Cigarettes & Peonies

43

"Yeah yeah very funny...." Karanvir seethed. Maahi giggled beside him.
"C'mon Karanvir, you gotta admit you're a dork." vaishali jeered. Karanvir frowned.
"Absolutely not. I'm not a dork. Why would I be a dork?? I don't even know what a dork means. I'm just a handsome guy." he said cunningly. Maahi and vaishali laughed.
"Blow your own trumpets!!! Nobody thinks you're handsome. You're just average or perhaps below average." vaishali said slyly. Maahi chuckled. Ofcourse it was a big damn lie. Karanvir was anything but an average man. He was undeniably handsome and had that natural bad boy charm which pulled females to him. And how can we forget that he was a professional model for few years before he voluntarily withdrew himself from the show business. Karanvir lolled his tongue out.
"Blatant lie. You know vaishali, I can believe anything but this. I'm handsome. Not just me, my entire bloodline, from my great grandparents to my father and uncles, we all are lethally charming. If Roys are famous for anything besides for drugs, than undoubtedly it will be their charm and good looks. Even maahi thinks I am handsome. Right baby." he asked adorably. Maahi chuckled.
"Ofcourse you're handsome Karan and vaishu let's just stop squabbling over this. I was asking you if Uday called you again." maahi inquired somberly. Vaishali huffed.
"Don't ask. He's literally spammed my entire WhatsApp. Like what the hell do you want now man?? You asked me to go away from your life, I did that. Now what else you want me to do. I seriously don't wanna talk about him." vaishali said, drinking water from her bottle. Maahi looked perturbed.
"What did he say??" she asked. Karanvir was equally interested in the conversation as maahi. Three of them were sitting inside maahi's classroom as it was recess and Karanvir had excused himself from the football practice. He didn't want to waste any bit of his time in the college. He wanted to spend more and more time with maahi, which is why he had strictly ordered the teammates and the coach to keep the practice after the classes. He really even wanted to withdraw his name from the team but the tournament was just a month away and he was the captain. Player replacement is possible but skipper replacement isn't much heard of.
"Same as everytime. Please I'm sorry vaishu.... atleast talk to me please....Just pick my call for once.....I really love you.....Just don't hate me please.... Listen to me please." vaishali mimicked him in the most comical way as possible. Maahi literally couldn't believe. Why are guys so complicated??? Like weren't you the one to dump her??? What do you want now??? Maahi literally hated this side of boys. Like they won't even let you live in a relationship nor they will allow you to leave. It's more of a slavery if you ask her. Thankfully Karanvir wasn't one of those guys. And that's why she feels ok, I mean no two people are same after all. Not every man is same. While some are like Romeo, others are Ravana. The handful of which remain are more or less like Uday, sometimes they can also share similarities to Casanova. But they're never same you know.
"What the hell is his problem?? You yourself were the one to break this relationship, now why the hell are you crying like you're heartbroken. Karan, can't you just ask your brother to stay away from her. She wants to move on and he's just acting as a barrier." maahi told Karanvir sternly. Karanvir drew in a breath.
"I broke all ties with him, you were there that day baby. I am not on talking terms with him anymore." Karanvir said ruefully. A part of him really longed to get back with his brother. Although their families were always at conflict with each other yet Karanvir had always been a big brother to Uday. Uday never admitted but he too really looked up to Karanvir as a big brother he can rely on for support.
"I think he is really feeling bad about whatever he did to you. Perhaps he's just trying to make up for it. It's up to you if you want to give him a second chance or not." Karanvir spoke softly, running his fingers through maahi's soft hairs. Vaishali's face twisted in a frown.
"There are no second chances Karanvir. Blocked once, blocked forever. I don't want him. I'll find another guy, better than him atleast. If you've any good guy in your knowledge than please do tell me. " vaishali chuckled in the end. Maahi laughed. Karanvir felt bad. He wasn't advocating for Uday, not after he dumped vaishali, but he really felt that Uday really loved her and she should atleast just not see any other guy so soon. It will really kill Uday. Ofcourse he wasn't siding with Uday but as much as this is true that Uday betrayed vaishali, this is also not wrong that Uday really loved her. Were it not for his vamp mother, he wouldn't ever had left vaishali. Uday was wrong for breaking up with vaishali just because of his greedy mother but sometimes a man isn't brave enough to stand up to the people who have raised him. Atleast not guys like Uday who are typically labelled as 'Good boys'. That's the main reason why Karanvir never wanted to change himself into a good guy. You don't have to meet up with people's expectations when you're a bad guy.
"I think it will hurt Uday if you see a guy so soon." Karanvir suggested softly. Maahi looked at him in shock.
"That's exactly what I want to do Karanvir. If he can hurt me so can I. I am not one of those girls who just weep for years and take forever to get over a guy who crushed their heart under his feet. If Uday left me than I think I am at liberty to do whatever I want to and date whoever I wish to. I am not bound to him anymore and I don't even care about him. I don't care if his heart breaks or his face, I am going to be happy and enjoy my life to the fullest. No son of a bitch can hamper my joy. This is my life and Uday is no longer a part of it, never will be." vaishali declared sassily. Maahi smiled at her while Karanvir didn't react. He knew it was impossible to get her to reconsider her decision. Unlike other girls, vaishali was extraordinarily strong and high on ego all the time. She has taken this break up on her ego and no son of a gun can convince her to not see it that way. If she was upset with Uday before, she now was hating him. And Karanvir feared for Uday who was naturally a very volatile guy.