An AR os by Humaira Grover
Riddhima was sitting with the rest Mallik women looking at Sarees and jewelry. The whole table was full of expensive jewelry and sarees. They were looking at the sarees for a very special occasion that was coming up, the wedding of Nikita Mallik, the smallest child and the only daughter in the Mallik family. Though, today, they were deciding outfits for her engagement which was in less than a week.
"Yeh wali kitni aachi hai na Riddhima?" Ananya, her mother-in-law, asked showing her a maroon silk saree with silver pearls and embroidery on it. The saree was fancy yet elegant for someone in their mid-forties like Ananya.
"Yeh to bohot sundar hai mummy ji! Aap ke ooper bohot jaache gi! Aap Nikki ke shaadi mein yahi phenye ga!" Riddhima smiled taking the saree from her and placing it on Ananya's shoulder.
"Hmm... idea to acha hai! Jethani-ji ka! Badi maa, aap yahi pehenna! Kya kehti hein aap mom?" Muskaan, the second daughter-in-law of the family said agreeing with Riddhima smilingly and Riddhima smiled back. Both were way different from each other, yet they got along very well.
Muskaan belonged from a very high-profiled, rich family which was the Mallik's family friends. She was well educated and helped the Mallik's in their firm. Along, her husband, her father-in-law and her Bade Papa, who was her husband Rahul Mallik's uncle, she was also a lawyer. She was a well educated lawyer yet she still was nice, humble and no such attitude that normally rich girls would have.
On the contrary, Riddhima was way different from her. Riddhima was also one of the Mallik's Family friends' daughter, yet she belonged from a poor family. Her family, Guptas, belonged from a very very poor village outside Mumbai. Guptas and Malliks had a very strong bond and their families were friends since their great ancestors worked as farmers in the same village long time ago. Though, as time passed, Malliks moved to Mumbai, after 10 years of Riddhima's father-in-law's birth. Even through a long distance, both families ties remained strong.
"Muskaan, tum saree kyu nahi try karti? Itna mushkil bhi nahi hai pehen na!" Riddhima asked showing her a blue chiffon saree with sequins work on it. It had a beautiful silver blouse with cap sleeves that had pearls hanging on their hem.
"Arre Jethani-Ji, aapko to pata hai na? Main yeh saree wari nahi sambhal sakti! Yaad hai na aapko, meri shaadi mein do saa pehle, mere reception pe jab aap aayi thi, to kaisa main bathroom bhaagi thi kyunke meri plaits khul gayi thi!" Muskaan pouted making the other ladies chuckle. Muskaan had gotten married before Riddhima, as Armaan wasn't ready for marriage yet.
"Acha chalo tum na pehen na saree," Janvi, Muskaan's mother-in-law, smiled seeing Muskaan pout. "Bhabhi-ji, yeh kaisa hai?" She asked showing a beige coloured saree to Ananya with maroon embroidery on it. The ladies continued to discuss about the different sarees and jewellery and gave advices to each other.
They stopped talking, as Armaan Mallik walked in the house with a black briefcase in his hand. His face portrayed happiness and he hugged Ananya.
"Kya baat hai Jeth-ji, bohot khush lagg rahe hain aap!" Muskaan smiled and asked him as everybody else smiled.
"Muski tujhe woh Agarwal ka case yaad hai na?" He asked and Muskaan nodded, "I won that case!" He beamed with happiness and hugged Muskaan.
Everybody congratulated him and Riddhima smiled. Though, no one knew the smile plastered on her fave contained sadness. He had hugged everybody in this room, or at least talked to, but her? He didn't give her a single glance.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Riddhima walked inside the room, and looked at Armaan who had changed his clothes and then saw his scattered clothes. Tie on the bed, pants near the recliner next to the window, shirt near the walk-in-closet. The room was a complete mess and Riddhima sighed knowing that her husband can never improve his messy habit.
She saw him talking on the phone and shook her head seeing the mess. She his black coffee on the nightstand, and walked next to him, as he cut the call and took out a formal three piece black suit with a blue tie. Riddhima frowned and looked at him confusingly.
"Kahin jaa rahe hai aap?" She asked as Armaan took his towel out of the wardrobe.
