In the Name of Love – Chapter 27

Those of you who have missed the previous chapter, here is the link :

https://www.tellyupdates.com/in-the-name-of-love-chapter-26/comment-page-2/#comments

@Niyati12 Thanks and congrats for being 1st. Virtual hugs and money for you 💰💰💰
@Frozen Hidden Thanks and congrats on being 2nd. Virtual hugs and money to you too 💰💰.
Glad to see you commenting for tmhe 1st time, Pragya. Hope to hear from you again.
@Yashi Thank you so much. Lots of love to you too! (^hearts^)
@Priyanshi_13 Thanks a lot
@1234Aayu Thank you dear. But why the crying emoji though?
@RiansHLoveR Thank you dear
@Mahira Thanks a lot
@Neha Deswal Thanks a lot
@Annoyinguser Thank you dear
@Qt Thank you so much. Yes, I’ll be focussing more on their bond in these 2-3 chapters.
@Ravneet Thank you dear
@Maanvika Thanks a lot
@Aisha08 Thank you dear
@Deepa Thank you so much. Glad to see you and your friends enjoying the story thoroughly. Ask your friends to comment too if they can. I’d be happy to hear what they think about this too. You stay safe too!
@Jayashree Thank you so much. Happy to see that you liked it
@Priyadharshini Thanks a lot
@Sweety21 Thanks a lot. Yes, it does get tedious to post the replies in the next chapter, but I found it better than replying on the same chapter as well. Tbh, I’d really like the TU team to update their site and make it more user friendly.
@Pranjal I’m working on it and it may come out in 1-2 days max.
@Mary Thank you so much for your lovely comments. And lots of kisses, hugs and hearts to you too.
Don’t worry, I won’t be ending the FF without wrapping up everything nicely. That itself would take me atleast 10 more chapters, so that’s quite a lot of time you see.
And all your questions will soon be answered. But I’m glad that you remembered about Riddhima’s father though.
@Pomu Thanks a lot. Haha, I think everyone has a friend like Sia who teases them with his/her crush/lover.
@Prapti0809 Thank you dear
@Riaa Haha thank you so much. I think as girls/women, we often tend to misunderstand a man’s stare, when in fact he’s just being curious or concerned.
@AarushiSoni Thank you so much. Don’t worry, Riddhima’s confusion will soon get cleared, and she’ll realise her love for Vansh too.
@Parita Thanks a lot. Their dynamics with each other are changing gradually.
@Ishu Thank you dear
@Akshitha Thanks a lot. There are going to be more of Riansh moments in the coming 2-3 chapters. Hope you will enjoy them.
@Sree Thank you dear
@Manya Thank you dear. I think Riddhima was in a really bad mood and just wanted to challenge Vansh. But she doesn’t know that Vansh accepts all challenges willingly (wink)
And yes, I’m sure she’ll still look pretty with the marks.
@Neetu Thank you dear
@FARHANA Thanks a lot. Here is the update.
@Pretty User Thank you dear
@Anjali Yes I’m working on it. Will come out within 1-2 days max.

xxxx

It was 6.30AM in the morning, and most of the people in VR Mansion were still fast asleep.
However since it was Chanchal’s and Rudra’s marriage anniversary today, Gayatri had ordered the couple to wake up early to perform a special puja.

Chanchal was bickering to herself about her ill fate, when she saw Vansh come out of Riddhima’s room in a dishevelled state.

“Oh no! I knew something like this would surely happen, but Aryan and Rudra never take me serious enough,” she thought worriedly.
“Last time, we got saved when it wasn’t Vansh’s child, but this time…..
No, no, no! I can’t let this happen. I can’t let Vansh get a heir before my son does, or else my grandchildren will remain as paupers throughout their lives, just like us!”

She went up to Gayatri, and started complaining.
“Maa, look what is happening behind your back. You’re the eldest, you should be stopping all this. I know Vansh made a mistake few years back in his younger days, but now as a mature man, he shouldn’t be repeating the same mistake again.”

