Hello everyone!! Thank you so much for all the love and appreciation you all have been showering the story with! I know that Twinkle’s confrontation with Leela wasn’t the most pleasant thing, but it was necessary, the poor thing had been suffering all alone for so long. Let’s hope things get better soon, and that you all find the answers to your questions too! Happy reading!!
Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 17
A quick recap: What starts off as a heightened argument between Twinkle and Leela, cools down a little when Leela expresses her willingness to try and make up for her mistakes. Twinkle then thanks Kunj for his advice, instilling a new ray of hope in him.
The fact that Twinkle’s behaviour towards Kunj had softened some more didn’t go unnoticed by him. He hoped that it meant that he now had a better chance. Twinkle, on the other hand, had slowly begun to accept the idea that she had to learn to get over him, needless to say that she made very little progress with him being right next to her. “I don’t like this pattern at all!” He heard her mutter, apparently with the assumption that she would get away unnoticed, earning a chuckle from him. He watched her eyes flicker over to him from the work they had been watching over, a guilty look on her face.
“That’s alright. Nobody understands Ma’s choices anyways.” He informed her when she cringed at being caught. “It isn’t so, really. I always thought Usha Ma’am has brilliant taste.” She said quickly, but Kunj only laughed some more. “I’m sure you did.” He commented wryly, and she knew he had caught her lie. She never really understood Usha’s, or for that matter, Leela’s choices when it came to things like that. But again, she never wanted to, ever again. For, she had subconsciously begun to attribute it to another unnecessary extravagance of the rich. “So, care to tell me why you’re so scared of her?” He questioned, his arms crossed in front of him, eyes searching hers. “I’m not ‘scared’ of her!” She said, sounding so unsure that even she herself wouldn’t buy it.
Kunj nodded, his gaze still not leaving hers. “Alright. Maybe a little.” She conceded, smiling softly when she saw him grin. “She’s Usha Sarna! She intimidates people!” She said in her defense. Kunj looked thoughtful for a moment, beginning to say something, but stopping on second thought. She didn’t find it her to persuade him into revealing his thoughts though. “I think I agree with you on that one.” He said a whole moment later, obviously a well thought out, diplomatic answer. She didn’t push him this time either, perhaps it wasn’t in her right to do so. She had, however, found him staring at her at several instances during the day, and the confusion it brought along wasn’t really doing her any good.
Twinkle had just finished some work in the bride’s room on the first floor and was swiftly making it down the corridor so that she wouldn’t be too late to welcome Yuvi and the Sarnas when they arrived, when she heard a hushed utterance of her name. She stopped immediately, turning around to find the entire area empty. Just as she was about to dismiss it as an illusion and leave, she heard it again, and this time she found the source too. One of the women employed by the wedding planners, who was standing right below was discussing a certain ‘Twinkle’ on her phone.
“Of course, you’ve seen her back when we were working with the Tanejas! How could you have forgotten Twinkle? She is Leela Taneja’s daughter after all!” The woman’s voice reached Twinkle all clear, and she felt a drop in her spirit. “I know! Nobody had the slightest idea of where she was for so long, and today I see her out of the blue! Can you believe that?” The woman continued. Twinkle gave an involuntary shudder at the thought that now news would spread like wildfire about her living entirely cut-off from the family that she once proudly called her own.
Just as she let a couple of tears roll down her cheeks, she heard an unmistakable shuffling of feet right in front of her. She turned away immediately, wiping away her tears hastily. “Kunj, hi! I was just-” She began, gesturing vaguely on realizing that she didn’t really have anything to say. She gasped when they heard the voice below again and he bent over the railings to look. She shut her eyes, dreading the worst, desperately hoping that he hadn’t overheard anything already. She released a breath she didn’t even know she was holding in when she heard him mutter something disapprovingly about people ‘just whiling away their time’. She nodded in agreement, adding a comment of her own to that and had just begun to walk away when she heard him call out to her from behind.
Kunj walked over to her side slowly when she didn’t turn back to him. “Like I’ve said before as well, I’m not going to interfere in matters that I should definitely not, but you do know that I give pretty good advice, right?” She smiled gratefully at him, which he took as a sign to continue, “I am pretty amazing at most things as well, so that’s your added advantage!” He laughed, earning another of those looks from her that he couldn’t quite decipher. “Most things, except these curtains.” She teased as they passed by the curtain that he had been trying to fix the previous day. “A man’s got to have one skill he’s nonsense at! Being perfect at it all is boring!” He replied, making her laugh.
