In the Name of Love – Chapter 31

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

https://www.tellyupdates.com/in-the-name-of-love-chapter-30/

@Parita Thank you so much. Riddhima also gets jealous here and there, but she cannot match Vansh’s possessiveness and jealousy at all! His is of another level only, and ngl, it tends to go overboard too many a times. And Riddhima being her regular self dependent person, doesn’t seem to like it at all. Also, I’m really glad to see you so invested in the story.
@Yashi Thank you dear
@Ayesha Thank you dear
@Akirti Thank you dear
@Aisha08 Thanks a lot. Haha, tumne waha pe #greedylog kaha, aur yaha mere technical issues chalu hogaye, lol!
@Samistha Choudhary Thanks a lot. So glad to see you loving this story. Here is the update and yes, I’ll try to be regular.
@Frozen Hidden Thanks a lot
@Niyati12 Thanks a lot. Glad that you liked it.
@Annoyinguser Thank you dear
@Maanvika Thank you dear
@Anannya07 Thanks a lot
@1234Aayu Thanks a lot
@Prapti0809 Thank you dear
@Jasmine Kaur Thank you dear
@Priyanka Thakur Thank you so much. Yes their bonding is developing, but a huge storm awaits them. Let’s see if they can handle that or not
@Samara Thank you dear
@RiansHLoveR Thanks a lot
@Jayashree Thank you dear
@Pridharshini Thanks a lot
@JJ Thank you dear
@Vkjhp Thank you dear
@Sree Thanks a lot
@Mary Thank you so much. Yes, now everything depends upon how much trust they have on each other.
@Ravneet Thank you so much
@Parul Thanks a lot
@Milee Thank you so much. I really feel happy that you love both the stories so much. (^hearts^)
@Priya Singh Thank you dear
@G Thank you so much. You summarized the whole chapter in just a few words. You take care too!
@Priyanshi_13 Thank you dear
@Neetu Thank you dear
@AarushiSoni Thank you so much. Aww, that is very sweet of you. And it really means a lot to me (^hearts^)
@Jayanthi Thank you so much. Yeah, I always wanted to portray their relationship as realistic as possible, and I’m glad that you felt the same. I feel everything cannot be fairy-tale like everytime. Riddhima is like this self dependent woman who wants to solve all her problems on her own, and that’s where her ideologies clash with those of Vansh’s. She expects him to change overnight, which is not possible for any person, tbh.
@FARHANA Here is the update
@Qt Thank you dear
@Deepa Thanks a lot. Yes, I’ll try to include more of her college life in the future.

xxxxx

After completing the last exam of their semester, most of the students thronged to the college canteen, for a little bit of gossip with their fellow friends.

“Two plates of aloo samosa and two cups of coffee,” Riddhima ordered the waiter.

“This is going to be the last time I’ll be eating at the canteen,” cried Ashima. “Because after it becomes known that I flunked my paper, I’d never want to show my face to anyone else!”

“Relax Ashima! We wrote the paper just one hour ago. Let the results come out at least, ” consoled Riddhima.

But Ashima kept on blabbering. “If my parents come to know that I failed, they will surely kick me out of the house! Then where will I stay?”

Riddhima narrowed her eyebrows at her.
“Don’t you think you’re exaggerating there quite a bit?

Ashima stopped for sometime. Then she started wailing again. “It’s all because of that stupid HOD. That oldie wants to make sure that all the students fail miserably, that is why he prepared the worst paper ever. I always hated Physiology, but now I hate it even more.”

Riddhima facepalmed. It was a difficult feat to be a friend to a literal drama queen.
“What’s happened is happened! We can’t change anything right? Even I got one of the answers wrong….”

“Excuse me?” Ashima rolled her eyes at her. “You literally just got ONE answer wrong, which was for only one mark. But I….I messed up the freaking 10 mark long answer, girl! I know you are the topper and all, but don’t try to belittle the sufferings of average students like us at least.”

