"Good morning maahi." maahi stopped dead in her tracks and looked up. She gasped at the sight of beaming Karanvir standing down, next to the stairwell. Quickly she climbed down the flight of stairs and reached him.
"I thought you'd left last night. What are you doing so early in my house??" asked maahi flummoxed. Karanvir grinned.
"Well I did stay in your house last night. Your mother let me stay for the night, she said it was a small token of gratitude from her for taking care of her daughter while she was away." he said to her sheepishly. Maahi's brows came together.
"But you look so fresh already and you weren't wearing these clothes last night, I am sure about that." she said innocently. He chuckled.
"Well I do keep a spare set of clothes at the house across yours, I think I already told you that they are my relatives....I guess they are pretty plain clothes but I'll work with them." he said with a smile. She smiled shortly. Soon her father was inside the tiny hall.
"Good morning my little girl and.... what are you doing here Mr. Roy?? I thought you must've left by now. Planning to stay for breakfast??" asked Mr. Khandelwal insolently. Karanvir rolled his eyes.
"Good morning Mr. Khandewal and yes, Mrs. Khandewal has asked me to stay back for breakfast." said he slyly. Mr. Khandewal grumbled.
"Yeah Yeah whatever. Maahi dear, c'mon quickly have your breakfast, i don't want you running late for college." said Mr. Khandewal hastily. Maahi nodded and started running off to the dining room.
"Um, I can drop the four of us to the college." offered Karanvir courtly. Mr. Khandewal showed him a simper.
"I'm not leaving my precious girl with three mules. You go your way and my daughter goes her way. Ok." hissed Mr. Khandewal and left for his room. Karanvir cursed after him under his breath.
"Your daughter will go my way and with me and you won't be able to do anything, Father-in-law!!!" seethed Karanvir as he made his way to the dining room. Maahi and her brothers were already eating when Karanvir walked into the small, comfy room.
"Good morning sir...." the twins yelled in unison. Maahi kept her focus on her food.
"Karanvir.... come in please. Luv, lay a plate for Karanvir." Mrs. Khandewal arrived with a plate loaded with warm, straight out of the pan, paneer paranthas and karanvir's stomach was already grumbling. Luv dexterously laid a plate for him. On his plate were two steaming hot paranthas, mixed pickle, curd, onion drenched in vinegar as a salad, and a cup of tea next to the plate. What else do you need in life man!!! Karanvir sat opposite to maahi, his eyes locked on her cute face.
"If you need anything else then please don't hesitate to ask, ok." said Mrs. Khandewal politely. Karanvir looked up at her with a smile and somehow he saw his own mother standing before him. He politely nodded and she retired back to the kitchen.
"Maahi why aren't you eating pickle??" asked kush with a mouthful. Karanvir quietly heard him, too invested in eating.
"Ew!! I don't like pickles...." she said, swirling her spoon in the curd. Karanvir smiled inwardly knowing he too doesn't like pickles. How similar they both were!!! He wondered.
"Maahi are you done honey??" her father's voice boomed inside the room. Maahi quickly stuffed the rest of her parantha in her mouth and stood up. Karanvir frowned.
"I'm coming papa....." shouted maahi and dashed outside. Karanvir huffed.
"Why's your father always in such a hurry??" asked Karanvir irritated. The twins wolfed down their food and said.
"No idea!!!" and they went back to eating. Karanvir looked at them tiredly.

Maahi sat in her classroom. She was listening to the lecture of her vertebrates professor. Suddenly, in walks Karanvir Roy.
"I'm coming in." said he haughtily as he walked in through the door. The girls giggled.
"Yes I can see." professor sulked. Karanvir's eyes searched for maahi. There she was, sitting alone in the corner row first seat, and avoiding making eye contact with him. He smirked.
"What do you want??" asked professor insolently. Karanvir looked at maahi.
"Maahi." everybody gasped loudly, so did maahi as she looked up at him in incredulity.
