Hi KB, thank you!
Hi Chhavi, thank you for reading.
Hi Nia, thank you so much! Tbh, this FF initially began with a motive to get done with the wedding within the first 5 chapters I guess, but their foundation was based on wrongdoings and I always wanted to get that cleared. Later, I realised that their marriage would make more sense when it feels like a fresh start lol. Haha Nia, poor guy needs some rest. I agree his ignorance is so unjustified, but first he’s unable to manage things and second, he doesn’t know how to talk to her really. It feels like a very edgy point, but it’s going to be all fine soon. Idk if the conversation will be highlighted or no, but you’d get to see their normalcy. The entire puzzle of Riddhima is spanned across the next two updates, and I’m hoping things seem justifiable because these two episodes have been long awaited. Happy Reading! 🙂
Hi Prapti0809, thank you so much.
Hi Priyanka Thakur, thanks a lot.
Hi Maanvika, that’s very sweet of you. Thank you!
Hi Varshini, thank you so much.
Hi N Ayesha, thank you.
Hi AarushiSoni, thank you so, so much. You’re one sweetheart. As for Riddhima, all your questions have been answered over the two updates. I hope you find it justifiable 🙂
Hi Aisha08, thank you.
Hi Riansh🥰, thank you so much!
Hi @Mj, thanks a lot.
Hi Cutuuu, thank you so damn much. It really means a lot.
Hi KV2711, thank you so much! As for Vansh and Ishani, I’m not sure if their conversation will be highlighted, but things are definitely going to be fine. As for Riddhima, things are going to take a turn for the better in the next two updates. Thanks again!
Hi Priyanshi_13, thank you!
Hi Anannya07, thank you so, so much.
Hi Sumisha, thanks so much.
Hi Acchu, thank you!
Hi Sandra, thanks a lot.
Hi Neetu, thank you so much.
Hi Sayani Sinha, thank you.
Hi Jayashree, thanks so much. You’re too kind!
Hi Priyadarshini, thank you!
Hi JJ, thanks a lot.
Hi Vkjhp, thanks so much.
Hi Sree, thank you.
Hi Parita, thank you so, so much.
————
Link to Episode 24: https://www.tellyupdates.com/riansh-becoming-mrs-raisinghania-episode-24/
BECOMING MRS. RAISINGHANIA – EPISODE 25: CHOICES IN LOVE
She stared at him as he typed on his phone, quickly responding to a few work mails from before. His fresh cologne filled the air in the room and she inhaled a deep breath, willing to rid herself of the medicinal smell in the hospital.
He looked up at her from the screen momentarily and saw her staring at him. He’d never understand her. Just yesterday, she’d tried pushing him away and worsened her health to the point where she’d to be hospitalized all night. He sighed and looked back at his phone, shaking his head at plethora of mails. He’d been away from work for a few hours, yet his inbox had been filled with mails from different clients.
When he shoved his phone inside his pocket and looked up at her moments later, she’d shut her eyes and turned away. He shook his head and walked toward her bed, not wanting to fall into any of her tricks. He’d left his conference calls unattended to reach the hospital before her dinner time. Her mother had complained several times and asked him to take good care of her.
Vansh: I know you’re awake.
He pulled the pillows from behind her head and pushed them against the headboard, trying to build a comforting backrest for her. He’d tried ignoring her throughout the day, but with the visiting hours closed, he barely had an option besides staying back at home for the night. However, he wanted to stay close to her until her discharge. It seemed like his last resort, after all.
Riddhima: Stop pulling the pillows and let me sleep.
Vansh: You must finish your dinner.
Riddhima: That soup is disgusting. It should be illegal to make it that bland. If there’s anything delicious to eat, I will cooperate.
Vansh: Sure. I’ve asked the nurse to get some kachoris for you.
Riddhima sat up tiredly as he pulled the second pillow from below her head and looked at him in frustration. The entire day he’d ignored her and had now begun acting like nothing had happened. She looked at him squarely before sitting back against the pillows in resignation. How could she be frustrated at him? After all, she was doing the exact same too.
Riddhima: Did you eat?
Vansh (simultaneously): I’m going to be in the waiting area. If there’s anything, let the nurse know and I’d come here.
