gr8 part
yay anji n ridz already made friendsi hope that armaan is the one who talking to ridzcont soon
Originally posted by: sadique137
hi aimee. i am shamlaits not that i dont want to c them in an arranged marriagebut love after marriage for AR na that sounds boring but something like the movie vivaah will dour ff is truely different frm others
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One day Anjali and Riddhima were strolling over the beach area when a man passed by Anjali running while dropping something her. Anjali's dress got ruined, so Riddhima asked her to come to her home so that she could clean. Anjali agreed to go with her.
As they reached her house Anjali got surprised to see the house. She has been there many times earlier. It was Muskaan and Rahul's house. She turned towards Riddhima and asked her
"Yeh kaha aa gaye hum?"
"Mere ghar aur kahan" Riddhima replied.
"Tum yahan rahti ho?"
"Haan..." she replied ringing the door bell.
Before Anjali could say something else the door opened.
"Tu aa gayi... aaj itni jaldi?" Muskaan asked her opening the door. Her turned towards Anjali who stood behind Riddhima smiling. "Arey tum yahan achanak kaise aaj?" She asked Anjali.
"Main wo..." Anjali replied "Bas... aise hi" she looked down towards her dress.
"Yeh kya hua? Aao andar aao" Muskaan gave them way to enter.
Riddhima who was hearing their conversation looked confusingly at them and asked as soon as they entered "Aap dono ek dusre ko jante ho kya?"
"Haan hum dono to dost hain... tujhe bataya than a meri mumbai wali best friend... lekin tu iske saath kya kar rahi hai?" Muskaan replied.
"Actually hum dono bhi dost hain" Anjali said before replied could reply.
"KYA? Kabse? Kaise?" Muskaan was pleasantly surprised
"Offo... maine bhi to aapko bataya tha na meri beach wali friend ke baare mein, ye wohi to hain" Riddhima said. "Aap itni jaldi bhul gayi"
"Oh to yeh hai teri 'beach wali' friend" Riddhima nodded.
"Aur tum dono?" Anjali asked again.
"Yeh meri nanad hai... tujhe bhi bataya to tha maine" Muskaan replied.
"Oooo... to yeh hai baby..." Anjali chuckled "To iska matlab tum iske baare mein itni baatein karti rahti ho? Tabhi to... tabhi main sochti thi ke bina mile hi tumhari baby itni familiar si kyun lagti hai... she is really a baby" Riddhima had gone to the room to get the towel. "Bahut pyaari hai wo..." Anjali said
"Hmm... aakhir nanad kiski hai" Muskaan replied proudly.
Riddhima came back with the towel and gave it to Anjali. "Thanx baby" Anjali thanked her.
"Ufff... ab aap bhi? main baby nahi hu" Riddhima whined and stomped towards the room, while other two laughed.
"What a coincidence... isn't it?"
"Yes... but a very pleasant and sweet one" Anjali replied while cleaning her dress.
Muskaan also introduced Anjali to Padma and Shashank.
After that day it was all three of them met each other frequently at the beach and then at Muskaan's house. They would spend hours chatting and discussing things as usual. Whenever Muskaan and Anjali talk something secretive, Riddhima would just stare at them with a confused look trying to figure out what they are talking about, while the two will laugh at her puzzled baby face.
They will keep teasing her by calling her 'baby' which she always tried to protest. She tried to show that she understood everything but everyone knew that she actually didn't. She wasn't the one who could understand double meaning talks. That is why she was called 'baby'.
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It had rained early morning making all the roads wet and muddy. She stepped down from the Taxi and was waiting for the traffic to slow down so that she could cross the road. Her eyes fell on a girl of around 20 standing at some distance, leaning by a tree. She looked at her and found her fidging with her dress, it seems something was wrong with her.
Riddhima moved towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder "Excuse me... are you alright?"
"Mmmm... yes..." the girl replied. As Riddhima glaced at her back, she added "Actually no..."
She moved a little, Riddhima saw her dress a little torn from the back "Oh god, yeh to phat gayi hai..." she paused while the girl nodded " where do you live?" she asked her.
"Main yahan se thoda dur rahti hu aur mujhe wahan ke liye taxi bhi nahi mil rahi hai"
"ok... but its gonna rain again, tum waise hi bheegi hui ho and it will be even more difficult for you if you get wet again, I don't think you even have an umbrella... what will you do now?" Riddhima asked her.
"No I don't have one... that's what I was thinking what to do?" she was worried.
Riddhima thought for a moment and then said "Ok... if you don't mind you can come with me... may be I could help you..."
After waiting for a second the girl replied "ok..."
She followed Riddhima who took her to her house. She asked her to walk close to her so that her torn dress doesn't look exposed.
As they reached her home, she found the door locked. "Lagta hai ghar pe koi nahi hai"
Riddhima took out her copy of duplicate key and opened the door. Riddhima gave her a towel and said "Tum ek kaam karo khud ko thoda sukha lo aur yeh meri dress pahan lo... aur apni shirt mujhe de do, main abhi use theek kar deti hu"
The girl did what was told. Riddhima took her shirt and stitched it carefully. Since it was all muddy, she put it in the machine for the wash.
She held a coffee mug in front of her. "Coffee?"
"Thanx"
"Tumhari shirt maili ho gayi thi, maine dhone ko daal di hai"
"Arey lekin iski koi zaroorat nahi thi"
"Koi baat nahi, abhi saaf ho jayegi bas..." Riddhima replied politely.
The girl was amazed. She was a city local, who was born and brought up in the same city, but except a few exceptions in her life, she had never seen such a helpful person who would not hesitate to offer a helping hand to a stranger without a second thought "Apka naam kya hai?" she asked her.
"Riddhima... aur tumhara?"
"Minnie..."
"To Minnie tum kya karti ho?" she asked her generally.
"Main student hu... I went to some place with my friends today and while coming back all this happened..."
***BEEP-BEEP***
"Lagta hai tumhare kapde tayyar ho gaye..." She brought her clothes and gave it to her "Ye Lo... main abhi aati hu"
She came back with an umbrella.
"I think I should leave now" Minnie said.
"Ye rakh lo..." she gave her an umbrella and a shawl too.
"Lekin iski koi zaroorat nahi hai..."
"Zaroorat kyun nahi hai? Bahar phir se bearish hone wali hai aur tumhari dress phir se bheeg gayi to shawl hi kaam ayega na... mere bhaiya ghar pe nahi hai warna wo tumhe chod aate tumhare ghar..."
Minnie was really pleased to meet such a sweet and caring girl. "Thanx a lot... I will never forget what you have done... you are really sweet" she said.
"You too... arey haan ye mera number hai" Riddhima smiled at her and gave her, her number. "Ghar pahunchate hi mujhe inform kar dena that you reached safe..."
"Ok..." she took the number happily "Thanx again... Bye..."
"Bye... aur sambhal ke jaana" Riddhima instructed her again.
Afte that day coincidently, they met again 2-3 times. Eventually they became good friends. Minnie just like all others realized that Riddhima was surely a different and gullible girl. She found that thought Riddhima was elder than her, but she wasn't aware of many things. She was very happy to have a new friend who was more like a caring elder sister... a sweet, lovable and innocent elder sister.
Riddhima too was very happy. She had always been a baby of her house, the youngest one. Now she had someone younger in her life she could share talks with. They both clicked very easily and it became a routine for them to meet each other regularly.
Their families were very pleased for them to have such sweet companions. Specially Minnie's parents were ecstatic, as except Riddhima most of her friends were very outgoing and ultra-modern and somewhat spoilt. They were relieved to see atleast one pure soul added to their daughter's friend circle.
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Minnie and Riddhima would go out for lunch or shopping at times. One day they were sitting in a caf' having lunch.
"Riddhima Di... ek baat kahu bura mat manna"
"Haan pucho na..."
"Aap na thodi buddhu ho..."
"Kya matlab?"
"Mera matlab aap kisi pe bhi bahut jaldi bharosa kar leti ho..."
"Lekin ismein burayi kya hai... vishvaas se hi to rishtey bante hain"
"Haan maanti hu. Lekin har kisi pe bhi yuhi bharosa nahi karna chahiye... Khaaskar kisi bhi ajnabee aadmi pe... ye shahar dher saare bure logon se bhara hai... aur aapke jaisi seedhi-saadi aur innocent ladkiyon ka fayeda uthane ko sab humesha tayyar rahte hain"
"Achcha..." Riddhima thought for a while "Mujhe to yahan ke baare mein jyada kuch nahi pata... tumhe bataya tha na... hum log yahan abhi kuch hafte pahle hi shift hue hain..."
"Haan lekin ye sab baatein to har jagah ke liye apply hoti hain" Minnie said.
"Wo actually yahan aane se pahle maine kabhi bhi koi kaam independently nahi kiya... aur main jahan bhi jaati thi, mere saath koi na koi jaroor hota tha..." She placed a hand on Minnie's "Tum to yahin ki rahne wali ho aur sab kuch janti ho yahan ke logon ke baare mein... mujhe bhi batao na kuch" she asked her curiously.
"Ok... I will tell you" she told her a lot of things about the local people. She also advised her not to believe any stranger easily. After she was done she thought of teasing her a bit. So she lastly added "Aur sabse jaroori baat... Ladkon se to khaas kar savdhaan rahna... yahan ke ladke bahut chalu hain, jahan khubsurat ladki dekhi nahi, bas flirting shuru... dikhne mein to achche-khaase handsome hote hain, lekin meethi-meethi baatien karke aapko bewakuf banaane ki koshish karenge... aur agar unhe thoda bhi shaq ho gaya ki aap ek bholi-bhaali ladki ho to aapko jaan bhujh kar preshaan karenge... aapka peecha karenge... apko tease karenge... aur aapka fayeda bhi uthane ki koshish karenge... unse to aap dur hi rahna"
"Achcha..." Riddhima looked surprisingly "Kya tumhe lagta hai main aisi hu?"
"Aur nahi to kya... tabhi to aapko samjha rahi hu" Minnie told her.
"Theek hai main kabhi kisi ko pata nahi lagne doongi ki main bholi-bhaali hu..." she replied innocently making a grave face, while Minnie smiled at her reply. She knew that whatever Riddhima say or do, she will still remain innocent. She was one exception in this world. Minnie was aware that though she has alerted her, she still could not understand a lot of things. But atleast she will stay away from strangers, its will be safe for her.
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She was reading some papers while waiting for a taxi standing at the taxi stand. Suddenly one of the papers flew from her hand and landed in the middle of the road. She ran to catch it. As she bent down to pick it up a loud sound made her squeez her ear and close her eyes in fear.
**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHH**
"What the hell..." he cursed as he opened the door and stepped down form his Metallic Blue Bugatti Veyron. He saw a girl sitting on her knee with her hands covering her ear and eyes closed tightly and head bent towards the road. He ragely marched towards her, but then composing himself he bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ok?" he asked a little worriedly. She jerked it away and suddenly stood up angrily.
"hey you... don't you have any gray cells to use... cant you see people on the road...?" she shook her finger as she shouted on him, but as she saw his face, she gasped. He was tall and muscular wearing red sunglasses. She needs to handle him carefully. He was stronger than her.
He was taken aback at her sudden reaction but retorted "Listen I was just asking you if you are ok and..."
"Oh really, first of all you almost crushed me under your stupid car and now you are asking me if I am ok?" she yelled at him. She was a little slender girl wearing a simple suit with her dupatta covering her chest. She wore no makeup and her glasses seems as they were bought in 19th century. But something was still very different about her. No actually a lot.
"Hey listen it's not my fault ok... I was driving on the right track , but it was 'YOU', who suddenly came in my way... and by the way, this is not the place for you to play your stupid stapoo games."
"I wasn't playing any stapoo games here... I was..."
"Whatever you were doing, I am not interested, just move, I have to rush" he pushed her away as he picked up his phone as it rang. "Hello... yes I am on my way" He turned around to see her still standing in front of his car "Didn't you hear what I said... MOVE... I have to go..." but she didn't move. How dare he talk to her like that? "Alright what do you want? Money?... here... take" he placed a number of 500 rupee notes in her hand and walked back towards the driving seat.
Her mouth hung open, she marched angrily towards him and turned him sround. Stuffing the notes back in the upper pocket of his jacket, she yelled "HOW DARE YOU? What do you think of yourself huh... you almost hit me and then instead of apologizing you are throwing your dirty money on me..." but before she could continue further he pushed her away and drove away.
She picked a stone from the road and threw it on his car as she saw him driving off, while he looked at her in the rear view mirror huffing angrily in the middle of the road and nodded.
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EPISODE SEVENTEEN
"Idiot... stupid... moron... paaji' badmaash kahin ka..." she cursed umpteenth times as she sat on the chair.
"Kya hua Di... kise itna kos rahi ho?" Minnie asked as she saw her making faces.
"Tha ek... ek... ek MONSTER" she said "Tumne theek kaha tha Minnie... yahan ke ladke bahut badtameez hain..."
"Lekin hua kya, ye to batao" Riddhima told her what happened of course skipping her own mistake like a kid who don't want any blames on herself "Oh god are you alright?"
"Yes I am ok... but he was very rude... pata nahi kahan se aaya tha... lekin maine bhi achchi tarah suna diya use, ab phir kabhi kisi ladki ke saath badtameezee nahi karega" Riddhima said.
