The Distance Between Us

Track Sixty Nine - Ladki Badi Anjani Hai

The morning brought with it a new start. Both Armaan & Riddhima felt like a huge weight was lifted off their shoulders after the confrontation with Sid the day before. They had moved one step closer to find the closure to that part of their lives, and it showed. If they both smiled a little brighter the next morning, no one else commented on it, only thinking that the time they were spending together was the reason for such harmony. However, the new dawn also brought questions in the form of the arrival of Riddhima and Abhi's families. The Guptas had always been extremely involved with the Lonavala Orphanage. Shashank respected Bua like an elder sister, and had always treated her as such. In the past few years since Abhi had taken over Sanjeevani's financial aspects, even the Modis had increasingly become involved in hospital affairs, spilling over to having a say in the orphanage as well. They had all arrived to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the place that had become home to some of the brightest kids they all knew.

It did not escape Shashank's attention that Armaan & Riddhima sat beside each other, almost pressed together. Neither did he miss the smirks that his other daughter was throwing her friends' way. Armaan & Riddhima seemed oblivious to it though, whispering a mile a minute to each other, seemingly in the middle of an intense discussion. Despite himself, Shashank smiled. He hadn't seen his daughter so lively in years. It was true that maybe he'd never think Armaan was good enough for his daughter. But then, he didn't think anyone was good enough. He'd accepted Sid whole-heartedly, but that had nothing to do with Riddhima's happiness and everything to do with his reputation. Sid had swooped in and saved Shashank and his entire family from becoming the laughing stock in front of the entire world. Shashank supposed that he always felt indebted to Sid for agreeing to the wedding. That was why he always pushed Riddhima towards Sid and even roped in Armaan to help him out with it. An annulment was a poor way to repay Sid for all that he'd done for the Guptas, for him, which is why Shashank was against it too. But now, watching his daughter laugh so happily with the man she'd always been in love with, it was difficult to remember just why he'd always been so intent on having Sid as a son-in-law.

Somewhere down the line, Shashank had started thinking of Armaan as his own. Maybe the problem child of the family, but his family nonetheless. Yes, there were a million things about Armaan that Shashank didn't like right from his tattoos to the way he dressed to his attitude towards everything in life. But, the fact that he was the only one in whose company Riddhima found peace negated all that. Shashank had made many mistakes when it came to Riddhima. He'd always chosen incorrectly for her, had always made her suffer from the weight of his unilateral decisions. The biggest issue with Armaan that Shashank had always had was that Armaan made Riddhima cry. But then, if he was being honest, he probably made her cry more than Armaan ever did. So really, what leg did he have to stand on, to oppose their relationship?

He'd already been the reason for his daughter's sadness for almost a decade now. He wouldn't be any longer. He wouldn't stand in the way of her happiness. If Armaan was who she wanted, he'd bless them and wish them a happy life. It was another matter altogether that maybe now Riddhima would never seek his approval. He'd lost all rights to do that when he'd opposed her decision about the annulment. In hindsight, Shashank could see that Sid & Riddhima were doomed from the start. His daughter had always loved Armaan a little too much. He should've known that she would never be able to be with someone else. He didn't know if Armaan deserved that kind of faithfulness from her, but he had it nonetheless, and there was little Shashank could do about it. So, instead of disregarding her choices, as it would only result in the distance between him and Riddhima increasing, Shashank would do his best to show her that he approved of the match. For Riddhima, Shashank could do at least this.

He had already failed all his children - Anjali, Riddhima, and Karan - in the past. He continued to do so every single day that he kept Karan hidden from the rest of his family, every single day that Atul still felt like an outsider in their family, and every single day that Riddhima refused to come home. He would not add to his list of sins by keeping Riddhima's happiness at bay. Even if he never liked Armaan for her, Riddhima loved him. And that was what mattered most.