So, this me writing a fanfiction after almost 2 years which also happens to be my first ever writing based on RiAnsh and/or RiHaan. I do hope you guys like it.
Alone & Empty
Riddhima stood at the window of their bedroom, her hands folded across her chest. She sighed with a smile of her face, as the warmth of the early morning sun hit her face. She was about to turn when she bumped into a hard, manly chest. A strong pair of hands grabbed her waist, immediately, steadying her. Riddhima looked up to meet the familiar, bearded-face of her husband.
“Stand here a little more, with me,” said Vansh.
Riddhima nodded, smiling. With her head on his chest and his strong, protective hand across her waist, Vansh and Riddhima stood at the window. A few minutes later, Riddhima stood up on her toes, her lips reaching Vansh’s ears.
“I love you, Vansh,” she whispered.
Vansh looked down at his wife. Riddhima could understand that this man had a smirk pasted across his face, which most people failed to notice all thanks to his heavy beard. But, then again, how many people got to see this man so close to notice all the little features on his face, to know all his habits and wishes?
“Oh, really, Mrs Rai Singhania?” he said, smirking.
“Yes, Mr Vansh Rai Singhania. I love you. Truly, madly, and deeply.”
There, she said it. She put all that there was in her heart for him, out, in front of him. Riddhima felt relieved after having poured her heart out to the man she loved. Yet, there was an anxiousness in her, wondering, what would his response be?
“Okay,” said Vansh. His hands around Riddhima’s waist grew tighter.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” asked Riddhima. His ‘Okay’ did not sit well with her.
“Me? What would I have to say, sweetheart?” said Vansh, his face was now the epitome of innocence.
“Seriously, Vansh? Here I am, pouring my heart out to you, telling you how I feel about you, and you don’t have anything to say to me? Get your hands off me!” said Riddhima, annoyed, trying to get out of Vansh’s hold. This man always had ways to get on her nerves, no matter what.
“Shh,” said Vansh, as he put a finger on Riddhima’s lips, shushing her. He moved his fingers under Riddhima’s chin, lifting her face to meet his eyes.
“I may not have anything to say at the moment, Mrs Rai Singhania, because I want to make it special, but, since you have put forward what is there in your heart, I have something for you.”
“For me? What? What do you mean?” said Riddhima, confused. Her eyeballs moved from one point to another, over Vansh’s face, trying to decipher the meaning of his words.
“This.”
The very next moment Vansh’s lips crashed on that of Riddhima’s, taking her by surprise, and she staggered back a bit, because of this sudden attack. A few seconds into the kiss and one of his hands loosened from the tight grip on her waist to steady Riddhima’s neck at a certain angle as Vansh was not getting enough of her. Once he had steadied her face, Vansh took her hands and put them on his shoulders. Ridhhima’s hand travelled from Vansh’s shoulder to his hair, and she grabbed hold of a chunk of his hair.
Riddhima moaned into the kiss, and Vansh let go of her lips to give them both a much-needed break. He touched his forehead with a panting Riddhima, who refused to meet his eyes.
“Look at me, Riddhima,” said Vansh, huskily. His voice was gentle yet, had a sense of command in it, which automatically made Riddhima obey him.
“I love you, Riddhima. I wanted to make it special but, after the kiss, I couldn’t control myself,” said Vansh.
“It’s alright, Vansh,” smiled Riddhima and pecked his lips.
“Sweetheart, do you kno-”
Vansh could not complete his sentence before he staggered front, crashing onto Riddhima. She wasn’t sure if it was a gunshot that she had heard, but she couldn't care any less at the moment. It was Vansh that needed all of her attention right now. With her hand already on his back in an attempt to catch and steady him, Riddhima felt something liquid-like on Vansh’s back. She brought her hand up and could believe what she saw on it.
It was blood - fresh, warm, and redder than ever. It was her Vansh’s blood. By now, Vansh’s weight became too much for her to carry, and his limp body went down on her, Riddhima saw the face of the shooter, still standing at their bedroom door. Kabir’s face had an evil smile on it and his gun was still pointed at them.
“I had told you, Riddhima, that you’re mine and only mine. And, I won’t let you be anybody else’s if you can’t be mine. I’ll take everything that belonged to Vansh. First, his life which I already have. Second, his place in the hearts of his family. Third, you. And then, the VR mansion, and the family business. Slowly, Vansh and all his memories will be removed and replaced by me, Kabir. You just wait and watch, RIdhhima. It’s just a matter of time before you become Mrs Kabir from Mrs Vansh.”
And with that Kabir was gone, while she sat there on the floor, with Vansh’s limp body losing life, little by little, till it was gone.
“Vansh!”
Ridddhima sat up on the bed with a start, panting heavily. Beads of perspiration formed all over her face and she began trembling. She heard a sliding sound and looked up to see Vansh exit the bathroom and come towards their bed. Riddhima hurriedly removed the blanket covering the lower half of her body and moved to Vansh’s side of the bed, as soon as he sat down. She threw herself in his arms and gave a wet kiss on his cheek.
“Please, don’t ever leave me, Vansh. Please, don’t ever,” said Riddhima.
