AR OS and drabble gallery: New SS-THE CURSE : PART 2 UPDATED-PMs LATER - Page 40

Wish you a many many happy returns of the day Ms.pout queen. Hehe... yes here I am with a brand new OS, and did you really think I would be tooo busy to not manage some time and write something for you? Well that's never going to happen babes. I definitely will always have time for you. SO here's a cute OS for a cute Aayu, hope you will like it. Once again wishing you a very happy and blessed birthday. And may all your (reasonable) wishes come true. Also a merry christmas to every one. Enjoyyy 😆 🥳

Serendipitous love

Part 1

A protein shake filled bottle ready by the table, his towel placed neatly folded next to the music system blazing through the room, windows wide open to welcome the fresh dawn air. Tiny drops of sweat trickling down his back and his hair, he was enjoying his early morning workout session when his ringing cell caught his attention. Turning the trade mill off he walked towards the bed and was happily surprised seeing the caller id.
"Good morning Dad... Aaj itni subah subah aapko meri yaad kaise aayi?"

"Good morning Ammy, bas jab chahu yaad karu meri marzi. I am really missing you buddy, but right now I need some help toh kya tum India aa jao as soon as you can."

"Dad I am anyways about to come back next week--"

"Armaan... there's a problem, tu bas vapas aa ja fir baat karte hai."

Armaan sensed the seriousness in his voice and quickly asked out of concern;
"Dad everything's fine? You sound tensed. Itni subah subah call kiya hai aapne, aap theek toh hai na, aur Mom---"

"Yes my boy calm down I am fine, aur Annie bhi bilkul theek hai don't worry. Par baat kuch aur hai, phone pe nahi bata paaunga toh tu bas vapas aa ja fir baat karte hai."

"Ok Dad main aaj ki flight se hi aa jaunga."

"Good, so then see you soon. Byee."
---------------

Armaan got down the car and entered the house with his spare key to find all the lights still on. Well that was quite expected since his flight had delayed and instead of reaching by 9 he was reaching home an hour past midnight. Billy (his dad) sat on the plush sofa chair busy in his file when he entered so he sneakily walked over to him and was about to whisper in his ears when he himself startled and fell back hearing him speak out all of a sudden;
"Aa gaye janaab? Badi der laga di aane mein!"

Billy turned towards him and smirked as he still sat down looking surprised,
"Kya hua sunny boy, beta main tera baap hu I know you very well to get trapped!"

Armaan chuckled along with him and shook his head as Billy forwarded his hand for help. Getting up he took his beloved father in a tight hug who he had never been able to trick in any of his prank.
"Aap ab tak jaag kyun rahe hai dad?"

"Haan tu ab tak aaya nahi tha, it's already 1. Annie ko bhi abhi bheja maine room mein."

"Dad flight delay ho gayi thi bataya toh tha aapko, you should have slept. Anyways bataiye kya baat hai, aise acahanak kyun bula liya mujhe?"

Billy patted his back smiling at him;
"Nahi abhi nahi, tu jaake so ja thak gaya hoa. Kaafi raat ho gayi hai, hum kal subah baat karte hai."

He obliged as he was indeed very sleepy. Placing his luggage neatly in his room he took a quick shower and had just hit the bed when he heard some whimpers. He looked around but found nothing so covering his head entirely with the blanket he shut his eyes all set to sleep. But what followed forced him to open his eyes with a startle and he pushed the blanket off his head looking down towards his feet as he felt some weight. Horrified at the sudden commotion he tried to figure out what was happening when he almost skipped a beat as he felt something moving on the bed, and before he could scream he found a figure entering his room.

"Bad boy fluffy, tum yaha kyun aa gaye? Chalo let's go back to our room."

Armaan sat up startled on the bed as he heard that soft female voice and found her looking up at him. The darkness made it difficult to have a clear view of her face;
"Kaun ho tum? Mere kamre mein kya kar rahi ho... aur ye..."
He looked closer to see what she had picked up in her hands and was busy talking to when he heard the same whimper and realized it was a dog.

"Aap... aap kaun hai? Is kamre mein toh koi nahi rehta... aap aap..." she gasped and placed a hand on her mouth concluding; "BHOOOT!!!"