Riddhima looked away. This hurt her. Why didn’t people understand that being a topper was not any cakewalk? There were many times when she herself had second guessed herself because she felt that she wasn’t standing upto other’s unrealistic expectations. People didn’t realize that even people with perfect marks and perfect remarks from their teachers, could have problems.

“Can we talk about something else, please?” she suggested.

Ashima’s face glowed up. “Okay, let’s talk about your and Vansh’s love story.”

Riddhima started choking upon her coffee.

“C’mon Ridz! Don’t be such a spoilsport. Being your bestie the least I deserve is that you share all details about your love life with me,” said Ashima excitedly. “How was your first meeting, first date, first kiss? And who was the one to propose first, you or him?”

Riddhima sighed. “It’s nothing as you are thinking. We had to get engaged because of uhm…” She obviously couldn’t disclose the real truth in front of her, so she tried to think of some other excuse.

“Because of family pressure?” Ashima offered.

“Yeah, something like that,” said Riddhima recalling that incident. “To be honest, I didn’t even seem to like Vansh much at the time of the engagement, and I think that is what he felt about me too.”

“And what about now?” Ashima said with a glint in her eye. “Do you love him now?”

Riddhima fell silent. She started reminiscing all the moments that she spent with him, and started smiling.
“Yes.”

“And did you tell him?” Ashima enquired.

Riddhima frowned. “No.”

“Why though? What is stopping you?”

“I’m afraid.”

“Huh? Doesn’t he love you, too?”

Riddhima rested her chin on her hands. “He does, A LOT. And that is what scares me. I do love him, but I don’t think as much as he loves me.”

Ashima gaped at her as if she were an alien from the outer space.
“Sometimes your words make absolute no sense to me. Had there been any other girl in your place, she’d have considered herself as the luckiest girl in the universe.”

Riddhima said, “But I never wanted to be the ‘luckiest’ girl. In fact, I always wanted to be that regular girl next door, with a normal life and a normal guy who’d love me like how other normal guys do. To be honest, I don’t think I can handle too much love at a time.
I fail to understand as to how, when and what exactly made Vansh fall in love with me to this of an extent?”

Ashima held her head. “Your words make me dizzy, not going to lie. But I now kind of understand what your problem actually is.
You always try to find logic and reasoning behind every single little thing. But you must understand that love is illogical. You can’t apply your scientific analysis to it.
So stop being such a bore, and declare your feelings to Vansh without any further delay.”

“You are right. I feel I’m worrying unnecessarily. But…” said Riddhima. “There’s a small problem. Vansh went out of his way to confess his feelings to me. I can’t just say a simple ‘I LOVE YOU’ and end it then and there. I’ve to do something special for him as well….”

“Why don’t you do something that he really likes?” said Ashima.

Riddhima remembered Vansh telling her that he wanted to see her in a sari. She smiled to herself.
______________________________________

The next day was Gayatri’s birthday. Despite her protests, Vansh decided to throw a lavish party to celebrate the occasion. All near and dear ones had bern invited.

Riddhima on the other hand was getting stressed out. She decided to wear Vansh’s gifted sari for the occasion, but she didn’t know how to wear it.

Thankfully, Mrs. D’souza came to her rescue, and helped her drape the sari. After it was done, Mrs.D’souza looked at her in admiration.

“You look lovely Riddhima,” she said. “Like a goddess. I’m sure, Vansh Sir wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off you this whole evening.”

Riddhima started blushing.
“Would you mind getting me few white lilac flowers to put in my hair?” she asked.

“But white lilacs won’t go well with the black sari?” said Mrs. D’souza. “Do you want me to get some other flowers instead?”

“No. I want white lilacs only, nothing else,” replied Riddhima firmly.

“Okay Madam.” Mrs. D’souza left from there, but not before thowing a knowing look in her direction.
______________________________________

“Oh Vansh, what was the need to go through so many hassles to set up a bitthday party for an oldie like me?” asked Gayatri.

Ishaan quipped, “Nani, you might be the oldest amongs us, but let me tell you that you are the youngest one at heart here.”

“I second you on that!” Sia high-fived him.

