Bitch's signature move. 

Kunal

2020

Goddamn it. I wanted her—I was a rascal for wanting her so desperately that I was willing to raise hell for her but fuck it, I already had done it.

Vaanya's face grew ashen when she stared at the screen of her phone. I had sent her the little video that I had made a week ago. The evening air whisked through the summer leaves as she stood stoned to the ground near a dilapidated condo. She was so beautiful even with her flushed skin and watery eyes. I wanted to meet her at a spot that was away from Ranveer's reach so I chose the spot in the west of the city.

Her voice was a tiny whisper when she asked, "How—where did you find this?" I marked a slow tremble in her hands as she shut her phone.

The leaves under my feet rustled as I stepped closer to her. "Someone had sent it to me earlier." I didn't want her to hate me; lies were always more convenient than the truth, or at least, in this case, it was. "So I thought you should know about it." I glanced at her legs, remembering how smooth and toned they were from when she was fucking that son of a bitch from the video. My dick swelled to the memory of her from earlier.

She was frightened. That was good. "I—who—why would anyone do this?" Her whispers fused to the howling air and I shrugged lightly. "Has anyone else seen it yet?"

"I don't think so," I told her and she released a shaky breath. "Why did you do this anyway?" I asked but she swept her gaze away and sniffled softly. "I mean...you could have banged anyone."

She snapped her gaze on me and I'd nearly rolled my eyes. As if I cared if she was offended—she had no right to. "That's none of your business," she said sternly and I smirked. "Can you make sure this doesn't get out?"

My lips pursed as I shoved my hand in my pockets and kicked a stone on the ground. "I would." She caught contingency in my tone and shifted in her feet. "But what do I get in return?"

Confusion deposited on her features as she looked into my eyes. "I was asking for a favor from my best friend's boyfriend," she muttered and sighed. "What do you want?"

"I'll make sure this doesn't get out," I told her placidly. "If you agree to share a few nights with me." My words were loaded and I tasted the sweetness of my demand on my tongue as soon as it left my mouth. She stumbled back in disbelief and gasped softly. It almost missed me that whores like her had a flair for the dramatic. "A few nights until I flush this blockage out of my system."

"You—what?" Her eyes had a fire in them. She looked even sexier with that. "You're my best friend's boyfriend and you want to fuck me?"

"You're not exactly the right person to be talking about morality," I said lowly and she balled her fists tightly. "You did cheat on my best friend, after all." She lowered her gaze and I leaned closer to her ear. "That's what I love about you V. Fucking a scum behind your boyfriend's back is a bitch's signature move. We're more similar than I thought."

Her teeth gritted as she glared at me with her glassy eyes. "You don't know the half of the truth." She turned to face me. "I'd never do this to Maira—I'd never do this Ranveer."

"The video suggests otherwise," I purred and she was on the verge of a meltdown. "You gotta take pick and choose your battles V, the clock is ticking." I backed away from her and jogged back to my car. I had said enough for her to reconsider her options. I'd made sure Vaanya was right under me.

*

Ishani drank vodka from the bottle after she laughed. I'd honestly never expected her to show up at my doorstep the other day. It startled me but in a twisted way, her company comforted me more than anybody else's.

"I'm not sure if I'd ever show up at CSU again," she said lowly and sighed audibly as she handed me the bottle of vodka and I tipped my head back to toss it.

"So you just let him win?" I asked as I handed the bottle back to her. "Not worth it."

"You don't know how hard it is," she mumbled and drank from the bottle. "I'm pretty sure he has won." She winced to the aftertaste of hard liquor and handed me back the bottle.

"He hasn't yet," I told her and took a long swig. "But he will if you quit CSU."

"But I was practically banished." She stretched her legs on the couch and planted the throw pillow on her lap. "If I dare to show up again, I'm certain they will have my head on a stick."

I scoffed. "Nobody can touch you as long as you're with me," I told her placidly and handed the bottle back to her. She stilled a look on me as she shifted on the couch. "At this moment, I have more advantage than anyone you know."

Ishani was a stunning girl. I'd remember her glamour when she started at CSU and I was completely enamored by her. I despised it—despised that she wasn't the same girl anymore.

I figured it was a lot to process because her silence prolonged for another few moments. "Well, what do you have on mind?"

I watched her drink from the bottle and smirked. "We are going to avenge you."

She deliberated silently as she leaned back to the couch. "And how do you plan on that?"

"I don't kiss and tell," I murmured and winked at her. Her returning smile was contagious. "But you aren't giving up, you get it?"

She looked away and heaved a sigh. "What about Maira?"

"What about her?" I shot and drank from the bottle.

