In the Name of Love – Chapter 29

Kabir furiously watched the video on his phone as it played. The video showed Vansh and Riddhima arguing with each other by the poolside of VR Mansion.

“Till when will you stay stuck in your past, Vansh? Because of your adamance, everyone around you is getting affected. I really want to help you out of this,” said Riddhima.

“Why is Riddhima looking so bothered about Vansh? Why does she want to help him? Why can I see love and concern for Vansh in her eyes?” Kabir shouted.

He threw the phone away, but the video kept playing.

“Not four years or weeks, but our relation is of seven births,” said Vansh pulling her close.

“Aaahhh! This cannot happen, this cannot happen!”

He started throwing the furniture around.

Looking at Riddhima’s photo, he said, “Riddhima, how can you forget me so easily. How can you fall in love with an underworld Don? How can you? No! I cannot let this happen. I have to do something. Riddhima, you will soon start hating Vansh, and come running back into my arms. That is my promise to you!”
______________________________________

Vansh was driving the car, while Riddhima sat beside him. They were heading back to their house from the beach.

Every now and then, Vansh tried to steal a glance at her. It seemed like he just couldn’t get enough of her.

Even with her head turned to the other side, Riddhima could literally feel him staring at her with those intense eyes. But she tried to feign obliviousness because at this point, she didn’t even know what she was supposed to do. Plus, it didn’t help much that she kind of enjoyed all the attention that she was getting.

All of a sudden, Vansh felt Riddhima cozying up to him and resting her head on his arm. When he turned to face her, she craned her neck and gently kissed his forehead…..

A rough speed bump brought Vansh back to reality. Riddhima was sitting comfortably in her seat, and Vansh realized that he had just imagined that scenario.

He smiled to himself.
“What is wrong with me? What is this girl doing to me? She is sitting right beside me, but still I’m daydreaming about her!”

Kisi Shayar Ki Ghazal
Jo De Rooh Ko Sukoon Ke Pal
Koi Mujhko Yun Mila Hain
Jaise Banjaare Ko Ghar

Naye Mausam Ki Seher
Ya Sard Mein Dopahar
Koi Mujhko Yun Mila Hain
Jaise Banjaare Ko Ghar…..

When the duo finally reached back home, Sia and Ishaan let out a short squeal.

“Why are your clothes wet?” they asked skeptically.

Vansh sighed. His plan had been to run as fast as possible to his room to avoid getting caught in such a state, but these two devils had been too quick for him.

If he said that he had taken a dip in the sea alongside his fiancee, they’d definitely start making fun of him.

Vansh fumbled with his words.
“Uhm….actually we got caught up in sudden rain….”

“Rain? But we didn’t see any rain take place over here,” said Ishaan.

Riddhima who was trying to control her laughter until now looking at Vansh’s antics, decided to help him.

“Yes, Vansh is right. It started raining at the place we had gone to.
And are you both new to Mumbai or something? Many a times it has happened in the past as well where it rained in one area and it didn’t in the other. No big deal,” said Riddhima.

“Oh how romantic! You both got stuck in rain, just like those mushy movies,” said Sia dreamily.

“Sia!” Vansh called her out sternly.

“C’mon Bhai! Being your younger sister, don’t I have even this much right that I can tease you and my would-be Bhabhi a little bit?”
______________________________________

When Vansh woke up the next morning, he found an envelope under his door. Remembering how Riddhima had gifted him the diary in a similar manner two days back, he eagerly opened it up.

There was a handmade card that read “I LOVE YOU” on the front in big, bold letters. He felt ecstatic thinking it to be from Riddhima.

When he flipped open the card, he became surprised. There was a drawing of a little girl holding her father’s hand on one side, and a poem on the other.

My Papa

My Papa is handsome and tall
He takes care of all.

He talks less
He gets angry when he sees any mess

He is strict and shouts a lot
But without him, I can live not.

His eyes welled up on reading it. He knew he had been really harsh with Nandu for no fault of hers. He disliked his own father a lot, but now he was turning into exactly like him….

He loved her dearly, but whenever he saw her, his bitter past got the better of him. But now after burying the horrible memories of his life deep into the sea, would he be able to show Nandu the love that she so rightly deserved?

“Can I come in, Papa?” said Nandu popping her little head into his room.

“Hmmm,” came his reply.

She looked at him with the card in his hands, waiting for him to say something.

Vansh did not know what to say, because to be honest, he never cared to even have a proper conversation with her ever. He felt guilty.

“Did you make this?” he asked after sometime.

“Yes,” she said meekly.

Just then, Vansh’s eyes fell upon Riddhima who was standing outside the room. He understood that she was the one making Nandu do this. When Riddhima was making so many efforts for him and Nandu, couldn’t he try to make some efforts as well?

