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Part 32
Throughout the day, Ridhima had been trying her best to avoid Nikki and Armaan, and concentrate on her duties as much as she could. While she was starting to enjoy the company of Deepak and Raj's company as they came to the hospital often to visit Nikita, she was starting to despise it as well.
Whenever they were around it seemed that Nikita and Armaan made their relationship and their attraction towards each other more public.
Sighing, Ridhima put her hair behind her shoulder as she finished with the last patient of the day.
Walking towards the locker area, she paused slightly as she walked past the fire-escape.
"Abhi'I have told you nothing is going on! Arrey baba, my parents sent this stupid Deepak to see me and Armaan is helping me get rid of him!"
Frowning, she leaned closer towards the door as she recognized Nikki's voice.
"Abhi, when are you coming here?" She heard Nikki say.
Abhi? Ridhima wondered as she leaned even closer. Who's Abhi?
"Nahi, the New Year' party is tomorrow'I know, I am going to miss you too"
Ridhima frowned as she heard the affection in Nikki's voice. Putting her hand against the wall beside the door, she balanced herself before she leaned closer to the door to listen better.
"Abhi!" She heard Nikki exclaim before she giggled.
Suddenly a shadow fell across the wall, and Ridhima's eyes widened as she realized that the person was standing right behind her. She held her breath and her heart pounded wildly, as she slowly turned around.
She felt her breath suddenly leave her as her heart suddenly skipped a heartbeat. Armaan was standing right behind her, his arms folded across is chest as he looked at her with an amused expression.
Ridhima had her hands pressed against the wall beside her, as she stared up at him. She hadn't been able to look at him without feeling guilty about it, and right now looking at him up-close had sent her feelings in a frenzy. Her breath suddenly shortened as the closeness stared affecting her. Quickly averting her eyes she felt the blush rising up to her cheeks.
She looked up once more and saw Armaan was looking at her with the same amused expression, the intensity in his eyes heightened. Swallowing hard, Ridhima kept looking everywhere but at him.
"Eavesdropping?" Armaan whispered, and the one word from his had her blush intensifying, as she wished she could be anywhere but here.
"W-woh..I..just.." Ridhima stammered, still looking at the ground.
Ridhima stared at his shoes and the fact that they were actually quite nice, passed through her head, before she focused on the fact that Armaan had taken a tiny step towards her. Her heart, which had started getting back to normal, once more started beating crazily against her chest, and Ridhima was sure that Armaan could hear it.
"Woh'kya?" Armaan whispered once more. Taking a few deep breaths, Ridhima wished that she could get her breathing and heart under control.
"I-I'I'didn't hear anything'w-woh'I just heard, Nikki speaking to'A-Abhi'and t-then you came" Ridhima stuttered, still looking at his shoes.
"Abhi?"
Ridhima finally looked, thinking he might be suspicious of Nikki, but was completely taken aback when she saw that he was staring at the door behind which Nikki was still talking, with a mischievous look on his face.
Taking his distraction to her advantage, her eyes roamed his face, taking in all the details. His jaw was even more defined than she had thought, his eyes were even more magnificent up-close, the muscles on his shoulders and arms were even more prominent up-close. She could easily make out the lines of the muscles on his arm under his shirt, and her eyes roamed back to his face.
The blood came rushing back to her face as she saw that Armaan's eyes were once more trained on her. The amused expression long-gone, an unreadable expression replaced it as he leaned in closer to her. His breath danced across her lips, and they automatically parted. She tilted her head forward as her eyes closed on their own accord.
He gripped her waist, as he leaned in closer. She could feel her heart thumping against her ribs, as she waited. Waited for him to finally do it. Her grip on his shoulders tightened, and his lips brushed across hers for a fleeting second before he pulled away slightly.
Ridhima's breath hitched as she felt it. She swore her heart definitely stopped for a whole second. Her hands became numb from holding on so tight, and suddenly her heart exploded with happiness.
This is wrong Her conscience spoke up, and she was immediately flooded with images of Nikki and Armaan cuddling, laughing, holding hands, sitting close, joking'
Ridhima's eyes shot open as she realized what she was had done, what type of a position she was in. Nikki could open the door any second now and she would see her boyfriend with a friend of hers in a close embrace.
Ridhima immediately put her hand on Armaan's chest and pushed him back. He resisted at first, but relented when Ridhima applied more force.
