Armaan was pacing up and down in the residents cabin, from one desk to another, anticipating Her arrival. He had been waiting for her since 8:55 and now it was exactly 9:03. Does she realize what she's doing to me?, he thought. Everyday she comes exactly at 9 'o clock. Why is she so late today! He was getting impatient. He had not slept the entire night. After dropping her home, he had waited outside in his car for quite some time, fighting an urge to call her down to meet him. But then he thought, it wouldn't be decent to do that, and he would have to wait till tomorrow morning to see her. So he had gone home.., but sleep evaded him. This new experience of being in love was too much for him to handle. He wanted to tell her right away.., all what he felt for her. He was in two minds to call her up and confess immediately. But then he thought that a phone confession would be too impersonal and he didn't want to sound too desperate. So he decided to wait for the morning… however she wouldn't let him sleep. He dreamt of an entire lifetime with her… He imagined how his life would be... so beautiful with her in it.. As his thoughts drifted from their imaginary courtship to their wedding, the face of one certain Dr. Shashank Gupta came to his head, giving him the evil laugh.. Damn you Mogambo!! But even the devil himself couldn't change his mind now, so Mogambo was out of question! As he pictured his life together with her he felt a sense of completeness that he had never felt before… but did she feel the same for him… as that thought crossed his mind, it hit him, that he had not considered what Riddhima thought of him. He was sure that initially she had been smitten by him, like all girls do! But eventually he had found so much more in her… a confidant, a friend and after the way she behaved in the last 24 hours, he was sure, there was something more that was hidden in those beautiful eyes of hers than she was letting out! He had to find out if she felt the same. And if she did, then he would waste no time in making her his... for forever! But for now he just couldn't wait to see her… he sat on the couch in frustration, "Where are you Basket!!", that's when his pager beeped. He sighed and got up to leave for the ICU.
Riddhima couldn't sleep a wink that night either. All she could think of was the question Armaan had posed about Love and War… What did he mean? Does he think of me in any other way than a friend? So many questions hounded her mind, but she had the answer to none. She recollected whatever happened throughout the day… his embarrassment at being caught red handed… he looked so cute when he blushed… the way he slept in the kids' room with Minnie on his lap… Riddhima had a strong urge to cuddle him up in her arms when she thought of that… the way he interacted with the kids, especially Minnie, was so cute! She had surely fallen for him all over again… She wanted to be a part of his life and wanted him to be a part of hers… But what about Dad! He hates Armaan! She was sure that there was some misunderstanding between the two, coz Armaan wasn't capable of being hated by anyone… She was sure her dad didn't know of this side of him. And when he comes to know, he'll start liking him too. It was hard not to like him! But she had to be sure of what Armaan felt for her. She had got an inkling from the happenings of the day, that he had surely developed some new feelings for her… But how strong were they? Thinking about him, she had fallen off to sleep...
The Gupta House was bustling with guests. Only a week was left for the wedding now and the preparations were in full swing… Anjali who was a stickler for her work, had finally taken leave from the hospital till her wedding! All of Riddhima's and Anjali's cousins and aunts and uncles and granduncles and grandaunts had poured into the shaadi-waala-ghar! The whole house smelled of mouthwatering food… and it looked like a marriage hall! Though the Guptas had made arrangements for their guests to live in a hotel, during the day they all gathered at home, not wanting to miss any part of the fun! Riddhima was already fed up of all the people and the noise they made at home… she couldn't concentrate on anything! Unlike her sister, she had to go to Sanjeevni and do all her duties till the Sangeet and her impending Engagement on Saturday… she had completely forgotten about her engagement , what with Armaan occupying most of her mind! She couldn't wait to see him any longer, and she really wanted to get away from all her relatives talking about her wedding instead of concentrating on her Di's, so she decided to go early…
Armaan had been paged to get to the ICU to check on his patient first thing in the morning. Riddhima had not turned up and he had to go do his duty, so he unwillingly set off for the third floor. As he approached the lift, he saw the doors just shutting, so he called out running to get inside, "Lift! Hey!" Someone from inside the lift put their foot between the doors to stop them from closing, and Armaan rushed in, stumbling! As he was about to fall, he caught hold of what he thought was the only occupant of the lift, "Basket!!"
"Good Morning! Dr. Mallik!", came a voice from behind them. Armaan was shocked beyond words.
"Good... Morning... Sir!", he said haltingly, still leaning on Riddhima but looking at her father!
"Late! Are we? And for God sake get away from Dr. Gupta!", Shashank was very uncomfortable at the way Armaan was leaning so close on his daughter and holding her hand in support… he didn't like it one bit! Which father would?
Riddhima on the other hand was nervous, what with being stuck in the same lift with her dad and her potential love, who hated each other… The moment Armaan had fallen on her, her heart rate had increased, but when she had heard her dad's voice her heart had gone ballistic.. she thought it might explode if Armaan didn't let go of her soon. But Armaan was so taken in by her dad's presence that he kept leaning on her for support. When her dad had asked him to get away from her, he had caught on with the situation and quickly let her go!
Hearing no response from Armaan, Shashank just shook his head and stepped out of the lift on the second floor leaving Riddhima and Armaan to themselves in the lift!