"Achcha theek hai ab baitho... forget him... Muskaan bhabhi abhi aati hi hongi agar tumhe aise dekhegi to worry karengi" Minnie tried to calm her.
"You are right Minnie... waise bhi he is not worth it"
A few minutes later Muskaan and Anjali came back from their shopping. Minnie told them what happened ans as usual they fussed over Riddhima shooting atleast millions of questions. Riddhima told them that she is absolutely fine and will be careful from next time.
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"Gosh..." he threw his bag angrily. Loosening his tie he sat on his bed and tried to remove his shoe, but his temper was giving him a hard time.
He entered his room and saw him fiddling with his shoes looking very mad "Hey Superman..."
"Hi buddy..." Armaan looked up and replied.
Vaibhav saw him still fiddling with his shoe "Kya hua Chachu... aaj aapse ek shoe bhi nahi nikal raha... kya Superman ke fuel finish ho gaya hai?" Vaibhav joked.
He left his shoe in irritation and threw himself back on his bed "nahi yaar mood kharaab hai"
"Kyun kya hua?" he asked
"Bas kisi se jhagada ho gaya" he replied.
"Armaan?" their conversation was interrupted by dadi "Shukr hai to theek thaak ghar aa gaya..." she looked extremely worried while Armaan watched them with a confused face.
"Tum to Banglore jaane wale the na..." Anjali asked him as he sat up.
"Haan par jaa nahi paya... flight miss ho gayi... lekin aap log itna pareshaan kyun lag rahe ho?"
"Thank god tumhari flight miss ho gayi hum sab to darr hi gaye the" Aarti added.
"Lekin hua kya?" He asked again.
"Jis flight se tum jaane wale the wo kharaab weather ki wajah se Banglore se thoda pahle crash ho gayi... suna hai koi nahi bacha..." Anjali informed him.
"Oh... main actually airport ke liye late ho gaya tha" As his phone rang he answered it immediately "Hello... yes dad... I am fine... don't worry... I am home... no I missed my flight... ok... don't worry I will take care of everything" he cut the call.
Dadi asked Aarti to bless him to save from evil's eyes. Aarti did some 'nazar-utarna-rituals' on him and asked him to come down for the dinner.
At the dinner table the whole family including Omang and Atul sat discussing what happened
"Lekin teri flight aaj miss kaise ho gayi? Tu to bahut punctual hai... aur aaj pahli baar aisa hua hai ki tu kisi flight ke liye late hua ho" Atul asked him.
But before Armaan could answer his buddy did the honor "Chachu ka kisi se jhagda ho gaya tha... to wo late ho gaye..."
"Kya? Jhagda ho gaya tha? Kis se? kahin tujhe lagi to nahi?" Aarti fussed again.
"Arey nahi mom, it was just a little argument... nothing to worry..." he replied.
"Khair wo jo koi bhi tha... we are grateful to him... aaj usi ki wajah se teri flight miss hui aur jaan bhi bach gayi" Dadi added.
'Tha' nahi dadi 'thi' he thought. She was a little wild cat. He smiled thinking of his confrontation with the girl in the middle of the road. But then he shooked it away. Whats wrong with him? He was mad at her a few hours ago and now he is smiling thinking about her. But she was such a little and weak girl, yet she had the courage to confront a strange muscular man. His chain of thought was broken by Vaibhav,
"Chachu chalo na... play station pe khelenge"he pulled Armaan with him.
"Haan theek hai... chal"
"Arey lekin khana to kha lo" Omang interrupted.
"Bas ho gaya dad..." He left with Vaibhav.
"Kya baat hai maa... aap bahut pareshaan lag rahi ho" Omang asked her as he saw her looking worriedly at Armaan leaving.
"Haan maa kya baat hai?" Aarti noticed it too.
Dadi sighed "Humein jald se jald kuch karna hoga... warna kahin der na ho jaaye"
"Kyun dadi kya hua?" Atul asked her.
"Guruji ne kaha tha ki Armaan ki kundali mein aane wale kuch samay ke liye durghatna (accident) yog hai..." All 5 head jerked towards her as she informed.
"Omma yeh kya kah rahi ho aap dadiji?" Shaguna, the maid covered her mouth with surprise.
"Main theek kah rahi hu... Guruji ne kaha hai ki uski jaan ko khatra hai..."
There was a pin drop silence for a while. Then breaking the silence Anjali asked "Lekin Guruji ne kuch upaay bhi to bataya hoga?"
"Bataya hai na... unhone kaha hai ki agar sahi ladki se uski shaadi ho jaye to us ladki ki kundali ke prabhav se Armaan ki jaan pe khatra tal sakta hai... tabhi to main baar-baar tum sabse uski shaadi ke baare mein kahti rahti hu... mujhe yakeen hai, aaj ka ye hadsa uski kundali ke bure yog ki wajah se hi tha... Aaj to kisi tarah uski jaan bach gayi, lekin pata nahi aane wale samay mein kya hoga"
"Aap chinta mat kijiye maa hum kuch na kuch jaroor sochenge" Omang tried to reassure her.
"Haan dadi... main apne circle mein phir se ki ladki dhundhati hu..." Anjali said.
"Main bhi..." Aarti added.
"Haan lekin dhyaan rahe ladki koi aisi-waisi nahi honi chahiye... kahin jaldbaazi mein koi bhi ladki mat pakad lana" Atul said grimly.
"Tumhe uski chinta karne ki zaroorat nahi hai... tum bas itna pata lagao ki kahin Armaan ki zindagi mein already koi ladki to nahi hai? Itni saari ladkiyaan rahti hain uske aage peeche, aur kuch to uski so-called-girlfriends bhi hain. Hum nahi chahte ki agar wo kisi ko already pasand karta hai to use chod ke hamari pasand se shaadi kare." Anjali said.
"Haan agar koi ladki hai uski zindagi mein to humein koi aitraaz nahi, rahi baat uski kundali ki, to uska bhi koi na koi solution nikal jayega... kyun maa?" Omang said.
"Theek kaha aur Atul tum use shaadi ke liye raazi karne ki koshish karo" Dadi told him.
"Ok Dadi..." He replied.
So it was decided that Mission Marriage will be on full zing now.
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Anjali, Aarti, Dadi, Omang, Atul, everyone began their Bride-Hunt. They sweeped over thousands of girls' profile within few weeks. Even Vaibhav was aware of the 'Important Errand' his elders were busy with & was strictly instructed by them not to disclose the secret to Armaan. Vaibhav was equally excited about his Chachu's marriage so he agreed on with full support. Armaan was still oblivious of this sudden boosted craze in his family as he got busy with his work.
On the other hand, Riddhima was doing a great job at her work place. Soon she got quite busy with her work and got little chance to meet her new friends. Even her family was getting a little apprehensive about her marriage as a lot of people had started asking about it. They have tried to discuss it with Riddhima a few times, but everytime, her response stopped them to proceed.
That day Rahul went to pick her up from her office. As he entered, he saw a man standing outside Riddhima's cabin. He was staring at something inside her cabin. On moving a little ahead, Rahul realized that it was Riddhima he was staring at. Somewhere Rahul didn't liked the way he was looking at her. Something told him that its not the way, a decent man would ever look at a girl.
He cleared his throat "Ahem-Ahem..." the man immediately slipped away from there not even looking at Rahul properly. It seemed as if he was caught red-handed doing some crime. The way he moved and hid his face while leaving told Rahul that his opinion wasn't completely wrong. He knocked her door.
"Come in..." she replied.
"SURPRISE!" he exclaimed.
"Bhaiya..." Riddhima ran to hug him. She was delighted to see him there "Aap yaha kya kar rahe ho?" she asked him.
"Aaj kaam jaldi khatam ho gaya aur main ghar jaa raha tha... to socha ki tujhe saath leta chalu. Kyun theek kiya na?"
"I am so happy... bilkul theek kiya..." she kissed his cheek.
"chalein phir..."
"Chaliye...' she collected her stuff and and followed him.
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Next day, she saw him standing on her door again. She was happy to see him again.
"Arey bhaiya aap aaj phir se?" Riddhima asked him.
"Kyun main kya aaj phir se tujhe lene nahi aa sakta?"
"baithiye na... sorry bhaiya bas thoda kaam baaki hai phir chalte hain..."
"Arey koi baat nahin... tu karle apna kaam... main wait karta hu..."
Rahul had purposely come to her office. He wanted to stay and check something. "Riddhima rest room kahan hai?" he asked her.
"Baahar right jaakar phir left mein at the end of the corridor" she told her.
"Theek hai main abhi aata hu... tu tab tak apna kaam khatam kar le" he smiled.
"ok..." she got busy with her work.
As he moved out, he checked a number of small cubicals in the hall area. He moved towards the right side. Suddenly his eyes fell inside on the blinds of the cabin adjacent to Riddhima's cabin, which were left a little open. He saw the same man sitting in his chair in a weird pose, with a girl sitting on his lap. From the place he could see, only the back of his head was visible. But even a blind could tell what he was doing with the girl. He felt disgusted and moved back to Riddhima's cabin. They left as soon as she was done.
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"Yash tujhe pata hai mere chachu to superman hain" Vaibhav beemed. Yash and Vaibhav studied in the same school.
"Achcha kya wo bhi ud sakte hain?" Yash asked surprisingly.
"Arey nahi... superman ka matlab ye thode hi hota hai ki wo ud sakte hain... Superman to use kahte hain jo bahut strong hote hain, studies mein first aate hain, aur jo sabse achche hote hain aur sab kuch kar sakte hain... aur haan wo bahut handsome bhi hote hain..."
"To kya tere chachu bhi bahut strong hain?"
"Haan aur nahi to kya... tu jab unse milega na to dekhna... mere chachu sabse strong aur handsome hain..." Vaibhav boasted.
"Achcha agar tere paas superman hai to mere mere paas bhi to ek angel hai... bilkul pari jaisi" Yash said while munching his lunch.
"Achcha wo kaun?" Vaibhav asked him with surprise.
"Arey tu bhi janta hai unhe... meri Riddhima bua..." as Yash said that Vaibhav laughed at him.
"Teri Riddhima bua bahut sweet hai, lekin wo Pari jaise to nahi rahti..."
"Kya matlab?"
"Pari to bahut mahangi dress pahanti hai, aur dher saari jewellary bhi aur wo to bilkul achche se makeup karti hai"
"Tujhe Superman ke baare mein to pata hoga, lekin Angels ke baare mein kuch bhi nahi pata... Angels to wo hoti hai, jo bahut sweet hoti hai, jo sabko pyar karti hai, jo sabke liye sab kuch karne ko ready rahti hai, jo chot lage to bandage bhi karti hai, jaise Riddhima bua ne teri ki thi, aur jo bahut innocent bhi hoti hai aur meri Riddhima bua to world ki sabse sundar bua hai..." Yash explained proudly.
"Achcha... phir to teri Riddhima bua sach mein Angel hain"
"Tu to Angel se mil chukka hai, par mein to abhi tak Superman se nahi mila" Yash complained.
"Wo chachu bahut busy rahte hain na... but don't worry I will bring him with me someday, tab tu unse mil lena"
"OK..." Yash replied happily.
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Well as you know Riddhima is a baby in the sense that she is NOT aware of the shrewdness and disgust s about people and outside world... BUT... even 'Babies' yell and shout.
She shouted on Armaan as she thought he is just another guy who is trying to be overfriendly and sweet with her - a stranger. Her mind was very much preoccupied by the 'IDEAS' Minnie had filled with. Remember the 'FIGHT SCENE' was preceded by her conversation with Minnie. So she is a BABY to blindly believe her friend, not even giving it a 2nd thought.
Now another reason is, she was scared and Yelling is one way to shrug off ones fear. You must have seen kids or infant crying louder when they get scared. Same thing Riddhima did here, the only difference is, as she is a bigger almost 26 year old girl who dont want to show it to a strong muscular stranger that she is gullible, she picked to SHOUT instead of wailing. It was one of her way to keep herself safe as not even a strong man would try to hurt her in a public place. Also she tried to cover her mistake by yelling at him, just the way kids do. (not only kids, even elders do it many times).
Another reason is, if you people remember one of the episode when I started off with the main story, I mentioned that her though her basic nature of being a shy, innocent girl will remain the same, but her behaviour and conduct will be changing coz of her transformed circumstances and surrounding. For last few years, she was treated like a baby of her family, who will get pampered in most ways, and so she opened up to express her irritation and sometimes anger too, which I am sure you must have realized by the way she responds whenever she is referred 'Baby'.
EPISODE EIGHTEEN
"Please mumma..." Vaibhav whinned.
"Vibhi no... maine kaha na" Anjali said firmly getting him ready for the school.
"But mumma... It will take only few minutes..." he said.
"Vibhi zid nahi karte... use bahut kaam hai"
"kise bahut kaam hai... kya hua Anjie... whats up buddy?" Armaan asked them.
"Kuch nahi tum jao tum office ke liye late ho rahe hoge..." Anjali said.
"Lekin baat kya hai?" he kept his bag down and sat on the couch.
"Chachu, main mumma ko kah raha tha ki unki jagah agar aaj aap mujhe school se pick karloge to koi problem to nahi hai..." Vaibhav replied.
"Haan to ismein problem kya hai? Main pick kar loonga" Armaan said.
