mean it" Anjali said fiercely.

"Di, please, aap..............".

Riddhima was cut short as a doctor came out of the room and seeing Anjali and Riddhima came upto them.

"Anjali, tum yahan kya kar rahi ho?".

"Woh Dr. Mehta, main actually............."Anjali fumbled wondering what to tell her senior doctor. She was sure that the answer, she was planning to kill the guy Sumit inside would not go well with Dr. Mehta, neither would it be appreciated.

"Arre tum khud doctor hokar chinta kar rahi ho, don't worry, Sumit is fine" Dr. Mehta reassured them.

Before Anjali or Riddhima could say anything Dr. Mehta continued,"But I think ek baar uska CT Scan kara lete hain, kyunki usse yaad nahi ki woh yahan aaya kaise".

"Kya?" Riddhima asked. Oh God! Had Sumit lost his memory because of her?

"Don't worry Riddhima, usse memory loss nahi hua. Usse sirf uska accident yaad nahi. It happens sometime, agar chot zyada zor se lagti hain to hosh nahi rehta. He remembers the party and dancing, lekin uske baad kya hua, usse kuch yaad nahi. Maine jab kaha ki tum usse yahan lekar aayi to he was very grateful. Tumhe thanks karna chahta hain, jao andar" Dr. Mehta explained.

"Riddhima kahin nahi jayegi, infact Dr. Mehta, yeh Sumit to............." Anjali started but was cut short by Riddhima.

"Di ka matlab hain, ki Sumit ko abhi rest karne dijiye, its ok, main abhi usse milna nahin chahti. Chalo di" Riddhima gestured to Anjali who frowned at her, but Riddhima was persistent and holding Anjali's hands dragged her away.

Riddhima dragged a reluctant Anjali outside the hospital and only when she was sure that nobody was around, did she let go of Anjali's hands.

"What the hell Ridzie! Mujhe kuch bolne kyu nahi diya. Dr. Mehta se kehkar aise gande insaan ko police station main lock karwa dena chahiye".

"Di please. Main aise kuch nahi karna chahti. Haan pehle mujhe bhi gussa aaya tha, lekin ab lets just forget this".

"Forget it. How can I forget it? Usne tere saath itni badtamizi ki, aur tu keh rahi hai ki forget it".

"Di woh apne hosh main nahi tha, he was drunk. Aur ab usse bhi kuch yaad nahi, lets just bury this topic here only".

"Drinking at his age is illegal Ridzie. I don't care whether he was drunk or not, I am not letting him get away with what he did to you".

"DI. Maine keh diya na, iss baat ko yahi par khatam karte hain. Aaj school ka last day tha, iske baad main kabhi bhi Sumit se milne waali nahi hoon, to kya fayda? Aur waise bhi usse kuch bhi yaad nahi hain, how do you expect him to explain his actions????? Woh to yeh bhi keh sakta hain ki main yeh baatein bana rahi hoon".

"Usse itna bolne layak chorungi tabhi bolega na".

"Di, aap usse kuch bhi nahi karne waali" Riddhima warned. Anjali merely turned her back away as if she could not hear Riddhima speaking.

"DI, promise me, you won't do anything" Riddhima persisted and brought her hand forward. Anjali scowled at Riddhima but seeing her determination, she agreed.

And that was the end of the matter for the Gupta sisters. They never discussed the topic again and neither did they tell it to anybody, not even their parents. The only people who knew about the incident was Riddhima and Anjali...........or so Riddhima thought.

True to her word, Riddhima had never encountered Sumit again, although he had tried to get in touch with her. But the incident had still left a deep impact on Riddhima and her attitude towards love. She had thought that she would never be able to trust a guy again after the incident, but she was wrong. She had trusted Armaan and she could not be happier, Armaan was perfect for her and only her.

Flashback ends.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Tum itne saal tak natak kar rahe the?" Riddhima asked shocked.

"Natak nahi karta to tumse dobara milta kaise aur uss chot ka badla kaise leta?" Sumit said smirking at her.

"You cheap man, mujhe ussi waqt tumhe police ke hawaale kar dena chahiye tha, let me go warna woh haal karungi ki iss baar memory ke saath poora brain kho doge" Riddhima shouted turning away and trying to leave.

Sumit caught her and held her,"Not this time Miss Riddhima Gupta, bahut sataya hain tumne mujhe, ab aur nahi. 5 saal, 5 saal se tumhara intezaar kiya hai, aur tumhe yun hi uss Armaan ka nahi hone doonga main. How could you????? Tumne mujhe reject karke uss Armaan ko chuna?".

"Don't you dare!!! Tum main aur Armaan main kitna bara farak hain, yeh tum kabhi nahi jaan paoge. Main Armaan ko sab bata doongi, tum kaise ho, you are cheap, disgusting".

"Woh tumhari baat kabhi nahi manega" Sumit jeered.

"Well you are wrong. You just wait and see Armaan kis pe bharosa karta hain" Riddhima shouted and pushed him away.

Sumit started to answer her back but stopped when he saw a figure approaching them,"You are right Riddhima, I am sorry" he said in a apologetic voice.

Riddhima looked at him apologizing and wondered what trick he was playing now,"Yeh kaunsa naya natak hai tumhara?".

"Riddhima, I said I am sorry, please mera yakeen karo, I have no hard feelings. I am happy for you and Armaan" Sumit said bringing fake tears into his eyes.

"You are sick Sumit, really sick and I pity you" Riddhima said disgusted with him. Sumit tried to touch her but Riddhima moved back and gave him a tight slap,"Don't even think of touching me, tum jaisa gira hua insaan maine aaj tak nahi dekha".

She raised her hand to slap him again but a hand stopped her,"RIDDHIMA" Armaan shouted holding her hand and looking at her angrily.

"Armaan" Riddhima whispered when she saw who it was,"Armaan tum kab........".

"Don't, mujhe tumhari koi baat nahi sunni" Armaan raised his hand to stop her from speaking,"Sumit kab se tumse maafi maang raha hai aur tum ho ki attitude dikha rahi ho, itna ki usse thapad bhi maar diya. Main jaanta hoon ki tumhe woh pasand nahin, lekin iska matlab yeh nahi ki tum isse kuch bhi keh do".

"Armaan tum nahi jaante................." Riddhima tried but was cut short by an angry Armaan.

"Kya nahi jaanta????? What is wrong with you Riddhima? Pehle din, pehle din se tumne Sumit ke saath misbehave kiya, par maine kuch bhi nahi kaha, lekin aaj to hadd hogayi. Yeh bechara kab se maafi maang raha hai, aur tum ho............huh!".

"Armaan tum mujhe galat samajh rahe ho!".

"Galat to main tumhe pehle samajh raha tha. Listen Riddhima, koi bhi mere friends ke saath misbehave kare mujhe pasand nahi, chahe woh meri girlfriend hi kyu na ho, say sorry to Sumit" Armaan ordered leaving Riddhima shocked.

"Main iss ghatiya insaan se maafi kabhi nahi mangoogi" Riddhima retaliated.

"RIDDHIMA" Armaan shouted at her, but Riddhima did not relent.

"Fine Riddhima, if this is your decision, then tum mera decision bhi sun lo, jab tak tum Sumit se maafi nahi maangti, we are through".

Riddhima was stunned when she heard him. Through?????? Did he just break up with her??????? Tears poured down her eyes as she saw Armaan stand before her determined. Not ready to relent herself Riddhima ran away from their still crying while Armaan watched with a sad expression with tears falling from his own eyes unknowingly while Sumit smirked.

After 3 years Sumit had taken the perfect revenge, he had taken Armaan from Riddhima.