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KIARA THROWN 14.9
When a lie is repeated hundred times…
Katrina won't announce her pregnancy, is she?
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Bb top 5 - guess
Prayansh Aransh Anpi FF: Swapnakoodu
Cocktail 2 begins shooting with Shahid ,Kriti and Rashmika!
TRAUMA DRAMA 15.9
What happened to Tiger Shroff? Why did he decline?
Which movie is your 1st choice on 2nd October?
Malla and ARS running crime list
Did Karishma deserve the best actress award for Raja Hindustani?
Anupamaa 15 Sept 2025 Written Update & Daily Discussions Thread
Kareena back as Face for Lakme India
Sidvi FF: Chocolate (continued)
Conceiving of PL…
Kaun banege PL ke Mummy and Papa?
Hiya!!
PART 5
Riddhima glanced at Armaan...it really intrigued her as to why he had opted to stay back...and that too with HER...oh god!! she thought, please don't tell me he's going to bring up the topic of me liking him or whatever...that would be SOO EMBARASSING!!! what would she say?? she KNEW she would probably just turn the ugliest shade of red and all reasoning and words would be lost in that moment.
'Hey,' Armaan smiled again, trying to strike up a conversation when they had been sitting in silence for the last 5 minutes...seriously!! he could use some help here!! he thought, frustratedly...she was just sitting silent like a statue...and here he thought he would make things 'less wierd' between them..not happening at the rate they were going at!!
'Hey...uhm...not up for a swim?' she asked....how lame!! she thought, obviously he didn't feel like it or he'd probably be out there in the water with Anjali and Adi...actually, in a way, she wished he WAS there and not here with her, making her feeling sooo uncomfortable...
'Nah..didn't feel like it,' Armaan said, as he took a bite of a sandwhich which Anjali had brought from home...
'Why are you here Armaan? What do you want to talk to me about?'
It was so direct, so abrupt..that for a minute they were both left speechless as the directness and slight rudeness of the question hit them....
Riddhima wanted to wack herself!! she didn't know what made her say what she did...she hadn't meant to say that at all!! talk about rude!! But ofcourse, she really DID want to know why he'd stayed behind...she got the distinct impression that it was because he specefically wanted to talk to her about something...but STILL...that was no way to question his intentions...at this rate she was never going to impress Armaan Mallik...she could happily forget about him..for the next generations atleast!!
It was all Armaan could do to not choke on the sandwhich...hell!! the woman was direct!! he had never expected her to question him that way...OK, fine...she wasn't entirely wrong on her part...obviously she must be wondering how come he was behaving so pally with her all of a sudden and she'd beeen frank about it and questioned him...however, he wished she hadn't put it so brutally...it sort of made him feel guilty...it made him realize that she had also accepted the fact that he would never sit down and have a talk with her unless it involved some motive of his...unless he wanted to talk to her about something in particular...seems like he wasn't the only one who had given up on their friendship...she had also resigned to the fact that maybe they wouldn't be friends after all...but no, he'd decided that he would atleast try to make friends with her...wether it worked or not was a different issue...infact, right now the issue was how was he going to answer that brutal and downright honest question of hers...well, he had to play his cards carefully...
'Why would you think that? Can't I just sit here with you without a reason? Aren't we friends, Riddhima?' he asked, trying to keep his tone casual but he could all but hear the words 'LAIR!! LAIR!!' being played in his head again and again...ofcourse, he had a motive...a plan...but she didn't need to know about it...at this point of time he was happy just making her feel guilty that she unnecessarily questioned his intentions...served her right for being so damn brutal when he was trying to make an effort here!!
Riddhima frowned slightly, feeling a little guily...
'Yeah, we are,' she said uncertainly...friends?? who were they kidding?? they both knew they were anything but that...but since he'd just conveniently turned the table in his favor by posing that question, it would definitely be mean and rude on her part to question him further on it...and so, she decided she would just let it be this once and deal with whatever came her at that point, without worrying about it beforehand.
'Good...for a moment there I thought you would say no,' Armaan said, smiling, trying to make her feel comfortable in his presence...he knew she was anything but that...she constantly fidgeted with the rings on her fingers and she seemed a little jumpy and nervous...if he ever had a doubt before over the fact wether she really liked him or not, it was cleared now...she definitely did have a thing for him...he could make that out by the way she stole glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking...by the way she was all nervous and jumpy around him...and ofcourse, by the way she had those constant pink cheeks in his presence.
Riddhima simply smiled back...what else could she say??
