20.Don't Need Them Anymore
Riddhima walks into the bedroom that was given to her, Armaan, and Aarav for their stay at the farmhouse. She has just finished helping around the house and getting Muskaan's clothes and jewelry all ready. The beautician will be coming in an about an hour because the wedding is only two hours away. Until then, the girls and ladies have decided to go rest for a while. Riddhima sees Armaan laying on his side with support of his elbow and one of his leg mounted up. Aarav sat in front of Armaan with his legs stretched out and talking about random things. Armaan just watches Aarav with a smile on his lips. Riddhima was in awe at seeing the two most important people in her life. She wished she had her camera or phone so she could capture the moment. Riddhima sits on the bed and Armaan looks at her. She gives him a shy smile and Armaan blinks softly because he was already smiling. Aarav who busy with his toy and talking, didn't notice his mom. Aarav looks up to look at Armaan and make sure he is listening, but finds Armaan looking somewhere else. Aarav looks in the same direction as Armaan and smile. "Mama!" Aarav jumps on and hugs Riddhima. Armaan and Riddhima's eye lock was broken because of Aarav's voice. Armaan looks away, smiling that his dimples were showing and blushing a bit. Riddhima looks away to with a shy smile and turns her attention to Aarav. Half of her attention was on Aarav because her eyes kept on moving to Armaan, who was watching them. Soon, Aarav went back to where he was sitting and continued his blabber. Boy, this boy could sure talk a lot.
Armaan gestures Riddhima to come close to him through his eyes. Riddhima moves closer to Armaan and Armaan puts his arm around Riddhima, pulling her down. Riddhima lays down on her side to with her head resting beside Armaan's face on his shoulder. Armaan wraps his arm tighter making Riddhima gasp. Armaan smirks and nuzzles her neck, after taking a glance at Aarav and making sure he isn't looking. Riddhima shivers and tries to get out of his hold. Her eyes moving from here to there and at Aarav. "Agar hilti rahogi toh chodo ga nai," Armaan whispers in her ear. Riddhima closes her eyes and stops moving. Armaan's smirk get wider and starts leaving wet kisses on the side of her neck. "Mama," Aarav said. Riddhima quickly sits up as Aarav head looks up. Armaan curses his son for disturbing his moment with his wife. "Mujhe bathroom jaana hai," Aarav said with a pout. "Toh khudi jao na," Armaan snaps. Riddhima glares at Armaan and gets up with Aarav. Armaan sighs and lays down on his back.
Riddhima and Aarav come out of the bathroom, and Riddhima lays him down on the bed and pulls the covers over him. "Ab so jao phir raat ko thak jao ge," Riddhima said, stroking his hair. Armaan turns his head to the side and looks at them. Riddhima is sitting in the middle while Aarav lays down on the side. Aarav always complained that he is big enough to sleep on the side, so they let him sleep on the side. But, when they know that he is in deep sleep, they move him to the middle. Aarav has a bed at home which has a stopper at the side of the bed, so he doesn't fall. Armaan's hand moves up to Riddhima's back. Riddhima closes her eyes and arches her back slightly. Riddhima is patting Aarav to sleep and she didn't want to do anything, at least not right now when Aarav is awake. She reaches her other hand to the back and tries to move Armaan's hand, but Armaan holds her hand and twists it. Riddhima winces in a low voice but it was audible to Armaan. Riddhima looks down and sees Aarav breathing softly which meant he is asleep. Riddhima turns around with her hand still twisted back. Armaan pulls her down on top of him. Riddhima puts her hand on his chest to pull away, but Armaan caught that hand also. Riddhima looks up in Armaan's eyes for a second, but her eyes get stuck looking in Armaan's eyes. She couldn't bring herself to look away because she sees the same emotion. Armaan sees Riddhima looking into his eyes carefully. He thought that she can see his feelings for her. Aarav stirs in his sleep causing Armaan and Riddhima to break apart. Riddhima sits up while Armaan stays laying down. Riddhima lays down, slowly with her back faced Armaan and scooted closer to Aarav. Armaan felt hurt that Riddhima laid far away from him, so he got up and left the room. Riddhima was astonished by his behavior.
