It was around 11 when Riddhima finished her files. She closed the file she had been working on and exhaled in relief.
"Haash. Finally kaam khatam hua. Ek kaam karti hoon. Jaake coffee le aati hoon. Mind fresh ho jaayega." With this, she stood up and went to the canteen to get herself a nice French Vailla Cappuchino. As she walked back to her cabin, she stopped hearing some loud noises coming from Abhi's cabin.
"Abhi stop it. Chhodo mujhe. Mujhe tumse koi baat nahin karni." Riddhima was surprised hearing Nikki's hurt and angry voice and scooted closer to the door to see what was happening.
"Lekin mujhe karni hain." Abhi said in a low, angry voice. Riddhima slowly opened the door and peeked inside to see Nikki pinned against the wall by Abhi. She was shocked seeing Abhi all angry and Nikki in tears. A thought of slapping Abhi crossed her mind but then she thought otherwise. Coming down to a conclusion without knowing everything was just stupid.
"Kya baat karni hain tumhe? Haan? Kuch aur kehna baaki reh gaya hain kya? Mere dill ke hazaar tukre karne ke baad... uss raat mera istimaal karne ke baad aur kya kehna baaki reh gaya hain Abhi?" She said in a very hurt and painful voice and looked away.
"Nikki I-" he started but was cutoff by her.
"Bas Abhi. Bohat ho gaya. Mujh mein aur kuch sunne ki himmat nahin hain." She jerked his hand away and ran out of the cabin, without even noticing a shocked Riddhima.
Yeh kya ho raha hain? Abhi ne Nikki ka istimaal kiya? Yeh sab kab... kaise... Mujhe toh vishvaas nahin ho raha. Abhi Nikki ke saath aisa kaise kar sakta hain? Mujhe usse baat karni ni hogi!
With anger running through her she barged in his cabin and glared at his back and yelled his name.
"Abhi!" He turned around and looked at Riddhima with eyes full of tears, shocking Riddhima once again. "Yeh sab kya ho raha hain?!" Abhi just looked away and sat on the couch in front of him. Riddhima became confused and sat down beside him. "Abhi. Main tumse kuch puchh rahi hoon. Yeh sab kya ho raha hain? Nikki itna ro kyun rahi thi? Aur woh yeh kya keh rahi thi? Tumne usska istimaal kiya?" she asked, totally flabbergasted. Abhi was seriously the last person she had expected to stoop so low.
"She's right. Woh sahi keh rahi hain. Maine usska istimaal kiya." He said facing the other way. Riddhima knew something was wrong. She heard him sniff and knew he was crying. Being all strict wasn't going to help. She took a deep breath and asked him softly.
"Abhi. Please mujhe batao. Kya hua? Main tumhari madat karna chahti hoon. Please tell me." Abhi looked at Riddhima for a moment before looking down.
"Pichhle kayi dinon se main harr waqt Nikki ke baare mein sochta rehta tha. Usska khayaal harr waqt mujhe sataata rehta tha. Woh mujhe bohat achhi lagne lagi thi. Woh paas hoti toh dill ki dhadkan bad jaati. Dur hoti toh ussi dekhne ko mann karta. Lekin tumhari aur Bro ki shaadi ke din pata nahin mujhe kya ho gaya tha. Meri uss par se nazar hi nahin hatt rahi thi. Shaadi khatam hone ke baad jab main usse ghar chhodne gaya, toh usski dress pe kuch gir gaya aur woh usse saaf karne gayi aur main baad mein usse bye bolne gaya. Jab maine usse dekha, toh dekhta hi reh gaya. Pata nahin hum dono ko kya ho gaya tha. Hum ek doosre mein itne kho gaye ki humne kab line cross kar di. Subah jab meri aankh khuli, toh mujhe ehsaas hua ki maine bohat badi galti kar di. Mujhe khud pe gussa aa raha tha. Kuch samajh nahin aa raha tha. Jab woh uthi toh ussne mujhse kaha ki woh mujhse pyaar karti hain. Main bilkul shock ho gaya tha. Main apni feelings ke baare mein sure nahin tha... iss liye maine usse keh diya ki humaare beech jo bhi hua, woh ek galti thi. Ki main usse pyaar nahin karta. Maine usse bohat hurt kiya. Jab bhi main usske saamne aata, toh woh mujhe ignore karti. Meri taraf dekhti bhi nahin. Yeh sab baatein mujhe hurt karni lagi. Usski ignorance mere dill ko tod ke rakh deti thi. Aur phir mujhe ehsaas hua ki... ki main usse pyaar karne laga hoon. Lekin ab bohat daer ho gayi hain. Nikki mujhse nafrat karti hain. She hates me." Abhi said with tears rolling down his cheeks and Riddhima just stared at him.
