PART 9:
NEXT DAY:
Armaan walked into the Gupta's house, "Kaaki? Riddhima? Kahan hain sab?"
Shashank walked out, his eyes swollen and red from his sleepless night, "aao puttar'kya baat hai?"
"Chaliye Unclejee'.Chandigarh chalte hain'.mujhey aaj dopahar ka appointment mila hai heart specialist ke saath'Fortis hospital hai Mohali mein'.wahan duniya bhar ke sabse ache doctor hain'.chaliye zyaada waqt nahin hai."
"Lekin beta'.hum apne aap chale jaayenge'tu kyun fikr karta hai?" Shashank said; Naina's caustic words were still fresh in his mind.
"Unclejee?" Armaan sounded hurt, "main bhi aapka beta hoon'.aisa mat kahiye'.Riddhima kahan hai?"
"Wo Padma ko neh laa rahi hai'.Padma ki haalat bahut naazuk hai beta'.apne aap kuch kaam nahin kar sakti," he broke down finally. Armaan hugged Shashank, "hausla rakhiye unclejee'main hoon na'.aur Rahul bhi tho ab Chandigarh mein padhta hai'..wo bhi help kar dega."
Shashank was helpless; he was very fond of Armaan and he knew Armaan genuinely wanted to help them, but how was he going to face Naina and Billy?
A stubborn Armaan knocked on the bathroom door, "Riddhima! Kaaki ko Chandigarh le chalna hai'chal jaldi tayyar ho ja."
Shashank gave in as he could not reveal the truth about his humiliation in front of Padma, "theek hai beta chalte hain'mera chota bhai bhi wahin rehta hai'.usko phone kar deta hoon'.wo bhi aa jaayega wahan."
CHANDIGARH:
The doctors at the state of the art Fortis hospital, Mohali, Chandigarh carefully went over all reports and finally came up with their verdict, "Mr Gupta'heart transplant is the only way to save your wife'.but we have to wait for a good match'..we will put her name down on the list'as soon as we have a match, we will call you'..but you will have to make arrangements for 10 lakh Rupees as this is a very expensive surgery."
"10 lakhs?" Shashank and Riddhima were shocked.
Armaan calmed them down, "ho jaayega Doctor'paise ka intezaam ho jaayega'.aap Padma Kaaki ka naam priority list mein likh dee jiye."
Riddhima was stunned, "Armaan'yeh kya keh rahe ho? Kahan se aayega itna paisa?"
Armaan placed his hand on her shoulder, "yeh mujh par chhod de'..tu bas Kaaki ka dhyaan rakh aur apni padhai kar'..baaki main sambhaal loonga."
Shashank protested too, but Armaan was adamant, "Unclejee'.papa aur aap kab se dost hain'.kya papa kaaki ke liye itna nahin kar sakte? 10 lakh papa ke liye kuch nahin hain." Shashank knew Armaan was right; after all Shashank had maintained Billy's account books for many years. Shashank decided to take a loan from Billy instead; he was sure Billy would not refuse that offer.
As they left the hospital, Shashank's younger brother and his nephew, Amar met them in the lobby.
"Pairi paini Tayaji'Taiji!" Amar touched Shashank and Padma's feet.
"Jeeta reh puttar!" Shashank blessed his nephew.
Armaan was pushing Padma on the wheel chair, "hello Amar!" Amar was Riddhima's first cousin and often came to Chandigarh on summer breaks. Armaan had disliked Amar since childhood as he found him a little dubious and cunning. Amar was a little older than Rahul, but was a high school dropout. Amar had not visited Riddhima's house in the last 4 years. Riddhima hugged her chacha and cousin.
Amar was surprised to see Riddhima all grown up and very beautiful. He stared at her, "Riddhima'tu toh badhi sayaani ho gayi hai."
Armaan cringed at that statement; he hated Amar even more- he hated the way Amar was staring at his cousin sister- it was not a brotherly stare.
Riddhima just lowered her head, "aap raksha bandhan par aaye nahin na itne saal'..tho dekha nahin mujhey."
"Par ab tho dekh raha hoon!" Amar stared at her from top to bottom, his gaze resting at her curves.
They all walked out of the hospital.
"Riddhima'tum Kaaki ko dhakka dena," Armaan handed the wheelchair to Riddhima and walked beside her, creating a barrier between Amar and Riddhima.
They drove to Shashank's brother's house for tea and snacks before departing back for Patiala.
Armaan kept a guard on Riddhima; each time Amar came close to Riddhima, he wanted to punch him in the face.
Going by Shashank's brother's house and neighborhood conditions, Armaan could tell that they were not well off at all. What irked Armaan was when Amar kept boasting, "Tayaji'.Taiji ka ilaaj main karwaaoonga'paise ka intezaam ho jaayega'..aap fikr mat karo." Armaan could tell that Amar was just blowing smoke; he did not have the means to arrange for that kind of money.
