TDBU #3 [An AR FF] - (Track 66 to 69 - Page 82/83) - Page 48

It's awesome and mind blowing...

Arman has his concern for Ridhima and some part of past is reviled.. thanks to Atul...

Arman, Atul and rahul have their gala time... after long..

Janvi and arman have beutiful and emotional talk...

Thanks for this and now update super soon...

Ahhhh... Finally something is out in open. 

I was thinking armaan atleast kuch toh sune and he did. 

Loved the progress of the story. 

Jaise toh har dusre din vm de rhi hai jo pata nhai kahan de rhi haim waise hi update bhi de de.... 

As u said more 2-3 parts and there would be all open. I want those parts like vm update alternative days. Hahahah

Loved it man. Keep going. 

Hey y'all! Sorry for the radio silence. I've been busy. And... I've got some bad news now. 

I'm gonna be really busy in the coming month because I'm gonna have a lot of exams. Maybe 20 papers in total? I'm not exactly sure, but 15+ for sure. So, lots to study. Which means, obviously... I won't have time to do much else. 

As a result, both ILYLTF & TDBU are gonna be put on hold till at least August, and then we'll see depending on what my college decides. I'm sorry, but I have no choice! 

Please be patient with me. That's all I can ask for. Thanks for sticking with me till now, and I hope you do the same in the future as well. 

Love, Prags

No worry...will wait for the update..but now study matters the most...

All the best for your exam...

You update whenever you can... just don't stop it

Study hard and all the best for the exams :)

Any update on ILYLTH and TDBU

ispe bhi meherbani kar do thodi praags!!

When will you update the next part??? Waiting from months... Please update now please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please

Previously On...

Armaan finds out that Riddhima was forced to marry Sid.

Track 49 - The Best Day of My Life, American Authors

Armaan wanted to make it very abundantly clear that he hated Rahul. He hated Rahul more than anyone else in the world. Okay… that was a lie. He didn’t hate Rahul. But then, he wasn’t particularly fond of the man either, at least not at present, not after what he’d just done.

It was Rahul’s birthday today, and he’d felt it was the perfect time to drop this bomb on Armaan when he could have actually told him a few days ago. But Rahul was nothing if not dramatic in this aspect. Perhaps Muskaan had rubbed off on him a little too much. But, that was not the issue. The issue was that Rahul had given him only a few hours to plan an epic confession and proposal, all rolled into one, because it was his birthday, and he wanted to propose to Muskaan.

Now, in another life, Armaan would have been absolutely ecstatic that Rahul had finally gotten his head out of his arse, and if he’d known that just having Rahul around an adopted kid would do the trick, he’d have adopted 10 kids years ago. Ever since Myra had come home, Rahul had changed. It was as if he was granted a new life. In so many ways, Myra had become to Rahul, what Suhana was to him, and Armaan was glad about it. Rahul loved Myra more than he loved anyone else in the world. And it had barely even been a week since she’d been living with them.

But, that’s what had convinced Rahul to finally give it a go. He’d always been worried that if he did end up marrying Muskaan and they adopted a kid, he’d never be able to love that child the way he’d have loved a child of his own. But that notion was safely out the window the second he’d laid eyes on Myra. Myra had quickly become the light of Rahul’s life, and if he could love his adoptive niece so much, he couldn’t even comprehend how much he’d love his own adopted kid. So, with those fears finally taking a back seat in his life, Rahul had decided that he’d have Muskaan back. But… it was not as easy. He’d hurt Muskaan so much, and he wanted to make it up to her. And, he wanted to begin by giving Muskaan the proposal of her dreams. Alas, Rahul was completely inept when it came to romancing a lady, and that’s when Armaan had come in.

After the midnight celebrations last night, Rahul had taken Armaan to his room where he’d sat Armaan down and told him everything, and then begged for help in planning a proposal. Of course, Armaan had agreed instantly.

“Maani…” Rahul began hesitantly. “I needed a favour.”

“Anything,” Armaan replied. “You know that.”

“I do,” Rahul smiled. “Armaan… I’ve been thinking. It’s time.”

