Time for some more AR & AN moments, lovelies! Keep the comments coming dearies!
Chp. 33 Kahi khushi kahi gham
"Kunwar Armaan's engagement has been fixed!" Abhimanyu said and to his utter surprise all three of them exclaimed in unison,
"What???"
Ridhima realised her mistake and quickly made up for it. "I mean, congratulations! This calls for a celebration," she said hugging Nikita.
Nikita suppressed a grin. "Abhimanyu, this is great news! Wow, I didn't expect things to go so fast," Rahul said giving him a hug.
Ridhima quickly excused herself saying that it was time for BR's medicine and left. After a while Rahul too left leaving only Abhimanyu and Nikita in the room.
Abhimanyu gave Nikita a look which said, "What now?"
"Does bhaiyya know about this?" she asked.
"I don't think so because he hasn't returned from the site yet," replied Abhimanyu.
"God! Wonder how is he gonna react on hearing this," Nikita sighed.
"He already has a lot on his head with the labor issues at the site, he doesn't need this now," said Abhimanyu running a hand through his hair exasperatedly.
"If only bhaiyya wouldn't have played this name-game with Ridhima then it would have been easier to think of something, but now this shall be complicated," said Nikita.
"No, it wouldn't have been any better, infact I don't think Ridhima would have been in Maan's life at all. Do you think that if Maan would have told Ridhima that he was a prince, Ridhima would have been friends with him? She would have been as comfortable with him as she is now? Do you still think that they would be sharing the same rapport? No, Nikita, she would never have stayed in the first place and if due to circumstances she would have been forced to stay, there would have been a formality between the two. Both would have been confined to their limits and nothing would have been the same," said Abhimanyu.
"What do you think bhaiyya will do now?" Nikita asked.
"I don't know. All I know is, whatever happens, happens for a reason and if these two have come together so far, destiny sure has some plans for them," he replied.
"But Abhimanyu, what about the engagement? We can't let that happen," she said as she sat on the couch holding her head by her hands.
"Whatever is to be done, Maan will have to do it. There's little we can do because if we interfere, things would get complicated," replied Abhimanyu.
"I hope Bhaiyya tells Ridhima about everything and sorts this out. I do not want him to lose someone whom he loves so dearly and go through the pain," Nikita said with a heavy voice as a stray tear trickled down her face.
Abhimanyu noticed this. He walked over to her and wiped the tear from her face, held her by the shoulders and said comfortingly, "Nikita, nothing as such will happen. Have faith in God, he isn't harsh. He tries a person only to the limit of his capacity. He never overburdens us, it is only beyond the level of our intellect to understand his wisdom beyond things."
Nikita leaned on him and buried her head in his chest and with tears now flowing uncontrollably she said, "I hope what you're saying is true. Bhaiyya doesn't deserve to go through this pain."
Abhimanyu didn't understand the reason of her sudden breakdown but he tried to console her because he couldn't bear to see her in pain. He held her close, his lips pressed to her hair, and after a long, long moment, she looked at him, composed herself and made a feeble attempt to smile despite the dampness on her lashes. Recollecting her past twice in a day had been a traumatic experience and the reason of her breakdown. To top it all, the thought of her brother going through the same ordeal gave her the creeps. Nikita couldn't bear to think of it.
*****
Armaan returned from the site late in the evening, all happy and excited. He wanted to see Ridhima first and knew where he could find her at this hour. He sprinted up the stairs and through the corridors, straight to BR's room and as he had expected, Ridhima was present there. A quick glance around told him that there was no one there save them and BR. He quickly entered and closed the door behind him. Ridhima who was adjusting BR's blankets looked up and was surprised to see Maan.
"Ridhima!" he exclaimed.
"Shh..." she motioned him to remain silent because BR was asleep.
She silently walked up to him and asked, "What happened?"
In response he held her by the shoulders and swirled her around.
"Maan, what?" she exclaimed.
"Ridhima, you're the best!" he replied.
"But will you tell me why?" he finally let her free and said, "Your analysis about that labor issue was absolutely perfect. As you'd said, it was investigated and sure, there was a third person involved, Mr. Batra. He has been dealt with and the laborers have been warned not to get into such dirty business or they will be replaced." Ridhima gave him a smile.
"I've got you something," he said showing her a neatly wrapped package.
"Why?" she asked.
"As a thank you gift. These frequent labor conflicts at the site had really become a pain and I was going crazy because I was responsible for briefing RS about the progress and these conflicts and issues were not giving a good impression at all," he said handing her the package.
