Hi friends,
This is Richa. After the warm response I received for my first ever FF ' End of the DMG story - my style, I am back with a second FF on one of the most loved telly couples of all times, Armaan and Riddhima.
My earlier FF was only a one shot, but this would be a long running story, which I hope to improve with your comments and suggestions. Please keep them coming. 😊😊😊
Love,
Richa
Index:
Part 9: Page 46
Part 11: Page 63
Thread 2: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/1427177
Character sketches:
Armaan Mallik (28 years): A person who believes that pride is justified as long as you are worthy of it, even though his interpretation of pride borders on what others would call arrogance. He is one of the heirs to the famous media empire 'Verve', which was built by his grandfather. Armaan was working in the US till recently, but is back now to join his family business. A workaholic to the core, he has no time for girls, but deep inside he is also proud of the female attention he gets wherever he goes. He is good looking, rich, intelligent and the worst part is that he knows it very well.
Riddhima Gupta (26 years): Someone who has her feet firmly rooted to the ground, Riddhima is a sweet and bubbly girl for whom her family and friends are always the first priority. She is very friendly and caring, but if you rub her the wrong way, she is surely going to blast you off. Till recently she was working with a fashion house, but has now been offered the post of the HR head at 'Verve'. She is very beautiful and charming, but the bad part is that she doesn't even realize it.
Rahul Mallik (26 years): Though he is Armaan's cousin, he is quite his opposite. Friendly, easy going and very good at heart, he is always surrounded by friends. However deep inside, Rahul admires and worships his big bro and hopes to become like him someday.
Muskaan Chadha (26 years): A complete chatterbox, Muskaan can breathe life into any boring situation or conversation. She is a very lovely girl with a clean heart who can do anything for the well being of her dear ones. She is Riddhima's best friend and confidante who has been with her since childhood.
Other characters:
Anjali Gupta: She is Riddhima's elder sister who is about to get married soon. Absolutely adores her younger sister and is very protective about her and Muskaan.
Atul Joshi: A successful entrepreneur, Atul is every girl's dream man. Handsome, loving, caring and loyal, he only has eyes for his wife-to-be Anjali. However, he is also very protective about his would be sister-in-law Riddhima.
You will also find other characters flitting in and out of the story from time to time.
Part 1:
Riddhima stopped in her tracks as she could again hear someone calling out her name. She wanted to turn around and see who it was, but at the same time didn't want to take the risk of getting hit by a speeding car as she was crossing the road. Once she safely reached the other side of the road, Riddhima turned around to see who it was, but couldn't see anyone calling out or coming towards her. Blaming her overactive imagination, she made her way to the entrance of the coffee shop where her best friend Muskaan was waiting for her.
"There you are, finally!!!" screeched Muskaan, as soon as Riddhima entered.
"Come on yaar, it's not that I am an hour late, it's just a matter of 10 minutes" said Riddhima. "Also, please don't carry on with your tirade as we are here to celebrate my new job, remember???"
"Yup dear and chill cause I was just trying to get hyper, as usual. Now come on, I have worked up a huge appetite in those 10 minutes. Order something for me, fast!"
"Tera kuch nahi ho sakta hai Muskaan"
The two friends then got down to talking and poring over the menu and deciding what to order when a handsome guy came up to their table and asked, "Riddhima?"
"Yes, I am Riddhima," she said with a puzzled expression.
"Great! I couldn't really make out from the photo whether it's you or not. Moreover, you look very different now. Maybe this was taken years back? Oops, before I start babbling again, let me introduce myself. I am Rahul and I just happened to be at the parking lot on the opposite side, when I saw you drop your driver's license as you rushed out from there. I saw your name and shouted after you, but I guess I wasn't loud enough."
A visibly embarrassed Riddhima thanked him and also apologized for having caused him the trouble of running after her. There was something very warm and likeable about this guy that exuded very positive vibes. She had been talking to him for around 5 minutes, when she remembered Muskaan, who on the other hand was simply staring at Rahul and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Another introduction took place.
"Alright then, let me take leave of you ladies. Hope to see you people soon."
"Nothing doing," said Muskaan who apparently found her voice by now. "You have done my friend such a huge favour, so now you will have to sit with us for a cup of coffee and you know what, we are celebrating Riddhima's new job. So this is our best chance to make her foot a huge bill. "
"Am I not the one who should be making this offer to him?" thought Riddhima. Mentally chiding herself for her ungrateful behaviour, Riddhima also chimed in with Muskaan.
"Oh that's wonderful. Congratulations Riddhima! I would love to have a cup of coffee, but my cousin is waiting for me at the parking lot. I told him that I would be back in a few minutes."
"Why don't you invite him too?" chirped Muskaan
"Well, I can certainly try" said Rahul. He made a quick call to his cousin and then sat down with the girls.
After a few minutes, Riddhima could suddenly sense all female eyes turning towards the entrance of the coffee shop. She curiously followed their gaze and soon enough found herself staring at someone who could truly be described as the perfect specimen of a hunk.
"Hunk? Well he is certainly much more than that! With his grey eyes, great physique and tall demeanour, he is a Greek God to say the least. No wonder every male present here is burning with pure jealousy." Riddhima was lost in her thoughts when she suddenly realized that this guy was walking towards their table.
