Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 38

Greetings all you lovely people! Thank you so much for all your love and appreciation for the previous episode! While some things in there came totally unexpected, I just wanted to say that it was all crucial to the plot. Things are taking a turn, and only time will tell if it’s all for the best. Happy reading!!

Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 38

A quick recap: Twinkle overhears Aditi pointing out to Kunj that he is in love, and is hurt by the thought that he loves someone else. She then finds out about the vandalism  at her cafe, where she also discovers that Kunj was trying to buy the property, and Mr. Taneja appears to be the mind behind the attack on the cafe.

A weird numbness took over Twinkle as she slowly stood up and began to walk towards Mr. Taneja, the one man who had caused utter destruction in her picture perfect life. Yuvi, Aditi and Kunj were calling out to her, but it did not even reach her ears. She had no words to say when he had made her leave her own home, but now she did. “Was this the only way you could think of, of getting back at me for choosing my self respect over being a Taneja?” She spoke coldly when she stood in front of him. “What?!” He asked, looking stunned at the question. “I’ve caught you red-handed, Mr. Taneja. There is absolutely no point in trying to deny that this was another of your attempts to ruin everything that meant the whole world to me!” Her response was flat toned and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

“Twinkle, I wouldn’t! You still are my daughter, and I would never want to make things harder for you. I was only here to-” Mr. Taneja began his explanation, but she cut him short with “That’s enough. I don’t think there is anything left to justify now. Please leave. I don’t want this place to be mangled by your presence! This cafe isn’t just a building, it is a dream, it is my pride. I don’t want you here, neither for me, nor to spoil anything else.” Twinkle’s voice came off as calm, although a fire was raging in her heart. She didn’t know what she had to do anymore. This man was her father, and some corner of her heart always hoped that whenever they first met after that fateful night things would be different, but here she was, nursing the newer wounds he had inflicted upon her soul.

Twinkle felt that every corner of her heart call out to him when after Yuvi and Kunj’s repeated insistence, he began to walk away. Aditi stood beside her, giving her a side hug and trying hard not to sob. Aditi was stunned at how composed Twinkle was managing to show herself to be, but knew that was only an indication of how much she was hurt on the inside. Aditi hoped, desperately, that when Twinkle would finally bring herself to drop the pretence and face the turmoil within, she wouldn’t find herself alone.

Just as she had turned away, Twinkle heard the only other voice she dreaded hearing that day, Leela’s. “Stop this madness right now, Twinkle! We’ve let you make your decisions, no matter how meaningless or problematic they were, but not anymore! It is ridiculous that you now blame your father for your problems. He is prepared to forgive you and take you back in, you should grab the opportunity when you still have it, and stop this pain that your father, Mahi, you and I have been dealing with for so incredibly long! Do you hear me?” Twinkle heard herself whimper involuntarily, the fact that they didn’t understand her even now becoming unbearable.

“Twinkle!” Leela implored, walking towards Twinkle, but the voice that answered left everyone stunned. “Leela, the poor girl is already dealing with another of the biggest losses of her lifetime, stop putting her in a tough spot at this juncture at least! We should be standing with her right now, helping her rebuild from this mess, not pushing her to take a decision that she has no inclination towards. Let’s be understanding, this one time at least?” Usha’s voice, weighed down by sorrow, made everyone turn to look at the entrance. Twinkle passed her mother-in-law a grateful look, then glanced at Bebe who sent her way a concerned and reassuring smile too. Twinkle’s first instinct was to look at Kunj and Yuvi, who looked equally overwhelmed by the situation too. Usha held out her hands for Twinkle, offering her a hug that Twinkle accepted without a second thought, giving Leela a huge shock.

Usha held Twinkle warmly in her embrace, and Bebe caressed her head gently. She then whispered to Twinkle, “You don’t have to do anything she’s saying. As for your new family, we can hardly fully understand what you’re going through right now, let alone help you get out of it, but we want to try. We want to be there for you and support you, because we’ve been in this spot before, we know what it feels like to have everything snatched away. We are here for you, regardless of other differences we may have.” Twinkle withdrew sniffling, unable to believe this turn of events. Usha nodded at her before placing a hand on her head in blessing. Twinkle hadn’t been very confident about starting over again, her emotions preventing her from even thinking about it, but now, knowing that she wasn’t really alone, helped her in ways she didn’t even know were possible.

She walked over to Leela slowly, throwing Yuvi a small smile before she spoke,  “Mrs. Taneja. I am really thankful for the mercy you’ve shown me, there could never be a way for me to make it up to you, but I beseech you to drop this issue right here. I will not be requiring any more of your favours. It’s going to be harder this time around since I have to build from the scratch, but I will. And perhaps, then, you will see how determined and stubborn I can be. I wish I could say that it was nice meeting you today.” Yuvi smiled through his tears, recollecting his own first conversation with Leela that Twinkle had driven the last bit of her words from. Leela obviously hadn’t seen this coming, and felt rather humiliated as she was led out by the policewoman who cited that only people directly related to the cafe could stay.

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Twinkle was just done with freshening up after the day that had seemed to drag on forever, when she heard knocking on the bedroom door. “It’s open” she called out, somehow sure that it had to be Kunj. She hadn’t seen or heard from him ever since he had sent her home after repeated insistence earlier that evening, assuring her that Yuvi and he would take care of all that was necessary. She had resorted to trying to read a book to kill time when she got home, but an hour into the book and she hadn’t got a single word into her head, making her finally give up and take a long shower instead. Needless to say, she was disappointed when not Kunj, but Aditi walked into the room, a tray with two glasses on it in her hands. Twinkle quickly righted her frown and smiled at her. Aditi was trying to be as cheerful as always, and her effort was evident. So Twinkle decided to play along, at least for Aditi’s satisfaction.

