Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 37

Hello everyone!! Thank you so much for all your appreciation of the previous episode! It means tons to me. Also, sincere apologies for this taking so long, but I promise that I’m trying to make the episodes more frequent, and you will see it taking effect soon. Happy reading!!

Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 37

A quick recap: Twinkle is stunned by the fact that the Sarnas do not create a scene over her day-long disappearance. She manages to sort things out with Aditi and ends up seeking solace in Kunj’s arms as she reveals her fears regarding Usha to him.

Twinkle turned around in the bed for what had to be the hundredth time already, determined to go back to sleep, although she knew that there was no point. She finally gave up when she heard soft laughter outside the door, two voices she recognised too well – Yuvi and Kunj. She sighed at the recollection of how patient and understanding he had been with her, making her thoughts involuntarily drift to the teeny tiny crush she had developed on him weeks ago. She didn’t know if she still felt the same about him. Perhaps it was only admiration, respect and deep friendship now? She couldn’t tell. Besides, she kept telling herself that they now had an entire lifetime together and she would sort the impending issue out when her other problems – people still giving her a hard time over her past – has been overcome.

She glanced at the boys through the creak in the door as she walked to the washroom. They looked happy and at peace. She knew too well that they had both been through quite a lot too, and that gleam of sunshine had returned after days. There was no way she was going to interrupt and ruin it for them. When she returned after her bath, heading out to help Aditi in the kitchen or whatever she was doing that morning though, she heard Aditi’s voice there too. “You love her, you idiot!” She was saying, and it didn’t really take Twinkle more than flash to realise it was directed at Kunj.

She froze in her tracks, her hand still on the doorknob, but not opening the door. It was when she had absently fumbled around a long minute later and caused the vase on that small table to crash to the ground that she was jolted out of her daze. She didn’t have to look at them to realise she had grabbed their attention, and before she knew it, they were all rushing to her, making sure she was alright and hadn’t hurt herself. She assured them that she was alright with the best smile she could put on right then, avoiding Kunj’s glance intentionally. How could he be in love with someone else!

Twinkle nodded along to whatever it was that Aditi was telling her as they prepared breakfast, her mind wandering off to the look on Kunj’s face when Aditi had accused him of being in love. There had been no denial at all. Instead, all three of them had begun laughing and teasing immediately, as if it was no big deal. It had been almost a whole week since the fateful reception party at the Sarnas’, and she had lied to Kunj that people were beginning to leave the issue behind. He had been so worried for her after all, and she did not want to worsen things for him, but it looked like she had gone and done just that. Had they been talking about the annoying woman who had claimed to be Kunj’s fiance at Yuvi and Aditi’s wedding? ‘That doesn’t seem likely. Kunj isn’t crazy.’ The voice in her head only tried to sound convincing but failed. Was it her, really?

‘What is it to me anyways!’ She tried thinking deliberately, but it wasn’t working. “Twinkle!” Aditi’s eager voice and nudges on the shoulder broke her train of thoughts. “What are you thinking about? Is everything alright?” Aditi asked, sounding just as concerned as she looked. Twinkle nodded quickly, dismissing the idea of questioning Aditi about what she was so desperate to know about. “You’re sure?” Aditi asked again, looking totally unconvinced. “Yes!” Twinkle replied, fighting to maintain her calm composure. “You didn’t hear Bebe call out for you, though.” Aditi said, pointing in the general direction of the hall. Twinkle was surprised all over again. Why could Bebe be looking for her? Had she been forgiven already? This was turning out to be such a strange day, and all in the first couple of hours.

