V- I would like to call upon Mrs. Twinkle Kunj Sarna, your Honor.
Vijay requested the jury and got his approval in the form of a slight nod.
It was the third and final hearing of the case.The second one being a casual interaction between Ansh and the Jury, in the presence of his adoptive parents and Abhishek.

Kunj was getting used to being called by the term 'Adoptive', since it felt so awkward at first. He couldn't believe that the child whom he thought his own flesh and blood was not his and that out of nowhere,he would become
the child's adoptive parent.

Twinkle's heart jumped to her throat upon hearing the Jury call her to witness stand. Kunj pressed her palm soothingly before he let her go. As she stood on the stage,she could see every single person present in the courtroom, which only added to her agitation.

V-Ms. Twinkle. He cleared his throat.
Did you know Mr.Kunj before marrying him?

She swallowed the stubborn lump at her throat before answering his question,"No".

V- Then why did you agree on marrying a total stranger?
He leaned his elbow on the railing of the stand.

T- I had met Ansh before marrying Kunj a few times. Ansh was very attached to me and we had an instant connection. I wanted to take care of him when I came to know his mother had passed away.

V- Wow, you must be a very kind hearted woman. Twinkle could sense so much sarcasm in his tone.
" Was it the only reason for getting married to Mr. Kunj Sarna?

T-No. She huffed thinking how was going to explain it to everyone.
My parents didn't want me to continue my studies due to certain reasons and marrying Kunj was my only option to carry on with my course.

V- Ahh... so that was your main motive behind marrying him, right?
Kunj is a very rich and influential person in this society. Marrying him would be lifetime insurance, isn't it?

T- Of course not. Her shrill voice filled the hall. 'Ansh was my first priority .'
She neglected his baseless claims angrily.

V (snorted)- I don't agree with you Ms. Twinkle.
You knew marrying Kunj was the only choice to complete your course successfully and taking care of Ansh was like a price that you had to pay in return. I don't see any other reason for a beautiful woman like you to marry a widower with a child.

T-No, oh God! How do I make you understand this? Twinkle put her head between her palms to ease her nerves.

S- Objection your Honor,he is insulting my client.
Sahil yelled standing up from his seat.

J- Objection over- ruled... You can continue Mr. Vijay... The judge dismissed him politely and turned his attention back to Twinkle, waiting for her explanation.

Twinkle's eyes shifted to Kunj for a flick second. His jaws were hard while his eyes were filled with rage as he stared at Vijay for asking those insulting questions to her but as soon as his eyes caught the attention of Twinkle, his expression softened. He wished to climb next to her and hug her, to take her pain away.

Come on Twinkle, you can do this. Tell everyone why you married Kunj. This is the only chance you have.. she told herself. She knew she had to prove selfless love for Ansh in front of everyone,in order to keep Ansh to herself.

She looked up at the grand ceiling of the hall and took a deep breath, gathering all her thoughts and courage.

T-Your Honor, my birth mother passed away during childbirth. My father remarried and I was brought up by my step mother, who was nothing but cruel to me my whole life.
Her eyes were pooling with unshed tears but she remained composed.
It is true that I had no other option than to marry Kunj in order to complete my education but at the same time,when i got to know Ansh's grandmother searching for a suitable bride for her son, my first thought was not to let Ansh undergo the same torments like me. I wanted him to end up in safe hands and thought why not that safe hands be mine.

V- Oh so you mean you sacrificed your whole life for someone else's child, Twinkle?

T- I won't consider it a sacrifice. She paused mid sentence, because of Ansh i found my happiness, freedom and most importantly I fell in love for the first time. The last few words were a mere whisper but Kunj heard it crystal clear. Her eyes were fixed on Kunj's which were filled with a mixture of confusion,shock and realisation.

His eyes widened as he inhaled sharply. He couldn't believe what she was saying. He remained like a statue, still not able to process her words and their meanings.

Does she love me? Is she announcing her love for me in front of everyone?
Kunj's heart slowly began to beat again but in an irregular pattern when it dawned to him.

V- Alright... What do you have to say about this,Ms. Twinkle? He brought the report that child care service had submitted at the court, successfully breaking their eye contacts. Twinkle's blood froze in her veins. This was what she was dreading about.

T- I can explain that,she said in a small voice.

V- Please do, he waved his hand for her to continue.

T- I was back from my tiring night shift. Ansh was under his nanny's care. She went to attend a call on the landline when Ansh pulled the cup of hot tea over his legs accidentally.

Vijay chortled at her mockingly.
V- You said that you wanted to take care of Ansh and love him like your own. Then, why do you have a nanny for him at home not to mention a careless one?

K- That's because she is a working mother and it's not a sin to leave the child with a nanny. It is something that almost all the working parents do.
Kunj was raised from his seat and replied through gritted teeth. If not for the Jury, Kunj would have broken several of this asshole's teeth by now.