“Thank you, Nandu. It’s very nice. I liked it.”

Nandu’s face brightened up. This was the first time that Vansh was appreciating her.

“Really, Papa?”

Vansh nodded with a smile.
Riddhima quietly left from there, feeling content.
______________________________________

Riddhima was strolling by the pool and was in a very good mood.

“Vansh did not get angry at Nandu today. And he spoke to her nicely, too. That’s a really good sign,” she said happily.

She was hit by the familiar scent of Vansh’s signature leather cologne from behind, and without even turning around, she started blabbering.

“Vansh, I’m so damn happy today! You showed such good improvement and, and did you see, Nandu also looked really….”

“Interesting, very interesting,” said Vansh coming in front of her. “Just like how I can identify you by your fragrance, you are able to do the same with me too.”

Riddhima appeared flushed.
“Only you are the one who uses leather cologne in this house,” she tried to explain.

“And only you are the one who uses lilac fragrance in this house,” Vansh added in.

“And white lilacs are your favourite flowers?” she said.

“Yes, but how do you know?” asked Vansh sounding a bit surprised.

“Well, it’s not that difficult you see. At every party and occasion, all you see around in this house are white lilacs, white lilacs and more white lilacs!” Riddhima remarked.

“Why, don’t you like them?”

“I like their perfume, but visually, I didn’t find them appealing earlier.
But,” she said coyly. “Don’t know why, I now seem to like them quite a lot…”

Vansh smiled at her knowingly, clearly understanding what she meant by that.

“Thank you, Riddhima,” he said suddenly. “You are the second person in my life to do this much for me.”

“And who is the first person?” she asked with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

“Papa.”

“You mean, your Papa?” Riddhima asked confused.

“My dad never did anything for me. I’m talking about your Papa,” he said earnestly.

Looking at Riddhima’s blank expression, he continued, “What happened? Why do you look so surprised? Since I’m engaged to you, it is only fair that I should be calling him as ‘Papa’. I can’t be calling him ‘Uncle’ even now.”

Riddhima felt extremely overwhelmed. Every girl dreams for a man who can love and respect her parents as much as she does. And here was Vansh, doing exactly that. What more could she ask for?

But as she remembered her father, she grew sad. Vansh understood what she was feeling, and took her hands in his.
“I promised you earlier too, and I promise you again that I’d soon find your Papa…sorry, our Papa. And you should know that I never break my promises.”

Riddhima nodded, trying to control her tears.

“And what about Mumma? Did you get any lead on her murder case?” she asked.

Vansh flinched. “Yes, we’ll soon find that out as well.”

He tried to divert the topic. “Uhm, I actually forgot to tell you that I’ve now given Sonia a permanent place in VR mansion. Even though you’re completely alright now, I want her to be still looking after you and helping Mrs. D’souza around.”

“Did you inform her?” Riddhima enquired.

“Oh yes, I informed her about the same the day before yesterday itself,” said Vansh. “To be honest, she did a really good job taking care of you, and I think I can trust her.”
Just then, he got a call and went to attend it.

Riddhima thought, “Why didn’t Sonia tell me about this?”

Suddenly Riddhima remembered something. She hurriedly went to Sonia’s quarter.

“Madam, why did you come all the way here? You could have intercommed me had you needed anything,” said Sonia.

Riddhima reassured her, “Relax! I don’t have some proper work with you, rather I’m here for some girly gossip, if you don’t mind?”

Sonia hesitated but let her inside.

Riddhima went on, “You have such a good collection of dresses. Especially that red dress you wore two days back, it was simple yet elegant. Can I have a look at it so that Vansh can get a similar one for me?”

Sonia found it a bit weird that Riddhima was going gaga over her dresses that she purchased from the local markets of Mumbai, while she herself had such an amazing dress collection. Nevertheless, she handed over the said dress to her.

“Aww, it looks so pretty,” said Riddhima excitedly. She flipped the dress around trying to look for something. “Look! It’s torn here. How did this happen?”

“I have no idea.”

“But I do,” smirked Riddhima. “It must have got stuck on a nail, when you were hiding behind the pillar near the pool, eavesdropping upon mine and Vansh’s conversation.”

Sonia started sweating profusely. “Uhm…no, that’s not true.”

“Do not lie to me,” scolded Riddhima. “What you did was so cheap and uncalled for….”

All of a sudden, Sonia’s phone started buzzing. Riddhima peeped over the table and found the name ‘Mummy’ flashing over it.

Before Sonia could take the call, Riddhima snatched it from the table.
“Oh, it’s your mother! She should also know how her daughter is snooping around at her workplace.”