She gasped in horror as she heard the door opening beside her, she quickly got away from the wall, and ran from there before Nikki could see and question her about anything.
Leaning against her locker, Ridhima tried getting her feelings under control. How could she do this? How could she do this to Nikki?
"Ridzi?"
She looked up and saw Anjali standing beside her, with a worried expression across her face. Suddenly the guilt took over her, and she flung her arms around her sister holding her tight as she started crying.
Ridzi'oh my god, what's wrong?" She heard Anjali ask her, as she held her close.
"D-di..I did something wrong" Ridhima sobbed. Anjali guided her to the bench, and made her sit down, all the while keeping Ridhima close to her.
"Kya hua?" Anjali asked, her, running a hand up and down Ridhima's back.
"Armaan and Nikki..I know they are going out'and I-" Ridhima started, but was cut off by Anjali,
"what? They are not going out" Anjali said, with an incredulous expression.
"No, no..they are'Armaan told'" Ridhima trailed off as she realized that Armaan hadn't really told her directly that he was going out with her. He had just implied it.
"The aren't?" Ridhim gasped as she looked at Anjali with wide eyes. Anjali shook her head and said, "Nahin Ridzi, they are just kidding around so Deepak doesn't marry Nikki"
Suddenly everything fell into place. Why they acted like friends, but started acting like a couple around Deepak and Raj...why Armaan wasn't bothered by the fact that Nikki was talking to someone called, 'Abhi'.
"They told us during one of our breaks'but I don't think you were there, we all assumed Armaan would tell you later" Anjali explained.
But Armaan hadn't told her. He had chosen to keep the information from her, instead opting to see the jealousy eat her away, he had probably been laughing behind her back at how foolish she was. She could picture him laughing at the way she had looked on at Nikki and Armaan in jealousy, laughing at the fact that she had let her guard down whenever he was around, laughing at the fact that she had been almost wearing her heart on the sleeve, letting Armaan get a clear gist of her feelings. She was suddenly disgusted; Armaan had chosen such a juvenile method of finding out her feelings.
Humiliated, embarrassed and angry, Ridhima got up, gathered her stuff, angrily wiping away the tears that continued to spill over.
"Ridhima?" Anjali said, tentatively.
"I am just going to go home, di" Ridhima explained, as she stuffed some of her other stuff in her bag, and threw her lab-coat and stethoscope in her locker.
"But..my duty will finish in an hour, I'll drive you home then" Anjali said, but Ridhima shook her head, "nahin di, I'll get the auto home."
"You sure?" Anjali asked, once more, and Ridhima nodded, muttering a quiet goodbye, silently thanking her for not pushing the topic any further.
Ridhima needed to clear her head, look at reason and logic before jumping into conclusions. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes once more, jumping into conclusions had gotten her into so much trouble before'she was going to figure the situation out.
But the betrayal was eating her up from inside, and suddenly images flooded her mind, of Armaan laughing tauntingly at her, dismissing her feelings away with a wave of his hand.
Biting her lip, she tried not to let the tears spill once more. Taking a shuddering breath, she thought of the possible reasons as to why he would do such a thing. Why would Armaan choose not to tell her Nikki and him were just kidding around? Why would he let her believe that they actually liked each other? Why did he constantly taunt their relationship in from of her by flirting with her?
Ridhima, by then, was standing outside the hospital, her hand tightly gripping on to the handle of her purse as she looked around for autos.
"Ridhima!"
She knew who it was, it was the last person she wanted to see at this moment. Her feelings of betrayal once more surfaced and she had to grit her teeth from saying something that she would later regret.
"Ridhima! Please listen to me!" She heard Armaan shout once more. She looked around desperately for an auto, but none was in sight. She cursed under her breath. Today just wasn't her day, first the Armaan-fiasco and now this.
A hand grabbed her arm and swung her around, and she came face-to-face with the person who had lied to her, had completely taken her for a ride, and the tears once more came into her eyes making him blurry. She tried blinking them away, but that just made them spill over.
Throughout the day, Ridhima had been trying her best to avoid Nikki and Armaan, and concentrate on her duties as much as she could. While she was starting to enjoy the company of Deepak and Raj's company as they came to the hospital often to visit Nikita, she was starting to despise it as well.
Whenever they were around it seemed that Nikita and Armaan made their relationship and their attraction towards each other more public.