"But Armaan you have a busy schedule and I don't want your work to suffer because of him"
"Anjie... don't worry about my work, I will manage it... aur tum mere aur mere partner ke beech nahi aaogi, understand... waise bhi everything comes after my buddy... kyun buddy?" he took Vaibhav in his arms.
"Right" Vaibhav hi-fived him.
"Theek hai as you wish" Anjali gave up. She knew there was no point arguing with two of them.
"To Chachu you will come to pick me today"
"Of course I will... what time?"
"3 O'Clock"
"3 O'Clock Alright... chal tujhe school bus tak chod deta hu"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was around 2 O'Clock. He strolled over the mall checking out a few things. His went to the confectionary counter and bought 2 big chocolate bricks. He always kept some extra stock for his buddy. He turned around and decided to meander for a little longer as he still had time to pick him up. Armaan was passing by a shop, when his eyes fell on something.
He entered the shop and saw a number of women accessories lying inside the glass slab. There were rings, bracelets, earrings, anklets, necklesses etc. But his eyes fell on one anklet which had 'ghunghrus'. His hand involuntarily slipped in his pocket and felt something in it. He took out the same bracelet with gunghrus he picked from Hotel Regal. 'HER BRACELET'. He smiled shooking them, he just loved the sound of those Ghunghrus.
The lady at the counter asked him, "May I help you sir?"
"No... thanx" he replied politely, he turned to go but suddenly he thought of something and turned backtowards her. "Actually yes... do you also polish old jewelry?" he asked her.
"Yes sir, we do... what do want to get polished?"
He showed her the ghunghrus "This..."
The woman looked at the ghunghrus and then at him strangely. She took it from him and replied "sure sir... what kind of polish you want?"
"Anything which is the BEST..."
"Ok... so I will get it done through electrolysis and you want the same silver or is that the gold?"
"The same silver, see to it that it doesn't loose its original color" he said sternly "and don't worry about the cost, just take care nothing happens to it..." then looking down towards the bracelet smilingly he almost whispered to himself "its special..."
"Did you say something sir?" she asked him again.
"No... when can I get it back?"
"You can take it tomorrow"
"Alright then" he gave her his business card "Inform me when its done, My name is Armaan Malik..." and he left with that.
"Lagta hai kisi khaas ki amaanat hai" the lady smiled as he left and kept it in safe place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he came out of the accessory shop and turned, he bumped into her.
"Gosh"... "Uff..." were the simultaneous sounds from either side.
Armaan saw a bag with its contents scattered on the floor. He bent down to help her with the fallen stuff while she rubbed her head sitting on the floor.
As he gathered her stuff to help, without looking at him she said "Thanx" but then seeing his face she shouted "TUM?"
He looked up at her and the same reply came "TUM?"
She got up to face him " Tum phir se aa gaye? Aur dekh ke nahi chal sakte kya?" she made a face.
Armaan apologized "I am sorry I didn't realize you are coming that way"
Riddhima was about to say sorry, but then Minnie's words rang in her mind "Ladkon se to khaas kar savdhaan rahna... yahan ke ladke bahut chalu hain, jahan khubsurat ladki dekhi nahi, bas flirting shuru... dikhne mein to achche-khaase handsome hote hain, lekin meethi-meethi baatien karke aapko bewakuf banaane ki koshish karenge... aur agar unhe thoda bhi shaq ho gaya ki aap ek bholi-bhaali ladki ho to aapko jaan bhujh kar preshaan karenge... aapka peecha karenge... apko tease karenge... aur aapka fayeda bhi uthane ki koshish karenge... unse to aap dur hi rahna"
Lagta hai ise shaq ho gaya hai... she thought, but I wont let him make a fool out of me. So she retorted again "Oh yeah... but even I am sorry that you wont get what you want... Sharam nahi aati aisi harkatein karte hue?"
He was confused. What is she talking about? "What? Hey listen I was just helping you..."
"Helping me huh? I know everything... sab jaanti hu tum jaise ladkon ke baare mein..."
"Lekin maine kiya kya? Main yahan se aa raha tha, tum wahan se aa rahi thi... dono ne ek dusare ko aate nahi dekha aur takkar ho gayi... that's it, whats a big deal?"
"BIG DEAL? Its not one for you mister, but IT IS for me..." she tried to act brave "main... main koi doosari ladkiyon ki tarah bholi-bhaali nahi hu ke tum jise bewakuf bana loge"
"I am sure you are not like others" he mumbled to himself combing his hair in irritation.
"What did you say? Say it loud... jo kehna hai zor se bolo... main jaanti hu ladkiyon ko pareshaan karne ki tricks hain na yeh sab tumhari?" she said.
Now it was Armaan's turn to retort back "WHAT? What do you mean? Listen I don't need to play tricks to get some girl..."
"KYUN... tum kahi ke Prince ho?" she rose her voice again.
He was about to answer but then the alarm of his phone rang. He was getting late. So he let go and without wanting to continue further, he just ran past her, leaving her confused and angry once again.
"Bhaag gaya... huh... samajhta hoga ki mujhe bewakuf bana lega... but I am not a fool... THANX Minnie..." she spoke to herself and picking up his bag, she marched in the opposite direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At 3 O'Clock
He glanced at the classroom door umpteenth time. It seems as if the time has stopped. Yash saw him restless so asked "kya hua... tu aaj baar-baar baahar kya dekh raha hai?"
"Aaj bell kyun nahi baj rahi?" Vaibhav replied irritably.
"Time to hone de... baj jayegi... par tu kya dekh raha hai?"
"Arey aaj mere Chachu mujhe pick karne aayenge"
"Kya? Superman aayenge aaj?" Yash asked him excitedly. Ever since Vaibhav have told him about Armaan, he was very curious to meet him.
"Haan... maine aaj unhe mujhe pick karne ko kaha hai"
Suddenly the bell rang. Vaibhav and Yash collected their stuff, pushed them in their bags and ran towards the gate.
"Kahan hai Superman?" Yash asked as soon as they reached the main gate.
"Yahin kahin honge... wo kabhi late nahi hote" his eyes fell on Armaan who stood with his back towards them. He was talking to somebody on the phone "Wo rahe" he pointed towards Armaan. "Chal..." he told Yash who ran with him towards their Superman. "Chachu!" Vaibhav hugged his legs from behind.
"Buddy!" Armaan turned around to and hi-fived him. "Lo main aa gaya" he picked Vaibhav in his arms and gave him a big Chocolate and winked, who winked back at him.
Yash stared at the handsome-muscular man standing in front of him with amazement. Vaibhav was right. His chachu was very-very handsome and strong.
"Ab chalein?" Armaan asked Vaibhav.
"Ek minute chachu" he slid down from his arms. "Mujhe aapko apne best friend se milwana hai"
"Ok... no problem... kahan hai wo?" Armaan asked politely.
"Ye raha" he held Yash's hand "Yash ye mere Armaan chachu hain aur chachu yeh mera best friend Yash" he introduced them like an elderly grown up guy.
Armaan held his hand out "Hi Yash"
"Hi Superman" Yash replied still staring at him with amazement, while Armaan looked at Vaibhav puzzled who explained him.
"Maine use aapke baare mein bataya hai ki aap Superman ho"
"Oh..." Armaan smiled and shook his head. He took out another chocolate and gave it to Yash.
"Thank you" yash thanked him taking the chocolate happily.
"So Yash kaha rahte ho tum?" he asked Yash.
"Apne ghar" he replied.
Armaan laughed at his reply. "Alright, but I was asking you coz if you want I can drop you home as well or you wanna go by your school bus?"
Vaibhav and Yash both were excited about the idea "haan Yash aaj tu bhi humaare saath chal... chachu tujhe chod denge" Yash agreed immediately.
Armaan informed their school bus' driver that he will drop Yash his home who agreed without any questions. Of course, everyone knew Armaan Malik, the great business tycoon. Both the kids sat in his car. Yash was amazed to see the wonderful Metallic Gray Ferrari F430 Spider. He has never seen such a wonderful sports car earlier. Armaan had quite a collection of wonderful cars and bikes. He loved them all.
Armaan dropped Yash at his home. He didn't recognize that is was Rahul's home as he has recently shifted his home after his parents and Riddhima's arrival and ever since then Armaan never got a chance to visit them at their new place.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shashank and Padma sat on the mat knitted with hay sticks on the floor. They saw him sitting with his eyes closed, meditating. After chanting some mantras, he opened his eyes slowly and smiled at them.
"Pranaam Guruji" Padma and Shashank greeted him by touching his feet. Guruji lived in his Ashram near UttarKashi. Padma and Shashank visited him regularly atleast once in a year since last 20 years now.
"Sadaa kush raho" Guruji blessed them "Aur sunao Shashank sab kaisa chal raha hai?"
"Bas aapke aashirwaad se sab bahut achcha hai Guruji" he replied.
"Mere aashirwaad se nahi, balki us pyaari si bachchi ke shubh kadmo ki wajah se kaho... kaisi hai wo?"
"Bahut khush hai... hum sab log Mumbai shift ho gaye hain... wo bhi wahin job kar rahi hai..." Padma said smiling.
"Tum bahut badal gayi ho Padma..." he said "Lekin achche ke liye... mujhe khushi hai ki tumne apni galatiyaan sudhaar li hain"
"Theek kahte hain aap Guruji... hum log to bahut bure halaat mein jee rahe the... pahle to mujhe ehsaas hi nahi tha, lekin ab sochti hu to sab saaf-saaf nazar aata hai... jabse Riddhima ke kadam hamaare ghar mein pade, hamari pareshaniyaan dheere-dheere kam hoti gayi aur khaas kar, pichle 6 saalon mein to sab kuch itni tezee se badla hai ki kya bataoon" she said.
"Wo isliye kyunki tumne use uske haq ka pyaar diya hai... uske kadam to hamesha se hi bhale the... bas uske liye tumhaare bure bartaav ne hi tumhaari mushkilon ko khatam nahi hone diya tha... ab dekho, tumne apni galati sudhaari, to tumhaari dikkatein bhi apne aap hi khatam ho gayi" he smiled while Shashank added,
"Bilkul Guruji... bas ab ek aur chinta hai"
"Haan-haan kaho... tumhe dekh ke lagta hai ki is baar kisi khaaas maksad se aaye ho yahan"
"Sahi pahchana aapne Guruji... aap to jante hi hain Riddhima ab badi ho gayi hai... kuch hafton mein wo 26 saal ki ho jayegi... humein uski shaadi ki chinta hone lagi hai... hum jab bhi us se baat karte hain wo taal deti hai... hum bhi uspar kisi tarah ka dabaav nahi dalna chahte"
"Hmm... to tumhari pareshaani asliyat mein kya hai?" Guruji asked.
"hum bas yeh janna chahte hain ki uska bhavishya theek to hai na... aur agar aap kuch andaaze se bataa sakein ki wo kab tak shaadi ke liye raazi ho jayegi aur ladka kaisa hoga... hum uski kundali saath laaye hain" Padma passed him her kundali.
Guruji checked the kundali for few minutes and smiled "Bhai Shaadi ke liye to bahut jald hi badaa mazbut yog ban raha hai... aur ladka bhi karodon mein ek hoga... bas ek pareshaani hai..." his face became serious.
Padma and Shashank got worried seeing the expression "Kya baat hai guruji?"
"Tum agar uski mazoori ka intezaar karte rahoge to bas baithe hi rah jaoge... Wo to kabhi apne aap raaazi nahi hogi... 25 ki bhale hi hai, par hai to ab bhi choti si bachchi" he smiled again. "Kundali batati hai ki jald hi bahut se rishtey aane lagenge uske liye... lekin main phir bhi tumhe yehi salaah dunga ki jaldbaazi mat karna... ek khaas rishte ke aane ki umeed hai... wo bhi shayad kisi jaan pahchaan waale ke zariye... bas uska intezaar karo"
"Lekin Guruji, humaare to bahut se jaan-pahchaan waale hain, aur bahut se to Riddhima ko pasand bhi karte hain, humein kaise pata chalega ki kaun sahi hai" Padma asked again.
"Pata chal jayega... jo tumhaare 'DIL' ko ek nazar mein bha jaaye, aise ek ladke ka rishta aayega jald hi... bas Riddhima ko thoda surakshit rakhna hoga agle kuch dino tak" Guruji told them.
"Kya matlab?"
"Ek bura saaya uske aas paas maujud (present) hai aajkal..." as he saw their horrified faces he added "lekin chinta ki koi baat nahi, shaayad ek achchi atmaa bhi uske kareeb aa chuki hai, uske prabhaav se sab theek rahega..." he reassured "Lekin Rahul ko kahna zaraa uska khayaal rakhe... mujhe yakeen hai kuch bura nahi hoga. Aur haan uski kundali zaraa mere paas chod jao, main uska adhyan (Study) karna chahta hu... shaayad kuch khaas bataa saku jald hi"
"Theek hai guruji" they smiled "Ab humein ijaazat dijiye..." they touched his feet again and took their leave.
"Ishwar tumhaari ichcha puri kare" Guruji blessed them again.
