15.Realization Taking In
Riddhima walks out of the bathroom, after taking a shower. Something that surprised her was that Armaan wasn't in the room and neither was Aarav. Obviously, Aarav would have to be with Armaan. Riddhima walks downstairs to see their friends sitting in the living room. She smiles and walks over to them. "Riddhima!" Riddhima gives each of them a hug, then settles beside Muskaan. "Tum sab yahan?" Riddhima asks. "Hum sab picnic par jaa rahe hain!" Muskaan said, excitedly. "Kis khushi main?" Riddhima asks. "Khushi thodi na honi hoti lekin agar honi hai toh Aarav ke aane ki khushi main," Atul said. Armaan and Riddhima smile to know that their son has so much importance in everyone's life. "Sach main. Jab se Aarav aaya hai toh sab ki duniya hi badal gayi hai," Rahul said, looking at Aarav. "I know. Riddhima, sambhal ke rehna. Aarav na bilkul Armaan jaisa hoga," Anjali said. Riddhima was confused so she looks at Armaan then back at Anjali. "Matlab?" Riddhima asks. "Aarav na Armaan ki tarah ladkiyon ke peeche bhage ga," Anjali said. "Excuse me, main ladkiyon ke peeche nai bhagta tha, ladkiyaan mere peeche bhagti thi," Armaan defends himself. "Yeah right," Anjali said, sarcastically. "I am right. Jab bhi koi ladki mujhe pe line marti thi toh main sirf uske saath isiliye flirt karta tha thake usko importance mile ke usne Armaan Mallik se baat ki hai," Armaan said, with a winning a smile. Riddhima looks at Armaan and shakes her head at him. Armaan's smile disappeared when he saw Riddhima glaring at him. Armaan clears his throat. "Toh picnic pe kab jaana hai," Armaan said, changing the topic, but his eyes were on Riddhima, who was throwing daggers at him. He gives her a sheepish smile then looks away. "Riddhima, I think Aarav ko bhook lagi hai," Armaan says. Riddhima stands up and walks over to Armaan. She was still glaring at Armaan, she takes Aarav and walks away. "Tu toh gaya," Rahul said. Armaan glares at Rahul then at Anjali. "Tumhe apna moo zaroori kholna tha," Armaan scolds Anjali. "Haan. Riddhima ko bhi toh pata chale ke tum kaise ladke ho," Anjali said. "Ho nai tha," Armaan said, stretching on 'tha.' "Whatever," Anjali scoffs. "Guys enough!" Muskaan yells. "Ab yeh batao ke picnic pe kab jaana hai?" "Abhi ek baje nikal te hain," Atul suggests and everyone agrees.
"Is everyone in?" Armaan asks, as he sits in the driver seat of the mini van. "Yes!" everyone replies. Armaan backs up the car and drives to the park where they are going for their picnic. Armaan had noticed that Riddhima was ignoring him and also giving him attitude. He shakes his head and curses Anjali, mentally for opening his past to Riddhima.
Riddhima was taking Aarav's car seat out, but it was kind of difficult because it was heavy. Armaan noticed and he walks over to help her. He reaches his hand out to take the car seat out, but Riddhima stops him. "Main khudi kar lo gi," Riddhima said, with a side glance at Armaan. Armaan could hear the rudeness in her voice which kind of made him confused. What did he do that he is getting coldness from Riddhima? "Riddhima - " Armaan starts, but Riddhima finally got the car seat out, and she walked away. Armaan sighs and shuts the door and walks after everyone.