Armaan was stunned at her audacity, firstly she had entered his room without his permission, that stupid dog of hers had climbed HIS bed spoiling it and now she was calling HIM ghost! He snapped back all agitated raising his voice totally annoyed;
"What the hell... who are you? Mere hi ghar mein, mere hi kamre mein ghuske mujhe... you---- just wait! I am not going to leave you."

"Ahh... Papa..."
Turning he had just managed to switch on the lamps but by the time he turned back she was already out of the room running away screaming at the top of her voice. He grabbed his shirt and just hanging it around caring least to button up he ran out to catch the intruder. But her loud scream had already woken everybody and everybody rushed out of their room. As he came downstairs he found his dad and mom talking to a person he failed to recognize;
"Dad some girl was inside my room, aur ek ganda sa kutta bhi tha. Pata nahi kaha chali gayi achanak, I am--"

His words were cut as he heard another whimper and turned back to the man standing in front. The constant whimpers caught his attention and that is when he realized the girl was hiding behind the man still holding the dog in her hands. He still couldn't see her face but he claimed instantly;
"Yahi ladki dad... and she---"

"Armaan relax..." Billy interrupted him and tried to make him understand but he continued.
"Dad humare ghar mein koi ghus aaya hai and you are telling me to relax!"

"Papa bhoot..."
The girl muttered to the man still hiding behind him but to her luck Armaan did hear her. His jaws dropped down to the floor as she once again to call him a ghost!

"Main? Main bhoot lagta hu? Iski toh main..." He strode towards her but Billy pulled him back while the unknown man turned and held her in his arms protectively.
"Armaan stop it right now. Ye kya batameezi hai?"

Armaan was surprised as his dad scolded him;
"Dad aap mujhe kyu... ye ladki... she called me a bho..."

Armaan stopped as he heard the man console her and make her understand;
"Riddhi, vo bhoot nahi hai bacha, aisa nahi bolte. Vo Armaan hai, Billy uncle ka beta. Chalo use sorry bolo."

"Naiii... isne mere fluffy ko ganda bola, aur mujhe bhi daanta!!"
Armaan who stood folding his hands all angry at her lost it the minute she denied bluntly. But before he could react she came out of the hug looking up at him a little scared and his eyes got a clear view of her face. He was mesmerized by her just within that moment.
Oh God she's so beautiful. Her eyes are so big.
His eyes shifted down towards the dog and he realized that the dog was looking at him angrily.

But she... looked so cute, her eyes all big and cheeks light pink. Her hair messily tied up in a ponytail while she wore a huge night shirt which had a big picture of Minnie mouse. She was so pre-----Dudeee... wait what are you thinking, remember she called you bhoot! She's an intruder, atleast use toh chod de!

He snapped out of his thoughts as the yet unknown man started apologizing;
"Armaan beta uski taraf se main maafi maangta hu. Pata nahi kai---"
Billy cut him instantly;
"Arey nahi nahi Shashank please tu maafi mat maang. Bachhi hai galti ho gayi koi nahi."
She once again uttered looking up at Billy
"Uncle sorry vo mujhe neend nahi aa rahi thi aur fluffy bhi jag raha tha toh we were playing, par ye achanak bahar bhaag gaya toh main use lene chali gayi."

"Koi baat nahi beta, it's alright."
Billy consoled her caressing the cute dog in her hand. Armaan was surprised at the tone she used, she still looked cute but wasn't pretty much speaking suitable to her age. Yes she looked younger to him, maybe a year or two but her tone definitely did not match that age as well.
"Armaan ye Shashank hai, Shashank Gupta. Mera bohot poorana aur khaas dost."

"Shashank uncle... oh haan aap humesha jinki baatein karte hai ye vohi Shashank uncle hai na?"

"Haan ye vohi hai, aur ye unki beti hai Riddhima."

"Hello uncle, sorry I didn't know."

"Nahi nahi Armaan tum sorry mat bolo. I understand vo achanak tumhare kamre mein aa gayi, so naturally koi bhi aise hi react karta. In fact I am sorry, Ridhi ki vajah se sabki neend kharab ho gayi."

