yun hi tu mere saath rehna

Chapter One

“Thank you so much, Armaan,” Abir Rajvansh said as he sat in the conference room with Armaan. Mr. Rajvansh was a new client that had come Armaan's way recently. Since, the case he'd been working on for Mr. Rajvansh could be classified as pro-bono, even though was being paid a hefty fee for it, the case had not been transferred to Rohit. Armaan was glad for it, not just because winning this case had given him a sense of fulfillment he hadn't felt in a long time, but also because he was really beginning to like the Rajvanshes. The husband and wife pair were old enough to be his grandparents, but they treated him as if he was an equal. 

“Agar tum nahi hote toh pata nahi unn bachchon ka kya hota,” Mishti Rajvansh added. “We're really grateful.”

“Aap mujhe sharminda kar rahi hain, Ma'am,” Armaan protested. “Yeh toh mera kaam hai. Aur main unn bachchon ki help kar paaya… Yeh mera good luck hai.” 

“Mishti taareef kar rahi hai, toh lelo. Waise yeh itni easily kisise impress nahi hoti hai,” Abir laughed. “Mujhse bhi nahi hui thi.”

“Shut up, Ajeeb Rajvansh!” Mishti scolded, whacking his arm. Armaan couldn't help but chuckle watching the two of them together. The love between them was clearly visible even now, after decades of being together. Watching them, Armaan hoped that when Abhira and him were old and gray, having spent their lives together, they would still love each other like the couple before him. 

All of a sudden, Armaan was hit with a deep sense of longing. Of a future with Abhira. But more so, of Abhira herself. Things had been tense between them since she'd taken up the annulment case and they hadn't spoken properly for a bit now. Unable to stop himself any longer, Armaan excused himself, dialling Abhira's number even before he was out of earshot. A couple of tries rendered useless. Abhira didn't answer the phone, and neither did she reply to the frantic message he sent her. Sulking, Armaan went back inside. He would have to wait till the evening to speak with her now, but he decided that neither of them were going to sleep without resolving the issue today. 

“All good?” Mishti asked, immediately picking up on his downtrodden demeanour. 

“Yes, Ma'am,” Armaan replied, putting on his press smile, the one he was very well versed in now. What he didn't realize was that he would not be able to fake it in front of them. 

“Armaan, I agree ki insaan ko hamesha haste rehna chahiye lekin yeh fake smile pe tumhe thoda aur kaam karne ki zaroorat hai,” Abir said, surprising Armaan. Not many people could differentiate his camera smile. It was just Abhira and Rohit, who had been able to do so. 

“Aisi… Aisi koi baat nahi hai, Sir,” Armaan protested feebly. “Woh bas main thoda…”

“Thak gaye ho,” Mishti completed for him. “Pata hai humein. Yeh saare excuses bohot puraane hain, Mr. Poddar. But sadly, humaare saamne yeh excuses nahi kaam karenge.”

“Tum humein bata sakte ho, Armaan,” Abir implored gently. “If there's anything we can do to help…”

“Aisa kuch nahi hai,” Armaan replied resolutely. “Woh bas Abhira mere…” He trailed off, realizing he'd said more than he should have.

Both Abir and Mishti lit up at that. “Ohhhhh…” Abir hummed, a teasing lilt to his voice that wasn't there before. “Toh yeh baat hai. Tumhaara aur tumhaari Abhira ka jhagda hua hai?”

Armaan sighed, giving in. He might as well talk to them, because nobody in his family would be of any help, more so given the situation they were in. “Haan… Woh maine hi thoda zyada keh diya tha bina soche-samjhe. Ab woh mera phone bhi nahi utha rahi aur mere messages ka bhi jawab nahi de rahi.”