Six Years Later
A mansion stood high in its place, away from the evil eyes of the world. The sun rays radiated with the positive energy as it reflected onto the mansion and the members living in it. The trees and grass moved along with the light breeze while the flowers shined brightly in there place.
Inside a room in the mansion, a man lay on the huge king-sized bed, dead asleep. Exiting the closet, Nandini looked at her husband, who seemed to be sleeping as if the entire world's workload had been on his shoulders. Years had passed but some things stayed the same.
Shaking her head, Nandini moved towards the dresser as she applied some moisturizer. It had been years and she still despised makeup, even after being married for almost eight years. "Armaan, wake up." Nandini said while she combed through her long hair that her husband was still in love with.
Getting no response, Nandini again spoke, "Wake up or else your kids will barge into the room and-" Before she could even finish her statement, the doors to the room burst open and a pair of little feet walked in. Nandini shook her head, this being an everyday ritual. Looking down, Nandini smiled. "Good morning baby."
Nandini earned ignorance in response as the little girl rushed towards the bed. Nandini sighed, knowing no one could get her attention except her father, first thing in the morning. After having a lot of trouble climbing, she finally made her way onto the bed and crawled towards the man who was still asleep.
Pouting, the little girl stared at his closed eyes. An idea popped into her little brain as she climbed onto his bare torso and sat on it. Nandini didn't pay heed to the little girl anymore, knowing she wouldn't stop without waking her father up. Seeing him still not paying attention, the little girl tugged at his hair, giggling.
Feeling the tug and hearing the giggles, a tiny smile made its way towards his lips. Not seeing the smile, the little girl kissed her father's stubbles cheek, giggling even more after it tickled her soft skin. Those giggles drove away his sleep as his eyes lightly opened, only to see one of the most beautiful sights ever.
His three year old daughter sitting on his chest, giggling while staring at him. Seeing him awake, a full blown smile made its way onto her tiny lips. "Good morning my little princess." The girl only giggled in response. Her tiny giggles erupted inside the entire room once her father pulled her closer and kissed her cheek, his stubble rubbing against her cheeks.
"I..it tickle." she said in between her giggles. He smiled seeing his daughter and kissed her other cheek. This had become a daily habit in the mornings for them. Either his wife would wake him up, and if he didn't, his daughter would find ways to wake him up, just to get his attention first thing in the morning.
Seeing her little family, Nandini smiled through the mirror. Biting back her smile, Nandini turned towards them with her strict expression. The father-daughter duo were to busy cuddling up again to go back to sleep, to notice the glare they were receiving. "Armaan, Anaya!" Hearing the hitler's voice, the duo groaned, knowing their sleep was busted.
"Both of you, get up, now. Anaya, go brush you teeth and then I will help you take a bath. And you Armaan, go do your workout and get ready or else you'll be late." Armaan and Anaya looked at each other, huffing in annoyance. Getting scolded by Nandini was also a daily habit for both of them.
"But mumma, I no take bath. It take sooooo much twime." Her cute little voice and wrong pronunciation made her look even cuter. Nandini placed her hands on her hips, staring at her. "Anaya, be a good girl and go. Even bhai has already gotten ready because he is a good boy. You want to be a good girl na?" The little girl was quick to nod with her innocence. "Then quickly quickly go."
Anaya jumped out of bed, not before kissing Armaan's nose, and scurried out of the room. As she disappeared, Nandini looked at Armaan, who was groaning and covering his face with the pillow. Walking over to him, Nandini yanked the pillow off of his face and saw a scowl right on his face. "Now do you need me to pick you up or will you get up yourself?"
Armaan sighed, sitting up. "You always have to ruin our moment." Nandini narrowed her eyes at him, saying, "I'm just being helpful. And unlike you both, my son and I have our own shares of moments, thank you very much." Armaan rolled his eyes, pushing himself out of bed. "I'm just saying, you don't have to be jealous."