Riddhima: Fine then, if we’re going to continue each other, might as well do it without the concern. I can do with the nurse for the night; anyways, even if you’re here, the nurse is going to take care of me, so you can go back home and respond to the pending mails.
He pulled a rough hand through his hair and looked at her in agitation. He’d never understand her hypocritical thoughts and opinions. He sat on the stool next to the bed and looked at her squarely.
Vansh: What is your problem, Riddhima? If I try coming closer and improving the equation between us, you’ve a problem. If I try running away, you’ve a problem. What do you think I should be doing?
Riddhima (inhaling a deep breath): Don’t do anything, because you doing anything makes me look villainous. It makes me feel guilty, even though nothing of this was what we agreed for. We were never marrying each other out of love and that was the only reason why I’d agreed for the marriage.
Vansh: So, you want a bland life like that soup after the marriage? No love, no happiness, nothing? Just two people happily married in the society, living as strangers behind closed doors?
Riddhima (looking down, in a croaky voice): I want exactly that.
As the door squeaked open, the two of them looked at the nurse carrying a tray in her hand. Riddhima scrunched her face in disgust, wanting to disappear from the room and ignore her presence. She saw Vansh stand up from the stool and adjust the blazer over himself.
Vansh: Fine then. That’s exactly what you’d get from now on. (turning toward the nurse) You can keep the soup here, she will finish it.
He turned away from her and walked toward the couch pushed against the wall. She stared at him as he pulled out the phone from his pocket and began typing again. As the nurse placed the bowl of soup on the foldable table-top, a fraction of the simmering fell upon her skin and she whimpered at the suddenness.
Riddhima: Aaram se kijiye na.
Nurse: Sorry Madam, I tried calling you multiple times but you were lost somewhere. I will ask someone to get the first-aid and apply the ointment. Very sorry, Madam.
As the nurse scurried away from the room, Riddhima turned to look at Vansh. He hadn’t even bothered looking up from the phone screen despite her scream. She felt an unknown pain course within herself, but she knew it was for the better. After all, if she couldn’t love him, even he shouldn’t.
She knew he deserved the happiness and love, and she couldn’t bind him to herself for nothing.
————
“How are you doing, Baccha?”
Riddhima fluttered her eyes open at the voice, and looked around as rays of light fell against her skin and the waves at the beach flushed against her feet. The smell of the salty air filled her nostrils and with the medicinal smell having disappeared, she felt herself relishing the peace.
“You’ve not forgiven me yet, have you?”
She turned toward the voice and looked at her own mother, Sapna, tears rolling down her cheeks. Her mother still looked like how she’d on the last day she’d seen her. The marks of dried tears on her skin, smudged lipstick and kajal, and a saree wrapped around her disgracefully. She’d never seen her mother in a more dishevelled state that day. She remembered the time when the hospital staff had taken her away on a stretcher and Payal Ma had pulled her back.
Sapna: I wish God gave me some more time to explain, Baccha.
Riddhima (gulping quietly): You didn’t leave it to God, did you? You took things in your hands. You forgot about me – you forgot that I’d no one besides you in the world.
“You always had us, Riddhima.”
She turned around toward the other voice and saw her Ma waiting at the shore, smiling at her softly. Her Ma hadn’t smiled on the day she’d lost her own mother. She remembered the number of times she’d choked just trying to take her name, yet she wore a smile today.
Sapna: I know you blame me. You’ve blamed me all this time, but I’m here today. I’m going to fulfil all my words and promises. (forwarding her hand) Come, I’ll take you with myself and I promise, I’d never let go of you again.
Riddhima looked at her, the tears slowly running down her cheeks. She’d always wished for her mother to return and tell her that all these years she’d spent without her were a nightmare. A small smile pulled the corners of her lips and she slowly forwarded her hand, wanting to escape with her own mother. It was a fantasy she’d dreamt of in so long. Her mother was her only Sapna.
Payal: What about us, Riddhima? Will you be able to leave all of us just for one person?
Riddhima: She’s my mummy, Ma. The mother I always craved for, but never got. You know about all those nights I used to cry, don’t you?
Payal: I lived those nights with you. Every time you fell short of breath, I ran on the roads and drove you to the hospital, Riddhima. I never left you alone.
Riddhima: I craved for Mummy all these days, Ma. Now that I have her before me, willing to fulfil all her promises, you want me to leave her just like that?
