DMG 5 years from now# 4 - Link to #5 Pg 155 - Page 82

ok ... will definately wait ... Another Impossible work ... See ... I can wait for few more hours ... aah ... now I understand How big word 'Hour' is ... Di ... I'm dying to read the next part ... Please make it as soon as possible!!

Di...Right now u r online ....Are'nt you???

Armaan walked into the house, which was surprisingly looming in darkness, until he reached Nikita's room. There was a ray of light coming from her half-opened door, and as he neared the door, he was further surprised to find no noise coming from inside. Usually, Nikita had the music system playing, or the television would be on in the lounge. Today, the house was so eerily quiet that for some odd reason, Armaan felt a nagging uneasy tug at his heart.

Pushing his thoughts aside, he walked inside to her room. In the first glance, he thought Nikki wasn't in the room, because the usual boisterous appearance of the petite girl was nowhere to be seen in the room. Before he just walked out of the room, he decided to check one more time and then his eyes landed on her. She was seated on the corner of the floor right next to the bed, her knees pulled up to her chin and her arms wounded around them, and her head resting on the knees. For a split second, he thought she was sleeping, but then decided she couldn't be in such an odd position and walked in.

He kneeled before her and tentatively put a hand on her arm and shook her a little, saying, "Nikki??".

Nikki stayed still in her position, and Armaan again called out her name. When she finally looked up, what Armaan saw clenched his heart painfully. Her face was an image of despair and worry, her cheeks stained with tears and her eyes swollen. His eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at him and broke into a fresh burst of tears. He leaned forward and took her into a hug, protectively shaping his arms around her as she put her hands on his chest and rested her head on it, and started sobbing hysterically. Armaan kept patting her hair and shushing her, worried out of his mind about what had happened to make her cry so vehemently.

When Nikki's sobs faltered a little, Armaan pulled her away from himself and readjusting himself to sit next to her with an arm still around her, he lightly whispered, "Kia hua Nikki…what's wrong? Tum ro kyun rahi ho?"

Nikki looked up at him with her eyes brimming with tears and her face crumpled again. "Hey, hey…relax…!! Dekho, tumhain nahee batana hai to matt batao…but please, rona band kero na Nikki!" Armaan tried to pacify her.

After a few moments of unprecedented silence, Nikki started speaking of her own accord. "Aj 15th February hai Armaan…aj ke din….", her voice falters again, but Armaan doesn't interfere, as he wants her to continue. Taking a deep breath, she carried on, "Aj ke din….theek aik saal pehle..Abhi mujhe chor ker chala gaya tha..."

Armaan looks at her, his eyes scrunched together as she looks up at him and starts explaining, after taking a deep sigh.

Nikki had taken her mom for cancer treatment in America, and had started working in the same hospital as a part time intern. It had been two months since she had been working there, and she had made some acquaintances with a few people, one of whom was Abhimanyu. He was an intern too, and they both had instantly bonded because they both shared the same heritage and culture amongst the new people. A casual friendship had emerged between the two as they started hanging out more with each other, and Nikki found herself slowly succumbing to him and telling him all about her problems. He was a great support when it came to her mother, for he always calmed her down when she freaked out if her mother's condition worsened. He was living alone in America, as his family was settled in India, and yet in the months of friendship that followed she rarely found him talking about his family. It was most of the time her who kept the conversation going. Unknowingly when, they both fell in love with each other, probably because of the way their personalities merged, each being as different from the other as possible.

Nikki and Abhi had shared a good, steady relationship for about one and a half year, and Nikki had always thought their relationship lacked nothing, for there was love and trust in it. Abhi gave her the stability in her life that she needed, and she provided him with love and affection. Nikki's mother's health deteriorated with time, and as she saw her mother being pulled in to death's embrace, Nikki found herself being comforted by Abhi. She was of course, distraught by her mother's gradual death, but she wasn't unprepared for it, but then she had Abhi for herself, who would take care of her and love her. All her life, she had been the one to take care of people; her father, her mother, Armaan…she had made her utmost efforts of being there for them. For the first time, she had found someone who cared and loved her, who took care of her when she needed it.