Gayatri could make out nothing from her blabber.
“What are you even talking about?”

“Do you know that Vansh spent the entire night in Riddhima’s room?” asked Chanchal.

Gayatri looked on shocked.

Chanchal continued, “I saw it with my own eyes. That is the reason why Vansh had given Riddhima a separate room, so that he can enter and leave it as per his comfort!
And that Riddhima, she told us that she wants to get married only after four years, but she couldn’t keep herself away from Vansh for even four days!”

Gayatri opened her mouth to say something, but Vansh who was passing by, had heard everything.

“Chachi! How dare you talk such crap about Riddhima!” he shouted. “Yes, I did spend the night in Riddhima’s room, but it is not how your filthy mind is thinking.
Yesterday, she was feeling very scared by herself, which is quite normal considering how she went through such a traumatic experience recently. I was just there to give her some moral and emotional support.
I slept on the couch, while she slept on the bed itself!”

He warned her, “Riddhima is soon going to be my wife, and the daughter-in-law of this house. If I ever see you talking disrespectful about her, then this time, I will not only block all your credit cards, but also confiscate all the jewellery you have collected using MY money.”

Chanchal left from there with tears in her eyes.

Gayatri started smiling. “Vansh, I’m so happy to see you show so much concern for Riddhima. Remember, how I had told you long back that you would be able to fall in love again? Wasn’t I right?”

Vansh kept quiet. He thought to himself, “But what about her? What is there in her heart? Sometimes it seems that she feels for me too, and at other times, it looks like she doesn’t. Why is this girl so confusing?”
______________________________________

Chanchal and Rudra were pleasantly surprised to see the arrangements made for their anniversary party.

“You guys remembered?” asked Chanchal and Rudra happily.

“Of course, we did,” said Aryan. “How did you like the arrangements by the way? Mom always used to reminisce about her Sangeet ceremony. So I thought, why not keep a sangeet- themed party for that?”

Ishani rolled her eyes at him. “Aryan, don’t take the full credit for yourself, okay. We all helped you, too.”
Turning towards her Chachi and Chachu, she said, “Me, Bhai, Sia, Riddhima and Ishaan, all of us have helped to organize this party, together.”

“Aww! That’s so sweet of you all,” said Rudra.

Aryan pulled Ishani to a corner. “Where is this Riddhima? Usually she gets ready quickly, but what is taking her so much time today? We have our dance performance coming up, and God knows where this careless girl is stuck at!”

“Calm down Aryan. I’ll do my performance first, then you and Riddhima can do it later,” offered Ishani.

Vansh had managed to catch upon their conversation. He started worrying for her. Was she in some kind of problem?
He decided to check up on her.
______________________________________

Riddhima looked at her reflection in the mirror for the hundredth time. Her eyes welled up at the sight of the scars on her face. The doctor had told her that it would few more weeks for them to completely go away.

She wore a dress with full sleeves and a high neck to cover the scars, but she didn’t know what to do with her face. She couldn’t wear a veil and go down. She tried hard to hide them with make-up, but no matter what she did, the scars stood out clearly on her face.

“I won’t go down in this state,” she cried to herself.

Just then she heard Vansh knock at her door. “Riddhima?”

She kept ignoring him even when he knocked for three more times in a row. She expected him to leave after this, but he instead barged into the room.

Riddhima glared at him in contempt. “Are you so mannerless to not even know that you just CANNOT enter a woman’s bedroom without her permission?”

“And are you so inconsiderate to not even reply once when someone has been knocking at your door like crazy for the past five minutes?” Vansh retorted.
“Everybody’s waiting for you at the party. Come down quickly.”

“I’m not coming,” she said instead.

Vansh became concerned. “Are you not feeling well or something? Do you want me to call the doctor?”

“I am completely alright, thank you.”

“Then what’s the matter? You were the one who was so damn excited for the party until yesterday, then what happened all of a sudden?” he asked.

