In My Heart. An AR ff. Last Chap + Epilogue on pg 118. - Page 22

The dark sky was illuminated by tiny stars that spread across the horizon with a partially hidden crescent moon. The view was picturesque from the Malik mansion's terrace but its residents were too worried about Riddhima to notice anything. It had been an hour since the girls return and yet there was no sign of Riddhima. The girls were sitting on a couch together praying for her to return safe. They knew if something happened to her Armaan wouldn't spare them, he had made it clear, the reason to which was still unclear to them. Prem and Rahul had called her friends to know if they had any news about her whereabouts but to no avail.

"I'm going to call the police right away. I can't wait any more." Armaan spoke getting up from the entrance stairs.

"Armaan, wait for a while more. I know she must be stuck with some work. She'll come back.." Prem spoke but was cut by Armaan.

"Come back. When will she come back? It's been 4 hours since she left for somewhere and you're asking me to wait. I can't sit here and do nothing. I need to find her, what if she's in trouble? How will.." Armaan's voice trailed as they heard a car stopping on their gateway. They made a dash to the main gate and saw Riddhima get down from a taxi. Prem hugged her tightly whereas Armaan stood still. His forehead crinkled seeing the condition of her dress.

"Lo Armaan, aa gayi tumhari Riddhima. I told you.. What?" Prem stopped mid-sentence not knowing why Armaan wasn't responding. He followed Armaan's gaze and gasped loudly.

"Rhea, what is all this? How did you get hurt? Why didn't you tell me?" Prem looked at her dishelved state and ran his hands on her body to see where she was hurt.

"I'm okay guys, don't worry. I'm not hurt, this isn't my blood. I just helped someone who was injured." Riddhima said seeing their scared faces.

"What happened?" Prem asked.

"Nothing i just found a lady who met with an accident, so i helped her. Just took her to Sanjeevani, bus wahin se aa rahi hoon." she told them. The gang gathered at the threshold of the mansion firing questions at Riddhima together.

"Guys, calm down. I'm okay. I'm not hurt. Please forgive me for making you all so worried. I would have returned long back but this accident held me there." Riddhima spoke trying to relax the atmosphere.

"You could have at least called from hospital to let us know you were fine. But no, why would you do that? You went out without informing and that too alone, despite my telling you not to do so. And to top it all, you left your mobile behind with Muskaan. You've always been this careless and irresponsible, always too occupied to remember there are people who are concerned for you as well. I don't want to hear a word from you, there's no need now." everyone stood gaping at Armaan as he lashed out on Riddhima. He raised his palm indicating her to keep quiet and left from there in fury.

"I'm sorry Ri, bhai ne tumhein aisey gussa kiya, please don't mind. Actually he's a little edgy ever since that accident in India. He had told me not to go alone or let you go but i just forgot about it." Muskaan tried to explain Armaan's behavior but Riddhima didn't need any explanations, she knew exactly why he behaved the way he did.

"It's okay Muski, don't say sorry. I should be the one apologizing for making you all so worried. I'll talk to Armaan once his anger subsides. I'll go change now." they nodded in approval and moved back inside.

After an hour a man in his thirties exited from the Malik Mansion after speaking to Riddhima. She sighed in contentment and turned around to be met with boys glaring at her and the girls with their hands on their hips. "What? Why are you staring at me like that? See I didn't tell you before because I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily." she tried explaining in a convincing tone to subside their anger but was bombarded with questions in response.

"What the hell were you thinking when you jumped in the middle of the road?"

"Didn't you even once think before taking this step?"

"What if you were hit by the car instead?"

"Didn't you even think of us for once?"

"Why didn't you call us from the hospital when you were hurt?"

"How could you hide this from us, didn't you think it was important for us to know?"

"Wait, stop all of you. I can't answer everyone at the same time." Riddhima spoke loudly to cut the chain of questions being fired at her.

"See this is why I didn't want to tell you all. I knew you'll all get panicked when there was nothing as such. Calm down now, I'm right here in front of you, perfectly fine." she spoke and twirled around for them to see her.