Sighing, Ridhima put her hair behind her shoulder as she finished with the last patient of the day.
Walking towards the locker area, she paused slightly as she walked past the fire-escape.
"Abhi'I have told you nothing is going on! Arrey baba, my parents sent this stupid Deepak to see me and Armaan is helping me get rid of him!"
Frowning, she leaned closer towards the door as she recognized Nikki's voice.
"Abhi, when are you coming here?" She heard Nikki say.
Abhi? Ridhima wondered as she leaned even closer. Who's Abhi?
"Nahi, the New Year' party is tomorrow'I know, I am going to miss you too"
Ridhima frowned as she heard the affection in Nikki's voice. Putting her hand against the wall beside the door, she balanced herself before she leaned closer to the door to listen better.
"Abhi!" She heard Nikki exclaim before she giggled.
Suddenly a shadow fell across the wall, and Ridhima's eyes widened as she realized that the person was standing right behind her. She held her breath and her heart pounded wildly, as she slowly turned around.
She felt her breath suddenly leave her as her heart suddenly skipped a heartbeat. Armaan was standing right behind her, his arms folded across is chest as he looked at her with an amused expression.
Ridhima had her hands pressed against the wall beside her, as she stared up at him. She hadn't been able to look at him without feeling guilty about it, and right now looking at him up-close had sent her feelings in a frenzy. Her breath suddenly shortened as the closeness stared affecting her. Quickly averting her eyes she felt the blush rising up to her cheeks.
She looked up once more and saw Armaan was looking at her with the same amused expression, the intensity in his eyes heightened. Swallowing hard, Ridhima kept looking everywhere but at him.
"Eavesdropping?" Armaan whispered, and the one word from his had her blush intensifying, as she wished she could be anywhere but here.
"W-woh..I..just.." Ridhima stammered, still looking at the ground.
Ridhima stared at his shoes and the fact that they were actually quite nice, passed through her head, before she focused on the fact that Armaan had taken a tiny step towards her. Her heart, which had started getting back to normal, once more started beating crazily against her chest, and Ridhima was sure that Armaan could hear it.
"Woh'kya?" Armaan whispered once more. Taking a few deep breaths, Ridhima wished that she could get her breathing and heart under control.
"I-I'I'didn't hear anything'w-woh'I just heard, Nikki speaking to'A-Abhi'and t-then you came" Ridhima stuttered, still looking at his shoes.
"Abhi?"
Ridhima finally looked, thinking he might be suspicious of Nikki, but was completely taken aback when she saw that he was staring at the door behind which Nikki was still talking, with a mischievous look on his face.
Taking his distraction to her advantage, her eyes roamed his face, taking in all the details. His jaw was even more defined than she had thought, his eyes were even more magnificent up-close, the muscles on his shoulders and arms were even more prominent up-close. She could easily make out the lines of the muscles on his arm under his shirt, and her eyes roamed back to his face.
The blood came rushing back to her face as she saw that Armaan's eyes were once more trained on her. The amused expression long-gone, an unreadable expression replaced it as he leaned in closer to her. His breath danced across her lips, and they automatically parted. She tilted her head forward as her eyes closed on their own accord.
He gripped her waist, as he leaned in closer. She could feel her heart thumping against her ribs, as she waited. Waited for him to finally do it. Her grip on his shoulders tightened, and his lips brushed across hers for a fleeting second before he pulled away slightly.
Ridhima's breath hitched as she felt it. She swore her heart definitely stopped for a whole second. Her hands became numb from holding on so tight, and suddenly her heart exploded with happiness.
This is wrong Her conscience spoke up, and she was immediately flooded with images of Nikki and Armaan cuddling, laughing, holding hands, sitting close, joking'
Ridhima's eyes shot open as she realized what she was had done, what type of a position she was in. Nikki could open the door any second now and she would see her boyfriend with a friend of hers in a close embrace.
Ridhima immediately put her hand on Armaan's chest and pushed him back. He resisted at first, but relented when Ridhima applied more force.
She gasped in horror as she heard the door opening beside her, she quickly got away from the wall, and ran from there before Nikki could see and question her about anything.
Leaning against her locker, Ridhima tried getting her feelings under control. How could she do this? How could she do this to Nikki?
"Ridzi?"
