a twist in the tale; nairan ff (chapter 4, page 2)

a twist in the tale; swabhiman (chapter 1)

naina was waiting in karan's room, well, it was their room now. she was waiting for karan, she needed to talk to him, to apologise for all she's said and done so they could start fresh. naina was pacing around the room, not sure what to exactly think of the whole situation. it was meghna's wedding, not hers, and yet they both got married on the same day as she couldn't deny her now father-in-law's condition, not after everything sharda ma and meghna di has done for her. lost in her thoughts, naina didn't realise karan coming in the room until he walked past her to the bed.

naina: karan, can we talk?

karan: about what?

naina: about what? well, for starters, we got married karan, i'm sure there's a few things we can talk about.

karan: look naina,

naina: no, wait. look, karan, i don't want to start a fight with you. i wanted to apologise for the way i've treated you the past few days. you didn't deserve that, i shouldn't have done it and i'm sorry. i was just joking around and didn't realise that the stuff i said could possibly hurt your feelings so for that i'm really sorry. can we start over, as friends, at least?

karan: naina, it wasn't your fault. i said some stuff too and i'm sure that hurt you too and i'm sorry for that as well but it's not that easy. starting over won't do us any good as either ways, i won't be able to accept this marriage. it would be better for you and i that you left, naina.

naina: you don't know what's better for me karan. where do you expect me to go if i left? what do you expect me to tell maa if i left? karan our marriage happened in front of everyone, my family, your family, and even the people in bhoondi. karan this wasn't just a forced marriage for you, i didn't want it either but at least i'm trying.

karan ignored naina and continued walking towards the bed to take a pillow and blanket and then walked towards leaving the room. naina then stopped him.

naina: karan, where are you going?

karan: i told you, i can't accept this marriage. i'm not going to sleep in the same bed with you naina.

naina: okay, look, we don't need to share the bed. i can sleep on the sofa.

karan: (on the verge of yelling) you don't get it naina, it's not just about the bed. i can't stay in the same room as you. i'll sleep outside, don't try to stop me again.

naina: fine, i'll go out instead. it's your room, you shouldn't have to leave. you stay here, i'll sleep outside.

karan stopped and looked at her. she went to take a pillow and blanket and proceeded to leave the room. karan sighed in relief whereas naina was left in confusion. she didn't know where to sleep and didn't want anyone coming out to see her sleep in the hall or garden and so needed somewhere no one would go at this time of night. she then saw a door leading to some sort of store room.

naina: i've been through worse, i can sleep here tonight and then sort things out with karan tomorrow.

at his room, karan started thinking as to where naina must have gone. he thought naina would eventually come back as she didn't quite know the house that well. so, he decided to just sleep in the sofa instead, so when naina came back she come comfortably sleep. but before naina came back, karan was fast asleep and naina who was already at the store room about to sleep got a call from rohit.

naina: oh god, rohit.

(picks up the phone)

naina: roh, is everything okay?

rohit: yes, i called to ask if everything went okay at the wedding. why are you at the chauhan house? aren't you supposed to be in bhoondi?

naina: (naina explains everything that happened at the wedding, from the wedding to the condition made) nk kept a condition, i had to get married to karan. i'm sorry roh.

rohit: (heartbroken) i understand naina, you owe sharda maa and meghna di but what are you going to tell him when he finds out you got married? and what if he finds out about the condition? he's going to be broken naina.

naina: (starts sobbing) i know, roh, i can't do this now. i'll talk to you tomorrow.

the day was a mess. it started happy and ended up with naina crying herself to sleep, she couldn't bear the thought of him waking up to find out his own daughter had to get married because of a condition. and not to anyone but to karan, someone who didn't love her or accept their marriage. then, she thought of rohit and how heartbroken he must've been, she understood how he felt because it wasn't just him but she felt that way too.

thank you for reading, i hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. it was rather short but i'm sure the upcoming chapters will be longer. don't worry, rohit isn't a negative character. actually, i don't think there'll be any negatives, maybe a few sandhya and nk moments but that's all. it'll mainly focus on the problems nairan and meghnal will have and how they face it along with naina's past and how they handle the twists and turns that come in their lives. i hope i didn't give away too much but still made it interesting enough for you to stay!