Payal: If you choose your Ma, it is only the promises of childhood. But at the shore, you’ve your entire left. All your promises, all your ambitions, all your loved ones and…. VANSH.
Riddhima inhaled a sharp breath at that, fumbling for words. She loved her mother and she’d always craved for her, but Vansh? He’d been a recent addition in her life, but he’d paved his way into her heart so quickly that she couldn’t dismiss him away just like that. Despite the lies she spewed before him, she knew how deeply she felt for him.
Sapna: Aa jao na, Baccha. I’ve waited for you all these years.
Payal: I’ve guided you since you were six years old. My fingers didn’t fit inside your palm, Riddhima, but I never left you. I cradled you like my own baby the entire life. If you choose your mother above everything today, you will be just another coward. Just like your father was.
Riddhima sucked in a deep breath and let the tears roll down her cheeks, the sound of her whimpers echoing in the empty air. She was stranded in the middle of the sea with her mother waiting at the horizon and her Ma waiting at the shore. She knelt down and let the water soak her as she continued crying. She couldn’t let go of anyone, but she knew she had to.
Moments later, she felt two arms envelope her and she looked up, her cries stopping momentarily. She looked at her Ma, drenched completely in water as she dragged her away from the water and took her to the shore.
Payal: I will never leave you alone, Riddhima.
Riddhima turned around and looked at the horizon, wanting to find her mother, but she’d already disappeared. She gulped and stared at the sky, the hollowness in her heart slowly filling in. She wrapped her arms around her Ma and let the sorrow flush her; she’d had it within herself since so long.
————
Riddhima waited by the hospital bed while Vansh completed the formalities for her discharge. He’d ignored her since the past days, but she hadn’t blamed him for once. He was only obeying to her demands.
When her mother had visited her the previous day, she’d constantly praised him. She’d told her several times about how he’d de-stressed her and taken constant care of her in the hospital while she was away.
“He really loves you, Riddhima. I don’t think we would’ve ever found a better match for you.”
She’d just stared at him through the window and softly smiled. She knew how true her mother’s words were. However, she’d a lot to rectify herself and ever since that dream had stuck her, she hadn’t been able to think of a better place to confess.
When Vansh walked inside the ward, he picked up the duffle bag from the floor and looked at her. She felt the axis within herself shifting and she almost wanted to throw herself at him and tell him how much she’d missed his admiring glance over the last two days; how much she’d missed his concern and how much she’d missed him.
Vansh: Shall we leave? Ma said she’s waiting for you at home.
Riddhima: Can you call her once before we leave? My phone is out of charge.
He nodded his head and dialled her number before tapping on the screen to set the call on hands-free. The two of them waited as the phone rang and after three quick rings, her mother quickly picked up the call.
Payal: Hello? Kya hua, Vansh?
Riddhima: Ma, it’s me. The hospital authorities said that they would discharge me tomorrow, so I wanted to let you know, but since my phone was out of charge, I’d to call from Vansh’s phone.
Payal: Beta, is everything okay? Should I come there?
Riddhima: No, Ma. Vansh is here and he’s going to be here for the day. You should take some rest today so that I can come and bother you tomorrow.
Payal: Are you sure? I can come if you need? It’s a very short drive there.
Riddhima: Ma, I’m very sure. Vansh is going to be here, so please don’t worry. Acha, I’ll talk to you later, okay?
Payal: Okay, but if you need anything, I’m just a call away.
Riddhima: Ha Ma, pata hai. Abhi bye.
When Riddhima disconnected the call, Vansh looked at her and asked her to remove her hands from over his mouth. She’d covered his lips to stop him from interrupting in their call.
Vansh: Why did you lie?
Riddhima: Tumse matlab?
Vansh: I can’t stay in the hospital for the entire day. I’ve work to get back to. Plus, the hospital authorities won’t keep you here anymore. The bills are with me.
Riddhima: They don’t have to. However, (switching off his phone) you can’t get back to work today. We’ve somewhere to go.
Vansh: Where? I don’t have the…
Riddhima (interrupting): Panvel. I spent the first few years of my life there and I think, it’s time you know about me.
————
That’s it for this one, I’d love to know your thoughts. Thank you for reading and stay safe!