I'll Love You Longer Than Forever

Chapter One Hundred & Seventeen

"Today was a good day, wasn't it?" Riddhima asked Armaan, smiling happily. "Sabse milke kitna zyada achcha laga mujhe, Armaan. And they were all so happy for us... it was so nice!"

"It was," Armaan agreed.

The two of them were sitting by the pool, reminiscing about the day's activities, finally finding some alone time in the midst of all the chaos. Dinner would not be served for a few hours still and Armaan had plans to spend all the time with Riddhima, and no one else. It seemed that the closer the wedding drew, the less time they got together. In between greeting and looking after guests, dress fittings, menu selections, and spending time with their families, there was no time left for each other. Armaan understood intellectually that it was a given that this would happen, especially after they'd been barred from leaving their homes alone, but he missed Riddhima, dammit! And he needed to spend some time with her so that he could get through the next few days.

As excited as Armaan was about the wedding, and so happy to celebrate Riddhima and himself, he could not deny that it was a taxing affair. Pandering to relatives he had not spoken to in years, always having to laugh and smile and greet everyone happily, and even trying to remember everyone from Riddhima's extended family, and make small talk with them... it was utterly exhausting. Armaan wished that it could have been just them - him and Riddhima, their parents, and their closest friends - for the ceremonies, but he also knew that everyone, including him, had wanted a grand wedding to celebrate. It was very tiring, but he wouldn't trade it for anything else.

"So..." Riddhima murmured, breaking the companionable silence they were sharing. "Meera aur Ishaan ka kya scene hai?" She asked him. She had been curious about what was cooking since last night. Seeing the two of them interact, it was easy to see that whatever was happening between them was more than friendship. Riddhima did not think she had seen Ishaan look at anyone else the way he looked at Meera. But, maybe she was wrong. While the two of them had been extremely close at one point, it had been a long time ago. Ishaan had changed a lot in that time, as had she. And, she didn't know the inner workings of Ishaan's life as well as she used to. Maybe she had been reading too much into it, but her instinct told her that Ishaan liked Meera as more than a friend, and she knew that Armaan knew something.

Armaan chuckled. He had been expecting her to ask sooner rather than later, and she did not disappoint. "Okay... main tumhe bata raha hoon, but you cannot tell anyone else. Matlab... Anjy ko bhi nahi bata sakti tum. Yeh baat ekdum strictly hum dono ke beech rehni chahiye. Meera did not want me to tell anyone, but ab main tumse thodi chupaunga... so just... hum dono, okay?" He instructed.

"Done," Riddhima readily agreed. "Bas hum dono. Promise!"

"That's my girl!" Armaan exclaimed, pressing a quick kiss to the side of her head.

"Ab batao naaaaaa," Riddhima whined.

"Haan, baba! Bata raha hoon..." Armaan replied. "So apparently, Meera aur Ishaan kaafi time se ek doosre ko jaante hain. They work at the same company and in the same team. They've been very good friends for years now. And... well, Meera usse like karti hai... you know, romantically... but usne kabhi Ishaan se kuch kaha nahi kyuki woh nahi chaahti ki iski wajah se unki friendship kharab ho jaaye."

"That is..." Riddhima trailed off, not finding the right words to say. While she understood Meera's hesitance, it seemed very unfounded. If Riddhima was right, and she was starting to think maybe she was, Ishaan was already halfway in love with Meera.

"Meera has ordered me not to meddle," Armaan added. "And you know... matlab, I get it. Mujhe beech mein nahi padna chahiye. Par tumhe pata haina... jab aisi baat hoti hai... it's almost impossible for me to not want to say something! Tumhe kya lagta hai?"