Chapter 1

Mary/ Penname: Zoe

@KrazyRedMary

Hey Guys, I am Mary. I am not if you will like this or not. I haven't written any ff for a long time so...I hope you like it though.

Today is the big day, and the whole house is a chaos. Well it is kind of obvious, it is a wedding house. Everybody is running around and checking everything for the nth time. Everything needs to be just perfect and to make sure that it is "perfect" Sara has the charge. Sara and Aaryan, her husband, are the next door neighbors. Sara is a short lady in late forties, who still consider herself 25. Aaryan is a nice decent guy but he is normally dominated by his wife. Overall, they are very nice but sometimes they can be very nosy, too.

Sara is fixing the mandap area, where the bride and the groom are going to sit, while shouting at Aaryan as a typical wife. "No, not there. Arghh! You can't even do one thing right! You don't get it, right?," Sara sighs, "we need to make this day special for them. Anyways, where are they?," she questions looking at the clock.

Aaryan, who is checking the list of "Of to Do Things" one last time, looks up and wonders the same, "Exactly, where are they? Oh, hey, look, Rohail is here." He says, as he notice Rohail walking in, "Hi. Where's Armaan?"

Rohail is the younger brother of Rey, the groom; he is the only relative Armaan has left, for their parents died in an accident. He is only 24 years old and is very handsome. If you have started feeling sorry for the groom, then let me tell you that the bride is even more unfortunate, as she doesn't even have a sibling. Her parents died when she was really young. She grew up with her grandmother; however, she also passed away three years ago. The bride and groom met at work and about two months ago they decided to get married.

Rohail checks out the decorations while answering, "Armaan is getting ready and so is the bride. They will be here in an hour."

Sara, being a bossy personality, gets infuriated that things are not going her way, she marches towards Rohail, "but the guests will start coming in an hour. Armaan and his wife-to-be should be here before the guests."

"But the guest is only one person, who is a friend of Armaan's wife-to-be," Rohail answers in an equally irritated voice and turns away from the couple.

Sara and Aaryan continue their last minute work as if nothing happened. On the other hand, Rohail tries to call Rey. Finally, after two tries, Rey answers.

"Hey Rey, where are you? This...," Rohail gives a look to Sara but doesn't say anything, "Forget it. Tell me, where are you and how long will it take for you to get here? Oh. Ok.," he then moves from the couple and whispers, "Why did you even invite them? This woman is so bossy. And you know...", but he is interrupted by Armaan and he stops. "Ok. So you'll be here in a few minutes. Right... Ok.," and with that Rohail hangs up.

He turns around and sees Ciel running towards him. At first Rohail is confused as he cannot see her face clearly and doesn't understand why she is running. However, as she comes close, he notices that she is actually crying.

Rohail asks her with concern-filled voice while holding her by the shoulders, "what happened? Why are you crying? Where is Riddhima?"

Ciel replies between her sobs, "I can't find her.*sob* She was in her room. I went down stairs to pick my cell... *sob*... and when I came back she was gone. The room was empty*sob*."

In a calm voice, Rohail reassures her while holding her by the shoulders, "It's fine. She must have gone somewhere. We will find out. She must have some work...," Rohail's voice breaks off with worry but he masks his worry, "Don't worry; she must have gone somewhere. We will find her." He brings a chair for Ciel to sit and a glass of water, and then he tries to call Armaan.

"Armaan, answer the phone," Rohail talks to himself as he tries to call Armaan again and again, "please, answer the phone." Rohail is about to call Armaan for the third time when Armaan enters through the main door.

"What's the problem? Why are you calling me like a manic? I told you I am coming in some minutes." Armaan stops as he notices Ciel crying, "what happened, Ciel? Where's Riddhima? I thought you were coming with her!" When Ciel doesn't answer, Armaan questions Rohail, "what? Can somebody tell me what's happening?"

