Part 9
Kasauli
Recap: Everyone is busy due to the Sangeet preparations. Amit and Sapna share a moment together and Vivek teases Amit. Armaan and Riddhima are making food when, Armaan cuts his finger. Riddhima takes care of him, and they kiss, but break apart soon because the lights go off. Rahul finds out about Amit's love for Sapna. The boys and girls dance, and a girl name Maya arrives there. Armaan is shocked seeing her.
Armaan was totally shocked. His senses went numb seeing her here. While Armaan, was shocked, a mysterious smile was playing on Maya's lips.
" Hello Mr. Armaan Mallik. " Maya said with a smile. Armaan, who came back from his thoughts, looked suspiciously at Maya.
" Tum yahaan kya rahi ho? "
" Arre! Yeh kaisa savaal hain? Main yahaan tumse milne aayi hoon. "
" Lekin main tumse milne mein interested nahin hoon. " Armaan and Maya were talking when suddenly Rahul's eyes landed upon them. He smiled widely and went up to them.
" Maya! What a pleasant surprise! It's so nice to see you here! " Rahul shaked hands with Maya, and hugged her. This conversation between them was noticed by the gang and came up to the trio. They looked at Rahul and Armaan, as if expecting an answer for something.
" Sorry guys. Main tum logo ko inn se introduce karvaana bhul gaya. This is Maya Saxena. Meri aur Armaan ki business client. Hum Malaysia inn hi ke saath business karne gaye the. And Maya, these are our friends. Riddhima Mallik, Atul Joshi, Anjali Gupta, Muskaan Garewal, and Vivek Oberoi. "
" Nice to meet you all! " Maya, once again, said with a smile.
" Lekin Maya. Aap yahaan kya kar rahi hain? " Rahul asked.
" Oh. Woh actually mujhe business ko le kar aap dono se kuch zaroori baat karni thi. And jab maine aap dono ke secretary ko call kiya, toh unhone mujhe bataya ki aap dono yahaan Armaan ki sister-in-law ki shaadi ke liye aaye hain. Toh maine socha, ki kyun na main yahin aa jaun, aur issi bahaane se aap sab se bhi mil lungi. "
" Oh! Yeh toh aapne bohat achha kiya. " Riddhima said.
" And by the way Riddhima, you are very lucky. Ki aapko Armaan mila hain. Jab woh Malaysia aaya tha, toh sirf aap hi ki baat kar raha tha. I must say he really loves you. " Riddhima's smile faded a little, and Armaan made a disgusting look, looking towards Maya.
" Thanks. Waise. I think maine aapko kahin dekha hain. Lekin mujhe yaad nahin aa raha. " said Riddhima. Maya's smile faded, and a shocked look came on her face, but she recovered quickly. On the other hand, Armaan, too, was shocked.
' I hope Riddhima ko pata na chale ki yeh kaun hain. Warna pata nahin kya hoga. '
" N... nahin. I... I think aapko kuch... galat faimy hui hain. " Maya stuttered through.
" Hmm. Shaayad. Aur waise bhi, mere saath toh kayi baar aisa hua hain. " Riddhima said dismissing the topic. Armaan breathed relief.
' Lagta hain Riddhima ne usska chehra dekha nahin tha. Warna toh pata nahin kya ho jata? ' Armaan thought to himself. He came out of his thoughts when he heard Maya speak.
" Ok guys. It was nice to meet you all. I think ab mujhe chalna chahiye. " Maya started to go, but stopped as she heard Riddhima talk.
" Ek minute! Aap chahe, toh yahaan reh sakti hain. " Riddhima offered. Maya turned around.
" Oh no! It's perfectly fine. Main apne hotel mein jaa kar reh lungi. " Maya said with a smile, though it somehow appeared fake.
" Haan Riddhima! Maya bilkul theek keh rahi hain. Agar unhe jaana hain, toh jaane do. Unhe koi kaam hua, toh main vahaan chala jaunga. " said Armaan. Shock, anger, and disappointment flashed through Maya's face, but she recovered herself quickly before anyone could notice. But to her failure, Rahul had seen the flash of emotions on Maya's face when Armaan had said no to her.