As soon as Shashank had stepped out of the lift, Armaan had let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall of the lift opposite Riddhima's. Riddhima saw his expression and burst out laughing… this brought her to Armaan's attention. As they got out of the lift on the third floor, she was still in her fit of laughter to which Armaan finally retorted, "What's so funny, Basket?"
Riddhima looked at him and through silent giggles said, "Dr. Mallik's scared of my Dad! That's funny!"
Armaan scowled, "No I am not! Why should I be scared of him?"
"Coz it's a tradition for the guy to be……...", but Riddhima suddenly stopped talking in shock! In the flow of the argument and the glee of teasing Armaan she had almost blurted, 'It's a tradition for the guy to be scared of the girl's father!'
Armaan, who was frowning at being teased early in the morning, initially didn't understand what happened. But as he replayed her sentence he realized what she was about to say! His face broke into a wide smile as he saw her make the slip into the Pathology lab, her face a deep crimson!
Since the 'Sunday' she spent with him in Lonavala, something had changed between the two of them. Armaan had stopped troubling her and was polite most of the times. She noticed he had a silly grin on his face all the time.. Whenever he saw her, that smile would widen.. She could swear, once she had heard him sigh as she walked past him in the corridor…
Armaan had asked for Riddhima's help in buying saris for Padma aunty and Anjali… Muskaan and Rahul had done the rest of the shopping on that 'Sunday'! Armaan was mostly finding excuses to talk to Riddhima since he had realized his love for her. It was like suddenly he had a new reason to live for. It was like his life revolved around her now! In everything he did, he thought about her… she was on his mind 24 X 7. But she had been busy in the wedding preparations and also worried about her engagement.. He had to now, at any cost, in any way, stop this stupid sham of an engagement! He had suggested to her and Rahul to go and tell the truth to their parents, but they were scared this will spoil their family friendship… plus they didn't want to ruin Anjali's wedding… they couldn't ruin her happy day because of their stupidity… Muskaan on the other hand was still not ready to be the pretend love of Rahul's life! So that option was out!
Armaan was missing Riddhima. She had taken a half-day off as she had to help in the last minute wedding preparations, the wedding was only three days from now! They hadn't spoken much today except for the normal Hi and Bye routine. He couldn't bear the distance any more. He had to see her right away! So he decided to drop in at the Gupta residence to apparently help with the decorations.
Riddhima had come home early today to help her mom with the gift packing and other millions of work that were to be done for the wedding. However, she couldn't concentrate on it at all. There were so many people in the house, but the one that held her attention was a few kilometers away in Sanjeevni, probably in surgery,… or in the OPD… or flirting with the sexy receptionist on the fourth floor!!, as the last thought crept up in her head, she frowned and left what she was doing and went and stood at the window. She was missing him terribly. After that 'Sunday' she hadn't been able to talk to him properly because of the whole wedding and engagement buzz. He was being really nice to her, and also a little different.. Like he wanted to say something but couldn't! She hoped he hadn't caught on to what she had blurted after the lift incidence… but the way he behaved with her, clearly suggested that he had figured it out and was also very happy about it. That brought a smile to Riddhima's face. It was the best feeling in the world, she thought, to have your love being reciprocated. She had decided that after the engagement problem gets solved, and the wedding's done, she'll drop hints about her feelings to him... like she hadn't done that already! As she thought of ways to let her feelings known to him, her mom called from the background.. "Riddhima! Beta please take Armaan to the kitchen! He wants to help Nani with the ladoos!" Riddhima turned so quickly, she almost sprained her neck. Had she heard her mom right? Armaan was here! At her place?!!
Armaan had never attended a wedding ever before! When he first entered the Gupta residence, he couldn't recognize it at all. The door was open and the house was bustling with what he thought were hundreds of people… one of Riddhima's cousins had spotted him peeping inside and had almost fainted at the sight in front of her. Armaan thought he had got the wrong house and was about to turn and leave when Padma spotted him and had invited him in… Armaan couldn't believe the number of people he was seeing around him… and if Padma aunty was to be believed they were all related to the Guptas! The house looked more crowded than any disc he'd visited on a Saturday night! He told Padma aunty that he had come to help with the decorations, while he tried to locate Riddhima in the confluence…
Padma aunty told him to help with the ladoos instead, as all the decorations were done, but a lot of ladoos had to still be made! Then she called out to just the right person to direct him to the kitchen…
As Riddhima took him to the kitchen, all her female cousins, single and married alike, ogled at Armaan… she was pretty irritated with them, but completely lost it when she saw Armaan returning their smiles…
"What are you smiling at?", she asked, her teeth barred and a scowl on her face.
"What? They are all smiling at me too! I was just being nice!", Armaan smiled as he saw a tinge of jealousy on Riddhima's face. He loved it! And his grin widened as she said, "You don't have to be so nice to everyone!"
