Cigarettes & Peonies

44

"Maahi see I play better football than bhaiya...." yapped kavyansh excitedly as he waved at her from across the lawn. Maahi chuckled as she showed him a thumbs up. The latter giggled adorably. Karanvir laughed as he let his little brother score a goal. Karanvir was a champion in football. Indeed he was popular, indeed he was rich and he wouldn't deny that his position as a skipper of the football team in his college was largely because of his immense popularity among the youth. But, if truth be told, he was a star player and his skipper position was in all respects justified. He deserved to be a football team captain because he played that way. Karanvir wanted to play in the national football team when he was a little boy but growing up he realised that India doesn't plays FIFA or any other big football league. And he wasn't interested in cricket at all, so he didn't think any better of the latter profession.
"Your coffee maahi." came a smooth, soft voice from behind her. Maahi looked back and found Mrs. Roy standing there with two mugs of coffee in her hands. She was smiling down at her. Maahi gasped loudly.
"Please aunty, you don't have to do this please. I really don't want you to take any trouble." maahi told her embarassed. She smiled gracefully as she placed a hot coffee mug in maahi's hand. No, her hand didn't burn in case you're wondering.
"There's no trouble at all my dear. Vir and his father are coffee lovers and I have to keep it ready all the time for them both." she said to her softly. Maahi smiled weakly.
"I'm sorry Karan just brought me here unannounced....."
"Please don't be sorry. It's so good to have you here with us. Kavi is so fond of you and the other day vir's father was literally appreciating how polite and educated you are. And vir is already just head over heels in love with you. You complete our family, you just don't know it yet." said Mrs. Roy like a mother. Maahi smiled softly. She still was a bit uncomfortable talking about karanvir's affection for her. Like yes, she no longer sees him as an evil guy but he still was a bad boy. Nothing can change that fact. And honestly, she never wanted to be with a bad boy, still doesn't. She reflected on how Karanvir just barged into her house, today's morning, and asked her to come with him. She obeyed because there wasn't much choice available. And he deposited her here, in his big ass mansion. Karanvir was filthy rich. I mean he was from a family of dope sellers. She sometimes wondered, if the people who sell drugs have so much money than how much money must the dope makers posses. They must've like you know underground pools that we see in films. Drug making and hustling is illegal in every corner of the world, than from where the hell all this drug is coming from. Her innocent brain might not come to terms with the fact that thousands of things are unlawful in the eyes of law, but here's the thing, the law is only for people without power. Once you've power, you've the law in your pockets. You're the law when you're powerful.
"Do you like our home??" asked Mrs. Roy suddenly. Maahi gasped.
"It's a mansion firstly and secondly, nobody can say that they don't like this house. This is just stunning." she told her. Mrs. Roy laughed.
"Thank you dear. You're really sweet. I now realise why my son is crazy after you. You're a perfect girl a man can ask for." she said with a smile. Maahi smiled. Maybe she was a perfect girl for him but he certainly wasn't her perfect guy. He was a flawed creature from every case if you ask maahi.
"I know what you're thinking. You think that he's just not the guy for you. Not your fault. No girl wants a dope seller as her husband. No girl wants to be with a guy that kills for fun." she told her. Maahi looked up at her innocently. Mrs. Roy looked at her sons playing together in the huge lawn of their mansion while her husband was busy reading his newspaper.
"Karanvir had an elder brother." she started. Maahi looked at her curiously. Never had Karanvir mentioned about his presumably deceased elder brother.
"He was our first child. He was 5 year vir's senior. He was vir's world. The two of them were inseparable. Vir was always a naughty kid but his elder brother, Krish, was rather reserved and shy. He never opened up to anyone, not even once. One day, when vir was 8, he came home and straight went to his brother's room, as was his routine, but that day he found the door locked. We had break the door to enter. But I wish we had never entered. We saw him hanging from the ceiling fan, his eyes bulging out and tongue out. For an 8 year old boy, it was not hard to realise that his big brother had died and that too by committing suicide. We found no note but a secret diary in his cupboard which he never allowed anyone to touch. From the diary we discovered that he was being bullied at school. For a 13 year old boy, he was a bit short and had a little girlish features which we always found pretty. Perhaps the regular bullying from his classmates broke him so much that he decided to take his own life. The kids were never punished by law, because they were kids. But I lost my son and my vir lost his only support." she stopped to wipe her tears as maahi listened to her tearfully.
"That day vir decided that if you've to survive, you've to be bad. Krish was a good boy, and he suffered for his goodness. Vir turned into a bad boy and let everybody else suffer. He didn't even spare the kids who took his brother's life. He made sure to make their lives hell at school. They had to leave the valley before Karanvir could kill them. My vir never wanted to be bad, but sadly he didn't had no choice. He saw his brother suffer, just because he was good. He just have so much anger for everybody. Whenever he sees a kid getting bullied, he just jumps in and saves him. In a way he just tries to protect his own brother. His big brother who he could never save." she told her, tears in her eyes. Maahi hugged her tightly. Perhaps now she understood why Karanvir was like this. Why bullying was never observed in her college. He always told her that nobody wants to be bad on their own, sometimes the world around forces him to be bad. She really pitied him. Really really pitied him.