The girls sat down and made sandwiches, while the guys played football (American). Riddhima's eyes kept on going on Armaan, but every time he'd look at her, she would give him some attitude and look away. Armaan gestures the guys to come to him, so he talk to them. They walk up to Armaan and Armaan puts his arms around their shoulder as he stands between them. "Yaar, iss Anjali ne toh Riddhima ko mujhse naraz kar diya," Armaan said, mad. "Ey, meri Anjali ke baare aisa mat bol," Atul warns Armaan. "Shut up, Anjali ke chamche! Anjali, Anjali karta rehta hai lekin kuch karta bhi nai," Armaan says. Rahul chuckles at them. "Aur tu bhi toh Muskaan ko kuch bhi nai kehta," Armaan said, looking at Rahul. Rahul becomes serious and stares at Armaan while it was Atul's turn to chuckle. "Please, meri madat karo. Mujhe acha nai lagta ke Riddhima mujhse naraz ho," Armaan said. "Aww," Rahul and Atul say. Armaan rolls his eyes and slaps each of them on the back of their head. "Tum dono meri madat kar rahe ho ya phir main bhi tum dono ki pol khol doon," Armaan says to them through gritted teeth. "Anjali!" Atul yells. "Muskaan!" Rahul yells at the same time.
"Kya hua?" the girls asked when the boys came over to them. "Anjali, mere saath chalo na," Atul said. "Kyun aur kahan?" Anjali asks. "Uh...uh...woh...mujha bathroom jaana hai," Atul said. "Mujhe bhi," Rahul said. "Toh tum dono khudi chale jao," Anjali said, looking at them weirdly. "Nai, tum bhi saath chalo," Atul said like a little kid. Anjali's mouth drops open. Riddhima just looks at them weirdly and shakes her head. "Main abhi aati hoon. Aarav ka dhayan rakh na," Riddhima said. "Hum hain, tu jaa," Muskaan said. Riddhima gets up and starts walking away. Armaan stood about ten feet away from them and was cursing his friends. "Yeh ghade kuch kam ke nai hain," Armaan mutters to himself. He sees Riddhima walking away from them and this was his chance.
Armaan runs after Riddhima and grabs her arm and pulls her behind a fat, tall tree. Riddhima gasps at the sudden pull and looks up to find gray-blue eyes staring down at her. Armaan looks down in Riddhima's eyes. Both of them were in daze and stared in each others eyes. Riddhima was the first one to break their eye contact. "Yeh aap kya kar rahe hain? Chode mujhe." Riddhima struggles to get her arm out of Armaan's grip. "Nai. Main tumhe tab tak nai chodo ga jab tak tum mujhe nai bata ti ke tum mujhse naraz kyun ho?" Armaan said, holding onto Riddhima's arm. "Main aap se naraz nai hoon," Riddhima said, looking up at Armaan. "Toh phir mujhe ignore kyun kar rahi ho?" Armaan asks. He was right, she was ignoring him. "Mera dil cha raha hai," Riddhima answers. Armaan gives her a look then turns serious. "Toh phir tumhara dil aur kuch bhi chahta hoga," Armaan said, moving his face closer to Riddhima's. Riddhima becomes conscious and moves her head back, but it bumped with the tree. Armaan puts Riddhima's hands against the tree. "Ab bolo, kyun mujhe ignore kar rahi ho?" Riddhima looks up in Armaan's eyes. "Mujhe...mujhe acha nai lagta...jab aap...dusre...ladkiyon ke baare main...sochte hain ya phir kuch aur," Riddhima said, looking down. Armaan slightly smiles and puts his hands on Riddhima's cheek. He lifts up Riddhima's head. "Lekin woh toh pehle tha ab sirf ek hi ladki meri life main hai...tum," Armaan said. Riddhima smiles and hugs Armaan. Armaan smiles too and hugs her back. Armaan and Riddhima walk back, holding each others hands. Riddhima picks up Aarav and smiles at him as she put him to sleep because it was time for his nap. Armaan sat next to Riddhima and watched her put Aarav to sleep. Anjali and Muskaan were chasing Atul and Rahul while yelling names at them. He could feel himself change and that to in a good way. Armaan didn't want to deny these feelings either. It felt good to have someone. Even though Armaan had always had someone and that someone was Riddhima, but now that he is starting to feel something for her, it feels even better. Things are changing and that to for the better. Riddhima had shy smile playing on her lips. Today, she saw a different side of Armaan. The one that cared if she ignores him and he also didn't back out today either. Riddhima felt like Armaan is loving her and he knew it this time. She felt happy that Armaan is starting to realize his feelings. Before, any close contact between he would just walk away, but not this time.
