Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for the love you all have been showering the story with! I hope I haven’t been causing anyone any disappointment. Happy reading!
Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 5
A quick recap: Aditi refuses to marry Yuvi on the date that he has almost finalized with Usha and Bebe, leading to a tiff between the two. Aditi then turns up at Twinkle’s café, where we saw even Kunj end up after her, apparently already aware she was there. Kunj and Twinkle differ in their opinions about Aditi’s next move, and tension looms in the air.
“I’m sorry, but don’t you think you should let her decide that, Twinkle?” Kunj demanded, his voice dangerously low, but conveying all the disappointment he felt. “I do, and that is precisely why I’m suggesting that if Aditi wishes to have her time apart, she should be allowed it!” Twinkle shot back, quickly glancing at Aditi to know her view, but the latter seemed too lost in her thoughts to be able to decide. “We should give her some time.” Twinkle added, hoping Kunj would understand what she was trying to say too. He seemed as though he was only worried about his own friend, Yuvi. “I refuse! It’s always better to sort issues out before they drive a permanent wedge into a relationship!” Kunj stated adamantly. “I shouldn’t have informed you that she was here at all!” Twinkle seethed, making Aditi look up at her, evidently shocked.
“I’m sorry, Aditi. I know you probably came here to get away from everyone else, but I was really worried for you.” Twinkle confided, wishing she had held a grip on her anger instead. But to her, Aditi was as dear as a sister. Although the girls had only been introduced to each other a few months ago by Yuvi, they had quickly bonded. Aditi had always been cheerful and encouraging, even though she hadn’t known the reasons for Twinkle’s misery, bringing Twinkle even closer to her. Seeing her looking helpless that evening made Twinkle feel a tug in her heart accompanied by a lot of anger for Yuvi, and she wanted to make Aditi feel better no matter what. But Kunj – the Kunj Sarna whom she had perceived to be one of the finest people she had ever known – just wouldn’t let her do so, and so she ended up more infuriated.
As if only to fire her up further, Yuvi knocked at the door right then. She turned to Aditi immediately, wondering what her next move should be, when she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. Before she could protest, or free herself, Kunj was dragging her along to the kitchens. “Aditi, Yuvi is at the door. Listen to him please. We’ll stay out of your way. Take your time.” He informed Aditi, who had now stood up and was looking at the door, but making no move to walk to it, or open it. They could still hear Yuvi though, and Twinkle knew that Aditi wasn’t really left with a choice here. She had to hear him out.
Twinkle tugged at her hand to free herself, but Kunj wouldn’t relent. Once he had got the two of them to her kitchen, he locked the door from within – the key lying in its hole proving advantageous – and put it in his own pocket. He then turned to Twinkle, whose insistence that he should let her go had gone on deaf ears so far. “That is utterly unfair, Kunj! Why are you doing this to the poor girl? Can’t you see she’s hurt?” Twinkle whimpered, watching Aditi through the circular see-through portion of the door. “I can, and I do see her. That is exactly why I’m doing this!” He explained, but Twinkle saw no logic in that. “I know both of them better than you do!” He claimed finally, not wanting to argue any further. He was totally unaware that he had wounded Twinkle horribly in the process. Of course, he had known them longer, but he had no idea how much the two had meant to her. She believed that he had no right to be commenting that way, but her mind couldn’t come up with a sensible response, not with the numbness he had induced.
“Right.” She whispered, resting her back against the locked door and shutting her eyes – to prevent the tears from spilling, but she just knew, deep inside her heart that right then she couldn’t bear to be looking at someone who had hurt her so badly. “Ditti! I totally understand, I promise! I’m sorry I had so many expectations built up that I was totally unprepared to hear anything other than a ‘Yes’. I’ll listen now! Please open the door!” She heard Yuvi pleading to Aditi on the other side, and a few moments later, the unmistakable clinking of keys. Kunj had rushed to watch them too now, both of them peering curiously through the glass as Aditi let Yuvi into the café. On Twinkle’s side, Kunj heaved a sigh of relief, making her snap her head in his direction. She gasped at how impossibly close he stood to her, her heart almost betraying the restraints her mind had put up by refusing to believe his harsh behavior. He on the other hand, seemed blissfully unaffected.
Twinkle’s attention was diverted back to Yuvi and Aditi soon enough. “I would totally understand if you decide never to get married. We can stay just like this.” She heard Yuvi say, his voice a clear indication of his fear. She knew, however, that Aditi would have none of that. As if on cue, Aditi giggled softly and hugged Yuvi, shushing him. Twinkle and Kunj watched spellbound as Aditi explained that there had been a surgery she was to perform on that fateful day, the patient – a little girl. Yuvi showered his apologies for being an absolute idiot at that. Twinkle turned away, willing to give them their privacy. Only to find that Kunj had busied himself in her kitchen.
