The Distance Between Us

Track Fifty Eight - Aise Kyu (Ghazal Version), Rekha Bharadwaj

Previously On...

Muskaan's family agrees to get her and Rahul engaged after Armaan, Riddhima, and Simran (Rahul's mom) convince them.

Track Fifty Eight - Aise Kyu

The morning of Rahul & Muskaan's roka ceremony was beautiful. Armaan woke up to the chirping of birds, way before his alarm was set to go off. He trudged downstairs to an empty home, everyone still in bed, and brewed himself some coffee to start his day.

He'd only just washed his mug and kept it away when Tamanna bounded down the stairs. She'd arrived along with the rest of their friends from Mumbai a couple nights before. Jaanhavi, Rohan, and their family had also made the trip to participate in the festivities and had only arrived in the wee hours of morning. Armaan had been the one who had received them at the airport and had only gotten a couple hours of sleep, but he still looked fresh as a daisy, owing to his excitement about the ceremony.

"Good morning!" Tamanna greeted him with a hug.

"Good morning," Armaan replied. "Why are you up so early?"

"Because I knew you'd be," she answered. "And I thought I'd help you."

"You didn't have to," he said. "I can manage. There's not much to do anyway. Go get some rest."

"I won't be able to rest either," Tamanna protested. She didn't think she would till she had a proper conversation with Sid and put the whole episode behind her. She hadn't anticipated how heavily it would weigh on her mind. She hadn't spoken to him yet because she didn't want to spoil the atmosphere with her problems. From what she remembered about Sid, she couldn't be sure that he'd accept her rejection graciously. She needed to be prepared for that. And, she thought, it would be best to discuss the whole thing with at least Armaan before making any firm decisions.

She knew that Armaan had gotten extremely close to Sid in the time he'd been in Mumbai, and she wanted to make sure she wasn't making a mistake by doing what she had decided to. She didn't think Armaan would be able to change her mind about it, because Sid being a good friend didn't automatically make him a good partner or a good father.

She wanted Armaan's validation, she supposed. He hadn't ever steered her in the wrong direction before, and he cared more about her well being than she did herself. He'd never let her make a decision that would be bad for her.

Momentarily, she was surprised by how much she trusted Armaan. It felt good to be able to trust this way, to know that there was someone who cared about her so much. After Aniket, she didn't think she'd ever be able to have such faith in someone, not even herself, but her elder brother had proved her wrong and she was so grateful for that.

"You okay?" Armaan asked her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his side, breaking her chain of thought.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm fine. Just thinking about how lucky I am to have you."

"Stop it!" Armaan rebuffed.

"Room for one more?" Jaanhavi's voice echoed around the kitchen, making the duo turn to her.

"Always!" Armaan exclaimed, opening his other arm. Jaanhavi grinned and ran into his embrace.

"I missed you guys," she mumbled.

"We didn't miss you at all," Tamanna teased. Jaanhavi gave her a wounded look, making Armaan laugh.

"Now, why are you also up so early?" He asked her.

"Jet lag," Jaanhavi muttered. "I'm hungry."

Armaan chuckled and pulled away from his sisters. "Take a seat. Let me get you both something to eat."