“Statue!” She heard him say a moment later, and froze in her spot, her eyes following him as walked over from her side to stand in front of her. He crossed his arms in front of him, watching her, earning a suspicious look from her. He smiled to himself, admiring her, feeling his heart flutter at her relentless gaze. Damn, he loved her so much! He wished he could also pause time right there, but he also knew Twinkle was getting impatient, and he had to come up with something to say that wasn’t, ‘I really like you and just felt like looking at you peacefully for a few minutes.’ Fortunately, he didn’t have to think too hard, since they heard a couple of cars honking outside, announcing Yuvi’s arrival.
Once customary pleasantries had been shared, the Sarnas walked in, appearing really pleased with Twinkle and Kunj’s work. When Usha turned around to let the two know of the same, she found them giggling softly over some whispers. Usha’s gaze had brought along everyone else’s attention too. Twinkle excused herself the moment she realized it, leaving Kunj alone to deal with it. She would probably apologize later.
“Is Ditti here yet?” Yuvi asked Twinkle in a hushed voice when the group had dispersed and he had found her in the kitchen. “You aren’t allowed to meet her until the priest permits you to, tomorrow. You know that, right?” She teased. He groaned, whimpering a “We should have had a court marriage instead.” Before she could hit back with something witty, Kunj walked in and filled in for her, “Someone seems to be getting too impatient!” Yuvi observed carefully as Twinkle’s glance softened for the one moment that she glanced at Kunj before the cheerful glint returned. “Oh, shouldn’t I be saying that to you, Kunj?” Yuvi pointed out, throwing a knowing look at his friend, and smirking when he saw him stiffen.
Twinkle, who had been watching them quietly, found curiosity getting the better of her. “I take it that Kunj is in more of a hurry than you are, Yuvi?” She asked cautiously, ending up confused when Yuvi burst out laughing. “You’ve done a great analysis of my man, Twinkle!” Yuvi managed to get out in between his unceasing laughter. She saw Kunj pinch him in retaliation, her smile only brightening when she saw them begin a mock fight right there. Yuvi called it quits when he heard his phone ringing. Even Twinkle and Kunj knew by now, that he had that ringtone set specifically for Aditi’s calls. “I’ll catch up with you later tonight, Twinkle. Have something to discuss.” He said as he walked out after patting Kunj’s shoulder affectionately.
It was for this reason that Twinkle had wandered towards the balcony several hours later. It had been well past midnight; she knew it would be problematic if either of the Sarna women caught her. She believed that they would assume she was being too nosy in their affairs. Perhaps she wasn’t the only one with that fear though, because right as she heard Usha’s voice, she felt a hand drag her aside, behind one of those huge pillars that she had thought were pointless right until that moment. She had to fight her instinct to scream out loud, lest she should have grabbed every single person’s attention. She looked up, expecting Yuvi, but finding Kunj instead, leaving her torn between being glad and being more worried.
“You don’t have to be so frightened by her, Twinkle! I saw you freeze the moment you heard her voice!” She heard him whisper, his eyes trained on hers. “What’s the worst that could happen?” He added, bending carefully to look at Usha. “She’s headed this way. Don’t make a single noise!” He informed her, earning a skeptical look from her. “You’re kinda going against your own words here, you know?” She pointed out, and he looked cornered. “I am supposed to be helping her friend’s daughter with some … can’t recollect.” He told her, making her laugh softly. “We stay hidden.” She announced her verdict, and he nodded gratefully.
Just when Kunj had begun wondering if their place of hiding had been safe enough for both of them, when she leaned back against the pillar, gesturing at the empty space in front of her. He took it gladly – it was a win-win. Only when he had stepped that close to her did she realize that it had been a horrible idea. The proximity threatened to destroy all the understanding she had gathered so far that he was in love with someone else. Her hand that came up to run through her hair in her nervousness accidentally ran across his cheek, and he caught it by the wrist. His own heart had been thudding wildly. It made them realize for the first time that his other hand had been resting on the pillar by her waist – he essentially had her pinned.
They felt Usha pass them by in their moment of crisis, heaving sighs of relief when she got ahead by a few steps, relaxing against each other, yet another thing that they ought to have thought through, for now, somehow, they were even closer to each other. “Usha?” They heard a voice call from behind – the very direction Usha had come from, making them panic at the thought that she would now turn around, and definitely see them. Fortunately, Kunj had mind enough to take a couple steps away immediately. They watched with bated breath as the voice called for Usha again, and this time, she did turn around. Her eyes landed on them, making them gulp hard.
That’s it for now, guys! I feel so evil right now, leaving on a cliffhanger, haha. I hope you all enjoyed your read. I promise to post earlier next time if the response is good enough. Stay tuned. Lots of love!!