TDBU #3 [An AR FF] - (Track 66 to 69 - Page 82/83) - Page 50

A perfect song to along with the occasion.

Rahul and Muskaan finally made it happen. Hope Riddhima does not back out for any reason.

Loved the concept and I really am looking forward to the next chapter especially as you just gave us a glimpse. 

Please please update super soon

Oh... when I read that she has finally decided to speak up..

I felt a weird sensation u know..  happiness fear.. all mixed...

Waiting to know how he'll take it..

Oh god..

Btw happy new year❤️

Oh my god, an update :D

I loved the proposal. Finally , Rahul had the courage to just take the leap. 

I could imagine all the things Riddhima was saying about Armaan and hopefully she tells him the truth and for once give him a choice to decide.

Very beautiful update!! 

Waiting for next part eagerly... 

we are waiting and waiting and waiting

just give us an update man!!!

you are our last hope!!!

Previously On...

Riddhima & Armaan spend time together, preparing for Rahul's surprise.

Rahul proposes to Muskaan.

Riddhima decides to tell Armaan she's not married anymore.

Track 51 - You're Not Sorry, Taylor Swift

"Ridzyyyyyy! I'm so happy today!" Muskaan squealed, hugging her best friend tight. "It's the best day of my life!"

Riddhima couldn't help but be happy in Muskaan's happiness, her extreme enthusiasm having her dance around the room too.

Muskaan hadn't stopped squealing since Rahul had confessed to her, and though Riddhima was worried that she might go deaf soon, seeing as how Muskaan was screaming in her ear for the past half an hour, she would not trade it for the world. Riddhima hadn't seen Muskaan this happy in years. She was exuberant in a way Riddhima didn't think she was capable anymore.

The past few years had left bitter marks in the lives of all their friends, but Riddhima didn't think anyone had suffered as much as Muskaan had. For the others at least had their partners by their side, and those who didn't - her, Armaan, and Rahul - had chosen to walk away from their relationships for whatever reasons at various points in life. Riddhima wasn't trying to belittle the pain Rahul had felt when he'd chosen to break up with Muskaan so that she could find a partner with whom she could have kids, or Armaan's when he'd had to make the choice between lying to Riddhima and leaving or staying behind with the possibility that he might end up physically hurting her. She was definitely not discounting her own pain of having given into her parents' demands to marry Sid when her heart so completely belonged to Armaan, or the helplessness she'd felt at starting over after getting her marriage annulled. But at least all three of them had made their choices, right or wrong they may have been. Muskaan though, she'd been given no choice as Rahul single-handedly made the decision for both of them. Yes, Riddhima practically had had no choice but to marry Sid, but even she had been able to break free of that marriage in a year. But Muskaan had been living with the consequences of Rahul's choice for 8 long years.

And now, finally, she'd gotten her shot at happiness and Riddhima was so ecstatic. Muskaan was the best person she knew. Kind and welcoming, determined and hard-working, the best friend anyone could ask for. She deserved all that her heart desired and it was finally one step closer.

"I'm so happy for you, Muskaan," Riddhima whispered, hugging Muskaan tight. "You deserve all the happiness in the world. I'm so glad that Rahul decided to give the two of you an honest chance. All those years ago, you guys had barely even acknowledged your feelings for each other before Rahul had to leave because his dad was diagnosed with cancer, and then him finding out about his issues… You never even got the chance to be with him. But now you do, and I hope he treats you the way you deserve."

"He already does," Muskaan replied. "Rahul has always treated me well, you know. And I know that we barely had a couple of days after her confessed to me, but I guess… Well, I already knew before that. Both of us did. It was still not enough time, there never can be, but in a way, I almost don't regret it, you know? Because, I mean, imagine if I'd talked him into staying back then, but then later ended up resenting him? 25 year old Muskaan didn't know if 35 year old Muskaan would be fine with the 'no biological kids' thing no matter how much I tried to assure him otherwise. That would've just made both of us even more miserable, if that had ended up happening. And I mean, I already told you… In his place, I might've taken the same decision. Plus, these years apart have made us grow so much and now we'll both appreciate what we have even more than before. So all things considered, maybe it wasn't so bad. I mean, okay. It was bad. It was very bad. I hurt so much and there were days where I didn't even know why I was trying. I wanted… Wow. I wanted so many things. Some days I wanted Rahul, other days I never wanted to see his face or hear his name, and still others when I felt I could kill him without feeling remorse. Sometimes I felt like I should give into my parents' demands and marry someone and others I hated them for even suggesting such a thing. It was really difficult. But it was worth it. Because I have Rahul now. And I have all our friends. And my family. And that's all I ever wanted, really. So, it's okay. There was a lot of darkness in my life but it was worth it for this sunshine."