"Hmmm...mere colleagues party throw karahein hain, mere case jeetne ki khushi mein! Issiliye Atul ko keh raha ke aapne liye ko date dhoond le, pub mein enter hone keliye!" Armaan replied checking his phone.
"Date?" Riddhima confusingly asked, as she had very little knowledge about english. Armaan looked at her with a bored expression expressing how dumb she was.
"Matlab, kissi ko saath lejana, koi aap ke saath khane par jaye ya kissi aur event pe" Armaan tried to explain while texting someone on his phone.
"Oh acha...to fir...umm...main...kya pehnu?" Riddhima hesitantly asked as from what she understood, you had to take a date to enter the pub, and obviously, she being his wife would accompany him.
Armaan looked at her as if she was joking. He bursted out laughing making Riddhima frown and think at what wrong she had said that made him laugh.
"Tumhe....tumhe lagta hai ke I'm gonna take you? Main tumhe leke jaaonga? Aapne doston ki party mein?" Armaan laughed and Riddhima's cheek flushed from embarrassment.
"Haan..." Riddhima frowned confusingly, "kyunki...main...aapki biwi hoon!" She replied hesitantly looking at him with hurt in her eyes. Her heart started hammering, thinking that maybe she had said something wrong and embarrassed herself again.
"Biwi ho to biwi bann kar raho!" Armaan sternly said grabbing her had tightly making her yelp in pain, as his nails pierced her soft flesh. "Aapni hadh main raha karo, jitna kehta hun utna kiya karo!" He gritted out with venom.
"Bohot shauk hai na tumhe meri biwi banne ka? Yeh karma saaf karo aur mere ghar waalon ki seva karo!" He said glaring at her and Riddhima looked away trying to get his hand out of his tight painful grip but alas, it was way to tight for her.
"Tumhe kya lagta hai? Ke main? Ek successful lawyer, ek unpadh, gawar, ladki ko aapne doston ki party mein leke jaaunga, Natasha ke hote hoye?" He spat out. His each word hit her like a poisonous knife on her heart.
He left her hand, and took his clothes going inside the bathroom to take a shower before going out. Riddhima touched her face as she felt something wet on her face. She looked at her fingers after wiping off the water to see drop of tears that had wept out of her beautiful round eyes.
While he said all those hurtful things to her, she never realized that pain caused in her heart, expressed itself by shedding water out of her eyes. She never realized she was crying. Riddhima looked at her hand to see his nail prints on her wrists, which had turned red. She hissed as she touched as she touched them.
Yes, this was the marital life of Riddhima and Armaan Mallik. Armaan totally despised the idea of being married to Riddhima. According to him, Riddhima belong from a village and she can't speak english, she doesn't deserve him. This marriage was full of nothing but hatred, love was only one sided, from Riddhima's side. This marriage was only on papers, nothing else. Armaan had married Riddhima only because of family pressure. He wanted to marry Natasha Singhania, his closest colleague, and his ex-girlfriend...actually scratch that, his girlfriend. Yes, he's still dating Natasha despite having a beautiful wife. He despised the fact that his wife, was not well-educated and belonged from some local village, that was the reason he treated Riddhima like a piece of trash, ignoring the fact that she was a special gem that god had gifted him.
Riddhima wiped her tears away and started picking up his discarded clothes that were on the floor and put them in the laundry basket placed inside their walk-in-closet. She them went towards the dressing table to see dried tears marks on her cheeks that were mixed with mascara, as she cried, her mascara leaked along the tears. She opened her drawers and took out some make-up remover wipes, and wiped off the stained mascara off her cheeks. After wiping them off, she applied the mascara back on, and lightly smiled, trying to control the tears that were filling her eyes again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After cleaning up the mess in the room, Riddhima came downstairs to see Muskaan dressed up in a strapless black body-fit dress that had a sweetheart neckline with small white pearls on it. The hem of the dress reached till her knees with lace on its bodice in between the cloth that showed her skin a bit. Her curly hair were straightened and she had light makeup on, she was wearing a small round pearl necklace and pearls in her ears.
"Arre...jethani-ji aap tayyar kyu nahi hoyi? Aapke pati ne itna bhada case jeeta hai! Aur abhi mujhe Rahul ka phone aaya tha, ke party hai aur tayyara honna hai?" Muskaan frowned asking coming towards Riddhima.
