Part 23: Forgiven
Riddhima
I let Kripa wrap her arms around me. I let my eyes shed as many tears as I wanted. I couldn't see after a few seconds. My vision was in and out, blurry at the edges because of all the tears.
Then I felt another set of arms go around me, and driven by instinct, I pushed them off.
"Ridzie?" The voice sounded shocked and hurt.
"GO AWAY!" I screamed, leaning towards her. Kripa's arms were like restraint belts around my upper arms. "I don't want to talk to you right now. Just leave." Anjali opened her mouth to argue but I didn't give her a chance to talk. "JUST GO!" I screamed at her again. "I DONT WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE...JUST LEAVE...LEAVE!!!!"
Kripa pressed my head to her chest, hushing me. "Just go Anjali...for now...please..."
Angad walked to Anjali and took her away. Leaving me with Kripa and Armaan. Armaan.
Armaan.
I sobbed even harder when I saw him. He looked scared. Some distant part of my mind registered Kripa talking to me but I wasn't coherent. My blurred vision was focused on Armaan. The shock in his eyes, the disbelief on his face, the surprise in the slightly parted lips.
"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY Kripa! I didn't mean it...I don't know what I was thinking. I swear I didn't mean it!! I'm a terrible person! "
Kripa
She was hysterical. I didn't know what to do. I had an urge to slap her to bring her to her senses. Instead, I hugged her to myself as tight as I could manage without breaking her bones. I could see her looking at Armaan as she cried. When I glanced at him, he was standing there like a statue.
"It's okay Riddhima...Stop crying please...get a hold of yourself" I was talking to her continuously; although, I doubted she heard any of it.
I could feel tears stinging my eyes too. This was one thing about our friendship...no matter how much we fought...we couldn't see each other's tears. I saw Angad walk in and his eyes widen as he took in the two of us on the floor, crying. Wait. That's an understatement. I was crying. Riddhima was...uncontrollable.
And then she went still in my arms. I panicked. I pulled apart from her and shook her. The next thing I knew was that Angad was by my side and we were carrying her to Angad's room. It wasn't until later that Angad and I realized that our minds were unconsciously working to make sure that Riddhima didn't learn about us staying in the same room when she woke up.
In the instance we lay her on the bed, Armaan walked in robotically. Angad held my shoulders and gestured that we leave Armaan alone with her. I looked at her and nodded. I felt so weak. I let him half carry me towards the door. I stopped to look at Armaan, gave him an encouraging hug. When I stepped away, turning to leave, he grabbed my wrist and stopped me.
"I don't know what to do..." He spoke for the first time since Anjali had entered. His voice barely a whisper.
I recalled Angad's words from earlier. Let them be. Let them work it out on their own. I looked straight into Armaan's eyes. "Yes you do."
Armaan's face reflected understanding. I knew that he know what I meant.
"She's right." Angad said. "You do know."
With that, Angad and I left him there in Angad's room.
Armaan
I sat next to her on the bed and recalled how she had cried earlier. I've never seen anyone cry with so much pain and agony. It's happening because you love her more than she loves you. More than she loves you. She loves you.
Bits and pieces of Kripa's sentence echoed in my mind and the image of Riddhima breaking down played in front of my eyes as if the audio and the visual were trying to get a point across.
I looked at her face. There was a pained expression that had been settled for a few minutes as if it were tattooed on.
I don't remember how long I sat there, looking at her. My thoughts were thrown into a wild hurricane. I couldn't put the pieces together. I was confused and had no idea about what to do until she said my name.
She hadn't opened her eyes, hadn't moved much, but she'd whispered my name. I stared at her closely, wondering if I'd imagined the sound but I hadn't. A few seconds later, she whispered my name again.
In that instant, I knew what I had to do. I knew what I was going to say to her when she woke up. I took her hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. And then I closed my eyes.
In Angad and Kripa's room:
Kripa sat at the foot of the bed, Angad next to her, holding her hand, with the other arm of his around her shoulders. She was seriously thinking about something.
Kripa let go of his hand and walked towards Dolce-Gabbana's cage. She reached in and pulled out Dolce, snuggling him in her hand, while soothing his fur with the other hand.
Angad walked up behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"What's wrong baby?"
"Do you think Armaan will'?"
"Yes he will." Angad cut her off, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.
Kripa sighed. "I don't think she deserves it. Is that bad? Is it wrong of me to think that way of my best friend?
"No. In fact, your opinion isn't biased towards your best friend. You're siding with what's right...not everyone can do that...I am so proud of you for what you have done today...you're so forgiving and kind...really good at heart..."
Kripa chuckled. She put dolce back in the cage and gently patted a sleeping Gabbana's head before she closed it. She turned around her wrapped her arms around Angad's neck. Then she went onto her tippy toes and gave him a quick kiss.