As soon as they left, he took out another booklet and studied both the Kundalis carefully. After studying them for an hour or two, he finally smiled. "Hmm... ishwar ki leela wohi jaane" with that he kept both the kundali's back tieing them together and went back to his medication again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Padma and Shashank arrived back at Mumbai, Muskaan grilled them for information. They told her everything about their conversation with Guruji and asked her to tell Rahul to take care of Riddhima for a while. She assured them that she will definitely do so.
The same night Muskaan filled Rahul with all the information. They sat in their bed with Mukaan sitting in his arms.
She placed her head on his shoulder while he stared down at her fingers playing with them. She saw him worried and asked "Kya baat hai Rahul... tum kuch pareshaan lag rahe ho?"
"Kuch nahi... bas aise hi..."
She looked up "Rahul, tumhaara chehera bataa raha hai ki kuch to zaroor hai... kayi dino se dekh rahi hu ke tum kisi baat ko leke worried ho... batao na kya baat hai?"
"Riddhima..." he sighed.
"Riddhima? Riddhima kya?"
"Main Riddhima ko leke thoda worried hu... aur ab tumne Guruji ki baat batayi to mujhe aur bhi chinta ho rahi hai uski" he replied while she looked in his eyes.
"Kya matlab?"
"Pata nahi kyun par kuch dino se aisa lag raha hai ki Riddhima kisi musibat mein na phas jaaye"
"kyun, kuch hua hai kya?"
"Hua to nahi, lekin kahi kuch theek nahi hai" Rahul said grimly.
"Kya theek nahi hai?" she asked again.
"her surrounding..." as she narrowed her eyes, he explained "I am talking about her office... I don't know why, but I feel she is not safe there..."
"Any specific reason?"
"Well cant pin-point, but I fell she should change her job... I didn't like a few people in her office... she is not safe there"
"Rahul... I think you are just over-reacting, har office mein much bure aur kuch achche log to hote hi hain, iska matlab ye to nahi ki hum kaam karna chod dein" she tried to console him.
"Jaanta hu Muskaan, isiliye to itne hafton se kuch nahi kaha, lekin tum Riddhima ko achchi tarah jaanti ho na, she is too innocent... koi bas pyaar se do shabd kah de, uski baaton mein aa jaati hai... kahin koi uske bholepan galat fayeda na uthaye, bas isi baat se darta hu... aur ab Guruji ki baat se to mujhe yakeen ho gaya hai ki uska aur bhi dhayaan rakhna padega"
"Hmm... theek hai... agar tumhe aisa lagta hai to tum us se job change karne ki baat kyun nahi karte... tab to koi problem nahin hogi na?"
"Great idea" he smiled at her "Main kal hi us se baat karoonga" he kissed her cheek lovingly.
"Bas biwi par tabhi pyaar aata hai jab wo behen ki chinta karti hai?" she complained.
"Biwi pe to humesha pyar aata hai" he pulled her down and rolled over her "abhi demonstration de deta hu" he kissed her lips and pulled the covers on them.
********************************************************************
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EPISODE NINETEEN
"Riddhima..." he saw her swallowing her breakfast in hurry.
"Good morning bhaiya" she greeted him.
"Arey theek se kha na... kya kar rahi hai..." Padma was trying to feed her little sparrow.
"Mumma kha to rahi hu..." she said.
"Kahan kha rahi hai... bas jaldbaazi mein khana nigal rahi hai" Padma scolded her lovingly.
"Riddhima, Padma theek kah rahi hain... khana araam se khana chahiye" Shashank added.
"Lekin papa... main theek se to kha rahi hu... mujhe der ho rahi hai" she winced.
"Der ho rahi hai to hone de... lekin mumma jaise kah rahi hai waise kar... breakfast theek se kar" Rahul interrupted.
"Look whos talking?" she made a face.
"Main agar breakfast nahi bhi kar pata, to atleast office mein to dobara kha leta hu... but I m sure, tu to lunch bhi theek se nahi karti hogi" Rahul snapped.
Before she could say something Padma scolded her again "ab tujhe der nahi ho rahi, jo bahas kar rahi hai? Breakfast karne mein tujhe der hoti hai aur fizul baatien karne mein nahi"
Riddhima finally gave up and ate her breakfast.
After she was done Rahul decided to speak to her "Riddhima I wanna speak to you regarding something important."
"I am sorry bhaiya, lekin abhi nahi... abhi mujhe bahut der ho rahi hai... waise bhi aaj ek client ke paas kuch designs approve karaane bahar jana hai..." she said picking up her bag.
Rahul's eyes widened "Tu kiske saath ja rahi hai?" he enquired.
"Kisike saath nahi... akele jaana hoga... wo clients kaafi important hai aur is waqt office mein mujhse senior koi bhi dusra nahi hai... to mujhe akele hi jana padega"
"Kyun baaki sab kaha hai?" he narrowed his brow.
"Wo Kolkata mein ek business conference ke liye gaye hain" she informed.
Rahul was comforted "OK..." his phone rang "Hello... ya... ok... I will be there in half an hour" cutting the phone he said "ok... I will speak to you later then... I have to rush"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She saw a big black gate as her taxi stopped. Paying the taxi, she spoke to the guard who after speaking to someone allowed her to enter the gate. There was a concrete path surrouded by flower bushes. A big garden covered with smooth green grass carpet had a number of swings in it. A few kids were swaying on the swings, while many more were running and playing with each other. She saw statues of a couple mounted in one corner of the garden with some garlands decorated around their neck.
Suddenly a football came and fell in her path. She saw a little boy coming there, she picked up the ball "Tumhari hai?" she asked.
"Haan..." he replied and held his hand out.
"Ye lo..." she gave it back to him and saw him running back towards his friends.
She moved towards a room built at one of the corner of the building.
As she saw the name plate on the door which said "Caretaker ' Mrs A. Joshi" she knocked the door. Hearing a voice "come in" she entered and cleared her throat "Ahem-Ahem"
An elderly lady with her glasses on, wearing a green cotton silk saree sat there checking some files. She looked up at her and signaled her to sit down.
She sat there and saw her giving some instruction to another lady standing over there, who looked like a maid. After she was done she turned towards her and took off her glasses.
"Yes what can I do for you young lady?" she spoke.
"Amm... Ma'am my name is Riddhima Gupta... I have come from Chaudhary Associates regarding the designs you had asked for..."
"Oh... but I had an appointment with Mr. Dubey?" she questioned.
"He has gone to Kolkata for some important conference with our boss, so I had to come... I am the assistant manager of the creative department"
"Ok... no problem... I am Mrs. Joshi... can I have a look?" she introduced herself.
"Yes sure... here are the designs" she showed her the designs.
She put on her glasses again and after looking at the file she spoke "Hmm... the designs looks nice, but I need to speak to the caretaker and other people from the authorities too" as she looked at Riddhima's confused face she explained "I am not the main caretaker, I am her mother-in-law... and other people I mean the trusty of 'Ashraya'"
"Oh... then I with leave the file with you... you can have a look and discuss it with them... I will take you leave now..." she replied getting up.
"Wait... would you like to have some coffee or tea?" Mrs Joshi asked her.
"No... thank you..." she smiled. As Aarti escorted Riddhima outside, she turned towards her and asked her "Mrs. Joshi... mmm..."
Aarti saw her hesitation so said "If you want to say something, please don't hesitate"
"Mmm... if you don't mind... can I... mmm... meet the kids?" she asked hesistantly.
Aarti smiled "Ismein puchne ki kya baat hai? Sure you can... come let me introduce you"
"Thank you..." Riddhima smiled widely and followed her excitedly.
Aarti introduced her to the kids, who became fond of Riddhima within minutes. She played with them for an hour. She also met the elderly people of the Old Age home build within the same premises. The old members of the place felt quite pleased and peaceful after meeting such a lovely and cute stranger. Aarti was of course impressed by her.
After a while she took the leave and went back to her office.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little girl, wearing a simple white cotton salwar suit, her hair tied up in a ponytail, was sitting near a flower bush. She was playing and making garlands with the flowers collected in her flower bucket. A little boy, wearing a white kurta-pajama, sat under a tree at some distance looking distressed, buried deep in some thoughts with his knees folded against his chest, hands wrapped around them, while his eyes stared nowhere.
The girl saw him sitting sadly and walked upto him. As she stood in front of him he looked up at her. She was around 12 or 13. She was looking at him affectionately and with a cute innocent expression. Her eyes seem to be asking so many questions.
"Kya tum pareshan ho?" her faint but soothing voice fell on his ear like a sweet song.
He simply looked at her. She sat besides him and continued "Pata hai, mumma kahti thi ke agar hum pareshaan ho to humein apni aankhein band karke un sab baaton ke baare mein sochna chahiye jinse kabhi humein khushi mili ho... tum bhi apni aankhen band karo" seeing him not doing so she spoke again "karo na..." with that she closed her own eyes.
He stared at her cute face, while a little smile appeared on her soft lips, unknowingly his eyes closed themselves. He saw his mother's smiling face. She was caressing his hair and kissing him affectionately. Then he saw his father playing with him. A smile automatically crept on his face. He opened his eyes to find the girl smiling at him. He smiled back at her.
"Ab tumhe achcha lag raha hai na?" she asked.
"Haan" he nodded. He didn't know how and why, but he was definitely feeling lighter.
"Yeh lo..." she gave him some flowers "ye puja ke phool hain... agar tum inhe apne paas rakhoge to to tumhara pura din achcha jayega aur aise hi muskuraate rahoge to tumhari saari problems bhi solve ho jaayengi" He smiled widely taking them. Before they could talk futher somebody called her, "Bye mujhe jana hai" with that she ran away.
Armaan opened his eyes with a smile playing on his lips. He got up and opened his closet. Opening a locker he took out a beautiful wooden box. A sweet fragrance spread around as he saw the dried up flowers lying in it. He caressed the flowers and his smile widened thinking of his dream. Yes he was dreaming. He was dreaming his past.
He remembered clearly, he was around 15. Those days he was under a lot of distress & pressure. He had recently taken over his responsibilities. Aarti was worried about him, so she and dadi took him with them to Guruji's Ashram for a few days thinking that the change will make him feel better. And they were right, he did felt lighter and energized. It was only after that day, he came to Mumbai and in less than a week he caught Surti red-handed.
He smiled again thinking about the little girl. She was very sweet and cute. He remembered the innocent look on her face as she spoke. All through his hard times, he had kept those flowers with him. Something told him that they will give him strength, and they did. Sometimes he wondered they were simple little flowers which were now dried up, but yet just by looking at them, caressing them, he always felt stronger.
Placing the box back in his locker, he walked towards the window. Leaning on the window pane he thought, she must have grown up now. How does she look now? She must have gotten married. He sighed and went back to take the shower. It was another special day for him. He was going to sign papers today. He was taking over yet another small drowning company.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hi Uncle" he bend to touch his feet. "Kaise hain aap?"
"Arey bas-bas' tu to paao ke bajaye gale laga kar yaar'" he hugged him while patting his back. "Tu to hamara sher hai' Kyun Omang?" He asked Omang as they sat in his office while Omang smiled back giving him a positive nod.
"Aur sunaiye sab kaisa chal raha hai?" Armaan smiled while signaling him to sit.
"Sab badhiya chal raha hai' tere rahte koi problem ho sakti hai kya?" he handed Armaan some papers "Ye le' ye company take-over ke papers hain' check karke sign kar dena' aur dekh lena koi clause rah to nahi gaye? main baad mein mangwa loonga. Phir court mein registration bhi karwani hai" he handed him the papers.
"Shubhankar Uncle' uski koi zaroorat nahi hai' main janta hu aapne saare clauses kayi baar revise kiye honge'"
"Kiye to hain' lekin phir bhi main chahta hu ke tum ek baar phir se check karo' kabhi-kabhi hum waqeelon se bhi kuch kanooni cheezein chut jaati hain" Shubhankar replied.
"Agar tum waqeelon se 'Kanooni' cheezein chutne lagi to hum logon ka kya hoga?" Omang joked as he slapped his back.
Shubhankar laughed at his comment but then said in a serious tone "Jokes apart Armaan, but I think you should talk to the union leader atleast once. Mujhe aisa lagta hai ki hamari is nayi company mein koi hai jo workers mein kuch misunderstandings create karne ki koshish kar raha hai' it can create a problem for us."
"Kyun? koi khaas baat?" Armaan's brow wrinkled.
"Mujhe kuch workers ke through pata laga hai ki kuch bahar ke log dusre workers ko bhadkaane ki koshish kar rahe hain. I guess they are upto something. May be this is the reason for the Rushdi to give up the company..."
"Theek hai Shubhankar' main ek-do hafte mein Atul ko bhejta hu unse baat karne ke liye" Omang replied.
"Nahi dad' Atul bhai ko bhejna theek nahi hoga' agar kuch jyada gadbad hui ya workers out of control ho gaye to unki jaan ko khatra ho sakta hai' main khud jaonga' waise bhi bhai Malaysia wale project mein busy hain' aur agle hafte se Vaibhav ke school mein parent's week bhi shuru ho raha hai' I don't want my buddy to miss his dad" Armaan interjected.
"To phir Rahul'" before Omang could finish his sentence, Armaan interjected again
"Nahi' bilkul nahi' Use is waqt Muskaan ke saath hona chahiye' Muskaan ko aisi haalat mein chod ke jana theek nahi hoga' she needs him"
"Lekin Armaan tumhari jaan ko bhi to utna hi khatra hai, jitna ki Atul ya Rahul ki' aur agar aisi baat hai to main chala jata hu" Omang was worried as he recalled Guruji's prediction.