“For what?” Armaan asked.

“To make a decision… about Muskaan and I,” Rahul declared. Armaan was sure he stopped breathing.

If Rahul said he wouldn't get together with Muskaan, then best friend/brother/soulmate be damned, he'd do something drastic to this man. They both loved each other so much and did Rahul not understand how lucky he was that the girl he loved loved him back so unconditionally? Not everyone was lucky enough to have that. And he was ready to give it up for the sake of something that was easily resolved.

"You were right… I can't do it again. I love her. I want to be with her. I will be with her," Rahul announced, surprising Armaan.

"Re… Re… Really?" Armaan asked.

"Really, really, really," Rahul replied, smiling.

"Jaana!" Armaan cried, pulling Rahul in a tight hug. "I'm so happy," he blubbered, unable to keep his tears at bay.

"I am too," Rahul answered, hugging Armaan just as tight, tears streaming down his eyes as well. "I've been so stupid."

"You have," Armaan readily agreed.

"Respond quicker, why don't you?" Rahul teased.

"I will," Armaan assured. "Every time."

Rahul laughed. Trust Armaan to call him out without a second thought. It was the best thing about their friendship. They never had to hesitate to tell the other when they'd been wrong, and neither of them ever felt bad about it. They both knew that whatever was being said was because they loved each other so much and always wanted the best for the other.

"Not that it's any of my business…" Armaan said, a little hesitantly. "But why the change of heart?"

Rahul knew this question was coming before Armaan had even thought of asking. He knew Armaan would want to know. And he also knew Armaan deserved to know.

"Of course it's your business, you buffoon!" Rahul replied. "Remember what I'd said? Everything that's your business is mine. So, well… the same applies to you, too."

Armaan bobbed his head. "So then?"

Rahul sighed. "You know that I love Muskaan. I've always loved her. That's… that's never been the problem. It was always the fact that I won't be a father, at least biologically. Back then… I knew Muskaan meant it when she said it didn't matter, but I also knew that that was what she was feeling then. There was no guarantee that she'd always feel that way. She could have grown to resent me a few years down the line. She could promise me now, but not forever. And I was afraid. So I just… I felt it was better to break things off right then, instead of things escalating to us getting married and then her hating me a few years down the line.

When Muskaan asked, I never told her this because she would feel I was questioning her feelings for me, or calling her unsure or fickle or whatever. But… You understand, right? She couldn't be completely sure that things wouldn't change in the future. I mean, we were just 25 back then. The main focus for us was our relationship and our career. Who was even thinking of kids at that point? But what about when we turned 30 and started thinking of kids? What would happen then? None of us knew. And I was so scared, Armaan. I can live with everything, but knowing that Muskaan resented me? That would've been difficult. I don't know what I'd have done.

And… I also didn't want her to go through it. I mean, can you imagine how guilty she'd feel if she grew to hate the situation we were in? She would've blamed herself because she insisted on staying together and she told me it didn't matter to her. But she herself hadn't known how much it mattered back then.

And then… There was dad. I mean, how could I ask her to marry me, leave her own family behind, people who were depending on her, and then make her come here with me and then make her watch my father die? With everything… I just… It felt that breaking up was the right thing to do.

But then, that was almost 9 years ago. Maybe longer. And now here she is… Telling me that nothing had changed for her, just like nothing had changed for me. I really hadn't expected that. And it threw me for a toss. But I was still a little unsure. Because maybe it didn't matter to her, but it mattered to me. I never knew if I'd be able to love a child who wasn't mine, the way I'd love a child who was. I was afraid that any child we brought into our family would not have a father because I wouldn't be able to be one.

But then… Myra came into our lives. You know… When you say Suhana saved you? I understood it, but I didn't know what you meant. I didn't know how it felt, why you would say something like that. But now… now I know, Armaan. Because I feel that way about Myra. She's saved me. She showed me that my fears were baseless. I mean, I love her so much I'd die for her this instance and not have a single regret. And… If I can love my adoptive niece so much, surely… I'd love an adopted child just as much, even more, right?"