' Yeh Armaan itna tension mein kyun lag raha hain? Aur yeh Maya ke saath aise behave kyun kar raha hain? Kuch toh problem hain. Pata lagana padega. ' Rahul thought to himself.
" Ok. Fine. " Riddhima agreed with Armaan. And Maya reluctantly left.
Soon after Maya left, the guests also started to leave, and they finally decided to call it a day, and then retired to their rooms. Everyone was asleep, except for Armaan. He was standing at the terrace in a black tank, and sweatpants. He was staring off in space, thinking about Maya.
' Maya akkhir yahaan aayi kyun hain? Kya chahti hain woh? Usse jo chahiye tha, woh toh use mil gaya. Toh phir ab kya chahti hain woh? Mujhe careful rehna padega. I have to be very careful. Meri zara si laa parvaahi, pata nahin kya kar sakti hain. If only Riddhima would believe me. Ab mujhe jald se jald Riddhima ko sab sach batana padega. Sab kuch. ' Armaan thought to himself. He was so engrossed in his thoughts, that he never realized when Rahul had come to the terrace.
Rahul was about to go to bed, when he had noticed that Armaan was at the terrace. He placed his hand on Armaan's shoulder. Armaan came out of his thoughts, and looked at Rahul.
" Tu kab aaya? " Armaan asked, surprised at Rahul's sudden arrival.
" Jab tu apni khayalon ki duniya mein khoya hua tha. " Armaan looked down.
" Armaan kya baat hain? " Armaan looked up.
" K... koi... koi baat... nahin hain. " Armaan stammered through.
" Tu mujhse jhooth bol raha hain? Mujhse? Bhul gaya? Jab bhi bachchpan mein tujhe koi problem hoti thi, toh tu mujhe humesha batata tha. Aur ab? Ab tu mujhse jhooth bol raha hain? " Rahul said angrily.
" Please bata na. Kya baat hain? " Rahul softened up and asked quietly. Armaan looked up and said nothing, though his eyes were welling up. He said nothing for a while, but then spoke up.
" It's her. " Rahul didn't understand anything.
" Kya? Tu saaf, saaf bol yaar. " Rahul said, confused at his answer. Armaan didn't say anything. He just kept looking at him.
" Armaan please sach, sach bata. Baat kya hain? " Rahul said, pretty much begging. Armaan just looked at Rahul, and then spoke up.
He told Rahul everything. By the time Armaan finished, Rahul's mouth was wide open. There was an absolute silence. Tension was slowly filling up the atmosphere.
" Kya? " Rahul whispered.
" Haan. Yeh hi sach hain. Mujhe toh kuch bhi samajh mein nahin aa raha. Main toh poora sach bhi nahin jaanta. Kaash mujhe sab kuch pata hota. I wish. " Armaan placed his hands on his hips, and then ran his hand through his hair. Rahul went up to him and placed his hand on Armaan's shoulder.
" Relax Armaan. Sab kuch theek ho jayega. Main hoon na. Hum sab mil kar teri help karenge. " Rahul supported Armaan, and Armaan looked at Rahul. He immediately hugged Rahul and Rahul patted his back.
Soon, the 2 boys went to their room, and fell asleep.
The Next Day...
It was around 10:30 in the morning and everyone in the gang, except for Vivek as he had gone somewhere for a day, was sitting in Sapna's room.
" Guys! AJ aur Anjie ki shaadi ke liye at least 3 weeks baaki hain. Aur hum bas yahaan bethe hain. Guys! Think of doing something fun! Main yahaan bore ho rahi hoon. " Sapna complained.
" Lekin hum kya karein Sapzi? " asked Armaan. Everyone started to think, and then an idea clicked into Rahul's mind.
'Haan! Yeh idea theek rahega. Iss se Armaan aur Riddhima paas bhi aa jayenge, main Muskaan ke paas aa jaunga, Atul aur Anjali bhi ek doosre ke saath aur time spend kar paayenge, aur Amit, Sapna ko usski feelings ka ehsaas karva payega. Nice! ' Rahul thought to himself.