Armaan got up, streched lazily and then held out his hand for her, 'Want to go for a walk?' he asked.
Riddhima smiled despite herself...enough of thinking of what the ulterior motive could be behind Armaan Mallik suddenly wanting to spend time with her!! maybe she should just enjoy his company without questions...
She gave her hand in his and let him help her up...
'So, any idea where Rahul and Muskaan are?' he asked.
'Not really,' Riddhima laughed, 'I think they didn't want us to interrupt because when I asked Muskaan she gave a very vague answer.'...she didn't know why but Armaan was increasingly making her comfortable in his presence...maybe it was the fact that he was so casual and genuine when he spoke or asked her anything..or probably the fact that he'd diverted her very rude question earlier on by referring to her as a friend...well, whatever it was...the more time she spent with him, the more she felt at ease...ofcourse, not the 'we-are-good-friends-now' kind of ease but the 'we-probably-could-be-friends- kind of ease...
They sat down on the sand after walking a bit...they were tired...they unknowing walked quite a distance during which they had made small talk without any awkward moments...after all, they WERE friends...not very close...but friends all the same...
Armaan looked behind them...they had covered quite a distance...he could no longer see Anjali and Adi..which in a way was a good thing because having them constantly passing curious looks towards him and Riddhima had definitely not been helping...that was one of the reason why he'd suggested a walk...because even though they were in the water, Adi and Anjali's attention was totally focussed on them and their quizzical looks was really making him uncomfortable..ofcourse, he couldn't really blame them...he had not really covered up hi tracks well...they would obviously find it wierd that he would want to stay out of the water specially when it meant that he had Riddhima for company when both Adi and Anjali knew just how much he tried to avoid her...well, things were going to change, he decided...he and Riddhima WERE in the same friends circle...they would come face to face almost everyday...for how long could this avoiding-each-other game go on...he had to make an effort atleast...
'So, you and Muskaan studied in the same school right?' Armaan asked casually...he could vaguel remember Rahul mentioning something of the sort when he'd asked him how Riddhima and Muskaan knew each other..however, no harm in asking again...
'Yeah, we did. I studied with her for three years before we moved here,' Riddhima answered as she observed two kids playing frisbee in the water...invariably a smile played on her lips as she watched one kid dive in a desperate attempt to catch the frisbee and inturn fall flat on his face.
Armaan glanced at her and at that moment it hit him that Riddhima Gupta was quite a pretty girl..ofcourse, he always knew that she was nice looking but he'd never really noticed her...but right now, sitting so close to her, he couldn't help but notice..she had flawless olive skin and big deep green eyes...infact her eyes were something that he'd noticed right from the first he'd set his eyes on her...she had the most amazing eyes ever...moreover, she had lovely hair as well...it was straight and fell gracefully on her back...it had just a tinge of brown on it...but over all, the effect was so simple and graceful...simplicity is beauty, he'd heard that phrase often enough...he supposed it was true...
'we've been friends for almost four years now,' she said, smiling...yeah, Armaan thought, she's definitely pretty..specially when she smiles...god-knows-what she was smiling at..but whatever it was...she had a nice smile...
Riddhima glanced at him and he immediately looked away...he had been STARING at her...well, not really, he defended...he had just been observing her...it was natural to observe beauty wasn't it? anyways, THANK GOD she didn't catch him looking at her or else she'd have definitely got the wrong idea...
'That's a long time,' Armaan said quickly to prevent any sort of awkward moment.
'Yeah, she's my knight in shining armour,' Riddhima smiled, 'my dad got a transfer to Punjab when I was in the 9th grade...that's the worst, you know...leaving behind your home, school and friends to start afresh at a new place with new people, none of whom you know...it's really hard,'
Armaan listen silently...from her tone he could make out that it had been a pretty bitter experience for her...he could totally understand...first of all that age was only so delicate and at that particular time being away from your friends and trying to make new ones in an unknown place could be a trial for any teenager.
'It must have been hard on you..' Armaan said softly...he didn't know what else to say...from casual conversation, they had gone onto something extremely personal and he wondered if it would be OK for her to divulge so much when they were not even that close...it didn't seem like a matter she spoke about to everyone...and yet, he wanted to know..it really intrigued him...
