NIGHT — BARFI'S PLACE ☕🥊
The business meeting ended late.
Too late.
The kind of late where your body is present, but your soul already clocked out. 🕰️
Laddu stepped out of the corporate building in another province, rainwater still clinging to the pavement like a memory that refused to dry. He loosened his tie, inhaled once, and walked straight to the only place where he didn't have to pretend anymore.
Barfi's Café.
Except… it wasn't a café anymore.
It looked like a gangster gym pretending to sell tea.
Metal chairs.
Cracked walls.
Punch marks that were definitely not decorative. 🪑💥
A tall, broad man turned around from behind the counter.
Scar across his cheek.
One ear… missing a chunk.
Laddu squinted.
Laddu:
"…Where is your ear?"
Barfi shrugged like he lost a pen.
Barfi:
"A bear ate it."
Laddu nodded calmly.
Laddu:
"Nice."
No follow-up questions.
That's how real friendships work. 🤝
TWO MEN, TWO CHAIRS 🍶
They sat in the booth.
Two men who used to laugh too much.
Now barely smiling.
More muscle.
Sharper jaws.
Eyes that had seen consequences. 👀
Barfi poured drinks.
Barfi:
"You look dead, brother."
Laddu stared into the glass.
Not drinking.
Just… looking.
Laddu:
"I broke up."
Barfi's hand froze mid-air.
Barfi:
"…With Mochi?"
Laddu nodded.
Silence dropped like a brick.
So Laddu talked.
About the breakup.
About telling her his past.
About months without smiling.
About the baby. 👶
About the gifts.
About the airport. ✈️
About the door he broke. 🚪
About the silence between him and her.
When he finished—
Barfi leaned back slowly.
Then—
SLAP! 👋💥
A full-force slap cracked across Laddu's jaw.
Laddu slammed sideways into the booth.
Laddu:
"What the—?!"
Barfi stood up, eyes blazing.
Barfi:
"You idiot!
We decided you'd move forward—
and you said you'd forget it!"
Laddu staggered up.
Laddu:
"Don't slap me, pig-face!"
Barfi:
"Then don't act like one!"
THE FIGHT THEY NEEDED 🥊🔥
Punch.
Punch.
Crash.
Tables flipped.
Chairs flew.
A yogurt cup exploded on Barfi's back. 🥛💣
Barfi tackled Laddu.
Laddu punched Barfi's stomach.
Barfi threw Laddu into a table.
Laddu smashed Barfi into a shelf.
It wasn't elegant.
It wasn't heroic.
It was two grown men bleeding emotions they never learned how to speak. 🩸
Finally—
They collapsed on the café floor.
Side by side.
Breathing hard.
Blood on their mouths.
Sweat dripping.
Laddu wiped his lip.
Laddu:
"When did you learn to fight like this…?"
Barfi spat blood.
Barfi:
"I got bored."
Silence.
Then—
Laddu's voice cracked.
Barely there.
Laddu:
"…Barfi…
I loved her."
Barfi turned his head.
Tears slid sideways from Laddu's eyes into his hair.
Laddu:
"I loved her so much I ruined it.
She deserves a real man…
not someone like me."
He covered his eyes.
Tears kept coming. 😔
Barfi didn't hug him.
Didn't advise.
Didn't preach.
He just lay there.
Two broken warriors on a destroyed floor.
Some friendships don't need words.
MORNING — BARFI'S ANSWER 🌅
Sunlight slipped through the broken window.
Barfi stood up first, stretching.
He looked down at Laddu.
Empty-eyed.
Barfi:
"Get up."
No response.
Barfi grabbed his collar and pulled him halfway up.
Barfi:
"Listen.
Go ask her for forgiveness."
Laddu shook his head.
Laddu:
"She deserves better."
Barfi slapped the back of his head.
Barfi:
"Then I'll find 'better' and break his butt."
He pointed at his missing ear.
Barfi:
"I fought a bear, psycho, ghost.
I can fight Lie.
Or anyone."
Laddu's lip twitched.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
Laddu:
"Let it go…
She's happier without me."
Barfi stood tall like a wall.
Barfi:
"No."
He kicked Laddu lightly.
Barfi:
"I'm not letting you rot.
You love her.
She loves you.
You're both just idiots."
He placed a heavy hand on Laddu's shoulder.
Barfi:
"The next chapter of your life won't start on my café floor."
Laddu stood.
Still broken.
But standing. 🧍♂️
EVENING — MOCHI'S PHONE RINGS 📱🌙
The house was quiet.
Baby sleeping.
Mama resting.
Mochi was warming milk when her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She frowned.
Mochi:
"Hello?"
A rough voice.
Barfi:
"Mochi."
Her spine stiffened.
Mochi:
"…Why are you calling me?"
Barfi:
"Your idiot broke my café."
Mochi:
"What—?! Is he hurt?!"
Barfi:
"He fought me.
Tables broken. Blood everywhere."
Mochi gripped the counter.
Mochi:
"…Is he okay?"
Barfi:
"Alive.
But he won't apologize."
Mochi inhaled sharply.
Mochi:
"I'm not going to him."
Barfi:
"This is about his past, right?"
Mochi:
"…Yes."
Barfi:
"He forgot to tell you something.
When he realized what he did…
he went to every woman he hurt.
Begged forgiveness.
Helped them financially.
Emotionally.
Everything."
Mochi shook her head.
Mochi:
"You're lying."
Barfi:
"If you meet them, they'll say one thing—
they want him as a man.
Not money."
Silence.
Barfi:
"You're stubborn.
Just like him."
Then serious.
Barfi:
"He's dying inside, Mochi.
And if you don't go…
don't cry later."
Her heart dropped. 💔
Mochi:
"…Are you serious?"
Barfi:
"Life is short.
People disappear fast."
He hung up.
MOCHI AND MAMA 🤍
Mochi walked to the living room.
Mama was folding baby clothes.
Mama:
"Mochi… what happened?"
Mochi sat.
Voice shaking.
Mochi:
"Barfi called…
Laddu realized everything.
He begged forgiveness.
Helped them.
He fought Barfi.
He's hurt…"
Mama's eyes widened.
Mama:
"Oh my god…"
Mochi whispered:
Mochi:
"What should I do…?"
Mama held her hand.
Mama:
"Everyone makes mistakes.
Even those who truly regret them."
Mochi's eyes filled.
Fear.
Love.
Conflict. 🌧️
The chapter didn't end with an answer.
It ended with a choice waiting to be made.