" Guys! Let's go to Kasauli! " Rahul said in a loud voice.
" Kasauli? " Everyone said at the same time.
" Yes guys! Kasauli! It's such a beautiful place! Isse achha destination, kahaan ho sakta hain? "
" Lekin vahaan par toh bohat thand hogi. " said Anjali.
" Toh hum kahaan bahar reh rahe hain? Vahaan par bohat ache hotels hain. Main vahaan par booking karva lunga. "
" Yea, guys! Let's go! " Atul agreed with Rahul.
" Ok! " Everyone said it together again.
" Lekin guys, hume mom aur dad ko samjhana hoga. Yeh kaam kaun karega? " asked Riddhima.
" Tu kar dena. Please! Aur waise bhi. Tu toh mom aur dad ki laadli hain hain. Please tu kar de na! " Anjali and everyone requested to Riddhima and she raised her hand and agreed.
" Ok! Ok! Ok! Main kar dungi. " Everyone hugged Riddhima, while she felt suffocated.
" Ok Ridzi! Toh lunch time par tu kar dena ok. Aur jab uncle, aunty maan jayenge, toh main hotel ki booking kar lunga aur hum aaj sham ko hi nikal jayenge. Ok? "
" OK! " They got up, and went for lunch.
At Lunch...
Everyone was sitting at the lunch, quietly eating their food. Everyone was silently telling Riddhima through their eyes, to tell her, but she didn't say anything. Finally, Muskaan, who was sitting beside her, kicked Riddhima and Riddhima flinched.
" Kya hua Riddhima beta? " asked Padma.
" Woh... woh... Maa... main... mujhe aapse ek baat ki permission... leni thi. " Riddhima stuttered through. The gang looked at Riddhima with lots of hope.
" Kaunsi baat? " Padma asked her.
" Woh mom... a... actually... hum sab... chahte the ki... ki hum sab... vacation ke liye... Kasauli... jaaye. Agar aapki ijazat ho toh. " Riddhima stuttered through, and the gang looked at Padma with great hopes. Padma looked at Shashank, and Shashank looked at her. Then they both turned, and looked the gang with a smile.
" Iss mein bhi koi puchhne ki baat hain bhala? Of course tum log jaa sakte ho! " said Padma
" Thank you so much mom! " Anjali and Riddhima said together and hugged Padma.
" Great! Toh main booking kar ke aata hoon. Aur tum log jaldi bags pack karna shuru karo. Hum aaj hi nikalte hain. Ok? " said Rahul.
" Ok! " Everyone said together. They quickly finished lunch, and then they started to pack the bags while Rahul booked the rooms. They all finished packing the bag really quickly and then the boys were putting the bags in the car. They shut the back door and leaned against the car.
" Oh God! Finally bags load ho gaye. " Rahul said, exhausted with the
packing and all.
" Yea man! Waise Rahul, tune plan achha banaya hain. Kasauli is a very nice place. " said Amit.
" Hmm. Tujhe toh pasand aayegi hi na. Sapzi jo tere saath jaa rahi hain. " Rahul in a sarcastic tone. Armaan and Atul looked at Amit and Rahul in shock.
" Amit? Tu Sapzi ko pasand karta hain? " Armaan asked him in a shocked voice.
" Thanks a lot Rahul. Mera secret iss ko bataane ke liye. " Amit said with pure sarcasm in his voice and turned to Armaan.
" Haan yaar. Main Sapna se pyaar karta hoon. " Armaan and Atul's mouth was hanging open.
" Kab? "
" Kaise? "
" Kahan? " Armaan and Atul said it one by one, and then together.
" College ke time se, kaise yeh mujhe nahin pata, aur mujhe usse college mein pyaar hua tha. " Amit answered each one of their questions. Armaan and Atul's mouth were still hanging down.
" Guys! Mu band karo warna makhee andar ghoos jaayegi. " They immediately closed their mouths.