Nandini furrowed her eyebrows in response. "Go or else I'll be all mad and you'll be asking for forgiveness all night." Nandini pointed towards the bathroom. "Don't worry, I know how to earn my wife's forgiveness and keep her awake all night." Armaan's smirk made Nandini's face heat up in seconds. Nandini looked away, only for Armaan to smirk even wider. Even after years, she'd turn all flustered with just his words.
"Just go!" Nandini whined. Armaan chuckled as he entered the closet. Nandini was left behind, smiling to herself as she thought about her crazy husband and her crazy kids, who were her entire world.
• • • • •
The dining room was filled with light chatter as everyone waited on Armaan to come downstairs for breakfast. Seeing him finally enter the room in his formals, everyone sighed in relief, annoyed waiting for him.
Armaan smiled at his children and pecked both their heads, earning a smile from his parents and wife after seeing his bond with them. "Papa, sit heeree with me." Anaya pouted. Armaan being Armaan, he listened to whatever his daughter ever asked for, so he did just as she said. Anaya smiled widely once he did.
In front of them sat Sunita and Vikrant, with Aryan, who sat between both of them. And on the other side sat Armaan and Nandini, with Anaya between them. Anaya had always been a daddy's girl ever since she had came to this world, while on the other hand, Aryana was a full on momma's boy. Both kids were the apple of their grandparents eyes and always got spoiled by them.
"Tonight, Sameer and Rishab are coming for the family dinner." Armaan informed them. Breakfast had become a mandatory meal in the family ever since the kids had came to this world. This allowed them all to spend some time together since Armaan always left to work and sometimes missed out on dinner and was never there for lunch.
Along with breakfast, weekly family dinners had also become a thing. Each week, they'd either go to Sameer, Rishab's or their home for the dinner. In this way, the adults could catch up while the kids could play with one another. It formed a bond between the kids and now they all were inseparable.
"Are Tarun and Yash coming?" Aryan asked, only liking these dinners so he could see his friends not only at school but at home too. "Yes they are, along with everyone else." Nandini responded, wiping Anaya's face, who was one messy eater. "Ishaan come too?" Anaya looked up at Nandini with her innocent doe eyes. Nandini smiled, nodding. After that, the little girl's excitement had no bounds. "Yay!" she squealed, making everyone chuckle.
Once they had finished with their breakfast, Armaan stood up, ready to leave. "No, no go." Anaya whined, pouting. Armaan sighed, bending down to her level. "I'll come back early today, okay?" She pouted, thinking. "You bwing me chocolates?" Chuckling, Armaan nodded, earning a huge smile from Anaya, making him smile too. His daughter was just of a die-hard fan of chocolates like his wife.
"Now let papa go, okay?" Anaya nodded at her mother's words. Armaan kissed her cheek, making her kiss his in response. Aryan, who got up to leave, kissed his cheek as well and bid bye, running up to his room to play his video games before Anaya would create a ruckus that he isn't letting her. Seeing him run, Anaya was quick to run after him, yelling at him to wait for her.
Both Sunita and Vikrant left afterwards, heading out for their morning walk in the backyard, leaving Armaan and Nandini alone. Nandini smiled at Armaan, a shocked expression taking over her face when Armaan pulled her closer. "Ar..Armaan, so..someone might come." Nandini tried to wiggle out of his hold, looking around to see if anyone is coming.
"So? You're my wife. Let them come and see how much I love her." Nandini narrowed her eyes at him, her hands resting on his chest. Nandini brought her face closer to his, making his gaze rest on her lips. "Well...you can..show this love later but right now, you're getting late." Armaan was left flabbergasted when Nandini pushed him back, laughing after seeing his expressions.
Armaan gave her an 'are-you-serious' look, making her give him a sarcastic smile back in return. "I'll see you." Armaan said with a determined look. "Oh, we will see about that." Nandini gave back the challenging look to him. Before Nandini could run out of the room, Armaan grabbed her wrist, pulling her back so her chest collided with his.