“Ishaan, where is your Dids?” asked Vansh suddenly glancing at his watch. “Usually, she doesn’t take much time to get ready, but today she’s late.”

Sia giggled, “But Bhai, that was before her engagement to you. Now she’s like :
Sajna hai mujhe, Sajna ke liye….”

Vansh glared at her, while the rest of the family joined in the laughter.

Soon Nandu came running in wearing a white frock and a tiara.
“How do I look Badi Dadi?” she asked innocently.

Gayatri kissed her. “Like my little fairy.”

“But fairies have magic wands right? And I don’t have one,” said Nandu.

“Aww! Next time, I’ll get you a wand too,” said Gayatri. “But tell me, what would you do with that wand?”

Nandu thought for a while. “I’ll make sure that every child gets a mother.”

Vansh became emotional on hearing this. The little girl had always been without a mother in her life, and what had he done? Instead of trying to fill that void in her life, he had widened it further by acting so shallow with her.

He knelt down before her. The same face that used to anger him before, now didn’t anymore.
He spread his arms wide waiting for her to hug him, which Nandu happily did.

“It is all happening because of Riddhima,” thought Gayatri getting elated beyond words. “What could be a better birthday gift for me than watching Vansh and Nandu finally bond with each other?”

Just as she said that, Riddhima appeared at the top of the staircase, all decked up.

“Oh my, my! She looks so beautiful in the sari,” beamed Gayatri.

Vansh turned around and saw Riddhima wearing the black sari that he had so lovingly gifted her.

Kisi Shaam Ki Tarah
Tera Rang Hai Khila
Main Ek Raat Tanha
Tu Chand Sa Mila….

He was so mesmerised in her beauty that he didn’t even care that the rest of the family had already started teasing around.

Riddhima slowly descended from the stairs, taking care to not trip over. This was her first time wearing a sari, and she didn’t want any untoward or embarrassing incident to occur.

She saw Vansh staring at her continuously, and inmediately felt butterflies in her stomach. She coyly walked towards him, but before she could do that, Ishani came in the front.

“Wow! That’s a beautiful sari. Where did you get it from?”

Riddhima fumbled with her words. “Actually I bought it online….”

Gayatri too joined them. “See, how pretty Riddhima looks in sari? Ishani, even you should try out a sari once in a while.”

Vansh was getting increasingly irritated. Riddhima was literally surrounded by a large throng of people, so much so that, neither could he speak to her, nor could he even get a good view of her.

Suddenly Chanchal shouted out aloud, “Oh Ahana! So good to see you here after such a long time.”

Everybody’s attention turned towards Ahana. She was Chanchal’s sister’s daughter, and was ‘specially’ invited by her Aunt to come to attend the party all the way from Bangalore.

“Uh oh, this witch is back again!” Ishani muttered under her breath.

Aryan hugged Ahana. “Hey sissy, long time no see?”

Ishani nudged Riddhima. “Be careful of her. She’s been having her eyes on Bhai since time immemorial. You never know, she might even snatch him away from you!”

Riddhima laughed her off. “Vansh isn’t a puppet or a toy that anyone can snatch him from someone. He has his own mind, and he’ll go only to that person whom his heart wants.”

“Hello Vansh,” Ahana greeted him warmly. “It’s been such a long time since I last met you. I really, really missed you a lot.”

“But I didn’t,” Vansh snapped back.

Ahana gasped at his sheer rudeness. But later, she tried to cover it up with her fake laughter.
“You’ve a good sense of humour, Vansh,” she said instead.

Vansh gently pulled Riddhima by her waist towards him.
“Riddhima, meet Aryan’s cousin.
And Ahana, she is my fiancee.” His stress on the last word was evident.

Ahana gave her a wicked look. But she caught herself in time, and tried to force a smile.
“Congratulations! Well, I must say that Riddhima is a very lucky girl.”

Vansh said, “If you say so. But I think I’m much luckier than her.”

Riddhima looked up at him lovingly. Vansh returned her gaze with the same fervour.

Ahana became angry and soon huffed her way out of the scene.