Silence prevailed in the room as Riddhima thought about what he said. Although she understood how Abhi felt and what he was going through, a part of her was really disappointed and she couldn't help it. Being a girl, she understood how it feels when the guy you are madly in love with spends a night with you and then says it was nothing but a mistake. She wanted to say something but no words seemed to fit together.
"Abhi..." she started but trailed off, not knowing what to say, but spoke again. "Abhi jo bhi hua galat tha. Tumne jo kiya... woh galat tha. Main maanti hoon tum apni feelings ko lekar sure nahin the. Lekin tumhe iss tarah se usse hurt nahin karna chahiye tha. Woh tumse bohat pyaar karti hain Abhi. Aur.. tumne toh usse poori tarah se tod diya."
"Main jaanta hoon Riddhima. Aur main usse bataana chahta hoon ki main usse kitna chahta hoon. Lekin woh toh meri baat sunne ko tayaar hi nahin hain. I don't know what to do."
"Tumne usska dill toda hain Abhi. You can't expect her to forgive you. Tumhe usse vishwaas dilaana hoga ke tum usse sach mein pyaar karte ho."
"Meri kuch samajh mein nahin aa raha. Riddhima. Kya tum iss mein meri help kar sakti ho?"
"Yeh bhi koi poochhne ki baat hain kya? Of course main tumhari help karungi."
"I love you yaar! Tum toh meri life savor ho!" He hugged Riddhima immediately and said to her making her smile and she pulled away.
"Bas bas. Ab maska maarna band karo. Zyaada work nahin karne waala. Ab chalo. Rona band karo. Tum rote hue na, bilkul bandar lagte ho. Now come on. Smile!" Abhi smiled and nodded.
"Thanks Riddhima." She glared at him for what he said.
"Ae lo. Thanks keh ke paraaya kyun kar rahe ho?"
"Sorry baba. Ab kabhi bhi thanks nahin bolunga. Okay?"
"Good boy!" she said with a smile and both hugged again.
****
It was around 9 at night and Riddhima was walking towards the elevator with her purse over her shoulder. As she passed Armaan's cabin, she heard some strange noises coming from there and stopped. As curiosity took over her, she slowly went inside and looked around to find the cabin empty. She frowned and thought it was just her imagination. Just when she was about to walk out, she heard the shattering sound of glass from his personalized gym and ran to it.
Opening the door in a swift motion, she searched for Armaan, knowing he had hurt himself. Her heart thudded crazily as her eyes searched and searched for Armaan but he was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, she heard a hiss come from a distance and quickly walked to the other side to see Armaan standing in the middle of pieces of glass, holding his injured hand with pain visible on his face.
"Armaan!" she yelled his name and ran to him, not caring about the slight cuts she got and held his hand carefully. She looked at him and questioned. "Tum pagal ho gaye ho kya Armaan! Yeh kya kar rahe ho tum, haan!"
"Chali jao yahaan se Riddhima. Main apna khayal khud rakh sakta hoon." he said in a cold voice, gazing at the floor and she looked at him incredulously. What was wrong with him?!
"Armaan tumhe chot lagi hain! Aur tum mujhse keh rahe ho main yahaan se jaaun? No. Main kahin nahin jaungi." she said adamantly, making him angry and he pulled his hand away.