J- Mr. Sarna,you should wait for your chance to speak.
Kunj slowly perched down when he received a reprimand from the Jury.

T-We have known Lily,our nanny for a very long time now. She is a very heedful and responsible woman. What happened that day was an accident and it was definitely not due to her carelessness. Twinkle countered calmly.

V- Your Honor, from what i perceived, Twinkle is too engrossed in building her career rather than taking care of Ansh . I would plead the Jury to handover the child's custody to his biological father, Mr. Abhishek.

S- I object Your Honor, Mr. Abhishek is an unmarried, single man and it's against the law for a man to raise a child on his own. Furthermore,he isn't in the right financial circumstances to raise a child.

V- Your Honor, Mr. Abhishek isn't a single man anymore.Ms. Natasha,the child's maternal aunt and Abhishek are in a live in relationship and they are very much capable of bringing up Ansh together.
Vijay smirked back at Sahil ,who turned his eyes at Kunj questioningly but Kunj's expression confirmed that he had no idea of their relationship as well.

And about Abhishek's financial status,he has a huge villa under his name in the city with a huge bank balance. These are the proofs.
He submitted a bunch of papers to the clerk who gave it to the Judge .

Of course ,it must have been Natasha's recent doings because the last time Kunj checked , Abhishek was homeless with no decent savings in his bank accounts.

T- Your Honor,Ansh means the world to me and Kunj. I beg you to not take him away from us. Twinkle pleased with tears rolling down her cheeks.
He wouldn't be happy being away from us. Please. Her hands were intertwined to the front, begging the Jury.

Kunj's heart felt like being ripped from within his chest. This was not how he wanted to see his Twinkle and he knew she wouldn't be the same if Ansh was taken away from her.

The Judge held a sympathetic expression on his face watching Twinkle beg like that but he had to only act according to the law.

J- You may go back to your place,miss.
He requested Twinkle and she slowly walked back to Kunj.

Then the Judge averted his eyes from her to Sahil.
Mr Sahil, do you have anything else to say?

S- Yes your Honor, my friend here, Mr. Vijay was blaming my client,Ms. Twinkle for being careless but he is forgetting that Ms. Natasha's carelessness costed her own sister's life.

J- What do you mean,Mr. Sahil? Can you be clearer please?
The Judge leaned forward, showing more interest in the matter.

S- Of course, Your Honor...Ms. Natasha was heavily drunk on the night when she, along with her elder sister, Tara was returning home from a night club and that's when they met with the accident. Tara died on the spot. I would beg the Jury to not handover the custody of the child to such a reckless woman.

Kunj's eyes squeezed shut, recollecting one of the most horrific nights of his life. Tara must not have loved him enough but he loved her truly, sincerely and with his entire heart. Her death would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Natasha clenched her fist into a ball to control her anger .
N- It was a fucking accident.
She roared from her seat.

Ms. Natasha, the Judge chided before he took a few minutes , scribbing his notes down on a paper .

J- This is a very sensitive case. The child is too young to make a decision for himself and it is our responsibility to give him a good and secured childhood. The report from the child protection service clearly states that the adoptive parents are inattentive about the child due to their work and career pressure.

Twinkle gasped at his words. She didn't have to listen to the rest of his words since she already knew what his judgement was going to be.

The judge continues, ' Keeping the child's best interest in mind, the court declares that the child's full custody will be given to the biological father,Mr. Abhishek and his live-in partner,who also happens to be the child's maternal aunt, Ms. Natasha. Since Ansh's maternal grandparents are willing to live with them,the child would get a chance to grow up in a safe environment unlike what he has now.

The adoptive parents are requested to entrust the child's sole responsibility to the birth father. Legal actions will be taken in case they go against the court's decision or try to seek the child without his parent's approval.
Upon such incidents, the biological parents have full rights to file a restraining order against Mr.and Mrs. Sarna. The child care personnel would pay the regular visit to check if the child is safe and sound in his new home. The case comes to an end with this judgement.
Everyone stands as the Jury leaves the hall silently.

Twinkle's head swam in the fire that
burnt around her. There was a void being created in her heart which was filled with cold, howling and hopeless storm brewing inside. She felt utterly lost at her heart, body, mind and soul.
If not for the Kunj's tight hold, she must have collapsed on the floor right then and there .

Kunj pulled her and wound his hands around her small quivering body, not minding the crowd that flew out of the hall past them. Her body shook as she cried into his arms. He had no words to sooth her bleeding heart since his own heart was aching badly.
Hugging her not only to comfort her but also to comfort her own self. He buried his face into her neck as his silent tears slipped out of his eyes, moistening her shoulder. Twinkle knew he was hurting badly but she had no will or strength to stop him.

Time seemed to freeze around them. It was going to be freaking difficult to think about a life without Ansh.