'It was,' Riddhima answered and left it that...she didn't know what had gotten into her when she'd revealed so much of her personal life to him just in a matter of fifteen minutes...this was something she's NEVER EVER told anyone in her entire life and here she was, all set to talk about it to him...HIM!! of all the people...he probably couldn't even care less..after all, how well did they know each other?? but there was something about him..something that invited confidence...something that reassured her that she could speak about anything and he would listen..that he would understand...but that was so stupid!! just because he'd started talking to her normally(yes, she HAD noticed the sudden change in behaviour) didn't mean that they had become best friends and that she should let him in on all her secrets...not for now atleast...
End of topic, thought Armaan as he watched her sitting silently after the abrupt end of conversation...he knew that was all she was going to tell him for now...fair enough, he thought...after all, they'd just started getting to know each other...he didn't expect her to tell him something personal so soon...maybe she had blurted out the initial bit unaware of his presence but he knew she wasn't going to reveal anything more...he was cool with it...yes, he had wanted to know but it was not like he was bursting with curiosity or something...he could live with not knowing it....maybe sometime in the future she might tell him on her own...and if she didn't? well, it didn't make a difference to his life anyway...
'Rahul and I have been friends for quite a while too...' Armaan said casually...
'You'll have?' she asked, looking slightly surpirsed..she never knew they'd known each other before joining university, 'since when?'
'Practically since I could walk and talk,' Armaan laughed...well, it was true!! he'd known the guy forever, 'but we became close only this year..'
'How come?' she asked...this was something that was totally new to her..neither Muskaan nor Rahul had ever mentioned this fact of Armaan and Rahul being childhood friends...and well, she had never been close to Armaan before this for him to reveal the fact...
'Well, we had different interests. I was into sports whereas he was the creative guy. I didn't think he'd fit in with my friends...I didn't want to force him as the last thing I wanted was for him to feel uncomfortable..' Armaan replied, honestly.
'That's sweet,' Riddhima said slowly but Armaan knew she didn't mean it...she had just said that out of politeness but he knew she thought and felt something else about the matter and that sort of disturbed him...he wanted her to be honest with him and not give him formal replies...he wanted to know what she felt about the matter...no one else had ever questioned him on this subject and the fact that she did, really surprised him and hence he wanted to know what was in her mind...
'What?' he asked, 'Riddhima, we ARE friends...you can be honest with me. I won't feel bad. Promise,'
Riddhima looked at him for a second or two and then said carefully, 'Well...OK...if you really want to know..I just feel that a person shouldn't decided for someone else who can be his friends and who can't...'
'I...I don't understand...' Armaan said, looking slightly confused.
'Well, OK,' Riddhima sighed...if he wanted her to make it cleared than that, then she had no choice..she had tried to put it as sweetly as possible, 'I just feel you shouldn't be the one deciding who can be Rahul's friend.. I think thats Rahul's choice,'
'I never decided Rahul's friends,' Armaan said, looking slightly bewildered, 'he DID have a choice. He could have hung out with us but he chose not to,'
'Or maybe he was waiting for you to invite him to your group and introduce him to the others as you were the only FRIEND he had in this particular group.' Riddhima pointed out.
'He wouldn't have fit in...He had no common interest with any of us,' Armaan explained, trying to defend himself even though he sort of saw a grain of truth in what she was saying.
'Oh c'mon! We all are friends, aren't we? what common interest do we have? I don't disagree that it plays an important part but it is definitely not the basis on which you make friends...' Riddhima scoffed.
'Look, you don't understand...he wouldn't have fit in...we were all into sports and he was the creative guy...he would have felt left out...' Armaan tried once again.
'Why do you categorise him as the creative guy? What about Rahul, as a person?' Riddhima asked with frustration...this small arguement had bought back painful memories of her childhood...she really didn't understand why people made so many assumptions when in the end half of them were not even true!! this just reminded her of the time when she had shifted to her new school in Punjab mid-semester and she had been subjected to such behaviour...everyone had categorised her as the 'Bombay-girl' who probably had lot of attitude...didn't they all?? she was also probably snobbish and stuck-up like the rest of them...these were some of the assumptions made about her...she couldn't remember a time when she had been rude or obnoxious to anyone, but no...they had just assumed that she was...none of them ever tried getting to know Riddhima as a person...none of them ever gave her a chance to find out if she could be their friend...they all already had their friend circles...they didn't need the 'Bombay-girl' in theirs...and god!! it had hurt...she had never felt more helpless and weak...
'You're right....I shouldn't have categorised him but the fact is, he had his friends..he never showed any inclination of wanting to join our group,' Armaan said gently...he had kind of sensed that this had nothing to do with Rahul or him...this had something to do with her or why the hell would she care about the fact that he didn't think Rahul would fit in with his group...and so, he tried to pacify her by gently diverting the topic...he could make out that she was extremely vulnerable and emotional at the moment...and well, if there was one thing that he could not take was women crying!! he just couldn't deal with it!! best to shift the topic to some safe area!! he thought..