“You’re absolutely right,” Armaan replied. “You will love any child you have, whether biological or not. And you’ll be the best dad. You’re already such an amazing elder brother, that I don’t even have to wonder. I know you’ll be a great father.”

Rahul laughed through his tears and pulled Armaan into a hug. “Thank you,” he blubbered. “For everything. For always being by my side, no matter what.”

“Shut up! As if you haven’t done the same for me,” Armaan muttered, tearing up as well.

Rahul laughed. “Fine. No thank you. But… you have to help me! I need to give Muskaan the best. You know I’m not as good at romance as you are. I have to woo her, Mallik. Help me.”

And Armaan had agreed to help, because how could he not. His best friend, his Rahul… His Rahul was finally moving on in his life. He was finally letting love in, doing what would make him happy. As much as Rahul tried to deny it, Armaan knew that not being able to become a father hurt him. It was one of those things he carried deep within his heart, masking it with smiles and shrugs, a brazen do-i-look-like-i-care attitude, but something that made him lose sleep at night, gave him nightmares, brought with it, an aching sense of loss, of not just parenthood, but the loneliness of not having a partner, of not having Muskaan, of having to give up the one person who he loved most in the world.

No, Rahul never spoke out loud, but Armaan knew. He didn’t have to be Tamanna, the one who Rahul spilled all these secrets to in the quiet, dark of the night because she understood. He didn’t have to be Rahul’s therapist, to whom Rahul spilled his deepest regrets and biggest failures, without the fear of judgement. He didn’t have to be Mummy, to whom Rahul would jokingly apologize for not settling down because no one had caught his eye yet, when they both knew he was lying and someone had caught his eye, and his soul, and his life, and he loved her so much and he could never ever imagine being with anyone else, but he could also not imagine being with her because he thought it would bring her pain.

He didn’t need Rahul’s words. Hadn’t ever needed them. Rahul had always been like an open book to Armaan, that old favourite that at times he didn’t even have to read to understand, to remember, to realize. Just like he knew the words from those old books, falling apart from being read over and over, so well loved in their time with him, Armaan just knew how Rahul felt after spending all those years with him.

He knew Rahul had spent the last decade in pain and grief. He’d tried his hardest to move on, to start afresh, not once, not twice, not thrice, but countless times and had failed each time. His love for Muskaan had become as much a part of him as his own blood, his own bones. The love Rahul had for Muskaan made his flesh burn, but it simmered within him without abandon, growing deeper and deeper each day despite his continuous attempts to forget the curly - haired girl with a loud mouth who had stolen his heart, one curse at a time. Rahul could never forget Muskaan. That was a fact. For a long time, it had also been a fact that Rahul didn’t think he could be with her. But now, he didn’t think that way. He wanted to be with Muskaan. And after all the pain and suffering and tears, after all the sleepless nights, the silent conversations, and that one promise from years ago, made to another parent on their deathbed, much like his promise to Bua Maa when he was but a teenager, Armaan would do anything to keep Rahul happy.

Yes, Armaan didn’t like Rahul much at the moment, but he loved him fiercely, and for his brother, Armaan would do anything.

________________

The next morning saw Armaan waking up at dawn, not that he’d slept a lot. With all those overwhelming emotions inside him, the happiness, the excitement, that feeling of finally - he hadn’t really been able to sleep, and had poured all his energy into planning the most outrageous, yet completely filmy, proposal he could think of. Muskaan would love it. He just knew.

Once he was up and dressed for the day, he insistently knocked on Riddhima’s door, rousing her, and Muskaan, from slumber. Muskaan moaned about the early intrusion and cursed at the instigator about a million times before covering her face with a blanket and a pillow and going back to sleep. Riddhima, reluctantly and with a gargantuan effort, managed to open the door and was surprised to see Armaan standing there, smiling down on her like the sun.

“Arm… Armaan?” She mumbled, half dazed at his beauty, half confused with sleep.

He smiled even more brilliantly as if that was possible, but of course it was. He was Armaan Mallik. “Get dressed. Meet me in half an hour,” he ordered.

“What?” She asked. “Why?”

