ILYLTF #5 (Chapter 145 - Page 110) - Page 59

The gang is so close to both, they actually have to pick sides for the wedding.

The side picking has turned into a battle of its own.

Why do they have to choose sides? Can't they attend from both?

Rahul has the perfect plan. Then they can all be together.

I had a teeny winie bit of inkling that rahul was thinking about propsal❤️. 

And the gang going all super excited, emotional when it came to choosing one side was damn awesome. 

Rahul is smarty..after all Asli maza sab k saath aata hai..

Most imp baat I wanna say is that whenever I read this ff it brings a big big smile on my face. I so eagerly wait for its updates..

Plz plz write soon.

Tc❤️

Ahh totally worth it.. 

The will part was so properly added to make her feel family. But i think not just will but if the in laws are behaving so much with luv and care thats what the girls need most. Nahi toh bahut ke naam pe toh itni ummeed hoti hai ki pucho maat. Suddenly ghar ka kaam karna bhi bhari padh jata hai logo ko. Anyway. 

Totally luved it bechara armaan he is missing out being the master of the planing andd arranging stuff.f beta apni shadi m toh aram se betho hahahahaha. 

I had a feeling sab ridhima ko hi oot karenge. Hahahahah bechara armaan baat samjh bhi rha hai but bura bhi lag rha hai. Thats the case with me most of the time. 

I do understand but again bura bhi lagta hai. 

Totally osome. 

Loved it!! Finally Armaan and his basket are getting marrieddd... 

wow mindblowing part.part ki liye bohot sukriya.love the part.sabko ridzy side se shadi attend karna hai.becara armaan.Ridzy armaan conversation is beautiful.love the their part.Rahul ne accha kiya jo problem hoya uska solution nikal diya 😍.Beautiful story.pls post the next asap.eagerly waiting for next part😘😍

Previously On...

The gang fights over who's side they'll attend the wedding from. Rahul asks Shashank and Billy if they can do all wedding ceremonies together to avoid the conflict.

Chapter 108

“I like this one,” Riddhima commented, showing Armaan a sample of a lavender colour swatch.

“That’s nice,” he agreed. “But what about this one?” He asked, showing her his own selection - a midnight blue swatch.

The two of them were deciding on a colour scheme for their bedroom, finally having some time to focus on the renovation of the house. The last few weeks had been extremely busy with wedding prep and they hadn’t gotten much time to work on the house. At first, Armaan had left all renovation decisions to Riddhima, but she had roped him in later, stating that they both had to live there so his opinion was just as important as hers.

“You know what, though?” Armaan added a few minutes later, “yeh dono colours achche hain, but they will definitely not match the photos I have up.”

“Armaan!” Riddhima whined. “Hum photos utaar denge.”

“Ph… Photos utaar denge? No way! Main apne photos nahi utaarunga,” Armaan replied.

“But tumhe photos kyu chahiye? Mujhe nahi chahiye! Hum utaar denge!” she asserted.

“No, Basket. Mera room hai toh main decide karunga ki photos utaarni hai ya nahi, and I say no!” he argued.

“Sirf tumhaara room hai kya? Mera nahi hai?” she asked.

“Woh jo bhi ho,” he muttered. “Photos toh nahi utrenge.”

“Armaan,” Riddhima moaned. “Please, humein pictures utaarne padenge, okay? Main poora din kya bas khudka chehra hi dekhti rahu?”

Armaan shrugged. “Did you think ki just because humaari shaadi hone wali hai main woh pictures utaar dunga?”

“Um… yes!” she exclaimed. “Mujhe aisa hi laga.”

“Basket,” he whined. “Tum aisa soch bhi kaise sakti ho. You know how much I love them!”

“Yeah, but… Armaan it will be so awkward for me! Tumne aisa nahi socha kya? What if you had to live in a room full of your photos?” She asked. Thinking for a second, she added, “You know what? Tum rehne do. Tumhe toh I’m sure bohot achcha lagega na aisa karna?”

“Of course,” he replied, grinning toothily.

“Lekin, Armaan, please! Let’s take down the photos,” she pleaded.

“Nope,” he answered, refusing to budge.

“Hum… hum mere photos ke badle hum dono ke photos bhi toh laga sakte haina? Please!” She bargained.