" Aur guys. Please tum log mujhse Rahul ki tarah naaraaz matt hona. " Amit requested them.
" Naaraaz kaise nahin honge. Saale itne saalon se humse yeh baat chhupaayi, aur ab kehta hain ki tujhse naaraaz matt ho? Kya baat hain! " Armaan said with sarcasm.
" I'm sorry guys. Uss waqt main khud kuch nahin jaanta tha. Please yaar. Maaf kar do naa! " Amit said with a puppy face, and they forgived him.
" It's ok yaar. Koi baat nahin. " Atul said, and they all hugged each other. They broke apart and Rahul spoke up.
" Guys. Yeh sab toh theek hain. Lekin yeh girls kahaan hain? " This gained the others' attention, and they too thought about this.
" Haan yaar. Yeh kahaan hain? " asked Amit.
" You know. They are girls. Toh yeh log kitna time lagaati hain, yeh toh tu jaanta hi hain na. " Armaan said, and everyone chukled at this. The boys looked at the entrance and saw the girls coming down. For a moment, they all went weak in their knees, but then came back to the world.
" Ok boys. Ready? " asked Riddhima.
" Yea. Let's go! " said Armaan. Everyone took their seats. Amit and Sapna sat in the front as Amit wanted to drive, and Sapna didn't have a choice. Rahul, Muskaan, Atul, Anjali, and Riddhima were going to go to sit in the second row, when Atul stopped Riddhima.
" Ek second Ridzi! " Riddhima stopped, and looked at him.
" Tum ek kaam karo na. Peechhe jaa ke betho. " Riddhima looked at the back seat, and saw Armaan sitting there, looking at her with a faint smile on his face. Riddhima became nervous and gulped, and looked back at Atul.
" Lekin AJ- " Riddhima started to protest, but Rahul stopped her.
" Ridzi!! Samjha kar na! " Rahul said, and said through his eyes that he
wanted to sit with Muskaan.
Riddhima gave up, and went to the back. She was about to open the door, when Armaan opened it for her. She looked at Armaan and then at the seating arrangement.
Since the car was pretty much humongous, the back part had a really small bed-type-seating which could easily fit 2 people. It's shape was small and rectangular and it was connected with the second row's back.
Riddhima looked back at Armaan. He held his hand out towards her, wanting to help her get up in the car, but at the same time asking her to hold his hand, and walk back into his life. Riddhima hesitatingly held his hand and he brought her up. A wide smile crossed his face.
Riddhima sat beside him. She was having this feeling after a long time. She wanted to go and hide somewhere, but couldn't. She nervously shifted a little away from him and looked out the window. She looked at the trees that they were passing by. The scenery was beautiful. Her head was resting on the side, and an angelic smile was on her face. While she was looking out the window, she failed to notice someone's intense gaze on her.
Armaan had a smile on his face as he saw a smile on her's. Riddhima was looking like an angel. A perfect angel.
Amit rolled the windows down and the breeze touched Riddhima's face and she closed her eyes. Her smile grew wider. It seemed as if even the wind was mesmerized by his angel's beauty. The wind flirted with Riddhima's hair as it went all over her face, but Riddhima didn't move it back to it's place. She was enjoying the breeze as it took her to a new world. Though it didn't bother Riddhima, it bothered Armaan.
The hair was blocking his view, and he didn't like it. He went closer to her, and gently moved a strand of hair from her face, and tucked it behind her ear. Riddhima opened her eyes and looked at Armaan, and never knew when she got lost in them again. Armaan slowly moved the other hair strands back to their place.
Amit, who was seeing everything through the rear-view, smiled, and made a sharp turn which resulted in Armaan falling on the seat, and Riddhima falling on him. When he wasn't able to see Armaan and Riddhima, Amit knew that their plan had worked. He gave Sapna a high-five and went back to his driving.