Bebe already had the rest of the family’s presence in the hall by the time Twinkle and Aditi got there. She momentarily glanced at Kunj who was standing beside Yuvi at the foot of the staircase, before quickly looking away. This didn’t go unnoticed by Yuvi though. He whispered to Kunj, “Did the two of you have a disagreement of sorts?” But Kunj looked equally unaware of this sudden change in Twinkle’s behaviour too. “Maybe you could speak to her later? You know, because she is apparently avoiding me!” Kunj whispered back with a pained expression. Twinkle and his equations had gotten so much better in the past week, and he thought she had finally accepted her new life completely, but now, suddenly, it all seemed to be falling apart. Yuvi had to give in when all his attempts to get Kunj himself to resolve the issue failed.

“Bebe, has there been a problem?” Aditi questioned, wondering what had gone wrong now when things were finally beginning to look upwards for all of them – even Usha and Bebe were no longer being cold and bitey to them all. Bebe looked at Twinkle and sighed deeply, as though still unable to make up her mind over this. “I just received a phone call from a friend, and she tells me that your cafe might have been in a little accident, Twinkle.” Bebe informed, carefully weighing her words, but the collective gasp that bit of news received proved that there was no way of putting that nicely.

Needless to say, Twinkle, Kunj, Aditi and Yuvi had made a dash for the cafe. Kunj, although on the wheel, kept returning his glance to Twinkle, to make sure she was holding up well. He knew the possibility of that was very bleak, and it was pretty clear from the look on her face that all that Yuvi was saying to her from beside her was having no impact at all. Aditi turned back and looked at her every now and then too, but was too shocked to say anything that would be impactful. She and Yuvi shared a meaningful look before he reached out and offered Twinkle a side hug which she accepted gratefully. They didn’t need a more clear indication that Twinkle was entirely broken, and there was hardly anything they could think of that would help ease her pain. And all this before they had even seen the damage caused.

As soon as Kunj pulled in front of the cafe it was clear that this hadn’t been a ‘little’ accident. Twinkle felt her world come crashing around her just at the sight of the crowd that had been kept outside by a few policemen. Kunj and Yuvi managed to get the four of them past the barricades, but immediately regretted it. The once beautiful, peace exuding cafe was now wreckage. The building didn’t seem to have suffered any visible damage, but inside, everything had been reduced to rubble. Maya was there too, looking visibly pained by the sight in front of her, keys to the once splendid glass doors still dangling in her hands. The outer grills appeared to have been taken down forcibly and there were just piles of shattered glass where the glass doors had been.

Twinkle had hardly made a single noise since she had heard the news. She just stared at what used to be her reception desk but was now just damaged furniture that didn’t even look like a desk anymore. She had seen all her lights had suffered just as much too, and couldn’t even bring herself to imagine the state the kitchen could be in. The dessert stands were buried under more wood and veneer – she couldn’t even recognise where those were from in their current state. Having walked as far into the building as the debris would allow her, she turned around slowly, trying to imagine what the place had looked like when she and Maya had locked it up the previous evening. It only pierced her heart like the shards of glass would have had she been there when all this had happened.

“What happened in here?” She heard Aditi ask Yuvi, voicing the one question that she hadn’t even realised had to be asked in this situation. “Twinkle.” She heard Mr. Sen’s cold voice next and spun in her spot. “Mr. Sen? Do you have any idea what happened here? It was all absolutely alright when I left yesterday night and now it’s-” She had begun, her fear crippling her, but then she realised she did not really have any words to explain the disaster. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that question, Twinkle? I came by yesterday morning and everything was just alright, surprisingly you had also paid your monthly instalment well in time, business seemed to be doing well except for a couple of ladies talking some unrelated nonsense, and then, out of nowhere the cafe gets vandalised?”

