Living With The Stranger (A-R) part11 pg 18 - Page 6

hey...nice part again!! liked the way u took the scene ahead..armaan isn't interested, dekhte hain, kab tak!! hehe..

luv,

anu.

Originally posted by: lookwhoshere

hey...nice part again!! liked the way u took the scene ahead..armaan isn't interested, dekhte hain, kab tak!! hehe..

luv,

anu.

hey!!!!

read all the parts....ff is soo good...

wating for next update,....

plz can u pm me whenever u update?

love

dipu

Things had changed between the two. Coldness had entered their relationship. They didn't feel as awkward when they had first met however awkwardness was what defined their situation right now. They both would avoid coming across each other, however it was inevitable for them to avoid each other during dinner at times when they were with the family. They hardly spoke to each other and rarely looked at one another. If mistakenly their eyes met, they would quickly look away feeling uncomfortable. Armaan had joined his father's business and that had managed to keep him occupied and away from Ridhima. There were times when he would have to leave the house really early, which resulted in him not seeing Ridhima in the morning and at times returning home late after wrapping up his work in the office, which again resulted in them not encountering each other as Ridhima would be fast asleep. Intentional or incidental, the fact remained that there was a lull between them. They would be together yet not together, a couple yet not completely one.

Ridhima would spend her time just lazing around the house, watching television and listening to the maids and servants animated conversation. From the day the returned from Goa, everything was on a standstill. She had stopped apologising or mentioning anything to Armaan as this would probably further agitate him and she felt it would be better if things were left alone, they would probably sort themselves out! There was a change in her though. The usual scene with her would be that she would watch T.V. quite interestedly and join the conversation or rather interrupt the conversation of the servants so that she could join in as well. However, she would now laze on the couch staring at the T.V. screen while flicking the channels uninterestedly while at times turning to look at the servants who were jovial and into their conversation. She would crave for someone to make her join in to their conversation; she wanted some attention and a little assurance. She had become quite reserved and would bottle up her feelings; something that was rare with the vivacious Ridhima who would make sure that her feelings were made heard loud and clearly. In this short span of time she had realised that he was a stubborn as she is and therefore no point doing anything as it would be the equivalent as banging your head on a wall.

Naina loved Ridhima, she simply adored her. She was grateful to God for gifting lovely girl to her. She had always wanted a daughter and she finally received a daughter in the form of Ridhima. For her Ridhima was the daughter of this house and not the daughter-in-law hence she believed that as long as she was around Ridhima needn't do anything around the house, unless she wanted to. Nothing would be forced onto her; she could do and wear whatever she wanted to. Mother-in-laws would probably taunt their daughter-in-laws if they were seen being idle, not doing the household chores. But Naina was clear that Ridhima was her daughter and always will be. Naina could sense that there was something wrong.

Like the previous days, Ridhima was lying on the couch staring at the television screen flicking channels when Naina came and sat beside her, looking at her face with affection. Ridhima hadn't noticed her presence and continued to stare aimlessly at the T.V. screen. Naina lovingly patted her head and said, "Beti, kuch dinon se dekh rahi hoon, badi chup chup rehti ho, sab theek to hai na?"

Ridhima looked up at Naina and was a bit surprised by the sudden question. "Aunty…"

"Maa… call me Mom".

"Ji… Maa".

"Kuch to baat hai. Yahaan koi takleef hai?"

Ridhima sat up on the couch with her legs folded. She sighed and replied, "ab kya batau Mom, I… I don't know. I'm trying, that's all."

"Then don't try na! Who asked you to try? Tum jaise ho waise hi raho, tum humein waise hi pasand ho. Hamare liye tumhe koi efforts daalna nahin hoga. Hum tumhare apne hai aur apnon ko thodi na impress kiya jaata hai. Hum sirf tumhari khushi chaahte hai, aur kuch nahin chaahte tumse".

Ridhima was touched by Naina's affection. She gave Naina a tight hug. "Aww thanks Mom". They stayed like that for some time. Ridhima felt at ease after a very long time. Naina could sense something was wrong but she could not pinpoint what was the exact reason. But she somehow felt that Armaan being occupied with the business was a probable reason.

The next day, Armaan had managed to wake up early without any hassle or fuss. He got ready and saw that he was still early to go to work so he decided to have some breakfast before he leaves. He proceeded downstairs to the dining table and seated himself down while his mother came with the breakfast.

"Aaj tumhara favourite naashta banaa hai".

"Mmm… Aaloo ke Parathe, yum!"

Naina served the parathas to Armaan while Ridhima joined them and stood beside her. He took a big piece and chewed it when suddenly he started to choke.

"Kya hua?" Ridhima asked quite concerned.

Armaan was furious and asked his mother, "Khaana kisne banaaya hai? Aaj us naukar ki khair nahin!"