"Armaan... Umm," Rohail doesn't know how to tell the truth to Armaan. Thus, He is able to make an direct eye - contact with him. "Armaan, look this wasn't Ciel's fault. I am sure Riddima must be on her way. Something must have come up which is why she had to go urgently. I'm positive about it. So... I am sure there's nothing to worry about," Rohail starts mumbling, "She must have...---"

Armaan interrupts and asks,"where's Riddima? You're not making any sense Rohail," Armaan holds him by his arms and tries to shake him, "where's Riddhima?"

Rohail doesn't speak up. Ciel, seeing the situation, braces herself to talk. She stands up and goes up to Armaan, "I was with her but then I got a call from my friend and I went downstairs and when I came to her room she was gone. The room was empty. I tried to call her but I found her cell on the bed and her car keys were in their place, too. To be very honest, if she would have come down I would have seen her," she takes a step towards Armaan but doesn't touch him, "I am really, really very sorry."

Armaan sighs as if to drain his anger or his worry. He then runs his hand through his freshly gelled hair, "I know you are but don't worry. It's not your fault. I will find her. She will be fine and I will get her back."

Just then, Aaryan gets a call and steps out of the room. Armaan glances around the room; he is about walk out of the room when Sara call's him.

"Armaan don't go. I am sure she ran away with that guy. What was his name? Yeah, Daniel, how can you forget what happened on June 22nd. Son, don't go after her. She never wanted to marry you. All she ever wanted was your money. And I am sure she was only marrying you for money. She never cared for you. She...---", Sara goes on a rampage but she is interrupted by Armaan.

"Stop it. Please! What happened has happened. I know Riddima. She wouldn't do this to me. I am sure. Something is seriously wrong," Armaan was furious at Sara for saying that replied confidently. At that time, his phone rings. He reads the caller name and a smile breaks on his face.

"Riddhima, where are you? I am so glad you called... --," just then somebody interrupts from the other side,"who is this? Daniel! Where's Riddhima? How do you have her cell? She's with you!" His face immediately fell and all the expressions from hurt-to-betrayal is evident. Tears are even brimming on the corner of his eyes. "But we were supposed to get married to... today. How... How could she?" his voice breaks and he turns his face to other side. He takes a deep breath and gathers his courage to ask the last question, "can... can I talk to her? For the last time... just once...," he is almost begging now, "But... Wait... No...," he is trying to talk when he hears the click of call getting discounted. Armaan was in shock. He moves back and collapses on the sofa. Slowly one lonely tear falls from his left eye.

Rohail moves towards Armaan and puts a hand on his shoulder. Next he gets on his knee in front of Armaan, "Armaan... I am sure something is not right. Riddhima would never do anything like this to you. I am sure." Armaan seems to be in some kind of trance. He doesn't look at anybody or say anything. He looks lost.

Sara is standing there and seeing all this. She smiles inwardly. Slowly she moves towards Armaan as Rohail moves and stands in a corner and tries to call someone. She gently calls Armaan, "Armaan, I know this is hard for you. I am really sorry for what happened to you. You...," She portays that she is sad and is having a hard time saying all this. Definitely, she is over acting. "You still have to move on and today is the day when you were supposed to marry. All the arrangements are made and some of my friends are coming, also. How can I call them and just say that there is no wedding!" When she says that Armaan feels like someone has slapped him; there was a lot of pain visible on his face. The only thing he wants is to hide from this evil world.

Sara continues, "If you want I can call my daughter. She is more than willing to marry you.," Armaan gives her a look which clearly says WHAT. Seeing his reaction, Sara quickly continues, "No, no son, don't get me wrong," she says that with a lot of pain as if it's a struggle to say it. "I know you really liked Riddhima but you just have to move on. My friends are coming; what am I going to say to them, that the bride ran away from her own wedding," she says almost mockingly. "You know it would be so embarrassing. Please. Just say yes to this wedding. Please, Son. My daughter, Laila, is here and if you want I can talk to her. She has always liked you. I don't think she would have a problem..." before Sara can complete her sentence Rohail interrupts.

"Armaan don't say, yes. I am sure there has to be a mistake; seriously, Riddhima would rather die than betray you. And it's not like there won't be any tomorrow and that you have to marry today. It's fine, what's done is done, we can't change it. We can go home now." He says as he makes Armaan stand,"Let's go."

