I'll Love You Longer Than Forever

Chapter One Hundred & Twenty Three

"Armaan?" Ananya asked, knocking on his door. "Are you ready?"

"Just a second, Mom," Armaan called back. He turned back to the mirror and reset his sherwani's collar for probably the millionth time. "Do I look good?" He asked Krish, who had stayed behind to keep Armaan company while the others helped with last minute preparations.

"Yes," Krish replied, exasperated. "Jaise ki aap dikh rahe the jab aapne yeh question mujhse pichli 50 baar poocha tha. You look as good as you can. Ab isse zyada achcha dikhna hai toh aapko plastic surgery karwani padegi... and we don't have time for that. Mahurat abhi 2 ghanto mein hi hai."

"KRISHHHH!" Armaan whined. "Stop being a smart-ass. I need to look my best. Tujhe koi idea bhi hai ki Riddhima kitni zyada beautiful dikhne wali hai? I need to match up to her."

"Bhai... while it's very cute ki aap Bhabhi se itne pyaar karte ho, this is getting tired now," Krish stated. "Main Taiji ko andar bula raha hoon. Ab aap yeh baar-baar apne kapde ulte-seedhe karke dekhna chod do."

Krish opened the door to see that Meera, Muskaan, and Saumya were accompanying Ananya. They were all dressed for the wedding, having gone all out and looking gorgeous. He told them as much, before inviting them in.

"Armaan, band kar ab yeh sab," Ananya told her son who had gone back to fixing his hair while staring at himself in the mirror. "Chal... abhi thodi rasmein hain baaraat se pehle, uske liye tujhe neeche chalna hai."

"Mom, bas ek minute," Armaan replied.

"Kabse dekh rahi hoon," Ananya rebuffed. "Tera ek minute khatam hi nahi ho raha! Tu bohot handsome dikh raha hai... ab itna sajna-sawarna chod de!"

When he still didn't listen, Muskaan marched forward and bodily intervened, stopping Armaan from putting his hands in his hair, or anywhere, for that matter. "Hero, bas karna! Hum logon ko aur bhi cheezein dekhni hai. Tere aage-peeche ghoomein kya hum bas?"

"Aaj ke din nahi ghoomoge toh kab ghoomoge?" Armaan asked. "Aaj meri shaadi hai. Thodi importance dedo mujhe!"

"Teri shaadi hi karane ki koshish kar rahe hain hum!" Muskaan fired back. "Lekin woh ho nahi paayegi agar tu sajne-sawarne ke chakkar mein mahurat miss kar dega toh!"

Armaan sighed. "Theek hai, theek hai. Chalo! Bolo kya karna hai?"

"Neeche chalo," Saumya instructed. "Pooja ka time ho raha hai."

"Fine," Armaan relented. "Chalo."

Meera immediately wound her arm through his and started walking out of his room, escorting him to the ballroom. Part of the ceremonies would be held there, after which Armaan would mount a ghodi and the baraat would arrive at the courtyard, on the other end of the hotel, to give some illusion of a proper baraat to everyone attending.

Armaan was surprised to see all his friends when he got downstairs, even Anjali, waiting there for him. They had truly taken the "attending from both sides" thing to heart. He had not expected Anjali to be in attendance, not when her sister was about to get married in mere hours. He thought that she would spend all her time with Riddhima. But then, he noticed that Nikki wasn't around. Maybe, they had decided to trade spots for a little while so that Anjali also got to be a part of this. They were best friends after all. Touched by the sentiment, he marched up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you so much!" He whispered.

The rituals began after that. There was a priest who was continuously chanting mantras and asking Armaan to do something or the other, which Armaan didn't really understand why, but kept his mouth shut because of the glare Ananya gave him whenever he tried to interrupt. He really just wanted to get on with it and get to the mandap so that he could see Riddhima. He was positively sure she would be looking absolutely ethereal, like the goddess she was, and he needed to see her.