Riddhima was wrong. Wrong in the way that she allowed herself to get closer to Sia and Dadi only to destroy Vansh. Wrong in the way that she judged Ishani and Aryan for how they were when she herself was no better than them.
Riddhima's fingers traced a path across Vansh's cheek as she kneeled before his couch and admired his sleeping figure. Somewhere along the way she had fallen in love with him and all of his nuances. But he couldn't be hers, the best thing for her was to expose Vansh's criminal misdeeds and restart her life with Kabir. People like her didn't get to be with people like Vansh and right now she was living on borrowed time.
Riddhima attempted to stifle her hysterical sobs as she shook her head in anguish. She had so little time left with him. How long would it be until she found some damning proof, how long until Kabir found something and she'd have to leave. Why didn't she realise the love she had for Vansh sooner, at least that way she could have cherished her time with him but now the clocks were ticking louder than ever as a reminder of the little amount of time she had left.
"What are you doing?" Questioned Vansh as he awoke from his slumber, causing Riddhima to jump back in shock. A red blush highlighted her cheeks at the prospect of being caught in such an embarrassing situation. Riddhima didn't reply, and as Vansh took notice of the tears running down his wife's eyes, a thunderous anger with a hint of worry tinted the darkness of his eyes.
"What happened?" He questioned as he refrained from growling at his trembling wife.
"Nightmare" Riddhima mumbled and well wasn't this a nightmare. The fact that she had fallen for him as well as his entire family. Dadi had taken her in like as if she were her own. Anupriya and Chanchal in their haughty ignorance of her had found a place in her heart with their hidden caring nature. Siya had treated Riddhima like as if she were here own biological sister. Angre despite all his hesitance about her being right for Vansh refused to call her anything but 'Bhabhi'. Aryan and Ishani in their naive childish temper tantrums had also carved an unusual place in her heart.
Vansh however with his hot and cold nature was someone who had begun to dominate every aspect of her heart. With the way he would stare at her with his dark gaze. With the way he would smirk at her from distance in order to make her flustered. But mainy it was the way he cared for her in ways that seemed strange at first.
Vansh shook his head with a chuckle.
"I'll always protect you" he promised gently as he stared deeply into Riddhima's eyes.
Riddhima felt her heard crumble at the admission, she nodded.
"I'll try to sleep now" she mumbled as she got up from her place beside the couch and returned to the spacious bed.
As the Vansh's gentle snores sounded Riddhima allowed her mind to wander into unchartered territory.
Into a world were they were happy, together. Everything was good. They slept in one bed, had no suspicions of one another. And maybe one day had small children of their own creating havoc and chaos in the Raisinghania mansion. Riddhima attempted to stifle her sobs into her pillow at the thought of a life she could never have.
But Riddhima had always been a realist and she knows that this life of hers will never be a happy one.
Maybe in a different lifetime things could have been different.
Cricket
Mahadev And Sons