Nandini was caught off-guard, but a smile replaced her flabbergasted looks when she felt Armaan's lips on her forehead. "I love you, you know right?" Nandini nodded, smiling and looking down. "Don't ever think that I have forgotten about you if I give a bit more attention to the kids. It's just that they're growing to fast and I want to give them time." Nandini's eyes met his sincere ones.
"Armaan, I have never thought of your love like that before. I know you give the kids more time and I am happy you do. I have you for the rest of my life but the kids will grow up one day. So don't worry, I know you love me and will always love me." Armaan smiled, grateful that he got such an understanding wife.
Kissing her temple one last time, Armaan headed out the doors. Nandini stood there, praying to god to always keep her family happy and full of love. These six years had been nothing but blissful and she wouldn't change them for anything.
• • • • •
Preparations were going on in full swing. Different dishes were being made while the mansion was being fully cleaned. After all, it was the one and only, family dinner day.
A cute Anaya pouted when she saw the dress her mumma was holding up. "No, no! I no wear!" Nandini sighed, knowing she was one hard nut to crack. She was just like her mother in personality. Sweet and kind but very hard-headed. Just like Nandini, Anaya hated dresses and preferred to stay in overalls. But other then personality, Anaya looked nothing like Nandini. Except for her hazel eyes, which she got from her mumma, Anaya was a full on carbon copy of Armaan. Same face structure with the same black hair. But just way more cuter.
"Anaya, please listen to mumma. Wear this dress only for tonight. You want to look nice na?" Anaya shook her head aggressively, making Nandini groan. "Look mumma." A six year old Aryan walked in, showing his mom that he was ready. Nandini smiled at her son, who was another carbon copy of his father, even the eyes. Aryan was another Armaan look wise and personality wise. Sharp minded in things but he was more of a quiet kid.
"Wow Aryan, you look so handsome." Aryan grinned at his mother, while Anaya glared at her brother for stealing her spotlight. "See Anaya, even bhai is ready." Anaya stuck her tongue out at Aryan, making him stick his back. "Okay, okay. We're done with that. Aryan, go downstairs and don't mess your clothes up." Aryan nodded obediently, not before sticking his tongue again at Anaya. Though these two siblings had there shares of fights, Aryan was very protective of his sister, just like his father.
"Mumma, bhai wear pants. I wear pants too." Anaya complained, making Nandini sigh. Anaya roamed around in pants and overalls all day long but Nandini wanted her to look presentable for once. As she was lost in her thoughts, a happy shriek left Anaya's mouth. "Papa!!" Anaya jumped straight from the bed into her father's embrace, who had came back from work.
Nandini turned around and saw a smiling Armaan, kissing Anaya's forehead. "Hi princess, papa missed you sooooo much." Anaya giggled but soon pouted. Armaan noticed the pout and looked at Nandini with a questioning gaze. Nandini lifted up the dress and Armaan seemed to understand what was going on. "You don't want to wear the dress?" Anaya shook her head sideways. "But look, it's so pretty."
"No it not! It itchy and PINK! I don't like pink." Anaya made a disgusted face, making Armaan chuckle. "Okay fine. If Anaya doesn't want to wear a dress, she won't wear a dress." Anaya's eyes lit up while her lips lifted up. "Rewlly?" Armaan nodded, making her squeal in joy. Armaan looked at Nandini and saw her giving him an annoyed look. "See mumma, I no wear dress." Nandini sighed, turning around to go get her something else to wear, muttering, "These two are impossible."
• • • • •
Skipping down the stairs, Anaya ran towards her dadu, showing him her outfit which consisted of overalls with a white shirt underneath, which she was clearly going to spill something on. She didn't even listen to Nandini when she told her to put her hair into pigtails and ran straight downstairs instead, hiding from her mother.