She looked up and saw Anjali standing beside her, with a worried expression across her face. Suddenly the guilt took over her, and she flung her arms around her sister holding her tight as she started crying.
Ridzi'oh my god, what's wrong?" She heard Anjali ask her, as she held her close.
"D-di..I did something wrong" Ridhima sobbed. Anjali guided her to the bench, and made her sit down, all the while keeping Ridhima close to her.
"Kya hua?" Anjali asked, her, running a hand up and down Ridhima's back.
"Armaan and Nikki..I know they are going out'and I-" Ridhima started, but was cut off by Anjali,
"what? They are not going out" Anjali said, with an incredulous expression.
"No, no..they are'Armaan told'" Ridhima trailed off as she realized that Armaan hadn't really told her directly that he was going out with her. He had just implied it.
"The aren't?" Ridhim gasped as she looked at Anjali with wide eyes. Anjali shook her head and said, "Nahin Ridzi, they are just kidding around so Deepak doesn't marry Nikki"
Suddenly everything fell into place. Why they acted like friends, but started acting like a couple around Deepak and Raj...why Armaan wasn't bothered by the fact that Nikki was talking to someone called, 'Abhi'.
"They told us during one of our breaks'but I don't think you were there, we all assumed Armaan would tell you later" Anjali explained.
But Armaan hadn't told her. He had chosen to keep the information from her, instead opting to see the jealousy eat her away, he had probably been laughing behind her back at how foolish she was. She could picture him laughing at the way she had looked on at Nikki and Armaan in jealousy, laughing at the fact that she had let her guard down whenever he was around, laughing at the fact that she had been almost wearing her heart on the sleeve, letting Armaan get a clear gist of her feelings. She was suddenly disgusted; Armaan had chosen such a juvenile method of finding out her feelings.
Humiliated, embarrassed and angry, Ridhima got up, gathered her stuff, angrily wiping away the tears that continued to spill over.
"Ridhima?" Anjali said, tentatively.
"I am just going to go home, di" Ridhima explained, as she stuffed some of her other stuff in her bag, and threw her lab-coat and stethoscope in her locker.
"But..my duty will finish in an hour, I'll drive you home then" Anjali said, but Ridhima shook her head, "nahin di, I'll get the auto home."
"You sure?" Anjali asked, once more, and Ridhima nodded, muttering a quiet goodbye, silently thanking her for not pushing the topic any further.
Ridhima needed to clear her head, look at reason and logic before jumping into conclusions. She wasn't going to make the same mistakes once more, jumping into conclusions had gotten her into so much trouble before'she was going to figure the situation out.
But the betrayal was eating her up from inside, and suddenly images flooded her mind, of Armaan laughing tauntingly at her, dismissing her feelings away with a wave of his hand.
Biting her lip, she tried not to let the tears spill once more. Taking a shuddering breath, she thought of the possible reasons as to why he would do such a thing. Why would Armaan choose not to tell her Nikki and him were just kidding around? Why would he let her believe that they actually liked each other? Why did he constantly taunt their relationship in from of her by flirting with her?
Ridhima, by then, was standing outside the hospital, her hand tightly gripping on to the handle of her purse as she looked around for autos.
"Ridhima!"
She knew who it was, it was the last person she wanted to see at this moment. Her feelings of betrayal once more surfaced and she had to grit her teeth from saying something that she would later regret.
"Ridhima! Please listen to me!" She heard Armaan shout once more. She looked around desperately for an auto, but none was in sight. She cursed under her breath. Today just wasn't her day, first the Armaan-fiasco and now this.
A hand grabbed her arm and swung her around, and she came face-to-face with the person who had lied to her, had completely taken her for a ride, and the tears once more came into her eyes making him blurry. She tried blinking them away, but that just made them spill over.
********
"Armaan?" he heard Nikki say, as he continued to look at Ridhima running away from him.
"Armaan!" Nikki said once more as she shook his arm a bit. His head snapped towards her and said, "huh?"
"What happened? What are you doing here?" Nikki asked him, looking at him curiously.
"No..nothing'I have to go" Armaan said, as he tried getting away. Nikki didn't say anything, and once more he was thankful to her. He was in absolute confusion at the moment. The moment he had seen Ridhima leaning towards the door, curiosity had made him stand behind her to find out what was so entertaining.