The few times Nikita had asked Abhi about his family, he had conveniently changed the topic, and she hadn't implored much, for she was sure he would tell her if something was important. They had gotten engaged after a few months of her mother's death, and life had never been better for her. Then one day, exactly three months after their engagement, Nikki woke up to find a letter by her bedside table, stating that he had to leave for India immediately, some emergency had sprung up, and he would call her as soon as he got there. Nikki was surprised, but calmed herself down by thinking he would contact. Alas, she was mistaken, for the call never came. He had just vanished into thin air, leaving her all alone. Again.

As Nikki sobbed out her heart in front of Armaan, he tried to figure out what had gone wrong with Abhi. The way Nikki had described him, he seemed like a pretty normal, nice guy. Then why had he just vanished into thin air, without so much so as a call to finish things off with her. With these thoughts in mind, he hugged her tightly and calmed her down.

"Hamesha mere saath aissa kyun hota hai Armaan…main jiss se pyaar kerti hun, who mujhe chor ker chala jata hai…Mom, Dad…Abhi…sab chalay gaye…!!" she sobbed into his shirt, as he patted her hair.

"Shush Nikki...dekho, tumhain koi chor ker nahi gaya hai…all of us love you…and I am sure, Abhi ki koi problem ho gai hogi warna…." He tried to convince her, but Nikki cut him in between.

"Armaan, kia tum Riddhima ko aissay bina bataye, kahiin bhi jaa sakte ho?", she asked, looking him straight in the eye.

Armaan stopped, thinking over again, whether he could really not tell Riddhima and just vanish. No, he couldn't do that, ever. She would be worried out of her brains, and she would cry, most probably. He couldn't do that! No, he most possibly couldn't just go off like that. Seeing his expressions, Nikki smirked a little.

"Dekha…nahi ja sakte na!! Jab hum kisi se sacha pyaar kerte hain na Armaan, to unhain chorna itna asaan bhi nahe hota…" she said, as she wiped off her tears.

Armaan had nothing more to say to her, as he sat there, thinking over everything. He couldn't possibly talk to Nikki about his problems right now, she was so vulnerable and distraught at the moment that he thought it befitting not to mention even a word to her, for it would just make her more depressed. They just sat there in silence, half hugging each other, both lost in their own thoughts and problems, but both trying to be there for each other too.

…………………………………………………………

The next day, Nikki woke up later than usual. As her eyes adjusted to the light in her room, she figured Armaan must have gone off to the hospital, and stretching herself, she yawned loudly. Her eyes were still swollen from all that crying last night, and she didn't know why she had cried with so much intensity, maybe it was because Armaan was there, and he was the only one, apart from Bi, to whom she had talked about Abhi.

After a long, refreshing bath, she went down for breakfast and as she took out eggs from the fridge, she saw a post-it note on the wall next to the counter. Taking it off, she read a few words, scrawled in Armaan's writing. "Read the letter lying next to your bed…Armaan".

She hurried upstairs, her heart pounding strangely, for some unknown reason. As she found the letter lying on her side shelf, she opened it quickly and skimmed through it quickly. Her hand flew to her mouth and she plopped down on the bed, lost in thought. Of course!, she thought. He had seemed extremely depressed and worried last night, but she had failed to notice it because she had been too self-involved in her own problems. Oh God! What had Armaan done?

……………………………………………………

Armaan walked out of Dr. Keerti's office after she had given him the leave for the next two days. He had made a decision early in the morning, for he hadn't slept for a second. His mind had been racing with options of what to do, and he had finally come to a conclusion that he would go to Delhi to talk to his parents. He couldn't afford to lose Riddhima, at any cost. And for her, he could give up anything, even his anger for his father, his hatred for that house, even his ego.

As he almost sleepwalked towards the locker room, he felt his arms being tugged and himself being yanked into a store room. For a second, his mind couldn't register what was happening, until he saw Riddhima's face, smiling up at him. A smile crept up his face too, as he set his back with the wall, and leaning forward, hugged Riddhima tightly. She placed her arms around his neck and they stayed there like that, for a few moments, after which Riddhima pulled out.