Before Riddhima could answer, they hear click-click of heels and looked towards the entrance of Mallik Mansion to see a girl entering. She had long hair that reached till her butt and was wearing a short skimpy purple dress. She was holding a file in her hand.
Ananya's face showed anger as she saw the girl coming towards them with a cocky smirk. Muskaan rolled her eyes and Riddhima's face masked different emotions; hurt, anger, sadness.
The girl came and stood in front of Ananya and bent down taking Ashirwaad only making Ananya back away before she could touch her feet. "Hi mom!" She smirked and Ananya gave her a disgusted look.
"Tum yaha kar rahi hun Natasha?" Muskaan asked in a rude tone making Natasha glare at her, "Aur kis haq se badi maa ko mom bula rahi ho?"
"Zaahir hai, Armaan ki mom, meri mom! Aur baat yahan aane ki hai to, I'm accompanying Armaan to the dance! Uske saath main nahi jaungi to kaun jaayega? Yeh do kauri ke gaon ki ladki jis ki koi aaukat nahi hai?" She taunted Riddhima and Riddhima glared at her. Muskaan balled her fists in a hard punch position.
"Shayad tum bhool rahi ho, ke yeh do kauri ki ladki, Armaan Mallik ki patni hai! Tum kon ho?" Muskaan taunted back with a smirk making Ananya and Jhanvi feel proud of her. Ananya placed an arm around Riddhima to stop her from feel degraded. Natasha huffed and and threw the file that was in her hand.
Before Natasha could say anything, they saw Armaan coming downstairs dressed in a black three-piece suit looking devilishly handsome as usual. His hair were slightly gelled up and he was wearing an expensive Rolex watch on his left wrist along his wedding ring that meant nothing to him than just a plain and simple silver band.
Riddhima's all sadness was wiped off as she saw her husband dressed up like a greek god. For second, she forgot that her husband's mistress/lover was standing in front of her. His strong cologne that drove her crazy and made her heart stop working.
The whole time Riddhima was checking him out, Armaan was oblivious to his wife's presence. All he could see in front of him was a gold digger which he thought was the person he loves. Thus, he didn't know her personality.
"Chalein Armaan Baby?" Natasha asked with a cocky smirk in a sugarcoated voice that everybody recognized except Armaan. She looked at Riddhima, entangling her arm with Armaan who nodded and was just sending a few mails on his phone as they waited for Nikki, who was also gonna attend her brother's successful party.
Riddhima felt as if someone had ripped her heart out of her body. Her eyes dropped down to their entangle hands and her heart skipped a beat. The sight of some other woman holding he man disgusted her, but what could she do? She didn't have the guts to fight back Armaan or ask for her right, her parents never taught her to fight for her right. Growing up in a village, she always taught to obey her in laws, no matter how they react with her.
"ARMAAN MALLIK!" Armaan and Natasha turned around to step out of the door, hand in hand, when they heard Ananya scream. Natasha mentally groaned and rolled her eyes and turned around around with Armaan.
"Riddhima tumhare saath Jayegi.......Warna..." Ananya warned pointing her index finger at him while Natasha looked at her with a frown and Armaan with a bored expression.
"Warna kya mom?" Armaan chuckled sarcastically knowing that Ananya wasn't being serious. He sure loved her but she was no one to interfere between Natasha and him. And let us guess.. Who put this thought in his head? Who can it be, of course Natasha Singhania.
"Warna...warna main bhool jaungi ke tum mere bete ho!" She said in a stern voice making Armaan roll his eyes at her melodrama. Natasha felt like going that giving a piece of mind to this old lady but didn't because she knew how much Armaan loved his mother.
When Ananya saw that he ignored her and knew she was just faking it, she acted to faint and closed her eyes, as Muskaan and Riddhima catching her freaking out.
"Fine...jao jaa karr tayaar ho jao! Aur please, sari na pehen na, yeh ek western themed party hai!" Armaan glared at Riddhima who nodded but felt kind of happy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Muskaan, yaar bata na isse! Yeh theek nahi hai! Mummy-ji kya sochein gi? Main koi sari pehen lungi!" Riddhima whined as she stood wearing one of Nikki's formal gowns.
Her gown was in blood red colour that flowed down till her feet. It had a boat neck that was made out of net with 3/4 sleeves also made out of net. The front covered everything, yet the back was backless. Her back was bare till her lower back which bugged her.