Its been two weeks since that picnic and a lot has changed between Armaan and Riddhima. Armaan has become sweeter and comes home from work early than he needs to be. Riddhima feels like she is on top of the world when Armaan comes home early just to be with her and Aarav.
Armaan walks in the kitchen to find Riddhima working in the kitchen while Aarav was taking a nap. Armaan quietly walks up to Riddhima from behind. "Hey," Armaan says softly in Riddhima's ear. Riddhima turns around and finds Armaan. "Aap? Itni jaldi?" Riddhima asks. "Mera ghar hai. Jab chahe aa sakta hoon," Armaan said. Riddhima smiles and nods. "Main jaanti hoon lekin aaj toh aap lunch se pehle aa gaye," Riddhima said. "Meri company hai. Meri company mujhe thodi na nikale gi," Armaan said. "Lekin kis khushi main aap itni jaldi aaye hain?" Riddhima asks. "Main toh Aarav ke saath time spend karne ke liye jaldi aaya tha," Armaan said. "Aarav ke liye?" Riddhima asks with a frown. "Haan...aur kis ke liye jaldi aao ga main?" Armaan asks with his arms crossed across his chest, pretending to think while looking at Riddhima. "Nai, koi nai. Aap sirf Aarav ke liye aaye hain," Riddhima said with sad face. Armaan suppresses his smile. Armaan knew what she wanted to hear, but he wanted to tease her. Armaan's phone started ringing. "Hello," Armaan picks up. "Hey Vijay!" Armaan said as he heard Vijay on the other hand. "Don't worry, hum nai bhoole. Hum tumhari shaadi main aaye ge," Armaan said. "Alright then bye," Armaan said and hung up. "Riddhima, iss weekend ko Vijay ki shaadi hai aur hume jaana hai. Hum Aarav ko lekar jaa rahe hain ya nai?" Armaan asks. Riddhima looks at Armaan, wondering what to do also. "I think hume usse leke nai jaane chaiye. Wahan bohut shor bhi hoga aur woh shor main dar jayega," Riddhima said. Armaan nods in agreement. "Main Anjali aur Muskaan se baat karti hoon agar woh Aarav ko dekh sakte hain." Armaan nods. "Main change kar ke aata hoon," Armaan said and walks upstairs.
Riddhima walks upstairs towards their room to check on Aarav. She walks in and finds Armaan shirtless and roaming around their room with him holding Aarav up. Riddhima has noticed that Armaan likes to walk around the house without his shirt on. Now that Riddhima has been living with Armaan for a long time, she has gotten use to Armaan walking around the house shirtless. But she still wondered why Armaan has to leave his shirt off. Riddhima walks towards the bed and starts putting Armaan's clothes away. "Main aap se ek baat puchu?" Riddhima asks. "Pucho," Armaan said, looking at Aarav. "Aap hamesha shirt ke begair kyun ghar main ghum te rehte hain?" Riddhima asks. Armaan looks at her kind of taken aback. "I don't know. Mujhe bas aadat si ho gayi hai," Armaan said with a shrug. "Sardiyon main aap ko thand nai lagti?" she asks. Armaan shakes his head. "Blanket kis liye hote hain?" Armaan replies back smartly with a smirk. Riddhima shakes her head and gets back to putting Armaan's clothes away. "Aur ek aur baat. Jab aap apne kapre utare toh vahi par rakhe jahan hone chaiye," Riddhima said. Armaan lays Aarav down on the bed and stands next to Riddhima with his hands on his hips. "Riddhima, agar main apni cheeze wapis rakh do jahan se main lee hain toh phir tum kya karogi?" Armaan said, sweetly. Riddhima glares at Armaan. "Main aap ki naukrani hoon jo aap ghar ganda kar dete hain aur mere intezaar main rehte hain thake main saafayi kardo!" Riddhima says to Armaan with her hands on hips and glaring at him. "Exactly! Biwi isiliye toh hoti hain. Apni pati ki seva karne ke liye," Armaan said with a triumph smile. Riddhima takes a step closer and they were dangerously too close. "Lekin yeh biwi dusri biwiyon se kaafi alag hai," Riddhima said in a husky voice. Armaan raises one eyebrow with a smirk. "Acha?" Riddhima nods with a glare still adorning her face. "Toh phir biwi yeh biwi kaisi biwi hai?" Armaan asks romantically with a smile and his hands on Riddhima's upper arms. Riddhima's face softens up and looks up in Armaan's eyes. He smiles with his dimples deepening and leans his face down. Riddhima moves her face back and pushes Armaan back lightly, and runs out of the room with her cheeks turning red and a shy smile. Armaan sighs, happily and runs his hand through his hair. "I'm going crazy and that to for Riddhima," Armaan said to himself with a grin. Armaan turns his head towards Aarav. "Shayad tumhari wajah se main tumhare Ma ke baare main kuch mehsoos karne laga hoon," Armaan said, sitting next to Aarav. Armaan leans down and kisses Aarav's forehead.