“Riddhima… I’ll explain everything, I promise. But we have a lot to do today, and right now I need you to get dressed quickly and come with me, okay?” He repeated.

“Armaan, but…” she tried to say something to be cut off.

“Do you trust me?” He asked. And then, what choice did she really have? She trusted him with her life, with her heart. She trusted him with everything she had in her.

“I’ll get dressed,” she replied. Armaan grinned at her and her heart stopped. Some days it really stumped her how this man could turn her entire world around with the smallest of things. Would he ever stop having this effect on her? She didn’t think so. Not that she wanted to either. She loved that this was still the case. If not for his open affection, she still had her own reaction to his friendly behavior to see her through this separation.

Everyday, her resolve crumbled. Everyday, she wished to walk up to him, hold him in her arms, and never let go. She wanted to tell him the truth, to tell him she still loved him, had only ever loved him, and would only ever love him. Forever. Always. She wanted to be with him. To love him and be loved in return. To marry him. To grow old with him. She wanted his to be the first face she saw as she started her day and the last before she went to sleep. She wanted to hug him, cry with him, smile with him, smile for him, smile because of him. She wanted to be on the receiving end of his heartfelt smiles, his soulful hugs, his beautiful affection for the rest of her days. There was so much she wanted. When it came to him, she just wanted, wanted, wanted. She wanted everything and it broke her heart that she didn’t have it.

Most of all, she wanted to have enough courage to be able to demand all this of him, but she did not and that broke her even more. She’d lied to him for weeks, and the thought of his disappointed face and his broken trust when he finally found out was a prick to her soul. She should have been honest from the start, been truthful. She should’ve told him. But she thought he’d moved on, and she’d thought it was better to let things go. She was the stupidest person in existence, and now she would have to live with the consequences of her choices. There was no other way. Breaking Armaan’s heart, his trust, more than she already had was not an option. And yet, she yearned, she wanted, she dreamt. Maybe one of these days, she would actually tell him and he would forgive her. Hopefully.

But right now, she needed to go see what had brought him to her door so early in the morning. And so, she took a quick shower, donned a pretty red dress, and bounced out of her room. Armaan was waiting for her at the end of the stairs and once she was in touching distance, immediately took her hand in his own, pulling her out of the still quiet house without a word.

He drove her to the cafe they used to frequent while doing errands for the wedding. By now, her preferences were just as known to Aunt Karen as Armaan’s. Without wasting time, they both sat in a booth. Riddhima hadn’t even adjusted herself into the seat properly and Armaan was already talking. “I’m really sorry about just taking you out like this without any explanation but I really need your help!”

“What’s up?” She asked him.

“Rahul wants to propose to Muskaan!” He answered, leaving her gobsmacked.

“He wants to what?” She exclaimed, unable to believe what she was hearing.

“He does. He wants to propose to her. And I need your help to plan it,” he explained.

“I’m sorry… what?” She repeated.

Sighing, Armaan launched into a complete explanation about what had happened the night before. How Rahul had come to him, telling him about his decision, and asking for help. He then told her about the rough plans he’d made himself, and asked her for her inputs.

“You’re Muskaan’s best friend,” he said. “You know her better than anyone else. And while I’m pretty good at the grand gesture part, I don’t really know what Muskaan likes. I need this to be perfect for both of them. And I can’t think of anyone else who would help me. Please, Riddhima! I really need you.”

Riddhima couldn’t comprehend what was happening. One second she was wondering why Armaan was in such a hurry and the next, she was being told that her best friend would finally have her happy ever after. She wanted to cry, she wanted to laugh, she wanted to scream. Out of everyone else in the world, it was Muskaan who deserved all the happiness. She was such a kind and thoughtful person, an amazing doctor, the most supportive friend Riddhima had ever had. Muskaan gave and gave and gave and didn’t really get much in return, nor did she ever ask for it, but Riddhima always felt the need to be better, to do better, to do something so that Muskaan knew Riddhima loved her just as much as she loved Riddhima.