"Bhabi...aap mast lag rahe ho! Now chup kar ke neeche chalo isse pehle bhaiya ghussa ho jayein!" Nikki said and Riddhima pouted.
"Sahi to keh rahi hai nikki Jethan-ji, aur waise bhi, Jeth-ji ne kaha na, no saree!" Muskaan frowned as the girls took their clutches and walked out of the room.
"Aap waise bhi inti hot aur sexy lagg rahi ho, ke jeth-ji aapko dekhte hi saapno ki duniya mein ghum jaayein ge! Natasha to dur, woh aapne aap ko bhi nahi yaad kar payein ge aap ko dhek ke!" Muskaan teased making Riddhima blush at the word 'sexy'.
"Hawww...chal besharam!" Riddhima blushed keeping a hand on her mouth, shocked at Nikki's and Muskaan's boldness. Muskaan and Nikki giggled seeing Riddhima blushing and shy.
Natasha was sitting down typing on her phone while Armaan spoke to Rahul on the phone, telling him they'll be at the club soon. They both heard Ananya gasp, and looked towards where she was looking.
Armaan felt as if he was in a another planet. Seeing Riddhima dressed in a western attire, he lost his heartbeat. She was looking out of the world and really different. Was she always this beautiful or was just the change of attire? For Armaan, everything had disappeared except Natasha and Riddhima. All he could see right now was both of them standing in front of him.
Riddhima looking beautiful and elegant in the long floor-length gown in his favourite colour red, and on the other side, Natasha was wearing a skimpy short purple dress looking sexy, though he hated the colour purple.
'I never thought that she could look this beautiful!' Armaan thought looking at Riddhima lost in het beautiful. For the first time, she had an affect on him.
He looked at Natasha who had a ton of makeup on, and then back at Riddhima who only had minimal makeup on.
'Yeh main kya soch raha hun? Kaha Natasha aur kaha Riddhima. Lagta hai, aaj office main jo aaj kharaab coffee pee thi na, uss ka koi mental asar hogaya hai mere dimag par!' He thought mentally slapping himself for think about Riddhima like that.
"Chalein?" Natasha asked and encircled her arm around his, and smiled evilly at Riddhima who just looked away and at Muskaan. Armaan nodded and soon the three girls left with him in his black Audi Q7.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Dhekin, mere pati andar hain, please mujhe jaane dijiye!" Riddhima frowned trying to go inside, but was stopped again by two big and bulky bouncers who scared Riddhima.
"Ma'am, hum ne aap ko kaha na! Andar ja na hai to kisi partner ko laye! Warna, no entry! Aur agar aapke paati andar hain to woh aap ko aapne saath leke jaate na! Aise akele bahar na chod dete!" One of the bouncers said blocking her way and Riddhima rubbed her temple.
How was she going to get in? What will she do outside for such a long time? What if she had to wait here for the whole night, god knows how long these parties go on? All these what if questions ran inside her petite brain, stressing her and scaring her.
Riddhima went near Armaan's car, trying her luck to find out if the car would be unlocked, so she can sit inside and wait.
But alas, to her bad luck, the car, of course was locked and Riddhima let out a small cry stressed as hell. She was getting weird looks from people, and her backless dress wasn't helping either, because the chilly wind was hitting her bare back directly making her quiver from cold.
She leaned her back on the door, and put her thumb lightly in her mouth, biting the skin trying not freak out. Her heart stopped, as she heard a few whistles.
Riddhima's eyes widened and she started walking out on the main road praying to god that those guys wont follow her there. She was getting really bad vibes.
"Arre kahan jaa rahi hai bulbul!" She turned around to see four guys standing with big moustaches and looked kind of of gangster-types.
"Zara humein bhi to bhaav do!" Another one teased, holding a bottle of alcohol as he clumsily walked towards her scaring her even more.
Riddhima panicked and started walking faster, trying to balance on her heels, when she heard them whistle and hoot. Tears were making their way into her eyes as she started running slowly.
"Aye hayye....kya nasheeli cheez hai!" Another one said whistling, eyeing her bare back. Riddhima felt uncomfortable and she was looking behind, as she ran forward, when her foot go stuck on a rock and she fell forward on her face.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Kya kare ho? Party hai tumhara bedroom nahi!" Muskaan giggled as she felt Rahul kiss her neck while they danced to a slow tune among other couples and pairs.
