Hey, you all! Thank you for your support and the wonderful response in the previous update. I’m sorry this part took me a while, but here it is, and I really hope you all like it. Also, my account has gotten instant approval, so I hope the parts are uploaded sooner than before, now.
And a few of you had asked some questions in the previous update, I’ve replied to you via the comments. I hope that helps, and please let me know in case of any other questions. Anyhow, now without any further ado, here’s the next part. Happy Reading!
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LUKA CHUPPI – PART 5
Riddhima and Vansh (together): YOU?
The two of them stared at the kidnapper, disbelief coursing within him. Ishani signalled the men waiting outside to leave and settled in a chair opposite to them, slowly relaxing in the chair. She loosened the hold of the band on her hair and ran fingers through her hair. Riddhima turned toward Vansh and clenched her teeth.
Riddhima: You knew it all along, didn’t you?
Vansh: I, I…
Riddhima (continuing without listening): And you, how dare you kidnap me for some stupid plan of your brother’s?
As she continued talking, Ishani pressed her fingers on either of her cheeks and stuck the tape on her mouth, trying to shut her. When the adhesive fell on her lips, Riddhima widened her gaze and looked up at Ishani, clenching the features on her face, quizzically.
Ishani (sitting down): Yes, so now that there’s some silence. First, (lacing her fingers and stretching herself) all of this was my idea. I figured, you two needed to sit down and talk. And since you guys weren’t ready for it, I’d to do something about it.
Vansh: Really, now? By tying us to these chairs in a deserted place?
Ishani looked between the two of them, smiling cheekily, but as she turned toward Riddhima, she signalled her to remove the tape. Riddhima didn’t know how had her best-friend slowly begun betraying her. The tape muffled her voice over the distance as she tried talking further and she slowly fell back into the chair, tiredly.
Ishani: I’m going to give you two some time to talk, so I’ll be outside.
When Ishani began walking away, Riddhima banged her fist against the armrest, asking her to remove the tape. Ishani slapped her forehead briefly and removed the tape, before moving away hurriedly.
Riddhima: Stay here while we talk. (exhaling harshly) You seriously thought kidnapping us was going to be a solution. And to add to it, without knowing the fact that the two of us actually were stuck together yesterday night!
Ishani (alarmed): What?
Riddhima: Yes, and we sorted whatever the differences we had between ourselves. So, if you kindly please set us free.
Ishani: Then, why the hell are the two of you still fighting?
Vansh: We weren’t fighting. Your best-friend was just trying to flirt with me and I was asking her not to.
Riddhima: What nonsense? (turning toward Ishani) You think, I’d flirt with this brother of yours? I’ve a better taste than that, please!
Vansh (murmuring): Like, Kabir.
Riddhima: I heard you.
Vansh: Thank god!
Ishani (interrupting): Can one of you please elaborate what this is about?
Riddhima began explaining the trail of events from the previous night, explaining to Ishani how the entire circumstance was a consequence of their misunderstanding and ego. Ishani listened to her quietly, finding it difficult to believe Kabir’s possessive behaviour. As the sequence of events sprawled out, the present became more understandable for her.
Moments later,
Ishani: If everything’s sorted, then why are you leaving from here?
Riddhima: Because I don’t want (looking at Ishani quizzically) Leaving from where?
Ishani: Why do you want to leave the city you grew up in, just because of something Kabir did to you?
Riddhima (taken aback): Leaving from here? You mean, moving out? (after seeing Ishani nod her head) Are you mad? Who’s cooking up all these stories for you?
Ishani: Uh, Vansh tol… (quietening after Vansh glared at her)
Riddhima: Is this why you kidnapped me, Ishani? I guess, you know that I’m stronger than that. Or I thought so.
Ishani: I do, but I just… Sorry, I kinda just went with the flow.
She hurriedly loosened the ropes tied to her arms and set her free. Riddhima stood up and stretched herself, finding the comfort her body had been craving since the past hour. After she straightened her posture, she looked at Ishani and Vansh, and shook her head.
Riddhima: I still can’t believe the two of you thought that I’d leave this place just because of something stupid that Kabir did.
Ishani (sighing): Fine, then! Now, that everything is sorted, and you guys are on good terms, can the two of you please finish up and like get together? Like, finish whatever confessions and proposals are left.
Vansh: Yeah…
Riddhima (interrupting): I never agreed to set things right with Vansh. Just because the misunderstandings are cleared, it doesn’t mean I’m willing to be with him, forever.