"Always the charmer..." she whispered, smiling at him.
He just shrugged. "But you've forgiven her..."
Kripa looked surprised. "Yeah...but how did you know?"
He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "It was easy to say...anyone would be able to tell if they'd seen you a few minutes ago."
"Hmm" was all she said. She still looked worried.
--
Armaan opened his eyes in the morning. He'd fallen asleep, sitting on the floor, his head resting on the bed, Riddhima's hand in his. Feeling sore to the bone, He twisted to look at Riddhima only to freeze in a startling shock. She was looking at him. She'd been looking at him. He didn't know for how long. Long enough to be crying so much while looking at him that her eyes were bloodshot.
He got off the floor quickly and took a seat next to her. Without another word, he simple pressed her head to his chest, and gently caressed her head, soothing her. When she went still, and her breathing was calm, Armaan tried his best to keep his voice steady as he spoke.
"Let's freshen up. We'll talk later."
She was about to open her mouth to argue but a knock on the door stopped her short. Kripa entered with a tray with breakfast, smiling at Riddhima. Riddhima's guilt tugged at her conscious again.
"Morning guys. Hurry up, have breakfast, and get ready...we're going out. It's the first day of holidays!" She chirped happily as if everything in the past 24 hours had been as regular as any other day.
Armaan smiled at Kripa, then at Riddhima before stepping into the bathroom. Kripa set the tray on the side table and oddly enough, handed Riddhima a toothbrush from it. She was carrying a toothbrush with the breakfast on the tray?! So Crazy. So Kripa.
Riddhima couldn't help but smile as she took the toothbrush out of Kripa's hand.
"Stop smirking. You're in Angad's room right now...I happened to have the kind of brush you use along with the toothpaste you use...I kind of had to get it to you and I was carrying the tray and I only have two hands so I had to put it on the tray."
Wow. She was certainly chatty this morning. Riddhima put the toothbrush in her mouth and in the same instant there was a clinging sound. Kripa cringed and tilted her head to her side.
"An-gad!" She separated his name into two words. "I'll take care of it, don't worry!"
"I've got it, love!" He replied back from wherever he was.
Kripa rolled her eyes. "What's he doing?" Riddhima asked.
"Trying to make poached eggs." Kripa said with another roll of her eyes. Riddhima's thoughts flashed back to the evening when she'd gone home after listening to Kripa's advised and helped Armaan make poached eggs. Those days were so bright. So stress less. So joyful. Now they were gone, thanks to her.
Kripa snapped her fingers in front of Riddhima's eyes. "That brush is supposed to be cleaning your teeth, not getting chewed by them."
Riddhima brushed her teeth in silence after that and Kripa tried to busy herself in arranging the already neat room. Another cling from the kitchen disrupted the silence in the room. Kripa sighed before heading towards the door. She stopped and turned to look at Riddhima.
"I don't know how long Armaan takes in the washroom...but if he takes anywhere as long as Angad, I'd freshen up in my room. Directly across from this one."
"Thanks" Riddhima mumbled through a mouth full of toothpaste foam. She got off the bed and followed Kripa out except that they went different ways.
Once she freshened up and stepped out, her eyes fell on the bed where she saw the shirt Angad had been wearing last night. It was then it dawned upon her that since they'd stayed in Angad's room, Angad and Kripa had shared her room. Her curious eyes went around the room for a few seconds until she realized that they'd probably been sharing the room for a while now. That's funny, she thought. Funny that Kripa had never mentioned this.
Suddenly feeling like she was invading someone's privacy, she left the room quickly and headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat, forgetting that Kripa had brought her breakfast into Angad's room.
Riddhima froze two steps into the kitchen. "Oh!" she gasped involuntarily. She'd caught them in a lip lock. A pretty intense one at that! She could feel herself flushing. She mumbled a sorry and very uncoordinatedly tried to remember which way the exit was.
"Relax Riddhima." Angad spoke. Riddhima looked at them through the corner of her eyes. He was still holding onto Kripa. It was almost as if the two were glued together. "You're acting like you just saw a ghost! It's just us."
"Um...yeah...um...yeah yeah. It's just you two."
Angad laughed, understanding Riddhima's weird behaviour and he let go of Kripa. He even took a step away from her. Riddhima felt embarrassed to the core. She didn't know what it was but something about the way they'd been kissing when she entered had made her especially jittery.
"Uh...sorry for the interruption...I...I just came to get something to eat..." Riddhima continued to be jittery. She couldn't look at them for more than a second.
"Relax Riddhima. No need to be so nervous about walking in on us. And you're breakfast is already in the room, remember?"
"Oh...I forgot." Riddhima stood in the same spot, clearly confused.
Kripa shook her head slightly. "Don't worry Hun...I'll go get it."
