Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 28

Hello everyone!! Thank you so much for all your love for the story and its characters, it really means a lot to me! Without much delay, let’s head right for the wedding episode! Happy reading!!

A quick recap: The preparations are underway, and we see each person reacting differently to the developing circumstances. While Yuvi and his mother-in-law join hands to make up for Twinkle’s missing family, Kunj does his best to make her feel better about it all. The day has finally arrived and rituals have begun at the Sarna mansion.

Twinkle got to the cafe way before her usual time, knowing that Maya would be there early too. “Good morning.” Maya greeted, wondering what Twinkle was doing there that day. “Maya, I’m sorry about—” Twinkle’s explanation and apology were cut short by Maya’s “I know, I’m sorry too. I realised that I was being way too harsh about it all. We’re okay now, aren’t we?” Twinkle nodded with a genuine smile, but couldn’t get Maya’s remark of her being ‘the reason for Kunj refusing to marry Tanisha’ out of her head. “You know I didn’t mean any of that! You aren’t that, Twinkle! Your relationship with them has always been special, and it’s evident that Kunj lo—” Maya had begun her apologetic explanation yet again, but was cut short by Aditi barging into the cafe.

“There she is! The bride!” Aditi chirped excitedly, and then quickly looking at her watch. “We’re running a little late. Shall we?” She asked, glancing alternatively between Twinkle and Maya before Twinkle nodded. Twinkle remained quiet throughout the drive, but Aditi tried her best to interject every now and then with something to say, knowing that Twinkle was anxious. That she needed to be constantly reassured that it was all under control and there was nothing to worry about. Aditi knew that her wedding was different from this one on so many levels, but it was a wedding nevertheless and just like Kunj had been fidgeting back at home, she knew Twinkle was struggling to stay still too. The only difference being that one was excited, and the other nervous.

It had been Yuvi’s idea to bring Twinkle to his mother-in-law’s hotel room, where she could dress up and Usha’s list of rituals could be carried out. He knew that Twinkle didn’t like anyone turning up at her small house, and since this was closer to the court, it seemed a practically viable solution too. Kunj had helped her move most of her luggage too anyways, so they didn’t have much to worry about. “Yuvi is going to be here soon.” Aditi informed Twinkle, knowing that he would definitely be the better person to keep Twinkle company till the wedding. Twinkle nodded gratefully at her, knowing that Aditi would return to Kunj’s side then. Neither Yuvi nor Aditi had complicated things or fussed about choosing sides. They had sorted out the entire arrangement neat and quick, surprising both the bride and the groom, and they were left absolutely nothing to complain about.

Twinkle was welcomed warmly by Mrs. Singh, who Twinkle noticed had the same vulnerable look on her face that she had had on the day of Aditi’s wedding. Twinkle recognised the warmth, it was no different from the one that she had in store for Aditi. She had, in all terms, taken over as Twinkle’s mother. She let Aditi’s mother guide her through everything, right from how her bridal Saree was to be draped to her hairdo. She did protest when the other two women brought out their makeup kits and brushes, and they had to settle for what Aditi called the minimal makeup look. Twinkle, however, would not accept the jewellery that Aditi’s mom brought out of her wardrobe. When she looked up from the simple yet elegant necklace, pair of dangling earrings and bangles, she found Aditi and her mother standing right in front of her, watching her adoringly.

“We know we can’t give you much. Not that you would accept any precious jewellery from us, but when we’ve decided that we’re going to be your family, we wanted to do all that we could in the limited time we had. Don’t you worry, this isn’t pure gold or anything. And I hope we’re allowed to do this little thing for you, after all that you’ve done for us?” Mrs. Singh spoke affectionately, pecking Twinkle’s forehead. Twinkle was crying by now. She had missed her mother too much already, and now that someone else was trying so hard to make up for it all, her heart found it a little too much to contain. “Or we’ll think that you don’t consider us your own.” Aditi mock admonished, carefully wiping away Twinkle’s tears, although her own eyes were welling up now.