"Nahi dad' aajkal aapki tabiyat waise hi theek nahi rahti, aur phir Rashmi bhi next week jaa rahi hai' to aap hi ko uski replacement ke liye interview conduct karne hain" he reminded.
"Omang you don't worry' aur kuch nahi to main chala jaaonga Armaan ke saath' tab to theek hai na?" Shubhankar suggested.
"Theek hai' agar tum iske saath jaoge to theek hai' lekin agar zara bhi mamla bigda to tum ise fauran wapis le ana" He instructed Shubhankar.
"Don't worry' main hu na'" Shubhankar placed his hand on his in assurance.
"To theek hai main Rashmi se kahke tum dono ke liye 2 hafte baad ka ticket book karwaa deta hu'" Omang suggested.
"Theek hai' Arey haan Armaan, ghar phone kar lena' you haven't met her for long, she is really mad at you" Shubhankar turned towards Armaan.
"Mar gaye' lagta hai meri khair nahi' ok uncle I will call her" Armaan sighed.
Picking up his phone he called her and walked out his cabin.
See his name flash on her phone she let the phone ring. The phone kept ringing, while Armaan mumbled "Lagta hai is baar to badi maar padegi" with that he left the office still dialing the number again and again driving towards her house.
When the phone didn't stop ringing she finally picked it up and replied irritably "Kya hai?"
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Picking up his phone he called her and walked out his cabin.
See his name flash on her phone she let the phone ring. The phone kept ringing, while Armaan mumbled "Lagta hai is baar to badi maar padegi" with that he left the office still dialing the number again and again driving towards her house.
When the phone didn't stop ringing she finally picked it up and replied irritably "Kya hai?"
"H... Hello" he stammered.
"Kya hai? Kis se baat karni hai?" she asked angrily.
"Ji mujhe wo..."
"Kya wo? don't you have any manners... kisi ladki ko is waqt phone karte hain?"
"Ji I am sorry..."
"What sorry? Pahle kisi bhi ladki ka number kisi bhi waqt dial karte ho aur phir sorry kahte ho... kis se baat karne hai jaldi bolo"
"Ji wo ek stupid si ladki hai, jo baat-baat pe naraaz ho jaati hai, aur phir phone karo to phone bhi nahi uthati... aur agar phone uthati hai to female crow ki tarah KAAV-KAAV karti hai" he spoke biting his cheek in his mouth and opened the door.
"Kya kaha... main female crow hu?" she was getting mad.
"Nahi crow nahi, actually buffalo kahna chahiye... itni moti ho gayi ho, aur upar se black color ki dress pahankar to aur bhi moti lagti ho" he tip-toed towards her and stood behind her quietly, while she was still busy huffing on the phone.
Her blood started boiling now. "Hmffff... main buffalo hu aur crow bhi, aur ye black dress mujhpe..." suddenly she stopped realizing that she IS wearing a black dress. But how does he know? She looked down at her dress confused and then turned around to see him displaying his teeth with his hands in his hips.
She smiled back showing her own teeth, she slowly picked up a cusion from the couch and started hitting him with it. He fell on the couch while she leaned over him beating him madly. "Oh to yeh baat hai... main buffalo hu, aur crow bhi?" she hit him again and again while he shouted for his life.
"Bachao-bachao... mujhe is lady terrorist se bachao..."
She came out of the kitchen hearing his pleads only to find her daughter beating Armaan as if laundary-man busy with his laundary errands. She ran towards her and tried to hold her back "Minnie... Minnie... stop it... use lag rahi hogi... Minnie"
"Aaaaaaaaahhh... Sach aunty... mujhe bahut lag rahi hai..." Armaan added to her worry.
"Lag rahi hai?" Minnie paused for a while, but then seeing him sitting with his hands covering his head and eyes closed tightly with a stupid grin playing on his lips she started her important work again "Ye lo... to aur lagni chahiye" she mumbled while hitting him again.
"Aahhh aunty bachao..."Armaan spoke again in a dramatic voice.
"Minnie... stop it..." finally her mother managed to grab the cushion from her hand. "ab bas bhi kar, kitna maregi use? Is this the way to behave with elders" she turned towards Armaan "Bete tum theek to ho na?" she asked him in a concerned voice, while he made a face as if in deep pain, but she realized his trick when he opened one of his eyes to peer the scene. She shook her head "Tu bhi na... ek ye hai, aur dusra tu... tum dono kabhi nahi sudhroge"
"Bilkul bhi nahi..." they turned to see him walking in holding his business bag.
"Dad..." Minnie ran towards her dad. "Dad atleast you have to support me"
"Of course I am with you" he kissed his daughter while she gave a victorious smile to Armaan, who was still leaning on the couch.
Armaan got up and placed his arms around Minnie's mother "Theek hai phir aunty mere saath hain... kyun Kirti aunty?"
She smiled and hugged him back "Bilkul... main Armaan ke saath hu... aur Shubhankar, tumne Minnie ko bahut bigaad diya hai... kitni zor se maar rahi thi Armaan ko"
"Arey... maine kya kiya ab?" Shubahnkar argued.
"Maine kaha tha na tumhe Minnie ko samjhaane ke liye... Armaan kitna busy rahta hai... har roz milne ka time kahan milta hai use" Kirti replied.
"Ye kya matlab hua... time nahi milta... apni choti behen ke liye thoda sa bhi time nahi nikaal sakte... main bhi baat nahi karoongi inse ab" Minnie fumed and turned around while Kirti and Shubhankar nudged Armaan.
He moved in front of her and kneeled. Holding his ear, he made a puppy face, which he knew she couldn't resist "Sorry... I am really-really sorry... ab se aisa nahi hoga... please forgive me"
She glanced him through the corner of her eyes "pakka?"
"Pakka... bilkul hard rock ki tarah" He pinched his throat.
Finally she smiled and held his hands "Theek hai is baar maaf kiya, lekin agar phir se aisa kiya na, to phir..." she clicked her fingers giving him a warning signal.
"Arey meri tauba..." he held his ear again "mere... mere suit ki tauba..." he held his suit "meri shirt ki tauba..." he held his collar "meri tie ki... meri boot ki, meri socks ki tauba... meri pant ki tauba... aur meri..." he stopped realizing what he was gonna say and grinned stupidly while other laughed at him.
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A few weeks later she saw her boarding a taxi as she stepped down her car. She saw the maid Girija Tayi waving her. She went to her and asked Girija "Girija yeh ladki yahan?"
"Kaun Riddhima bitiya?" Girija asked.
"Haan" Aarti looked at her.
"Yeh to yahan aksar aati hai... bahut pyari bachchi hai... aksar chutti wale din aati hai, aur kayi-kayi ghaton kabhi bachchon ke saath khelti hai, kabhi old age home ke bujurgon ke saath baatein karti hai... Yaha sab logon ke dil mein bas gayi hai wo kuch hi dino mein..." Girija explained, while Aarti was surprised to know the facts. She told Girija to inform her whenever Riddhima visited 'Ashraya'
'Ashraya' was actually an Orphanage cum Old Age Home running under the trust Armaan had started in the memory of his parents. He also visited there regularly whenever he got time. 'Ashraya' was basically taken care by Anjali, but since for last few weeks she was busy with helping Armaan with his work as a Part time PRO since he had recently taken over a few small companies, she wasn't able to come there. So Aarti was taking care of it temporarily.
After that day whenever Riddhima visited 'Ashraya' Aarti also came there and watched her secretly. She was astonished to see her gelling up with everyone so easily. She found her to be a very easy-going and lovable person. Riddhima was a very pure and kind-hearted girl, who loved kids and respected elders. Her chaste face showed that she wasn't a fake.
Aarti started admiring this cute girl within few meetings. Riddhima also liked Aarti's company. Though she didn't get much time to spend with her as Aarti was mostly busy instructing maids and helpers, but whatever time they spent together was worth it. Riddhima also sometimes helped her with her work at Ashraya.
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A few days later, Anjali was accompanied with Shobha (dadi) at the beach. Dadi just like others was very impressed by her simplicity. She was plain, but yet she was very attractive. She felt like loving Riddhima like a daughter the moment she saw her. All evening she observed Riddhima talking only about her family with so much excitement which was unusual for any other girl. Other girls would only gossip about various things but not their family. Ever since then, it became almost a routine for them to meet at the beach in the evening. Sometime Dadi would come alone as Anjali had other responsibilities.
It was clear that the doom was planning something. Mumbai was getting squeezed into a small world. The two souls who never had any contact were getting connect through a number of invisible strings. God know how and what circumstances will bring them together.
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"Hey beautiful..." he bends on the counter and saw her looking at him in daze.
"Hi sir" she waved him still in daze.
"You are looking gorgeous today" He complimented her eyeing her from top to bottom.
She stood up from her desk and straightened her dress "really?... I bought this last week"
"Hmmm... you know what, green really suits you" he bent a little closer and added "but I think light yellow will look even better..."
"Ahem-Ahem..." Atul cleared his throat as he saw Armaan flirting with the receptionist.
Armaan turned around and before he could say anything, Atul dragged him along into the lift.
"Abey kya kar raha hai yaar... kuch to meri reputation ka khayaal kar" Armaan released his hand from Atul's grip and straightened his suit as they entered the lift.
"Saale... reputation ka khayaal chod, teri jaan bachata hu wohi kya kam hai" Atul said.
"Kya matlab?"
"Kisi din dad ne dekh liya na, to bas teri khair nahi"
"Dad... don't worry about dad... unhe to main araam se sambhaal lunga... you know I am 'The Armaan Malik'... nobody can resist my charm... unhe manana to mere baayein haath ka khel hai..." he clicked his fingers as the lift opened.
"Kise manana tere baayein haath ka khel hai?" He turned to see Omang standing on the door.
"Wo Dad..." Atul spoke only to be cut by Armaan.
"Wo... Workers... Workers dad... wo nahi company jo take over ki hai na, hum usi ke baare mein baat kar rahe the... Kyun bhai..." he nudged Atul who nodded smiling differently. "dekha... dekha dad... bas..." with that he almost ran towards his cabin, leaving a confused Omang behind, while Atul followed him with looking away. Omang shrugged and entered the lift.
"Aaj to mar hi gaya tha..." Armaan mumbled as he threw himself in his chair.
"Tabhi kahta hu ye sab chod de... sudhar ja, aur jaise sab kahte hain, shaadi kar le..." Atul said entering his office.
"Bhai... tu apne bol bachan apne paas rakh..."he replied irritably.
"Achcha theek hai... lekin Armaan why are 'you' going Saharanpur, main chala jaata hu... ya phir Rahul..." Atul asked in s serious tone.
"Bhai please... don't start that all over again... I have already had a discussion with dad..."
"But Armaan, you know we all are care for you"
"So do i... Bhai I understand that you all love me a lot, but I don't understand whats happening? I feel that for the last couple of weeks you all are behaving as if something is gonna happen to me... I am not a kid... aur isse pahle bhi to kitni jata raha hu bahar... phir achanak aap log ye ajeeb sa behave kyun kar rahe ho? I don't get it..." Armaan was getting a little annoyed as all his family members were trying to stop him to go to Saharanpur to handle the worsening situation there.
Atul knew that there was no use of arguing with him. He sighed "Alright... but speak to dadi first and yes... your buddy too, he is gonna get mad that you won't be there on his special day."
"Arey yaar... wo to main bhul hi gaya... but no problem apne buddy ko kaise manana hai ye mujhpe chod de... lekin abhi use kuch mat batana..." Armaan assured him as Atul nodded.
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Rahul stood outside his cabin trying to peep in and he got a chance as the blinds moved a little. He saw him sitting, no almost lying in his chair turned towards her cabin. He was rolling a paper weight in the table with one hand while a sly smile was stickened in his haughty face. He followed his gaze and found the man staring at her through the one way bi-fold glass. One could see through it clearly without even the person on the other end realizing it as they cant see anything back.
Rahul observed the man and was digusted at the look he had on his face. His clenched his fist, but didn't say anything. There was no point loosing patience and doing something impatiently. As it its he didn't have any proof and the man could deny his foul intentions very easily. He entered her cabin to fin her busy with her work.
"Hi.." he smiled at her.
"Hi bhaiya" she looked up and got up to hug her.
"Tera kaam khatam ho gaya kya?" he asked.
"To chal"
"Chaliye..." she picked her bag and followed him.
The man on the other end, banged his fist on his table. "WTF... who is this man? Mere raaste mein baar-baar aa jata hai..." he mumbled.
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"Riddhima..." he decided to speak to her first about the man. He needed to know him first. He didn't want to ask her to leave the job just like that. It wouldn't be right as he doesn't even have any proof against the man and she also had never complained about anything related to her job.
"Ji?" she looked up at him.
"Ek baat bata... tere office mein sab kaisa chal raha hai? I mean sab log kaise hain?"
"Mere office mein?" she sat up excitedly "sab bahut achcha chal raha hai bhaiya aur sab log theek hain..." she answered.
"hmm... aur wo jot ere saath wala cabin hai wo kiska hai?"