Armaan sits next to Riddhima on the couch a little too close so she scoots over. She was still nervous and embarrassed by the moment that was taken in the room about two hours ago. She tried her best to ignore Armaan, but being in the same house is kind of hard. Riddhima had Aarav in her lap and was watching TV. A thought came into Armaan's mind and smirks. He takes his phone out and puts his beside his leg so Riddhima can't see. The house phone rings and Riddhima thought Armaan would go get the phone because she had Aarav in her lap. Riddhima looks at Armaan, who was watching the TV with "interest." Riddhima shakes her head and walks in the kitchen where their house phone is with Aarav in her arms. "Hello," Riddhima answers the phone. "Toh tum kaise biwi ho? Jawab nai diya tumne," Riddhima hears Armaan's phone on the either side. Riddhima closes her eyes and a cold shiver goes down her spine. "Batao na ke tum kaise biwi ho," Armaan says in a soft voice. Riddhima lets out a shaky breath which Armaan heard. Armaan gets up and walks in the kitchen to find Riddhima's back turned towards him. "Bolo na," Armaan whispers Riddhima's ear from behind. Riddhima tilts her head up as Armaan tilts his head down. Riddhima looks away from Armaan and looks here and there. She didn't how to answer his question. In the atmosphere she said that she is different from other wives, but how was she different? "A...Aarav ko bhook lagi hai," Riddhima said and quickly walks out of the kitchen, leaving a smiling Armaan behind. Armaan sighs and leans back on the counter. Armaan's mind goes back to the beginning of their relationship. Before, Armaan and Riddhima would barely talk to each other and now that Aarav is born, Armaan has changed so much. He's being romantic towards Riddhima and always wants her to be in front of his eyes. Whenever Riddhima is not around he...misses her. Even though Armaan won't admit that he has feelings for her, but he will admit that he is at least feels something a little bit for her. Armaan knows himself he can't deny because if he does, he'll go more crazy. Armaan has realized that he needs to let go of the past. Its only going to bring him pain and he has had enough pain along with Riddhima. Now its Armaan, Riddhima, and Aarav. This is Armaan's life, his family. The past is out of Armaan's mind and he will never think of his past again. Riddhima is now his life along with Aarav. They are meant for each other and have to be together, otherwise none of the turns would have happened in their lives that changed everything. Armaan has noticed that he let everything out a few days ago and now he's feeling better to have the frustration out of himself. Now he needs to concentrate on Riddhima and Aarav.
Armaan is sitting in his cabin at his office when the phone on the desk rings. His eyes still on his laptop, he picks up the phone. "Armaan Mallik," Armaan answers the phone. Armaan's eyes go off the laptop's screen as he listens to the person on the other end. His face goes pale as he hears the person the other end. "What? I thought we agreed on doing the expenses after the final deal!" Armaan says loudly to the other person on the other line. The other person on the other line is the owner of the company that Armaan is a doing a deal with. Armaan sighs and hangs up after the person on the other hand said something then bid goodbye. "Itne sare loans hai already aur agar maine aur liye toh loan utarne main bohut daer ho jayegi," Armaan said. "Damn," Armaan whispers and buries his head in hands.