Sonia tried to stop her, but alas, it was too late. Riddhima had already picked up her call. She was surprised to hear a deep voice belonging to a man coming from the other end. She soon realized with horror that it was actually Kabir!

“Hello, Sonia! What new information you’ve got? I saw the video you sent me….Hello, hello…..”

Riddhima hung up and started berating her. “You are working for…Kabir? What the hell!”

Sonia broke down. “I’m sorry Madam. Kabir Sir wanted me to keep a lookout for you since he was genuinely worried for you and there was no other means to keep in touch with you.”

Riddhima gasped. “That means, you were the one who had informed Kabir about the attack carried out on me? Oh God! And what is this video he was talking about?”

When Riddhima scrolled in the gallery section of her phone, she found the video having her’s and Vansh’s conversation by the pool regarding the diary.

“How dare you! This is absolute breach of privacy,” Riddhima said angrily. “Vansh should know of this.”

Sonia folded her hands before her. “Please Madam, I beg you. Please don’t tell Vansh sir anything, or he’ll bury me alive!”

Ignoring her pleas, Riddhima dragged a resisting Sonia along with her to Vansh.

When Vansh saw them like that, he looked confused. “What’s the matter, Riddhima?”

“She is the one who informed Kabir about my attack,” she pointed towards Sonia. “And she is still in touch with him.”

Vansh glared at Sonia, who started trembling in fear.

“I had warned you on your first day of joining itself, that I absolutely HATE betrayers,” thundered Vansh. “Then how dare you?”

Sonia fell at Vansh’s feet. “I’m really sorry Sir. I needed money for my mother’s treatment. Kabir sir asked me to keep a watch on you and Riddhima Madam.”

“If the money I was offering was so less for you, couldn’t you open your blo*dy mouth and ask for more?” Vansh shouted at the top of his voice. “Angre and Mrs. D’souza! Come here right away, and take this ungrateful girl to my study. We shall have a word on private.”

As Sonia was being taken away, Riddhima tried to follow her too, but Vansh stopped her.
“You stay here. I’ll be right back.”

She looked at him anxiously. “Vansh, I know what she did was wrong, but don’t be harsh on her. Whatever she did was for her mother, so try to let it be. And moreover, it’s not like she passed on some very confidential or vital information to Kabir. She was just merely informing him about my welfare. So….”

Vansh assured her. “Relax, I know what to do with what kind of person. You need not worry. Do you trust me?”

Riddhima started fidgeting with her fingers. “I don’t know, Vansh. I really want to trust you, but I feel I cannot.”

Her words stung him really hard, but he tried to hide his pain.

She continued, “Whatever you did with me in the past – forcing me to breakup with Kabir, violating my privacy, punishing Neil violently for his mistake, and blackmailing me for the engagement by threatening to wrong Ishaan. All these incidents stop me from trusting you fully.”

Vansh came closer to her and cupped her face. “You know what, this is what I really like about you. You’re never afraid of telling the truth, and I really, really appreciate you for being so honest about your fears with me.

“I know that I was very wrong on multiple occasions. But whatever I did, there were some important reasons behind, which I cannot disclose to you yet. But when the right time will come, the first thing I’ll do is to tell you all about it.

“I forced you to end your relation with Kabir, because I knew he was not a good guy. And today’s incident just proved this point. Kabir was not only snooping upon us, but also he tried to trap me in a false case of harrassment.

“Riddhima, there might be many more instances in the future, where you might start distrusting my decisions and actions, but you must have faith that I am doing it for an absolutely justified reason.
It will take time for the truth to come out before you, but until then you’d have to stay patient and fully trust me.

“I know, when initially you had got engaged to me, you didn’t even want to see my face. But over the time, this relation, and I’d like to say that even I myself, have started to have an important place in your heart.
So, please trust me. For you, for me, and most importantly for us. Will you, Riddhima?”

Riddhima nodded. “I will try, Vansh.”
______________________________________

“Thank you so much Sir. I’ll forever be indebted towards you for showing your mercy upon me,” cried Sonia. “Kabir Sir had given me such a false narrative about you. You are not at all like that.”

Vansh irritatedly said, “Get lost now! And don’t show your face again.”

Before leaving, Sonia tried to touch Vansh’s feet but he shooed her away.

Angre said, “Boss, there’s nothing much on her phone, except for the messages and few videos that she exchanged with Kabir.”

Vansh caught Angre’s collar. “You are the one who did her background check right? Then how did this happen? You are becoming utterly useless day after day!”

“Sorry Boss. I will be careful from next time onwards….”

“Careful my foot! Had it not been for my Riddhima, then we would have never come to know about Sonia’s truth,” said Vansh, albeit with a sense of pride in his voice. “After what she did today, Riddhima has proved how trustworthy she is. I was so wrong to doubt her. And even more wrong to do all the unfair things to her.