"kaunsa, jo mere right side mein hai?" she asked as he nodded "Wo to mere boss ka hai... company ke owner... Mr. Vivek Chaudhary" seeing his serious face she placed a hand on his shoulder "kya hua bhaiya?"
"Kuch nahi... wo kaisa aadmi hai?" he enquired.
"Achche hain... bahut pyaar se baat karte hain... wo mere kaam se bahut khush hain... aur pata hai bhaiya wo mujhe kah rahe the ki agar maine aise hi kaam kiya to bahu jaldi wo mujhe promote bhi karenge" she clarified elatedly.
Rahul smiled at her child-like excitement. She wasn't aware of anything, but he would make sure she doesn't fall for her boss's trap.
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Rahul, Armaan and Atul were at a hotel that evening. As usual Atul and Rahul sat there discussing various things, while Armaan flirted with girls, who happily flirted back with the handsome hunk, after all, which girl wouldn't want to get closer to the most handsome, successful eligible Bachelor in the country. Armaan left with a girl after a while informing them that he is going to drop her home.
Rahul by now was very well aware that sometimes Armaan intentionally flirt around; just to avoid his family, who keeps running after him with the MARRIAGE BELLS. He knew that Armaan has never and would never ever cross his limits. He was too much of a gentleman to do anything objectionable. He also knew that the only thing Armaan wasn't 'too' comfortable with was GIRLS.
Rahul realized that even though Armaan flirted with them openly and almost boldly, but when it comes to Marriage & serious relationships, he gets really annoyed and grumpy. It seems that he don't have faith in GIRLS with his own life.
Rahul tried to find the reason, but have failed till now. He tried to ask Atul about it, but unfortunately, Armaan walked in with some urgent work, so their conversation got buried. He tried again a few more times, but every time, some or the other things would keep buzzing in. Rahul himself didn't know why he was curious to know all that, maybe because of their friendship and his respect towards Armaan.
Atul however have got the hint what Rahul wanted to know. He had equal faith in Rahul. He knew that Rahul was a friend he could confide in. Today when Rahul asked him again he decided to tell him the truth.
The 'REASON' for Armaan's continous denials was ' Armaan's past...... a BITTER past.yes he did had a past,which is the reason for his cold behavior for such a relationship with any girl.
Atul recalled the days when Armaan was in the final months of his Industrial training...
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***Flashback***
Armaan first met Manvi at Parera Brothers, the company from where he did his training. She was a very attractive. At first Armaan didn't give her much attention, which was a new thing for her. She walked up to him & slowly they become friends. After a few meetings, Armaan started enjoying her company and few days later, she confessed her love towards him.
Armaan wasn't aware whether he loved Manvi or not, he never thought or looked at her that way, but since he did liked her a lot and didn't wanted to hurt her, he simply nodded in agreement. He thought that so what if he is not sure of his feelings, what if he doesn't love her, but atleast she loved him, as a friend her happiness was of more importance for him.
It was a very unfortunate day for him, he was with Atul at a Hotel. After discussing details with one of his new business clients on a new deal, both of them decided to celebrate the new deal at the restaurant of the hotel. But to his surprise he saw Manvi at the same place with a number of her friends.
He was surprised coz a week ago when he proposed her for marriage, she told him that she has to go to the US to see her parents first & then once she come back they will sort out everything. She also told him that she could come back only after 2 weeks. But then he thought she might have come back soon, whats a big deal in it. To his shock her conversation with her friends disclosed that she was only playing games with him as she had a bet with one of her friend to make him fall for her.
Armaan was shattered as he has planned to surprise her as soon as she gets back with an engagement party. He straightaway threw her out of his life. After a while she did came back to him, but it was all coz of his money. It was only after their break-up she came to know that he actually is an upcoming BIG SHOT business Tycoon as well. Armaan cleared it to her that he doesn't want to move on with her.
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EPISODE TWENTY-ONE
***Flashback paused***
Atul sighed after telling him the first half of Armaan's past. Then he looked in space and said "baat agar sirf itni hoti to shayad Armaan sambhal leta... you know he is not a man who will become a Devdaas just coz of an underserving despicable girl. Lekin zindagi ne shayad uske saath aur khel khelna tha..." he continued the past narration once again.
***Flashback Continued***
Few months after the incident, another girl came into Armaan's life ' Himangi. She was a simple but yet beautiful girl. She worked in his office as one of his associates. Armaan was impressed with the way she did her work. If not perfect she was still quite impressive. One day Armaan came to know that her family is facing a lot of financial problems. He helped her without informing her.
When she came to know about his kindness, she started getting close to him. She started spending more time with him & slowly a soft corner grew up in her heart for him.
Armaan overheard her feelings towards him when she was talking to one of her friends on phone. She realized that he has heard her talking about him. Atlast She gathered some courage to pour her feeling in front of him. He also said that he liked her too.
It had been around a month they got engaged, when I and Armaan had an argument about his relationship with Himangi. I said something which was extremely unpleasant for him to hear about Himangi. Armaan was shocked to know that I weren't happy with his relationship with Himangi. Many days and then weeks passed without any normal conversation between us...
One day, Armaan was at a shopping center for the last minute shopping for his marriage. His eyes stopped at a counter where he caught me almost shouting at a man. He got surprised as he had never seen me behave that way. He overheard me telling the man I hired, to get the work I gave him to be done ASAP. The man told me that he will try his best to break their engagement.
Armaan was shocked that I was conspiring to break his engagement. He knew that I loved him more than brothers, but he didn't understand why I was doing so? He decided to discuss it with me & finish this matter once and for all. I asked him to come over to a pre-decided place.
As he arrived there, he felt earth move under his feet. He saw his fianc', Himangi sitting and chatting with his EX-GF, Manvi. I took him to a table next to them so that we can overhear their conversation.
It was all Manvi's plan. She and Himangi were old friends and they had schemed to teach Armaan a lesson. But with time as Himangi got to know about Armaan's rising BANK BALANCE, they changed their plan. Himangi was now going to get married to him and as per their plan she would marry Armaan to steal his wealth from him. They decided that Himangi will ask for a divorce after a while, and then demand a huge amount as alimony.
We were also shocked to identify that Himangi and Manvi were already involved in physical relationship with more than one man. He was disgusted by them. He called off his engagement with Himangi, without giving her any sort of explaination. He wasn't a man who would insult a woman even if she has hurt him to the core.
***Flashback Ends***
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Atul sighed deeply as he finished up "I have seen his pain Rahul." Atul eyes were wet by this time, but he still smiled "Lekin Armaan un logon mein se nahi hai jo apna dard kisi ke bhi saamne zaahir kare. Thought I am his closest, but yet sometimes even I cant decipher his pain. Maine aaj tak use kisi cheez se darte ya ghabraate hue nahi dekha. Badi se badi problem main bhi maine humesha use ek calm aur composed, ek chilled out guy ki tarah dekha hai. You know, he was just 14 when he took over Avinaash uncles' business. It was in extremely miserable condition. Uski jagah agar koi aur hota to shayad usi waqt sab kuch chod-chaad ke kahi dur bhaag jata. But he took it as a challenge. He fought back and encouraged others to fight back too. And today you can see, where he is. He has not only made himself a big man, but also those who have ever come in his contact. But unfortunately in case of love, he has been quite unlucky. Aisa nahi hai ki uska saari aurton pe se bharosa uth gaya ho... he knows it Rahul, that all women are not the same. He still respects them a lot... Dadi, Radhika Aunty, Aarti Mom, Kirti Aunty, Anjali, Muskaan & Minnie, he loves them all... all of them are better examples. But somehow he felt himself ill-fated for the relationships like Love & Marriage. And since his heart broke for the second time, he decided never to take any girl ever so seriously again. He has lost believe in any girl with his own life."
Placing his hand on Atul's shoulder Rahul said "He is strong man Atul. I have always found him different and ideal sort of PERFECT MAN... but today after knowing all this, my respect has increased to unknown heights for him. Lekin ek tarah se achcha hi hua ki wo dono ladkiyaan sahi samay pe Armaan ki zindagi se dur ho gayi, they didn't deserve him..." he smiled and held Atul's shoulder tightly in support "Don't worry Atul, uske liye bhi bhagwaan ne koi na koi saathi to zaroor banaya hi hoga. Armaan jaise insaan ke liye to koi khaas hi bani hogi na? I am sure you will find her soon." Atul smiled back listening this.
Actually, Armaan's family was aware of his break-up with his Second-GF, but they never knew the actual reason. It was only Atul and now Rahul who knew the reality.
Though like his family, Atul wanted Armaan to settle down and get married, but he was also very cautious about any girl in Armaan's life. He always supported him in every possible ways, even when his family pressurized Armaan for marriage and he tried to ignore.
Atul had always been closest to Armaan, so he has seen his pain very closely. Pain of being alone, pain of betrayal, pain of being fooled in world's most beautiful emotion. Atul could understand almost all his unspoken words as well as emotions. He wanted the best for Armaan. He just the way Rahul said believed that Armaan will definitely meet the BEST some day. Atul was waiting for HIS (Armaan's) true lady love to walk into his life and take away all his pain, and then his best friend and brother will get all the happiness he deserve.
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That evening, he saw her standing on the taxi stand waiting for a cab impatiently. After driving a little ahead, he asked his driver to leave the car. As soon as driver got out, he slid on the driving seat himself and reversed his car. As she saw him rolling the window glass down, she smiled.
He asked her "Where are you going?"
"Ghar..."
"Can I drop you?"
She looked at him a little apprehensively, whether she should go with him or not. He was her boss "No sir, its fine, I will take a cab..."
Seeing her a little confused Vivek added "Don't worry, I am going that way only"
"Its ok sir, I don't want to bother you... I will go myself... taxi aati hi hogi" she replied politely.
"Arey don't be so formal Riddhima... I am your boss in the office, but outside we can be friends... I am not that bad..." he rose his brow "Can't you consider as a friend" he made a sad face.
Seeing his downfallen face she replied "Aisi baat nahi hai sir..." after pausing for a while she said "Ok... friends..." she agreed, how could she say no to her boss? He has always been a gentleman with her.
"Great... so now can a friend offer you lift?" he smiled slyly.
"Alright..." she sat in the front passenger seat as he opened the door for her like a gentleman. Sitting in the car she smiled and added "I live in..."
"I know..." as she looked at him questioningly he added "I have seen your resume, and I know where you live"
"Oh... thanks" she replied. As he turned his car towards left of a traffic signal she said "Sir... sorry but you had to turn on the other side of the signal... I live on the other side..."
"Oh... don't worry... I will take you there only... there is a lot of traffic on that side... one of my friend who lives that side, just called me and told me that there is a big traffic jam at the next signal right now... so we will reach faster this way..." He explained.
"Ok... I didn't know that..." she left it there instead of arguing as she thought her boss must be aware of the roads and maps better than her since he has been a local.
He stopped his car at the next signal. Turning his head towards his left and he was surprised to see her. His eyes widened in fear as he saw her sitting besides the man he would never want her to be with. "Baby yahan kya kar rahi hai? Aur wo bhi is aadmi ke saath... is waqt to use ghar jana chahiye, aur ghar to doosari taraf hai?" he thought.
Before he could do something, the signal cleared and he saw them driving away. Rahul composed himself and followed them. After driving for a while, he managed to overtake them and stopped his car blocking their way. Vivek pushed the breaks hard to save the crash.
Rahul darted out of his car and went to the side where Riddhima was sitting and knocked the window glass.
She looked up and rolled the window down and was surprised to see his "Arey Rahul bhaiya aap?" she smiled widely.
"Riddhima... tu yahan kya kar rahi hai... aur ye kiske saath, kahan jaa rahi hai?" though he knew who she was with, but he still asked her to see Vivek's reaction.
"Wo... bhaiya main Vivek sir ke saath ghar hi aa rahi thi" she opened the door.
"Ghar? Lekin ghar to doosri taraf hai?" he spoke peeping inside.
Before she could say anything Vivek added "Hi I am Riddhima's boss... wo actually Riddhima akeli taxi stand pe khadi thi to maine use lift ke liye pucha..." as he saw Rahul raising his brow in suspicion he added "Actually mujhe is taraf ke Community Mall mein thoda kaam tha, aur mere dost ne mujhe bataya ki us taraf traffic jam hai, to maine socha ki main is taraf se aapke ghar ki taraf drive karoon"
"Hmm... thanx, but I will take her with me now... you don't need bother anymore..." Rahul coldly. He still didn't believe Vivek as he was coming from his home and there was no traffic jam that side. Also there was no proper way on this side of the road through which he could reach their home. Rahul had gone back home to pick some file as he was to attend some meeting with a client in a hotel besides the Community Mall. He held Riddhima's bag and signaled her to follow him. Riddhima thanked Vivek and followed Rahul.
Vivek looked at them driving away and hit the stearing of his car "WTF... this man... phir se pata nahi kahan se aa gaya..." he swore "Hmm to ye Riddhima ka bhai hai... aaj to use bacha liya, lekin aage kab tak bachayega is kachchi kali ko. Main bhi dekhta hu." He laughed wickedly.
Rahul drove towards the hotel where he had a meeting. He was really mad at the man, he was now 1000% sure that the sly man was upto something very hideous. If he wouldn't have seen them today, then...? He trembled at the very thought of Riddhima being hurt.
She saw him looking really mad and worried "Kya hua bhaiya? Aap kuch pareshaan lag rahe ho"
"Riddhima why did you accepted lift from him?" he spoke.