"Ridhima ne banaaya hai tum…".

"WHAT? RIDHIMA?" He got up furiously to question her. "Mujhe maarne ka iraada hai kya? Namak aur mirchi se bhari hui hai yeh. Khaana nahin banaana aata to mat banao. Kya yehi sikhaaya tumhari maa ne?"

Ridhima became numb and stared at him for a few moments. She meekly replied, "Maa hogi to sikhaayegi na" and silently went to her room.

Armaan was taken aback from her reply. Ok he was mad at her, ok he she had made horrendous food. Horrendous was a nice way of putting it but he went overboard with what he had just said.

"Armaan, yeh kya batameezi hai? Aise baat karte hai apni patni se?"

"Mom…"

"Don't Mom me! Pehli baar usne apni zindagi mein khaana banaaya, aur woh bhi tumhare liye. Khaana acha nahin tha to jhoot hi keh dete. Is tarah pesh aane ki kya zaroorat thi? Bechari ne kitni mehnat ki thi tumhare liye. I'm sure bura laga hoga use. Jaa ke dekho use… Go on!"

"Maine thodi na kaha tha mere liye khaana banaao", saying that he went upstairs to his room.

He opened the door and saw Ridhima lying on the bed, holding a pillow to her chest tightly, shedding silent tears. His heart tugged at this sight. She seemed so vulnerable and docile; not like the Ridhima he knew. He had been mad at her for the past few days and hoped that she would grow up a bit but he felt bad for her right now.

Ridhima was angry rather than upset which caused her to cry. She wasn't upset or angry with him but rather angry that the first time she attempted something, it flopped! She had never made so much effort for anyone and yet when she did, it backfired. It made her think that if her mother was still around, would things have been different and whether she would have been more successful in such womanly things. She felt someone's presence so she turned around and saw Armaan by the door, looking at her culpably. She quickly got a grip of herself and ran to the bathroom to wash her face. She didn't want to be seen like this, especially by him. He just left for work without uttering a word to anyone.

It was evening and Armaan came back from work. They both came across each other but looked and walked away awkwardly after glancing at one another. After dinner he went and sat on the garden steps, relaxing his mind when he was a cup of coffee near his face. He turned around and saw Ridhima offering the cup to him. He looked at her quite sceptically.

"Don't worry, is mein zeher nahin milaayi maine. Khaana jaisa bhi ho, coffee main theek tarah se bana hi leti hoon". He took the coffee from her while she sat down next to him on the steps. There was silence for a good few minutes where only the sound of the wind chime by the garden door could be heard. After some time she sighed and spoke.

"Peechle dinon jo kuch bhi hua, main yeh nahin keh sakti keh tum bhool jao aur tumhe force bhi nahin kar sakti ke tum mujhe maaf kar do, bas ho sake to meri ek nadaani samajh lena. Main sirf yehi promise kar sakti hoon ke main aise nadaani bhi se nahin karungi". She was about to leave when he spoke out.

"Aur agar main kahu mujhe aisi nadaaniya pasand hai to?"

"Kya?"

He smiled at her. "Tumhari nadaaniya, your childishness, hamari nok jhok, mujhe sab pasand hai. Tum jaisi ho mujhe waise hi theek lagti ho. Mujhpar bas ilzaam mat lagao aur apna banaake parayaa mat banao. Dard hota hai. Hum dost hai, koi baat tumhe achi nahin lagti to bejhijhak keh sakte ho but don't make me indifferent in the process."

"Armaan, main darr gayi thi. I know I started it all lekin main kabhi kisi ke itne kareeb nahin gayi thi aur pata nahin kyun I felt so comfortable with you. Ab ismein meri kya galti hai agar you are hot and stir such demons from within me. Gosh, you're such a hot kisser!"

This made him laugh. "Tum sach mein paagal ho. Waise, subah ke liye, I'm sorry".

"Forget about it. It wasn't a big deal. Main tumhari tarah nahin hoon jo muh phoolake baith jaaye. So, friends again?"

They shook hands and reconfirmed their friendship. Armaan was back to his mischievous self. "To aaj raat ko ho jaaye?"

"Kya ho jaaye?"

He held her by the shoulder and said, "dekho meri aankhon mein, tumhe kuch nahin hota…jab main tumhe choota hoon, tabhi kuch nahin hota".

"Ahh Armaan, will you stop with that? Stop reminding me!"

"Mat roko mujhe Ridz, jo hona hai ho jaane do".

"Lagta hai bohat din ho gaye tumhe hairpins ke darshan karte hue. Don't worry, mere paas hair net aur hair spray bhi hai. Zaroorat pade to istemaal bhi kar sakti hoon".

They both laughed and continued to joke around with each other, making up for the lost time that was wasted.