"Dadu's princess looks beautiful, just like an actual princesss." Anaya giggled with the compliment. "More like a witch." Anaya turned towards her bhai, who had just said that, and smiled, thinking he was also complimenting her. Half of the words these people said confused the poor girl. She thought she lived in a house of crazy people. Especially her mother.
"Where is your-" Before Sunita could finish, Armaan walked down the stairs in his formal shirt, not having had changed, with Nandini trailing behind him in a sage green anarkali. "There they are." Sunita said, smiling at the beautiful couple. It had been many years yet they both looked perfect together when they'd stand by one another.
"And I think they're here." Armaan muttered once he heard chatter nearing them. And in seconds, both families showed their faces, along with their children. Anaya was the first one to beam and ran towards them in full speed. Just as she did, she was lifted up into Sameer's arms, who treated her just like his own daughter. Anaya giggled in his hold, enjoying the attention.
Everyone greeted one another, even though the men had met just a couple of hours before. Anaya was taken out of Sameer's hold and into Rishab's, making her grin seeing her funny chachu. "Chachu." Anaya said, kissing his cheek. "Don't kiss my papa!" A little voice echoed through the living room. Anaya looked down and glared at her best friend. "I kiss your papa!" Sticking her tongue out, Anaya placed another kiss on Rishab's other cheek, making the little boy's nose flare up.
Anaya wiggled out of Rishab's hold and her pout turned into a grin seeing her best friend, even though he was annoying. The one and only, Ishaan Kapoor, Rishab and Divya's second and youngest son, was Anaya's best friend since the moment she entered this world. This four year old boy was the only one who played with her when both their brother's kicked them out, claiming they are small. These two were inseparable and did all their mischief together.
Aryan on the other hand, he and his two best friends were quick to run out of the room to play, before the two small kids noticed them. Just like Armaan had Rishab and Sameer, Aryan had Tarun and Yash. Tarun Kapoor, a six year old boy, was Rishab and Divya's oldest son. Yash Banerjee, also six years old, was both Sameer and Neha's only son and child. These three boys were just like their dad's. They were the new '3 Idiots'.
These three families had become one big family and never left one another's side. Their kids became another reason why they had to stay together and they made their bond even stronger. All the adults sat down, chatting while the three big boys left to play in the garden, leaving Ishaan and Anaya to bicker over things.
Whenever Anaya would play with Ishaan, Armaan made sure to keep a thick gaze on them. To be more exact, Ishaan. Even though Anaya was just a three old little girl, Armaan was very protective of her and made sure Ishaan didn't flirt with his daughter. Nandini on the other hand, was glad these two got along and dreamed of seeing them getting married one day, only if they wish of course.
And like Armaan had guessed years back, both Rishab's kids were full of mischief. Tarun wasn't bad as Ishaan was though. Ishaan was worse then his father. Yash was like both his parents, quiet and calm. It was as if history was repeating itself and these kids were living the same life like their parents had.
Anaya being the only girl, she was the favorite. Everyone, especially Sameer, had a soft spot for that little girl. Sameer and Neha couldn't conceive another child after Yash, but they didn't let that effect them. When Anaya came into this world, it was as if she was their daughter. And no one can stay away from such a cute girl. Therefore, Sameer always spoiled Anaya as if she was his own daughter.
"Look Rishab, your son is flirting with my daughter." Armaan narrowed his eyes towards Ishaan, who was feeding Anaya a candy with his own hands, that he had stolen from his older brother and brought just for her. "I'm so proud of him. After all, he has learned from the best." Rishab flaunted his collars, earning a glare from Divya. Nandini gave Armaan a flabbergasted look. She knew her husband was protective, but this? This was to much. For gods sake, they were three and four.
"Shall we have dinner?" Sunita said. Everyone nodded, getting up. "Anaya, go call all three of your brother's and tell them we're having dinner." Anaya obediently nodded, running out of the room to call them, followed by Ishaan, who didn't let Anaya go anywhere alone when he was around.