"Oh yes, you call this lump on your head perfectly fine. Chal idher baith and let me see." Nikki dragged her to the sofa and carefully parted her hair to see the lump.

"Oh God, this is so big, we need to get it checked at the hospital." Nikki exclaimed.

"Move, let me see. Damn it Rhea, where did you hit your head? Prem we need to run a scan on her immediately." Abhi spoke hurriedly pushing Nikki aside.

"Abhi, I'm fine. I got the test done. It's okay, don't worry." Riddhima said.

"Don't lie; I know you wouldn't have shown yourself to the doctor. You always run away from them and medicines." Muski told.

"Go get an ice pack, it'll reduce the swelling and Nikki bring her some pain killer too. And you, don't you dare get up. I don't understand how you are even standing and arguing in so much pain." Abhi told Riddhima.

"Guys I want a favor. Please don't say no." Riddhima said as Anjie rubbed the ice pack on her swollen head.

"Please don't tell Armaan about this."

"What? Are you crazy?" Prem said.

"Please yaar, wo pehle hi mujhse gussa hai, yeh pata chaley ga to or naraz hoga plus it isn't even a big wound, so there's no need."

"Marwana hai kya? If he gets to know from somwhere, he'll blast at us." Atul spoke shaking his head disagreeing.

"Who's going to tell him if we all don't? Nobody else knows about it. Please understand I just don't want to trouble him more. Please, I'll tell him later but not now."

There was silence for a few minutes as everyone thought about it. Prem sighed and nodded his head in approval after looking at Abhi.

"Okay, we won't say anything but you better tell him soon."

The sound of claps from the stairway made everyone turn their heads in that direction. Everyone stood up seeing Armaan.

"Excellent guys; I never thought you all were capable of deceiving me. Prem and Abhi, I had never expected this from both of you. Instead of scolding her on her stupidity, you're siding with her and doing as she says."

"Armaan it's.." Riddhima opened her mouth to speak only to be cut rudely by Armaan.

"I'm speaking to my friends and you don't need to interfere. Yes, all of you. She didn't want to inform me because I mean nothing to her but do I not mean anything to all of you as well? You agreed to hide the truth just because she said." Armaan spoke in a hurt tone.

"Armaan, it's not what you're thinking. She didn't want you to worry more. She wasn't planning on hiding it from you, just wanted you to cool down a bit." Abhi tried to clear the confusion.

"Yes I.."

"What about 'do not speak a word to me' do you not not understand Ms. Riddhima Garewal? I don't want to talk to you. You decide to not let me know anything that involves you because you don't find it important. So I get a choice too and I choose not to talk to you. In fact I don't want to see any of you at all." Armaan rushed upstairs followed by Riddhima.

"Armaan please listen to me once. Tum jo soch rahey ho waisey kuch nahin hai." Armaan locked the door from inside.

"Hear me out once. Open the door Armaan. Please. See this isn't fair that you get in my room even if I don't want to see you but I don't." He opened the door and rushed back downstairs and out of the Mansion with Guys at his tail.

"Armaan ruk, kahan ja raha hai?"

"I want to be alone for some time and that's not possible here, so I'm leaving, stop following me everywhere."

"You don't need to go anywhere. I won't disturb you again. It's your home you should stay, I'll leave." Riddhima said softly and moved towards her car.

"Stay here Riddhima, you don't have to leave. I didn't mean this." Armaan said turning away from her trying to control him but she left without a word. Prem and Rahul followed her in their own cars glaring at Armaan.

Prerna and Kashish stood on the door to welcome in the ladies for the Mehendi ceremony that was being held in Mallik Mansion. The girl's gang was busy dressing Muskaan for the function.