If the closeness wasn't enough, but it was rather her eyes checking him out that had snapped his last bit of control and he had found himself leaning in closer towards her. The fact that she was so willing, she had given him the green signal to continue by leaning her head forward was all it took for Armaan, and he had to have the feeling of her lips on his. He had tentatively brushed his lips against hers, and that brief touch was absolutely indescribable. When he had felt her hand on his chest, pushing him back, he had been confused.
Why was she turning him away?
But it was only when she applied more force that he relented. He looked at her confused, and worry etched his face as he saw her close to tears. She gasped when the door started opening, and in horror, she ran away from there. He wasn't sure what had made her react that way. Was it something he had done?
If she had really objected to what Armaan was doing, wouldn't she have turned away before?
Frowning, he went towards the nurse station to hand in his file of today's cases, still trying to decipher the events in his mind.
"Sister Lovely, this is patient Rajeev Malhotra's file, please give it to Dr. Keerti" Armaan said to Sister Lovely.
His eyes fell on the file in which the doctors wrote the time which they left the hospital, and he came across Ridhima's name. Her name, which was usually neatly scribbled on the books, was now messily written in a rush.
Her numbers were a bit hard to read, and Armaan drew the conclusion that it was because of what had happened minutes ago.
He quickly scribbled on his name for signing out as well, and rushed to the locker area in hope to find Ridhima there, and to corner her and find out what was bothering her.
He quickly stepped into the locker room, and to his disappointment Ridhima was not there, but there was Anjali sitting on the bench, a frown on her face as she stared off into the distance.
"Hey Anjie, what's up?" Armaan tried making conversation as he went towards his locker. In his peripheral vision he saw Anjali's head snap up towards his direction.
It was within seconds that she had charged towards him, grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around to face her and banged him against the locker, holding his collar in her hands.
Armaan's eyes widened as he took in the scowl on her face, her angry eyes and the tight grip on his collar.
"Woah! I am sorry, I didn't know you didn't want to be disturbed-" Armaan started but was cut off by her tightening of her hands on his collar.
He coughed a bit, and said, "what'd I do?!"
"What did you do to Ridhima?" She bit out.
"What?" Armaan's eyes widened.
Had she gone and told Anjie everything?
"I said, what the hell did you do to her?"
"I-I didn't do anything, I swear!" Armaan said frantically. There were only two women Armaan was truly scared of, Nikki and his mom. He guessed Anjie was going to be added to that list, because at that moment he wished he had never stepped into this locker area.
"Sure you didn't, that's why she was in here crying her eyes out!" Anjali snapped.
"S-she cried?" Armaan whispered. A tight guilt knot formed in his stomach, making him feel edgy. His eyes automatically went towards the door, and he wished he could run after Ridhima to make her hear him out.
"Of course she did you buffoon! You didn't even tell her about yours and Nikki's fake relationship!" Anjali said angrily.
Armaan paled at that.
"You told Ridhima?!" Armaan asked her weakly.
But Anjali didn't have a chance to answer him because two arms wrapped around Anjali's waist and hauled her away from Armaan. Armaan immediately took a deep breath and re-adjusted his collar.
Looking up he saw Atul holding Anjali back while she tried freeing away and hitting Armaan once more.
"Thanks champ, I'll explain it all later" Armaan called out as he ran from there.
Ridhima, please be there, please.
Armaan was praying in his mind that Ridhima is still outside, as he ran towards the entrance.
The moment he stepped out of the entrance of the hospital, he saw her, her shawl wrapped around her, as she looked around for an auto.
Giving out a sigh of relief, Armaan ran a hand through his hair as he took a few steps towards her. He saw her take another step towards the road, as she leaned slightly forward to look for any approaching autos.
"Ridhima!" Armaan called out to her, as he took a few more steps towards her. He saw her shoulders stiffen and she ignored him.
"Ridhima, please listen to me!" Armaan pleaded, but she still didn't turn around and started to look around more frantically for an auto. Sighing in frustration, Armaan grabbed Ridhima's arm and spun her around to face him.
All the words he was going to say to her, died in his throat as he took in her face. Tears were freely flowing from her eyes, and the guilt knot in his stomach tightened, sending a shiver down his spine.
"Ridhima..I..Ridhima-" Armaan was cut off by Ridhima raising her hand in front of him, inidicating him to stop.
"Stop it Armaan. Pata nahin aur kitne jhooth bologe" Ridhima whispered angrily, wiping away the tears the back of her hand.
