Destiny's Play!!

Chapter - 56

Uday had pondered over how to clear the air with Riddhima all day long after his talk with his brother in the morning. He had been lucky to get out of his brother's anger as easily as he had and he knew if he didn't do the right thing Karan would hang him upside down a tree and leave him there till he came to his senses. He had done it before he could certainly do it again. But that was not the case Uday himself knew he had messed up and it was about time he fixed things before someone seriously got hurt. And so he had decided to pay Riddhima a visit towards the evening.

All the way to her house he had rehearsed what he was going to say to her but when he had parked his jeep outside on the road and walked up the driveway he had seen Riddhima sitting with someone in the front lawn of her house. Bad timing he had thought to himself and then almost turned around when he had heard the distinct soft voice of Avni. He had been surprised. So the girl had beaten him here. He had smiled. She was a sweetheart. For sure she was here to untangle the threads. It was then that he had seen Riddhima stand up and move a little away from the table. He had wondered if they were having a fight of some kind and he had inched closer to listen to what she had to say about her reasons for not trusting him. And he had been angry. Just because one man had been a jerk did not mean all men were jerks. He did understand at some level that Riddhima's own experience and then her mother teaching her to distrust men with easygoing nature had played a vital role in her dislike for him or pretended dislike or whatever it was he had still felt insulted. And he had been unhappy about it. The girl needed to learn a few new things and with that decision made he announced his presence.

"And you think I am that man?" he said loudly.

He was offended. Was she so warped in her thinking that she didn't see the man he was.

"What are you doing here?" Riddhima asked trying to get her act together. To see him suddenly here she was a bit shaken not to mention he had probably heard every word she had said. Damn. Not many knew she was an adopted child or that her mother was Dr. Gujral's second wife. Not even Manya was aware of it and now both Avni and Uday knew. It wasn't a big secret but Riddhima had always kept it to herself. She liked to think she was her father's daughter and she had no link with the man who had been responsible for her birth.

"I had come to clarify a few things only to find you think so low of me that I am practically insulted," he said as his anger rose. He rarely displayed this side of his nature but when he did he was so much like Karan.

"I am not liable to answer you," Riddhima said shakily.

"Yes you are," Uday said firmly, "I am sorry for trying to mislead you into thinking I was interested in Avni even though the idea never sat well with me. As far as I know it was an honest attempt to try to get to know if you had any liking for me but you know what," he said angrily, "Avni was wrong. It is not that you don't like me it is you don't trust me, not even as a friend," he said hurt very much evident in his voice and Riddhima felt guilty, "what that man did or is or was I have no clue and I am sorry it hurt your mother and it hurt you but to compare me to someone like him," he said and paused, "I have no idea what you mean when you say words like responsible and sincere because as far as I am concerned I am both. I never once crossed my line with you or any other girl, I have the highest regard and respect for your species, I have always been sincere in my feelings for you Riddhima," he said and she looked shocked, "not once since the day I was sure of my how I felt for you did I even look at another girl. How much more sincerity are you expecting? I love you," he said angrily, "so much so I was willing to go to any lengths just to make you feel a little that way for me. Is that being insincere?" he asked and Riddhima sucked her breath in. "I was ready to wait till you finished your studies, till you could see a bit more of life, till you were ready to settle down only if you would say the word. You think that is being insincere? Yes, I am easygoing, I like to laugh and joke, I love to make people smile with my antics and just because of that I become someone like the man you were telling Avni about? The atmosphere in my house is stifling sometimes, so what if I try and make light of it. That makes me irresponsible. How? I run my own business, I earn well, I have more ideas for the future I want to implement how does that make me reckless?" he asked her.

Riddhima didn't know what to say. She was at a loss for words. She had never seen him this serious before. How was she to know that beneath the veneer of all that carefree attitude was a very emotional and serious man. Looks can be so deceiving, something she had read a long time ago made more sense now than ever.

"It isn't your fault Riddhima," he went on as he raked a frustrated hand through his hair, "it is mine. I judged you wrong. Bhai is right, love should be given freely and not forced. And I am sorry if I upset you it wasn't my intention," he said tiredly, "I hope you will forgive me and not break your relationship with Manya, as for me you needn't worry anymore I will be as cordial as I should be to my sister's friend," he said and she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out, "I don't know if you believe me but if you could just trust me this once I will prove it to you," he said and turned towards Avni who was standing behind him stunned at what had just happened. He smiled sadly at her.

"Let's go Avni," he said, "I think you will need a ride home," he told her then holding her arm he pulled her gently behind him then paused and turned to look at Riddhima who hadn't moved from her place standing like a statue, "I promise your secret will stay with me," he said with a reassuring smile, "I guess Manya is clueless about it," he said then waving at her left with Avni.

What had she done? She put her hands to her mouth as the enormity of the scene settled in. He loved her. How could she have doubted that? The emotion she had heard in his voice had been honest. It couldn't be doubted. Everything he had just said rang true in her ears. How could she judge two people the same way? It was so wrong. And yet she had. Urged by the jealousy she had felt, dogged by her insecurities, in the war between her head and heart she had lost the battle. 'I judged you wrong' his words echoed in her head making her mind numb. No two people were ever the same wasn't that what her mother had taught her. Then why had she let herself lose out on a possibility of having a great guy for life. She could have tested him and seen for herself if he was same as her biological father or someone much stronger than him. How could she have misjudged him so? She knew how Karan and Manya were then she should have given him an opportunity to prove himself to her. Maybe that would have been a better option. For three years Uday had been trying to get her attention, trying to woo her and she had always given him cold shoulder. And now when she could find the clarity in her thoughts and have a better grip on things he had walked away telling her he would respect her wishes and behave cordially. Did he say he would be 'cordial' with her? She shook her head to clear it and then got angry as she fisted her hands on her hips.

How dare he? For three years he had practically smothered her with his brand of charm, agreed she hadn't given in, but it did not mean he could stop chasing her now. He loved her he had said then how come he gave up on her so soon. She will make him apologize for that if that was the last thing she did. And with that she turned and marched back inside.

As fate smiled and jealousy grinned it seemed Riddhima was finally on the right track. This time round she was going to be the chaser and Uday the poor victim.

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