As the ladies had all gathered, men were sent out in the garden where sitting arrangements were done and caterers served them refreshments. Muskaan walked down the stairs in her greenish silver lehenga choli with the help of Riddhima & Nikki. All the ladies of the house had worn churidaars in different shades of yellow and green. The girls helped Muskaan settle down in the centre on golden floor cushions that were placed on plush crme rug. The rasam began with Prerna doing the shagun followed by Kashish and girls. Riddhima sat near Muskaan telling the girl applying mehendi to hide Rahul's name such that he doesn't find it and both soul sisters giggled at their own teasing and private jokes. All the girls had got their hands filled with mehendi except Riddhima.

"Kya yaar Rhea, tu aise kaise mana kar sakti hai. Tujhe lagwani hi hogi,bus. Main kuch nahin sunney wali." Muskaan huffed irritated.

"Please yaar mera mann nahin hai, mujhe nahin lagwani, bus." Riddhima also retorted in the same manner.

"Jab kisi ki mehendi ka rang bohat gehra charhta hai to pata hai is ka matlab kya hota hai?" Prerna asked as she settled besides Riddhima. The girls nodded except Riddhima.

"Yeh ki jitna gehra mehendi ka rang utna pyaar karne wala pati, samjhi?" Prerna pulled Riddhima's hand in to her lap: "Tu nahin jaana chahti ke tera pati tujhse kitna pyaar karega? Pata hai meri mehendi ka rang to Anu se pyaar honay se pehle bhi bohat tez hota hai, chal dekhta hain aj tum mein se kisi ka rang mujhse gehra hota hai ya nahin." Riddhima smiled and looked down blushing.

A pair of deep blue eyes was watching the interaction keenly from his room. He knew that Riddhima's reluctance was a result of his behavior from last day. He wasn't able to apologize till now and the reason for it was this beauty herself; dressed up in yellow churidaar with silver and green zardosi work. Riddhima had stayed away from Mallik mansion the whole day and reached just before the function and since then had hid effortlessly in Muskaan's room where boys weren't allowed. Even now she wasn't making it any easy for him as she ignored his existence itself. After the function had ended, the girls were locked in Prerna's room as Rahul came for dinner but even after his return, they remained inside chatting and waiting for their mehendi to dry. He could see how distracted Riddhima was, she would zone out for minutes until somebody nudged her. A tall, muscular figure entering the Mansion caught his sight on the computer screen and within a minute he was downstairs hugging the guy.

"I'm glad you could make it before the wedding ends." Armaan patted Arjun's back.

"I know I am late, you don't need to remind me again." Arjun shrugged his hand.

"Hello Everyone." Arjun spoke as he entered Prerna's room. The whole gang took him in a bear hug, laughing and screaming in joy.

"Beautiful." Arjun whispered once he parted from the hug on seeing a girl near the wall mirror.

"She is..." Muskaan was cut by Arjun.

"I'll do the introduction myself."

"You are Basket, right?" he asked as he moved towards her.

"Basket?" girls repeated after him in confusion.

"Hi, I am Arjun."

"Hello." Riddhima spoke softly.

"Your voice is as beautiful as you." Arjun took her hand and kissed it lightly. She smiled.

"Congratulations." he hugged her tightly. Riddhima stiffened under his hold till he whispered the next words in her ear. "I'm glad the idiot finally proposed you. I am so happy for both of you. May both of you have a beautiful and bright future together." Riddhima hugged him back and thanked him. "Thanks to you for saving me the pain of seeing a sulking Armaan again. I know being a jerk he will keep messing things but nothing to fear as your devar is at your service Bhabhi." Arjun whispered as he pulled back from the hug. Riddhima giggled seeing him bow his head in front of her. The gang couldn't hear the conversation but were surprised to see the interaction between these two but Armaan was mad seeing them hug.

"I hope we can be friends, Basket." Arjun put his hand out for a handshake.

"Don't call her by this name. Yeh sirf meri Basket hai. Her name is Riddhima. Don't you dare flirt with her, understand." Armaan spoke with gritted teeth as he pulled Riddhima's hand out of his hold and rubbed his thumb over the spot where Arjun had kissed.

