Greetings all you lovely people!! Thank you so much for all your love and affection for the story, and all the support it has received so far! It hits a milestone today that I wasn’t sure we would make it to, but all of you made it possible! It’s also a special episode for a reason that you’ll discover soon! Excited? Let’s go!! Happy reading!
Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 25
A quick recap: Manohar Sarna reveals to Twinkle that Kunj refuses to marry Tanisha, and she is forced to wonder how much of that is her fault. Mahi turns up at the café with a prospective groom for Twinkle, while Yuvi and Kunj also seem to find the whole idea disappointing.
Yuvi grinned at Twinkle, waiting for her to begin complaining about Leela, but instead, she glanced at Kunj, as though figuring out how she was to explain any of that to him. She gave up soon though, having found no convincing excuses. The way they had looked at each other hadn’t gone unnoticed by Yuvi either, but he chose to hold his silence. For then. “I’ve never seen either of you here at this time of the day.” She directed at Yuvi, who laughed in response. “We could leave, you know? If we’re bothering you that much.” He remarked, making her roll her eyes dramatically. “Kunj thought—” Yuvi began explaining, but Kunj cut him short with, “We were passing by, and thought we could drop in and say hi.” Yuvi smirked at that, muttering “Sure” under his breath.
Twinkle nodded with a carefully considered smile. “What got the two of you so awkward around each other?” Yuvi asked, feigning curiosity, chuckling when they both mumbled “Absolutely nothing!” Twinkle knew she needed some time to think through the entire Kunj-Tanisha ordeal. She had only found out that that relationship had fallen apart after all. So she glanced around the café that was bustling with customers to find them an empty table, delaying the inevitable conversation. Kunj, however, seemed to have other plans. “I have to leave. I’m in a bit of a hurry. But Yuvi is going to stay.” He said, feeling selfish, but a tiny bit glad nevertheless, at the way Twinkle’s expression quickly changed to one of disappointment.
“I’ll see you another day, and then you’ll have to make me a cup of your amazing coffee.” Kunj said a moment later and then left with a warm smile. Twinkle hadn’t realised that she had been staring at him go until her eyes returned to Yuvi who was smirking at her. “What?” She asked, and Yuvi shook his head. “Yuvi, before you jump to conclusions, or begin your attempts to convince me yet again, let me tell you that—” Her rant was cut short by Yuvi who quipped in, “I’ve only come as your best friend today. Someone you can speak to. Not Kunj’s brother.” Her unsure look was answered by a reassuring smile and a comforting squeeze of her hand. She knew for a fact that Yuvi was right. This was her best friend. And only her best friend.
Yuvi stayed true to his word, not bringing up the marriage proposal at all. Twinkle knew that Kunj had to have informed Yuvi of that fateful morning’s incident in the cafe, but Yuvi showed absolutely no signs of possessing any such knowledge. Halfway through the conversation that had been all fun so far though, she had an unfathomable urge to know what was running in Kunj’s mind. She also knew that Yuvi would find out about Manohar Sarna’s visit whether or not she told him, so she chose to reveal it to him herself. Yuvi’s reaction though, left her in a fix between laughing and freaking out. “Yuvi?” She wandered cautiously, even as he appeared boggled a couple of minutes later. “I didn’t realize how much we were bothering him, Twinkle! This is so messed up!” He exclaimed, muttering something about how he had already said it could end up badly, but nobody had listened.
“So, do you also know why Kunj decided to part ways from Tanisha?” She asked when Yuvi had managed to calm down with her quiet, assuring hand grabbing his. “I do. And so do you.” Yuvi answered, looking right at her. She retracted her hand immediately and looked away, her eyes welling up of their own accord. “No. I don’t.” She said firmly, managing to return her gaze to him. “You know that you can tell your best friend the truth, right? I won’t be one to judge you for it!” He said slowly, knowing he had to handle this carefully. One mistake on his part could effectively ruin everything. “The truth, Yuvi, is that neither do I know what went wrong there, nor am I responsible for it!” She hit back, watching Maya see off the last customer over the corner of her eyes. “Denying the truth, or refusing to accept it does not change it, Twinkle.” Yuvi said matter-of-factly, making her slouch back into her seat wearily.