Armaan walks into the house, tired and exhausted. Riddhima walks to the door with Aarav in her arms with a smile, but Riddhima's smile disappears when she sees Armaan's expression. "Aap bohut pareshan lag rahe hain? Sab kuch theek hai na?" Riddhima asks. Armaan nods and walks upstairs without saying anything. This made Riddhima worried and confused. Usually, Armaan would come home happy and most of the times with gifts for Aarav. There was definitely something wrong and it has to be something at the office because Riddhima did not do anything this time. "Aap ke Papa itne pareshan hain. Hum kya kare unko khush karne ke liye?" Riddhima talks to Aarav, looking down at him. Aarav, obviously didn't say anything and looks at Riddhima with a blank expression. Riddhima giggles and kisses Aarav's cheek.
Around two in the morning, Riddhima's eyes open and sees a light shining from behind her. She opens her eyes fully and reaches out to Armaan's side and doesn't feel him. Riddhima turns around to the other side to see Armaan working on his laptop. Riddhima opens the bedside lamp. "Aap abhi tak uthe ve hain?" Riddhima asks in a sleepy voice. "Mujhe kam hai," Armaan replies simply. Riddhima sighs and walks over to him. "Aap ko koi cheez pareshan kar rahi hai jo aap mujhe nai bata rahe," Riddhima says, sitting down next to him. "Riddhima, please tum mujhe pareshan mat karo," Armaan said, irritated. Riddhima was hurt by his words and feels a lump forming in her throat, but she swallows it. "Nai, aap ko mujhe batana hoga. Aap sari pareshani khud pe kyun le lete hain. Agar aap dusro ko bataye ge toh shayad aap ko madat ho jaye," Riddhima said. "Mere koi nai madat kar sakta iss problem main," Armaan said. "Lekin problem hai kya?" Riddhima asks. Armaan sighs and leans his head back on the couch. Riddhima isn't going to give up. Before they even got married, when Riddhima had just started working at the Mallik Empire, she knew when Armaan is stressed. "London se jo humara client hai woh chatha hai ke deal se pehle main usse paise advance main de do jab humne yeh faisla kiya tha ke main final deal ke baad usko paise doga," Armaan said. "Already itne loans hai jo mujhe abhi chukane hai aur interest bhi bohut ho raha hai. Agar maine ek aur loan le liya toh chukane main bohut mushkil hogi," Armaan continues. Riddhima looks at Armaan and now understands his stress. By the look on his face, she could tell he was feeling a bit better by telling it to someone. "Main kya karo? Maine kabhi nai socha tha ke itne successful hone ke baad ke itne problems aaye ge." Riddhima looks down in her lap then back up at Armaan. "Main aap ki madat karna chathi hoon lekin pata nai kaise," Riddhima says with her voice cracking. Armaan sees tears forming in Riddhima's eyes and sits straight by moving the laptop on the table in front of the couch. Armaan takes Riddhima in a side hug and rubs her arm. "Isme rone wali kya baat hai? Shh," Armaan tries to calm Riddhima. Riddhima wanted to help Armaan in every possible way and no matter what the problem is. She wants to reach out to Armaan and touch his heart in some way.
--
OMG! Armaan is realizing his feelings. Isn't that great? Anyways don't have a lot to say, but read the note below. Sorry for the short part. I'm trying my best to make them long, but I guess its not working. Also, I'm not a business person, but I needed to put in something different. If anything is wrong, I apologize.
Note: Reading the comments from the last part, I'm guessing you guys didn't read it carefully. Armaan lets his frustration out, but read the last couple of paragraphs again. He promised himself to give Riddhima the care and love she is yearning from him. I'm guessing I didn't explain it clear enough for you all to understand. I just wanted to make myself clear.
PS: There will be a big leap in this FF like probably about three years. The reason for a big leap is that if I show every moment, I will run out of ideas and I want to show Aarav grown up and Armaan and Riddhima's relationship, after the three year leap. This will make the story move on also. But don't forget that this is a story and twist could be on its way, soon.
Cricket
80