Vansh: What the… (exhaling deeply) What do you want to do then? Stay single forever to be cheated by some other person?
Riddhima (walking closer to Vansh): I don’t need your damn protection, Vansh Raisinghania! My life isn’t dependent on you that you judge me for some mistake I made. I’m sorry about that, extremely sorry. But that also doesn’t clarify the things you’ve done in the past.
Vansh: I did not mean that, you know it. It was just a slip of…
Riddhima: No, I don’t know, Vansh! You can’t just come up to me saying everything you did or said in the past was a mistake. I’m sorry, but I can’t be so great to forgive you for anything and everything just because I love you!
Vansh (frustrated): Where are you heading to, Riddhima? Let’s just get this thing straight for once and all. Tell me, what have I done in the past that has hurt you so badly, that your opinion about me is so shallow?
Ishani: Guys, please! (looking at Riddhima) Just let that be. It was a figment of the past, Riddhima.
Riddhima: No, let him listen, Ishani. I never stopped you from leaving this city. You know why? Because I always thought, that I was important to you. That the families you grew up in and around were important to you, and you’d have stopped. You’d have waited for us, but you, Vansh, your world just revolves around you.
Ishani: Riddhima, please!
Riddhima: Ishani tried stopping you so many times and even Uma Aunty tried. You know why? Because they were planning to get us engaged before you left from here. But no, Vansh, you were so damn clueless about the entire ordeal, because the world faded in front of your dreams.
She paused briefly and looked at him, squarely. She felt the anger bubbling with herself, and she wanted to vent out the pent-up anger within herself.
Riddhima: You know that evening you came home with that envelope in your hand and you found Ishani and Aunty at our home? They were there because they wanted to talk about our future. But you couldn’t even wait for a day to think. You got your tickets booked and returned home just to let us know that your future was going to be outside this city, away from all of us. You were so immersed in your dreams, that you could see nothing else. Not even the number of times your own family tried to convince you to stay back. (laughing bitterly) And I? I’ve always been the biggest fool here. I f*ck*ng thought, you wouldn’t leave and you’d come back to me.
Ishani: Riddhima, please let it…
Vansh (walking toward her): I’d no clue about this.
Riddhima (stepping away): Even I didn’t. You know, there are times when I become too vulnerable and yesterday was one of those days. I tried letting go of all these bitter memories, but I just can’t, you know? Not when you talk of staying together forever, Vansh. I can’t trust you to do that, anymore.
Vansh: I’d no clue about this, Riddhima. At that time, my career…
Riddhima: See! Even now, it’s all just about you. No one has ever been in the picture of your life, Vansh.
Vansh (sighing): Okay, I know. I know, I’ve been very irresponsible in the past, but can we not set things right now? Can we not think of our engagement now?
Riddhima: You can, but keep me out of it.
As the words slipped past her lips, Riddhima began walking away, brushing away the moistness in her eyes. Why was being around Vansh beginning to become this difficult? They’d always shared an admirable bond, yet with each passing day, they continued drifting apart further.
She had never wanted to think of the past. She’d always wanted to let go of it, but it kept returning to her. She couldn’t think of committing to Vansh anymore. After all that had happened, she wasn’t ready to ruin herself in love, again.
Vansh stared at her retreating figure and banged his fist against the wall, trying to calm his nerves. Every time he thought, things were going to fall back in place with Riddhima, there’s always been another dimension that’s highlighted to drift them apart.
Ishani: What are you doing, Bhai? What’s the point in hurting yourself?
Vansh: Why didn’t you tell me about the engagement that Ma had planned?
Ishani: I tried, Bhai. I tried telling you so many times – days after you left from here, but you know how excited you’ve always been about your work and career. Ma just asked me to stop trying after a few days. She wanted you to be happy, at least. She said, time would heal everything.
Vansh: Right! Time would heal everything.
Ishani: It wasn’t her fault, Bhai. Don’t accuse her for something yo…
Vansh: I did, right? Even you think it was my fault.
Ishani: You can’t deny what the truth is…
Vansh: But I didn’t know. Riddhima’s holding me responsible for something I didn’t know of.
Ishani: We’ll figure out something. (pausing shortly) Vaise (by the way), I’ve an idea!
Vansh (disinterested): What now?
Ishani: Why don’t we recreate the past with a twist?
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That’d be it for this part. I know you guys hate me for this, but it wasn’t going to be that simple to get back together. Please let me know your views on this, and tell me what you think Ishani’s idea is. Like always, thank you for reading!