Yuvi waited patiently for Twinkle when she went to bid farewell to Maya, closed the doors after her and turned out most of the lights, buying herself as much time as possible to think over her argument. When she returned, she was pretty confident of winning the debate. “Here’s the deal, Yuvi. Both you and I know that although all of you seem bent upon the idea of Kunj marrying me, it is not meant to be. The hurdles are too many—” She was cut short by Yuvi’s laughter which confused her. “Hurdles?” He asked, as though making sure he had heard her right. She rolled her eyes at that. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stated seriously, crossing his arms in front of him. “Yuvi! We’ve been through this before! There’s the whole issue of my life before any of you knew me, the truth that Usha ma’am absolutely hates me, the fear that the Tanejas won’t let any of us live in peace no matter what—” She began, sighing as she figured that Yuvi already knew all of this and there was really no point in repeating it all to him.
Also, she knew that had she blabbered for another minute, she would have laid bare her fears that a wedding meant her resolve to prove herself and establish her independence might be at risk. She knew that nobody else would understand that particular fear of hers. “Are you forgetting that the Sarnas accepted me despite my own past?” His tone had softened now, and Twinkle realised that she had no counter to that. He was right — the Sarnas had been extremely kind to him. “Twinkle, I know and I understand that your inner fears are way too many. Some that you can’t even accept to yourself, let alone voice them to someone else. But what I also know, is that not everyone gets the chance that life is offering you. Kunj genuinely cares for you, Usha aunty will come around too. Nobody’s doing you any favours! We are only offering you a place in our home, hoping that we’ll get to share happiness and love with you. No other expectations.” Yuvi watched carefully as her features relaxed. He knew there had to be a huge battle within her, but she showed absolutely no signs of it.
“Is that enough to keep a marriage going?” She asked meekly, catching Yuvi off-guard. He obviously couldn’t tell her that Kunj loved her yet. “It isn’t. But not every relationship begins with every single thing in place perfectly. We learn and grow, together. You deserve this, Twinkle! You deserve a family that will love you for who you are, and not what your identity is! And we hope that we deserve you — an addition to our family that we know will only bring us the best of the world. Stop reeling in self-doubt now, will you? I know you. I know Kunj. I believe, with every bit of my conscience that this is going to be worth it all. If you like Kunj, maybe you should give in and accept his proposal? For, as far as I’m concerned, the two of you ー you’re just meant to be!” Yuvi didn’t know if he had said enough to get his point across but desperately hoped that he had. Just as he had found some other things to say, Twinkle uttered the words that would forever change everything.
“I accept.”
“I know, but —” Yuvi had said by the time his mind fully processed that. He looked overjoyed and blown away like he couldn’t believe it. Twinkle smiled a little at him, unsure of why she had agreed. She had just heard her heart call out to her and had taken that very path because it felt right, even when there was so much looming uncertainty. It hadn’t been the first time she had let her heart win in a battle against her mind though, and she desperately hoped this would turn out just as wise as the previous times. “I’m so happy for you! And don’t you worry about any of what is to follow. You’ll have a say in it all, and not one thing will happen how you don’t want it to. I promise! Even if you just decide to go for a court marriage—” Yuvi’s excited banter was interrupted by her “Yes. A court marriage is what it will be.” Yuvi’s spirits visibly deflated at that. He gulped hard, now trapped in his own words. Would Usha Sarna agree to that? Wasn’t the fact that Kunj was marrying Twinkle already going to be too much? He managed on a smile nevertheless, giving her a warm hug of their kind, congratulating her in whispers, as he texted away rapidly on his phone behind her back.