Twinkle stumbled backwards, the word ‘vandalised’ echoing in her head. ‘Why!’ Her thoughts were screaming, but only soft whimpers came out. “Don’t you behave like the victim now, Twinkle! This place was my mom’s dream, and you let it fall apart like it was nothing! Despite living right around the corner, you couldn’t even get here before I did?” Mr. Sen continued, and Twinkle was about to trip over the broken chair behind her when a pair of arms caught her firmly. “That’s enough!” Kunj’s voice thundered, making all the eyes turn towards him instantly. “Do you understand what a vandalism attack is, Mr. Sen? This was not a cheap propaganda for which you can hold Twinkle responsible! It is a criminal act, and the police are dealing with it! Nobody was here when it happened. Not even you! So it would only do you good to stop your ridiculous blame game right away!” Kunj continued, his grip on Twinkle’s arms as warm and reassuring as he could possibly have been with his blood boiling in anger.

Mr. Sen’s entire attitude had changed at that. He was not expecting to take on Kunj Sarna of all people in the middle of this crisis. “But Mr. Sarna, I still own over 90% of this property, and have incurred a complete loss! I heard from Mr. Luthra that you do frequent this place, Sir. But this is between me and my employee, and I don’t think I’m wrong at pointing out that she couldn’t even get here earlier!” He explained, looking confused at this sudden turn of events. “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Sen. I came as soon as I heard.” Twinkle said in a flat voice, exhaling sharply. “Sen, the police and the insurance company have been informed. Let’s deal with this in a more civil way, shall we?” Yuvi quipped in. It was a warning, a firm ‘stay away’ and Mr. Sen seemed to understand immediately.

“Twinkle..” was all Kunj had managed to say when she finally broke down in his arms, after having held so strong for so long. He felt miserable looking at her like this. He loved her, a lot more than he would ever be able to find the words to say so. And her tears stung his heart. He had been trying his own ways and means to make her happy, to make her feel accepted and cared for, to make sure she wouldn’t end up disappointed, but here they were. Almost back to square one. He held onto her, choosing his silence, knowing and understanding exactly what this felt like. The Sarnas had had their dream, their everything, snatched away from them too after all. He smiled gratefully, with teary eyes, at Yuvi and Aditi as they joined in the hug a while later. None of them knew what exactly they could tell her to make her feel better, but they knew they wanted to.

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Twinkle and Kunj sat on the chairs that the policemen had placed in some of the same they had cleared, prepared for an account of the devastation. “Your name?” The officer questioned Twinkle, scribbling on his notepad. “Twinkle.” She answered quietly, her voice strained. “Full name, please.” The officer shot back in a beat, making Kunj panic. Twinkle was already dealing with so much, and the last thing she needed was a reminder of her past. He had almost responded with a ‘She doesn’t use a last name.’ when Aditi quipped in, “Twinkle Kunj Sarna.” She felt all the eyes turn to her immediately, making her wonder where she had gone wrong. “Twinkle is married to Mr. Sarna?” Mr. Sen asked, not even attempting to hide the disbelief in his voice. When Yuvi threw him another warning look, he audibly mumbled, “That explains why I was getting calls in connection to the purchase of this property from the Sarnas.”

Kunj shut his eyes in dread, already knowing that when Twinkle now looked at him, those eyes he always lost himself in would contain disdain for him, maybe even hatred. Maybe she wouldn’t even trust him anymore. Would she begin to think of leaving him, moving out? Twinkle, however, was harshly reminded of her discovery of Kunj being in love, making her question every single thing that had ever transpired between them, everything he had ever said to her. Before she could voice any of those thoughts though, she caught an unbelievable sight over Kunj’s shoulder.

Mr. Taneja, her father, was handing some people money and pointing at the destruction in the cafe. They were standing at a corner as if trying to avoid coming into anyone’s view, and all this could have only meant one thing given that the men collecting the men carried some weaponry that could have only been used for destruction. Twinkle’s gaze in that direction had also directed everyone else’s attention there, and now they all stood in pin-drop silence, unable to believe this twist to their troubles.

That’s it for now, guys! Please feel free to drop in your opinions, I know I’m not perfect and I’m definitely willing to work on them. Apologies for not replying on your comments on the previous one, they are closed now, but I am so glad to see you all again! And so, so grateful! Until next time, lots of love!!