Cigarettes & Peonies

38

The doorbell rang crazily inside the house. Maahi tiredly marched off to the door and pulled it open.
"Good morning baby girl." came an extra sweet, honey coated, voice of none other than her worst nightmare. Karanvir Roy, in case you 'forgot'. He stood there beaming on the door. She also didn't fail to notice a bouquet of fresh Peonies he was bearing in his veined hands. She was ready to shriek out loudly, and would've done that if her father hadn't arrived on time.
"What are you doing on my door??" her father asked curtly. Karanvir cursed him under his breath. Can't a man talk to her baby girl in peace?? Is that a big thing to ask?? He mentally pummeled his face for being blatantly obtrusive.
"I'm hammering a nail into it. Like what the hell do you think I am doing.... I'm talking to the girl I love and you Sir are interjecting unnecessarily." he fumed. His handsome face contorted into a frown. Mr. Khandewal glared over him.
"You are not allowed in my house." the man of the house declared fiercely. Karanvir rolled his eyes.
"This is my house as well." he told him flatly. Mr. Khandewal was perturbed. Maahi, on the other hand, was quietly standing alongside her father.
"Care to explain how??" asked Mr. Khandewal drily. The creep grinned widely.
"Well, you see Mr. Khandewal. I love maahi and soon we're gonna get married. Then I'll be your son-in-law and only one at that which straight implies that I will be a member of this family. And, you are technically not permitting your own family member inside your house. Which means that you are forcefully restraining a man from entering in his own house. And this calls for police..... you're a lawbreaker. No no no.....7 years jail without parole. You're in a mess already Mr. Khandewal. I-I never expected this from you. You were supposed to be a good, law abiding citizen. Oh, how much you disappointed me." Karanvir was already inside the house at the end of his speech. Mr. Khandewal was, for a moment, speechless. But later, thankfully, he realised that this guy was making a flat fool out of him. And he has even managed to enter inside his house without permission. Maahi's father was irate.
"Has somebody ever tried to tell you that you're a bastard." Mr. Khandewal asked him angrily. Karanvir chuckled.
"Who hasn't father-in-law. But guess what, your son-in-law has got a tough skin. No amount of criticism works on me. Am I not awesome??" he said proudly. Mr. Khandewal really had the urge to knock his head off but this guy was a bull. You can't fight off a bull even if you want to.
"You don't have to tell me, I already know you're as shameless as hoes in a red light area." Mr. Khandewal said bluntly. Karanvir's eyes widened.
"At least not in front of her. Don't corrupt my baby girl I am warning you." Karanvir admonished. Mr. Khandewal looked at him blankly.
"She's my daughter you idiot. I care for her more than anybody possibly can. And you, Mr. Roy can leave." Mr. Khandewal said. Karanvir smirked.
"Father-in-law. I thought you would have guessed it by now that Karanvir listens to no one. I do what I have to do and right now I want to drive your daughter to our college. Also, I will kindly drop her back home in the evening. Am I clear??" said Karanvir. Mr. Khandewal was resolute.
"Do you really have a mind of a pig or are you just pretending that you're stupid??? Hasn't my daughter already told you that she's not interested in you?? Can't you understand this tiny thing or I get it.... your male ego is hurt I believe."
"Cut the crap father-in-law. I love her faithfully and it has nothing to do with my male ego. Her rejection hurts me but I don't take rejections from anybody, especially from the woman I am so crazy in love with. It's not ego it's mad love. And I know she'll be happy with me. I may be a bad boy but I know how to love. Trust me, bad people are the best when it comes to caring for the people they love because unlike the good people, they'll fucking burn down this entire world just to protect their love. And it's so sad that you and your daughter judge me on the basis of what others opine of me, instead of giving me a chance to prove that I also deserve to love and....to be loved." he paused as he looked at maahi's nervous figure.
"Sometimes being bad isn't a matter of choice but necessity. And surely the world will never understand that." he stopped and said no further about that. Maahi peeked at him through her long black eyelashes. Mr. Khandewal was really at a loss of words.
"But.....Um..... I'm letting you take my daughter to college." said Mr. Khandewal when nothing else came into his mind. Karanvir glanced over him tiredly.
"Are we really having that conversation again..... like what do you want me to do, pull out my gun again. God!!! Why don't people appreciate this good side of me?? Why do someone or the other has to compel me to be a bad guy everytime??? I am sick of it now." Karanvir muttered disgruntled. Maahi gasped loudly at the mention of the gun. Suddenly the events of last night flashed before her eyes. There was no way out there that she wanted that to happen again with her and her family. Last night he only threatened with a gun in his hand, this time he won't hesitate before pulling the trigger on her family. She knew she had to interject before he actually pulls out his gun and aims it at her father.
"You can't possibly....."
"Papa please.... I'll go with him. Please, I don't want that drama again please." she whispered. Mr. Khandewal looked down at her in shock.
"But dear...."
"Papa please. You know he's dangerous. I-I promise I'll be fine...." she lied. Even her father knew she wouldn't be fine with him. But, he somehow also knew that he can trust Karanvir to not hurt her in any way, especially physically. Heavy heartedly he nodded in assent.
"Shall we leave baby. I don't want you reaching late to your classroom." Karanvir smirked. Maahi didn't dare look up at him. Mr. Khandewal looked chagrined.
"Stop with those names you fool." he warned but he warned a wrong man. There was no way you could threaten the creep Karanvir into doing anything he doesn't want to.