That definitely got Armaan interested. “I’m listening,” he urged. “Go on.”

“Um… it’ll be so nice na,” she added. “Itne saalon mein humaari jo bhi pictures hai, we’ll put them up.”

“Nah, that’s boring,” he said. “Puraane pictures kyu?”

“Puraane pictures nahi toh aur kaunse pictures?” Riddhima asked. “Ab kya photoshoot karwaye?”

“So smart, Basket!” Armaan exclaimed. “Mere saath rehke tum bhi bohot zyada intelligent ho gayi ho! Photoshoot karte hain!”

“Armaan! That was sarcastic,” she replied.

“Hoga sarcastic, but I love it! Hum karenge,” he asserted.

“No, Armaan! Abhi already hum itne busy hain. Itni saari tayyaari karni hai, itna sab plan karna hai. Aur ab yeh sab add karne ka time kahaan hai?” she asked, pretty rhetorically, but he answered anyway.

“Time nahi hai toh hum bana lenge, sweetheart!” He said. “Humaari life toh hamesha aise hi busy chalegi, but that’s no excuse na? And come on… tum nahi chaahti kya ki humaari cute wali couple type pictures ho? Abhi jo humaare paas hai, itni saari toh bas baaki sabke saath li hui hain. Sirf hum dono ki toh bohot kam photos hain. And… I mean, of course, we can put those pictures also up, but ek alag se sirf hum dono ka photoshoot hoga toh it’ll be so much fun!”

“I’m not saying it won’t be fun,” she explained. “Lekin Armaan abhi seriously time nahi hai.”

“Time nahi hai toh bana lenge!” He insisted. “I promise, I’ll take care of everything. Timing, bookings, place, clothes - sab kuch! Lekin fir tumhe photoshoot ke liye haan bolna padega.”

“If you can manage it without giving Rahul a heart attack, I’ll think about it,” she finally relented. Of course she liked the idea just as much as Armaan did, but she was the more practical one of the two of them and it was her job to reign him in when his ideas got too outlandish. But, she also knew that her fiance was a planner, and if someone could squeeze in a cute, romantic photoshoot that would probably take hours of their time in the middle of a (practically) new job, planning a wedding, and renovating a house, it was him.

“Okay, then!” Armaan cried. “Tum bas ready rehna, Basket! The photoshoot is so on.”

__________________

The photoshoot was so not on, if Rahul’s words were to go by. Armaan mere paas already bohot kaam hai, photoshoot ka time nahi hai abhi, or so it went.

“Dadduuuuuu!” Armaan whined. “Tu yeh sab chod na. Dekh… next Sunday shopping ka plan haina? Toh woh hum uske agle weekend ke liye postpone kar dete hain. And we can use that time for the photoshoot!”

Armaan had come up with the plan after carefully pouring over the calendar/planner Rahul had created for the wedding. Sunday seemed pretty doable to him. They were just gonna go buy some clothes that day. And it wasn’t even really important. All the stuff for the main wedding functions had already been selected and ordered, the first thing on the checklist for both Rahul & Anjali, seeing as fittings would take long.

Armaan was a little miffed about the secrecy surrounding the whole thing though. Rahul & Anjali had accompanied both him and Riddhima along with whoever else had been able to make it, not having other things to do, separately, on their shopping excursions. He knew they’d co-ordinated the outfits, but Armaan and Riddhima had not been able to see what the other would wear that day, because of course, Anjali wanted a dramatic impact. He respected where Anjali was coming from and knew it was for the best, but that didn’t help his sulking at all, because he really did want to see Riddhima all decked out like a bride as soon as possible.

But, he was getting sidetracked. He could daydream about how beautiful Riddhima would look on their wedding day later. Right now he needed to convince Rahul to ditch shopping in favour of the photoshoot. “Come on, Rahul!” He cried. “Tujhe pata hai main sahi keh raha hoon. Hum Sunday ko photoshoot kar sakte hain.”

Rahul sighed. “Main toh haan bol du, but shopping karne Anjy ko jaana hai. Said she needed to buy Riddhima some stuff. Tu usse convince kar le, toh phir maybe kuch ho sakta hai.”