Armaan enjoyed the ladoo making with Nani and her old friends.. And of course Riddhima's presence was the most interesting part of the entire process. Riddhima, who was earlier aversive to getting her hands into the ladoo batter was now quite enjoying it, thanks to Armaan's presence.. As they made the ladoos nani explained to Armaan the exact ingredients and protocol of ladoo-making.. Armaan was listening very attentively…. If he was to be believed he was an awesome cook, but didn't know just how to make ladoos! Riddhima scoffed at his claim and soon they got into an argument over the merit of Armaan's proclaimation! Just then Padma came in, "Arre Riddhima! Tum yahan ho! I was looking for you beta! And are you making ladoos? I thought this was too boring for you!", Padma puposely put her on the spot! Riddhima spluttered, "Nahi.. Woh.. Bohot zyaada banane the… that is why… I ..."
"Padma aunty, actually.. she isn't doing anything! Kab se mere saath bas lad rahi hai! Please tell her to do some work!", Armaan said in a naughty but complaining tone to Padma… at which Riddhima huffed and glared at Armaan.
"Armaan beta! Ab tum rehne do… kab se kaam kar rahe ho! Now let someone else take over..", Padma was feeling bad that Armaan was working more than her own family.
"Arre nahi aunty… I am quite enjoying this.. This is the first wedding that I am attending… I never thought it would be so much fun!!", Armaan replied enthusiastically!
"Don't tell me you have never attended a wedding in your life! I am sure your mom must have dragged you to a few, when you were growing up! I remember how Riddhima and Anjali used to whine when we had to attend weddings during school days!", as Padma said this, the color drained from Armaan's face! He didn't know what to say. But before Padma could say or ask anything else, Riddhima came to his rescue, "Mamma aap bhi na! Kya baatein lekar baith gaye… usse kaam karne ka shauk hai toh let him do it na! Aap jaao, dad must be home!" Riddhima knew that 'parents' and 'family' were touchy topics with Armaan! She saw the change in expressions on his face when her mamma had mentioned his mom! She wondered what the deal was, but didn't want to see that pain in his eyes again, so she diverted the topic.. And she was sure she did the right thing when she saw Armaan thank her with his eyes! He was so relieved that Riddhima had diverted the conversation... she had saved him a lot of pain… he was also touched by her gesture.. Considering she didnt even know the cause of his dicomfort, she still did save him... Somewhere deep inside he knew, that now he'd have someone to fall back on… someone who would support him, no matter what... he wouldn't be alone anymore... and this brought a feeling of gratitude towards Riddhima, of how she had changed his life for the better…
Padma had noticed this entire interaction between her daughter and Armaan. She had noticed all the interactions that involved the two of them! In fact she had been noticing them since the first day Armaan had come home.. She had noted how he had been shocked and highly disappointed at the announcement of Rahul's and Riddhima's engagement… she noticed how Riddhima's face always brightened up at the mention of Armaan's name… she was sure that something was cooking between the two of them..
"Padma! Could you please get me a glass of water!", Shashank's voice came from the entrance of the kitchen, braking her chain of thoughts. As they heard his voice, both Riddhima and Armaan looked at him and stopped doing whatever they were doing, and Shashank had a cold expression on his face. Padma aunty gave him a glass of water and some snacks and left the kitchen, dragging him along, "Aap thak gaye honge! Kal se toh at least chutti li hai na! Aap ladki ke pita hain! You should be managing all this work.. Waise most of it is done..." Padma was on non-stop, but Shashank cut her, "What is HE doing here?" , he asked in a curt manner.
"Who?", Padma didn't understand at first, but then made the connection, "Who Armaan? Arre at least he's better than you… at least kaam toh karne ata hai! He's such a sweetheart, bechara kab se ladoo bana raha hai!"
"Usse kaam karne ki kya zarurat hai? Why has he come here? And I see he's already worked his charm on you!", Shashank didn't like it one bit that Padma was taking Armaan's side over his. She's my wife!!
Padma on the other hand was surprised at her husbands tone and aversion to Armaan's presence, "Shashank aap baccho jaise kyun behave kar rahe hain! He's my daughter's age! Don't be jealous!", she teased him to lighten his mood!
"Please! why would I be jealous of him?", Shashank said with indignation.
"Common Shashank, he's so sweet, bechara sare kaam mein khud hokar haath bata raha hai… and waise bhi he's from the Groom's side! Atul ki taraf se hai! Ladke waalon ko izzat deni chahiye!", Padma was still smiling at his childishness.
"Izzat my foot!", Shashank didn't like Padma praising him so much, "Riddhima aur baaki ladkiyon ko usse door rakho… and while your at it, tum bhi uss se door hi raho toh accha hai!", he added.
"Shashank, mujhe toh Armaan bohot accha lagta hai, he's a very nice guy! Agar Riddhima ko pasand aa jaaye na toh main usi ki side loongi", Padma was testing waters. She wanted to see Shashank's reaction.
"Bakwaas mat karo Padma! You don't know that guy… woh Riddhima ke bilkul laayak nahi hai! And I trust my daughter… woh kabhi Armaan jaise insaan ko nahi chunegi!", saying this Shashank walked off from their leaving their conversation in limbo!
Padma wondered what was it that irked her husband so much about Armaan. Maybe a one off incidence had put him on his guard. After all, he was the father of two very beautiful daughters!
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