"You're so hot!" Rahul whispered making her giggle and smack him lightly on his chest. She hugged him as they swayed to the tune and looked silently at Armaan and Natasha sitting closely.
"Kya baat hai, aaj meri sherni itni chup kyun hai? Waise to bada chapad chapad karti hai?" Rahul asked as he came out of the hug and they moved off the dance floor.
"Actually na...im very tensed" Muskaan frowned looking in his eyes as he led her by the waist. "Mujhe jethani ji ki taraf se bohot pareshaani lagi rehti hai! Abhi to Natasha sirf jeth ji ke ghaar mein zindagi hai, kal ko to yeh ghar mein bhi ghus jayegi...ya phir shayed bedroom mein bhi! You know..Jethani ji kitni achi hai, woh yeh sab deserve nahi karti!" Muskaan explained to him making him smile seeing the lovely bond between the devrani-jethani.
"Riddhima bhabhi se yaad aaya, woh dikh nahi rahi kahan par hain?" Rahul asked looking everywhere, but didn't find her anywhere.
They both didn't find Riddhima anywhere so they went towards where Natasha and Armaan were sitting cosily.
"Bhai, Bhabhi kahan hai?" Rahul asked trying to control his anger looking at Natasha sprawled all over his brother as if she owned him. The worst part was that he was already committed to a good and traditional girl who deserved his love.
"Pata nahi!" Armaan carelessly said missing out the tension in Rahul's voice as he couldn't find Riddhima anywhere. Rahul looked at Muskan who gritted her teeth.
"Kya matlab? Woh aap ke saath enter nahi hoyi?" Rahul asked and Armaan shrugged and listened to Natasha who was demanding for a new designer dress that she had wanted to wear to one of her friend's party.
'0h god, bhai main aapka kya karun! Bechari bhabhi ki kismat hi kharaab hai! Jo aap jaisa pati mila!' Rahul thought and punched a pillar near by. Muskaan kept an hand on his bicep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Please mujhe chod do! Dekho...tumhe pata nahi hai main kisi ki patni hun! Thodi si to sharam karo!" Riddhima pleaded crying as one of the goons held her by the hand. Her mascara was all smudged all over her cheeks.
"Ehh chori...patni to bhale kis ki bhi ho, lekin ek raat humare saath bhi to guzaar le!" He laughed and gave a high-five to the other three goons. Riddhima felt like this is it, this is the part where she'll loose everything.
"Bulbul...ek haseen raat humare saat bhi guzaar lo!" They teased Riddhima scaring her to death. Her heart was hammering inside her ribcage as of it would fall out or burst any minute now. Her heartbeats were probably audible.
Riddhima had had enough, and she raised her hand and slapped the guy hard and removed her hand from his grip. The goon had an angry look on his face was glaring at Riddhima as if now for sure he'll take revenge.
Riddhima started running making the goons furious. The goon that she had slapped pulled her back, and in that process her whole sleeve ripped, making them chuckle evilly.
The goons were nearing towards Riddhima, when she saw someone punch the goon in front of her causing him to fall on the ground.
She turned and looked at Rahul, raging with anger, and a tensed Muskaan behind her, who was terrified seeing Riddhima's condition. She looked vulnerable and Muskaan couldn't do anything but pity her.
"Bhabhi, aap Muskaan ke saath jaa ke gadi mein bethiye!" Rahul calmly said and draped his blazer around her as she lowered her gazed from shame. She clutched the jacket towards her body and lowered head.
Riddhima nodded and ran towards Muskaan, hugging her tightly sobbing in her embrace as Muskaan muttered soothing words to calm her down, but Riddhima was crying uncontrollably. While on the other side, Rahul was beating the guys black and blue. Muskaan had already called the police, and they arrived in no time and arrested the goons. Rahul vowed to present the case himself in court against them as they laid a hand on a lady from his family, and Rahul Mallik HATES it if someone tries to harm anyone belonging from his family.