Riddhima hugged her again, unable to stop her tears at Muskaan's words. After everything that had happened, Muskaan was happy. She didn't have regrets. That was all Riddhima had wished for, for her best friend.

"I wish for you to have that sunshine in your life too, Ridzy. I know I promised I wouldn't meddle, but will you please tell Armaan the truth?" Muskaan asked Riddhima.

“I’ll tell him,” Riddhima agreed.

“I know you don’t want to but I really…” Muskaan started saying, already trying to convince Riddhima to talk to Armaan, when she realized what Riddhima had actually said.

“Wait,” she said. “You? You’ll tell him? Really?”

Riddhima nodded. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, actually. Before, I thought… I mean… you know what I thought - with Tamanna. And that was just... That was so wrong. And I didn’t want him to feel like he had to walk away from her. Didn’t want him to think that now that I was finally brave enough to do what I should have done back then, I felt entitled to his affections. He seemed happy… he is happy with her in his life. It’s not… It’s just not in the way I imagined. I thought he was in love with her, but he just loves her. And that… that’s okay. I’m so glad he loves her, that he has people in his life who love him, loved him when I was busy being a coward. I know that this doesn’t suddenly mean everything is okay, or that if I tell him, he’ll forget everything in a second and welcome me back into his life as if nothing has happened. I was afraid that I would tell him to make a choice, and he would choose her over me, or worse yet, he would feel obligated to choose me, because he’s weird like that and he might think that if I left Sid for him, if I went against what Papa wanted because I’m in love with him, he’ll feel compelled to act as if he’s in love with me too, even if he isn’t. And I couldn’t live with that. I wouldn’t have been able to live with it either if he ended up choosing her instead of me because he’s moved on. Sometimes, I felt that if I told him, he’d hate me for making him choose, or just hate me in general and you know I cannot live with that. Armaan is… I know it’s very arrogant of me to think this way, but when it comes to him, he’s always loved me. Even when I did things that hurt him, when I broke his heart, when I went ahead and got married to someone else, he still loved me. And I can’t take it if he hates me. The entire world can hate me and that’s okay, but he can’t. I wouldn’t be able to live with that.

But… things are different now. For one, he isn’t in a relationship with her, like I thought he was. He also doesn’t seem to hate me at all, Muski. And I really thought he might. That despite us having formed a tentative friendship, he still holds a grudge for what happened back then, and even what happened now, with my fight with Shilpa and me calling Billy. But… somehow, he doesn’t. Today, he approached me of all people to help with Rahul’s proposal. I know I’m your best friend, and he knows that too, but he also knows that you’re just as close with Atul too, and Di, and even Dr. Keerti. He could easily have asked any of them for help, but he came to me. That means the world to me, even if it’s not too deep. Because to me, it means that he still trusts me, and I cannot keep breaking his trust like this, again and again and again. He deserves to know the truth, even if he doesn’t love me anymore. If, after this, he decides to never see me again, I would understand that too, because I have hurt him too many times to count, more often knowingly rather than unknowingly. But, I’ve always loved him, even when I didn’t know I did, and especially when I was trying to convince myself that I didn’t.

I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like this. I just, I’m tired of lying, especially to him. I want him to know. I hope he chooses me, but even if he doesn’t, in the end, I don’t want to keep living like this… with this uncertainty always hanging between us, me always lying to him and taking his choice away from him. That’s wrong. It took me sometime to realize, but I don’t have any right to do this to him, even if I only have good intentions.

So, yes. I’ll tell him.”

“I’m so proud of you!” Muskaan cried. “This is exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you, Ridzy. Lying to him is not right. Armaan, of all people in the world, deserves nothing but 100% honesty from you. You shouldn’t be lying to him, not even by omission. He deserves better.”

“He does,” Riddhima agreed. “He deserves better than me. I’ve only ever hurt him, Muski. And he never deserved that. But, I can’t let him go like this. I’m gonna be better this time round, okay? I won’t be the girlfriend I was before. I will never take him for granted, ever again. Even if he doesn’t want to be with me, I will always love him and that’ll have to be enough. I mean, it has been in these last 6 years, hasn’t it? It’ll be enough for the rest of my life too.”