“Yuvi, are you sure this is a good idea?” She asked as she handed him his favourite cupcake and the Pasta that he had demanded, claiming that they were celebrating. She had given in begrudgingly after her long day, unaware that he had other intentions. He grinned at her from his perch on the kitchen counter as he accepted his plate, nodding reassuringly to her. “Trust me.” He whispered, offering her a bite of the cupcake. “I do.” She answered, chewing on the tiny nibble of the cupcake she had bitten off. “Trust Kunj too.” He said next, smiling internally at the way she fumbled with the apron she had been putting away, a pleasant blush rising to her cheeks. It was probably the first time that the recognition of the implications of marrying Kunj actually dawned on her, and she didn’t know what to do with herself anymore.
They heard knocks on the door right as Yuvi finished eating and they had cleaned up together, right as Yuvi had calculated in his mind. “Kunj Sarna, you punctual gentleman!” He murmured under his breath, following a disconcerted Twinkle out the kitchen doors. Kunj froze as he spotted them, suddenly not sure of how or what. He had let out a scream of joy when he had read Yuvi’s message, scaring off the staff right outside his cabin, and had been grinning ear to ear ever since. But now that he stood in front of her, he wasn’t so sure. If he seemed too happy, would it scare her away? If he didn’t appear happy, would it make her reconsider her decision? Twinkle had been staring at him blankly too, a dilemma running within her as well. He saw Yuvi pat her shoulder and say something to her before he headed to open the door. “I’ll leave you two to talk now.” He said to Kunj, the two of them quickly exchanging a tight hug.
“Hey.” Kunj said to Twinkle when they had been left alone, and she looked up, managing a tiny smile because she wasn’t too confident of her ability to frame words now. She watched nervously as he pushed the door shut behind him and walked towards her. “Kunj—” She tried, although some part of her knew it was pointless. “I know. This isn’t the easiest thing for you to do. I do appreciate though, that you chose to try a hand at fighting your fears. We’re both new at this, Twinkle. I’m sure though, that if we’re able to respect each other and communicate without any inhibitions, our friendship will do the rest for us.” He spoke, his ‘And my love will suffice for both of us, don’t worry.’ remaining restricted to only his thoughts. He promised himself that there would come a time when he would be able to say that out loud too, but it would only be when she had learnt to trust him completely. And when she would be sure of her place in his home and heart. He would wait, no matter how long that took.
“You’re a really nice person, Kunj. I still don’t understand why you would choose to marry me of all people. And I feel horrible as I say this, but I am going to be really hard to deal with, and I might not even be able to stand up to any of your expectations at all. I want you to know exactly what this is going to put you through so that you have the chance to back off before it is too late.” She whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. “I know what I’m signing up for, Twinkle. And I still want it all.” He said, without skipping a beat. A lone tear flowed down her cheek even as her smile got a tiny bit brighter. Kunj proceeded to wipe it away but pulled his hand back hesitantly, offering her his handkerchief instead. She had just taken with a grateful nod when they heard rapid knocking at the door.
Kunj watched confused as Twinkle led Leela Taneja to him, in a desperate last attempt to make him see why this was clearly a bad idea. She knew for a fact that Leela would come rushing when she had texted her that she had to stop her annoying antics now for Twinkle had already agreed to marry someone. “This is—” Twinkle’s intended introduction of Leela was interrupted by Kunj, who joined his hands in a Namaste and said, “Mrs Leela Taneja” Leela returned his greeting, looking stunned. “Kunj, she’s my…” Twinkle began, trailing off on realising that she hadn’t referred to Leela as her mother in what felt like an eternity. “She’s your mother.” Kunj finished for her, placing a gentle hand on her fidgeting ones and catching her off guard. “I found out accidentally a few weeks ago. Didn’t want to bring it up until you were ready to tell me yourself.” Kunj explained, only to end up in a shock himself when Twinkle freed her hands from his, looking appalled.
That’s it for now, guys! I hope that was a good read for you all. Let me know what you thought about it!! Until next time, lots of love!