Armaan tried grabbing her shoulder, but she shrugged his hand away and took a step back. Armaan stood there helplessly, while she glared at him through her tears.
"Ridhima,..listen, I'can explain.." Armaan said, not exactly sure himself how he was going to expain himself.
Oh, I am sorry'but I just wanted to see how you reacted and whether you had any feelings for me. Your reactions have always amused me, and the last few days when I have been making you jealous were loads of fun. Yeah Malik, that will definitely make her forgive you.
"Oh really Armaan Malik, can you actually explain why you did not tell me about the fact that you and Nikki weren't actually. Going. Out? Huh? Ya phir tum aur jhoot bologe? I must have been a really big joke between you and Nikki na? You two must have been laughing behind my back at'at'my stupidity, the fact that I believed you. The fact that I-"
"Ridhima bas" Armaan cut her off, but she didn't listen.
"Why should I stop? Kyunki mein sach bol rahi hoon? Armaan I made the biggest mistake by trusting and liking you! If this is the way you were going to play with my feelings by constantly rubbing in what you and Nikki had, then I should have never let you get near to my heart in the first place!" She shouted at him, as tears continued to flow from her eyes.
Armaan could only stare at her helplessly. Taking a deep breath, Armaan took a hesitant step closer to her, and gently placed his hands on her shoulder.
"Ridhima'I know I hurt you, but-"
"Save it Armaan. Nothing you can say will justify what you did. But you know what?" Ridhima said as she shrugged out of his shoulders once more, "I am glad I got my lesson. Better late than never, right? At least now I will know to never trust you again"
Armaan frowned at that. Sure he had lied, but why was she making such a big deal out of the fact that his and Nikki's relationship was false? Why was she so bothered?
"Ridhima, you are making a big deal out of nothing-" Armaan started but was once more cut off by Ridhima.
"Big deal out of nothing? Really Armaan Mallik? I didn't know I had to ask for your permission to feel hurt when someone played around with my feelings like that. I'll know that for next time. Next time when someone hurts my feelings, I will make sure I come to you, ask for your permission, and then cry about it. Is that alright with you now?" She seethed, sarcasm laced in every word that came out of her mouth.
The guilt knot that had been making him uncomfortable during the time being, had worsened now. Armaan could feel that the guilt was eating him up, and now he wished more than anything that he could go back in time and change some of the choices he had made. He wished he could get Ridhima to forgive him.
"Armaan?" he heard Nikki say, as he continued to look at Ridhima running away from him.
"Armaan!" Nikki said once more as she shook his arm a bit. His head snapped towards her and said, "huh?"
"What happened? What are you doing here?" Nikki asked him, looking at him curiously.
"No..nothing'I have to go" Armaan said, as he tried getting away. Nikki didn't say anything, and once more he was thankful to her. He was in absolute confusion at the moment. The moment he had seen Ridhima leaning towards the door, curiosity had made him stand behind her to find out what was so entertaining.
If the closeness wasn't enough, but it was rather her eyes checking him out that had snapped his last bit of control and he had found himself leaning in closer towards her. The fact that she was so willing, she had given him the green signal to continue by leaning her head forward was all it took for Armaan, and he had to have the feeling of her lips on his. He had tentatively brushed his lips against hers, and that brief touch was absolutely indescribable. When he had felt her hand on his chest, pushing him back, he had been confused.
Why was she turning him away?
But it was only when she applied more force that he relented. He looked at her confused, and worry etched his face as he saw her close to tears. She gasped when the door started opening, and in horror, she ran away from there. He wasn't sure what had made her react that way. Was it something he had done?
If she had really objected to what Armaan was doing, wouldn't she have turned away before?
Frowning, he went towards the nurse station to hand in his file of today's cases, still trying to decipher the events in his mind.
"Sister Lovely, this is patient Rajeev Malhotra's file, please give it to Dr. Keerti" Armaan said to Sister Lovely.
His eyes fell on the file in which the doctors wrote the time which they left the hospital, and he came across Ridhima's name. Her name, which was usually neatly scribbled on the books, was now messily written in a rush.
Her numbers were a bit hard to read, and Armaan drew the conclusion that it was because of what had happened minutes ago.
He quickly scribbled on his name for signing out as well, and rushed to the locker area in hope to find Ridhima there, and to corner her and find out what was bothering her.
