I'll Love You Longer Than Forever

Chapter One Hundred & Sixteen

"Are we ready, kids???" Armaan questioned rhetorically as they all gathered at the beach. He'd changed into a pair of shorts and a tee, matching perfectly with Riddhima, who was sitting on the sand with all the grandparents, conversing with them. Their laughter echoed in the air as Armaan wrangled the kids in an attempt to get them to play in the sand. They'd set up a volleyball net and Armaan was dividing all the kids into groups so that they could play.

"Readyyyy!" The kids cried.

"Okay, then! Let's start!" Armaan cheered. As they played, everyone cheered, watching their match intently. Armaan played referee for the two teams to everyone's delight.

"Armaan kitna achcha ladka hai," Dadi murmured for possibly the hundredth time. "Usse milke hamesha itna achcha lagta hai. Sach mein, Riddhima... Hum bohot khush hain ki tujhe woh mila."

"Thank you, Dadi," Riddhima replied, a huge smile lighting up her face. For them to approve of Armaan was a huge deal to Riddhima. She knew that they'd all been very skeptical about her choice before, when they hadn't met Armaan. They felt that him leaving after the shoot-out was all the information they needed to make a judgement about the kind of person he was. And they had. It was only after meeting him in person that they began to change their thinking. It had taken a while, but slowly, Armaan had won all their hearts. It didn't surprise Riddhima one bit. Armaan was such a naturally lovable person, and it didn't take long for anyone to be captivated by his charm.

"Mujhe toh pehle din se hi pata tha," Bua commented. "Ki tum dono ek doosre se kitna pyaar karte ho. Yeh Riddhi kitni bhi koshish karle... Mujhse chupa nahi paayi ki yeh Armaan ke liye kya feel karti hai. Dono ke dono bas ek doosre ko hi dekhte rehte the... Aur aise dekhte the jaise koi aur hai hi nahi inke saath."

"Buaaaaaa!" Riddhima whined, blushing a deep red. "Kya aap bhi!"

"Main bhi kya, haan?" Bua asked. "Tu kaise keh rahi thi... Armaan bas mera colleague hai," Bua scoffed. "Jaise tu uske saath behave karti thi waise koi sirf apne colleague ke saath koi nahi karta!"

"Woh toh main..." Riddhima tried to defend herself but didn't know what to say.

"Rehne de, Riddhi. Tujhe shuru se hi Armaan pasand tha," Bua told her.

"Armaan hai hi itna pyaara," Dadiji said. "Hum sabke saath bhi toh kitni jaldi ghul-mil gaya tha. Pehli baar jab woh aaya tha, laga hi nahi ki uski pehli visit hai. Aisa laga jaise woh saalon se aa raha hai humse milne."

"Jab shaadi ka nyota aaya," Dadu told Riddhima, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Uske baad hum sabne party ki. Hum sab kitne khush the. Tu kabse Armaan ka intezaar kar rahi thi aur itne mahino ka tera yeh sapna jab poora hua... Sab thode emotional ho gaye... Isliye cake khate waqt sab rone lage. Rohan toh darr gaya ke pata nahi kya ho gaya hain humein."

"Main toh isliye bhaavuk ho gayi... Kyuki nyota aaya," Dida confessed. "Hum mein se kuch aise bhi hain jinhe apne ghar ki shaadiyon mein bhi shaamil hone ka mauka nahi mila... Toh jab teri shaadi ka bulawa aaya, toh ek baar ke liye, aankh bhar aayi."

"Dida!" Riddhima chided. "Aap aisa kyu keh rahi hain? Aap meri family nahi hain kya? Aap mere liye bilkul waisi hain jaise mere liye Nani hai. Aapke bina main kaise shaadi kar sakti hoon?"

Dida hugged Riddhima, sobbing into her embrace. Riddhima gently shushed her, murmuring soothing words into her ear. She was aware that not everyone who lived at Umang had good relations with their family. While many of them had maintained a good rapport with their kids and grandkids, a few of the elderly had had little to no contact with people from back home. It hurt, thinking that these amazing people had been left alone by their kids when they needed someone's support the most. Riddhima tried her best to be there for them, as did Armaan. Riddhima knew that the NGO had a few other patrons who did the same, but she knew that them being there didn't reduce the pain of not having a family. She wished she could make things better for them, but she couldn't. This was the best she could do, and sometimes, it broke her heart that it wasn't enough. Still, she tried her best to remain positive and not let such gloomy thoughts spoil anything, especially not now. Not when she was getting married.