Tera Mera Rishta-AR Part 16 Pg.80 | 11/30/08 - Page 57

Part 15

Sorry for the delay guys! I took SAT's again a week back and I was busy studying…and then I was really sick past couple of days. I had a high fever and got an antibiotic injection which hurt my arm like really bad and I couldn't move it…and got a blood test done…Anyways, enough of my sad story…I went through a lot of pain these past few days…But I am much much better now and thought of giving you all an update! = D Sorry to keep you all waiting! The part is alright, not that good according to me. Please leave your honest comments!!!

RECAP: Their food came in the mean time. Arman gave Riddhima her sandwich and coffee. Just when Armaan was going to take a bite out of his sandwich, someone threw their hands in front of his eyes, blocking his eyesight while Riddhima looked confused at the situation before her.

"Hmmm…I wonder who this could be," said Armaan amusingly as the person's hands were wrapped in front of his eyes, preventing him from seeing anything in view. A puzzled expression sprang up on Riddhima's face as she tried to grasp the event taking place before her while Armaan just seemed to be enjoying the moment. The stranger signaled Riddhima to stay mum.

"Nikky," he said gently recognizing the feel of his sister's hands on his eyes, "Apnaa time in bakhwaas cheeson mein zaaya kyun karti ho when you know that it's very hard to surprise me." Saying that, he grabbed his sister's delicate hands in his and softly pecked them before turning around to face her.

"Kya bhai," Nikky whined while crossing her arms across her chest. "How do you always manage to find out it's me?" She asked in expectation of a good enough explanation.

Armaan stood up before responding to that question. "Because I'm your brother…Kahin na kahin se pata laga leta hoon…I find out everything sooner or later." He pulled Nikky's cheeks as he said that and embraced her into a warm hug.

A breeze of relief flew over Riddhima's face as she realized that Armaan and Nikita were brother-sister. Her mind was going in all sorts of directions as she witnessed the scene before her, but not anymore with the realization that the two were siblings. She kind of felt embarrassed deep inside for even thinking that the two had a relationship other than being siblings. But you couldn't really blame her. A feeling of insecurity always hovered around her.

They pulled out the hug and Nikita questioned her brother again.

"So tell me exactly how you discovered that I was coming today?" she asked with raised eyebrows, hinting for an answer.

Armaan let out a chuckle. "I overheard your phone conversation with mom on the phone last night…It's not a smart thing to talk about your itinerary on the phone when you're planning to give a surprise to your brother…Even the walls have ears you know…" With that, he let out a slight laugh and Nikita soon joined in laughing, shaking her head at the same time.

"Aww bro I've missed you so much," she said as Armaan gave her a side hug.

"I've missed you too Nikky…At least you're back for good now that your internship is over," said Armaan as he held her close to himself and then noticing Riddhima just standing there, whom he completely forgot about for that brief moment, he quickly made way to introduce the two ladies to another.

"Hey Riddhima, I want you to meet Nikky, my sister…" His tone softened a bit when introducing Riddhima. "and Nikky, this is Riddhima."

Nikita scrutinized her head from toe, with a certain peculiar expresson on her face, before warming up to her. Her ears weren't definitely deaf. She had caught her brother's tone softening when he said Riddhima's name. 'Hmmm, I think mom is right…Bhai is really in love,' she thought to herself while a faint smile popped up on her face as she recalled the conversation she had with her mother a couple of days ago. 'Not bad' thought Nikky as she observed Riddhima. The two exchanged friendly gestures and pleasantries with one another and pretty soon, the gang piled up one by one in the canteen and introduced and interacted themselves with Nikky.

********

Riddhima finished checking a patient's blood pressure with the BP monitor in the general ward and was walking in the corridor when she felt a pair of hands pull her to the fire escape area.

"Armaaaaan" She said as she put her hand on her chest. "Tum ne to meri jaan nikaldi"

"Tume pata hai ki agar mene tumne ek second ke liye bhi nahi dekha to meri jaan nikaljati hai," he said grabbing a hold of her wrists and closing in on the distance between them.

"Hmmm…So I see…I didn't know I had that effect on you" She said with a teasing tone as her back rested against the wall.

"Uralo mazaak.," he said with that slightly irritated look on his face. His tone softened as he peered into her graceful eyes, "But the truth remains that you turned me from a nonbeliever in love to a believer."

Riddhima looked into his deep blue eyes which expressed nothing but the unconditional love he held for her and seeing that, her heart melted.

"Armaan," she said gently setting her hand on his cheek after releasing it from his grasp. "You did the exact same thing for me…You made me believe in love once again." She felt the emotions rise up inside her once again.

Armaan gave her a faint smile and grabbing her hand off his cheek, he gently pecked them.

"Acha…Now don't get all senti on me," he said, back to being his mischevious self, as he tenderly caressed her hand.

Riddhima shook her head with a weak smile on her face. "Acha…Me and senti…You're the one who started it for your information."

"Yeah yeah," he said brushing the matter off. Grabbing a hold on her wrists once again and coming in close proximity with her, he continued in his husky voice, "So you want to see what effect you have on me?" He gave a slight wink at the end.

Their faces stood a few centimeters apart from another. Riddhima's pulse raced like a speed jet while her heart skipped a few beats seeing Armaan looking at her so intensely with those killer eyes and smile of his. Armaan moved his lips closer towards hers as he inhaled the scent of her perfume. Riddhima was going crazy with the proximity they were sharing and to add on to her worries, the scent of his cologne was weakning her in her knees. However, she managed to keep her cool despite all the inner turbulence she was experiencing.