Riddhima walks out of the room to find Armaan. The house was empty because everyone is in their room resting. There were some people who are doing last minute preparations. Riddhima goes out to the big garden that is set up for dinner after the wedding ceremony. She sees Armaan sitting at a table under the gazebo that covered most of the lawn. "Aap kamre se aise kyun chale aaye?" Riddhima asks. Armaan looks up at Riddhima then looks away. Riddhima could see his eyes filled with anger. What happened that made him so mad? "Aap itne naraaz kyun hai?" she asks. Armaan didn't reply to any of her questions and it was pissing Riddhima off. "Aap mere sawaalo ka jawaab kyun nai de rahe?" Riddhima yells at Armaan. Armaan stands up and grabs Riddhima's arms, tightly, and pulls her close to himself. "Tum mujhse darti ho?" Armaan asks in a deep and dangerous voice. Riddhima was caught off guard by the abrupt question. "Tum mujhse darti ho?" Armaan repeats. Riddhima isn't really scared of Armaan. Its just when gets rough and mad. Riddhima shakes her head, slowly. "Toh phir mere se door kyun jaati ho?" Armaan asks. Riddhima looks in his eyes and sees that he is hurt. It's true that Riddhima always moves away from him when he is close. Riddhima didn't think that there is a need to be close to him when their is going to be nothing between them. "Jab humare beech kuch hona nai hai...toh aap ke paas kyun aao?" Armaan loosens his grip on Riddhima's arm as hears her. This left a scar on his heart. Riddhima turns away and runs inside. Armaan feels tears welling up in his eyes.
The farmhouse is filled with people, dressed in different colors. Lights are on and glowing the whole house and outside the house. Flowers are set up giving the house a nice scent to it. In short, the house definitely looked like a wedding house.
Riddhima fixes Aarav's clothes then Aarav runs away. "Aarav!" Riddhima yells, but he had already left. Riddhima shakes her head at him and goes to put on the rest of her jewelry. Armaan exits the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. Riddhima's breath got stuck in her throat when Armaan emerged from the bathroom. She felt her knees go weak and they shook a bit. Riddhima holds on to the end of the dressing table to steady herself. Armaan stands next to her, but doesn't look at her as he did his hair. After their moment outside, Armaan has been ignoring Riddhima. Riddhima's eyes were on Armaan the whole time and Armaan knew that, but he paid no attention to it.
"Armaan," Muskaan's dad came to Armaan. Armaan turns to Muskaan's dad. "Ji uncle," Armaan said. "Mere kuch important guests aaye hai aur main chatha hoon ke tum unse milo. Woh bhi business karte hai aur tum bhi. Shayad yeh tum dono ke liye kuch acha hoga," he said. Armaan nods and follows Muskaan's dad. "Armaan, inse milo...Shashank Gupta aur unki wife Padma Gupta." Armaan, Shashank, and Padma stand their still just staring at each other in shock. They live in the same city, but haven't seen each other in almost four years. Never did they run into each other, and today they meet each other. Armaan is brought out of his daze when Aarav had come and hugged his legs. Shashank and Padma's lower down their eyes to Aarav, who looks up at them shyly. Aarav stretches his arms up to Armaan for Armaan to pick him up. Armaan picks up Aarav and Aarav leans his head on Armaan's shoulder. Shashank and Padma noticed that he looks exactly like Armaan, but has glimpses of Riddhima in him too. This told them that Aarav is the child that Riddhima was pregnant with when they found out. "Aarav, aap - " Riddhima stops talking when she sees her parents after about four years. Tears blur Riddhima's vision and the times she spent with her parent's come back to her mind. The talk this morning about parent's had made her sentimental, but the way her parent's acted when the truth came is what she expected. But did not expect it to go so far that she'd be kicked out of her own house. Riddhima doesn't need them. They never cared for her, then why should she. Parent's that love their children immensely will understand. They would be a little disappointed, but would not kick their child out.
Riddhima stares at them with tears flowing down her cheeks with a serious expression. Armaan looks over at Riddhima to find her in shock and not being able to say anything. Armaan puts Aarav down on the floor while Aarav was a confused and started to get tears in his eyes by seeing Riddhima cry. Armaan moves closer to Riddhima, but Riddhima runs away with her hand covering her mouth. Armaan knows that Riddhima's parent's have hurt Riddhima real bad and it will take a while for Riddhima to forgive them. Armaan looks at supposedly parents-in-law with a disappointment look and shakes his head at them. After a while, Shashank and Padma are feeling guilty for doing this to Riddhima. Armaan takes Aarav to Anjali. Anjali gives him a questioning look, but Armaan just walks away quickly.
Armaan enters their room and sees her crying on the bed. He sits down next to her and puts her hand on her shoulder. "Mujhe unki zaroorat nai hai," Riddhima said, crying. "Woh mere kuch nai hai!" Armaan just looks at her, silently. Riddhima turns around and looks at Armaan. "Mujhe unki zaroorat nai hai," Riddhima says, looking directly in Armaan's eyes. Armaan nods and Riddhima hugs him. It was like her life depends on him because of the grip that Riddhima is hugging Armaan. "Neeche chalo. Muskaan kahegi ke tum uski shaadi pe ro rahi ho," Armaan said in her ear.