"Nahi uncle... really it's ok. And umm... Riddhima actually..."
He tried to talk but she once again hid behind Shashank. Armaan was really confused by her behaviour but before he could come to any conclusions Ananya suggested that it was better for everyone to go back and sleep as it was really late and the father and daughter immediately left. Armaan looked back at Billy and he just nodded his head;
"Batata hu, sab batatta hu par kal subah. Abhi tu jaake so ja. Inhi ke silsile mein tujhe yaha bulaya hai maine. Kal subah baat karte hai... Good night!"
Ananya greeted her son as she couldn't meet him when he returned and wishing him night everyone dispersed but Armaan was left in deep thoughts, mesmerized but confused at the same time.
---------------

The morning sun brought in a new energy and he walked down fresh from a shower. Unknowingly his eyes looked around in search of HER, it had just been a matter of few hours he had seen her but his heart desired to see her once again, to know her! But he was disappointed as he did not find her anywhere around. He could only see his dad sitting on the sofa reading some file while Ananya was busy with the maids setting the breakfast table. Billy looked up at him as he slumped down by his side; "Good morning Sunny boy."

"Good morning Dad. Ye kya padh rahe ho subah subah, don't you get bored of these files?"

"If I start getting bored of them then my business my son will come to a standstill, so however even if I wish so I cannot afford to get bored of them. Aur main koi business file nahi pad raha, ye Riddhima ki reports hai!"
That caught his immediate attention and for some reason he felt his heart sinking for a minute. He didn't even know her as yet, not met her but just the fact that Billy was reading her reports which meant she was ill, did not really go well with him.
"Reports? Is she... she's suffering from something?"

"Come let's talk over breakfast, teri trip cut short karane ka kaaran hi vo hai. I need to talk to you."
Ananya sat by his side pampering him and filling his dish with his favourate aloo ka paratha. He surely thanked his mom and hugged her for the yummy breakfast but right now his mind just couldn't stop thinking over the reports;
"So Dad... you were saying?"

NOTE THAT I HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT THESE LEGAL MATTERS TOH I HAVE TWISTE THINGS AS PER I WANTED THE FLOW OF STORY SO KINDLY IGNORE IF THERE'S NO SUCH LAW POSSIBLE AS I HAVE MENTIONED ;)

"Armaan Shashank mera bohot acha dost hone ke saath saath ek bohot bada aur successful businessman bhi hai. He has trememndous amount of property which has become a reason of his worry these days. After his brother cheated his company, he decided to transfer the entire property on Riddhima's name but after that she's 22. Lekin legally agar Riddhima suffers through some mishap and loses her life before that the property automatically gets transferred onto the immediate ONLY guardian which is Shashank's brother. Riddhima's about to turn 22 this year in two months and so Shikhar Gupta, Shahsank's brother, is trying all his ways to make her suffer through an accident. Kyunki ek baar vo property uske naam pe ho jati hai, toh uske baad agar use kuch ho bhi gaya toh Shashank has made arrangements ki vo sari amount in divisions alag alag charaities ko jaye."

Armaan was thrilled by the truth but he kept listening quietly; "Usine kuch din pehle Riddhima ka accident karvaya. She was quite a normal girl, really smart as well. Par accident ki vajah se uske sir par bohot gehri chot aayi hai which affected her badly and she lost her mental balance. She now holds an IQ and mind of a 5 year old"

"What?? That's sick dad, why can't Shashank uncle put that good for nothing man behind bars?"

"Because unfortunately, we have no proof against him!"
Armaan turned as Shashank interrupted their conversation. He settled besides Billy who invited him to join in for the breakfast while he continued with his misery tale.
"Armaan, Riddhima hi mera sab kuch hai. Padma, her mother also left us two years ago aur ab meri duniya sirf meri bachi se hai. Shikhar is really cunning and he has tried out all ways which I have somehow managed to overcome everytime, par is baar Riddhima had to suffer. I just want her to get all okay, aur doctors ka kehna hai that if she's treated with precise care she can recover isi liye main yaha aaya hu tumse madat maangne. Shikhar ya koi bhi Billy ko ache se nahi jaanta, and they don't know I am here. Maine Riddhima ke kisi friends ko bhi humare whereabouts ke baarein mein nahi bataya hai. I read recently about your achievements Armaan aur maine soch liya to come down here for some help. I cannot treat her in any hospital Armaan, that's not going to be safe. Shikhar will find out some way and harm her. Par tum ek bohot ache neurosurgeon ho, koi nahi jaanta ki main is waqt yaha hu. Is liye I just want to request ki till the time she turns 22, tum uski treatment karo yaha, ghar pe."

