Hello everyone!! Thank you so much for all the love and appreciation the story is receiving! I know that Twinkle accepting Kunj’s proposal came out of the blue, and some of you might even think it is unjustified, but like the previous episode made it clear, there was no logical explanation for it, she just decided to go with what felt right to her heart. It might have been a decision that she didn’t really think through, but let’s trust her with this, for we know that she wouldn’t do something that she thought was wrong. Happy reading!
Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 26
A quick recap: Yuvi’s conversation with Twinkle that had begun on a light note ends up convincing her to marry Kunj. Later, while Kunj turns up on receiving Yuvi’s message, he comes face to face with Leela Taneja who is tricked into coming there by Twinkle.
Kunj had been watching Twinkle carefully, trying to make out the reason for the look of betrayal in her eyes as she slipped her hands from his when they heard Leela interject, “Kunj, my daughter has been through a lot already. If this is some kind of a─” He held his hand up to stop her. “Mrs. Taneja, perhaps you’re forgetting that treachery isn’t in character for us Sarnas. And I for one, don’t want to be discussing anything of this sort with you today! Today is a big day for me, for us. Your daughter has finally agreed to marry me after such a long wait. We’ll deal with this thing that you’re bringing up only when it becomes unavoidable. This will be the end of this conversation. Thank you!” He spoke with an air of finality, walking to the entrance and holding the door open for her to leave. Twinkle stood quietly in a corner, evidently confused at the turn of events, but glad that Kunj had sent Leela away. And she had left, albeit reluctantly.
“Twinkle?” Kunj called out to her when he turned back after closing the door and found her standing in a darker corner of the cafe, her back turned to him. He walked to her slowly when she didn’t even look at him, let alone respond. “I don’t need your pity. I’ll be alright by myself. I can manage a decent life without having to depend on anyone.” He heard her muttering to herself, gently rocking herself back and forth, sounding so broken that it frightened him. “Twinkle! I’m not doing this out of pity! I had no idea that you were Leela Taneja’s daughter when I first met you, or when we became friends! I liked you just the same even back then!” He said, turning on the nearest pendant light and coming to stand in front of her.
“I believe in your independence, your ability to make it in the world all by yourself, just as much Yuvi does! I know that you need absolutely no assistance there! This has nothing to do with any sorry feeling for you!” He spoke, fighting his disappointment to sound as convincing as he could. Twinkle looked up at that, a look on her face that clearly said ‘I don’t believe you!’ Kunj sighed, managing a meek “You trust Yuvi, don’t you? Do you think he would let someone do something of that sort? You know how proud he is of you because you managed what he never could! He found a home right when he needed it, but you suffered all alone for so long! Do you think I would let all your battles go in vain?” He needed to know that she believed him at least a little bit, else what was the point of it all? “Twinkle…” He pleaded, feeling horribly helpless.
Twinkle felt too conflicted herself to be able to answer that question. “I don’t know.” She whispered, the tears beginning to flow freely now. Right then, both of them took a step towards each other, ending up bumping into the other. Kunj’s hands went around her intuitively, his eyes finding hers. “I’m sorry.” She murmured, beginning to back off. Kunj allowed her to step back but held her hands in his own to keep her from going too far away. “I won’t lie that that didn’t affect me. Because it did. I know we aren’t like Yuvi and Aditi who fell in love and decided to get married. Our equations are different, but all I hoped for was a little bit of your trust in me. But I understand that that could take some time too. I’m fine with that as well. And this isn’t out of pity. You are my friend, and I hope I do have the right to bring you tiny chunks of happiness now and then?” He was worried that he had sounded more unsure than he should have, but the fact that Twinkle had now stopped pulling away from him proved otherwise.
She nodded, willing herself to try. To believe in him. To do her bit towards him while he was doing so much for her. “When we get married, I want both of us to be able to value our relationship for whatever it is. If and whenever there’s an issue, I want us to be able to tell each other as such. As I see it, this is the only way to make our situation easier.” He explained, weighing each word carefully, glad that she nodded in agreement. “If you still want to marry me, that is.” He added as an afterthought nevertheless. Just in case.
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“What does ‘as soon as possible’ mean? Did you even ask Twinkle?” Aditi asked, sounding as annoyed as she looked. Yuvi chuckled at that, not even bothering to look up from his phone. “Yuvi! You’ve got to feed some sense into this one!” Aditi demanded, looking pointedly at Kunj, who was still beaming. “As long as you agree to do the same for the other one.” Yuvi hit back, and Aditi gave in, knowing that convincing Kunj would be easier than getting Twinkle to agree to her terms. “But on a serious note, Kunj. I don’t see why we should be rushing things up! Now that she’s agreed, perhaps you should spend some time with her and try and understand each other better. That could make things less awkward after the wedding.” Yuvi advised, hearing which Kunj stood up suddenly, walking to the window opposite to him. How was he to tell Yuvi that he was worried that Twinkle would change her mind given any more delay? He felt horrible for the selfish thought, but that didn’t make his fears go away.
Aditi placed a hand on Yuvi’s shoulder, quietening him down before she walked over to Kunj. “You aren’t wrong.” She assured him, quickly adding, “You might want to ask her what she thinks of this issue beforehand though.” Kunj smiled at her, relievedly accepting the hug Aditi was offering him. “Okay, you two. If you’re done with that, which one of you is going to inform Usha Sarna of the recent developments?” Yuvi questioned, standing up and looking at them seriously. “You!” Both of them said in unison, making him groan, but he knew he had lost the vote by a majority. He had to bell the cat, and it would definitely not end well.