“Ab Riddhima ke liye kya saamaan chahiye?” Armaan cribbed. “Har din agar aadha ghanta bhi free ho toh Anjy usse shopping le jaati hai.”

Rahul just gave him the side eye. “Fine! I know I’m exaggerating,” Armaan agreed. “But, shopping karne toh jaate haina woh dono? Aur kitni baar jaayenge?”

“Armaan,” Rahul explained, the picture of patience. “Riddhima apna sab kuch chodke tere saath rehne aane waali hai. Of course aisi bohot cheezein hain jo usse chahiye hongi jo hum dono ne sochi bhi nahi hogi. And you know Anjy is very particular about this stuff. Plus, she’s so protective over Riddhu. Toh obviously na… woh nahi chaahegi ki Riddhima wahaan uncomfortable ho. Plus, yehi toh ab thoda waqt hai jo woh dono akele spend kar sakte hain. They’re sisters, Armaan. Woh dono bachpan se saath rahe hain, but shaadi ke baad...”

“I know,” Armaan sighed. “But, Anjy ko itni tension nahi leni chahiye. I mean, main hoon na? Usse kya lagta hai? Main Riddhima ka dhyaan nahi rakhunga? Spending time together… I get. And main khud isliye aajkal Riddhima ko kahin leke nahi jaata itna, so that she spends more time with her family.”

Rahul nodded in understanding. He had observed that Armaan and Riddhima had significantly cut back on their date nights in the past few weeks. He’d thought that maybe it was because with everything else, they were tired, but of course, Armaan being the thoughtful man he was, was trying to give Riddhima more time with her family. It really was cute, the way Armaan cared so much about Riddhima and did all these little, and huge, things for her happiness.

“Ek baar Anjy se baat karle,” he advised, knowing that it had somewhat pinched Armaan that the very rigorous shopping regime that Anjali had Riddhima was to make her more comfortable in her new home.

“I will,” Armaan agreed. On a logical level, he knew that Anjali was only trying to help her sister, and he knew that it was stupid to expect that Anjali would not worry about Riddhima settling in in their home at all. It was only natural for Riddhima’s entire family to be worried, despite them knowing that Armaan would always look after Riddhima. But, was it really necessary for Anjali to take Riddhima shopping so often? He wouldn’t have thought much of it if it wasn’t a lot, but from what Riddhima had told him, Anjali had been taking her shopping at least thrice every week for the past month. To him, it seemed like Anjali was a tad bit too worried about the move. Determined to make things better, he resolved to talk to Anjali at the first possible opportunity.

_________________

Luckily for Armaan, the chance to speak with Anjali presented itself the very next day. He was on the same shift as Anjali for the day while Riddhima would be reporting for duty later, which left Anjali’s calendar empty for dinner. Anjali accepted his invitation readily albeit a bit confused. In all the time they’d been friends, the two of them had never gone out like this - just the two of them with no one else. Armaan was equal parts excited and terrified because while Anjali was definitely one of his best friends, this was new territory for both of them. He just hoped that the conversation would go well and Anjali would understand where he was coming from.

Wanting to make the whole outing a pleasant experience for both of them, he booked a table at one of Anjali’s favourite restaurants, away from the prying eyes and ears of the hospital staff, and dressed in his Sunday best. Suffice to say, Anjali was pretty impressed by it all.

“Very nice,” she commented as the two of them took a seat at a table in the back of the restaurant, giving them some semblance of privacy. Armaan grinned.

“Glad you like it,” he replied.

They took some time to browse the menu and then ordered food before Anjali turned into interrogation mode. “So?” She asked. “What gives? Aaj Ridzy ke badle mujhe dinner date pe kyu lekar aaye ho?”

Armaan chuckled. “You know what? I’m surprised ki tum khana order karne tak ruki. Warna mujhe toh laga tha ki tum mujhe ek second saans bhi nahi lene dogi before you start.”

“Haha, you’re so funny,” she taunted. “But seriously, what’s up?”

“What? Main tumhaare saath nahi aa sakta kya? Apni saali sahiba ke saath thoda time spend kar raha hoon, yaar,” he joked.

“Oh really?” She asked, not believing him at all.

Armaan raised his hands in surrender. “Fine!” He exclaimed. “I give up. Tum Gupta ladies se kuch bhi chupaana is next to impossible. I just wanted to talk to you about stuff.”

