So I said I'd update on Wednesday, but my GRE went great as can be expected & I decided I'd much rather take rest of the day off to edit & post this rather than go back to working on the next deadline in to-do list. 

[Armaan]

My mother threw a spatula in my direction as soon as I entered the house through the kitchen entrance after basketball practice. "Maa!" I complained, barely catching it and then hopping from one foot to other as it falls on the ground to make sure it doesn't fall on my feet. "Did nani not teach you to not hit your children, especially on their birthday?!"

"Nani ke bache, what did you say to Khushi?" She demanded, pointing the knife in my direction, pausing from cutting the onions.

I burrowed my brows in confused. "What are you talking about?"

She informed, "She's locked herself in her room ever since she came back from school."

"What?" I grew concerned, picking up the spatula from the floor and returning it to her. "But why?" She gave me a pointed glared, causing me to defend myself. "I swear, maa. I haven't said a word to her."

"Go check on her then; she's not answering to me."

At once, I take off for the stairs to reach her room upstairs, taking two steps at a time. No matter how worse her depression has gotten over the year, she has never locked herself in her room because she knew that would worry our parents. It was the last thing she wanted. I knock on the door. 

"Doll?" I try to listen for any movement after I call her by the name only I call her by. I was met with utter silence. It was starting to worry me. I knocked again, convincing my mind that perhaps she simply hadn't heard me, or could have tried to take a nap. She wasn't much of a nap person, but given her nightmares and lack of sleep during the night, it could be quite possible.

When she still didn't answer after the fourth time is when panic really settled in. "Doll, come on. Just open the door. You're scaring me. Doll?" She was a light sleeper, so even if she had taken a nap, she should have woken up by now. There was no reason for her to not open the door anymore. Damn it, Khushi. Don't make me break open this door.

When my fifth series of knocks went unanswered, I walked into our shared bathroom to look for something to open the door. Finding a pin and some sharply pointing objects, I grabbed them all. I'd never done this before, but it couldn't be that hard.

'Khushi, last chance." I said in all nervousness but trying to sound confident and demanding. No answer. Well then. I got to work, and it's certainly not as easy as they make it look in the movies. It took a few long minutes to push the lock out and then rattle the knob enough to open the door.

At first glance in the room, I didn't find her at the obvious places: her bed or her desk. I stepped further in and she was cowering under the desk. What? I pulled the rolling chair out, revealing her shaking back and forth on her feet, legs pressed up against her chest and hugged her knees.

"Doll?" I questioned, not understanding anything at all. I reached forward, looking around wondering if there was some bug around that she was acting this scared and huddled underneath her desk.

She slapped my hand away just as it had barely brushed her elbow, "No! Get away from me! Don't – don't touch me."

Her head lifted off her knees to look at me, but her eyes seemed haunted. She wasn't really looking at me. She was telling me to get away from her, as if I were Vivek or Shyam. My jaw clenched, a different kind of hurt brewing at seeing my own sister not recognizing me, scared of me. "Khushi... hey, it's me. Armaan... it's just me." I tried to softly talk her out of it.

She blinked a couple of times as if she was looking at me talking, but nothing I was saying was clicking in her head. She almost looked convinced, but just as I forwarded my hand again, she withdrew. Her toes curled in, an attempt to continue to put distance between my hand and his entire form. "No. No. No. No." She started to repeat continuously, looking away from me.

I crawled inside the desk even though she kept muttering for me to go away in between her chanting for 'no's. Sitting next to her, I draped an arm around her and pulled her to me, even though she started to trash against my hold to get away from me. I kept my hand by her ear, patting her face as the other arm held her. "Shh, it's okay, doll. You're safe. No one is going to hurt you. I'm here. Shh, shh, relax. Breathe, doll."

As if finally hearing 'doll' again, she stopped trying to get away from me. "Armaan?"

A wave of relief washed away as she was finally returning to me. "Yes. I'm here."

"What...?" She tried to push back, clueless as to what just happened.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it. You're okay. You're safe." I continued to hug her with her head on my chest and her breathing evened out in the coming seconds. I didn't let go until I heard a steady rhythm.

"It was... I don't know. It was like I was there again in that abandoned house. I knew what was going to happen... but... but I couldn't do anything. I just froze. I just... froze."

I lean back to see her face, asking her to just forget about it... to stop torturing herself by trying to explain what happened, why she didn't recognize me, how she had just slipped back into those tragic moments that she lost her sense of reality – that she was home, safe.

After I had managed to calm her down enough to bring her out from under the desk and sit on the bed, drink some water, she explained how she had been walking home from school and since Riddhima's house came first, they parted ways and from there until coming home, she felt some guys following her. She panicked and by the time she'd gotten to her room after some quick walking, a full block panic attack had settled in whereby she lost herself to the memories. She said it was the look in their eyes that did it. Filled with lust. It was the only look she remembered from that night, with Shyam over her, forcing her.