“What was that?” Riddhima enquired.

Releasing her from his grip, he said, “Nothing much. Just wanted to introduce you to Ahana.”

Riddhima said with an amused expression. “You wanted to merely introduce us, or you wanted to give her the hint that you are no longer available?”

“Well, I might not be available for her, but..” Vansh folded his hands behind him and bent his head to reach Riddhima’s height.
“I am always available for you. 24×7.”

“Such words coming from your mouth cannot be trusted upon, especially when you couldn’t even care to say a single word after seeing me in this sari,” said Riddhima, sounding a little cross.

“Oh, so you want me to flatter you?” teased Vansh.

“Not really. But you could have appreciated me for the efforts I made though,” said Riddhima.

“Actually, I had been thinking of complimenting you for a long time, but I was weary of making you angry,” he said.

“But why would I get angry at a compliment?” she asked appearing a little confused.

Vansh inhaled deeply. “Alright. Riddhima, you look very beautiful today. So damn beautiful that….”

“That?”

Vansh leaned in closer and whispered into her ears. “That I feel like holding your hand right in front of everyone, then picking you up in my arms and taking you somewhere far away from here.”

Riddhima’s cheeks turned crimson. She kept standing there in a daze, until Ishaan called them for the cake cutting.

As she was about to leave, she turned around and grinned mischievously, “Vansh, if you really want to do all that, then I won’t stop you.”

Vansh looked on pleasantly surprised.

After everyone had assembled around the table, Gayatri cut the cake and fed it to her family.

Suddenly, the lights went off. Riddhima almost jumped in startle when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her and lift her up.

“Vansh! What are you doing?” she squealed.

“You asked for it, sweetheart,” teased Vansh, carrying her away from the party.

Riddhima clutched his shirt tightly. “I didn’t know you’d take my words so seriously.”

“Come on, it’s your turn to do some appreciation. Do you know that I had to literally cut the wires to the main switch to carry out this feat?” said Vansh.

“What? You are getting way too desperate,” she laughed.

“Of course, desperate to spend some time with you alone, without any hurdles,” he chuckled.

He carried her to the garden and gently placed her on the bench, while he himself sat down on the grass itself.

“Why are you sitting down? Come up,” she said.

“Close your eyes, Riddhima.”

“Ok.” She obeyed him instantly.

Vansh looked at her amused. This was in stark contrast to the previous times when she’d widen her eyes instead of shutting. This meant that she had begun trusting him, and he felt immensely good about it.

She felt him lift up her foot and slide something around it.

She opened her eyes to see an anklet.

“I know Riddhima, you don’t like all these things. But since you went out of your way to wear this sari, which you didn’t seem to like much, I thought that wearing an anklet won’t do much harm then.”

Riddhima said softly, “Well, my perception about saris is changing. I think I have kind of started liking them…”

Vansh caressed her face. “You have no idea but you’ve already started to get coloured in my colours.”
______________________________________

After their romantic night out under the stars in the garden, they returned to the party once the lights were back.

Riddhima wanted to use the washroom, when she passed by Vansh’s study.

“What? Riddhima has again started asking you about her mother’s case?” Vansh’s voice was clear.

“Yes, Boss. Of course, I didn’t tell her anything. However, I had to give her a lame excuse, and she being her smart self, must have started doubting that something is off,” said Angre.

Riddhima listened to this in disbelief. Vansh knew something about her mother’s death? And instead of telling her all about it, he was going around hiding the matter? She angrily left from there.

Vansh continued, “Day after tomorrow, I am taking her on a date. That is when, I’ll tell her everything.”
______________________________________

As soon as Vansh returned to the party, he began searching for Riddhima. When he found her looking all silent and dull in a corner, he became worried.

“Are you okay? Do you have a fever or something?” he asked examining her forehead.

She simply shook her head.

“Come let’s dance then,” said Vansh taking her to the dance floor. She was not in her senses right now and therefore did not resist him even when she wasn’t in the mood.

A romantic song played in the background.