“What are you doing?” She demanded, hoping a little too late that she hadn’t been too loud. The way he looked up proved that she had. She repeated her question, consciously softer this time. He grinned at her before leaning over the vessel he had on the stove and inhaling deeply. “Tea. You want some?” He asked casually as he strained the tea into two cups, and handed one to her despite her not responding. “I don’t let any customer except Yuvi to even enter my kitchen, and you are cooking here!” She pointed out angrily, and he appeared to be confused. ‘What’s the big deal?’ He was curious to know, but just chose to say, “I had no idea.” She narrowed her eyes at him, getting only more furious. “I agree that you were right about Yuvi and Aditi, but that doesn’t mean you’re now allowed to do anything you want!” She stated, placing her cup of tea on the kitchen counter, and now Kunj looked annoyed too.
“I don’t know what made you think that avoiding your problems is any way to resolve them, Twinkle. It definitely wouldn’t work for Aditi and Yuvi, my way did. I’m sure you’ve been disappointed, but you don’t really have to shout at me. Like I said, I didn’t know you were so particular about your kitchen, and I won’t repeat this! Will that be all?” He spoke calmly, never raising his voice. When she continued to glare at him, he added, “Yuvi told me that you were a dear friend of his, and I assumed that you would be actually as warm and welcoming as he claimed you were. In fact, I had believed him completely after meeting you last time. But you seem to be more interested in chasing people away. If me being here is such a big issue to you, I’ll never come back here!” In the heat of the moment, he had failed to notice that Twinkle had begun stumbling backwards, away from him. She had also stopped listening to him midway, ‘You seem to be more interested in chasing people away!’ echoing in her mind, except it wasn’t in his voice, it was another voice that had said it to her before.
“Twinkle! Are you alright?” Kunj’s voice broke her reverie, his hand was on her wrist, but she couldn’t recall him putting it there. “Twinkle?” He called out again when she watched him, confused. “Does your head hurt?” He asked her as she blinked repeatedly at him, as if ascertaining that she wasn’t dreaming. Looking around, she realized that she had crashed into the wall behind her and slopped down on the ground since her mind had been too occupied to pay attention to where she was going. And then, suddenly, it all came back rushing to her – Kunj’s hurtful words and all. “I’m fine!” She said, standing up hastily, wanting nothing more than to get away from him. “But what happened?” He asked, now looking really worried for her, but she held out her hand, forbidding him from coming closer.
“Twinkle! What happened to you back there?” Kunj asked her yet again as he followed her to the kitchen counter, where she had pulled up a stool for herself. “Nothing at all.” She lied, beginning to calm down now. “I’m really sorry for being rude, I didn’t mean to hurt you!” He said sincerely, and she looked up at him skeptically. “I hope you didn’t. It’s simply cruel to hurt people on purpose.” She answered, a direct reference to the scene that he had unintentionally reminded her of. When he began to scrutinize what she had said, she quickly quipped in, “Also, I know Usha ma’am would have considered all that is necessary and very carefully picked this date for the wedding, but please give Aditi a chance. Just like any other girl who is getting married willfully, Aditi has been the most happy, excited and nervous about this. But if she’s willing to push her biggest day so that she can save a life, she should be getting appreciated for it, not reprimanded. I’m aware Usha ma’am has a heart of gold, but she’s going to be disappointed, and I just hope she doesn’t say much to Aditi. And as far as your returning to this café is concerned, you are like any other customer. Although I’ll be disappointed, I won’t stop you.”
Kunj had stood watching her in absolute silence for a whole minute before he banged his fist on the counter. “That’s enough, Twinkle! You’re doing it again! Pretending you know my loved ones too well and trying to make decisions for them, for us! You don’t know them, get it? You can’t go around passing comments about my mother! You are wrong in every way; you have no idea about the world! You’re just living in this bubble, full of pretense! I don’t care about returning here either! I was so wrong about you!! Yuvi should keep away from you too.” He burst out, shocking her. He had taken her concern for Aditi in the worst way possible. His words had only hurt her further, for he had no idea of all that she had suffered. She was definitely no novice; she wasn’t living in a bubble. So, she just stood and watched him leave, taking Yuvi and Aditi along, pretending nothing had gone wrong in front of them.
That’s it for now, guys! I hope you all liked it. Stay tuned!! Much love!