It was illogical, but I felt myself being mad at Riddhima. It wasn't her fault, but I couldn't help what I felt.

"I shouldn't go to Australia," Khushi announced after over an hour of it and I was still sitting her, giving her the silent space to just be but still watching over her by staying in her room. Just in case. And also because I feared what I'd end up doing if I left her side. "I can't go. I can't even walk from Riddhima's house to here on my own it is only a two-minute walk in the same neighborhood."

"Doll... you can't think like that. Are you going to live the rest of your life in fear?" I tried to get her to see sense. She couldn't do this to herself with no fault of her in this.

"What's moving there going to accomplish?" She countered, "There will be guys there too. I'd just be running away from one place to another. Atleast if I stay, I'll have you."

"And you'll have Riddhima there. And no one who knows you. You can start over. You don't have to be afraid there."

"I don't know." She wasn't convinced and instead was looking more convinced on not going. 

I didn't care that the application was sent in and the process of obtaining her student visa was almost approved. I cared that she was going to completely disengage from everyone, and it wasn't healthy at all. She had already started talking to lesser and lesser people at school. Before, whenever she stepped out of the house, she'd be greeting everyone on the way in a jovial mood. 

She knew everything about everyone. She trusted everyone. She could start up a personal chat with just about any stranger, and see good in them. 

Now, those were the exact strangers she was terrified of. She didn't see good. She only saw one thing in guys. She'd stopped trusting everyone. She'd stopped being herself.

How could I not be pissed that this world stole my sister from me? That they stole her identity? That they stole the smile that was always on her face, so fitting of her name? She had never wished bad for anyone. She did not deserve this in return.

I needed something to punch.

I needed someone to blame.

===

[Three weeks later]

[Riddhima]

Another week went by. Khushi and I did talk on Monday as soon as she had returned. She wasn't super excited about getting that Visa, but she'd asked if I had gotten her message since I hadn't replied. I'd asked which one and she'd replied that she'd told Armaan to text me about everything. That's when I realized what Armaan had done. 

He hadn't texted me like Khushi had asked him to. Not wanting her to worry that something was wrong between him and I, I told her I had gotten it but I got busy studying and forgot to reply.

That ended the matter. We were back to being us. She didn't say anything about the days she was out sick, and I still don't believe that she was actually sick. Something was wrong, and Armaan was hiding it from me.

By mid-week of the third week of this silence between Armaan and me, and his continued presence around Malini, nothing made sense to me. Angad had occasionally sat with Khushi and me during lunches, but he wouldn't be saying much. I wish Muskaan was still here. She had to move away again soon after Annual celebrations as her dad was restationed.

That evening, Armaan finally came over. But, it was not of his will. He dropped the notebook I had let Khushi borrow to copy notes on my desk where I had been doing my homework. "Now don't tell Khushi I didn't give them back to you."

Having said that, he turned to leave my room. "Excuse me?" I questioned, baffled. Why did he sound mad, or insinuating I had tattled on him to Khushi? He didn't stop and walked out of the doorway. I grabbed his hand, turning him sharply. "Armaan, what the hell? If you don't want to be nice to me because your girlfriend has a problem with me, fine. But stop talking to me as if I have wronged you somehow."

He scoffed, "Malini is not my girlfriend and even if she was, I don't hate by association."

"Hate?" I repeated his word, hurt all over again. I know we have arguments and banter, but hate sounded very extreme.

He completely ignored me and went on to speak coldly. "Riddhima, let go of my hand."

His tone took me aback. He sounded pissed. But, I refused. "No, you don't get to treat me like this. You've been treating me this way for almost a month now and that ends now. Just say whatever you need to and get this over with."

"Riddhima, let-go-of my- hand before I say something I shouldn't." He warned, emphasizing on every few words to indicate he was very serious.

"Why are you being like this?"

"Like what?"

"Don't play dumb."

"Look, Khushi wanted me to return this book because you need it to study. I have. I'm going to get going now." He spoke while peeling my fingers off his arm one by one. Against his force, my tight grip was nothing. He might as well have blown me away as a twig.

Still, I stood in front of him. "Not till you tell me what's going on. Why didn't you send that message Khushi wanted you to?"

"Why didn't you tell me you met my father? My real father?" He threw a question right back.

My eyes widened at what I was hearing. How did he find out? Had Mr. Malik managed to meet him? Dad had assured me he couldn't because it was a closed adoption and Mr. Malik would never find out which family had adopted Armaan. "Wh-what? How did you...?"

