I'll Love You Longer Than Forever

Chapter One Hundred and Ten

"Chachu!!" Riddhima cried, rushing down the stairs and pulling Nishank into a hug. "Kaise ho aap?"

As the wedding drew closer, Armaan and Riddhima's relatives had finally started trickling in to attend the upcoming nuptials. Riddhima was ecstatic to see her Chachu Chachi arrive early. They hadn't been able to make the trip for her engagement due to Chachu's health, but he was here for the wedding, and she was nothing but grateful.

"Main toh bilkul theek hoon," Nishank replied. "Tu kaisi hai?"

Riddhima pulled back from the hug and twirled around for him. "Kaisi lag rahi hoon?"

"Ekdum pari jaisi," Lavanya Chachi replied. "Kisi ki nazar na lage."

"Chachi!" Riddhima whined. "Kya aap bhi!"

"Sahi toh keh rahi hai," Nishank said. "Meri pyaari si bachchi ko kisi ki nazar nahi lagni chahiye."

"Aap log bas yehi karte rahoge ya kuch aage badhoge?" A voice interrupted them. Riddhima turned to see her cousins, Taranya and Dhairya, standing a few steps behind their parents.

"TARA!" She cried, ecstatic. "I thought tujhe college se itni leave nahi mili ki tu itni jaldi aa sake!"

"Woh toh bas aapko surprise dene jhooth bola tha maine," Taranya replied after Riddhima had pulled her into a hug. "Aapki shaadi main kaise miss kar sakti hoon, Di!"

"Riddhi Di, yeh toh aapse bhi zyada excited hai aapki shaadi ke liye," Dhairya piped in.

They all shared a laugh at Dhairya's words, before Anjali said, "Waise, Ridzy... ek aur surprise bhi hai."

"Ek aur?!" Riddhima cried, excited. "Really? Kya? Mujhe jaan'na hai!!"

"Hmmmm... bata du?" Anjali asked, pretending to think.

"Abhi se batake kya karna hai, Anjy?" Rahul said. "We'll tell her later."

"Rahul!" Riddhima cried. "Tu rehne de. Di, batao na! Please!!"

"Di, but... Rahul Bhaiya theek keh rahe haina," Taranya joked. "Abhi aap humse baat karlo. Doosra surprise baad mein dekh lena. Ek toh... main aapki shaadi ke liye Boston se aayi hoon, aur aap aisa karoge?"

"Tum sab na... bohot zyada annoying ho. Mujhe kisi se baat nahi karni," Riddhima whined. "Hamesha mujhe aise hi pareshaan karte ho."

She pouted and walked away from them, throwing herself on the sofa, facing away from them. "Kya ho raha hai yeh sab?" A new voice interrupted them. "Tum logon mein se koi bhi Di ko pareshaan nahi karega!"

Riddhima gasped and turned around, surprised. "Ishaan!" She cried out loud, rushing into his arms for a tight hug. Ishaan laughed, hugging her back, their happy laughter echoing through the walls.

"I can't believe you made it," Riddhima murmured. Ishaan was the son of Smriti Mom's sister. He'd gone to America to study and had ended up settling there. Both his parents had passed away in an accident while he'd been in his final year of college and he hadn't wanted to come back to India after that, finding comfort in his life in New York. However, he did keep in touch with Riddhima and Anjali, always having been close to the sisters since the three of them were kids. Ishaan was a couple years younger than Riddhima and was always very fond of her. The two of them had a very similar disposition, both of them being quiet and nerdy as opposed to Anjali's outgoing and bold personality, and had found togetherness in their shared love of books.

Riddhima had of course invited Ishaan to the wedding, but he worked long hours with little time off and had expressed his disappointment in not being able to attend, having not gotten the required leave from work. "Di, just because I said I'm busy, didn't mean I actually was. Aapko laga main aapki shaadi miss kar dunga? No way!" Ishaan exclaimed.