She sat on the couch opposite the bed and opened it and was surprised to find a cell phone. She gave him a questioning glance.
"You didn't like it?" he asked.
"It must be expensive," she said.
"Yes, but not something that I can't afford for a special friend like you," he replied seating himself beside her. Ridhima felt elated.
"Thanks, but what do I need a cell phone for?" she asked.
"Well, good question. Nothing much, just so that even if we can't meet, we can still talk. So no ifs and buts, it's yours," he replied.
She gave him a wide smile which Maan too returned. Then he taught her the basics of operating it. She learnt pretty fast.
The duo was so engrossed that neither of them noticed how close they were to each other until their heads touched. Maan looked up and apologized but Ridhima just gave him a sweet smile and he too smiled. Maan and Ridhima were enjoying themselves oblivious to the fact that BR's watchful and experienced eyes were hovering above them and taking in everything that was happening between them. She was feeling very happy as she realised that her intuition had been right. For the past few days she was having a feeling that there was something going on between her son and Ridhima and that Ridhima was the girl he loved. She was proud of her son and his choice. Seeing them happy together gave her a boost of energy. Now the only issue would be to break his relationship with Muskan and convince RS to agree to Ridhima and Maan's relationship.
Ridhima suddenly realized how long they had been chatting and laughing and now she should get back to her room. She thanked Maan once again for the gift and got up to leave but was jerked back as she felt a sharp pull in her hair. She looked up and realized that her hair had been caught in Maan's chain. She reached to loosen it and Maan too reached at the same time and their hands brushed. She looked into his eyes and then he pulled his hand away. She tried to untangle it but in vain. He was so close that she could almost feel the warmth of his skin. She could smell him: a hint of soap, his spicy aftershave and a fragrance which was uniquely his. She could feel Maan's breath on her skin sending shivers down her spine. She was getting impatient now and felt like just tearing her hair and breaking it free so that she could just get out of here.
Maan sensed her frustration and again reached out. He held Ridhima's hand and gave her an I'll-do-it look. Her heart was thumping. She pulled her hand away. She didn't know why did his presence affect her in such a manner sometimes. It scared her. Maan gently got to work on it, careful not to hurt her. He bent his head and his cheek accidently brushed against hers. Ridhima jerked her head away. She felt as though he was deliberately taking his own sweet time. In a way she was right, because whenever she was so close to him, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed her frustration to get away from him. He enjoyed teasing her silently. She looked into his eyes and the moment lengthened and it felt like an eternity before she looked down and realised that he had long since freed her hair and was just looking at her with--why did she feel that those eyes held intense love? She mumbled a thanks and disappeared from the room. Maan just stood staring after her. He knew he'd definitely unnerved her. He wondered when would he be able to express his feelings to her. He then turned to face his mother and BR who had been watching everything quickly shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. He went to his mother and saw her sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face and said, "Mom, I shall soon tell you who my Princess is." He placed a kiss on her forehead and then left the room. BR just smiled, happy for her son and Ridhima.
*****
"Bhaiyya, I can't believe this! How can you do this?" Rahul exclaimed as he walked into Armaan's room.
Armaan who was deep in thought looked up confused. "What happened Rahul? What have I done?" he asked surprised.
"You have shattered the hearts of so many girls to bits!" Rahul replied dramatically.
Armaan smiled in response and asked, "Really? But how?"
"Kunwar Armaan Shishodiya will no longer remain a bachelor because he is getting engaged after a week!" Rahul replied with a broad grin.
Armaan just stood still unable to believe his ears. "Congratulations Bhaiyya! I'm so happy for you," said Rahul giving Armaan a hug.
This couldn't be true, thought Armaan. How could they think of his engagement so soon? He couldn't get engaged to Muskan, not when he loved Ridhima! Rahul had to be kidding.
"Kunwar Rahul, you're kidding right?" he asked.
"Absolutely not bhaiyya. I know it's hard to believe," he replied with a mischievous grin.
Oh God! What now? thought Armaan. He hadn't even talked to Ridhima about this. What should he do? Should he talk to Ridhima? But talking to Ridhima would mean telling her about everything. Everything! Would she still love him as much as she did now or would she hate him for lying to her? Would she believe him? Even if she believed him, would she agree to marry him? Would she support his decision of not marrying Muskan? Would she agree to go against the people and rules of the palace for him? Things would change. There would be so much chaos. What would his father and choti maa's reaction be? How would he explain things to Princess Muskan and her parents? A multitude of questions and not a single answer!
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