“He’ll come around, Ridzy. Even if not now, later. He was so in love with you. That sort of thing doesn’t go away just like that. He’ll come back to you, like Rahul came back to me. And the two of you will live happily ever after, okay?” Muskaan soothed.

“Happily ever after is a fairytale, Muski. I’m not that naive girl who believes in fairytales anymore. I don’t want one. I just want to be with him, even if we’re not always happy. Even if we’re fighting, or hurting, it’s better to be with him than to try and be happy alone. No one can be happy all the time, but if he’s with me, that’s okay. I don’t mind,” Riddhima replied.

“Knock, knock!” Armaan called out, halting their discussion. “I hope I’m not interrupting. And well… Even if I am, I don’t really care!” He said, waltzing in.

He bounded towards Muskaan and pulled her into a tight hug. “Congratulations, Muski!” He cried.

“It was all because of you,” Muskaan told him. “I should be thanking you, so, thank you!”

“Nah. It was all my gorgeous Myra. If I’d known having an adopted kid running around the house would make him see the light, I’d have adopted kids 5 years ago!” He joked.

“Armaan!" Muskaan chided, swatting his arm. "It's not just that."

"You're right, it's not," Armaan replied. "I'm just glad that things worked out for the two of you. It's all I ever wanted for the both of you! I'm the happiest right now. Even more than the both of you."

Muskaan just laughed at his proclamation.

"No, seriously. I'm so ecstatic! But also, you know if Rahul gets difficult again, you can come to me, right? If things aren't fine, if he hurts you, or you're fighting, or whatever… I'm always there.

It's been so long since you've seen each other and I mean… Sometimes things can be hard. You might mean something or say something else, or he might do that, or even for any other reasons, you might not see eye to eye, and that's always something that happens, but especially now, with being thrown together after so long apart, it's easier to misinterpret words or take the wrong cues, you know? And it's taken so long for the both of you to get here in a place where you're both happy with your relationship and I don't want some misunderstanding or miscommunication to be the reason for your worries. And also, if Rahul gets too smart again and decides to wallow in his self pity or whatever… I am always there to talk sense into him for you! He'll listen to me if he knows what's right for him," he declared.

Muskaan hugged Armaan tightly. "Thanks, Hero. You're the best!"

Armaan laughed and hugged her back. "But also, that doesn't mean I won't give you a shovel talk! I know Rahul has hurt you in the past and it's taken him a long time to be honest with you, but it's only because he's always felt he's not enough for you. But, he's taken a step forward, Muski. He's decided to trust you, and you better treasure that, forever.

Rahul is… well, he's the most important person in my life. That's not even an exaggeration. In all these years, I've lost and found a lot of people. I lost Jaan, I lost Jaani, I lost all of you guys. But I learnt to cope with all and move on. With Rahul… I don't think I'll ever be able to do that. He means the world to me. I can do anything for him. Even if that means that doing that would hurt you. Because if you hurt him, I won't care that you're one of my closest friends. I'll only do what's best for him, and if that is not the best thing for you… It sounds very mean, I know, but it's true. So, yeah. Don't ever hurt my Rahul, or else."

"Yes, yes! I get it. Don't worry. I won't hurt him!" Muskaan replied.

"I know you won't," Armaan assured. "You could never. But I had to do this. Best friend slash brother duties and privileges."

Muskaan laughed at his words, making both Armaan & Riddhima smile. It was that laugh. The Muskaan laugh. Neither of them had heard it in so long. Riddhima was tearing up and even Armaan turned away to subtly swipe his eyes before asking Muskaan, "How'd you like the arrangements? Good date?"

"It was absolutely perfect, Armaan! Thank you so much for planning it. And you too, Ridzy! It made my day so special. And the song. Oh my Gods, the song!! Armaan it's so beautiful, I never imagined something so beautiful could be mine. Thank you so, so, so much for writing it! And so quickly too. Rahul told me he only approached you yesterday and you wrote and recorded the whole thing in such a rush. You didn't have to. But… I'm so grateful you did," Muskaan said.

"Anything for the two of you!" Armaan told her. "And I mean it."

"I know," Muskaan answered.

Just then, her phone beeped with a message from Rahul, asking her to come see him. Armaan laughed. "And so it begins."

"And so it begins," Muskaan agreed before hurrying out the door.

"They're both so happy," Riddhima commented when it was just her and Armaan in the room.

"They are," Armaan answered. "Rahul spent the last hour or so alternating between laughing and crying in my room. We broke out some champagne. He got me a present to thank me for everything, you know. The works. He's deliriously happy. It's all I ever wanted for him."