In his cheap house, Uday was standing before his evil mother.
"Mom....I-I have decided to marry vaishali." he stuttered. His vamp mother widened her rasgulla-big eyes at him. Uday's father was cowering into the door already.
"Didn't I already tell you that no one is going to take that witch's name in this house?? Have you gone deaf." she yelled at him. Uday's palms were sweating. He was not a naturally brave man. He has learned submissiveness from his coward father who he'd always seen bowing down to his mother. But Karanvir had already tutored him. Now, Karanvir was always a very sensitive guy when it came to family. Because he had lost his brother at such a tender age, he just couldn't afford to lose any other family member of his, may it be Uday. Karanvir never lied to maahi, though he reserved certain things for better occasions. Uday had begged Karanvir to help him as he truly loved vaishali and was ready to die than stay away from her. Fearing that he might lose him like his elder brother, Karanvir taught him how to stand up to his evil mother. Right now, Uday's diffident eyes were firm.
"No...... I'll only marry her. I will not leave her. I've promised her that we'll be together forever. I can't let go off her hand." said he firmly. His mother's eyes were kindling.
"How dare you talk to mom like this." shouted his evil sister. Uday glared down at her. A new sense of energy and power was filling him.
"Shut up and lower down your voice. I'm your elder brother. You can't raise your voice on me." Uday shouted back. The girl was stunned. From where was he getting all this confidence.
"If you won't leave her then you'll have to leave my house." his mother played her cards. Uday was still firm.
"I will leave this instant and shift permanently to Karanvir bhaiya's house. I don't want to live here anymore." told Uday hatefully. His mother was taken aback. However, she did had her final card to be shown.
"I'll set myself on fire if you won't leave her." she threatened, just like the last time. Sweat beads kissed Uday's forehead as he stared hard at his evil mother. His mother was certain that coward son of hers would never jeopardize her life for a girl. But, until now Karanvir hadn't tutored him so she might prove herself wrong.
"Do what you want...... I'll go back to the girl I love." he declared, mustering up all his courage. His mother's mouth was hanging. Did she hear him right?? Like, how was this possible. This worked last time than why the hell wasn't this working now. Did she needed to change the tone of her voice?? Was her makeup not okay?? All she knew, however, was that that her son had started to walk out of her house. Her only son. The only asset she had. She needed to stop him.
"Uday.....Uday don't go please....Uday." she ran after him. Vile as she was, she still was a mother. All she wanted was some extra money, she had bore a son after all. But apparently, in 21st century, it's not an achievement if you give birth to a son as it was before. Uday stopped in his tracks and turned to her. Karanvir guaranteed that it will work and it did work.
"If you want me to not leave this house than you need to come with me tomorrow to vaishali's home and apologize to her for everything. You'll ask for her hand in marriage for me, do you understand??" Uday's tone was serious. His mother gulped and nodded timidly. Inwardly, Uday was thanking Karanvir.

In the night Karanvir came to drop maahi home. He helped her alight as she was a little sleepy.
"Good night baby girl. I'll see you tomorrow in college." he whispered kissing her cheeks. She looked at him and could only imagine how much pain this guy was holding inside him. She didn't mention about his elder brother as she didn't want to sadden him. She simply nodded.
"Oh it's you....I was literally thinking how is a crocodile standing on his hind legs." jeered Mr. Khandewal as he came out of his house to recieve his precious daughter. Maahi looked at his father nervously.
"Ha ha ha, very funny." Karanvir said tiredly. Mr. Khandewal chuckled.
"Aww, your clown face is more funnier than my joke." said Mr. Khandewal. Maahi gasped loudly as Karanvir seethed.
"I don't have face of a clown but a Greek God." Karanvir said proudly. Mr. Khandewal burst out into laughter.
"Must be why nobody worships them anymore." and Mr. Khandewal wouldn't stop laughing. Karanvir was sullen.
"Karan.... I'll see you tomorrow. Good night and drive safely." maahi said quickly, just to avoid the fight. Karanvir smiled at her sweetly, prodding her cute little nose with his finger.
"Bye baby." he said. He did pass a glare at Mr. Khandelwal before turning towards maahi. He smiled at her and climbed behind the wheel.
"I forgot to mention that you have a voice of a crow." Mr. Khandewal laughed. Karanvir looked at him grumpily.
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