He quickly stepped into the locker room, and to his disappointment Ridhima was not there, but there was Anjali sitting on the bench, a frown on her face as she stared off into the distance.
"Hey Anjie, what's up?" Armaan tried making conversation as he went towards his locker. In his peripheral vision he saw Anjali's head snap up towards his direction.
It was within seconds that she had charged towards him, grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around to face her and banged him against the locker, holding his collar in her hands.
Armaan's eyes widened as he took in the scowl on her face, her angry eyes and the tight grip on his collar.
"Woah! I am sorry, I didn't know you didn't want to be disturbed-" Armaan started but was cut off by her tightening of her hands on his collar.
He coughed a bit, and said, "what'd I do?!"
"What did you do to Ridhima?" She bit out.
"What?" Armaan's eyes widened.
Had she gone and told Anjie everything?
"I said, what the hell did you do to her?"
"I-I didn't do anything, I swear!" Armaan said frantically. There were only two women Armaan was truly scared of, Nikki and his mom. He guessed Anjie was going to be added to that list, because at that moment he wished he had never stepped into this locker area.
"Sure you didn't, that's why she was in here crying her eyes out!" Anjali snapped.
"S-she cried?" Armaan whispered. A tight guilt knot formed in his stomach, making him feel edgy. His eyes automatically went towards the door, and he wished he could run after Ridhima to make her hear him out.
"Of course she did you buffoon! You didn't even tell her about yours and Nikki's fake relationship!" Anjali said angrily.
Armaan paled at that.
"You told Ridhima?!" Armaan asked her weakly.
But Anjali didn't have a chance to answer him because two arms wrapped around Anjali's waist and hauled her away from Armaan. Armaan immediately took a deep breath and re-adjusted his collar.
Looking up he saw Atul holding Anjali back while she tried freeing away and hitting Armaan once more.
"Thanks champ, I'll explain it all later" Armaan called out as he ran from there.
Ridhima, please be there, please.
Armaan was praying in his mind that Ridhima is still outside, as he ran towards the entrance.
The moment he stepped out of the entrance of the hospital, he saw her, her shawl wrapped around her, as she looked around for an auto.
Giving out a sigh of relief, Armaan ran a hand through his hair as he took a few steps towards her. He saw her take another step towards the road, as she leaned slightly forward to look for any approaching autos.
"Ridhima!" Armaan called out to her, as he took a few more steps towards her. He saw her shoulders stiffen and she ignored him.
"Ridhima, please listen to me!" Armaan pleaded, but she still didn't turn around and started to look around more frantically for an auto. Sighing in frustration, Armaan grabbed Ridhima's arm and spun her around to face him.
All the words he was going to say to her, died in his throat as he took in her face. Tears were freely flowing from her eyes, and the guilt knot in his stomach tightened, sending a shiver down his spine.
"Ridhima..I..Ridhima-" Armaan was cut off by Ridhima raising her hand in front of him, inidicating him to stop.
"Stop it Armaan. Pata nahin aur kitne jhooth bologe" Ridhima whispered angrily, wiping away the tears the back of her hand.
Armaan tried grabbing her shoulder, but she shrugged his hand away and took a step back. Armaan stood there helplessly, while she glared at him through her tears.
"Ridhima,..listen, I'can explain.." Armaan said, not exactly sure himself how he was going to expain himself.
Oh, I am sorry'but I just wanted to see how you reacted and whether you had any feelings for me. Your reactions have always amused me, and the last few days when I have been making you jealous were loads of fun. Yeah Malik, that will definitely make her forgive you.
"Oh really Armaan Malik, can you actually explain why you did not tell me about the fact that you and Nikki weren't actually. Going. Out? Huh? Ya phir tum aur jhoot bologe? I must have been a really big joke between you and Nikki na? You two must have been laughing behind my back at'at'my stupidity, the fact that I believed you. The fact that I-"
"Ridhima bas" Armaan cut her off, but she didn't listen.
"Why should I stop? Kyunki mein sach bol rahi hoon? Armaan I made the biggest mistake by trusting and liking you! If this is the way you were going to play with my feelings by constantly rubbing in what you and Nikki had, then I should have never let you get near to my heart in the first place!" She shouted at him, as tears continued to flow from her eyes.