Lightly caressing his hair, she smiled and asked, "Kia hua…itney udaas kyun lag rahay ho?"

Armaan shook his head, his arms clasping around her waist as he pulled her closer. "Kuch nahee…I was missing you!"

Riddhima raised her eyebrows at him and frowned. "Haan, isi liye kal se gayab ho…kuch bataya bhi nahi Papa se kia baat hui;..phone bhi nahee kia…main itni pareshan ho gai thi!"

Before Armaan could go ahead and tell her what had happened, Riddhima carried on, fiddling with his shirt's buttons now, closing one which had come undone. "Who to acha hua Papa ne subah bata dia ke unki tumhare saath achay se baat ho gait hi,…aur aap logon ne kafi baatain discuss bhi ker li!" she finished, smiling happily at him.

Armaan's smile faltered a little. What, Shashank hadn't told Riddhima about what had happened? And why had he lied to her, saying everything was sorted? Nothing was sorted till now, and now how could he tell her that Shashank had asked his parents to come over? God, this was all such a big mess.

'Armaan, kia hua? Everything okay, na?" Riddhima asked, as she saw the expressions on his face.

"yeah yeah…everything's fine…main bass soch raha tha….Riddhima..??" he beckoned her, at last deciding on what he was going to tell her.

"Haan?"

"Ummm…mujhe who…umm…kuch dinon ke liye Mumbai se bahar jana hai..kuch zaroori kaam hai!", he revealed, trying to keep his voice as casual as possible.

"Kia? Mumbai se bahar? Lekin kyun?" Riddhima was at once concerned and worried, why was he going off just like that.

"Important kaam hai kuch…I will back day after tomorrow…!" Armaan said, nonchalantly.

"Armaan?" Riddhima looked at him, a little surprised. "Tum mujhe to bata sakte ho kia kaam hai? Aur wese bhi…itni jaldi aissa kia kaam agaya ke…is something wrong?" She couldn't fathom the fact that he wasn't telling her what was wrong.

"Riddhimaa…sweetheart, nothing is wrong…", cupping her face in his hands, he carried on, "I promise, koi problem nahi…thora sa technical kaam hai…umm Kasauli ka jo ghar hai, Bi ka, uska koi legal paperwork hai…umm…who sort out kerwanay jar aha hun….nothing important…!" he smiled at her, making an effort as he lied straight through his teeth.

Riddhima looked at him for two whole minutes, straight in his eye and his look didn't falter once. When she was sure everything was alright, she nodded at him.

"okay then….jao!! Par jaldi ajana Armaan…!" she said, not looking up from her hands, which were clasping his.

Armaan rolled his eyes at her and made her look up. Sure enough, two fat tears were emerging in her eyes, as expected.

"Tch, Riddhimaaa…stop acting like a baby, sweetheart…main do dinon main wapas araha hun…agar important na hota, to nahi jata na!!" he said, wiping the tears off and kissing her warmly on the forehead.

"Armaan…yaad hai na, jab last time aissay gaye they to kia hua tha…?" She mumbled in a small voice, reminding him of the time he had gone off with Muskaan without telling her…"I hope tum ab mujhse kuch nahee chupa rahay!"

Armaan closed his eyes as his heart throbbed painfully. He wanted to tell her that he was going to talk to his parents, but he knew better than anyone that she was going to stop him. She was not going to let him go back to that house, for surprisingly for him too, after he had told her everything, the few times the issue of his parents had risen, she had been very vocal about her anger towards them. There was no way she would let him relent in front of his parents for her. And he couldn't let her do that, for even the thought of having to let Riddhima go in face of his ego was disastrously painful.

"Riddhima…I promise, iss baar tumhara yaqeen nahi tutney dunga…", he hugged her again as she smiled, and they both shared a warm, long hug. Armaan kissed her for a final time on her forehead and then, lightly hitting his forehead with hers, he whispered a good-bye and left for the locker room to collect his stuff.

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Okay, sorry for the delay AND the short part...this one's for friday...um up for papers from 30th, so um pretty busy nowadays...i feel like my whole life on this thread has gone by syaing sorry :P...comment guys, and if its too much to ask, press the thank u button ;)

Kiran