"Bhabhi...kuch nahi hua...main aagya hun na!" Rahul said keeping a hand on her shoulder. "Main chota bhai hun aapka, kabhi bhi aapko kuch nahi hone dunga!" He said as he kept a hand on head like a big brother. Riddhima slowly looked at him with tears in her eyes that stung like hell.
Hearing this Riddhima sobbed more and clutched on to Muskaan, who had tears in her eyes herself. "Aap aisa kariye bhabhi, aaj aap Muskaan ke saath sojaye, main living room mein adjust karlonga!" Rahul said!
"Lekin...R..rahul..Main kaise?" Riddhima mumbled, but Rahul lovingly glared at her, and she nodded. The trio then sat in the car, driving back home. This situation raised the anger for Armaan in Muskaan and Rahul's heart.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
2 weeks later
"Pata nahi kaha hai woh file! Natasha ko di to thi, pata nahi kaha guma di!" Armaan said barging inside his room, to his wife sitting on the floor in front of the cupboard with a lot of stuff scattered around her.
He got lost seeing her sitting in a plain light green anarkali, her dupatta hanging down from her one shoulder.
Her big beautiful green eyes looking through drawers. Her long and healthy black hair falling on one side of her shoulder.
'Ek second! Armaan Mallik! Yeh tu kya soch raha hai' Armaan's mind said knocking some sense to his egoistic head.
'Kahi dill vill to nahi aa gaya uss par Armaan miya?' His heart said smilingly if the heart could, making his heartbeat irregular.
'Yeh main kya soch raha hun? Pyar? Aur woh bhi iss se? Nahi! Main sirf Natasha se pyaar karta hun!' Armaan thought rolling his eyes, ignoring what his heart said, and listened to his brain.
"Yeh kya kari ho!" Armaan asked in a stern yet loud voice making the files drop out of Riddhima's hands. She got startled and looked at him to see him standing in front of her.
"Woh...subeh, aap keh rahi thay na ke aapke client Mr Tiwari ki file nahi mill rahi, to main bas wohi dhoond rahi thi aapke liye!" Riddhima smiled and continued to look through files.
'Yeh meri cheezon ka itna khayaal kyu rakhti hai jab ke mera bartav is bilkul bhi theek nahi hai? Ek taraf yeh hai, iss ko meri zarooraton ka kitna khayaal hota hai? Aur ek Natasha hai, usse hi file di thi, lekin woh uska bhi dihaan nahi rakh paayi!' Armaan thought admiring her as she was busy in her own world oblivious of Armaan's stare.
'Woaaah...dude! Tu phir ausse Natasha se compare kara hai? Tera dimaag waake kharaab hogaya hai Armaan Mallik!' Armaan mentally slapped himself. 'Kuch to karna hoga, yeh Riddhima mere sar par sawaar horahi hai!'
"Tumhe kissne kaha tha, maine tumse madat maangi? Nahi na? Kitni dafa kaha hai ke meri office ki cheezon ko haath mat lagaya karo!" Armaan shouted trying get angry on her, but her innocent face didn't let him.
Riddhima got scared and flinched and ran away hearing Ananya call her. Armaan smiled and bit his lips thinking that she was trying to help, but stopped smiling as he realized what he was doing. He slapped his forehead and threw his phone on the bed in frustration.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the afternoon, Armaan came back, walking inside talking on the phone while the all Mallik ladies were sitting in the living room watching tv.
"Arre aap aagaye? Woh mujhe aap ki file mil gayi thi! Yaha bawarchi khane ke paas hi girri hoyi thi!" Riddhima smiled and pointed towards the file kept on the side table near the sofa, as Armaan drank water.
Ananya frowned and got up, as she saw Natasha walking inside the house with a suitcase in her hand. A smirk was plastered on her face as if she had won something.
"Tum? Aur yeh samaan?" Jhanvi asked putting the magazine down as Ananya glared at Natasha while she smirked back. Her smirk was representing as if she won against them.
"Haan...choti mom, woh, maine aur Natasha ne decided kiya hai ke hum Live-in relationship mein rahenge!" Armaan said, and Muskaan's eyes widened and Ananya and Jhanvi got shocked. Riddhima frowned seeing their frowns.
"Live-in matlab?" Riddhima confusingly asked holding the tray tightly as she wasn't getting any good vibes seeing Natasha who just smirked at her, with her red lips twitched upwards.