“I’m Vihaan, Riddhima. Not Vansh,” said the man. Riddhima’s head shot up from his chest and she looked closely at the face. She could see that it was the same face, the same facial features yet, something was amiss. The beard. The heavy beard. All that happened in the past couple of weeks came rushing back to Riddhima, the moment she realised this - from Vansh falling off the cliff to her almost marrying Kabir, and training Vihaan in between, and a fresh set of tears welled her eyes.
“You, you are not Vansh. You’re Vihaan which means my Vansh, my Vansh is…...dead. But he promised. He promised he would never leave me. And, what I saw, it was a dream, right? A nightmare, right? A f*cking nightmare, right?” said Riddhima, clutching the collars Vansh’s shirt that Vihaan was wearing, her voice rising with every word.
“Yes, yes, Riddhima. It was just a nightmare,” said Vihaan, not quite sure of what dream he was talking about but decided to go with the flow, given the dishevelled and distressed state of Riddhima in front of him.
“Then, how the f*ck did it come true, huh? How the f*ck did it come true that instead of my husband, it’s you I’m sharing the damn bed with, his bloody look-alike?” said Riddhima, seething with anger, frustration and most importantly pain, the immense pain of losing her husband. Her index finger was on his chest, pointing directly at him. Vihaan could feel the pressure it thrust on him.
Vihaan was not sure how he should reply, or for the matter of fact, reply at all. In the past week of her training him to be her husband, Vihaan had never seen Riddhima break down like this. It was true that during the training, Riddhima used to cry silently, clutching the things of her husband but, Vihaan could tell it was just the fresh grief of losing Vansh and she was just mourning her husband.
But now, Riddhima looked like she was out of control. Before Vihaan could say or do anything, Riddhima removed her finger off his chest, as a fresh realisation hit her.
“Oh my God! Shit. Shit, shit, shit. I couldn’t have done that. I f*cking couldn’t have done that. Tell me that I f*cking did not do that.”
Riddhima’s hands were on her head, and her body trembled, with another new set of tears that rolled down her already tear-stained cheeks.
“Do what, Riddhima? Do what?” said Vihaan as he grabbed her shoulders in an attempt to steady her.
“I, I, Vihaan…” Riddhima’s voice choked. “I kissed you. And, you’re not my Vansh. I kissed another man.”
“Riddhima. Riddhima, look at me. It was an accident, alright. You never wanted to do it. I know that Riddhima,” said VIhaan, soothingly but she refused to look at him and continued crying. “Vansh knows that, Riddhima. He knows that.”
Riddhima looked up.
“But, you don’t understand, Vihaan. Nobody in this house does. You don’t have any idea what I had faced from the moment I stepped in this house. Every day, someone or the other would find an excuse to disgrace me, tell me whatever that came to their minds. And, when Vansh died, everybody was mourning for him, everyone had some complaint or the other regarding me. I understand everybody loved Vansh a lot and missed him badly. Somebody lost their sibling, somebody their son, and somebody their grandson but, what about me? I lost my f*cking husband, goddamnit! I lost everything. I lost my Vansh. I bloody saw him fall off that cliff. What about that, huh? What f*cking about that?
You know, the family feels that it was my fault that Vansh died. Ishani blamed me now and then, Dadi sort of stopped talking to me, and Angre, -” Riddhima chuckled sadly - “Angre stopped being in my presence. Then, all of a sudden, Kabir stepped into the house. And now, he is set to take Vansh’s place. For a moment, that day, when I almost married him, I felt dying to be easier than being someone else’s wife. And now, I live in the dread of any family member finding out about your truth. Everything would be destroyed, then. Everything. Oh God, I don’t know what to do. I’m so tired. If only, Vansh was here. He would take me in his arms, and tell me that he was here and that everything would be alright. He could handle things so well. Why did he have to go, Vihaan? Why? Why did he leave me alone? Didn’t he know that I’m alone and empty without him?”
Vihaan placed a hand on Riddhima’s shoulder and rubbed it. She turned to face him and gave a sad smile.
“You know, Vansh had once told me that as long as he was with me, nothing could harm me. And, now he isn’t, and every damn thing is going wrong. Why did he leave me if he knew this? Didn’t he know that I’m not as strong as he was? That, I can never handle things the way he did.”
Riddhima let out a loud cry, breaking down hysterically, her screaming sobs interrupted only by her need to draw breath. Vihaan felt a trigger of empathy, seeing Riddhima like this. He felt, as if, his pains came closer to the surface, and quickly engulfed Riddhima in his warm embrace.
“It’s true that you’re not as strong as he was -” Vihaan lifted Riddhima’s chin “-because you’re stronger. And I’m sure, Vansh is proud of you. Wherever he is.”
“But I’m so tired, Vihaan. I’m so tired……Vansh.”
Vihaan could feel a pressure on his shoulder and soft, deep breaths fanned the side of his throat. Riddhima’s head had fallen on his chest, and by the look on her face, it was quite evident that she had drifted off in a much needed, deep sleep. He slowly laid her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her body.
As his hand caressed Riddhima’s sleeping face, “I wish I could reveal myself to you, but, it needs to wait, sweetheart. It needs to wait,” said Vansh.
Udne Ki Aasha
Bigg Boss 19
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