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Twinj: It’s Always Been You: Episode 22
A quick recap: Twinkle reveals that although she and Kunj had resolved the issues between them, she hadn’t really been able to think of the future yet, leading to Chinki trying to convince her. Chinki finds out about Yuvi and Aparna. Kunj and Twinkle have a light hearted conversation.
It was no secret that Chinki was horrible at keeping things to herself, and hence even before Aparna knew it, the whole world had found about her and Yuvi. She had regretted confessing to Twinkle about how they had developed feelings for each other, which had led to all this, what troubled her even more was the fact that Yuvi seemed to be so cool about everyone finding out. She had been really glad of how receptive the entire family had been though, which was why they were all at the Gurudwara right now, Leela had insisted they pray for their well being before they took things ahead. Just as Twinkle finished her prayer and opened her eyes, she spotted Kunj sitting at a little distance in front of her. A couple of months had passed by since they had finally sorted things out, and he regularly visited her and spent time with her, not once bringing up the issue of their marriage that she knew both Leela and Usha had been pestering him to convince her for, for a while now. She knew he wouldn’t push her, and she couldn’t be more relieved about it. He brought up their happy memories a lot, for he seemed to be sure somehow that those would be the ones that would help her heal completely. She had seen him struggle with his emotions when the past would come up out of the blue, and knew that he was looking to heal his own wounds by spending time with her. Sure enough, it seemed to be working wonders for them.
Twinkle walked over to Kunj’s side and kneeled down beside him, whispering, “So be it!” He opened his eyes immediately, surprised by the intrusion and stared at her. “You don’t even know what I asked for!” He whispered and she giggled, whispering back, “It’s not like you would have asked for a meteor shower or something! I know what you pray for, world peace and stuff!” He nodded appreciatively at her holding back a smile, both of them standing up and slowly walking out, when he said, “I know what you pray for too. You always have such a long list, all your loved ones, then their loved ones and so on. I’m a more selfless person, you see?” She shook her head at him, smiling to herself. “Don’t make that face. You know that I’m right! I remember you praying for better grades, riddance of your stage fright when that debate competition was coming up, an easier paper when you hadn’t prepared and what not!” He said, emphasising each of her silly wishes. She realised she couldn’t deny that, he was right, and he knew all that because years ago, he was the one she always went to the Gurudwara with. “Alright! I agree I prayed for those, but you were no less! Remember how for almost half a year, your prayers only consisted of Alisha? I didn’t do that!” She shot back, knowing he wouldn’t argue against that. “Didn’t you pray for me though?” He asked with a cheeky grin, and she replied, “I did. I still do. The difference, Kunj Sarna, is that I prayed for your happiness, your health and peace of mind, not for you to be mine. I knew that if we are meant to be, I wouldn’t have to keep reminding the Lord about it, unlike you, who thought Alisha would fall in love with you if you kept chanting her name, stupid!”
Kunj watched spellbound as Twinkle playfully smacked his head and walked away. She had, without realising it herself, made him realise how lucky he was to have someone love him so selflessly. He couldn’t wait anymore, lest someone else should steal away the love of his life, and so he quickly rushed to where Usha and Leela were standing and whispered, “Wish me luck!” The two ladies couldn’t have been happier; they had waited for this day for way too long. They sent him away quickly with all their love and blessings. He then went to Twinkle, who was preparing to leave and said, “We need to talk. It’s important, and urgent!” She gave him a strange look but complied nevertheless, following him to his car. “Where are we going?” She asked when he had driven quietly for a few minutes. He turned to look at her, her eyes showing her anxiety, and smiled at her; he thought she looked prettier than ever, or was it because she was by his side like he wished? Either way, didn’t utter a single word. “Kunj!” Her scream dragged him out of his daze and he pulled the steering to his left, applying the brakes, managing to dodge an oncoming truck in time. She looked at him, his left hand holding her back firmly so that she wouldn’t hit her head on the dashboard, apologising to her repeatedly and making sure she was alright. Despite the frightening experience they had just had, she felt overwhelmed by his concern for her, her heart melting at the realisation of how much he loved her.