S- Kunj, you need to hold together man. He felt his soft pat on his shoulder but he didn't pull away from Twinkle.

It was easy for anyone to say that but the depth of the pain could be only felt by Kunj and Twinkle. After not knowing how long, he finally peeled himself away from her. Her eyes were red, her face stained with tears and grief of losing her child. She kept staring at the floor as if she couldn't look at him. He knew she would blame this upon herself but this was not her fault. All she ever did was to be a loving and dedicated mother to Ansh.

Now his only fear was about Ansh. How was he going to survive without Twinkle? This was not the first time when Ansh was going to lose his mother. He had lost his birth mother when he was just five months old but luckily he was not able to feel the real pain of separation then but Kunj was sure, this time was going to be hard for him beyond explanation.

K-Come let's go home. He whispered as he guided Twinkle out of the hall, who looked as if she had lost her mental senses.She walked towards their car like a zombie and got into the passenger seat.

She placed her head on the cold glass shield as she zoned out looking at the greenery outside.

Her mind went back to reminisce the first time she met Ansh. He was so attached to her right from that day onwards, as if they were bonded from a previous life. She thought about all the nights he fell asleep against her chest and then the first time he called her,Mumma.

A loud cry left her mouth thinking that. The car came to a screeching halt when Kunj applied the brakes, 'Twinkle'. His voice broke but he gathered himself for the sake of his wife. He pulled the car to the side of the road and unbuckled his seatbelt.
He was glad that there were no cars behind them. His plate was already full of problems and he didn't need anymore right now.

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her closer to him before his arms enveloped her in a tight hug like never before.. Her tears were flowing down her eyes staining his white shirt.

He couldn't come to ask her to stop crying because he knew it was impossible when your child was going to be taken away from you. She wasn't any normal step mother who would get over it within days. Twinkle had a pure intention of love and sacrifice for marrying Kunj. She loved Ansh like no one could ever love him.

He kept rocking her body to and fro but her tears never seemed to cease .

T- How are we going to live now,Kunj?
Her voice came out muffled against his chest. This felt like slow poisoning to Kunj. He didn't know before this day that such intense pain was possible. He hadn't felt so much grief even when he got the news of his wife's death .

K-I has no answer for that question Twinkle but life has to go on. We can only hope that Ansh stays healthy and happy there. His tears kept falling off his eyes and he didn't feel ashamed about it anymore.

Kunj started the engine about ten minutes later. Reaching their home, Amaira came to open the door. Vishal has already given her the bad news of their life and they were just waiting for Kunj and Twinkle to reach home in one piece with their pathetic mental condition. She even scolded her husband for letting Kunj drive home and when it took them an extra twenty minutes , Amaira and Avantika had almost asked Vishal to check on them while on his way back.

Avantika let out a huge breath of sigh as she finally saw her children at the door. They looked miserable and devastated . She engulfed Twinkle within her arms and patted her back.
Avantika herself was not less than a crying mess. All their hopes were shattered into a million pieces.

Ansh might not be her grandchild but she loved him like her own for three whole years. There was no way she would act like it didn't affect her.
Seeing Twinkle and Kunj hurting from inside took a toll on her.

Kunj walked past them when Amaira hugged her brother at his waist. She cried for her brother's I'll fate. First he lost his wife at an unexpected point of his glorified life
and when he was recovering from it and trying hard to blend into his new life ,God was pushing him into another blackhole. This wasn't fair. Why does fate have to be so cruel to him?

A-I am sorry bhaiya,she cried and felt his body tremble.

Twinkle stumbled into Ansh's room. He was seated on the matter floor, playing with Lily. When he eyes met with Twinkle's red ones,Lily stood up on the spot. Her heart leapt out for the young mother and the sweet little child .

When she was about to leave his nursery, she heard Twinkle call her out.

T- Lily, you don't have to come tomorrow onwards. Your payment will be transferred to your account.

Lily walked back to the boy who was trying to understand their conversation intently. She bent down and placed a quick kiss on his forehead.
L- Bless you my child but i would always hope in my heart to come back as your nanny. Be good and stay happy
She turned around to leave before she couldn't hold her tears anymore.

Kunj was standing on the door frame when she walked out past him.
He watched Twinkle as she lifted Ansh off the floor and crawled over the bed. She turned off the lights and hugged Ansh against her chest.

Kunj walked towards bed and lifted the covers to join them. He could hear her soft sniffles and he could do nothing to stop it. He threw his arm over both of them and rained Ansh with butter soft kisses. He didn't want to fall asleep. Maybe this was the last time he was going to hold his baby boy so close to his heart and he wanted to embrace these last moments before it dawned because the next day wouldn't be the same. Ansh would no longer remain their son and would belong to someone else.

That's it for today guys

Hope you liked it.

It really made me cry while writing it ,I hope it will touch your hearts too.