Armaan was stunned would be an understatement. Yes he indeed had a good record as a neurosurgeon but this wasn't only a medical case with risk of her health, but also of her life endangered from a man who was on a free spree of killing her.
"I understand that, par vo toh Riddhima ka pata----"

"Nahi laga paayega, as I said he has no clue about Billy aur is waqt use yahi lag raha hai ki main London mein hu for some business deal. Kal main vapas ja raha hu, Riddhima ko yaha chodkar taki vo yahi mehfoos reh sake."

Armaan thought over everything deeply and then spoke up thoughtfully; "Par uncle isn't it unsafe for us as well? I mean Dad aur Mom bhi kuch din mein Delhi chale jaayenge for business, agar unhe khabar lag gayi toh dad can be in dang---"
Billy interrupted his words right then; "Nothing like that will happen Armaan. We will be safe. Aur Shahshank ko bhi isi baat ka dar tha isi liye vo zabardasti vaha humare saath apni security team bhej raha hai. Vaise bhi Shikhar ko is baad bhi bhanak bhi nahi lagegi, aur agar doubt hua bhi toh he'll see that Riddhima isn't with us toh vo bina vajah humare liye koi problem khadi nahi karega.
Shashank requested in a pleading tone and Armaan felt really bad for the old guy now; "Main jaanta hu bohot bada favour maang raha hu tum sab se. Par mere paas aur koi raasta nahi beta. Riddhima ko kho nahi sakta main. Aur Billy kea lava mujhe aur koi bharose ke layak nahi lagta. Phir bhi main ye faisla tum par chodta hu, ye uski reports hai tum chaho toh padh sakte ho, chaho toh inkaar bhi kar sakte ho is sab se. Par inkaar karne se pehle bas ek baar mari majboori samjhna."
-----------------

Tune entire truth was really hard to digest so he had simply walked away grabbing the file after the breakfast not uttering a single word. This had definitely worried Shashank but Billy was sure that his son would understand the situation and be ready to help, after all he knew he was gem at heart but was just a little worried that his parents too could be at risk. Reading her reports and thinking over everything that Shashank told him, he thought of talking to him. Knocking on his door he waited for some reply but he did not get any. Though he could hear the two talking and laughing about something, which might have not let the voice of knock reach their ears. Hearing her innocent laughter he couldn't help open the door slightly to see her sitting with a huge teddy in her hands, laughing over something that her dad was telling. She looked even more beautiful in that light blue kurti that she wore and her hair left open which the soft winds were busy playing with. Suddenly his heart twisted remembering that such a beautiful and innocent girl had to suffer through this cause of her own uncle. Shashank turned sensing his presence at the door and invited him in but to their surprise Riddhima instantly stopped smiling and hid behind Shashank. Now that was something new for Armaan, since she happened to be the first girl in his entire lifetime, not to forget most BEAUTIFUL girl; who hid seeing him! But then he shook his head smiling at his own thought, Dude have some shame she's just 5 year old mentally, stop thinking of her. But his heart could see that otherwise also she was really different. He was attracted to her irrevocably from the minute he saw her last night and he just couldn't help it.

"Umm... Uncle actually I was thinking..."
But as he started speaking he could see Riddhima clutching Shashank's sleeve tighter and he couldn't stop himself,
"Ye mujhse chup kyu rahi hai?"

Shashank looked at him with a small smile and whispered slowly ; "Kal raat tumne use daant diya tha na, so... she is scared of you."

Armaan frowned for a minute and then remembered how his snapping must have scared her, "Ohh... yes that was indeed my bad."
He quickly settled in front; "I am sorry Riddhima, you entered suddenly na, toh maine vo sab bol diya. I did not know you are our guest, and shouting on a cute guest like you is really bad, right? SO I am really sorry. See maine kaan bhi pakad liye, please forgive me."