Kunj stopped the car and held the door open for her, preferring to walk the remaining little distance after that incident. She held his hand and walked quietly by side, his mind racing back to the last time something like that had happened, wondering if they had to stop coming to that place after that day. “It’s been so long since I came here! Gosh, I’ve missed this place so much!” Twinkle spoke excitedly, letting go of his hand and walking towards the railings at the end of the cliff when they reached the sunset point. “But why are we here today, when everyone else is at the Gurudwara..” Her question was cut short when she turned around and saw Kunj on one knee, his head bowed down, as he waited for her to stop speaking. “Twinkle Taneja, I have a lot in life to thank you for, and a lot more to apologise for, but now is the time for something else, I’m asking you for something yet again. I had promised myself that I would wait, patiently, even if it was forever, for you to bring this up on your own, but I don’t think I can live like this anymore. I don’t think my heart can bear this distance between us anymore. I know that your love will always be deeper than mine, and truly, you’re the one that’s more selfless, but for you, I will always want to make myself better and worthy of your love. Every single day of my life, I’ll try to love you more, to always keep you happy. Will you marry me?” He spoke with his eyes locked with hers, both of them tearing up as he held out a ring. “Please say yes! I promise we’ll get married only when you want to, there’s absolutely no hurry! You already have my heart, you could accept this ring as well, right?” He added, putting on his best puppy face and watching her carefully as she leaned in front of him, nodding her head. “I love you!” She whispered, holding her hand out. Perhaps she herself hadn’t realised how badly she had been waiting for this moment, her mind was so preoccupied with the fear that this might hurt, that she never even thought of how beautiful her dream come true could actually feel. When Kunj slipped the ring onto her finger and hugged her tight, she sighed, letting go of all her inhibitions, feeling complete. “This is what I prayed for today!” He whispered, tightening the hug, his happiness knew no bounds now, and as he heard her giggle, his heart was filled with glee, absolutely nothing more he wanted from life.
Twinkle was surprised to see Usha and Leela pacing up and down the hall when she and Kunj got home. “Was I the last one to know?” She whispered to him and he giggled, making her say, “Stop smiling like an idiot!” That only made his smile widen, it had been so ever since she had said yes, and it wasn’t going away ever, same as her own bright smile which was the mothers needed to see to know that their wishes were finally coming true. Not very surprisingly, when Leela asked Kunj when they wanted to get married, Twinkle had absolutely no objections to make. “With you on my side, I could fight the whole world, Kunj! I know we’ve both been through a lot, and there’s one thing I’ve learnt, that no amount of distancing ourselves and trying all those ways out could heal us like being together can!” Twinkle had assured him, using the very words that he had chosen to console her, making him fall deeper in love with her yet again. Twinkle had applied for her previous job again, and with lots of help from her father and Kunj, she had finally managed to obtain it, and she couldn’t be happier. It wasn’t the same though, since Kunj had chosen to continue working under Manohar, arguing that nobody would want to take him back. Although he had been extremely happy that she was doing what she loved, there was no denying the fact that he hated the idea of staying away from her when she was at work, and he usually was horrible at hiding it, amusing her.
Kunj had gradually begun to learn about Twinkle’s life in Mumbai from Aparna, who finally thought it was alright for her to be revealing details now. He thought it only fair to find out, since Twinkle herself would never tell him anything, for she thought it wasn’t something worth speaking about. She had always been that way, he recalled with a smile, she never liked to speak about the problems that she had gotten over. He had learnt it the hard way, by being awarded the cold treatment for a whole week when he had tried to crack a little joke about something of that sort years ago. “Hey!” Twinkle’s voice broke his train of thoughts as she joined him by the pool at his house. The weekend had finally arrived, and that meant they could spend some time together, and Kunj was as happy as can be.
That’s it for now, guys. Lots of love!