Aditi led Twinkle to the mirror when they were done with the jewellery. “Kunj is going to faint.” Aditi whispered teasingly, and there was no way Twinkle could have hidden the blush rising up her cheeks. Twinkle looked at her reflection in a daze, finding that she couldn’t even recall the last time she had decked up like that. Had to have been with the Tanejas, when parties and ceremonies were an almost everyday deal. Her thoughts were interrupted when Mrs. Singh walked over to her other side and the mother-daughter duo hugged from either side, laughing softly at the fond memories of Aditi’s wedding when they heard the doorbell. “That must be my hubby dearest.” Aditi sighed, earning a giggle from Twinkle. Yuvi and Aditi’s relationship never failed to amaze her.

“Ditti! I missed you so much!” Yuvi exclaimed when Aditi opened the door, hugging her immediately. Her mother’s “Well hello, son-in-law!” made him pull away. Aditi cast a disapproving glance at her mother, while Yuvi threw her an apologising look. His eyes stilled when they spotted Twinkle, his glance softening immediately. “Hey!” He said, walking to her and extending his arms for a their kind of hug. She relented immediately, grabbing his arm a little tighter than ever before. “Nervous?” He asked softly, sighing when she hummed in response. “You’re sure about this, aren’t you?” He questioned next, already knowing he would get a positive response to that as well. “You’ll both figure it all out by and by. I trust you, and him. Just like you trust him.” He added and felt her grip on him relax. “Did I already tell you how pretty you look!” He proclaimed dramatically, kneeling in front of her, making the other two women laugh.

When Yuvi returned after seeing Aditi off, he found Twinkle standing by herself near the window, phone in hand, evidently struggling with a decision. “Why don’t you call her up when you want to so badly?” He suggested, standing next to her. She turned to look at him, trying to feign no knowledge of what he was talking about, but this was Yuvi. “I know that despite all that we may try and do for you, we can never take the place that was theirs. I also know that you haven’t forgiven them, perhaps you never can, but today is your day. There is no point ruining your mood today of all days over this.” He reasoned, nudging her encouragingly.

“It’s just that, Mrs. Singh was speaking so fondly of the moments she and Aditi spent together on the day of the wedding while they waited for her cue, and how that is something both mother and daughter would never forget. And I–” Twinkle began, drifting off when she realised that she didn’t even know what she wanted. Did she want Leela to be by her side? Or did she just want her to know? “Twinkle, even if you regret this after the moment has passed, there will be absolutely nothing we can change about it.” Yuvi pointed out, reading her dilemma perfectly. “I don’t want her to create a scene in the eventuality that she turns up to prove her point.” Twinkle mumbled, unable to make a decision. “Call her.” Yuvi said, already ringing up Leela Taneja on Twinkle’s phone before she could protest yet again.

“Twinkle? Are you alright?” Leela’s voice sounded worried, but Yuvi, who had been listening to the call that he had put on speaker mode, shook his head in disbelief. “Mrs. Taneja, I have to let you know–” was all Twinkle had said when Leela interrupted with, “Listen to me, Twinkle! You don’t have to do this! I know that you’re only trying to prove that you don’t need me to find you a groom, but this is such a wrong thing to do! Your stubbornness will only cost you more than you realise!” Twinkle gasped, unable to believe that Leela was calling out her decision so wrongly. She couldn’t bring herself to accept that her mother had thought she was using Kunj. “That’s enough!” She asserted, seething with anger. She could see Yuvi gritting his teeth too. “Mrs. Taneja, you’re incredibly mistaken! I am not getting married for your sake! I don’t care what you have to say or think about me, or my marriage. For once, I just wanted my mother to be there for me like every mother does for her daughter! But this is the end of that possibility. You, Mrs. Taneja, and your family will keep all your thoughts and intentions as far away from this as you can!” She declared, cutting the call.