But Armaan pulls his arm out from Rohail's grip, "Leave me alone. I don't need anyone and as for getting married today. I will get married today. I trusted Riddhima more than anything but what did she give me in return, nothing. Well then why should I cry over her? I can move on. Aunt Sara," he says as he turns towards Sara, "I am ready to get married to your daughter. Can I meet her?" Even though he asks for permission in a formal style, there is no emotion visible on his face.

Ciel and Rohail stood there in shock. Sara masks breaks and her happiness is visible. In the mean time, her phone rings. It's Aaryan. "Yes Aaryan. Yeah. Oh but...," Aaryan interrupts from her other side, "Ok. If it's urgent then I won't stop you. Ok. Is Laila home? Ok. Take Care." She hangs up and looks at Rey, "For some urgent work, Aaryan had to go. I am sorry about him leaving in the middle of the wedding. Laila is home but I would rather go and quickly get her ready and bring her; because all this has wasted a lot of time. Will that work for you?" She asks Armaan and he just nods. And with that note Sara leaves to get Laila. Ciel and Rohail are just standing there with nothing to say.

One hour later. The guests have arrived. Everybody is just waiting for the bride. Armaan has washed his face and now looks a bit better but still isn't normal. Ciel and Rohail are trying to be cool about everything however the fact remains the same that they just can't believe that Riddima would do something this awful. There is one hour left for the grand wedding of which so many dreams where seen; so many plans were created; and last but not the least so many hopes were high; alas, it won't be like the way it was planned as the planner, herself, is not here. The mandap is set. The pandit and the groom are sitting in their place. The pandit has getting everything ready for the wedding.

Just then Laila can see coming down the stairs with Sara draped in a beautiful red wedding dress. Armaan looks up and he thinks of Riddhima . Red is her favorite color. Her wedding dress was red also and she looked gorgeous in it, just like an angel, his angel. Armaan looks away and tries to control his emotion, "can't think about her... She is not worth it." He kept repeatly saying that to himself hoping that he would thinking about her.

As Ciel see them coming, she also goes to escort Laila to the mandap. They come down and Sara makes Laila beside Armaan. Though Laila kept sneaking a peck at him, Armaan didn't look at her even once.

The pandit starts reciting and everybody quitely watching the wedding. The pandit asks the groom and the bride to stand for garland exchange. Armaan was supposed to put the garland first so he raised his hand to put the garland around her neck however Laila cousins raised her up in the air,out of Armaan's reach. Laila shyly smiled towards Armaan who was expressionless. Regardless, Armaan moved forward to put the garland and then Laila put a garland around his neck. They both sit back down and the pandit continue the recitation when Riddhima comes running in her red wedding dress and nearly tripping over her heels.

"Sorry, sorry, Sorr...rry," she catches her breath and looks towards the mandap, where she is stun to Armaan sitting beside Laila. She can't believe it. "What is going on here?," she asks as she slowly comes closer to the mandap, "Armaan," she looks at him, "I thought you were marrying me. How could you?" She says with tears in her eyes. She continues with tears flowing down her face, "I know I am late but that doesn't mean that you would...", her voice breaks and she turns and looks at Ciel, "Cielll!" She goes and hugs her.

Everyone is shocked; they can't believe that Riddhima is here. And it doesn't even look like she is acting. Rohail, who is first to come out of the shock; goes to Riddhima.

Swallowing the lump that has formed in his throat, Rohail calls out, "Riddhima." She opens her eyes and comes out of the hug. She opens her mouth to say something but nothing comes out; so Rohail continues, "Look, I am very confused." He said it in a matter of fact.

"What's confusing? It's obvious that Armaan is getting married and I am not the bride," she points at Laila and then herself. "I'm here and she's there. Confusion Solve," she ends bitterly.

"No, I meant Armaan...," Rohail continues but is interrupted by Armaan. He comes down the mandap to Riddhima. He is extremely angry and in no-nonsense mood.