She narrowed her gaze on me. "Isn't she your girlfriend?" She picked on a loose thread on the edge of the throw pillowcase. "What do you plan on telling her?"

"Maira is the spin-off I'd never planned on," I muttered exasperatedly and she arched a brow at me questioningly. I snorted. "She goes to hell for all I care."

"So you have been dating her because..."

"Because Bhasin put me on a spot," I clarified and pushed to my feet to fetch something to eat. "But it's over now. Maira and I will be done in a few days and everything will go back to the way it was."

"You make it sound so easy," she said mockingly as I strode to the kitchen. "Maira doesn't seem like someone who would take it so lightly."

"Her obsessive cunt can fuck off," I growled and began to fix a couple of sandwiches.

"That's harsh," she raised her voice from the living room and I backed away to catch her gaze. "She loves you."

"A lot of people love me," I drawled and she rolled her eyes. "Doesn't mean I'd be with every one of them," I added some cheese and herbs to the bread. She sauntered to the kitchen and stood at the threshold. I smirked as I met her eyes.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "But you'd serial fuck all of them?"

It made me laugh. She was smart. "A hookup isn't love," I told her and clubbed some chicken to the bread. "Don't get those mixed up. I'd rather fuck than get fucked."

She snorted and swiped her dark hair from her temple as she walked to me. "How does that make you any different from the rest of the guys here?"

I thought about that and shrugged. "It doesn't," I admitted and she leaned her hip against the kitchen island. "I just have the balls to admit that I'm a bastard."

"Your parents must really hate you for being so upfront about it."

I chuckled and added some lettuce. "Honestly, they would hate me if I were the best in this world."

She shifted closer to me and searched my face. "Why?"

Ishani smelled of bubble gums. It was a sickly sweet scent after being combined with her natural scent. I backed away from her and continued to make the sandwich. "Because I don't belong to them?"

Her brows creased as she looked at me. "What do you mean you don't belong to them?"

"Ah, I'm the adopted kid," I muttered lowly and fetched a bottle of whisky from the kitchen cab. She remained silent. "The one picked from the streets and tossed into the pumpkin carriage."

"Well...I don't know what to say," she said and I beamed at her.

"Don't." I handed her a sandwich and grabbed my plate. "There's nothing to say. It is what it is."

"How many people know that about you?" She bit into her food and I arched a brow in silent query. She looked at me as she chewed her food. "Oh, this is awesome. I didn't realize I was starving."

I chuckled and we shuffled back to the living room. "Not my peers if that's what you mean," I told her and we plopped on the couch. "A few of Arijit's friends, I suppose."

"So if people around in CSU know about this—"

"Nobody would take me seriously," I finished her sentence and she got back to her food. "I'll be the outcast, not that I exactly care about the family name but I enjoy the perks of it nonetheless."

"Don't worry, it's our secret," she told me placidly and I grinned at her. She darted her gaze around my living room and then looked at me. "So this place is gonna be our lair or what?"

I smirked after I finished my bite. "You got it."

*

"I can't believe that bastard put you through that," I bit out under my breath and Ishani sighed heavily.

"Technically he didn't," she told me and I pinned my gaze on her. She shrugged and continued, "he wasn't even there—"

I set the glass of whiskey on the table. "And that's supposed to justify his actions?"

"I'm not justifying his actions," she said acidly and rolled her eyes. "All I mean is that Aagnay isn't altogether responsible for this. It's a lot more complicated than it seems."

"He didn't stop Ishani," I objected testily and she sighed again. "He could have but he didn't." Noting her silence, I drank from my glass and circled the mouth of it with my finger. "You still feel for him, don't you?" She looked away and bit on the corner of her index finger. "Ishani?"

"I do," she admitted somberly and I sank back to my seat. "And I always will but that doesn't that I will act upon it. I don't want to avenge anything, I just want this to be over."

"Good luck with that one," I muttered and drank from my glass. She pushed to her feet to fetch another bottle of beer from the refrigerator.

"I know he loves me too," she said and glanced at me over her shoulder. "I just need to find a way to use that against him."

"And what do you think you would get out of seducing a psychopath like that?"

She removed the cap of the bottle with an opener and drank from it before she said, "My freedom."

Miara

2020

Shit. Holy fucking shit.

Horror set down my spine with convulsive chills as I stared at the two pink lines on the testing stick. I felt my legs tremble. No. It wasn't right. I—I couldn't have been pregnant. I sat back on the toilet seat as my chest tightened and my visions blurred with dense hot tears.

How could I bring myself to break the news to Kunal—to my friends and my folks? I'd be a laughing stock if the news broke out in college. I was a few weeks late and I didn't have much time on my hands. Was I supposed to speak with Kunal about it? At least he deserved to know...or maybe not. I assumed he didn't care, considering how tight he'd been with Ishani.