Kuch Khaas Hai, Kuch Paas Hai
Kuch Ajnabi Ehsaas Hai
Kuch Dooriyaan, Kuch Nazdeekiyaan
Kych Has Padi Tanhaiyaan

Vansh noticed that Riddhima was lost and not paying any attention to him, or to the dance.

“When you are with me, I don’t want you to think about anything else…” he thought to himself.

All of a sudden, he lifted her up causing her eyes to widen up in surprise.

“Her attention is back to me alright,” he thought with a smirk.

He swirled her around in the same position before delicately bringing her down.

Kyun Yeh Bukhaar Hai, Kyun Bekaraar Hai
Shayad Yeh Pyaar Hai, Pyaar Hai Shayad
Jadoo Sawaar Hai, Naa Ikhtiyaar Hai
Shayad Yeh Pyaar Hai, Pyaar Hai Shayad

Vansh leaned in closer for a kiss, but Riddhima took few steps behind.

“Excuse me,” she said before leaving upstairs.

On the other hand, Vansh was left to ponder about what had happened to her. Just few moments back, she was enjoying his company in the garden, so why this sudden change? Did she not feel comfortable enough with him yet, to willingly let him kiss her in a normal setup?

Seizing the opportunity, Ahana approached towards a gloomy looking Vansh.
“Shall we dance?”

“No,” he said disinterestedly.

Ahana felt disappointed to see him blatantly reject her like that.
“Why not? You used to dance with me before….”

“Before I was single, but now I’m an engaged man. It doesn’t seem befitting for me to dance with any girl other than my fiancee,” he said.

“Don’t worry, she won’t get to know about this. I guess she’s quite insecure if she poses such unreasonable restrictions on you,” said Ahana.

Vansh became agitated to hear her speak bad about Riddhima.
“First of all, you’ve got no rights to say something about her like that.
And secondly, if I have a problem if Riddhima dances with another man, it is only fair that I too do not dance with any other woman.
I am a man of principles and would never compromise with them, no matter what.”

He tried to leave, but before that he turned to face her for one last time.
“This party is abuzz with many single and RICH businessmen. So why don’t you try your luck somewhere else instead of wasting your time on me?”
______________________________________

Riddhima came near Vansh’s study, while he was still busy in the party.

“There’s something that he’s hiding about Mumma’s case from me. He keeps all his important stuff inside his study, so maybe I can find something there.”

However, she saw a big lock hanging at the door.
“Damn!” she kicked the door in frustration.

“Need any help?” said Aryan sneaking behind her.

“None of your business,” she snapped back.

Aryan leaned against the wall. “I see that you want to get into the study without Bhai’s knowledge. And I, can help you in that.”

Riddhima crossed her arms in front, giving him her full attention.

“Bhai doesn’t know, but I’ve a duplicate key of the lock. If you want, I can lend it to you,” said Aryan.

Riddhima said sharply, “Firstly, what is this key doing with you? And secondly, why would you want to help me?”

Aryan giggled, “Remember the punishment that Bhai had given me? He had blocked all my cards as well as my bank account. I needed some money at least for my everyday routine. That is when I got this duplicate key made in order to steal the money.
As for your second question, yes, I’d definitely not do any more free favours upon you. In return of me lending this key to you, I’d want you to…..spend a night with me.”

Riddhima was horrified at his demands. She was literally raging from inside and almost felt like slapping him. “How dare you talk so cheaply with me?”

“Listen Riddhima, everything is supposed to run mutually in this world,” Aryan said matter-of-factly. “I help you, you help me. Simple!
Besides, your facial expression shows how desperate you’re to get inside the study. Which you won’t be able to, without my help.
So do you agree to this deal?”

If Riddhima had her way, she’d have taught an unforgettable lesson to him. But now, the matter was about her mother’s case, and she needed his help badly.

Swallowing her pride and self respect, she said, “Fine. It’s a deal then.”

Aryan was thrilled. He tried to move closer to her, but she pushed him away.
“Not now. It will happen only after you give me the key.”