"Bhaiya he asked me, so I said yes... ismein kya badi baat hai?" she replied casually.
"Tujhe..." he trailed his sentence.
"Kya baat hai... aap bahut naraaz lag rahe ho"she asked again.
"We will talk about this at home..." he said trying to compose himself. He didn't want to create a scene outside and besides he also had a meeting to attend.
Once they reached the Hotel, he asked Riddhima to wait for him in the Hotel restaurant for a while till he finished up and strictly instructed her not to go anywhere or talk to anyone. She nodded in agreement. After his meeting was over he drove her to the house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As they entered home, he threw his bag on the couch angrily and asked Riddhima to come back after freshening up immediately as he needed to talk to her urgently.
Muskaan saw him looking really mad and asked him whats wrong. He told her about Vivek, what he saw in Riddhima's office and what happened today.
Muskaan was terrified hearing everything. She never thought anything like that. She initially thought Rahul was only being a little over-protective about Riddhima. As they saw Riddhima enter their room, Rahul signaled Muskaan not to interrupt & asked Riddhima to sit down.
"Riddhima you are resigning from the job tommorow..." he came straight to the point without going in the circles.
Riddhima was taken aback "Kya?"
"I said you will resign from your job tommorow" he repeated again more firmly.
"Main resign kar du job se? lekin kyun?" she was confused and shocked to hear Rahul's decision with a harsh tone.
"Haan you heard me right... and you wont ask me why..." he decided and without waiting another moment he slipped a paper in front of her "sign this letter right now..." he commanded.
Riddhima was not angry, but she was too numb to respond, but as she registered his word she asked "Ye kya hai?"
"Your resignation..."
"But..."
"No if or buts... its my decision and you will do as I say... otherwise forget that you had a brother." He finalized sternly.
Without thinking for a moment, she signed the paper, while Rahul took it and walked out of the room without any further discussions.
Riddhima sat there not knowing what to do. She still wasn't able to understand why Rahul reacted that way and asked her to resign all of a sudden. He has never been so harsh and stern with her, not even when they were small and he didn't liked her.
Muskaan saw her fighting with her confusion and placed a hand over her shoulder "Riddhima..." she started "Rahul ko galat mat samajhna... aur ek baat yaad rakhna... Wo tumhara kabhi bhi bura nahi chahenge..." Riddhima looked at her. " Rahul tumse bahut pyar karte hain..." she paused for a moment and then added "Tumhe apne bhaiya pe bharosa hai na?"
"Haan..." Riddhima nodded.
"To phir jaisa wo kah rahe hain waisa hi karo... you will never regret his decision... trust me" Muskaan smiled reassuringly.
"Ji bhabhi..." Riddhima smiled back.
Riddhima knew that Rahul and her family knew better, what is wrong and what is right for her. If they want her to leave the job, there must be some genuine reason behind it and she will do stick to their decision. She won't disregard their love by asking the reason. So she assured Muskaan that she will do as they say.
Shashank and Padma asked Rahul why he was almost shouting at Riddhima. Rahul didn't tell them about Vivek and the real truth as he thought they might panick and get worried. But he told them that he has asked Riddhima to leave her job as one of his friends told him that the job isn't of her level and the company wasn't good enough too. He also told them that Riddhima will get a new job very soon as she is a talented girl.
Shashank and Padma understood there is something else, which Rahul is not willing to tell them right now, but they didn't questioned further as they knew that Rahul will do what is better for their daughter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next day Rahul sat in his cabin thinking deeply about what happened few days back. After getting the resignation signed by Riddhima, Rahul has sent it to her office through a registered post. He didn't allow Riddhima to go there again as he was not willing take chance. He was worried about her and didn't know what to do next. He didn't want her to be sitting home idly doing nothing, but he wasn't sure about any jobs for her. How can he assure that her next employer wouldn't be another dirty mind?
"Rahul yaar ye papers zaraa check kar le..." Atul entered his cabin to find him lost in his own thoughts. Hearing no response he went to his chair and placed his hand on his shoulder "Rahul?" he called him.
"Arey Atul... tu kab aaya yaar?" Rahul came out is trance.
"Main to abhi aaya hu...par tujhe kya hua... bahut pareshaan lag raha hai... sab theek hai na?" Atul asked looking at his clearly worried face.
"Kuch nahi yaar bas... thodi yuhi problem hai" Rahul tried to divert his mind.
"Agar kuch jyada personal nahi hai to mujhe bata... shayad main madad kar saku kuch... maine kal meeting mein bhi dekha tu bahut pareshaan lag raha tha..." Atul had seen him distracted last day when they were at the meeting at the Hotel near Community Mall.
Rahul looked up and sighed. He knew he could trust on Atul and can share his worries with him. He told him everything what has happened. He also told him about Vivek.
Atul jumped in his seat hearing the name "Kya? Kya naam bataya tune?"
"Kiska?"
"Teri behen ke boss ka"
"Vivek Chaudhary"
"Vivek Chaudhary from Chaudhary Associates?" Atul widened his eyes.
"Haan..." Rahul replied.
"Oh... you did the right thing buddy... thank god you forced your sister to leave the job"
"Kya matlab?" Rahul got puzzled.
"Arey tu is Vivek Chaudhary ko janta nahi hai... uski reputation bahut kharaab hai market mein... kai ladkiyon ki zindagi kharaab kar chuka hai... bada kameena aadmi hai..." Atul informed with a disgusted face.
"Haan yaar... Mujhe bhi wo theek nahi laga tha... maine use uske office mein ek ladki ke saath badi hi ghatiya tareeke se baithe hue dekha tha... can you imagine he was doing all that in his office?" he said looking disgusted himself at the very thought of the sly man.
"Wo aisa hi hai... bhagwaan ka shukr hai ki tune sahi samay pe apni behen ko wahan se nikaal liya, warna pata nahi kya hota" Atul replied seriously while Rahul nodded. "lekin ab kya pareshani hai... ab to sab theek hai na..." Atul asked again.
Rahul sighed and told him his fear "Ab tujhse kya chupaon yaar... I cant ask my sister to sit at home doing nothing because of this fear. But I am worried coz whats the guarantee that her next employer will not be the same. Baby is too innocent. She doesn't understand all these wicked things. Kya karu kuch samajh mein nahi aa raha..." he ran fingers through his hair.
Atul thought for a minute and then said "Rahul tune bataya ki unse MBA kiya hai... right?"
"Haan... aur wo bhi topmost credits ke saath. She was a topper." Rahul replied proudly.
"Hmm... to tu ek kaam kyun nahi karta, use bol ki yahan Marvels mein interview de... kuch vacancies nikli hi hain, aur chaar-paanch dino mein interview bhi hai... ek kaam kar, tu use bol ki wo Executive Secretary ki post ke liya interview de... kyunki baaki sab post ke liye wo over-qualified hai..." Atul suggested.
Rahul was excited about the idea but then he thought again and said "but Executive Secretary's post... she is over-qualified for that too"
"She would have been over-qualified, but not for this particular one..." as he saw Rahul's puzzled look he added "Dekh Rashmi jaa chuki hai to hum uska replacement dhoondh rahe hain"
Hearing Rashmi's name Rahul understood which post and whose executive secretary Atul was talking about. Rashmi was Armaan's secretary who left the job recently after she got married.
Atul continued further "and you know Armaan's executive secretary has to be the best... And for your kind information Dad has decided that this time we will hire a full-time ES cum PA to handle Armaan's increasing work load... agar teri sister select ho gayi, then she will be getting the best double-package and if she proves herself, then who else better than you know, what she can get here." Atul paused for a while to see his response and then asked "Tujhe Armaan pe bharosa to hai na?"
Rahul was now convinced completely "Armaan pe mujhe poora bharosa hai... it's a great idea yaar... pata nahi mujhe ye baat pahle kyun nahi sujhi..." he placed his hand on Atul's gratefully "Thanks yaar, tune to meri bahut badi chinta dur kar di... I will surely ask her to attend the interview."
"Haan lekin abhi itna khush hone ki zaroorat nahi hai... she needs to prove herself first. Tujhe to pata hai na, we don't believe in recommendations here, aur waise bhi ye Armaan ka mamla hai... I can't compromise on that... so don't be too sure as I don't promise you anything" Atul said.
"Uski chinta tu mat kar... baby is the best for this job... I know, she will crack it in a wink of eye..." Rahul replied confidently simling widely.
********************************************************************
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EPISODE TWENTY-TWO
Armaan was coming back after dropping his new so-called-'friend' Sheeba her home, when his phone rang. So he parked his car at one side & walked behind the car while talking. Suddenly,
**THUD**
As he heard the sound he turned around to see her looking down at her cycle.
"Gosh!" he strode towards her and "Well-well-well... of course its you..." he saw her looking up.
"Tum? Phir se..." she got up picking up her cycle she had fallen with and rubbed her elbow. She has come out for cycling today.
"Haan main..." he pushed her away and checked his car "Tum dekh ke cycle nahi chala sakti... agar ise kuch ho jata to? Thank god nothing happened to you" he kissed his car, while she looked at him as if he has lost it.
"Main to dekh ke hi chala rahi thi, tumhi ne apna ye tin ka dabba yahan beech mein park karke rakha hai..." she raised both her hands in air towards his car.
"Hey stop haan... its not a 'tin-ka-dabba'" he made a face "... it's the latest bugatti model" he spoke arrogantly.
"Bugatti Model nahi 'BOO-GADHI' model hai" she made a face too.
"WHAT? What 'BOO-GADHI'?" he looked eccentrically at her.
"Haan 'BOO' as in 'BOOOOO'" she showed him a thumb down "aur agar tumhe apni Matra bhasha 'HINDI' aati hai, to 'GADHI' ka matlab tum achchi tarah jaante hi hoge... Mr Dhenchu" His mouth opened in shock, but before he could answer back, as always his phone rang. "Lo baj gayi ghanti..." she laughed at him, while he just gave her a look and drove off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At his home, the bride-hunt was still on. Seeing Armaan enter the hall, they hid the pictures under the cushions and sat straight trying to look normal. He glanced at their faces, and seeing them shift restlessly in their place, he raised his brow.
"WHAT?" Anjali asked as she saw him staring at them sheepishly.
"What, WHAT?" he asked.
"Nothing..." Aarti said.
"Hmm..." Armaan nodded and went back to his room. He knew his family was upto something. They surely were planning something.
He entered his room to find Vaibhav sitting there angrily with his hands folded at his chest. Closing the door behind him he raised his eyebrow. So his buddy is already aware that he is leaving tommorow. He sat besided Vaibhav.
Vaibhav looked at his chachu and then turning away he folded his legs angrily.
"Kya hua?" Armaan asked, but no answer came. "To mujhse naraaz hai mera buddy? Alright then I will give this chocolate to Yash" he shook a big chocobar in front of his eyes. Vaibhav looked at it and swallowed hard as his mouth watered. The offer was very tempting, but he was still angry at his chachu for leaving just before his Birthday, so he decided to stay mad at him.
"Oh... to aaj kuch jyada hi garam hai buddy..." he saw Atul standing at the door and signaled him to help, who gave him a helping nod and came forwards. Armaan continued "Atul bhai... What does the Superman do?"
"Superman? Wo..." Atul tried to behave ignorant "I dont know... may be he keeps flying in the sky like a bird or something"
"Arey Atul bhai you dont know about it? Even I have a little confusion... somebody did told me... but..." he glanced sideways towards Vaibhabv "but I forgot, now I dont know who will tell me again..." Armaan tapped his forehead.
"Arey ask Dadi na..." Atul suggested.
"Dadi ko to pata nahi"
"then Dad?"
"Na... he doesnt know either"
"Hmm... what about Anjali or Mom or else Shaguna?"
"Arey unhe bhi nahi pata... maine unse pucha tha, they dont know anything"
"Oh... so now what to do... who is gonna tell us? hey, does Superman flies over the sky and catches all the fishes" Atul said chuckling stupidly at his own idiotic comment..
"Offfooo..." Vaibhav finally gave up and slapped his head. It was getting too much for him to handle now. What was with these elders? They didnt even know what Superman does? And coz of others even his Superman Chachu has forgotten what 'he' should do Vaibhav thought.
"Aap sabko to kuch nahi pata... and you guys made even Armaan chachu forget everything" He turned back towards them "Superman doesnt mean that he keeps flying... he does loads of work, he has big responsibilities on his shoulders and whenever somebody is in problem he is always the first one to help. He finishes all the evils." He turned towards Atul and said "Aur dad... how can someone catch fishes while flying... aapko itna bhi nahi pata... how stupid" Vaibhav chided.
"Hmm dekha... Bhai tujhe to kuch nahi pata" Armaan too reprimanded Atul fakely "Mere buddy ko sab pata hai. He is the smartest... Kyun Buddy?"
"Yayy I am the smartest" Vaibhav laughed but then again sobered "Lekin main aapse bahut naraaz hu... aap mere B'Day pe bhi nahi hoge"
Armaan placed the bar at the side table and pulled Viabhav in his lap "Buddy dekh yaar, abhi-abhi tune hi kaha na ki Superman sabki help karta hai..." Vaibhav nodded lightly "aur tu ye bhi kahta hai ki main tera Superman Chachu hu"
He nodded again "BEST Superman chachu"
"Hmm... to ab tere is 'best Superman' chachu ko jana hoga... jahan main ja raha hu, wahan bahut saare logon ko dher saare problems hai... to mujhe unki help karne jana hoga na..." Armaan tried to explain his visit.