"And what I wanted for her," Riddhima said. "I didn't think it would ever be possible, but here we are."

"Life is funny that way," Armaan stated. "You never know what can happen. Anything is possible. Everything is possible. Especially love."

"Armaan," Riddhima said, taking a deep breath. It was time. She couldn't wait any longer. "I need to tell you something."

Instantly, Armaan was alert. Riddhima looked very skeptical and scared, as if she wasn't sure if doing this was the right thing. She wouldn't look at him and was fidgeting with her fingers, both telling signs that whatever was to come was big. And something he would likely not be happy about.

It surprised Armaan, how things had changed and still stayed the same. Some days, it felt like Riddhima was a stranger who he knew nothing about. On others, it felt like he knew her better than she knew herself. Some of her actions didn't make sense, but others, he could predict before happening. It was a mind-boggling oxymoron that kept him second guessing himself at every turn. But right now, he was pretty sure that things were about to get ugly.

"Sounds ominous," he joked, trying to diffuse the tension, but it absolutely did not work. If anything, it spooked Riddhima even more.

"Hey," he murmured softly. "It's okay. Whatever it is. You know you can tell me anything. And, if you don't want to, that's cool. Don't force yourself."

She managed a small smile at his words, touched that he cared so much. "It's been a long time coming, Armaan. I should have told you weeks ago, but I didn't, for many reasons, which I don't want to get into. But, you deserve to know, and I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

"What is it?" He asked.

"Before I tell you, I just want you to know… this was not a prank or a joke or an attempt to belittle you or laugh at you. It was just me being a coward and not facing my reality the way I should have. You were on the receiving end of it, and for that I'm sorry," She told him.

"You're scaring me," he replied. "What's going on?"

"Armaan… this… I… You… sid… I just…" Riddhima fumbled.

"Sid? What about him? Is he okay? Are the two of you fighting? I noticed that things have been tense between the two of you lately. Is he treating you right? If you have any problems, you can tell me. I'll help you, no matter what," Armaan assured her. He immediately recalled the part od the conversation he'd accidentally eavesdropped on a few days ago, when Riddhima had refused to forgive Sid for whatever it was he'd done.

"Sid and I are fighting," she agreed. "But there's nothing you can do about it, mostly because I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive him for what he did."

"What did he do?" Armaan asked.

"It's not my place to tell, but it does involve you. And me. And in a way, all of it was my fault, so again, I'm sorry," Riddhima murmured.

"What was your fault?" He asked.

"You should ask Nikki," she replied. "I don't want to overstep. She'll tell you if she wants to. But this is not about Nikki or Sid. Okay, it's about Sid. But it's about you and me. Well, mostly me. But this affects you too, and everyone around us. So just… let me speak okay? Please don't interrupt or I'll loose my nerve."

Armaan nodded frantically. "Anything."

"Armaan…" Riddhima started. "There is a lot of history between us. Most of it is mistakes we've made when it comes to the other, and I hate that. You've hurt me a lot, but I've hurt you too, and I regret a lot of things. But mostly I regret how things ended back then, after Sid and I got married. And well… Sid, I chose him, but that's not what I wanted. I never wanted to marry him in the first place, but Papa didn't give me a choice.

I was never happy with Sid, you know. I have a feeling that even if you and I hadn't happened, I still would never have been happy with him. We don't work well together. It's something I knew since the first day I met him. But, foolishly, I thought that once we'd gotten married, we'd somehow make it work. Those marriage vows meant everything to me, you know? I hadn't chosen any of it, but when it happened, I'd vowed to be a good partner and stay faithful to the marriage, work to make it strong.

And, I tried. I tried really hard, okay? I gave it my all. Even when I didn't want to work on it, I still tried my best. And Sid… I don't know if he was as dedicated as me, but he tried too. And it only made both of us more miserable, trying to salvage something that never even existed in the first place.

It took us a while to understand that though. That neither of us were happy and despite making conscious efforts to ease each other, it didn't work. Nothing worked. And so… ummm, well… after… after trying, continuously… for a year, we both thought, well, we thought that it would be better if we…" She trailed off.

"If you what, Riddhima?" Armaan asked, his voice cracking. Was Riddhima trying to say what he thought she was? Had they separated? And for years, by the sound of it? Years that he'd spent mourning the loss of their relationship, trying so hard to move on because Riddhima had chosen Sid? She cast him away for Sid and then hadn't even seen that relationship through? So then, what had been the purpose of putting him, putting herself, through all that pain so many years ago, if only to leave her husband behind?