"I want maahi to come with me to the auditorium so I can discuss with her some really important stuff." explained Karanvir. Relief washed over maahi and the entire class.
"Oh there you are Karanvir......I was looking for you in the entire uni!!!" a sultry voice came through the door. Now behind stood Sherlyn Dasgupta, the hottest girl of the university, well at least she thinks she is and you too if silicon implants and fillers are your typical beauty standard. Karanvir cringed as her heavy perfume raided into his nose.
"Why were looking for me ma'am?? What have I done to you anyway??" asked Karanvir uninterested. She chuckled and wrapped her arm around his. Karanvir watched her bemused.
"O Vir, you're so sweet aren't you!!!" she said provocatively, her fingers scaling up to the buttons of his shirt. The professor coughed awkwardly while maahi watched the two naively. Karanvir huffed before wrenching his arm off of hers.
"You need to count 10 steps and stay exactly that distance away from me." said he rudely. Sherlyn's eyes flared with anger but she did a good deal in not showing that to anyone.
"Whatever. So everybody, you are aware that our university is organising an annual day and all of you are eligible to take part. Me and Vir are organising a drama and we need participants for it. So who's interested??"
"Wait a minute!!! I'm not organising anything with you. You need to shut the fuck up. Stop spreading lies...."
"Wow drama.....I want to take part." maahi said excitedly. Karanvir gasped.
"Yeah yeah....who the hell says I'm not organising it.... I'm doing it. Yes." Karanvir covered up. But then maahi's face dropped.
"Oh no, I can't. My exams are approaching." she said sadly. Karanvir stopped short. Sherlyn was watching Karanvir intently.
"Well um I remembered now.....I have other things to do so I can't help you in setting up everything sherlyn. You need to do this by yourself." Karanvir said and grinned. Sherlyn wanted to murder him for good.

At lunch, maahi and vaishali were sitting inside the canteen.
"You know what maahi, I think this Karanvir seems interested in you." vaishali said to maahi. Maahi choked on her food.
"Are you mad?? That's not true. Look at him, he's the college's most popular boy and I am nothing....he even treats sherlyn like shit." maahi refuted her allegation. Vaishali looked at her tiredly.
"Why do you think so low about yourself maahi?? And there's no rule that a popular guy falls only for popular girls.....he knows what kind of girls are those and no matter how evil a man is, he would never fall for a vile woman." vaishali told her softly. Maahi looked at her as if she'd grown horns.
"You're thinking too much these days vaishu. Karanvir is a creep, nothing more. He is not interested in me in any way, stop thinking like that." maahi said to her flatly. Vaishali looked at her for a minute and sighed deeply.
"Perhaps." and she spoke no more on that.
"Hey girls!!" karanvir's voice appeared from behind. Maahi gasped as she saw him standing next to them.
"Hey dork." said vaishali cruelly. Karanvir frowned.
"My name's Karanvir, in case your half wit boyfriend forgot to tell you." he jabbed at her boyfriend. Vaishali fumed.
"He's not a half wit you moron." she raged. Karanvir chuckled and sat next to maahi.
"Hi maahi. How are you!!" he asked gently. Maahi gulped.
"I-I'm good." she said quietly. He smiled.
"There's a new ice cream parlor across the town hall and they sell some amazing ice creams and...."
"She won't go." vaishali said sharply. Karanvir looked at her darkly.
"And why not??" asked he grimly. Maahi was literally freaking out as she'd seen what a mad Karanvir looks like.
"Because I said so. Come on maahi, let's go." vaishali said sternly. Maahi stood up quietly and started following her out of the canteen. However, a sharp pull at her wrist impeded her from moving any further. She gasped and turned back. Her blood froze on finding karanvir's big hand around her little, fragile wrist. His eyes were dark and unforgiving. Maahi squirmed.
"What the hell is this Karanvir?? Just let her go......" vaishali yelled at Karanvir. Karanvir, who was eyeing at maahi darkly, ignored her.