"I can flirt with anyone I want. Jab usey koi problem nahi hai to tu beech mein kyun aa raha hai. I don't require your permission. So Bas.. I mean Riddhima, now that we are friends, will you go out with me?"

"Rhea, my friends call me Rhea."

"What about the other part of the question?"

"Uh.. Woh." Riddhima stammered.

"Oh are you committed to someone?" Arjun winked at her.

"No." Riddhima looked at Armaan from the corner of her eyes as she replied. She understood Arjun was trying to irritate Armaan and it really was fun to watch him get jealous so she played along.

"That's great. So it's decided after the wedding tomorrow, I take you out to wherever you want."

"Okay/ No." Riddhima and Armaan spoke together and then stared at each other.

"Tera problem kya hai Armaan? I know she's your friend but she's mine too now. She is capable of taking her own decisions; you don't have to do it for her, so please just stay out of it."

"I will do as I wish and you stay away from her, otherwise.." Armaan trailed off showing a punch to Arjun.

"Why should I?"

"Okay both of you don't get started with your banter again. Armaan wo abhi aya hai or tu us ke saath shuru ho gaya and what's the big deal if he takes Rhea out." Nikki spoke pushing Armaan and Arjun away from each other.

The gang had gathered in the dining area where boys were feeding their girls as their hands were covered in mehendi. Armaan was feeding Naina but his gaze was stuck at Riddhima who was playing with her food sulking but wouldn't spare a glance at Armaan. Arjun was observing the scene and knew something was off and his doubt was confirmed as Abhi texted him the details of yesterday's incident.

"So Rhea will you give me a tour of the Mansion, if you're done with playing, I mean eating food." Arjun asked and she moved her chair back to stand nodding.

Riddhima was engulfed in a hug as she closed the door of her room. The room was immersed in darkness but she didn't need any light to recognize the person holding her. His smell, warmth, and touch were different from all. She would do anything to stay in his arms forever but not now. Riddhima fidgeted in his arms trying to free her but the grip got stronger.

"I'm sorry Basket." Armaan said with his head dipped in her neck. She tried her best to remove his arms from her waist without speaking but he wouldn't let her move an inch away. Riddhima understood it was useless trying to win against him physically so she stood still letting him do whatever he wanted. Armaan noticed that Riddhima had stopped moving and wasn't holding him back.

"I always hurt you, isn't it? What do I do, I just lose my mind in anger. I never meant to say whatever I uttered yesterday. Please forgive me." He parted a little with his hold still tight around her. Armaan lifted her chin to see in her eyes as she kept staring at the floor. Their eyes had adjusted vision according to the little light from the window. He was scared on seeing her eyes devoid of all emotions for him as she stared at him blankly.

"Don't do this, please. Scold me, beat me, and punish me as much as you want but don't do this. Speak to me Riddhima, say something. See I'm apologizing holding my ears, I'll do anything you say but please stop this silent treatment." He urged her to speak but she stood still.

Armaan gulped the lump in his throat and stepped away from her. He went down on his knees and held his ears. "Please maaf kardo apne Armaan ko. Dobara kabhi tum pe gussa nahin karun ga."

"Let me go please." Armaan felt his heart sink hearing her. He got up and cupped her face in his palms.

"Itna gussa ho apne Armaan se ke ab pass bhi nahin rehna. All that I said and did was because I want you to be safe and happy always. You know the existing situation isn't favorable for you to adventure alone outside, I had mentioned it to you but, did you listen? No, there was something that couldn't wait nor could you take somebody along. I was on the last bit of my patience and your carefree attitude and lies made me lose it. I didn't mean to scream or insult you in front of everyone, nor did I say anything intentionally to hurt you. Please forgive me. Trust me; I won't repeat this mistake again."

"Jhoot." she screamed shrugging his hands away. Armaan stared at her wide eyed. "Jhoot bol rahey ho tum. Tum to pyaar karte ho na mujhse phir kyun nahin jaan paye ke mujhe kis baat se takleef hui? Leave it, I know the answer already."