Armaan could only stare at her helplessly. Taking a deep breath, Armaan took a hesitant step closer to her, and gently placed his hands on her shoulder.
"Ridhima'I know I hurt you, but-"
"Save it Armaan. Nothing you can say will justify what you did. But you know what?" Ridhima said as she shrugged out of his shoulders once more, "I am glad I got my lesson. Better late than never, right? At least now I will know to never trust you again"
Armaan frowned at that. Sure he had lied, but why was she making such a big deal out of the fact that his and Nikki's relationship was false? Why was she so bothered?
"Ridhima, you are making a big deal out of nothing-" Armaan started but was once more cut off by Ridhima.
"Big deal out of nothing? Really Armaan Mallik? I didn't know I had to ask for your permission to feel hurt when someone played around with my feelings like that. I'll know that for next time. Next time when someone hurts my feelings, I will make sure I come to you, ask for your permission, and then cry about it. Is that alright with you now?" She seethed, sarcasm laced in every word that came out of her mouth.
The guilt knot that had been making him uncomfortable during the time being, had worsened now. Armaan could feel that the guilt was eating him up, and now he wished more than anything that he could go back in time and change some of the choices he had made. He wished he could get Ridhima to forgive him.
Swallowing hard, Armaan cleared his throat when it tightened slightly, heavy with emotion, and his eyes slowly started to sting. Blinking his eyes rapidly a few times, he tried to push the unwanted emotions back, and cleared his throat once more.
"Ridhima, it was a harmless joke! I didn't think you would take it to heart. No one knew about it, not even Nikki!" Armaan said, relieved that she hadn't cut him off this time, instead she had folded her arms across her chest, sniffing, and refused to look up at him. "Ridhima'I..I was stupid'I am sorry!" But she continued to look at the ground, and refused to even acknowledge what he had said. Sighing, Armaan looked around, and found no auto in sight.
"I'll drop you home, there are no autos around, and it's dark.." Armaan trailed off when Ridhima gave a humorless laugh, finally looking up at him, her eyes no longer held the compassion, or the sparkle, or the kindness. Instead they were cold, and held only one thing in them. Betrayal.
"Don't bother Dr. Armaan, I am quite capable of finding my own transport. I have friends who can drop me home." And with that said, Ridhima clutched the shawl tighter around her as she stormed towards the hospital.
Armaan gave a defeated sigh, as he walked towards the car. Shaking his head at himself, he quickly got into his car, gripped the steering wheel tightly and closed his eyes to control his temper.
The grip on the steering wheel got tighter as he remembered every bit of today, starting from Ridhima to avoiding him, to the encounter in front of the fire-escape, to the confrontation. The anger bubbled up inside him, the guilt made him feel suffocated, and he did the first thing that came in his mind. He punched the steering wheel hard, and numerous times.
At least that got some of the frustration out. Right now all he looked forward to as he started the car and started driving home, was the punching bag in his garage.
"Ridhima, it was a harmless joke! I didn't think you would take it to heart. No one knew about it, not even Nikki!" Armaan said, relieved that she hadn't cut him off this time, instead she had folded her arms across her chest, sniffing, and refused to look up at him. "Ridhima'I..I was stupid'I am sorry!" But she continued to look at the ground, and refused to even acknowledge what he had said. Sighing, Armaan looked around, and found no auto in sight.
"I'll drop you home, there are no autos around, and it's dark.." Armaan trailed off when Ridhima gave a humorless laugh, finally looking up at him, her eyes no longer held the compassion, or the sparkle, or the kindness. Instead they were cold, and held only one thing in them. Betrayal.
"Don't bother Dr. Armaan, I am quite capable of finding my own transport. I have friends who can drop me home." And with that said, Ridhima clutched the shawl tighter around her as she stormed towards the hospital.
Armaan gave a defeated sigh, as he walked towards the car. Shaking his head at himself, he quickly got into his car, gripped the steering wheel tightly and closed his eyes to control his temper.
The grip on the steering wheel got tighter as he remembered every bit of today, starting from Ridhima to avoiding him, to the encounter in front of the fire-escape, to the confrontation. The anger bubbled up inside him, the guilt made him feel suffocated, and he did the first thing that came in his mind. He punched the steering wheel hard, and numerous times.
At least that got some of the frustration out. Right now all he looked forward to as he started the car and started driving home, was the punching bag in his garage.
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