Twinkle looked at Yuvi apologetically, but he shook his head. “At least you’ll never have to be guilty that you didn’t make one last attempt to try and fix things. This isn’t your fault, remember?” Yuvi tried cheering her up, gently placing a hand on her cheek. Right then they heard Aditi’s mother call out to them. Yuvi nodded reassuringly at her, leading her to the couch where arrangements had been made for the rituals. “Usha Ji thought it was really necessary to perform at least the Mehendi rituals even if just for the sake of it.” Mrs. Singh explained in response to Twinkle’s questioning glance. “But Ma, doesn’t it take time for the Mehendi to dry and all that? We have less than an hour left!” Yuvi stated, impressing her with his observations. “Instant Mehendi!” She shrugged, holding up a vial of Alta and some cotton buds. “Mehendi would have taken some time to darken too, and Usha Ji only informed me this morning, so Aditi came up with this idea. We will, however, put a tiny dot of Mehendi too, so that the tradition is maintained.” She added, taking Twinkle’s hands in her own and getting to work.

An hour later, the three of them had set off for the court, Yuvi driving, while Twinkle and Mrs. Singh sat at the back. Yuvi knew that Twinkle was getting increasingly worried as each minute passed by, and had mentally noted to keep a check on her. When they finally got off the car, Yuvi had stood by his role as her best friend, giving her the pep talk she needed and then escorted her into the registrar’s office, where the others were already waiting for them. She was greeted with a warm smile by everyone, except for Kunj. Yuvi chuckled at Kunj’s reaction, who appeared evidently blown away. Kunj could not believe that this was finally happening. Looking back, he only recalled being introduced to her for the first time, the time they spent together during the preparations for Yuvi’s wedding, the moment he had proposed – all happy ones, not being rejected or then being avoided for what had felt like an eternity.

His eyes followed her as she greeted Usha, Bebe and Manohar, all of whom were only eager to welcome her into their family, their world. Bebe had gone the extra mile and blessed her with all the happiness in the world that she could ever ask for. When she finally stood beside him, he released a breath that he didn’t even know he was holding in. “Hi.” He said tentatively, willing his heart to calm down, lest she should hear it pounding too. She turned to smile at him in response, but immediately returned her gaze to the floor when she heard Yuvi and Aditi cough obnoxiously loud. When she looked at him again, she found him still staring at her, an intensity that made the butterflies in her tummy go wild.

“I always thought you looked beautiful every day, but today I’m actually dumbfounded. Although, what matters more to me is that you’re such a nice person with a heart of gold. I hope that someday, I’ll be able to find the same strength, optimism and hope within, that you carry so effortlessly every moment.” She heard him whisper right before Usha informed them that they would have a ring ceremony first since they never had an engagement. As Kunj held her hand in his own, his eyes had a clear question for her in them. She felt a tear flow down her cheek as she nodded in the affirmative, following which he slid the ring on her finger, leaning a little closer to whisper “Last chance to back off.” She giggled softly at that, shaking her head. She chose to reply by sliding the other ring on his finger. “Looks like I won’t be running!” She whispered back, her smile widening at his grin.

The garlands were brought next, and although almost everyone present kept pestering Kunj not to let her succeed easily, he ended up bending his head in total submission. Twinkle’s eyes welled up for what had to be the hundredth time that day. Yuvi wolf-whistled and Aditi hooted. All and any doubt that might have remained in Twinkle’s mind was lost that very moment. Once she had garlanded him, he gently put the other garland around her neck, their eyes never leaving each other’s. While Kunj applied the Sindoor at the partition of her hairline and carefully hooked the Mangalsutra around her neck, leaning just a little to make sure he was doing it right, he reinstated the promise he had made to her, about supporting her independence, making it their wedding vow. Twinkle mentally vowed to do her best to nurture their marriage and to trust Kunj, both things she had been so unsure about initially.

With their signatures on the register, Kunj and Twinkle were declared man and wife.

That’s it for now, guys! This already went longer than I had planned in the beginning. It’s just that this is such a special episode, and I wanted to do complete justice to it. I hope it stood up to at least half your expectations. Until next time, lots of love!!