Chapter 18
Curled up in a corner of my room, I took the phone and dialed his number. Whatever I did to save his life was a complete waste, since he was suicidal anyways. The moment I had thought that he could finally move on and forget about me, he did something incredibly stupid, and this time it happened to be beyond my imagination. I was sure it pained me much more than it did to him. Armaan's condition was very critical, when he had been brought to the hospital. Several broken bones and cuts, blood loss and what not, the news reporters said on television. I spend the entire night crying.
The lesson was learned. We both were dying without each other anyways, better die with each other than staying apart. I couldn't do it anymore. But a major part of me was still afraid for him.
Two years ago, when I came to Mumbai, it was hard for me. Dreaming about him, thinking of him all the time, thinking of the moments all the time, seeing him everywhere, it was all driving me mad. So I had decided to do what I had to do- go back to him. Aditya is a very nice guy, I had thought, he will understand. Aditya had been cheating on me this entire time, I learned that night. I kept calling out for Armaan the whole night. He is the only one who could ease my pain. I tried to go back to him, I tried to contact him. I had thought that my engagement was over. What I did not know was that it all was far from over. Aditya was determined to not let any guy near me. "You belong to me, Riddhima."- he told me with amount of harshness in his touch and tone, as I tried to get away from his hold. "I was always his, Aditya. You can do whatever you want, I will always be his." I spat on his face, disgust. I had never seen that part of Aditya, and I had never thought I would. He shoved me hardly on the floor. The confrontation turned bloody, and he turned into a blood sucking monster. Armaan, who was on the other side of the world then, I knew, felt so close to me then, as I thought that Aditya was going to bury me alive. But instead he did something else.
I was shivering, as he walked to me and kneeled down, looking into my eyes.
"You go back to him and I will kill him." He tone sent chills through my body. And then he vanished in the stormy night. I wrapped my arms around my body and lay on the floor, crying for the whole night.
When my friends and family found out about it, they were enraged and furious. Atul and Rahul even went to the Police Station to complain, inspite of my attempts to stop them. Later that night, I had found out that Armaan, while he was home, had been attacked by a bunch of unknown invaders. That was a clear message. I had to stay away from him, to keep him alive. And so I did. I kept it to myself, tried to get back to my regular life. Aditya thought that I would go back to him in the end. I knew that he was wrong, that would never happen.
Although I knew that Aditya was watching me, I tried to ignore it and go back to being normal. Normal was a little too farfetched for me. Every night I woke up, screaming, due to a blood-chilling nightmare, and would spend the rest of the night crying. I was afraid of those lonely nights that I had to spend alone. Every second in these two years, I wished that Armaan was there with me. Finally, when I thought that Armaan was getting let go to me, I heard about his accident, that tore me apart.
"Hello?" I pulled out my thoughts, when I heard his voice. I covered my mouth with my hands, trying not to make a sound. He would know its me, I knew. And then he proved me correct.
"Riddhima?" He said again, his voice soft and hopeful this time and I broke into tears. He, even after 2 years, was still where I was, my heart broke. We both.. try to mend our broken hearts and move on... but end up in the same spot as we were. Finally, I had to accept the harsh truth, which broke me even more- I am not capable of what I was trying to do, I was never going to stop loving him.
"Riddhima?" He called out again, his voice desperate for my response. I began sobbing harder. Please stop hurting yourself, Armaan. Please. It is killing me. Please do not make this difficult for me, were the unsaid words that I could not say, but he was able to hear.
"I am fine, Riddhima." He said firmly, making me cry harder. Amidst my tears, I saw Dadi rush towards me from the other room, knowing who I must be talking to. I fell in her arms, crying hard, still hearing his firm voice.
"Everything will be fine. I promise." Nothing will be "fine" ever again, I knew. I was shaking, shivering, crying, and in pain, when I disconnected the call. Inspite of all the emotions, his voice gave me the peace I had been craving for. He was fine, I knew. He loves me, I knew and that gave me an immense sense of satisfaction that no grief could over power. But I still cried, crying that we were two people who were in love.. but just not meant to be together.
Edited by Heart - 13 years ago
Shiv Shakti
12