"Jhoothi humdardi dikhaane ki koi zaroorat nahin hain Riddhima! Mujhe pata hain tum andar hi andar mera mazaak uda rahi hogi. But for your information, let me tell you mujhe inn sab se farak nahin padta. Just leave me alone and get the hell out of here!" This infuriated Riddhima. Why was Armaan being so adamant?
"Nahin jaungi! Aur tum mujhe jaane ke liye force nahin kar sakte!" Armaan became very angry hearing her replies. He grabbed her shoulder and pinned her to the wall behind her. He viciously glared at her, his eyes boring into her eyes. Riddhima was just too scared to say anything at all. All her courage and boldness drained away seeing him so close and so angry.
"Tumhe ek baar mein koi baat samajh kyun nahin aati?" he asked with his teeth grinded and moved closer to her, crushing her front with his masculine body. "Kaha na yahaan se chali jao toh phir jaati kyun nahin? Achaanak se itni fikar kyun hone lagi tumhe? Haan? Bolo. Javaab do!" He shook her body with anger while she just stared at him, preparing herself for an answer.
"Tumse yeh kisne keh diya ki mujhe tumhari koi fikar hain? Mujhe tumhari koi fikar nahin hain Armaan! Aur kyun hogi haan? In fact... kissi ko bhi tumhari parvah nahin hain. Pata hain kyun? Kyunki tum kabhi kissi ko apne kareeb hi nahin aane dete! Agar koi tumhare paas aata hain toh tum unhe khud se aise alag kar dete ho jaise woh tumhare liye koi maayine hi nahin rakhte!" she said in an angry voice with tears brimming in her eyes, stunning Armaan. "You know tumhari problem kya hain? Tumhe lagta hain ki duniya ki saari takleefein sirf tumhe hain. Dusron ki toh koi feelings hain hi nahin na! Tumhe iss baat ka andaaza bhi hain ke tumhare iss behavior se dusron ko kitni takleef hoti hain! Tumhare saath jo hua, bohat bura tha. Lekin kabhi apne bhaiyon ke baare mein socha hain? Tumhare saath saath Atul aur Abhi ne bhi apne parents khoye hain Armaan. Unhone ne bhi apni zindagi mein bohat kuch saha hain. Lekin tumhe toh yeh dikhta hi nahin hain na? Apne dard ko bhulaane ke liye tum toh sharaab ka sahara le lete ho. Mallaika ka gussa gym mein nikaal dete ho. Kabhi Atul, Rahul aur Abhi ke baare mein socha hain? Socha hain ki unnke dill par kya beethti hogi tumhe iss haalat mein dekhke? Unnke liye ek tum hi toh ho Armaan! Aur tumne toh jaise apna muh hi pher liya hain. Tum jaante ho tumne kitne saare logon ko takleef di hain? Atul, Rahul, Abhi, Nikki, Anjali aur..." she said with tears falling down her cheeks but then stopped as soon as she realized she was about to say 'me'. Armaan looked at her with tearful eyes as he heard her. He knew somewhere it hurt her too. "Aur... Bi ko bhi tumhari kitni fikar hain. Lekin tumhe toh..." she she trailed off, knowing her words weren't going to affect him at all. "Lekin main tumse yeh sab kyun keh rahi hoon? Tumhe toh inn sab se koi farak hi nahin padta." Saying this, she moved his hands away from her and walked out, while Armaan cursed himself.
All this while he remained drowned in his own pain. He had ignored everyone and isolated himself from the world. Not once had he given a thought to how everyone else felt, how much they needed him. Riddhima was right. He had hurt everyone. Even though it was totally unintentional on his part, it was true. And now he had to make up for everything. He owed his brothers. Things were going to change from now. They had to change.
****
Armaan walked inside the hall of Mallik Mansion with his coat hanging over his shoulder and saw everyone gawking at him with their jaws dropped to the ground. How was he home back so soon? Armaan laughed inwardly seeing the shocked faces of his brothers. If he was in their place, he would've been shocked too. After all, this was the first time Armaan came back home before 10 during the holiday season.
"Kya hua? Mujhe dekh kar sab aise shocked kyun ho gaye?" he asked with a smile as he moved closer. No one said anything and continued to stare at him. Armaan chuckled and snapped his fingers.