"Matlab jab do log ek saath rehte hai bina shaadi ke!" Natasha explained walking in circles around Riddhima. "Samajh main aaya? Issiliye tum kamra khaali kardo, mere aur Armaan baby keliye!" She said flipping her hair.
Riddhima felt like if her heart had fallen on the ground and Armaan had stomped on it shattering it a billion pieces.
"Aap aisa kaise kar sakte hain mere saath?" The tray fell out of Riddhima's hands as she stared at the floor lost. She felt her vision get blurry as tears started to form.
She gritted her teeth and grabbed him by the collar. "Maine humesha aapka saath diya, har baat aap ki maani hai, aapki galat ko bhi sahi mana hai, aur aaj uss sab ka yeh sila mill raha hao mujhe!" She cried while Armaan rolled his eyes.
"Main tumhe nahi kaha tha woh sab karne keliye! Tumhne aapni maarzi se kiya! Aur maine pehle hi kaha tha, meri se koi umeed na rakhna!" He said getting her hands off from his collar.m
"Armaan! Yeh tu kya keh raha hai? Agar Riddhima ka koi khayaal nahi hai to aapni maa baap ko zubaan ka hi maan rakh leta! Humne Riddhima ke parents se waada kiya tha, ke uska dihaan rakhenge! Uska khayaal rakhenge!" Ananya screamed at Armaan.
"To rakhein na uska khayaal! Kisne mana kiye hai aapko? Lekin maine to koi vaada nahi kiya tha na? Maine shuro se hi kaha tha isse ke mujhse koi umeed rakhe! Yeh meri zindagi hai aur main aapni marzi karna chahta hun! Aur agar app log nahi chahte ke Natasha iss ghar main rahe, to main bhi iss ghar main nahi rahoonga!" Armaan blackmailed them.
Ananya looked at Riddhima and saw her crying hugging Muskaan. She went towards Armaan and shot him the death glare. She raised her hand and slapped him hard.
There was a pin drop silence and everybody was shocked, because Ananya slapped her beloved son, whom she never laid a finger on.
Armaan's eyes were bloodshot red. His veins on his hand and neck were showing because of anger. How could his mom ever slap him? Just because of his wife his mother slapped him.
"Dafa ho jao meri nazron se!" Ananya said pointing towards the door shocking everybody, specially Armaan.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Doctor, ab Armaan kaisa hai?" Rahul asked as he saw the doctor coming out. Everybody was waiting in the waiting room either crying or sad.
After Armaan and Natasha had left, half an hour after their departure, they got a call from an anonymous person who called to inform the Malliks that Armaan and Natasha had a fateful accident near the bridge.
"Woh ab behtar hain, aap unse mil sakte hai!" The doctor said and left leaving the whole family running like maniacs inside the room.
Natasha had minimal injuries and had left the hospital as soon as she got discharged, as for Armaan he had a partial paralysis on his left leg.
"Kabhi nahi sudrega! Humesha maa ko satana hota hai na?" Ananya scolded him crying and Armaan kissed her palm assuring her he was okay.
"Natasha kaha hai?" Rahul asked looking around.
"Woh chali gayi hai! I'm sorry guys, i should've believed you, she's a gold digger!" Armaan said gritting his teeth.
Natasha had messaged Armaan saying she had nothing to with him anymore and she doesn't wanna live with a handicapped man and ruin her life.
'Agar tum yeh message pad rahe ho, to main jaa chuki hungi! Tumhare gusse ki waje se humara accident hua hai! Lekin ab aur nahi, main ab tumhare saath nahi rehna chahti. Main aapni life ek apahaj aadmi ke saath nahi guzaarna chahti!.....' And so her reasons went on, breaking his heart into small bits.
Ananya eyed everybody towards Riddhima, and signalled them to go out as Armaan and Riddhima should talk alone.
Soon they were left alone, and there was an awkward silence in the room. Riddhima was silently weeping, and Armaan was feeling horrible for his behaviour.
"I'm sorry!! I know I was a jerk! And i don't deserve you! Mujhe maaf kardo! Shayad tumhe dhuk dene ki aaj yeh saza mill rahi hai!" Armaan painfully stared at his partially paralyzed leg.