But… he couldn’t regret that she had. Not when it meant he’d moved to New York, found Jaanhavi again, met Tamanna, met the people he called family, the people he loved as if they were his parents. He’d made a new life for himself, one that was happy and lovely, because Riddhima had chosen Sid and that heartbreak had led him here. So, how could he ever regret that?

He hated the pain that came along with it, the sleepless nights, the nightmares, the loneliness, the heartbreak, the anxiety, the depression. He hated all of that. But, he had his family now, people who had stood by him in his most difficult times and helped him see those years through. Had helped him through his depression and his anxiety, had helped him move on from the heartbreak that Riddhima had caused. It was the difficult road he’d travelled to finding his happiness, but that’s what made it worth it, made his happiness more tangible, more exuberant.

But, Riddhima had lied. For weeks now, she’d been here, spending so much time with Armaan, and for all this time, he’d thought she was married. She knew he thought that, yet she didn’t do anything to correct his assumptions. That hurt more than anything else.

“You know… you know what, Armaan. You know what I’m trying to say, very well. Don’t you?” She asked rhetorically, snapping Armaan out of his thoughts. He did. He understood pretty well. But he needed her to say it.

“Why don’t you say it, Riddhima? Say it out loud, what you’re so strongly implying. I need to hear you say it,” he stated. Riddhima knew him well enough to not argue when he spoke like that, his words ringing finality.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing herself to say the words out loud, the ones she’s been carrying inside her for weeks. “Sid and I…” she hesitated, still scared, so afraid. Despite Armaan knowing the truth, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She was scared, and rightly so, that Armaan would not take it well. Already, she could see how this had affected him, how it was going to affect the delicate friendship they’d forged in the past few weeks.

“Sid and I…” She tried again, this time fiercer. “We’re… We’re not… Not married… Not married, anymore. We separated… almost… it’s been… um, six years. We’ve been separated for six years,” she finally admitted out loud.

"Six… six years???" Armaan scoffed. "You broke up six years ago? Did you even wait after I left?"

Riddhima looked away, not having an answer. The truth was that Armaan's departure had been the final nail in the coffin of their marriage. With him not around, Riddhima lost the will to pretend that she was happy in marriage. She'd only been pretending for Armaan's sake, to show him that she'd moved on, in hopes that he would as well, and also because she was afraid that if she didn't, he'd swoop in and try to make things right between them. Riddhima wouldn't be able to stop herself from giving into her advances, she knew. She'd always been weak when it came to Armaan, always drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

And, with Armaan absent, Sid didn't have a clue on what to do to impress his wife. He always felt like the key to winning Riddhima's heart was to emulate Armaan, and not be himself. He thought that because Riddhima was so in love with Armaan, if he could be like him, she'd fall for Sid too. But Sid never understood how there could only ever be one Armaan and no matter how hard he tried, whether he was Armaan or himself, Riddhima would never love anyone else.

With no one to help them sort things out, their marriage had crumbled quickly and both of them had wanted out from a relationship that only felt like a noose around their neck. Before, neither of them had realized how Armaan had always been a part of their relationship, but his absence had acutely reminded them of the fact that they had tried before Armaan, and had failed spectacularly at being happy, and even in being together.

"I… wow. I can't believe this," Armaan murmured. "Or, you know what? I actually can. You always had a penchant for ruining me for nothing, didn't you, Riddhima? Tell me, when you stood there, in front of me, in the locker room, telling me to let you go because you chose to remain faithful to the vows you made, did you already know that you'll leave your husband behind?

No, don't answer that. I don't want to know. Maybe you did, maybe you didn't. It doesn't matter. I understand why you did what you did. Marriage had always been sacred for you, and even if you were married to someone you didn't love, you still wanted to uphold the vows you made. I can't fault you for that. I won't ever. Because I know you, and I understand where you were coming from. It hurt me, and I think maybe it hurt you too, the separation and making me hurt, both. Over the years, I've forgiven you for that. Or maybe, I've just let it go, because you don't need my forgiveness for choosing the life you wanted to live.

But, what I don't understand is why you chose to lie. You knew I thought you were still married. I mean, what reason did I have to think otherwise? Yet, you never once corrected my assumptions. You let me believe that Sid was your husband. You lied to me. Why?"

"I… I didn't… I didn't lie, Armaan," Riddhima replied, her voice thick with tears. "I just… I didn't tell you the truth, yes. But I didn't lie."