Riddhima immediately felt a pang of guilt as she sensed him retreating...god!! how embarassing!! she must have really freaked him out with her insistent arguing...well, she couldn't help it..the topic had just brought out the fierce as well as emotional side of her and using Armaan as a scapegoat, she had vented out all her frustration...better to apologise before he made the permanent conclusion that she was off her rocker.
'Armaan...I'm..I'm sorry,' she said quickly, 'I think I went overboard with it,'
'Hey, no...it's cool...seriously...it's alright,' Armaan said, trying to make her feel comfortable..poor thing, he thought, she really looked flustered now that she'd come back to her senses...
'It's..It's just it kind of brought back memories...painful ones...I'm sorry...I think I took it out on you,' she said softly.
'Hey, Ridz...it's alright...seriously...you want to talk about it?' Armaan asked, gently squeezing her hand.
'No...not now...' Riddhima said, looking into his eyes, 'maybe later.. when I'm ready to tell you....I will...'
Her answer was so honest and displayed so much vulnerablity and uncertainty that he instantly felt drawn towards her and any sort of anger or frustration that he might have felt during their arguement just washed away...he really appreciated her honesty...not many people would admit their mistake and apologise the way she had done...
'It's cool,' he said, smiling and letting go of her hand, 'I understand.'
***********************************************************************
'So...since when have you and Riddhima become friends?' Anjali asked as she sipped on her drink and lay back on a reclining chair under the huge umbrella providing them shade whereas Armaan sat on the mat, sipping on a chilled bottle of vodka.
'We were always friends,' Armaan answered casually...he was expecting this ever since he and Riddhima had returned back to their original sitting place after talking for about a good hour or so..Adi and Anjali had come out of the water by then and given them extremely wierd looks...it was obvious, they thought it was really wierd that Armaan was suddenly showing Riddhima so much attention...Adi had preferred to stay quiet and had gone into the water again when Riddhima announced that she wanted to take a dip as the water must be cool by now since it was sunset....however, Armaan knew Anjali wouldn't let the matter go so easily..she had stayed back with him and the moment Riddhim and Adi had been out of earshot, had posed the question very sarcastically...
'Oh please...don't give me that...you used to practically run away from her shadow and now you're all sitting with her in isolated part of the beach and having heart-to-heart conversations?? what's going on Mr. Armaan Mallik?' Anjali asked, laughing as she watched Armaan.
Armaan took a long sip of his drink and said in a careful tone, 'I don't know what you're talking about. We were always friends and what's the big deal if we just take a walk around the beach. I don't see what's the deal here,'...he didn't know why but for some reason, he didn't want to talk about this to Anjali...which didn't make sense because he usually told her more or less everything...she would just listen and give him frank and sometimes downright brutally honest advice....however, for the first time, he didn't feel like sharing anything of what had transpired with him and Riddhima to her...it was just personal...and what would he say anyways?? that he'd never thought it would be so easy to have a conversation with Riddhima? that he'd been so engrossed in their conversation that he'd never realied when an hour had just flown by? that she was probably one of the most talkative people he had met and not in a bad way...it was fun to listen to her...or the fact that he could be so free and comfortable around her and talk to her about anything and everything?? that she was funny when she wanted to be and had actually made him laugh a couple of times?? or that she had the most amazing smile and that he'd cracked some of the lamest pj's ever just to see her smile?? Anjali would probably think he'd lost his marbles if he mentioned any of the above to her...
But the fact was that Riddhima Gupta was a completely different story than what he'd thought. He glanced at her, splashing water on Adi and laughing uncontrollably as he splashed her right back...she was a sweet thing...a little fierce but then she was emotional too...he'd seen that side of her today, hadn't he?? he supposed she just tried to show the world that she was super-woman but deep down, she was an emotional soul who could recollect painful memories and cry over it even today. She was also funny, in her own way...not the wild kind like Anjali but the more subtle kind which made him laugh anyways...and she would listen...she never interrupted him once while he spoke and he realized that she was not the only one who had opened up during their conversation...he had unknowingly opened up with her too and moreover, he didn't regret it...she was different...definitely different from Anjali and Muskaan and from the kind of person he thought she was...honestly speaking, he wouldn't mind getting to know Riddhima Gupta a little more...she was alright after all....
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