"Main tumhari takleef ki wajah nahin jaan paya is ka matlab yeh nahin ki main tumse pyaar nahin karta. Please tell me what is troubling you so much Basket. I promise I'll try not to repeat it again." Armaan replied calmly in a soft tone. He needed to know what was eating his love from inside.

"You think I'm upset because you scolded me in front of everyone. No, I'm not because you were right at your place and it is your right. I should have informed about my whereabouts. I'm upset because you walked out on me, again." her voice ended in a whisper but loud enough for Armaan to hear. She turned her back on him.

"You said whatever you had to and derived wrong meanings of my actions because I'm always wrong in your eyes. Did you ask me once why I did whatever I did? How easily you said that I didn't tell you about the accident because you mean nothing to me. The truth however is that I don't mean anything to you. That is why you force your decisions on me without letting me speak."

"Basket." Armaan whispered turning her to face him.

"I didn't tell anyone about the accident because I didn't want to spoil the wedding atmosphere. The gang overheard me speaking to the man whose wife I helped. I knew you'll panic because you care for me deeply. But you would never consider anyone in front of your anger, be it your love. You left me again without hearing me for once." she closed her eyes and tears made their way down her cheeks freely. Armaan fisted his palms tightly stopping himself from breaking everything around him as he realized how much he had once again hurt her.

"Main bohat bura hoon na, tumhein sirf dard or aansoun deta hoon. But believe me all I ever want to give you is happiness and love. I love you a lot, I can't let you go away from me because YOU are my life. I might sound selfish but please will you give me a chance to rectify my mistake?" he waited for her reply crossing his fingers. Riddhima kept staring at him for a while and then shook her head.

"No use, you forget everything once you're angry. Let's just leave all this."

"What do you mean by leave? There's no way in hell that I'll let you go away from me again. I'm promising you Riddhima; I will listen to others as well before forming any judgements. Please forgive me this time, you can punish me but don't push me away." he held her hands in his firmly yet tenderly due to her mehendi looking at her hopefully.

"You mean the world to me but I'm afraid that your anger will tear us apart again." she said crying.

"Please don't say that. I'm promising you na that from now on I'll be careful." he kissed her forehead.

Armaan led Riddhima to the washroom, carefully rubbed off the dried mehendi and dried her hands with a soft towel after washing. "Yeh mehendi gawah hai meri mohabbat ki gehrai ki." Armaan brought her palms to his lips and kissed them on seeing the dark shade. He quickly scanned the designs with his finger for something.

"Kya dhoond rahey ho?"

"Mera naam."

"What?"

"Don't you know brides write their to-be-husband's name on their hands and the groom gets a gift on finding it."

"Really? Well, just a reminder that I'm not the bride nor are you the groom, not for now."

"So what if it's not our wedding tomorrow, you still are my bride. You should have gotten it written." Armaan spoke turning Riddhima towards the mirror and hugging her from behind.

"Yeah right, so that everyone's suspicion rises a little more. They are all confused about your sudden care and attention towards me, all thanks to you."

"I don't care about anyone. I just want this wedding to end so that I can tell our parents about us. But for now, I don't get anything." Armaan pouted.

"What do you want Armaan?" Riddhima asked through the mirror cupping his right cheek.

"You." he whispered in her ear.

Riddhima closed her eyes as Armaan leaned down and rubbed his cheek on hers. She giggled and leaned back in to him as the soft movements of the stubble tickled her. Armaan moved down her slender neck kissing the entire right side of her face but their moment was broken by a loud knock on Riddhima's door.

The gang left for the Garewal Mansion, leaving the Malliks to have some family time since it was wedding the next day. Armaan called Riddhima late night after spending time with Muskaan & once he was sure everyone had retired to their rooms and both fell asleep weaving dreams of a beautiful future together.

So yeah, this is it. please forgive me for the mistakes & do leave your feedbacks on how you think is this story progressing. Do you guys think the pace of the story is too sloe, do you want me to move fast with story.