"Know? Imagine what I find when I go to Tiwari Uncle's shop to find out if someone returned the gift that you bought and lost. Your watch, but also a letter. One written by my real mother to my father telling him about me."

"Did you meet him?"

He scoffed, "Really, Riddhima. After hearing this, instead of asking me how I feel, your important question is if I met him. Some friend you are. Actually, my mistake. You don't deserve to be called anyone's friend. You know, I wish you hadn't come into our life at all. My life would have been so much more peaceful. Hell, not just my life but nothing that happened to Khushi would've happened if not for you. You just ruin everything for everyone, don't you? That's all you do. You ruined her life. You want to know why I have been avoiding you? Then listen loud and clear. When I look at you, I don't see you, Riddhima. I see the Riddhima that brought those bastards into my sister's life. All that should have happened to you. You. Not my sister."

"Armaan!" I thought I would have yelled at him, but it was my mother who must have walked in on our conversation and overheard.

But he didn't listen. He kept going, "Not her. She doesn't deserve to live constantly in her nightmares. She doesn't stop talking of how much you are her best friend, but you couldn't even walk her home that day. You let her walk home by herself. You don't even know what happened that day, do you? On my birthday? She didn't recognize me! She bloody thought I was them! Because of you. I had to break through the lock just to get to her. She was so out of reality that she couldn't even remember where she was. I went down to get her dinner. I was gone for a minute. But when I returned, I found her cleaning up the mess I had made to break open the door. She was holding the razor in her hand. Just staring at it. As if she was contemplating..."

He shut his eyes, refusing to complete the statement but I had heard enough to fill in the blanks. I couldn't even blink, inhale sharply, or stumble back at the shock.

This was what he was hiding from me. This was why he was avoiding me.

His bloodshot eyes found mine again as he took one dangerous step forward and held me roughly by the shoulders. "You did that to her, Riddhima. You."

Mom pushed his grip away, standing between us. I stumbled back, unable to express anything. Just keep looking at him. Searching his eyes. Did he really think all this? Did he really blame me for everything? Did he really hate me that much? None of our arguments or the hurtful words we'd say to each other in the past matched up to what I was feeling right now.

"Leave, Armaan." My mother commanded in a low voice. She was always the kind-hearted person. But hearing her low voice was enough to send a chill down my shiver. "Out. Now."

He did leave, pushing at the door with such force that it slammed shut. My mother faced me, to console me, telling me not to listen to him, that it wasn't my fault, that he was completely wrong, that it was wrong to blame myself, but nothing she said helped.

Armaan meant a lot to me, and how could he ever think that about me? How could he think I didn't deserve to be Khushi's friend? How could be keep saying 'my sister' as if she didn't mean anything to me too? I couldn't even bring myself to cry. It hurt so much that not even a tear formed.

All his words kept echoing in my ears, but one in particular was going to haunt me.

"All that should have happened to you. Not my sister."

===

[Armaan]

Halfway to my house, all that anger seemed to dissipate in thin air and I recalled everything I just said to Riddhima. Fuck. How could I have done just that? I considered going back, but remembered how pissed off her mother looked. Padma Aunty never got full blown mad at anyone, and I had brought even that out of her.

This is why I didn't want to face Riddhima. This is why I kept avoiding her. Since I had seen that razor in Khushi's hand, and her lingered gaze over it, it had scared the life out of me. I never had a good temper, but that just crossed all limits for me. I knew that if I was in front of Riddhima, it'd all pour out on her. It was the last thing I wanted.

Finding that letter from my birth mother the next day hadn't helped at all. I had felt hurt that she knew of this, that she met him, and didn't think to tell me. No, I had no interest in meeting him ofcourse. But I still would have liked to know he was that close to me – in the same town.

But right now... after everything I just said to her... how can I ever hope to justify? There was no justifying anything. It was utterly wrong of me to say she deserved all that, not Khushi. I didn't think that, ofcourse. No one deserved that. I had been a complete ass to her. A huge part of me fears there is no recovering from this.

Instead of going home, I go next door to see Angad.

He never locks his front door. It's usually the maid who locks it after she leaves for the night. Given that it is still unlocked, I figure she was still here. I walk into his room to find another presence. Malini. At the sudden opening of the door, she gasps and pulls the straps of her dress back on her shoulders. I don't even care that I just about walked in on them.

Angad opened his mouth, but reconsidered gauging my expression when I gritted at her. "Get out."

"Armaan, I..."

I scoffed at her attempt to explain, as if I cared. "I don't give a damn, Malini. Leave." It's not like I ever felt anything for her. The past 3 weeks, I had only been around her because I knew that as long as she was around, Riddhima would keep her distance. Malini never liked her and it was working in my favor this time of keeping Riddhima at arm's length.

Flushed, she grabbed her things and left with her head ducked.

