I'll Love You Longer Than Forever

Chapter One Hundred & Twenty Four

The ceremony started with the varmala. Armaan & Riddhima, surrounded by their closest family and friends, stood in the middle of the courtyard in the view of all the guests. It had been a very fairytale-esque entry with Armaan arriving on horseback, the same ceremonial mare that had brought him to the courtyard, looking all princely in his attire. Riddhima had been waiting for him at the start of the pathway. He picked her up and placed her in front of him before riding down the cobblestone path to the middle of the yard, where the others were already waiting.

Once they'd arrived, the ceremony began. Padma presented Riddhima with the varmala first, but just as she was going to put it around Armaan's neck, Krish, Vishal, Atul, and Shubhankar, lifted him up, placing him out of reach. "Yeh kya kar rahe ho? Neech utaaro!"

"Sorry, Bhabhi!" Came Krish's pat reply. "Bhai toh neeche nahi utrenge. Itni asaani se thodi apne bhai ko aapke hawale kar denge hum!"

"Atulllll," Anjali tried to appeal to him, but Atul immediately closed his eyes.

"Sorry, Anjali!" He exclaimed, knowing that he would not be able to resist if he looked at her. "Lekin aaj bhai pehle. Usse aise thodi chod dunga main!"

"Shubhankar Bhaiya... aap bhi?" Riddhima turned her puppy eyes to him. "Aap aisa karoge mere saath?"

Shubhankar did stumble when he heard her call him Bhaiya, but thankfully, Vishal had a tight grip on Armaan and they did not end up dropping the groom right before he got married.

"Armaannnnn," Riddhima turned to him, finally, her tone filled with warning.

"Basket," Armaan replied, grinning wide. "I'm sorry. Main tumhaari koi help nahi kar sakta. As you can see, isme mera literally koi haath nahi hai!" He waved his hands in the air for the added effect.

"Haha," Riddhima laughed dryly. "You're so funny."

"Woh toh main hoon," Armaan agreed.

"Armaan, neeche aao!" She commanded.

"Like I just said," Armaan countered. "Main kuch nahi kar sakta!"

"Armaan," Riddhima reprimanded.

"Riddhima," Armaan answered, the picture of innocence.

"Yeh final decision hai tumhaara?" She asked him.

"Basket, maine kaha na... main toh kuch nahi kar sakta! Inn logon ne mujhe pooche bina hi utha liya toh mere bolne se utaar thodi denge?" He clarified.

"Okay, fine," Riddhima murmured. Turning to Shashank, she said, "Chodo, Papa. Ghar chalte hain. Armaan ko shaadi karne mein interest hi nahi hai. Toh hum yahaan rehke kya karein?"

"Arreee! Na — nahi! Nahiiiii! Int — Interest hai! Bilkul interest hai!" Armaan shouted. Looking down at Krish, he added, "Kya kar rahe ho sabke sab? Neeche utaaro mujhe! Abhi ke abhi!"

He jumped down and bowed in front of Riddhima. "Chalo, Basket. Fatafat pehna do!"

"Kli," Riddhima clicked her tongue. "Main aise tumhaare saath zor - zabardasti nahi karna chaahti. It's okay!"

"Riddhima, tu yeh..." Nani started, but Riddhima cut her off.

"Arre, theek hi toh kaha maine, Nani. Agar Armaan ka mann nahi hai toh hum uske saath zabardasti kaise kar sakte hain?" She asked rhetorically.

"You're right, Riddhima!" Abhi agreed with her instantly, making Nikki glare at him. "I mean," he hastily added, "hum kabhi aur shaadi kar lenge... jab Armaan ka mood hoga! Naa hi Riddhima kahin jaa rahi hai aur hopefully iss baar woh bhi kahin nahi jaayega!"