• • • • •
The dining room was filled with laughter and lots of chatter, while utensils hit the plates. Family dinners had become a tradition and were one of the most beautiful things in the family.
Armaan sat next to Nandini, right in front of Ishaan and Anaya. He was paying less attention to his food and more attention to the little kids, who were whispering to one another on how they hated vegetables. "I know. We put in Yash bhai's plate." Anaya whispered her plan to Ishaan. Ishaan grinned, saying, "You so smart Anaya." Anaya grinned back, giving him a toothy smile. Putting the plan to action, Ishaan placed his pieces of broccoli from the pasta in Anya's plate, who placed them in Yash's plate without him noticing, due to him talking to his friends.
Anaya and Ishaan hi-fived one another, feeling very smart, unknown to that Rishab had seen everything, but he decided to be nice and stayed mum. But he wasn't the only one. Armaan had noticed everything, and was going to stay silent, but because of him staring, Nandini had noticed everything. And no one can spare her anger.
"Anaya, Ishaan!" Both the kids jerked up, looking at her. "Yes mumma?" "Yes massi?" they said in unison. "Take those broccoli pieces back right now or else you guys won't get dessert, which consists of ice cream." Both the kids had a huge shocked expression on their face. Ishaan pushed Anaya, making her take them back and place them back into their plates. Groaning, the kids ate a piece as both their mother's watched them, making sure. Couldn't everyone be like Rishab!?
• • • • •
After having a good time with the family, everyone had departed to go to their homes while the rest went into their rooms. Armaan entered the room and noticed his wife no where to be found, but knew where she was.
Walking into the balcony, Armaan noticed his wife staring at the stars, this being a part of her routine every night. "They're asleep." Armaan stood next to Nandini, looking at the stars as well. Nandini hummed in response, the cool breeze feeling good against her skin. Without coming out into the balcony before sleeping, Nandini had a hard time sleeping.
Nandini smiled when she felt a pair of muscular arms wrap up around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. A huge sigh escaped his lips and Nandini knew he had a long tiring day. Armaan took in a sharp whiff of her smell, feeling at home once he did. "God I love you so much." Nandini lightly smiled, his breath having had left sensations to run through her.
"Armaan." "Hm?" he hummed in response. "I'm so grateful that we got married. If it wouldn't have been of our shocking reunion, we wouldn't have had what we have today. But now, we have a big family of our own. Two parents who love us a lot and two amazing kids along with two other families. And if I wouldn't have married you, I wouldn't have any of this."
"No Nandini, without you, I wouldn't have any of this. Not only did you teach me what life really is, you gave me one. You gave me your love and turned me into a human. And you gave me the most precious gifts ever. Our kids. One amazing son and one gorgeous daughter. And I wouldn't trade any of this for anything."
Nandini turned towards Armaan, staring straight into his eyes. "I love you Armaan. So much. And without you, I can't function properly." Armaan smiled at Nandini's confession. Even though it had been years, they both always showed each other that they meant the same to one another. Their love didn't fade but it bloomed even more.
"And I love you Nandini, so fucking much. So much that it hurts. So much that I want you in this lifetime and every lifetime after." Armaan pressed his forehead against her's while their hearts beat at an abnormal rate.
Years and years would pass but Armaan and Nandini's love would stay the same. Their bond had been made by the most powerful for it to never break apart. Their story stops here, but it will never have an ending. Because Armaan and Nandini's mismatched love was formed to last for eternity.
__________________________________________________________________________
Namaste guys!
How did you like the Epilogue of the book?
The book is now officially fully complete.
I hoped you enjoyed 'Mismatched Love'.
I had an amazing time writing this book and it will forever be an important part of me.
Thank you so much for being here throughout the journey of Mismatched Love.
Thank you so much for reading and giving me your love!
- Gurleen