Riddhima threw her hands up in the air. "WHY ARENT YOU MAD AT ME?"
Kripa was surprised at the sudden question. Her eyes were wide; her lips formed an 'O' as she looked back and forth between Riddhima and Angad. Just then, Armaan walked in. Angad cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Um...I'll be right back." He said taking a step towards the exit of the kitchen.
"No! Stay!" Riddhima warned him. She turned so that she could see all three of them. Yeap. Definitely Awkward.
"Why aren't you guys mad at me? What's going on? After all that I did yesterday, you three should be furious with me, then why aren't you?!"
Everyone stared at her, slightly surprised. She exchanged her glances with each one of them.
"Why aren't you mad at me?" She said again, her voice barely above a whisper, eyes suddenly tearful.
Angad spoke first. "I was never mad at you. I was just upset after seeing Kripa and Armaan so upset...that's all. Excuse me."
He walked out of the kitchen, leaving the three to talk. Riddhima didn't stop him this time. Kripa and Armaan exchanged a quick glance.
Kripa sighed, cleared her throat and walked up to Riddhima. Riddhima stared at Kripa's face, but it was neutral. She was good at that. She was always good at that. Always good at keeping a neutral face. And Riddhima had never minded the fact, until now.
Kripa kept a gentle hand on Riddhima's shoulder and smiled lightly.
"I was furious with you. I won't deny that. But I forgave you the moment I came to wipe your tears last night. You're my best friend Riddhima; I can't ever stay too angry at you. I'm still a tad bit hurt, but that's okay. As time passes, that will heal as well."
Kripa patted Riddhima's shoulder twice before she followed Angad's steps out of the kitchen, leaving her and Armaan alone. Well hell.
Armaan stared at Riddhima as a painful expression took over her face. Something caught his breath.
"Please..." her voice was barely a whisper. "Please tell me at least you're mad at me."
Armaan looked away for a couple of seconds and looked back at her. "I am."
She sighed in relief, and chuckled. "Finally. At least someone is normal around here."
Armaan was amazed because if anything, she looked the least normal. Laughing and crying at the same time because her husband was mad at her.
"I am mad at you but I'"
"No...no...Don't tell me...no." Riddhima cut him off, childishly covering her ears. Armaan arched an eyebrow. Kripa's move that she used every time she was going to say something you already knew.
"I will tell you Riddhima. I don't want to fight with you anymore. You know the truth about what happened with her...and I guess in some manner its justified for you to be suspicious of me...but I also saw the regret, the hurt, the pain in your eyes, in your tears and in your actions last night...and'"
"So you're going to forgive me? Just like that?!" Riddhima didn't mean to yell that out loud but she had.
In the next instance, Armaan was dangerously close to her, holding onto her shoulders, their faces an inch apart. "I had to! While you were unconscious you said my name and after that I just had to forgive you!"
He'd spoken so fast, she wasn't sure if she'd heard him right. Her thoughts raced back to last night but she couldn't remember saying his name. She could find that strand of memory in the gigantic tangles that were her memories. Her brain snapped back to reality when he whispered her name.
"I was hoping you'd make me prove that I deserved to be forgiven..." She looked at the button on his shirt instead of his face.
His hands moved from her shoulders to cup her face. "This isn't a game Riddhima...you...you mean a lot to me..."
She closed her eyes and a couple of tears escaped her eyes at his words. When she didn't speak, he went on. "But if you really want...you can make it up to me..."
Riddhima finally looked at him. "How?"
"I know you're not completely ready to be my wife yet...but can I have my friend back?"
She burst into tears then. Not bothering to stop them. His own eyes were tearful. He pulled her into an embrace. After a few seconds when her crying was fading, he spoke again.
"You didn't answer my question...can I have my friend back?"
Riddhima nodded with her head still pressed against his chest. He couldn't help but smile just like he couldn't help the tears that seemed to be rushing into his eyes. A few seconds later, a wolf-whistle interrupted their hug.
Riddhima tried to push away from him but he refused to let go. Together, they turned their heads towards the entrance of the kitchen where Angad stood beaming a million dollar smile behind Kripa. Kripa winked at Riddhima and wiped the tears that were on her cheek. Riddhima pushed gently at Armaan and understanding this time, he let her go. Riddhima and Kripa took two quick steps towards each other and hugged each other tightly.
Angad and Armaan smiled at each other before they caught each other in a brotherly hug too. Angad slapped Armaan's back encouragingly.
"Congrats brother!"
"GROUP HUG!!" Kripa announced cheer fully before pulling herself and Riddhima towards Armaan and Angad where the four gathered each other in a group hug.
Next Part: Page 104
There you go guys! That is part 22 for you. All's well between AR, however, the confession is delayed until further notice :P Hope you guys are enjoying your holidays!
Love,
CID
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
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