"But Chachu... aap mere B'Day ke baad bhi to jaa sakte ho" Vaibhav sulked.
"Jaa to sakta hu... achcha ek baat bata... When you fall ill, doesn Anjali bhabhi medicates you immediately or she waits for one or more days?"
"Mom to usi time medicine deti hai... agar der se degi to phir main aur beemaar nahi ho jaonga" he explained "but it tastes horrible" he made a face.
"Haan... it means, a problem should also be resolved as soon as possible... immediately" Armaan clicked his fingers "otherwise it grows bigger, phir aur dher saari aur problems ho jaati hai..."
Now Vaibhav looked a little convinced but he wasnt still happy about the fact that he has to celebrate his 5th B'Day without his favorite person.
" Sorry yaar agar important kaam nahi hota to nahi jata... but I promise, when I come back, I will do whatever you say... it's a deal" Armaan tried to make him feel better.
"Pakka?"
"Arey bilkul pakka... wo tera rock solid wala pakka... is that fine now?" Armaan asked him.
"Yayy... ok" Vaibhav beemed, so finally Armaan and Atul sighed a relief.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next day, as she climbed the stairs of temple, dadi was surprised to see her there. Riddhima saw dadi entering the Mandir accompanied by Anjali. She bends to touch dadi's feet, while Dadi blessed her "Jeeti raho beti..."
"Namaste dadi... hi Anjali..." Riddhima greeted them.
"Hi Riddhima... tum yahan kaise?" Anjali asked her.
"Jabse hum Mumbai shift hue hain, main to yahan aksar aati hu... Muskaan bhabhi hi to leke aayi thi mujhe yahan..."
"Oh... lekin Muskaan kahan hai? Wo nahi aayi tumhare saath?" Anjali asked.
"Nahi bhabhi ki doctor ke saath appointment thi, to wo mumma ke saath wahin gayi hain... aur mera kal ek interview hai, to mumma ne kaha ki aaj ka din bahut shubh hai, aur mujhe mandir jana chahiye... isliye main aa gayi" Riddhima replied. "aap bhi yahan aati ho hamesha?"
"Haan hum bhi yaha aksar aate hain... tumne puja kar li kya?" Dadi asked her.
"Ji bas abhi ki hai..." Riddima replied.
"tum humare saath phir se chalo andar, phir hum saath-saath wapis chalenge..." Anjali added.
"Theek hai..." Riddhima agreed and they entered the temple again.
As they stood in front of Almighty deity Shivling, dadi asked Anjali for the 'Kalawa'.
Kalawa is a sacred red color cotton thread, which is believed to be sacrosanct and blessed by god. It's used by the devotees, to make wishes. It's also tied on wrist as a symbol of god, which heels and helps to protect one from evil's eye.
Anjali looked in her thali replied "Dadi lagta hai main wo ghar bhul aayi" she made a sorry face.
"Anjali tujhe kaha tha na ki aaj koi galti nahi... pata hai na aaj kitna zaroori tha... ab main kya chadhaongi yahan aur kaise uski kalaayi pe Kalawa bandhungi?" she reprimanded Anjali.
"Dadi..." Riddhima interjected "Agar aap chahe to ye mera 'Kalawa' le lijiye... maine abhi puja ki hai... ye shudh bhi hai aur iska chadhawa bhi diya hai maine abhi... aap chaho to ek baar phir ise chada ke, puja kar lo" she showed Dadi her own Kalawa.
"Arey lekin ye to tumhara hai... ye main kaise le sakti hu" Dadi replied.
"Koi baat nahi dadi... aapke liye jyada zaroori hai" she has sensed the tension in Dadi's voice. "maine to puja kar hi li hai na... aur waise bhi maine liya ya aapne, kya fark padta hai... ye to raksha ke liye bana hai na... jise jyada zaroorat hai, ye usi ki raksha karega... ye lijiye" she handed her the Kalawa.
"Sadaa kush raho beti..." dadi smiled taking the Kalawa from her "bhagwaan tumhe har museebat se bachaye..." she caressed her head.
Dadi did her puja, but didnt feel any need to get the Kalawa blessed again as she thought Riddhima has already done that, and somehow she knew that the Kalawa has already been blessed by god because of the pure girl besides her.
Once they were Dadi and Anjali dropped Riddhima her home and went back to their house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He saw gleaming green sea with a lot of questions floating in them. His hand moved up to touch the mesmerizing sea, but it was blocked by a layer of soft creamy silk... silk of her eyelid's skin. His fingers snaked over her forehead while her eyes fluttered open. His lips moved closure to her eyes. Those long eye lashes, the depth of those big beautiful eyes were so welcoming. He held two soft arms of the blurry face image in his hands and pulled her closer.
As he brought his face closer towards hers, a voice fell in his ear -
"Chachu... Chachu"
He wrenched and opened his eyes immediately. He saw Vaibhav sitting on his chest while he was holding his little arms in his big hands, with their face closely facing each other. Embarrased he immediately left Vaibhav's arms and sighed.
"Hey Buddy... tu yahan kya kar raha hai?" he asked rubbing his eyes.
"Main to aapko bulane aya tha... lekin aap ye kya kar rahe the?" Vaibhav narrowed his eyes.
"Main?... Wo... Main... Main kya kar raha tha... main to so raha tha." Armaan stammered.
"So rahe the ya phir pari dekh rahe the?" Vaibhav asked suspiciously.
It was the little 'SECRET' of Armaan's life. For last few years, a blurred image has been KIND-OF haunting his dreams. She was some angel or some sort of fairy princess he thought. Armaan didnt know why, but he felt some connection with her. His heart believed he will meet his dream girl one day. His hope to meet her someday was another reason for him to keep avoiding the topic of his marriage. He knew that it was a stupid and childish reason, especially for a matured and big business tycoon of 28, but his heart didnt agree. The boy within him who never got to a chance to dream fantasies in his teenage kept him pulling towards her. It was the only fantasy in his life which was he has nurtured for last many years.
He was a special man, a big Tycoon, but somewhere within even he was an ordinary guy too who had similar wishes like other men. He had dreamt of Love and passion in his life too. But unfortunately ever since his trust was broken, his desires got closed in a nut shell. His heart still craved for someone special, but the mind didn't allow him to let anyone near him. He flirted, joked, hung out and dated many girls, but his eyes keep searching for one specific soul which could melt away his pain, which could relax him, which will give him the love he was yearning for, with whom he could share his feelings, he could be himself.
Though it was a contrast to his personality to conceal his covets, but yes Armaan had suppressed and cevered his desires for such relationship. For the outer world he was a man who didn't care about commitment in an intimate relationship, but the truth was deep within he was still looking for someone who deserved his trust.
His dream girl was somehow an image created by his heart, which was a reflection of his desires. He never discussed her with anyone, not even with Atul. Only Vaibhav had some hint that his Chachu was being disturbed by some angelic girlish image. It was actually one day when Vaibhav had come to his room to wake him up, he heard Armaan murmuring about some girl in his dreams.
Armaan could hide anything from everyone, but could never lie to kids, especially Vaibhav. He told him that he saw an angel in his dream. Vaibhav always believed whatever his Chachu said, so it wasn't a big deal for him to trust on what Armaan told him. But now he also had a special reason to ask for Chocolates and bike ride bribe to keep the little secret to himself. Armaan had no problem with it. He happily offered him the bribes Vaibhav asked for.
"Achcha theek hai" Armaan sat up ad pulled Vaibhav on his lap "Thi... pari thi..."
"Chachu aap humesha us pari ko sapne mein dekhte ho... wo dikhti kaisi hai?"
"Pata nahi yaar..." Armaan sighed "uska chehra nazar nahi aata... but you know aaj maine ek nayi baat dekhi"
"Wo kya?" Viaibhav asked excitedly.
"Uski aankhen..." he paused "deep green eyes..." Armaan said dreamingly. "They looked like immeasurable sea of shiny green water... jinki gahrayi itni madhosh karne wali thi ki bas lagta tha ki usmein apne ko kho du... itni khubsurat aur masoom thi wo aankhen ki...... lagta tha jaise bas unhe dekhta hi rahu..." Armaan paused for a while and then almost whispered to himself "Kash wo aankhen main zindagi bhar dekh sakta... har waqt... har pal..."
Vaibhav saw him smiling to himself. He could not understand anything and didnt know why his chachu was smiling like that. He asked confusingly "Chachu aap kya bol rahe ho?" when Armaan didnt answer he called him again tapping Armaan's cheeks a"Chachu..." still no answer "CHACHU" finally he shouted in his ear.
Armaan came out of his daze and rubbed his ears "Kya kar raha hai yaar... kaan ke parde phadega kya?"
"Main kya karu aap jawaab hi nahin de rahe the" then suddenly something striked him "Chachu main ek baat bataon?"
"Haan bol na..."
"Maine bhi green eyes dekhi hain... ekdum beautiful" Vaibhav said with a wide smile.
"Achcha kahan aur kiski?" Armaan raised his brow.
"Angel ki..." he bent towards Armaan's ear and whispered "kisi ko nahi pata, but I have seen them... Angel's eyes are also green... bahut sundar hai wo bhi... aapki pari jaisi"
"Angel? Kaun Angel?" Armaan asked.
"Wo Angel mer-" but before he could continue, he was pulled back by his mother.
"Vibhi... bas bahut ho gaya... maine tumhe Armaan ko uthaane bheja tha aur tum khud hi yahan uske saath bed mein chad ke baithe ho" she turned towards Armaan "Armaan utho ab... Shubhankar uncle aaye hain... tumhe jana hai na aaj?"
"Hmm..." he nodded "bas 15 minutes"
"Tumhari packing to theek se ho gayi hai na? har baar ki tarah kuch bhul mat jana... phir wahan nayi cheezein khareedni padegi" she said.
"Kar to li hai... but..." he creased his nose "tum ek baar dekh lo na... I am not sure" he scratched his head.
"Wo to main dekh hi loongi... but now its time for you to get married Armaan... aakhir 'main' kab tak tumhari packing dekhti rahungi?" Anjali said opening his suitcase.
"Jab tak main hu tab tak dekhna padega... aur ismein meri shaadi ki baat kahan se aa gayi?" he stood up with his hands in his hips.
"Armaan... shaadi ki baat to aani hi hai na... Ye kaam tumhari biwi ka hai, mera nahi" Anjali said checking his suitcase.
"Whatever... you please check everything for the time being... I am getting late" he took his towel and went to the shower.
" 'I am getting late' " she mimicked him "To phir shaadi kyun nahi karta... main koi tumhari biwi ya personal maid nahi hu jo har baar tumhari packing karoongi" she shouted at his back.
"Bhabhi to ho" he peeked from the bathroom door "aur bhabhi maa samaan hoti hai..."
She threw his shirt towards him "Maa... my foot... this is the last time I am doing all this for you... next time onwards either do it yourself, or get yourself a wife..." she replied irritably.
"Theek hai... dekhte hain" he shouted back from the shower.
Anjali knew that they have to keep nagging him to convince him for the marriage, so whenever they got chance they wouldnt leave the opportunity to link it with his marriage issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Armaan came down after the shower carrying his bag with him. He greeted his elders same way he always did by touching their feet and saying 'hellos' to others.
"Chalein Armaan" Shubhankar asked.
"Ji uncle... ok mom, dad, dadi... main chalta hu" he said.
"Ek minute..." dadi stopped him. Armaan turned towards her to see her holding a puja-ki-thali. She came forward and put a kum-kum teeka on his forehead, while he bent down keeping his right hand on his head to let her do so in respect. Then she wrapped the 'Kalaawa' she got from Riddhima's thali on his wrist while chanting some mantras, blessed him and gave him prasaad. She also gave him some puja-flowers. Armaan smiled seeing them as he remembered the dried flowers the little girl gave him. He caressed his bag where he had already kept those flowers in his bag. "Bhagwaan teri raksha kare" she finally said and kissed his forehead.
"Thanx dadi... aur aap bilkul bhi tension mat lena, I will be fine... aur mom aap bhi" he assured his dadi and Aarti too.
Aarti nodded "Sambhal ke jaana... Shubhankar bhaisaab, please dekhiye ye kahin jabardasti kisi musibat mein na phanse... waise bhi iski aadat hai, doosaron ke chakkar mein, khud ko bhul jaata hai..."
"Aap chinta mat kijiye bhabhi... I will keep a hawk eye on him" Shubhankar reassured them. With that they left for their destination.
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i think i am the first one tis time
Originally posted by: sadique137
i think i am the first one tis time
the meeting was nice but looks like we have to wait a little more so we can see AR introduced face to face.i think she as a bad employer and soon she will leave the job and join Armaan.i can realy picturise the eye contact in front of the disco but y was she wearing the dupatta on her head and covering her face?thanx for the pm
it was a nice update...just started reading your FF yesterday................u have gone into a lot of details.................it shows the efforts u have made on this FF and it is very nice..............keep up the good work............liked the first AR meeting..............wish that they had met again in the coffee shop or so as she waited for Rahul..............
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