Riddhima slightly peeked from behind Shashank and saw him holding his ears. Shashank instantly encouraged her as she looked up at him for assurance and finally after a debate with herself for a minute she finally moved ahead and uttered in a low but cutest tone Armaan had ever heard; "It's okay!" Armaan instantly smiled and forwarded his hand for her; "So friends?". Being just a 5 year care free girl she immediately forgave him and smiled bright as he tried to befriend her. Armaan almost skipped a beat as her eyes shone with excitement. He was her very first friend here, "Me??" She pointed towards herself confirming and he nodded, she pouted and said; "Par tumhe fluffy se bhi friendship karni hogi and you will not call him dirty." Armaan was taken aback by that DEMAND, woow even before they were friends! But he just couldn't resist her; "Umm... we will keep it to I won't call him dirty or any other names. Is that ok?" She wondered for a minute and then returned her bright smile shaking his hand tightly accepting his friendship that instant. After all, the age that she was at mentally she did not have any trust issues so she was more than willing to be friends. Armaan turned towards Shashank and assured him that he was ready to treat her and take care of her not only as her doctor, but now as a friend and Shashank could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
--------------------

Riddhima had gelled up pretty well with Armaan and that made things much easier for everyone. Armaan felt this strong need of protecting her from every bad, taking care of her and bringing her back to normal. The next day had been a tough one for all as Shashank was supposed to leave and Riddhima was crying her eyes out as he left. She wasn't supposed to contact him as well, the only time that they would talk would be when he himself made a call. Everyone felt bad for her innocent poor girl had to go through so much to keep herself alive. Armaan entered her room where she sat by the window, with her fluffy in her hands while Ananya tried to soothe her as she cried quietly. Getting on his knees he tapped her shoulder but she did not look at him, "Hey Riddhima, did you see what I got for you?"
He tried to grab her attention but that was of no avail. "Hmm... I thought Riddhima is a brave girl, and she will help her dad win the game par Riddhima is a cry baby it seems." They had made up a story that they were playing some game where she had to stay away from shashank for a while if they wanted to win. How else after all were they going to convince her to stay away from her father. It had already been a tough task to make her understand that her mother couldn't meet her any sooner as she was out for some work, as obviously she was unaware of her death due to the accident she went through. She was still ok till Shashank was by her side, but now that he too left under the pretext of this game she was really really upset.
Riddhima turned towards him sniffing as he called her a cry baby; "Tum jao yaha se... mujhe koi baat nahi karni tumshe. Katti!" Armaan and Ananya both exchanged a look and refrained from laughing out as she complained cutely. "Acha Mom, main toh ye chocolates laya tha khoob saari par ab agar Riddhima itni naaraj hai toh hum dono hi kha lete hai!"
He tried to trigger her as Shashank had informed him that chocolates was her weak point, but that did not help either making him sigh hard. Ananya patted her head and giving Armaan a look to take care of her, she left for her own chores. Armaan sat in front of her on the window and held her hand; "See you want to win this game na Riddhima?" She did not look up at him but nodded meekly to which he finally smiled seeing her react. "Hmm toh game ka first rule kya hai?"
"No crying!" She muttered softly between her sobs and he wiped her tears, "Yes so now stop crying and come with me. Lunch ka time ho gaya hai."
------------------
Two days later even Billy and Ananya left for Delhi but they were in constant touch with him and her. She was such a sweet heart that both of them couldn't stay a day without having a chat with her. With every new day her friendship with Armaan grew stronger, while the medicines and treatment that he gave helped her gain senses slowly but not fully as yet. It had been a week and she was gradually improving. For most of the day Armaan would be usually busy at hospital leaving behind the maids with strict instructions for all her schedule and care.
Armaan who had just come to his room tired enough after a full day packed with back to back duties, was lying flat on his stomach when he felt a tug at his sleeve. He smiled and turned around knowing it was none other than his Miffy! Well yes you heard it correct, he called her that, as she very much reminded him of the cute little cartoon rabbit. "Heyy Miffy how was your day?"
"Armaan...chalooo naa..." She started pulling his sleeve to pull him up and take him along,
"Kaha? Miffy yaar I am really tired, abhi nahi."
"Abhi abhiii, right now. Main kabse wait kar rahi thi tumhara chalo na."
"But where?"
"I want ice cream!"
"Riddhima I am tir-----"