“Alright Miss. When I’ve waited so much for you, I can do a little more too.” Aryan took out the key from his pocket and handed it to her.
“There’s a safe in there too. If you want to use that, you need to enter the pin which is 36541.”

Riddhima ignored him and unlocked the door. Even though she had been into his study many times before in Vansh’s presence, but in the dark right now, it looked nothing short of a scene straight out of a horror movie.

Using her mobile torch, she frantically rummaged through the different papers and files on the table and in the drawers. However, she didn’t find anything.

“I don’t know what exactly I am even looking for,” she grumbled to herself.

When Riddhima tried to search the cupboards instead, her eyes fell upon a safe. She recalled the pin that Aryan had given, and entered it.

Inside the safe, there were a few bundles of notes placed neatly. That’s when something glittering caught her eye. When she peeped in further, she found an emerald ring having an old design.

Riddhima gaped at in shock as she recognized that ring to be her mother, Sunidhi’s. Supposedly, Sushant had gifted this to Sunidhi as her wedding gift, and she had worn it on her finger since then, never parting away from it even for a second.

Riddhima remembered that when the police had found Sunidhi’s body, this ring had been missing from her finger. They had all assumed that perhaps it had got lost when she fell down from the terrace of that building, and now, it was suddenly found in Vansh’s safe.

How did he manage to find that ring? And why was he hiding this matter from her?

Riddhima realized that she’d have to dig further to get to the truth.
______________________________________

“After getting engaged, Vansh has started to ignore me even more,” Ahana complained to Chanchal. “It seems like he’s totally besotted by that Riddhims. I stand no chance!”

“No, no, no! We can’t give up so easily. I can’t let Riddhima and Vansh get together. Or else, she’ll soon give him a heir and we will be ruined until death,” blabbered Chanchal.

“Relax ladies. When Aryan is here, there’s nothing to fear,” said Aryan bringing in a glass of wine.
“I’ve a fool proof plan.”

“What?” both the women asked in unison.

Aryan pointed towards the glass in his hand. “Ahana, you will offer this spiked drink to Vansh. Once he goes into a deep slumber, you shall take him to his bedroom. And at that very moment, I’ll bring Riddhima there who’d catch you both in a compromising situation, and after that, she herself will break all ties with him.”

“Oh my son is so smart!” said Chanchal trying to ward off evil sight away from him.

“Mom! Stop your 18th century tricks on me,” said Aryan irritatedly.
“The plan is still not over yet. After kicking Riddhima out of Bhai’s life, we’ll get him married to Ahana. After the marriage, Ahana will make sure to get all the property transferred in her name. Once that happens, she’ll divorce him and in turn transfer the property in OUR name.”

He happily thought to himself, “Now this is called a perfect plan. On one side, I’ll get to sleep with Riddhima, and on the other, Ahana will make sure that Riddhima breaks up with Vansh. I am too good.”

Chanchal said, “We’ve lived enough of our lives in slavery to this Vansh. Now it’s our turn to turn him into a slave for us instead.
Ahana, all our hopes rest upon you. Go and get the job done.”

Ahana obeyed them and carried the drink in Vansh’s direction. Suddenly, Riddhima came in her way and spilled the entire drink over Ahana’s dress.

“What the hell! Are you blind or what?” Ahana shouted.

“I’m really sorry. I wasn’t looking….”

“Sorry, my foot! Do you know this drink was a special one….” Ahana corrected herself in time. “I meant that my dress was a very special designer one. But you spoiled it. Do you even know how much does it cost?”

“How much? I’ll pay you the amount,” said Riddhima getting annoyed.

“Two lakhs! Do you’ve that much money?” mocked Ahana.

“Uhm, no. But I’ve two hundred rupees though. Enough to get your dress cleaned, washed, dried and ironed,” smirked Riddhima, leaving from there.

Precap :

Aryan blackmails Riddhima that he’ll tell Vansh everything if she doesn’t fulfill his demand.

Riddhima gets to know some more weird aspects related to her mother’s case.

Hello everyone! That is it for today guys. Do comment below.

Stay safe, stay calm.

Peace out!