“What stuff?” She questioned.

“I just realized… jabse shaadi ki date fix hui hai… we haven’t really talked about it. What it means for you. I mean… I know you’re absolutely ecstatic for Riddhima and I. Lekin… Riddhima tumhe chodke mere paas aane waali hai… you must be feeling so sad. I mean… Riddhima behen hai tumhaari… tum dono bachpan se saath rahe ho. School, college, hospital, ghar… har jagah. Ab woh nahi hogi toh… I’m sure you’ll miss her,” he explained.

“Of course I’ll miss her,” Anjali replied. “Yeh bhi koi sochne ki baat hai kya? I’m going to miss her so, so, so much! But main usse jitna bhi miss karu, usse bohot zyada excited hoon ki finally tum dono ki shaadi hone wali hai aur tum officially mere brother-in-law ban'ne wale ho. Not that we need the wedding to make it official, but you know what I mean, right?"

Armaan nodded. "I'm excited too. But of course, meri excitement toh banti hai," he said, making Anjali chuckle.

"Of course," she agreed. "But you know? Ridzy kitni zyada excited hai? Frankly, I never imagined that. Tumhe pata haina, woh hamesha se Papa ki favourite rahi hai, and she's so close to him too. Jab bhi main uski shadi ke baare mein sochti thi na… I never imagined her to be so happy about it. So, I'm even happier. Ridzy loves you so much and mujhe pata hi ki tum bhi usse bohot zyada pyaar karte ho. But more than that… I know ki tum dono ek doosre ko hamesha khush rakhoge… and what more can I ask for? My sister and my best friend should be happy. Aur woh hone wala hai."

"Are you sure?" He asked her.

"Sure about what?" She questioned, confused.

"Ki main aur Riddhima khush rahenge?" He inquired.

"Armaan!" She scoffed. "Yeh bhi koi poochne ki baat hai? Since when are you so pessimistic about the two of you? Yeh Riddhima ka kaam haina?"

Armaan just shrugged in response, not wanting to say anything before Anjali had spoken. That was the entire purpose of this dinner, wasn't it? To make sure that he could figure out what Anjali thought of their relationship.

"Is this why you asked me out today?" Anjali asked, laughing. "Rehne do, don't answer that. Obviously you did. You're so cute, Armaan!" She stood up slightly to pull Armaan's cheeks for good measure.

"Waise, rahi baat tum dono ki… I obviously think ki tum dono ek saath bohot khush rahoge. Agar mujhe nahi lagta toh do you think I'd have been so excited about it? I know ki jab tum dono ke baare mein mujhe pata chala tha, I was skeptical about the two of you, and I mean… Tum samajh sakte ho na? You're my best friend lekin hum dono ko pata hai ki Ridzy ke pehle teri koi serious relationship nahi thi, so I wasn't even sure if you're actually in love with her or it's some passing infatuation or something. Lekin uske baad se ab tak, I've seen the two of you together a lot. You really love and respect each other a lot. Aur kya chahiye hota hai kisi relationship mein? Tum dono saath mein bohot khush rahoge. Aur tum toh… You spoil Ridzy so much… I know ki tumhaare saath, usse kabhi kisi cheez ki tension nahi hogi. Woh maangegi bhi nahi phir bhi tum uske liye sab kuch karoge. Apni behen ke liye aur better life partner kahaan milega mujhe?" Anjali asked rhetorically. Armaan barked out a laugh at that and turned away to discreetly wipe his eyes before any tears fell. Anjali was kind enough to let him have this though they both knew he'd gotten very emotional during her little speech.

"You really think that?" He asked her.

She raised her eyebrow at him in challenge. "Tumhe lagta hai ki main Ridzy ko leke aisa jhooth bolungi tumhe? Just to make you feel better?"

Armaan laughed. "Fair point," he conceded. "Lekin ek baat poochu tumse?"