Riddhima fell on his chest with a bang. Her hands were on his chest and her hair had been swept over to the right side. Armaan had his hand around her waist. Armaan was enjoying their closeness, and so was Riddhima. Armaan's gaze dropped to her lips, which were perfectly parted, and he tightened his grip around her waist. Riddhima closed her eyes and tightly gripped his shirt. Her breathing increased rapidly. Armaan moved his hand up to her face and cupped it. He brought her face more closer to his and tilted his face. They would have kissed, if not for a car honk.
The honk disrupted their moment and Riddhima opened her eyes. She realized what position they were in, and instantly sat up. She sat back and looked out the window. Armaan, too, sat up and sighed.
The rest of the ride was silent. Neither one of them spoke. The only conversation was between the first two rows. Soon they arrived at the place where they had to be. It was around 6:00. They got out of the car and looked at the hotel that they had reached.
They were standing in front of Kasauli Castle, which is one of the best hotels in Kasauli.
" Wow! " The girls exclaimed.
" It's beautiful Rahul! " said Muskaan.
" But not more than you. " Muskaan looked at Rahul, who was looking at her intently, and blushed. The boys whistled on this.
" Wah, wah, wah. Abhi se romance ho raha hain? Kya baat hain! " said
Anjali.
" Anjie Di. Main aapko ek suggestion doon? " asked Riddhima. Anjali nodded.
" Aap shaadi ke baad na, yahi aana. Woh kya hain na, honeymoon couples ke liye yeh jaga bohat achhi hain. " Riddhima teased Anjali, and Anjali's mouth hanged down. She ran after Riddhima and the boys chukled.
" Yeh dono na. Kabhi nahin sudhrenge. " said Rahul.
" Chal Rahul. Main apne room mein jaati hoon. Fresh hoke hum sab dinner ke liye milte hain. Ok? " said Muskaan.
" Ok Muski. " And Muskaan left for her room with her and Rahul's lugguage.
" Main bhi chalti hoon. Bohat thak gayi hoon. " said Anjali.
" Ok. Bye Anjie. "
" Bye. " And she, too, left. Amit, Rahul, and Atul turned towards Armaan with a wicked smile, who looked at them, confused. He raised an eyebrow.
" Tum log mujhe aise kyun dekh rahe ho? " Armaan said carefully.
" Moment kaisa tha? " asked Rahul.
" Kaunsa moment? "
" Car wala. Jab tum dono romantic ho rahe the? " said Amit. Armaan eyes popped out of his sockets.
" Woh sab tum logo ka plan tha?! " Armaan asked horrified at the realization.
" Yup! "
" Saale tujhe toh humara shukriyaada karna chahiye ki hum tujhe Ridzi ke kareeb le ke aaye. Aur tu hain ki hum par chila raha hain! " said Atul. Armaan rolled his eyes.
" Guys, thanks ki tum logo ne itna kuch kiya. Lekin pata nahin yeh sab kaam karega, ya nahin. "
" Matlab? " asked Amit. Armaan looked at Rahul.
" Guys, baat yeh hain ki... " Rahul told Atul and Amit everything that Armaan had told him. The two boys were shocked at this.
" Iss ka matlab ki Armaan ka toh sach mein koi dosh nahin hain. Lekin Maya akhhir yahaan aayi kyun hain? " asked Amit.
" Pata nahin. " said Armaan.
" Koi baat nahin Armaan. Hum sab kuch theek kar denge. Hum pata laga kar hi rahenge ki sachayi kya hain. Lekin tu tension matt le. Hum Kasauli aaye hain na. Tu yahaan enjoy kar. Baaki sab hum par chhod de. " said Atul. The boys hugged each other.
" Ok guys. Emotional drama band. Chalo chal kar fresh ho jaate hain. Mere pet mein toh chuhe dod rahe hain. " said Amit. The boys left for their rooms and freshened up. Everyone had unique rooms.
They all freshened up and then came to the restraunt to eat dinner.
They ate a lot and then went to the room to get some rest. They all didn't know what this trip had in store for them, but they knew that this one trip was going to change many peoples lives. For some it would be good, and for some... you can't imagine.
Why is Maya here? Why doesn't Armaan like her? What's the REAL truth? What's going to happen in Kasauli? Keep reading to find out...