"7:30 in the evening. I'll be there to fetch you. Be ready." he said threatningly and marched off. Maahi looked down at her wrist and found a deep red handprint around her wrist.
"Dork. Don't worry maahi. You don't need to do as he says." vaishali said but maahi was horrified.

At 7:30 in the evening, maahi was inside her room reading a book. Suddenly she heard her mother calling her from downstairs. Running down the stairs she saw karanvir's tall figure standing inside the hall. He smirked upon seeing her. She gasped and looked down, not wanting to face him after that incident in the canteen.
"Maahi, see Karanvir and your brothers are going outside, why don't you go with them too!!! It will be fun." her mother said. She gasped loudly.
"No mom. I have work to do." she refused at once. Karanvir's fists clenched.
"You can do that afterwards maahi. Go with them child....you need some fresh air." her mother told her. Maahi still was adamant on not joining her dolt brothes.
"But mom...."
"Maahi." her mother's tone was stern this time. Maahi looked up fearfully at karanvir's smirking face. Defeated she walked up to her room to get dressed.

So at 8:00 the four found themselves at the town hall, a huge edifice with a bewitching garden perpiphering it. Across the building was, as Karanvir promised, a new ice cream parlor. They sold all sorts of ice creams, frozen desserts, non-sugar ice creams (if that even exists), sundaes and muffins as a side thing. Maahi's eyes twinkled on seeing such a cute ice cream parlor. Karanvir adored her inwardly.
"Kush you stay here with Sir while I buy ice cream to maahi. Come maahi." said luv and before Karanvir could object, he had already started walking towards the parlor. Karanvir, hence, said nothing and waited for them to return. Inside the parlor were quite a few people, mostly young girls like maahi and kids. Now, in the corner, maahi's eyes met Ashish, the boy from her class. She passed him a smile. He smiled back and approached her.
"Hi maahi." he said smiling. Luv left them both to talk and went to the counter to place his order for ice cream.
"Hi Ashish." she said excitedly. They both talked about random things for 5-10 minutes before her brother came up to them with her ice cream. After that the three of them started moving out of the parlor. Outside the parlor, her eyes met karanvir's scary frame right across her. He didn't seem happy for some reason but she paid no heed and waved bye to her friend. Her brothers went inside the town hall to click some pictures while maahi resorted to stay behind in the jeep and enjoy her ice cream.
"Friend??" Karanvir's voice came up from behind. She looked up at him and nodded. His eyes darkened.
"I don't like him you know." he told her. She stayed quiet.
"You won't talk to him from now on right??" he hissed lethally. She looked at him bemused.
"But why?? He's my friend and I will talk to my friends......" he grabs her by her wrist and pulls her to his manly scented chest. She gasped in fear.
"Didn't I tell you before maahi?? I am your bad boy and you can't look for another one." he whispered huskily. Her eyes started tearing up. Why was he behaving like that?? He pressed his nose against her hairs. She could feel his chest heaving up and down erratically. His breathing was hot and heavy.
"I'm the only guy you can talk to besides for your father and brothers. Am I clear??" he said creepily. Maahi looked at him in fear.
"Why are you saying this??" she asked in a whisper, praying for her brothers to return. His lips brushed against the skin of her cheek and she shuddered.
"You know what maahi, I have lusted after two things in my life, one-cigarettes and second-Peonies. You smell like Peony, you feel like Peony and you look like a Peony......I have given up on Cigarettes once you told that you don't like when people smoke cigarettes but I won't give up on my madness for a Peony so precious." his grip on her wrist tightens as he looks her in the eye, his lips just inches away from hers. She looks up at him in horror.
"I don't share what I love maahi. If something is mine than it's mine alone. May it be a flower or someone who looks like one. I know how to get what's mine and I usually get things in a hard way. I hope now my Peony won't shower her sweetness on someone who doesn't owns her." his hot breath fanned her face as she looked into his dark eyes kindling with obsession and madness.
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