At her nod, Armaan continued. "Agar tumhe aise lagta hai, toh then… Tum Riddhima ko itni baar shopping kyu leke jaati ho? I know ki obviously there's a lot to prepare… But jo main cheezein hain woh toh humne kar li hai already… And uske alawa thodi cheezein… That I get. But itni baar? And I know maybe I'm completely wrong… And I hope I am… Maybe iski kuch aur hi wajah hai… And maybe I'm overthinking and making it about myself when it's totally not… But… Kabhi - kabhi… I feel… I don't know… Mujhe aisa lagta hai that you don't trust me to look after Riddhima… Isliye tum yeh sab kar rahi ho.

And I get that it might be too narcissistic to make this about me. Riddhima tumhaari behen hai… She's going to move out forever… As an elder sister, you must be worried about her no matter how excited you are… Isliye I understand ki tum nahi chaahogi ki kuch gadbad ho. But I don't know. Sometimes it does feel that way."

Anjali looked at him for a minute and then burst out laughing. Armaan looked even more perplexed at her laughter than before. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I thought… this is just… It's so funny," Anjali finally managed to wheeze out.

"Anjyyyyy…" Armaan whined.

"Right, sorry," she said, calming herself down by drinking water. "Not your fault. Bas… You know? Ridzy ne mujhse kaha tha ki tum aisa hi kuch stupid interpretation karoge humaare shopping trips ka. But I didn't believe her. Mujhe sun'na chahiye tha na?"

There was no other way to say it. Armaan was pouting sulkily at Anjali, making her chuckle again. "But… Jeeju… You don't need to worry," she said and was graced with the tell-tale blush on his face. "I know aajkal hum kaafi shopping jaate hain but that's cause Riddhima is helping me with some stuff," she lied easily. After all, she wasn't about to let it slip that their multiple excursions were so that Riddhima could find him the perfect wedding gift.

Armaan breathed a sigh of relief. "Good… That's good. I'm sorry I put you on the spot like this. But… I promise, Anjali. Jaisa tum sochti hona… waisa hi hoga. I'll always keep Riddhima happy… no matter what. Tumhaara bharosa tootne nahi doonga. Riddhima means everything to me and I promise ki mere saath usse kabhi kisi cheez ki kami nahi hogi. I'll be the best husband I can be… and I will not let any of you down."

"I know," Anjali replied, standing up to walk to Armaan's side of the table and pull him into a hug. It was a testament to how worried he'd been that he hadn't even pressed her about what Riddhima was helping her with. It might be wrong of her to think that way, but she was weirdly happy about this entire conversation. It showed just how badly Armaan wanted to make sure that Riddhima's family knew that he'd take care of her. It really was too cute and she was so happy that her little baby Ridzy was marrying Armaan. No one else would ever be able to keep Riddhima so happy. She was absolutely sure about that.

--------------------

“Mujhe ab bhi believe nahi ho raha ki tune Anjy ko mana liya,” Rahul murmured. Armaan just grinned smugly in reply. After their discussion at dinner, Armaan had asked Anjali if she could postpone her shopping excursion for a weekend and she’d somewhat reluctantly agreed. So, the photoshoot had been a go, and Armaan was positively ecstatic.

They’d spent the last couple days going shopping for the photoshoot after work, and bright and early, had all gathered at the basketball court (because of course they had) for the photoshoot. It was mainly going to be a couple photoshoot for Armaan & Riddhima but they’d wanted some group shots as well, so the entire gang, and even Dr Shubhankar and Dr Keerti with their kids, were present.

When Rahul saw Riddhima skipping towards them, he smiled at her and left Armaan alone, wanting to give the couple what little privacy he could, and joined the others on the stairs of the court, as they all watched the photographers set up for the shoot. Rahul was surprised that Armaan had managed to get them on such a short notice, but then he’d discovered that Armaan had contacted Rakesh and things made sense. (In case you don’t remember, Rakesh is a classmate/friend of Armaan, Rahul, and Nikki’s since college who runs a wedding planning business. They reconnected during the reunion and have stayed in touch since then.)

“Hey, you!” Riddhima greeted Armaan, throwing her arms around his shoulders and snuggling into his back. Armaan laughed and bent a little, turning around so he could look at her and dropped a kiss to her cheek.

“Someone’s excited,” he commented.

“Yep,” she replied, not bothering to say anything else. Armaan grinned widely and turned around, pulling her into his arms for a hug.

“Ready when you are!” Anjali called out to them, breaking their moment.