"Chalooo..." She really didn't care what he was saying she just wanted ice cream. Knowing her to be hell stubborn he dragged his tired body and drove towards a nearby ice cream parlour. She was strictly instructed to not get out of the car while he got the ice cream. Her eyes twinkled as he returned with her favourite chocolate ice cream. Armaan shook his head at her excitement and corrected his belt to start the car when out of blue she moved ahead and kissed his cheek thanking him loudly. Armaan stilled at her move as that was quite unexpected. His heart caught pace as he realized what had happened and looked up at her. But unaware to the turmoil she had just caused, the cute brat was busy cherishing her ice cream. He knew it was just her innocent way of thanking him, but he had already fallen hard for her and this little act of gratitude did nothing but made him restless. Riddhima looked up at him as he was too busy staring at her and had not yet started the car; "Arey tum aise kyu dekh rahe ho? Ohh... you also want a bite? Toh pehle bolna tha na buddhu..." Armaan chuckled at her conclusion and was about to deny when she forwarded a spoon full towards him, "Arey khao na bohot yummy hai, taste naaa!" He did not have the heart to say no as she requested so cutely and gladly obliged. And an hour later the same chasing game began like every other day. Riddhima never wished to have any meal just like any other kid in the world but the only problem here was Armaan had never handled a kid all by himself so it was a task for him. Also Nancy, their maid who took care of her throughout the day, never succeeded in feeding her any meal. So here was Armaan running behind her to grab hold of her and make her eat, but apparently she used to suddenly gain super energy and run all over the house escaping him. Finally after a good 20 minutes chase he managed to catch her and slumped down on the couch holding her tight so that she couldn't escape while he caught his breath. But she too herself was exhausted as today the chase turned out a little longer than other days and she let her head against his chest to relax. Armaan who was trying to calm, stiffened feeling her hard hot breathe against his chest. He fisted his palm tightly to have a hold on himself as she snuggled closer. "Umm... Riddhima chalo let's have dinner, bas ab bohot shaitani ho gayi." Riddhima pouted but anyways gave in as all the running exercise had increased her appetite.
---------------
Armaan was fast asleep when he heard a loud knock on the door. His eyes opened looked around for the source but his tired brain did not wish to react so looking up at the clock he read the time to be 2.00 am, he grabbed a pillow and slept covering his ears. He had instantly drifted off to sleep but there was a louder knock and this time he heard a muffled voice calling him out and he was up in a minute. It did not take him any time to rush to the door and unlock it as he had recognized the voice to be Riddhima's. As the door opened the sight in front twisted his heart, Nancy held Riddhima by her shoulders who was all red due to her constant sobs while she held a teddy in one and cordless in other hand.
"Miffy? Baby what's wrong... why are you crying?"
But instead of replying she once again took him by surprise as she hugged him tight. Armaan looked up at Nancy but she was too busy watching Riddhima feeling pity for the poor soul. She uttered still looking at Riddhima hoping that she would stop crying, "Armaan baba inhone shayad koi boora sapna dekha aur jaag gayi rote hue. Maine inhe sulane ki boh--- "
Riddhima held him tighter mumbling against his chest making this harder for him; "Armaan... mujhe bohot da---r lag raha hai. Papa se ba... baat ... Phone... " She handed over the cordless demanding of speaking to Shashank leaving Armaan in another dilemma.
Nancy continued as Armaan stood still; "Bohot waqt se ro rahi hai bechari. Aap please kuch keejiye na." She looked up at him with a request and he finally snapped out of the shock of her sudden hug. Blinking his eyes in assurance he told her to go and sleep and he would take care, he didn't know how, but he would. As Nancy left he finally gained some courage and detangled her holding her arms, creating some distance to his relief. "Riddhima, look at me." He cupped her face and tried to make her understand, "Miffy aap firse ro rahi ho. Your Papa will get upset no?"
"Papa se baat----- pleasee" She once again handed over the phone and requested still crying hard and his heart went out to her. Unfortunately she wasn't too familiar with using the phone and neither did she remember her father's number and Armaan thanked his stars for that. After all he couldn't let her risk her own life. It had just been 3 weeks but he was already too involved to not accept that he cared for her, much more than just a doctor or a friend! Sighing hard as she stayed adamant he settled her on the bed and offered water which she denied at first but somehow he made her drink it. "Riddhima please don't cry. You don't want to lose no? Do you want to see your dad losing?" She shook her head instantly.
"You are my brave Miffy na?" And again she nodded this time in yes making him smile.