"Funny how that works, isn't it?" Armaan questioned sarcastically. "Do you remember when I said those exact same words to you when you found out you were adopted? Or any other time since then? When I hid the truth, but never lied? You told me that hiding the truth was the same as lying. That just because it was a lie by omission doesn't mean it's okay. Tell me, why are the rules always different for the two of us? Why can you do the things you always hold against me? Why is it okay when you do this to me, but not when I do it?"

"Armaan…" She murmured, not knowing what to say.

"No, Riddhima. I trusted you. I thought you were my friend. I thought you'd never lie to me, not after what happened the last time. Even despite our history, despite all the hurt we've caused each other, despite knowing what's better for me, I let you in my life. I let you be a part of it, I told you things I didn't even tell Rahul.

You said you thought of me as your best friend, that you'd always thought of me that way, and I trusted you. I thought you actually meant it. I tried so hard to let go off my misgivings, to start afresh, a clean slate, for both of us. And this is how you repaid my trust. By lying. Why, Riddhima?" He asked her. "Did you never once think about me? About how I'd feel?"

"I never wanted to hurt you," she choked.

"Yet, you did. I think, at the end of the day, it's my fault. Knowing how things have always been between the two of us, I still harboured hope that this time, it would be different. That both you and I have had time to grow up and that we won't repeat the mistakes of our past and hurt each other the way we have. Guess I was wrong," he told her. "We can only ever hurt each other and nothing else."

"Armaan, please… Believe me… this was not my intention. Seeing you after so long, seeing you so happy… I didn't want to create any more discord. I thought the best thing for you would be to not tell you," Riddhima replied. "It was only because I thought that keeping this from you would be the best for you."

"Why are you telling me now, then? What has changed?" He questioned, and then suddenly realized what had. How could he have ever expected otherwise from her?

"Oh," he murmured. "You thought I was seeing Tamanna. But now that you know I'm not… You chose to tell me the truth. Right?"

Once again, Riddhima's silence was enough of an answer for him. "I don't even know what to say to you, Riddhima. You've broken my heart so many times, some days I'm surprised I still have a heart left to break. This was all my fault. I let you in, and you took advantage of my trust. But I know better. I'll never make this mistake again. It's better that way."

"Armaan, no! Please. Listen. I'm so sorry. So, so, so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I only wanted the best for you. And I didn't want you to hate me or think less of me. I'm sorry, Armaan. This was a mistake, but I'll never do something like this again. Please," Riddhima all but begged.

"I'm sorry, Riddhima," Armaan replied, finally letting his tears fall. Her words hurting him even more. I didn't want you to hate me. Wasn't this the same reason that he'd done the things he had? So that Riddhima wouldn't hate him? Is this how she'd felt when he'd lied to her all those times? If she did, it finally made sense to him why she'd always reacted the way she did. It hurt so much he didn't think he could breathe properly. "I don't trust you anymore. I don't think I ever will. This is better for both of us."

Saying those words that shattered both of them, Armaan turned around and walked away, closing the door behind Riddhima, possibly forever. 

____________________________________________

There we have it! The big reveal! 50 chapters in the making! 

W O W

This feels like the end of an era. All you people who waited for years just for Riddhima to be a decent human being and tell Armaan the truth, thank you for sticking with me! It's been a long journey, but finally, we're here and I'm so freaking glad! 

I hope Armaan's reaction was on point for you. He wouldn't lose his temper, not after everything, but of course, he was gonna be disappointed in how things panned out. Her breaking his trust is the crux of the situation and I hope that came across well. 

Any of you who think he would have reacted otherwise, I'm sorry but that's not my Armaan, not the Armaan who has grown up in these 7 years. He would never lose his temper, get the tiniest bit violent or handsy over this revelation. I hope you understand that and were not expecting a reaction like that.

So, yes! This is it. The big reveal. We move forward now, instead of being stuck and see how the aftermath of the reveal changes Armaan's attitude towards Riddhima and how the two of them reconcile after everything that has passed. I'll admit I don't have much of an idea on how to write the immediate aftermath of this, but I'll figure it out soon enough. I hope you'll be here when I do cause let's be honest, I know a lot of you were only waiting for this chapter and idk if you'll come back to this story now. :p

This is an Armaan-Riddhima endgame, so they will get together at some point, let me assure you of that. It'll just take a few chapters before Armaan decides to trust Riddhima again. 

Please drop me a line to let me know how you liked this chapter! I'm very anxious for feedback! Thank you! <3

Love, Prags