When Rajveer came home, the first thing he did was look for Karnika to see if she had returned safely.
When he saw her walking from her room to the kitchen, he quietly went into Rudraksh's room.
"Hey bro…" Rudraksh called out while playing a video game, but Rajveer didn't respond. Instead, he picked up a book and went outside to sit with Vairagya.
"You're pretty late…" Vairagya said, lifting his eyes from his phone to look at him.
"Yeah, I ran into a friend…" Rajveer replied, his eyes fixed on the book. He didn't have the courage to lie while looking into Vairagya's eyes.
"A friend? Here in Delhi?" Vairagya asked.
"Yeah, he moved here a few years ago…" Rajveer dodged the question.
Just then, Karnika came over with tea and began handing it out to everyone.
When she placed the cup near Rajveer, he didn't even look up at her.
Karnika walked away, visibly annoyed.
Vairagya began tutoring him while Karnika, from the kitchen, kept glancing at them as she continued her work. Her eyes held both sadness and anger.
When dinner was ready, Rajveer began heading to his room.
"At least eat something, Raj..." Vairagya called out.
"I already ate with my friend," Rajveer replied, avoiding eye contact and walked into his room.
Karnika looked at him angrily. She knew all too well that Rajveer had only had a coffee with her at the café—nothing more. His lie was bothering her even more now.
Rajveer lay down on the bed. He kept replaying Karnika's confession in his mind, and it left him frustrated. His goal was to study, become successful, so he could get his father out of the 9 to 5 grind, take his mother to see the world, and give his sister everything she ever wished for. He never thought about love, nor did he ever have the time.
"Something bothering you?" Rudraksh asked, entering the room.
"No..." Rajveer replied without sitting up.
"Why didn't you eat?" Rudraksh asked.
"I told you, I ate outside," Rajveer answered.
"You can't even lie properly..." Rudraksh said as he opened a cupboard, pulled out a box, and returned.
"Here, take this," Rudraksh said, handing him the box.
"Cigarettes?" Rajveer turned his face away in surprise.
"First, sit up," Rudraksh said, pulling him up.
"Rudra, I don't smoke, please…" Rajveer protested.
"I know... I don't smoke regularly either. Only when I'm really stressed. The smoke takes the weight of it away..." Rudraksh explained calmly.
"I don't want it," Rajveer insisted, but there was a faint smile on his face now.
"Okay, then look at this," Rudraksh said, pulling out another box.
"What's this?" Rajveer asked.
"This is my Complaint Box. Whenever I'm upset—with life or someone—I write it down and drop it in here… and the next day, poof! It's like it never existed," Rudraksh said excitedly.
"Nice joke…" Rajveer said, clearly not convinced.
"Wanna try?" Rudraksh teased.
"Never…"
"Just once..."
Rajveer thought for a moment, then scribbled something on a paper, folded it, and placed it in the box. "You won't read it, right?" he asked.
"Never opened it once since childhood," Rudraksh assured him.
As Rajveer dropped the note, Rudraksh offered him a cigarette again.
"You won't stop, will you?" Rajveer asked with a half-smile.
"Nope," Rudraksh smiled back.
Rajveer took the cigarette and as Rudraksh lit it for him, he took a drag—only to start coughing immediately.
"Happens to everyone the first time…" Rudraksh patted his back and lit one for himself too.
"What's got you smoking?" Rajveer asked.
"A friend's pain," Rudraksh said, winking at him.
"What if Vairagya finds out?" Rajveer asked, concerned.
"Brothers don't scold over occasional smoking... They know there are times in life when you just can't talk to anyone. And in those times, these are our true companions. Wanna know a secret? My first cigarette was given to me by Vairagya bhai himself," Rudraksh whispered.
"What!?" Rajveer was stunned.
Rudraksh winked again.
Talking to Rudraksh made Rajveer feel much better. The weight on his heart felt lighter.
"Come on now, let's go eat something..." Rudraksh said, pulling Rajveer by the arm.
Rajveer stood up too.
"You're paying though, brother... I'm jobless," Rudraksh said, resting his head on Rajveer's shoulder.
Rajveer laughed, and the two headed out.
Karnika, who was walking in with a plate of food for Rajveer, stopped in her tracks as she saw them leaving. The plate trembled slightly in her hands.
She watched Rajveer laugh at something Rudraksh said, and a pang of pain shot through her heart. Did her love, her pain mean nothing to him?
A part of her had hoped that he skipped dinner because he was upset—but seeing him laughing now, that hope dimmed.
In Vairagya's room
Vairagya was lying on the couch, scrolling through his phone. Sarangi, twisting and squeezing a pillow in her hands, kept looking at him. Vairagya was well aware of it, but he wanted Sarangi to come forward and express her feelings herself.
After a while, he put the phone aside and said, "Jaan, could you turn off the lights, please?"
Sarangi glared at him and muttered in her mind, 'He understands everything without being told, and now he's pretending like he knows nothing…'
"I have to get up early tomorrow too…" Vairagya said, interrupting her thoughts.
"I am turning it off…" Sarangi replied, annoyed.
She turned off the lights and kept tossing and turning for a while, then sat up and quietly said, "Mr. Rajvansh... are you asleep?"
"No, I'm awake… got to go fill water at night, you know…" Vairagya replied jokingly.
"Why can't you ever answer properly?" Sarangi huffed.
"Look at your question too, jaan…" Vairagya replied.
"Huh…" Sarangi pouted, then after a while said softly, "I'm scared…"
"Of what? Me?" Vairagya asked.
"No, not of you… of being alone," she replied.
"You're not alone… I'm here, right?" he reassured her.
"But you're so far away…" Sarangi said gently.
"Okay, I'll move the couch closer," he said and began dragging the couch when Sarangi quickly turned on the lights and stopped him.
"Wait… there's no need for that…" she said.
"You just said you were scared…" Vairagya said, confused.
"I still am…" she admitted.
"Then what are you trying to say…?" Vairagya asked, puzzled.
"You're not getting it… that's not what I meant…" Sarangi said, frustrated.
"To understand, you have to say it. You have to express yourself…" Vairagya teased her on purpose.
"You're so wicked…"
"See, just like you said this now—"
"Mr. Rajvansh… you're just…" Sarangi cut him off, unsure how to respond.
"Anyway, go to sleep. I need to sleep too…" Vairagya said.
"You're not sleeping here…" Sarangi said quickly.
"Then where? On the floor?"
"Oh no! That'd be a sin!" she exclaimed, panicking.
"You… you…" Sarangi began glaring at him.
"You keep saying 'you… you'… I'm going to sleep," he said and lay down again.
Sarangi looked at him, sighed, and said, "Sleep on the bed with me…"
Vairagya looked at her for a moment and asked, "You won't have a problem with that…?"
"No… I don't mind," Sarangi said softly.
"What if I lose control…?" Vairagya asked, coming closer.
"Mr. Rajvansh… don't say things like that…" Sarangi said, blushing.
"Think it through—you're inviting me at your own risk. Because looking at you, I tend to lose control…" Vairagya said with a mischievous smile.
Sarangi pushed him and said, "Stay on the couch…" before quickly crawling into bed.
A little while later, she felt cold fingers on her waist and shivered—"Mr. Rajvansh..." she whispered.
Vairagya pulled her close and rested her head on his chest. "Now I'll be able to sleep peacefully…" he said.
Sarangi buried her face in his chest, blushing. Vairagya smiled and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms around her as they both drifted off to sleep.