I broke down with silent wails as I tossed the stick across the room. How could I have been so utterly stupid? We were drunk and we slipped—I slipped. I should have been more careful and I just rolled with the shit. My life was over—I was so done.

I stood under the shower numbingly and let the cold water envelope me as I contemplated my options. The only person who'd agree to help me was my father and I knew I had to speak with him.

*

"So I have a confession to make," Vaanya announced as I finished placing an order for our drinks and Ella straightened in her seat. She looked at her and then averted her gaze on me.

"This better be good," Ella muttered and I leaned closer to the table to grant her my full attention. Vaanya seemed agitated and it was starting to bother me.

She inhaled sharply as her eyes turned glassy. "Ranveer and I..." She released a shaky breath and Ella rolled her eyes. I knew enough for her to never finish that sentence. "Well, we are together now."

Ella chuckled but I was lost. I'd  been lying if I would have said that I didn't see that one coming but hearing it loud changed a lot of things. "Called it!" Ella sing-songed.

Vaanya lowered her gaze and groaned incredulously. "We have been together for a while now..."

"Okay," I said lowly and narrowed my gaze on her. "Then why are you so worked up about that?"

"And why do we get to know about this now?" Ella asked quizzically as she fidgeted with a loose tendril of her hair mindlessly.

Vaanya looked at Ella briefly. "Because I didn't want anyone to know about it, yet." She averted her gaze on me and pleaded silently. "Please understand...I like him M and I know you don't like him."

"That's not true," I told her and at the same time, Ella said, "That's a junkie you're talking about. There's nothing to like about him."

Vaanya thinned her lips and glared at her. "Well he is my boyfriend now and I'd rather you not humiliate him in front of me," she bit out icily and her passion wasn't lost on me. Ella sighed and she looked back at me. "Well, there's also something else."

"Wait, there's more?" Ella gawked at her and our drinks arrived. "Damn, you've doing a lot behind our backs."

I contemplated whether I'd drink or not. My reluctance stemmed from the sudden attachment I didn't know I had.

"M?" Vaanya's voice snapped me back to reality and my chest deflated. She frowned at me. "Hey, what's wrong?" Concern laced her tone and I was quick to shake my head like everything was normal. "Are you sure?" Her tone was low and I nodded silently. I was afraid she'd catch me lying if I dared to speak. Vaanya knew me well.

Ella groaned sharply and we both shifted our attention on her. "Why are you making this about her? I'm dying out of curiosity here so spill."

That made me smile but the tension that was exuded by Vaanya dissipated my mischief into thin air. "Okay," she began and heaved a breath and Ella sipped her martini slowly. "I slept with someone else behind his back."

Before I could say a fucking word, Ella spat the drink on me and I'd never been more furious. Vaanya gaped at us and Ella's jaw dropped at her. "What the fuck, Ella?"

Her gaze deadpanned on me and I glared at her. "You should be asking that to her."

"She isn't the one who spilled drink on me," I snapped and Vaanya caught my hand over the table. "Did I hear you right?" How could Vaanya out of all the people who managed to cheat on Ranveer be beyond the boundaries of my mental energy?

"It's the Econ professor you guys," she said exasperatedly. "I already had a hard time with the course details and he approached and I—"

"Bitch, I didn't see that one coming," Ella muttered before her jaw dropped and I arched a brow at Vaanya questioningly.

"Why did you need to sleep with him?" I asked and tossed a tequila shot. I winced as the liquid burned through my system. "You should have asked me, I'd have gotten you the damned question paper."

"I didn't—" She sighed and looked away. "It didn't occur to me then that you would and I was so desperate. Things are really tough for Jia and I can't have her stress more about grades too."

"If you think your grades will make things easier for you, sister then you have another thing coming." Ella rolled her eyes and I agreed with her. "She's still expected to score better, isn't she?"

Vaanya lowered her gaze and circled her fingers around the stem of the flute. "Not if I score the best. Mom will let her be," she mumbled and I was confused between screaming at her face and breaking the glasses. Sleeping with the professor was a low move and nothing on her behalf made me condone her actions, even when she knew I was very resourceful with examinations.

"So what now?" I asked her somberly and she looked at me.

"Nothing," Ella said and shrugged. "Nobody has to know about this, I suppose."

Since Vaanya was being so upfront and honest about her secrets, I decided to be bold and come clean about my secret. It was the final round of truth for me. 

~~~~

Hello Darlings! 

It's been a hot minute, isn't it? I was so caught up with my life, I barely got a chance to be here but this time I'm staying...at least I'm trying to. :D

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