Riddhima had had enough of all this, and and she broke down.
“Questions, questions and more questions! Don’t you get tired of questioning me every now and then? Why can’t you leave me alone for sometime? Just let me be, damn it!”

She buried her face in her hands and started weeping.
“I can’t come to the party amongst all those people with these marks on my face. I have tried so hard to cover them up, but nothing seems to work.”

Vansh turned surprised. “Out of all people, you are the one who is saying this? I always thought you were this strong and confident girl. To be honest, I really didn’t expect you to cry over something as trivial as this, Riddhima.”

“Just because I’m strong, brave and opinionated, doesn’t mean that I won’t have my own sets of insecurities and meltdowns ever,” she tried to speak while stifling a sob.

Vansh looked at her sympathetically. She had been through a lot lately, and her feeling this way was kind of justified.

He gently pulled her towards himself and raised her chin to himself.
“You have been seeing yourself in the wrong mirror, Riddhima. Look into my eyes, and you’ll find the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, scars or no scars.”

Riddhima looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
“What would I do by being beautiful in your eyes, when I don’t feel the same way about myself anymore?”

She freed herself from his grip and sat on the bed.
“And it’s not the mere marks on my face making me feel this way, but it’s more about the reason behind those marks that is haunting me. If I had got these wounds through some other way, I wouldn’t even have given a damn about it.”

She hugged herself. “Whenever I see these scars, I’m reminded of that incident. I’m reminded of how disgusting his touch felt against my skin. In short, I feel disgusted with myself!”

Vansh knelt down before her. “But it’s not your fault!”

“I know, I know it isn’t…..but how do I explain that to myself? How do I rid myself from these horrible feelings?” cried Riddhima. “I feel so cheap and filthy whenever…..”

Every ounce of Vansh was now boiling with rage and cursing Pathak for hurting his dear Riddhima and making her feel so low about herself.

But he instead softened his expressions and held her hand.
“If his touch was the one that made you feel disgusted with yourself, would my touch be enough for you to love yourself again?”

She raised her eyes at him, and for a moment, they were caught in each other’s gaze.

Riddhima became uncomfortable and looked away. To an outsider, Vansh’s words might seem ‘provocative’, but for her, those were the kindest and the sweetest words she had heard in a while. But she didn’t want him to know that.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled instead.

“We can try, but only if you want….”

Riddhima wanted to refuse, but she instead said, “Okay. But what exactly do you want to do?”

“Just close your eyes,” said Vansh.

But she continued to stare at him blankly.

“Why is it that whenever I ask you to close your eyes, you widen them even more? I know you’ve got big and beautiful eyes, but that doesn’t mean you’ll show them off at every opportunity you get,” teased Vansh.

Riddhima gave him an it’s-not-very-funny look. She shut her eyes tight and waited with bated breath.

Vansh gently ran his fingers over her face, tracing her eyes, nose and lips.
His touch, it had a calming effect on her, as well as made her heart race up at the same time. Why was she getting these mixed feelings?

When Vansh started tracing his fingers down her chin, she held her breath. But he stopped.

“I don’t have the rights to go further than this, Riddhima,” he said, his voice as soft as ever. “And if I do, I’d be crossing boundaries, which I don’t really want to.”

Riddhima kept her eyes closed, not wanting to open them, because at this point of time, she couldn’t even meet Vansh’s eye.

Vansh continued, “When some dirt falls over a beautiful flower, it doesn’t mean that the flower has got spoilt. You just need to wash the dirt away, and the flower will become beautiful once again.
Just like that Riddhima, all this is just in your head. You need to wash your mind off those negative, self-loathing thoughts, and once you do that, everything will be back to normal.
And whenever you see these marks on your face, I don’t want you to be reminded of that fateful incident, but I rather want you to be reminded of me and my touch.”

Saying this, he walked towards the door, and turned around one last time.
“I’ll be waiting for you, Riddhima.”
______________________________________

Vansh was busy talking on the phone, when Sia called him out.
“Bhai, what are you doing? Come here real quick. Riddhima’s performance is going to start.”