"Main...rahul se keh kar divorce papers tiyaar karwa donga! After all tum ek apahaj pati ke saat kyu rahogi! Jise main pyaar karta tha woh mujhe chod ke chali gayi... Tum to...." He left off as he felt a finger on his lips and saw Riddhima smilingly sat next to him.
"Maine vachan liya tha, avni ko sakshi maan kar, ke main aapke saath har garhi, har pal, har mushkil main aapka saath dungi, to aapko aisa kyu lagta hai ke main aapko chodongi? Maine vaada kiya hai baghwaan se, poori duniya ke saamne, ke main HUMEHSA APKA SAATH DUNGI!" Riddhima softly spoke, as her words echoed in the room.
Hearing this Armaan sobbed and Riddhima hugged him caressing his hair. Despite being in an awkward position, both poured their emotions out as Armaan kept on apologizing.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
3 Months Later
Three months passed since the accident. Things had slowly started to change in Mallik mansion, for good this time. Nikki had gotten married, Armaan's leg wasn't paralyzed anymore. Though, he still had a little difficulty to walk. Armaan and Riddhima had slowly started to work on their relationship. They were still a little awkward but they started their relationship by becoming friends.
Armaan was laying on their bed reading a newspaper when Natasha barged inside the room dressed in a skimpy black dress with a deep neck.
Armaan knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, and he got up from his bed and limped towards her.
"Armaan baby..." She fake cried and ran towards him, clinging to his muscular body. Armaan clenched his jaw seeing her.
"I swear...baby woh jo message tumhe mila tha woh dad ne kiya tha! Woh uss time bohot gusse mein thay! And now, I only came back for you!" She faked tears and hugged him.
Riddhima came outside the bathroom dressed in a maroon Saree, her wet hair falling on one side of her shoulder. She was rubbing her hair with her towel when she saw Armaan and Natasha hugging.
Her face grew pale and the towel fell out of her hands. Her heart skipped a neat as frowned nearing them.
"Tum?" Natasha glared at Riddhima, as Riddhima tapped her shoulder giving her a sugarcoated smile. "Armaan baby yeh yahan kya karahi hai?"
"Kya matlab kya karahi hun? Yeh mera kamra hai to main yahi hongi na!" Riddhima replied trying not to loose her cool.
"Excuse me yeh Armaan baby ka kamra hai!" Natasha gritted while Armaan looked back an forth between his wife and Natasha kind of starting to enjoy the fight.
"Aur Armaan 'baby' kon hai?" Riddhima asked glaring at her. "Mere Pati na? Yaani ke, yeh kamra bhi mera, yeh ghar bhi mera, aur Armaan bhi mere! Tum kha ape aati ho iss sab mein? Ek maamooli si bahar waali?" Riddhima roasted her chuckling sarcastically making Natasha's ears turn red. Armaan wanted to scream out loud because of happiness but decided to kept mum.
"Armaam baby....yeh dheko yeh meri kaise insult karahi hai! Isse kuch kehte kyun nahi?" Natasha whined as she felt insulted and humiliated.
"Eh batox wali cheapri, ek baar aur 'Armaan baby' bola na, to ek keech ke thapad marungi, ke agle 2 saal tak iss nakli shakal pe nishaan rahega!" Riddhima's eyes darkened as she threatened Natasha who ironically got scared and gulped. "Ab idhar se ghum hoja, warna main tujhe thapad maar ke ghum kardungi!"
Natasha was at the verge of crying and looked towards Armaan to see if he would anything because in the past he didn't tolerate anyone insulting her. Though she was mistaken because, Armaan was laughing silently. She stomped her foot and ran outside, accepting her defeat.
As soon as she left, Armaan bursted out laughing, and soon Riddhima joined too. Armaan was clutching his stomach almost falling on the floor because of laughing.
"Wah kya dialogue maare hain lady hitler! Waise yeh Batox kya?" Armaan controlled his laughter and frowned.
"Arre wohi, woh jo ladkiyan suyon waale injection moon par lagwaati hai!" Riddhima tried to explain.
Armaan frowned and tried to think, and then laughed. "Oh....you mean...Bo....BOTOX.....?" He laughed and Riddhima flushed from embarrassment. She threw a pillow at him and he kept on laughing.
_______________________
T H E E N D....
So guys the moral of this os was that always respect your wife, because she'll always be there for you!
Thank you
Love humaira
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