They finally took leave of them and headed back to Patiala.
They got back to Patiala that evening.
After settling Padma in bed, Riddhima came back to her room. She was surprised to see Armaan waiting for her there.
"Riddhima'wo tera bhai'Amar'.mujhey pasand nahin hai," Armaan said
"Kyun?" Riddhima asked innocently; she was still distracted and worried about her mother's condition and did not pay much attention to either Amar or Armaan's reaction to him.
"wo tujhey buri nazar se dekhta hai," Armaan said
"Buri nazar? Bhai hai wo mera'.shayad uski shakal hi aisi hai," she chuckled a little
"Tho mujhey uski shakal pasand nahin hai!" Armaan said vehemently and pulled Riddhima by her elbow. He gazed into her eyes; his expression changed from anger to tenderness as he stared at her, "mujhey pasand nahin ki koi tujhey buri nazar se dekhe," he added softly.
Riddhima gazed into his eyes, "kyun Armaan? Kyun pasand nahin hai?" she tried to elicit a response from him.
Armaan looked away, "main nahin jaanta!" and turned to leave.
Riddhima wanted him to just say once, "kyunki main tumsey pyaar karta hoon!" But he didn't!
Riddhima's eyes filled with mist, "Armaan," she held out her hand, "mat jao please'.mujhey bahut darr lag raha hai," her voice cracked as she spoke.
Armaan came back and slowly walked towards her; he placed his hands on her shoulder, "nahin jaaoonga'..jaanta hoon tho Kaaki ko lekar bahut pareshaan hai."
The tension of her mother's illness and her pent up passion for Armaan finally got the better of her; she hugged him tightly and sobbed loudly on his chest. Armaan placed his arms around her slender body and squeezed her tightly. He shut his eyes as they both felt the warmth and comfort of each other. Their hearts which were beating rapidly slowed down as their heartbeats soothed each other in synchrony. Their breathing became more rhythmic as their chests heaved in harmony.
They stood there for a long time, unwilling to let go of each other. They did not say anything to each other, but knew in their hearts that they needed each other now more than ever; their lives were incomplete with each other.
"RIDDHIMA!" Shashank called for her. Riddhima pulled away from him; a little bashful of her impulsiveness, "daddyji bula rahe hain."
Armaan reluctantly let go of her and then caressed her face, "sab theek ho jaayega'..tu fikr mat kar'..main chalta hoon," he had a faint smile as he walked out.
Riddhima felt a little relieved and comforted after Armaan's embrace; she knew he was the only person who could help her through this crisis of her mother's illness.
Armaan walked back home thinking, "bechari kitna ghabra gayi thi'.main uska sahara banoonga ab'..ab kabhie usey rulaaoonga nahin'..main bhi na kabhie kabhie gusse mein na jaane kya kya keh deta hoon."
MALLIK HOUSE:
Naina pounced on Armaan as soon as he walked in, "puttar'kahan se aa raha hai?"
"Chandigarh gaya tha'.Padma Kaaki ko dikhaane," Armaan replied
"Hai Rabba! Teri matt maari gayi hai puttar? Tu apni padhai chhod kar'.apna ghar baar chhod kar, un logon ke saath kyun lagaa hai?" Naina asked
"Mama'.aap yeh sawaal mujh se na karein tho achha hai'.mujhey papa se kuch kaam hai'.aap se baad mein baat karoonga," Armaan walked into Billy's study.
"Aao puttar'kya baat hai? Chandigarh ka trip kaisa raha?" Billy asked. A curious Naina followed her son to the study.
"Papa'..Padma kaaki ke ilaaj ke liye kuch paise chaahiye hain," Armaan came to the point.
Naina was shocked, "arre puttar'.tho tu kyun chinta kar raha hai?" she held Armaan's arm and glared at Billy.
Billy's cunning mind was at work; he knew if he said YES, Naina would chew him into pieces, and if he said NO, Armaan would get upset. Billy knew that the Gupta's meant a lot to his son. He took a deep breath, "puttar'.itni si baat hai? Main abhi Shashank se baat karke aata hoon'..aakhir puraani dosti hai'.yeh hamara farz hai'tu jaa padhai kar'.main sambhaal loonga." Naina was stunned; she gave a dirty look at Billy, but Billy shushed her by placing his finger on his lips.
Armaan was thrilled, "sach papa? Aap bahut acche hain, main abhi unhein khush khabri dekar aata hoon," he turned around to go back to the Gupta's house. He could not wait to give the good news to Riddhima and Shashank.
"Puttar!" Billy called, "maine kaha na main sambhaal loonga'tu oopar jaa'.kuch baatein badhe log hi sambhaal te theek lagte hain'.jaa oopar ja."
"Theek hai papa," Armaan said excitedly and went to his room.