"So baby, just some more time. And your dad will call you na when he's free, then you can talk to him. Aur abhi toh itniii raat ho rahi hai na, your dad must be so sleepy, fir vo baat karte karte so jayenge, then how will you talk to him? So let's wait for his call ok?" He wiped her tears as she calmed and was falling for his distraction slowly, "Acha tell me kya hua? Koi sapna dekha tumne?"
"Haan bohot... bohot darawna...vo na ek ... ek bada sa monster peeche pada tha... fir main Papa ko dhund rahi thi , and then... i was runn---ing, mujhe bohot dar lag raha tha fir... i started crying but Papa nahi... fir tum aaye aur... mujhe ghar le aaye... fir sapna finished... main uth gayi par... mujhe bohot dar lag raha hai..." Riddhima explained her dream cutely as ever in her broken words but he very well understood it. Somehow the dream gave him a sense of relief, he knew it was selfish of him to think so as she was scared as hell but the fact that she saw him as her saviour in her dream made his heart flutter. As per what he knew people do dream of people mostly they think of and the way that they think of them, which brought him to a conclusion that not only was thinking f him before sleeping but also had considered him as her protector from bad. That tugged his heart.
"Miffy you think tumhara Armaan kisi monster ko tumhe le jane dega? Agar koi monster aaya toh main uski khooob saari pitaai kar dunga haina? Fir vo bhaag jayega. Aur tum bhi toh strong ho na, meri brave Riddhima ho na? Fir?... aise rote nahi! Chalo wipe your tears." She nodded and looking at him said thoughtfully; "Haan tum toh kitne strong bhi ho, tum uski piataai kar doge."
"Bilkul." He poked her nose making her giggle. "Ab chalo, jaakar so jaye?"
"Nahi... mujhe tumhare paas sona hai. Mujhe vaha Nancy ke saath akele dar lagega. Agar raat ko vo fir se aa gaya toh, tum vaha nahi hoge. Nahi, main yahi soungi tumhare paas."
Armaan was baffled at her demand. Already he had such a hard time whenever she was around irrespective of the fact that she was merely a kid mentally at this point of time, he still was falling for her hard. She affected him like no other girl ever did. There was no way he could share the same bed with her, he couldn't trust himself with her. He tried to make her understand but she did not budge and was almost on the verge of crying once again as he turned a little insistent and strict. Not wanting to see her in tears once again he finally gave in, but that was like trapping his ownself. With lots of bargain she finally settled on sleeping on bed while he would sleep on the couch just 10 steps away; and with the night lamps on. Patting her head he made her sleep and he headed towards the couch watching her sleep holding her teddy tight.
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His sleep broke as he felt something wet against his hand and as soon as he opened his eyes he shrieked loudly finding the good for nothing dog licking his hand. The loud noise woke her up and she found him down on the floor giving a horrified and disgusted look Fluffy while he scowled at Armaan. Riddhima clapped her hands giggling at scared face of Armaan and called fluffy up. Armaan groaned as that dog was once again on his bed; "Miffy not on my bed yaar, get him down NOW."
"Armaan he's just here to wish us Good morning, haina fluffy."
"Ok he did wish me very well already." He spoke through his gritted teeth looking down at his licked hand, "Ab tumne bhi wish kar liya na now just throw him down yaar."
"Hawww... Armaaan!" Riddhima glared at him as he was being so insensitive.
Poor Armaan gulped hard as she sniggered and quickly changed his words with a sugar coated tone; "Tch... I mean, use neeche rakho, pyaar se poori ijjat se. Par mere bed par se utaro use, pleeease!!"
Huffing at him she got down the bed carrying fluffy neatly in her arms. Meanwhile Armaan rushed to the washroom washing his hand ten times with sanitizer and then took a long shower. He smiled at his ownself as since childhood he had never even watched a dog/ cat for that matter any other animal from a distance less than 10 feet. He was an absolute hygiene freak, but all thanks to Riddhima he now had a dog not only in his house, but often in his room, onto his bed and if that was not enough, licking his hand. Ohh Goddd!!
Armaan made sure he gave every detail about her to Shashank and also made it a point that he knew how she had shifted to his room since after that night and her nightmare. Of course she slept on his bed while he was on the couch and the door was always kept open as even the maids might start taking it in a wrong way, so he let the doors open leaving everything that happened within the room like an open book for them. After all she was Shashank's daughter who he had left at Armaan's responsibility. He did not wish to think of him in any wrong way had he walked in some day or found out from some maids that they slept in the same room. Shashank was really impressed by his honesty. Not only had he helped him in such a situation, treated his daughter but had also maintained his line and he couldn't thank him less for all that he did for her.
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Last part, i.e part two will be posted soon as well. And soon se I don't mean tonight ok. But soonn... in like a day or two! hehe... 😉