“Ooh, what’s this?” Twinkle asked, taking the tray from Aditi’s hands. “Just lemonade. I don’t know much – any – cooking related thing at all.” Aditi replied with a shrug. Twinkle sipped it earnestly and hummed in appreciation, letting Aditi heave her sigh of relief. “I know that you don’t want more people sympathising with you. You’ve had enough of that all day. I have something else to say.” Aditi spoke slowly, watching Twinkle’s expressions carefully, but the latter was way too good at concealing her emotions. She nodded in a ‘Go ahead’, and offered the kindest smile she could put on at that moment. “You’re off to a fresh start again, and we’re all incredibly proud of you. We understand that this is a new and entirely different challenge for you as well, and need to be there for you anytime you need us.” Aditi began, choosing her words as carefully as she could, knowing that this could be her last chance to turn things in the direction they all knew was best for Twinkle.

Twinkle appeared to be scrutinising the words cautiously too, before she said, “But I know I can do this by myself-” Her interjection was interrupted by Aditi who quipped in, “Sure! Of course, we all know that, and I’m not saying that we’ll get in your way at all! But perhaps it would feel nice to accompany my friend when she goes to pick the design for her new menu cards or something..?” Twinkle smiled a little at that, realising that what Aditi was proposing was in no way obstructive to her independence and that they all just really wanted to stand by her throughout. “Would you really want to do that?” She asked, her insecurities prompting her to reassure herself. “Absolutely! I would love that!” Aditi exclaimed excitedly.

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It had been well past midnight when Kunj got home, his heart aching each time he recalled Twinkle’s desperation, sharp pangs of which he felt physically too. He couldn’t bear to see his Twinkle in so much pain repeatedly, and currently felt worn out from the number of times he had had to answer the same set of questions – How are you related to the manager of the cafe? Where was she when the attack took place? How did she find out about it? What percentage of the property does she own? Could she have held any interests in this destruction, such as insurance claims?

He groaned into the darkness as he split ways from Yuvi and walked along the corridor that led him to his and Twinkle’s room, where a single dim light was glowing – an indication that he had learnt to decipher as Twinkle had fallen asleep despite trying her best to wait for his return. He sighed, knowing that it must have been an impossible task for her to go to sleep after all that had happened. Ever since he had met her, he had known that the cafe had meant so much to her. He couldn’t see what might have really caused an attack on it. The policemen had seemed equally clueless too. He knew too well that Twinkle had strived to put on a brave facade all day, but on the inside, she must have been sobbing endlessly.

The sight that awaited him the moment he pushed open the door to the bedroom shook him to his very core. Twinkle was sitting in a corner, sweating profusely and shivering as she mumbled incoherently to herself. “Twinkle!” Kunj called out, rushing to her side immediately. “Twinkle!” He shrieked, reaching out to her but she whimpered as if fearing his touch. It only took a quick few seconds of observing that she was breathing heavily for Kunj to recognise that she was having a panic attack. Thankfully he had read up on it. “Twinkle, it’s me, Kunj. You are alright here. Everything is fine. Let me help you out please.” He spoke softly, repeating himself over and over as he gradually moved his hand towards her and placed it on her shoulder gently.

“Kunj!” Twinkle gasped, apparently struggling to keep her eyes focused on him. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she did not flinch away from him. He took it as an indication to move closer and wrap her in his arms. “You’re fine. We’re safe at home, see? It’s all going to turn out absolutely great, trust me. We’ve got this.” He promised, rubbing his hands on her back and shoulder to help keep her warm. “Twinkle, here.” He prompted, placing her hand on his chest, right over his heart. “Breathe with me. We can do this.” He said, directing her to deep inhaling and exhaling exercises.

Kunj was well versed with the 3-3-3 rule to ground her racing mind to the present. She had to name three sounds she could hear, move three parts of her body – fingers, shoulders and feet, and finally point out three things she could see. Although she was initially reluctant to comply with him, with patient persuasion he managed to get her through. He was stunned when one of the things she had named that she could hear was his heartbeat, but he knew better than pursue that thought right then. He loved her, a lot more each day even, but he wasn’t about to let that get in the way of her well-being. He now hummed softly to her, still holding her close to himself, his own thoughts in a mess –  she had just dealt with a panic attack. Was this her first? Did she ever have to deal with it all by herself before? He shivered at the thought, and as if on cue, Twinkle snuggled closer to him, her arms coming to rest around his neck, her head resting sideways on his chest.

He froze, for his heartbeats were picking up again due to her proximity. She had never made an advance like that before, and he hated himself for the fact that despite the tense situation, he still felt butterflies in his stomach. A moment later, he brought himself to let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding in, and slowly bent a little to check on her. She wasn’t asleep, and he didn’t know what to make of that. He watched her lovingly as she simply blinked her eyes. When she noticed him looking at her, her grip on him tightened ever so little, her back arching as she brought her face closer to his. “Twinkle?” He whispered, knowing that she was extremely vulnerable right then, and probably not even thinking this through. “Kunj” She whispered back, her lips now dangerously close to his.

Kunj had wanted her close to him for longer than he could remember, but not like this. Not in a state that would make her hate herself for her actions when she felt better in the morning. He leaned away from her, losing balance at a point and taking them both crashing to the ground. She had landed right over him, so he presumed she was alright, although his own head was definitely going to end up with a bump. He looked down at her, her eyes fixated on his own, sending a chill down his spine. “Kunj-” she began but fell asleep right after, making him sigh deeply.

That’s it for now, guys. Let me know what you thought about it. Until next time, much love!!