Naina looked at Billy, "yeh kya maajra hai jee?"
"Naina'main jaanta hoon main kya kar raha hoon'.main kuch aisa karoonga jis se saanp bhi mar jaaye aur lathi bhi na toote," Billy had an evil grin as he walked to Shashank's house.
GUPTA's HOUSE:
Padma was asleep and Riddhima was in her room when Billy knocked on the door.
"Arre Billy'aa andar aa ja," Shashank was pleased to see his friend; he was hoping Billy had come to apologize for Naina's rude behavior yesterday.
"Shashank'.suna hai Padma bhabhi ke ilaaj ke liye tujhey paise ki zaroorat hai?" Billy sighed
"Kya kahoon tujhse? Tu tho mera puraana dost hai'lekin main itne paise kahan se laaoonga?" Shashank asked
"Main doonga paise!" Billy smiled
Shashank was pleasantly surprised, "sach?" he fell on Billy's feet, "main tera ehsaan zindagi bhar nahin bhuloonga'.tu meri Padma ko theek karva de'teri zindagi bhar seva karoonga."
Billy lifted Shashank by his shoulders, "seva nahin'bas ek kaam karna hoga."
Shashank folded his hands, "haan bol'mujhey sab manzoor hai'.aur vaada karta hoon ki waqt ke saath tera saara karza mitaa bhi doonga."
"Uski zaroorat bhi nahin padhegi'.bas tumhey yeh ghar khaali karna hoga!" Billy dropped the bombshell.
"Ghar khaali karna hoga? Lekin Billy'.iss ghar mein hum 20 saal se reh rahe hain'..Riddhima beti bhi isi ghar mein paida huyi hai'.tuney tho kaha tha ki yeh ghar hamara hi hai'.hum kiraaydaar nahin balki iss ghar ke maalik hi hain," Shashank reminded Billy his promise.
"Shashank'.puraani baatein ab puraani ho gayi''..main tujhey ek saal deta hoon'.ek saal mein ghar khaali kar de'tab tak Riddhima graduate bhi kar jaayegi'.uski shaadi wagarah kar dena'.aur phir tu aur Padma kahin aur chale jaana," Billy said sternly
"Lekin iss ghar ke alaawa hum kahan jaa sakte hain? Aisa kya ho gaya jo tujhey iss ghar ki zaroorat padh gayi?" Shashank asked
"Yahan ek guest house banaane ka offer aaya hai'..frankly, abhi iss ghar se humein kuch faayda nahin ho raha hai'.jo kiraaya tum log dete ho, wo hamare ek hafte ki sabzi saag mein hi kharch ho jaata hai'aakhir mujhey bhi tho apna business sambhaal na hai'bolo manzoor hai?" Billy's evil plan basically meant eliminating the Gupta's from their neighborhood. Once Armaan was abroad, there would be no one to stop them from evicting the Gupta's. Naina would be pleased as Riddhima would be out of Armaan's life and Billy would have made a sweet business deal for himself.
Shashank had no choice, "theek hai Billy'..jaise tu chaahe," he was crestfallen but at least hopeful of getting a loan for Padma's treatment.
"Good! Bas yeh raaz hum dono mein hi rehna chaahiye'main nahin chaahta hamare bachhon ko kuch bhi pataa chale'samjhe? Armaan kuch mahino mein America chalaa jaayega'phir Riddhima ki shaadi kar dena aur yahan se chup chaap chale jaana'.ghar aakar paise le jaana," Billy walked away after making his business deal with Shashank.
With a heavy heart, Shashank walked back after shutting the front door.
"Daddy ji, Billy unclejee kyun aaye the?" Riddhima came out of her room once she heard the front door shut.
Shashank feigned a smile, 'wo beta'.Padma ke liye paise dene ki baat kar gaye hain."
"Sach?" Riddhima had tears in her eyes and hugged her father, "main jaanti thi Armaan mummyji ke liye kuch bhi kar sakta hai."
Shashank just patted her affectionately and nodded his head, "tu theek kehti hai beti."
BACK AT THE MALLIK HOUSE:
Naina loved tha plan, "mujhey nahin pataa tha ki aap mein bhi itni akal hai jee," she flashed a smile at Billy.
"Bhaagwan'.tere saath rehte rehte kuch tho akal mujh mein bhi aa gayi hai," he smiled back at her.
Billy went to Armaan's room, "puttar'paise ka intezaam ho gaya hai'.tu befikr hokar apni American Universities ki application bharni shuru kar de."
Armaan was very pleased; he hugged his father, 'thanks papa'.aap jaante nahin aapne mere dil se kitna badhaa bojh halka kiya hai."
"Anything for you my son!" Billy patted his son and smiled.
Updated😛
more gaaliyas for billy-naina😲...lolz😆 Edited by ...vibha... - 12 years ago
Anupamaa
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