In all these years that they’d spent together, as colleagues, and friends, and then roommates and sisters - there had always been a melancholy that joined them together. Their shared pain of losing the loves of their lives bonding them stronger than anything else ever had. And while Riddhima’s loneliness was a product of misunderstandings and countless mistakes, and just sheer bad luck, Muskaan’s was a product of sacrifice and letting go, and heartbreak, and not being good enough or maybe being too good. She didn’t know which hurt worse, but they both hurt, and they both bled. And Muskaan… loud, joyous, cheerful Muskaan bled so much that sometimes Riddhima was surprised she still had anything left to bleed. Her tears stained every cranny of their small apartment, her longing manifesting itself into every nook of their home. Little knick knacks - a pen, a flower, a piece of paper whose ink had faded so much it was back to being blank, whispered words, longing glances, countless hugs - all of them making up Muskaan and her home.

Riddhima thought back to her own life - neatly tucked away in a box at the bottom of her drawer (she never was as brave as Muskaan) - all those words that she’d wanted to tell Armaan but hadn’t been able to, all those words that Armaan had been brave enough to tell her, to open his heart, his home, his life to her, the ring that promised she’d be his forever, the bangle that promised he’d be hers.

They were both broken, but Muskaan was brave in her struggles, always telling Riddhima how she felt and why she felt, while Riddhima cried away in her room, seldom opening up. And yet, somehow, Muskaan read into the endless silence that hugged Riddhima like a second skin, and was able to pull out the words that she didn’t ever dream she’d tell anyone, not even Armaan.

She thought about how Muskaan had gone above and beyond to keep Riddhima from drowning - into an abyss of pain and sorrow and mistakes - at times hiding her own pain from Riddhima, just to look after her. Riddhima had suffered a lot in the past few years, but Muskaan had suffered worse, bogged down with not just her heartbreak, but Riddhima’s as well, learning to read the nothingness in Riddhima’s life, and still trying, trying, trying everyday, to make it better for Riddhima, even as her whole heart broke in her own misery.

Muskaan had done everything for Riddhima, been everything for Riddhima - a friend, a sister, a parent. And now, she would finally have the happiness she deserved, the togetherness she’d yearned for for years.

As Riddhima looked at Armaan, who was looking at her with hope in his eyes, yet the fear of rejection in his very stance, she almost laughed. Did he really think she wouldn’t? This was Muskaan. There was nothing else that Riddhima could say. And so, she closed her eyes, a vision of a happy Muskaan forming in front of her, Muskaan’s weird laughter ringing in her ears, her happiness blinding Riddhima. “Yes.”

____________________________

Chapter Song : The Best Day of My Life, American Authors

Hello y'all! As always, I am so sorry for the long delay in the chapter, but I have been swamped with college, and a very bad lack of motivation to write. Hopefully, it'll get better soon. Fingers crossed. 

Anyway, I hope you like this one. Sorry for the way it's too lyrical, but I've been reading a lot fics that are prose heavy and I guess it leaked into my own writing as well. :p

How excited are you for Rahul & Muskaan? I hope a lot because I am! FINALLY! Armaan & Riddhima will get better soon too, I promise. But till then, please enjoy them being domestic like this and being so excited for their best friends!

Love, Prags

I had a dream so big and loud

I jumped so high I touched the clouds

Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh

I stretched my hands out to the sky

We danced with monsters through the night

Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh

I'm never gonna look back

Woah, never gonna give it up

No, please don't wake me now

This is gonna be the best day of my life

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

This is gonna be the best day of my life

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

I howled at the moon with friends

And then the sun came crashing in

Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh

But all the possibilities

No limits just epiphanies

Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh

I'm never gonna look back

Woah, never gonna give it up

No, just don't wake me now

This is gonna be the best day of my life

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

This is gonna be the best day of my life

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

I hear it calling outside my window

I feel it in my soul (soul)

The stars were burning so bright

The sun was out 'til midnight

I say we lose control (control)

This is gonna be the best day of my life

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

This is gonna be the best day of my life

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

This is gonna be, this is gonna be, this is gonna be

The best day of my life

Everything is looking up, everybody up now

This is gonna be the best day of my life

My li-i-i-i-i-ife

- The Best Day of My Life, American Authors