She could already feel Muskaan excitedly squashing her hand to a pulp.
"Here he comes" said Rahul. "Riddima, Muskaan, meet my bro Armaan. Isn't he handsome? As you must have just seen, he attracts female attention like a magnet and in that process ends up getting a lot of male attention too!" he said with a wink.
Both girls smiled at Rahul's comment, but this moment was suddenly cut short by an impatient voice that said, "If you are done with your jokes, can we leave?"
"Come on bhai, the girls have so sweetly invited us for coffee, we can't just go!"
"Well kiddo, there are many more important things to do, other than bonding over cups of coffee. Sorry ladies, but we have to leave."
After shaking hands with them condescendingly and a curt nod of his head, Armaan was gone.
"Sorry guys, I think bro is just not in a good mood today. Please don't mind, but yeah you still owe me a cup of coffee, don't forget. I have your numbers now, will catch up soon!"
With a friendly wave Rahul was gone, but both girls were left fuming over the rude manner in which Armaan left them.
"Kya samajhta hai apne aap ko?" Muskaan gritted through her teeth. "Yup, he is good looking and has a certain sort of an aura around him, but that doesn't mean he will go around downsizing people. He could have said the same thing in a polite and civil manner. Mannerless moron!"
Muskaan went on blabbering and hurling abuses at Armaan, but Riddhima just continued staring at the door. She was simply amazed that a person could be so rude. Indeed, both the brothers were different like chalk and cheese. However, much as she tried, she couldn't ignore the tingling sensation in her hand that was grasped by Armaan a few minutes back.
Riddhima shooed away those sensations and said in a chirpy voice, "Come on Muskaan, chill! He really must have been in a bad mood and moreover why should we care about something said by a random guy, someone we most likely will never meet again. So let's forget about him and enjoy our food."
"Yeah, you are right, just forget him. Also don't forget that we need to pick up a few things for Anjali di before we head back home."
"Oh, I completely forgot about that. Ok now be quick."
"Waise Riddhima, didn't you find Rahul cute?" Muskaan asked with a wink.
"Yup I did, plus I also have a feeling that he is a very nice person. But if you are hinting at something else, please give me a break!" With that she shifted her attention to her food again.
Riddhima's house was a hive of activity these days and why not, because her elder sister Anjali was getting married in a week's time. With so much happening in the house, she and Muskaan were always on their toes. Her mom Padma was a nervous wreck by now, but thankfully her dad Sashank Gupta was there to calm her down.
"Hey di, what's up?"
"Come on Riddhima, you shouldn't be asking this at least. I asked you to be here at 6 PM and you are almost an hour late!" whined Anjali. "God, there is so much to do, but you both girls are always running away from the house on one pretext or the other."
"Sorry di" quipped Muskaan. "Aaj na hum log ek bahut hi batameez insaan se mile the. He totally spoiled our mood, so we decided to go and have some ice cream to cool our rising tempers."
Always the protective sister, Anjali ears shot up at that.
"Who was that Riddhima?"
"Di, tum bhi na! It was a random guy we were introduced to by a friend and he was a little upset about something and was not very willing to talk, which unsettled Muskaan a bit. That's it, please don't get worried over a trivial matter." She shot a look towards Muskaan who looked at her puzzled, but decided to remain quiet.
"So girls, go and get these gifts packed and that too soon as there are lots of other stuff to do" ordered Anjali in her typical big sis style.
"Okay di" both of them shouted in unison before bolting out of the room.
"Oye Riddhima, tune mujhe wahan kyun roka?"
"Yaar, you know that Di has a habit of getting worried over every little thing, especially if it concerns us. As it is, she is all caught up with the wedding preparations and I don't want to add to that."
"How stupid of me yaar, no wonder you are so much smarter than I am Ridz."
"Woh to hai" said Riddhima with a smug smile, which made Muskaan chase her all the way to the room.
"Riddhima, tell me one thing......didn't you find this Armaan guy hot? If you ask me, he is smoking hot."
"Hmmm, that he is, but his cold manners will certainly put off all self respecting girls for sure."
"Yup, but if I purely go by looks, you both will make a fantastic pair."
"Oh my God Muskaan, in that case I will choose Rahul any day," said Riddhima wickedly as she could make out that Rahul had made quite an impression on Muskaan, though she would hardly admit it.
"Haan haan, theek hai.......lets see" said Muskaan a little glumly and started packing the gifts. Soon Rahul and Armaan were forgotten and both girls went about arranging things for the next day when their Atul bhaiya would get engaged to their Anjali di.
The rest of the evening also passed by in a blur of activity as every single soul under the Gupta roof was making all efforts to ensure that Anjali's engagement was an affair to remember. Riddhima and Muskaan retired to their room soon after dinner as they were too tired to chit chat with the rest of the family. Muskaan was supposed to stay with them till the wedding and everyone knew that she would share Riddhima's room like always.
Within a matter of a few minutes, both of them were fast asleep. One of them was dreaming about a handsome guy in a smart checked blue shirt, while the other could only see a pair of bluish grey eyes that looked seemingly cold, but had a lot hidden in their depths.
Destiny has a knack of bringing together the most unlikely people in the unlikeliest of situations. Little did these four know that it would soon bind them in a way they could never ever think of.
Hope you people liked the start!
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