“Aaye, Di!” Riddhima responded, pulling away from Armaan’s arms and walking towards the photographers with him in tow, their hands clasped firmly together.

They had a quick discussion about the various poses Armaan and Riddhima were going to try, thankfully already decided and cleared with the rest of the gang. They really didn’t have the time to hash it out right now knowing that it would turn into another debate with all of them. So, Riddhima had had the foresight to talk to the gang before the shoot, and all the screaming and shouting had happened the day before already.

Competitive as the two were, the first photo obviously had the two of them playing around the court, Riddhima dressed in her signature red and Armaan in his yellow. But, seeing as it was a photoshoot, they’d both gotten cuter jerseys than normal, with Riddhima’s reading Mallik with the number 7 and Armaan’s reading Gupta with the number 10.

And then, of course, Armaan had wanted a lot of cute pictures in the bunch, so they clicked one with Riddhima dribbling the ball while he hugged her from behind, just as he’d done a lot of times in hopes of stopping her from scoring a basket.

In another photo, Riddhima had jumped on his back as he carried her piggyback style, both of them laughing.

Finally, there were a few more of them playing at the court, mostly candids with the two of them having fun and the photographer capturing their moments together.

The last picture took a while to take as Riddhima balanced herself on top of a ball in front of Armaan. They both had their arms wrapped tightly around each other, making sure Riddhima didn’t lose her balance. It took a few tries to get it right, with Riddhima inevitably falling into Armaan’s arms, both of them laughing every time it happened. But, when she finally managed to stand on top of the ball, Armaan pulled her in close and kissed her nose, while she smiled widely. They got lots of photos of the entire thing and the photographer even managed to sneak a candid picture of when Armaan dropped a quick peck to Riddhima’s mouth.

And, then finally, they took a picture with the rest of the gang, who had all dressed in pale blues. The group shot was modelled to look like the start of a basketball game with Armaan and Riddhima in the middle of the court, both of them jumping up to catch the ball mid-air with the rest of their friends crowded around them, all of them in various stages of a jump too.

“Well… that was fun! Thanks for pushing for this, baby,” Riddhima told Armaan as the two of them sat on the steps of the basketball court. The rest of the gang was sitting on the court, gorging themselves down with pizza that Armaan had ordered as a thank you for their help with the shoot.

“Mmmm,” he hummed. “Lots of fun.”

He turned to the side and kissed Riddhima’s temple, nuzzling his nose in her hair, making her giggle. “Photoshoot toh achcha tha, but I hope ki photos bhi utni hi achchi aayengi.”

“Basket,” Armaan chuckled. “Of course photos achchi hongi. Tum aur main saath mein itne achche dikhte hain. Kabhi buri photo aayi hai kya humaari?”

“Hmmm, you’re right,” she agreed. “Tum please Rakesh se kehke photos jaldi mangwa lena. Mujhe dekhni hain.”

“Aapka har hukum saraankhon pe,” Armaan replied, making her blush. Unable to help himself, Armaan dropped a kiss at the top of her head, pulling her in closer.

“Riddhu! Armaan!! Saara pizza khatam ho jaayega!” Rahul called, making the two break apart.

Riddhima laughed as Armaan cursed their friends for interrupting yet again. She quickly stood up and gave her hand to Armaan who took it without a second thought. Pulling him to stand up, she ushered him inside the court, much to his annoyance, and took a seat next to Rahul, stuffing her mouth with some pizza as she did so.

Armaan sulked some more, but was appeased when Riddhima fed him some pizza and was more amenable to his friends’ company with Riddhima tucked into his side. They all recounted the day once again, talking about their favourite poses and how much fun they’d had during the shoot, making plans to do something similar once again when they had a chance. In the midst of it all, Riddhima snuggled into Armaan and smiled, happy to have her family together.

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Hello, everyone! Look who's here!

Let me just say, I am super proud of myself for this turnaround :P

I know it's been a month since the last update but I have literally been completely swamped since 21 August with stuff and only got free on Monday. So, yes, this super quick considering I wrote this in like 3 days. Let's hope this continues!

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed! Lemme know in the comments.

Love, 

Prags

Love it! Just started reading this (and re-reading this haha) and was wishing for an update soon. Thanks for the cute and quick update! Love the photoshoot idea!