Vansh smiled to himself. He was glad that his words could help Riddhima change her mind.

But his smile vanished the second he saw Riddhima take her place on the dais, albeit with a ghunghat pulled over her face.
He felt disappointed thinking that he was unsuccessful in bringing her out of her insecurities.

The music started playing and to his surprise, Riddhima threw the ghunghat away and started dancing confidently, thus embracing herself wholly.

Bole Chudiyaan, Bole Kangana
Haye Main Hogayi Teri Saajna

She stopped midway at the word ‘saajna’, looking at Vansh pointedly. He returned her gaze with a smile, very well understanding what she was hinting at.

Tere Bin Jiyo Naiyo Lagda
Main Te Margaiya
Le Jaa Le Jaa Soniye Le Jaa Le Jaa
Dil Le Jaa Le Jaa

Soon Aryan joined her on the dais too, and both of them gave a spectacular performance together.

Towards the end of the song, Riddhima and Aryan pulled the rest of the family into the dance too.
Vansh was also forcefully dragged onto the dance floor.

But instead of dancing along, Vansh’s eyes were stuck on Riddhima, who kept on vibing and enjoying herself to the fullest, as if there was no tomorrow…..

All of a sudden, Riddhima’s foot gave way, and she found herself tumbling backwards. She closed her eyes expecting to soon hit the ground, but instead she felt a pair of arms surround her.

“Vansh….” she thought happily.

But when she opened her eyes, she became shocked.
______________________________________

Vansh saw Riddhima slipping away and tried to catch her in time, but before he could, someone else had already done that.

His temper knew no bounds when he saw that it was none other than Kabir!

“Kabir!” Riddhima gasped in distress, while Kabir looked at her lovingly, as if he hadn’t seen her in ages.

She tried to steady herself, but before she knew it, Kabir threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.
She was so startled by this, that she did not even know what to do. She took a peek at Vansh over Kabir’s shoulder, and she found his eyes blazing with anger.

The rest of the family too watched this in awkwardness.

Vansh walked upto Kabir to teach him a lesson for getting way too close to HIS fiancee, when he saw the rest of the police officers enter the mansion.

Kabir had come with his entire team, and Vansh couldn’t create a scene in front of them, or else he could end up in trouble.

“Riddhima! I missed you so much. Are you okay?” said Kabir.

Riddhima pushed him away.
“Yes, I’m fine, Kabir,” she said sternly.

Kabir let out a short cry when he saw the scars over Riddhima’s face. He grew extremely paranoid.

“How did this happen? Who did this to you? Just give me his name, and I’ll blo*dy murder him in broad daylight!”

He tried to touch her face, but Riddhima backed off.
“What are you doing here?” she asked instead.

“As soon as I came to know that you had been attacked, I came here bringing my force along,” said Kabir worriedly.

Riddhima was shocked. How did Kabir come to know that she had been attacked, when she hadn’t informed him, nor had they filed any police complaint?

Vansh had had enough of all this, and soon he came up to Riddhima, and slid his arm around her back, upto her shoulder. Kabir burnt with jealousy to see the close proximity between them.

“Inspector Kabir Sharma! So very not pleased to see you again. Well, I’m glad that you got to personally meet my gorgeous fiancee,” Vansh said coolly, further tightening his hold on Riddhima.

Kabir gritted his teeth. “Before becoming your fiancee, she was MY girlfriend.”

Riddhima was getting angry at the sheer childishness with which these two grown up men were quarrelling over her. She decided to remain quiet and let them fight amongst themselves.

Vansh let out a snortle. “Exactly, she WAS your girlfriend. But now, she isn’t anymore. I prefer living in the present, rather than dwelling in the past. But I see that you think otherwise.”

“I’m not here to bicker with you,” retorted Kabir.
Turning towards Riddhima, he said, “Tell me, how did this happen? Who is the culprit behind this? Was it your fiance, Mr. Vansh Raisinghania, the one to physically torture you?”