In passion, he loosened his grip on her wrists and Riddhima took full advantage of that situation. She brought her hand to his well-toned chest and pushed it slightly with a teasing smile on her face, "No thanks."

He mocked her smile with his irritated expression as she flashed her victory smile.

"Hmm, but we have seen what effect Riddhima has on Armaan," said a familiar voice from the doors to the fire escape area.

Armaan and Riddhima distanced themselves from one another as their eyes widened looking towards the door, getting the shock of their lifes. Nikky stood center stage with her hand crossed against her chest and a mischevious smile plastered on her face.

There stood the whole gang---Anjali, Atul, Rahul, Muskaan, and to put the cherry on the icing was Keerti, Armaan's mother.

Armaan was just going to say something to cover up for whatever took place a while ago, but was interrupted by the voice of his mother.

"Bahane mat banana…Hum ne sab kuch appni aankhon se dekha bhi hai or kano se sunna bhi hai," Keerti's voice echoed through the walls of the fire escape area as she tried to hide her smile as she was teasing them both.

Armaan and Riddhima blushed a deep hard core crimson color and Riddhima was too nervous that she avoided making eye-contact with his mother. She got all jittery inside and felt like she had commited a sin.

Keerti couldn't control any more seeing the drastic change in their expressions and burst out laughing while Riddhima and Armaan looked at each other puzzled at what was going on. Anji, Muskaan, Atul, Rahul, and Nikky all joined in the laughter as they looked at Riddhima's and Armaan's puzzled, yet horrified faces.

Keerti got a control on her laughter and walked up to Riddhima and out a hand under her chin, making her face her.

"Kitni sundar ho…Mere bete apne zindagi mein aik to acha faisla liya hai life mein," she said with a soft tone. "I couldn't have asked for anyone better than you for Armaan." Riddhima blushed as Keerti said those last few words.

"Apna yeh jho mooh hai, isko band kar do bhai…kahin maakhi na chale jaye andar," interrupted Nikky as she looked at Armaan's surprised face. Armaan gave her a serious look and straightened up while the rest chuckled slightly. "Calm down Bhai," said Nikky as she descended the stairs towards Armaan, "We all approve of your choice." She thrust her hands around her brother's muscular shoulders and hugged him tightly.

"Aur tum logon ko kya laga tha, keh hume kuch bhi samajh mein nahi aata," said Keerti, looking directly at Armaan. "I've seen the closeness transpiring between you two for a long time now," Keerti said pulling Armaan's ears while they both processed the thoughts that they had been caught red-handed from Keerti!

"OUCH," cried Armaan. "Maa!"

"Kya Ma? You couldn't even tell me that you are in love with Riddhima," Keerti said as she let go off his ear while Atul, Rahul, Muskaan, and Anji chuckled. The sight of Armaan's mother pulling Armaan's ear was appealing to Riddhima too and she tried her best to suppress her laughter, but couldn't.

"I know…At least hume to pata de ta Armaan," said Atul, "Mein to tera bhai jaisa hoon."

"I know," joined Rahul, "When were you planning to tell us anyway?"

"Aisi baat nahin hai…We were going to tell all of you but we were just waiting for the right time…and apparently, you all found the right time to confront us before we could even do so," said Armaan while ruffling his hand through his hair.

"We're all happy for you Riddhima and Armaan," said Anji, coming down the stairs and giving Ridz a hug as Armaan and Riddhima glanced at each other and gave a full-hearted smile to each other. Unexpectedly, everything turned out for the better. As they say, "Best things in life are unexpected—because there were no expectations" (Quote by Eli Khamarov)

********

Later on at night at Anji's Flat:

Anjali came out of the kitchen with two steaming mugs of coffee in her hand. She set them down on the sidetable and faced Riddhima who was shuffling pages in a magazine, sitting on the couch. Atul was still at the hospital and had some pending work there he had to complete.

"Here Ridzie," said Anji handing her the cup of steaming coffee with some pieces of coffee cake.

"Thanks Di," said Riddhima while sipping the coffee.

"Riddhima," said Anjali with a gentle tone, "You are happy right?"

A puzzled expression formed on Riddhima's face as tried to comprehend what Anji was trying to imply.

"Haan Di, I am very much happy being back in Mumbai with all of you…Why wouldn't I be happy?"

"I mean…Are you happy with Armaan," Anji restated.

Riddhima flashed her sister a smile and gently squeezed her hand after setting her coffee mug aside. "Yes di, I am really lucky to get someone like Armaan in my life…In such a short time span, he has touched my heart like no other…It's like he knows me inside out now…He keeps a sharp eye on my every need…He's always been there for me in this short time."

Anji smiled, being reassured that Riddhima was happy with Armaan. She had seen her sister in so much pain due to Karan that she didn't want her sister to get in a relationship in a hurry. But she was happy and reassured seeing that Riddhima was moving on in life, setting her past with Karan aside.

"I am happy to know you're moving on in life," said Anji giving her sister a hug, "Armaan is indeed a sweet guy and will keep you happy."

"I know Di! Armaan is a one-in-a million guy…He is the type of guy one gets with a lot of prayer and devotion and I'm happy that he entered my life," said Riddhima as she leaned her head on Anji's shoulder as they embraced each other.

wow~ just asked for it and got it right away!! haha

nice update. AR in fire escape and then the whole gang along with keerti catching AR in fire escepe was very nice. funny and cute at the same time. i loved the scene very much. i am soo happy that everyone came to know about AR. anjali, ridz conversation was very nice. it was very practical and it showed anjali's consern todards ridz.

hey i luved tha update! thnx 4 tha PM/update! do cont soon!