"Ar-Armaan... tum itni jaldi ghar kaise..." Rahul started and fumbled with his words as he found it hard to believe that Armaan was actually smiling on this day.
"Oh. Toh tum sab mujhe yahaan itni jaldi dekh kar shocked ho? Hmm?" he laughed slightly. "Come on guys. Dinner nahin karna kya?" Laughing to himself he walked up to his room and closed the door behind him making everyone else come out of their shocked mode.
"Rahul... Abhi... main pakka sapna dekh raha hoon. Please mereko pinch karo." Atul said in a trance. Rahul and Abhi looked at each other and then pinched Atul's sides at the same time, almost making him scream.
"AAAHHH!" He jumped in pain and rubbed his sides to ease the pain. "Maarna hain kya?"
"Toh naatak kyun kar raha tha be?" Rahul reprimanded him while Atul made faces at them.
"But seriously yaar. Aaj achaanak Bro ko kya hua? Usually toh yeh baara baje ke pehle ghar wapas nahin aata. And he's back before 10 today! This gotta be a dream!"
"Mereko toh lagta hain issko jhatka laga hain. Zor ka jhatka haaye zoron ka laga. Haan laga." Rahul sang the last part to himself, wondering what happened to Armaan.
"Jo bhi hua ho. Abhi thodi daer mein pata chal hi jaayega. Chalo. Khana khaane chalte hain." Atul said and the other two nodded in agreement and they went to the table.
In a few minutes, Armaan came down and took his seat in front of the trio and they exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.
"Arre. Khana kahaan hain? Riddhima! Bi! Jaldi khana lao na! Bohat bhook lagi hain!" Armaan shouted to them, shocking the others once again.
"Bhai." Atul said with a shocked look on his face. "Yeh tumhe kya ho gaya hain? Do you have a fever?" Armaan had this big urge to laugh seeing his dear brother's face but controlled and managed to put on a straight face.
"Kyun? Hona chahiye tha kya?" he said in a dangerous tone, scaring Atul and then finally gave into his urge to laugh. Abhi, Atul and Rahul were starting to freak out now. What the hell was wrong with Armaan!
"Armaan. Tujhe kya ho gaya hain? Tu aise kyun behave kar raha hain?" said Rahul. Armaan stopped laughing and looked at Rahul.
"Kyun? Mujhe aise hasta muskuraata dekh tum sab chauk kyun gaye?" They exchanged glances together again. "Guys... I'm sorry. I know I've been a jerk. Itne saalon mein maine tum sab bohat hurt kiya hain. Apne dard mein itna uljha raha ke tum sab ka dukh dekha hi nahin. Humesha akela raha, lekin yeh kabhi nahin socha ki tum sab ko meri kitni zaroorat hain. Ek.. bade bhai ka farz main kabhi puri tarah se nibha hi nahin paaya. Tum sab ki khushi mein, dukh mein main kabhi shaamil nahin hua. I know... maine yeh sab kehne mein bohat daer kardi hain. Aur... ab shaayad tum sab mujhe maaf bhi nahin karoge. Lekin phir bhi. Agar ho sake, toh please mujhe maaf kar dena. I-" Before he could say anything else, he felt the others come and hug him tightly. He surely was taken aback by this but then hugged them back tightly. The four brothers cried and let all their pain out. It had been forever since they hugged each other or had a real heart to heart talk. While the Mallik brothers were busy hugging each other, Riddhima and Bi stood beside the wall in the kitchen with a big smile on their faces.
"We did it Bi! We finally did it!" Riddhima jumped in excitement and Bi nodded.
"Haan Riddhima. Humne finally yeh kar diya. Humne inn bhaiyon ko aakhir mein mila hi diya. Bhagwaan karein innko kabhi kissi ki naza na lage." Riddhima smiled and nodded. She was so happy. They had succeeded in their first step, which was to bring the brothers together again. Now they had to bring the real Armaan out. The one that smiled, laughed with all his heart and what not. It was going to be difficult, but definitely not impossible.
****
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