The wedding ceremony went smoothly because Riddhima stayed away from her parent's. She could tell they wanted to talk to her, but Riddhima isn't going to talk to them anytime soon. What Riddhima did is mostly stay with Anjali or Armaan. Armaan was busy with other things and other guests, but Riddhima followed him few feet behind. Armaan turns his head over to the side to see Riddhima looking around and few feet away from him. Armaan walks over to Riddhima takes her outside where its a empty because dinner hasn't started yet. "Tum mere peeche peeche kyun chal rahi ho?" Armaan asks. "Main akeli nai rehna chathi aur khaas kar jab Ma aur Papa yahan hai," Riddhima said in a low voice. Armaan sighs and runs his hand through his hair. Armaan didn't want Riddhima to ignore her parent's her whole life. "Riddhima, tum apne Ma aur Papa se nai bhag sakti," Armaan said. "Ek din Aarav puche ga ke tumhare Ma aur Papa kahan hai toh kya kahogi tum?" Riddhima looks up at Armaan. "Toh aap keh rahe hai ke main une maaf kardo. Uno ne mere saath jo kiya hai woh bhul jao?" Riddhima asks Armaan in an angry tone. "Mere yeh kehna ka matlab nai tha," Armaan said. "Aap ka yahi kehna ka matlab tha," Riddhima said. She turns around to walk away, but Armaan was ticked off by now, so he grabs her arm and pulls her back. "Meri baat chup chap suno. Ek shabd kaha toh..." Armaan leans his face down closer to Riddhima. Riddhima gasps and moves her face back. "Tumko apne bete ke liye unko maaf karna hai. Agar dil se nai toh apne bete ke liye. Aarav soche ga ke uska Papa ke Ma aur Papa aate hain lekin uski Ma ke nai. Tum chathi ho ke Aarav apne Nana aur Nani ko nai jaane?" Riddhima shakes her head with her eyes lowered. "Toh phir?" Riddhima looks at Armaan. "Lekin mujhe unki nai zaroorat aur nahi Aarav ko," Riddhima said through gritted teeth. Armaan couldn't understand why Riddhima can't understand him. "You know what? I give up. Jo karna hai karo lekin mere paas rote nai aana," Armaan said and walks back inside. Armaan was mad at what happened earlier in the day and now this just made his day more worst. Riddhima watches Armaan retreating back in shock.
Riddhima walks back inside to see Armaan standing next to her parent's and Aarav in Padma's arms. Riddhima smiles when she sees Aarav laughing. Riddhima slowly walks over to them and all their eyes go on her. "Mujhe aap dono se baat karni hai. Akele main," Riddhima said to her parents. Armaan takes Aarav and Shashank and Padma follow Riddhima. "Kya hua, beta?" Padma asks, putting her hand on Riddhima's head. Riddhima moves away from Padma. Padma looks at with Riddhima with her smile fading, but puts up a fake smile. "Main chathi hoon ke Aarav aap dono ko jaane." This made Shashank and Padma ecstatic. "Lekin main aap dono ko maaf nai kar sakti. Agar karogi toh sirf Aarav ke liye. Main nai chathi ke Aarav ko pata chale ke humare beech main kuch theek nai hai," Riddhima explains. "Riddhima, hume apni galti ka ehsaas ho gaya hai toh - " Shashank starts. "Toh aap mujhe dhund ne kyun nai aaye?" Riddhima asks with a straight face. Shashank just stares at Riddhima. She's right, why didn't they go look for her. She wasn't that far from them. "Aap ko apni galti ka ehsaas ho gaya, yeh achi baat hai lekin please mujhe waqt chaiye," Riddhima said with tears falling. "Tumhe jitna waqt chaiye beta le lo lekin please jaldi se hume maaf kar dena," Padma says, crying herself. "Shayad mushkil hoga kyun ke mere paas apna parivaar hai jo mere bohut khayal rakhti hai aur khushiyaan bhi deti hai," Riddhima said, looking at Armaan and Aarav, who were laughing with a dazed smile. Shashank and Padma followed her gaze. They took Armaan the wrong way, but yet Armaan behaved normal with them. Riddhima walks back inside to Armaan and Aarav. Armaan looks at Riddhima and Riddhima looks at him. "Mujhe unki zaroorat nai hai lekin Aarav ko apne Nana aur Nani ko jaane ka haq hai," Riddhima said, looking down at Aarav. Armaan smiles; he's proud of Riddhima. He puts his arm around Riddhima and hugs her sideways. Riddhima smiles and hugs Armaan back. "Mama, mujhe bhook lagi hai," Aarav whines. Riddhima looks down at Aarav. "Khana abhi lagta hoga, Aarav. Chalo Muski aunty se milne chalte hain." Riddhima takes Aarav's hand and they walk over to the newly wedded couple. Armaan watches Riddhima as she meets Rahul and Muskaan. He's just waiting when Riddhima, herself will introduce Aarav to Shashank and Padma.
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Sorry about the short part. :( I know you all will be sad on hearing this, but this FF will finish pretty soon. I have two more tracks which will finish the FF perfectly. I'm not good at stretching FFs and scenes in case you all haven't noticed. LOL! If I added more things it will just ruin the FF and I don't want that. I'll do my best to drag it, but not too much that you all will get annoyed. 'Take My Hand' will start shortly after I finish this FF.
Arjun
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