“But now, I will turn everything right. I will confess my feelings, as well as each and every truth about myself to her, including about my profession.”

Angre was doubtful. “But Boss, will she accept you after learning about you belonging to the Mafia and you….”

“If she truly loves me, then she definitely will,” said Vansh with a lost expression. “I definitely and most truly love her, and I cannot hide more things from her.”
______________________________________

Riddhima heard a knock at her door. When she opened it, she was pleasantly surprised to find a bouquet having a mixture of red roses and white lilacs.

“Red roses in the house? But Vansh hates them, right?” she thought.

There was a letter attached to the bouquet.

My Dearest Riddhima,

White lilacs and red roses – both of them look beautiful on their own, but they look much more beautiful and unique when they get together. It’s almost as if they complete each other, just like Us.

To be honest, I’m very poor at expressing my emotions via vocal speech. I think I’m better at writing, because in that way, I wouldn’t have to bear the judgemental scrutiny of the person.

What can I say Riddhima, except for this that you have completely changed my life, my pririoties. Every little thing about you, your likes, your dislikes and the rest, is so deeply etched in my mind. You are etched in my mind and my heart, dear Riddhima.

I’ve never felt so light in my life, as I feel now. If it wasn’t for you, I would still remain trapped in the maze of my past. My ego wouldn’t let me admit it, but the time that we spent on the beach was the best moment of my life.

I know I’ve wronged you ample number of times, and I cannot even express how ashamed I feel for hurting you. But not anymore. From today onwards, your phone will no longer be tracked. You are free to call whomever you want, free to go wherever and whenever you want. You are no longer answerable to me to follow your wishes and dreams.

I know we started on a rough note, but can we start afresh again?
I don’t know why, but I have a sudden longing to see you in a sari. I’ll be waiting for you at our old meeting place, by the pool.

—VR

Riddhima held the letter close to her chest, and her eyes were moistened. She did not know how to describe this, but she could feel her heart overflow with lots of unknown emotions.

Along with the bouquet, came a box too, which contained a black coloured sari.

“He wants to see me in this sari….” she thought happily.

She almost wanted to try it out, but then she thought otherwise.

She went to the poolside, and saw Vansh standing with his back turned towards her.

“So you came,” said Vansh smiling, her fragrance giving it away like usual.

He turned around and a slight wave of disappointment crossing his face.

“Oh, you didn’t wear the sari I gave,” he said a little sadly.

Riddhima retorted, “Yes, why would I? First of all, I don’t know how to wear a sari, and secondly, I absolutely hate saris.”

“But…”

She continued her rant, “But what? Listen, I’m not that type of girl who’d dance to your tunes, who’d obey each and every command of yours. I am what I am, and I’m not changing myself for anybody.
I will do what my heart wants. And I will break all your rules.”

“Okay.”

“What do you mean by okay? My self respect, my freedom, my dreams all these are very dear to me….”

Vansh pulled her towards him. “And you are dear to me.”

There was complete silence, and both of them were lost in each other’s gaze.

Riddhima looked at him longingly. “You say that you don’t know how to express your feelings well….you are such a liar, Vansh.”

Saying this she stood on her toes and flung her arms around him. He hugged her back as tightly as possible, as if he never wanted her to leave…..

After they pulled away from each other, Vansh said, “Riddhima, there is so much more that I need to tell you. I don’t want any more secrets to lie between us. But I cannot discuss about them here. Can we go out on a dinner date or something?”

Riddhima realized that Vansh perhaps wanted to come clean about his profession in front of her. She also felt that there were quite a few things that she had not told Vansh about – how Kabir sneaked into her college, all what he said about Vansh to her, and how Kabir wanted her to get engaged to Vansh so that he can carry out his plan to arrest him.

She knew that if they really wanted to keep this relationship going, she’d have to spill out these things as well. She didn’t want to hide anything more from him, and wanted to keep everything as transparent as possible between them.

“What about tomorrow evening?” asked Vansh.

Riddhima said, “Two days later, my exams are going to start so can we keep this date after that?”

“Of course, your studies are most important. Let’s postpone the date as for now, but remember our date is on the cards,” he chirped.

Vansh thought to himself, “It’s actually good if we have this discussion after her exams get over. Because I don’t know how she’ll react listening to the truth, and I don’t want any of it to be adversely affecting her studies. I just hope that her feelings for me won’t change and remain the same after the revelation.”

Precap :
Riddhima tells Vansh that she can handle her college problems on her own and doesn’t need his help, but Vansh thinks otherwise.

Riddhima gets a note from someone saying that Vansh is not to be trusted and that he is hiding a big matter from her.