As Yuvi stood in front of Usha sometime later, bearing all the brunt of her anger at the news, he glanced at Aditi and Kunj who were standing at the foot of the stairs. He threw them a pleading glance but both of them lowered their heads, making him roll his eyes. “But Ma–” Yuvi tried reasoning with the term of endearment that he knew would have Usha melting in no time. But, it didn’t work this time around. “I always told Bebe that this friendship that you have going on with that girl was doing us no good! We don’t even know enough about her, Yuvi! I don’t understand how any of you thought it was a good idea for Kunj to marry her! I know that I had recently begun to change my opinions of her, but that does not mean I was prepared to accept her as my daughter-in-law!” Usha continued her rant, and Yuvi suddenly felt grateful that she didn’t know of Twinkle’s family yet. Else things would have spiralled entirely out of control. Just when Yuvi thought that this conversation was pointless and he would have to come back with a better plan next time, Kunj walked to the centre of the hall where Usha, Yuvi and Bebe were standing, apparently well aware of what he had to do now.
“Ma, I like her. This was entirely my decision, and she agreed only reluctantly, after repeated attempts at convincing her. It isn’t anybody else’s fault. In fact, it isn’t a fault at all! This is where my happiness lies, Ma. Please bless us.”
It had been an entirely new dramatic sequence that Usha presented when Yuvi informed her that it was going to be a court marriage. She had claimed she had felt betrayed that her dreams and aspirations for her own son’s wedding had all been destroyed, and she wasn’t even asked for a say in it all. They had finally compromised to let her plan the reception however she wanted, while in turn, they would get to keep the wedding small and simple. Aditi thought the fact that they had gotten Usha to agree for even that much was a huge deal, and hence they deserved to party, with the bride-to-be as well, which was how they ended up in front of the cafe, right as Twinkle was about to lock it up and leave.
“Twinkle! Congratulations!” Aditi exclaimed the moment she had spotted Twinkle in the dim light from the nearby streetlamp, making the latter jump up due to the sudden intrusion. “Aditi? What are you doing here at this hour?” Twinkle asked, even as Aditi pulled her in for a tight hug, which she gave into, for she didn’t want to go through the trouble of explaining her almost aversion to hugs. “We’re bearers of great news!” Aditi announced, still sounding excited. Looking over Aditi’s shoulder, Twinkle saw Yuvi and Kunj standing at the gate, both looking so happy that she got the message.
How was this happening? Twinkle suddenly felt unsure of everything as Aditi gushed about Usha agreeing to the wedding happening the next week itself. The last time she had encountered Kunj and let him know of her uncertainties, she had thought that Usha would turn down the idea altogether, and they wouldn’t actually get to a wedding, but the tables had turned and how! She had already played all her cards now, and though her heart was so sure that this was the right thing to happen, she felt her resolve falling apart. But then again, she had become an expert at the game of hiding her insecurities over the years, and so, on their short trip to the nearby ice cream parlour where Aditi had insisted for her to come along, she managed to laugh with them at little nothings, and appear as excited about the wedding as she could whenever the topic was breached.
Kunj had then been asked to drop her off at her house, with Yuvi and Aditi citing the darkness and the late hour as their reasons. Just as Kunj was about to return from the gate though, he heard something crash to the ground inside the house. He rushed inside to make sure Twinkle was alright, but all he found was pitch darkness. And before either of them knew it, he had landed on top of her on her makeshift bed in the living room where she slept on nights like these, when there was no electricity and the bedroom was too hot. Her scream made Kunj fumble around for his phone, on which he turned on the flashlight. “Shhh! Just me!” He said softly, suddenly becoming aware of their position. He watched her as though in a daze, and her eyes remained trained on his too. They heard another crash nearby, breaking the trance, and Kunj rolled off of her, apologising under his breath.
“What was that?” He inquired, pointing the flashlight towards the source of the noise, to find the emergency light on the floor. “I pulled the light along with its charging cable, and a few things probably dropped off the table. I’m sorry for bothering you with this.” She said, her eyes landing on Kunj, who had been busy observing the house. She recalled their proximity a minute ago, when her hands had somehow ended up on his chest, while his rested on her waist. Her heart had been beating frantically, and perhaps it was in that very moment that she knew. She knew that she had lost her heart entirely to Kunj. And it was making her weak. She was no longer the Twinkle who was prepared to take on the whole world, for some corner of her mind had already begun to assume that he would be there for her if at all something went wrong.
Things were changing faster than she liked, and it frightened her, made her uncomfortable. She found her heart already wishing for him to be even closer, although she wasn’t sure she would be able to take any more of it. Kunj had noticed her gaze on him almost immediately too, but hadn’t made his observation evident, knowing that it would scare her away. “Is the electricity a regular issue here?” He asked when the silence was getting unbearable, and she hummed in agreement. “Can I see the fuse box?” He questioned next, but she refused him outright. “It isn’t that big of a deal, really. The connections will be restored soon.” She had insisted, and he had to give in. “You only have to live here for a few more days after all.” He said, right before turning around to smile at her and left after a hushed goodbye.
Twinkle laid down quietly, her mind racing through all that was yet to change, and change it would, sooner than she knew it. She knew that some part of her was desperately hoping the Sarnas wouldn’t object to the alliance, but now she felt unprepared. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to step back into the world of lavish show-offs, the very world that she had left behind willingly. She knew Yuvi and Aditi always had her back, and Kunj would always face each of her troubles himself, but wasn’t she planning to turn down the proposal for that very reason before she had accepted it? She was confused, was all she knew right then.
That’s it for now, guys!! Tell me what you thought about it. Are you excited for the Twinj wedding? It’s finally happening, and although it isn’t exactly a big ceremony, and not even the perfect circumstances or feelings, it’ll all be made up to you by and by in the story. Stay tuned!!