Maahi sat with vaishali inside her classroom during the lunch. Karanvir had sent her a whole lot of food which mostly vaishali was eating, because he certainly would get pissed off is maahi won't touch this food.
"What the hell?? So he's now threatning your family. God!!! I so wanna kill him." vaishali said angrily. Maahi sighed deeply.
"I just want him to leave me alone. You know what, the entire college thinks that I am his girlfriend. My classmates don't talk to me. Boys just run off when I enter. This is so humiliating. Even my teachers now treat me like I'm not a student but a customer who they have to please anyhow. He keeps on sending me gifts. Chocolates, flowers, jewellery and I don't know what....I don't even open them. I'm so tired of him." maahi told her with tears in her eyes. Vaishali tried consoling her.
"Honestly maahi, I am so helpless right now. The problem is, this entire valley belongs to Roys. No one here, including the policemen and the judge, wants to upset them. They are monsters you know. They have connections with that feared Italian drug lord. I even heard that he sometimes visit them. He was there during karanvir's D&G show in Milan. I saw the viral clip of Karanvir hugging him after the show. Man!!! I'm really scared for you." vaishali told her softly. Maahi looked at her phone's screen and saw his message floating on the display. She ignored it like everytime.
"What if I leave the town and go somewhere else??" maahi suggested. Vaishali sighed.
"Won't help sweetheart. He'll find you anywhere. These dope sellers have elaborate and strong network. He'll track you down in no time. He's gonna get pissed off, that's all gonna happen. Chances of escaping him are zero baby." she told her, popping a french fry into her mouth. Maahi was scared.
"Then what should I do??" she asked in fear. Vaishali looked at her sadly.
"Pray that he leaves you alone. That's all we can do right now." she said. Maahi pouted.

In the night, maahi was home with her brothers. Her parents were out for a nice evening walk. Maahi asked her father to pick her up after college because she didn't wanted to go with Karanvir. Thankfully Karanvir didn't get the news or else he wouldn't have let her go. But he did find out when she was already gone. What transpired after that in the college, she had no idea. No that she cared. However, she was constantly ignoring his calls and messages. She was making sure to give him every bit of a hint that she's not interested and she'll never want him. Although she knew her efforts will go in vain, yet she kept trying just to keep him away. So, currently she was in her room doing her homework. Suddenly her phone rang. And you can already guess that it was Karanvir the creep. Maahi huffed as she decided to answer the call this time.
"Hello."
"DIDN'T I ALREADY TELL YOU THAT YOU WON'T EVER IGNORE MY CALLS?? THAN WHY THE HELL WERE YOU NOT ANSWERING ME??" he shouted on the phone. Maahi quivered. However, she mustered up the courage to talk to me.
"No matter how many times you tell me, I'll still ignore you and your calls because I don't like you at all. So just stop bothering me." she yelled at him.
"Take back your words baby girl before I get pissed off." threatened Karanvir. Maahi, however, had decided against it.
"No never. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. Just go away from my life you man like boy..." she told him insolently. There was a moment of pause on the phone. Maahi was seriously quivering. Like she might sound brave but from inside she was scared as hell. When Karanvir didn't speak for more than two minutes, she thought that he might've got off the phone or perhaps there was some network problem, but either ways she felt she should just hung up the call. She would've done it if he hadn't spoken in the first place.
"Baby doll, too bad.....you've madden me already. Good luck. Love you." he hissed eerily. Fear creeped inside her body as she heard the sound of hanging up on the phone. What was he planning to do?? She could only wonder.

An hour later, she was piling up her books deftly on her study table when suddenly she felt a presence around her. At first there came a distinct manly smell which was kinda familiar to her. The same smell which emanates from the creep Karanvir. Later, she sensed a full presence of someone behind her. Before she could turn around, a warm cloth was pressed against her nose and mouth. An intoxicating smell exuded from the cloth which travelled up inside her nose and was making her head feel heavy. Barely she had energy to struggle as her vision was already growing blurry.
"Breathe baby. Just breathe." a husky voice arose from behind her and too close. She knew she had heard that voice before but due to all this dizziness she couldn't recognise fully whose voice was it. Before long, she passed out in two heavy, muscular arms. For a brief time, before she fell fully unconscious, she was that much in her senses that she could smell the distinct smell of Karanvir as she was pressed into a rock hard, though warm, chest. A kiss was planted on her lips before she became unconscious.
"Look what you made me do baby doll." whispered he, watching her sleep peacefully in his warm arms.
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