"Is this all a joke to you? The marriage and all... if it is than let me tell you that it is not for me. You get that? Now go! Leave!" He points at the door.Riddhima doesn't even move a inch.

"Why should I go? The person, who should go is her, no, no, actually them" Riddhima goes to Laila and Sara and points at them, "the mother-daughter duo, who doesn't want anything other than your money and for that they are willing to do anything. And I mean anything. Anything."

Laila, who couldn't handle this anymore stands and goes up to Riddhima, "Enough is enough! I have been listening to you for a long time but not anymore. Who gave you the right to come and blame us for anything and I mean anything? Anything." She mocks Riddhima by imitating her.

Riddhima laughs a humorless laugh, "who gave you the right to come and sit on my place on my wedding? Huh? I see that's all you can do... Just copy me."

"Really you think so?" Laila says she moved towards Riddhima menacingly. Riddhima backs offs.

"Look I am not here to fight... At least not with my own COPYCAT!" Riddhima replied but before Laila could answer back she moves towards Armaan. She speaks to him gently, "Look, Armaan. I am really sorry... I didn't want to create any drama on our wedding day. I just want to tell you that I never betrayed you. I know you think that," makes her voice steady, "however the truth is that Aunt Sara didn't want me to marry you. She wanted you to marry her daughter, Laila, but you choose me. She couldn't bare that and put up this scheme..." Before Riddhima can say anything more; Sara interjects in, "Son, don't listen to her. You have known me all your life. You know I could never do anything like that."

"Really that's what you have to say in your defense. Then let me tell you that Armaan knows all the goods about you. He knows you are nosy, annoying, irritating and now also a schemer, neighbor. Armaan, you have got to believe me. Just think about it. Their daughter is never home and she is home on our wedding day at the exact time when I go missing! Seriously, please open your eyes," Riddhima says it pleadingly.

Armaan looks around, first at Rohail then Ciel and last at Laila and Sara and finally his eyes settled on Riddhima.

Hesistantly, Armaan says, "I am not sure. I mean... it's almost like saying that you tell me a story and then after hearing it, you want me to believe it."

Frustrated Riddhima was losing her patience, "Arghhh... *sigh* how about this... why don't you call my number... and see who picks it up? Maybe that would make you realize that this is not your Lala land and these," pointing at Laila and Sara, "are actually mean, as in bad or evil, people." When Armaan gives Riddhima his eye look; she says, "Ok, ok. I get it that you got it." Riddhima continues smilingly just then Riddhima remembers and says, "Go on, call!"

Armaan first looks at Riddhima and then brings his phone out of his pocket. He calls Riddhima's number. First, nothing happens and then everybody hears Riddhima's cell phone ring. Everybody looks around and then somone notices that the ringtone coming from Sara's purse.

Riddhima, Rohail and Ciel have grins on their faces while the mother-daughter duo is thinking of anything to save themselves... Armaan is furious.

Moves toward them, "How dare you? I trusted you... and you... you deceived me." He looks away as in ashamed to know them, ashamed that he believed in them and trusted them. "Please, go away from here and never... NEVER show your face to me again. JUST GO AWAY, NOW!"

They go away as they didn't have anything to say. They looked sorry and guilty.

Armaan turns around and sees Riddhima who is smiling. He moves toward her.

He comes toward Armaan but doesn't touch her. Just close enough. He gently says, with his million dollar smile, "I am sorry... I know I am world's biggest jerk but would still like to marry me? Please." He says with a puppy dog smile. Riddhima who loved his puppy dog face melted in a minute. Even though Riddhima wanted to say a million things to Armaan; she couldn't make herself say anything. She just nods and her one nod made his smile permanent.

Armaan points toward the mandap and shows his hand to follow; though, he doesn't hold her hand. He sits on one side and on the other Riddhima sits. Ciel comes and stand in front of Riddhima; so no one can see it. When she moves back to her place; Riddhima's head was covered with her scarf and she was bowing her head.

CrazyRedMary2014-05-30 20:59:28