Riddhima was left speechless. How could Kabir even make such an insuination like that?

“Inspector! You cannot force your words into her mouth like that,” growled Vansh.

“I’m not talking to you Vansh. I’m talking to Riddhima. And if I see you trying to manipulate her into lying, then you will be in grave trouble,” warned Kabir.

Kabir continued, “Riddhima, you don’t need to feel scared of anybody. I and my police team are there with you. We all know that Vansh suffers from anger management issues, so this time, he vented out his anger upon you in such a gruesome manner.
You just have to say ‘yes’ once, and I’ll make sure that this man gets sentenced for atleast a minimum of seven years of imprisonment for carrying out domestic violence on his fiancee.”

Kabir thought to himself, “Riddhima, I know Vansh wasn’t the one to hurt you, but you need to say ‘yes’. Only then, will we be able to send Vansh to jail, after which, we both can get together. Please Riddhima, try to understand my hint.”

Riddhima could not believe Kabir’s audacity. She wasn’t that dumb to not be able to see through his plans. She knew that he wanted to get Vansh punished, but how could he falsely accuse him of such a gruesome crime? She felt utterly disgusted at herself for ever loving such a cheap person like Kabir.

“Stop it Kabir! Just blo*dy stop it!” Riddhima shouted, not able to control any longer.
“Vansh DID NOT abuse me, and I know for a fact, that he can NEVER, EVER do this with me, or with any other woman for that matter of fact.”

Vansh was happy to see Riddhima defending him. And he was even happier to see Kabir’s poker face.

Kabir felt irritated. This wasn’t part of his plan. Why wasn’t Riddhima cooperating with him?
“Then who did this with you? How did you end up getting so badly hurt?”

Riddhima was about to blurt out the truth, but she felt Vansh grasp her hand tightly. She understood what he wanted.

“Uhm…actually….I fell down the stairs,” she lied.

“Why are you lying? Whom are you trying to protect?” said Kabir angrily, looking at them holding hands.

“Enough of your questions, Inspector! My fiancee has already given her statement, and I believe that must me more than enough for you,” said Vansh. “Besides, the doctor has advised us to not give her any undue pressure, so I’d rather that you leave without any further ado. Angre, please show them the door.“

Kabir was fuming, but he had no choice other than to leave right now.

He thought to himself, “Riddhima openly supporting Vansh is not a good sign. What was initially supposed to be a sham engagement, is now beginning to turn into a real one. No, I cannot let this happen. I love Riddhima, and she should be loving only me. Out of all people, she can’t be falling in love with my biggest enemy.”

After the police left, now it was Riddhima’s turn to get bashed by the rest of them.

Chanchal started off, “This Riddhima I tell you! In spite of being engaged to Vansh, she is going around hugging her ex-boyfriend so shamelessly in front of everyone. Poor Vansh, I feel so bad for him. He has to go through the same pain of betrayal, that he had to go through many years back due to Ragini!”

Riddhima stared at her in disbelief. “Excuse me, how dare you accuse me of something so slanderous as that? I ended mine and Kabir’s relationship long ago even before my engagement to Vansh. I had no idea that Kabir will….”

Now it was Anypriya’s turn to speak. “You might have ended your relation with Kabir, but you are still in touch with him. Why did you inform him about the attack, when you very well knew that you are not supposed to share such vital information with an outsider, especially a police officer like him?”

“But I DID NOT inform him!” protested Riddhima. “I have no idea as to who gave him this piece of information. Vansh has been tracking my phone calls, wouldn’t he know if I tried to contact Kabir or not?”

“It is someone from our house who gave him this information,” said Anupriya. “And who can do such a feat except the rebellious you of course?”

Riddhima argued, “Enough of all this rubbish! I won’t take anyone pointing at my character and loyalty to Vansh like that. I…..”

“Riddhima go to your room this very second!” Vansh interrupted her.

“But Vansh, trust me I did not pass on any information to Kabir….”