Angad put his shirt back on. Thank God they were just getting started. "What'd you do?" He questioned right away, seeing through my anger.

"Hit me." I ask, walking further in the room after closing the door.

He squinted, "Beg your pardon?"

"Just do it. I'm giving you a free pass."

He contemplated for a second, before shrugging his shoulders. "With pleasure." Then, with unexpected force, he punched my gut.

I bend over as it seriously hurt like a bitch. But, I felt it was well deserved. Still, I mutter. "I said hit me, not end my pathetic life." I wince as I stand up.

"Take it like a man." He snapped with rolling his eyes. "Now, what did you do?"

And so, I fessed up everything that happened at Riddhima's house. As soon as I was done, I was punched in my side again. This one was surely going to leave a bruise. "Khanna!"

He glared at me, something I have barely seen him do. "Don't you 'Khanna' me. You were just asking for that one. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! You don't treat people you love like shit!"

"That's it though," I grumbled, "I wasn't thinking. I was mad. I was just... mad."

"And that's your excuse?" He didn't sympathize. Like a best friend, he showed me the mirror and continued to yell at me, "Armaan, need I remind you that you didn't want Riddhima to know what happened with Khushi 3 weeks ago? You made me promise not to tell her because you know how much it would hurt her. Then what did you go and do? You may be my best friend, but she's started to feel like a sister to me and I'm never forgiving you for this. You're supposed to be better than this, man!"

"I know."

"She's never going to talk to you again."

"I wouldn't blame her."

He sighed, stopping his assaults on me. He paced back and forth. The guy who hates pacing was pacing. I've officially, royally, screwed up. "Okay, get up. We're going to go over there and you are going to fix this right this instant."

"I can't. Her mom isn't going to let me anywhere near her again."

"Then you apologize to her first." He said as if it was obvious. "Face it, Armaan. You care about Riddhima too much to let this be right now. If someone had said all that to me, I'd have cut them out of my life permanently... but seeing that this is Riddhima... maybe she'll..."

"I doubt." I mutter. Riddhima may be extremely benevolent and utterly forgiving, but within a half hour of me spewing horrid things her way, there was no way this will turn in my favor. I'm not so sure I'm deserving of that anyway.

He snapped in irritation, "So what, you're not even going to bother trying?"

I stood up, deciding to face this. It was my doing. I had to be the one to clean it up. I couldn't expect someone else to do it for me. "Let's go."

===

Padma didn't let Armaan talk to her that night. Riddhima took sleeping pills to sleep that night. And the days after were their finals. Armaan was giving his finals in a different room number. Taking Armaan's words too literally, as could have been expected, Riddhima pulled away from them. She did talk to Khushi, but only when she came over to her house. She didn't go over to theirs. She made sure to stay away from Armaan the ten days when their finals went by.

During those ten days, Riddhima received her acceptance letter to University of Melbourne as well as approved student visa. She just had to file the papers and as soon as exams ended, she went with her father to Mumbai to get the paperwork sorted. After that, she spent the summer at her grandmother's house in Delhi.

She did return to Shimla to see her parents again and spend a week with them before her flight to Australia with Khushi. And that was the night in months that she again came across Armaan. The night she remembered their last conversation was the night he had said horrible things to her. She had pushed it all out of her system, but she couldn't push the hurt away. Then there was this night... when he went and kissed her, as if pouring everything he wanted to say in that one kiss, as if that one kiss would wash away all the foul words and take away all the hurt and mend her broken heart.

If only things worked that way.

She left, thinking this to be their end. The only thing that ended was her childhood crush. Her story, their story was yet to be written; for little did she know, a kiss is what starts a story... for this wasn't a Disney fairytale movie where a kiss marks the 'happily ever after' end.

===

Acknowledgement:

In case you are confused, yes. Things do happen between the last chapter (25. biological parents) and this Conclusion- which you shall read of in the next book. It was only fitting that I wrap up where it started: their kiss & show just what happened before the Introduction that had Riddhima not talk to Armaan for the longest months and why Armaan needed to earn back her friendship above all else. 

Suprised? Hate Armaan? Sympathize with him? Think Riddhima was right by pulling back? Let me know in your comments!

I'm sorry if this altercation puts you in a sad mood! As you know from the previous chapter, there is a 2.5-year leap. Take it as a precursor to look forward to all the amazing things that are on their way for the next book as their pieces of the story all fit together :)

In my final words, a huge thank you to each and every one of you for your support through this book - be it with your regular comments, votes, or even just silent reads. Every single one counts & has made MCC even more special story for me to share. I look forward to even more for the sequel! <3 <3 <3

I will soon share the date on when I plan to start the sequel. Stay tuned!

Signing out with much love,

-Khushi.