“No more explanations. Go to your bedroom right now,” ordered Vansh. “You are still not fully recovered yet, go and take some rest. And if you don’t….” He brought his face closer to her ears and whispered. “I’d have to lift you up in my arms, again.“

Riddhima scoffed off not able to tolerate Vansh’s insolence anymore.

She had barely gone upto her room, when she heard Vansh roaring at the family.

“I had warned you before to not utter even a single word against Riddhima. But you did not pay any heed to me, so now you will be punished. All of your jewellery will be confiscated and kept with Dadi, until my further orders.”

Gayatri tried to convince him, “But today is her anniversary beta, don’t spoil it for her….”

“Yes Vansh, I’m really sorry. You know me right, I’m not bad at heart but just a little loudmouthed…..”

“A little too much for my liking, Chachi,” taunted Vansh. “But you will have to go through the punishment, no matter what.
And you too, Mom. Consider it as a final warning from my side, but I won’t hear another word against Riddhima again.”

Anupriya said, “I’m really sorry Vansh. But I just felt that it could be Riddhima who….”

“I trust her,” said Vansh. “Wholeheartedly. And I want the rest of the family to do the same.”

Riddhima who had been watching the whole scene from upstairs said to herself, “You trust me now. But I wish you trusted me like this before also….”

“I know what Boss did with you was wrong. But he had a reason though,” said Angre suddenly coming behind her.

Riddhima looked at him sternly. “I don’t want to discuss about mine and Vansh’s differences with you. That’s purely personal, and I don’t want anybody interfering in between.”

Angre said, “I know I don’t have any right to discuss upon this topic. But I have seen Boss being deeply affected by your indifference towards him. I know what he did was wrong, but perhaps if you hear the reason out, you might find his actions justified.”

Riddhima crossed her arms and gestured him to say whatever he wanted to.

“It is because of Ragini. He has been having trust issues since she….”

“So why do I need to face his wrath? What is my mistake in that?” said Riddhima irritatedly.

“You are not understanding Riddhima. Ragini cheated Boss in two different ways. She was not only having an affair behind his back, but she was…..” Angre looked around to make sure nobody was nearby.
“She was actually planted as a spy in Vansh’s life so that she could pass on vital information about him to his enemies.”

“What!” exclaimed Riddhima barely able to contain her shock.

Angre nodded. “Yes. And nobody knows about this in the house, exceot for me and Boss, of course. In fact, I’m not even supposed to share this with you, and if Boss gets to know it, he won’t spare me.”

“Don’t worry, he won’t,” Riddhima assured him.

“When you were seen loitering around the Private Office, and that very day the confidential papers got stolen, Boss started doubting on you,” explained Angre.
“He took you to the party, so that I could search your room in your absence. I couldn’t find the papers, but I did find a map of Mumbai’s coastline. This made Boss to suspect that perhaps you were keeping an eye on the docks and his shipping business.”

“That map was part of Ishaan’s geography project,” said Riddhima. “And as far as my strolling around the forbidden office is concerned, I’ve grown up reading crime fiction, so often my curiosity gets the better of me. There is nothing sinister from my side.”

“I know. Boss now knows that you are innocent. But the truth being, he still is unable to come out of his bitter past. He is stuck in there till now, with his own sets of issues,” said Angre sadly.
“His arrogant and rude demeanour is actually just a put on for the world. But in reality, he is a very emotional person who is easily and deeply affected by miseries around him.”

Riddhima became emotional on listening to this. Just today, Vansh had helped her out of her insecurities, and she felt that it was now her turn to do the same.

“I will help you out of your past, Vansh,” she said determinedly.

Precap :

Vansh tells Riddhima he is ready to do anything to obtain her forgiveness. She puts forth a condition.

Vansh’s and Riddhima’s romance at the beach.

Vansh discusses about his master stroke to destroy Pathak.

Riddhima decides to find out who is acting as an informant for Kabir from their house.

Hello everyone! That is it for today guys. If you liked it, do not forget to comment.

Peace out!