a twist in the tale; swabhiman (chapter 2)

the next morning, karan woke up immediately. remembering the previous night's events, he realised naina would be in the room as well and so looked up at the bed. but, naina wasn't there and so karan got up to look for her.

karan: she isn't here, where could she have gone?

karan left the room to start looking but naina was nowhere around.

karan: she couldn't have possibly gone to the store room. but it's the only place i haven't gone to look. let me go and check.

karan went to the store room and found naina sleeping there on the floor. at the same time, her alarm rang and she noticed him there. naina woke up and started taking the pillow from the floor.

karan: naina, why did you sleep here?

naina: what do you want karan? i can't sleep in your room, i can't sleep in the store room. where do you want me to go?

naina rolled her eyes and before karan could say something, she walked outside the store room as her mind wandered off to last night's events. rohit calling, her broken heart, and him - the one who's done so much for her, if he woke up to find out she got married without him, that too with the conditions it happened in - he would be devastated. naina and meghna both got ready and headed down where sandhya wanted to talk to them.

sandhya: meghna, naina, this will be one of your last rasam's so please, do it well. you'll both need to cook a dessert of your choice for the family. you have an hour so make good use of your time.

naina: don't worry masi ma, it'll get done. we won't disappoint you.

at the kitchen, meghna decided to talk to naina regarding everything that had happened.

meghna: why did you do it?

naina: what?

meghna: why did you agree to papa's condition and get married to karan?

naina: i owed it to you. you and ma have done so much for me in the last seven years, what i did was nothing compared to all of it di. and besides, you're my sister, i couldn't see that happening to you. i know you love kunal and you deserve to be with him. i sacrificed very little in compared to all the sacrifices you've made for me.

meghna: you owe us nothing naina. you're family, not an outsider.

naina: i know di, but it had to be done.

meghna: no, i can't believe you did this naina. you don't love karan, you love someone else. forget about that, what happens when he wakes up and finds out his own daughter got married without him? what do i tell him?

naina: i'm married to karan now, my feelings don't matter di. regarding dad, he'll understand why i did what i did. you won't have to explain or say anything to him. if he wakes up that is, with every day that passes by, i keep losing hope that he might ever wake up again or that i might ever be able to even talk to him again.

meghna hugged naina and comforted her. but before she could say anything, she saw the time on the clock, it was lunch time.

meghna: naina, we'll talk later. we have to bring this out now.

naina smiled and understood. the two sisters brought out their respective dishes for everyone to try. they did and they enjoyed every bit of it.

dadaji: meghna the halwa was amazing and naina, this is the best kheer i've had.

nirmala: yes, dadaji's right. the two dishes were great!

khyati: hmm i loved the halwa meghna bhabhi.

meghna: thank you, kyati.

sandhya: it was good.

kunal: topper, i didn't realise you were an all rounder. you're good at everything!

meghna: (laughing) kunal!

nk: naina, i agree with bauji, the kheer was really something. you have to make more for us next time.

naina smiled and thanked him. she was surprised at how nice he was but perhaps he was trying to fix things, to mend things with everyone - especially his son, karan.

karan: bhabhi, i really liked the halwa.

naina and everyone realised how karan didn't bother to talk about naina's dish. naina didn't mind it but the rest of the family didn't want her to feel bad and so dadaji quickly changed the topic and announced something that was going to leave naina speechless once again.

dadaji: anyways, now i have a surprise for the four of you.

kunal: what is it dadaji?

dadaji: well, first of all, we've decided that meghna will be the vice president of paras and sons.

meghna: what? but dadaji,

nk: meghna, this is what all of us want and have decided. please, don't refuse.

meghna looked at naina, not sure what to say.

naina: di, please don't refuse. everyone will be really happy if you said yes, especially me.

meghna: okay.

dadaji: that's the spirit meghna bahu! but, you won't start working now.

nirmala: the four of you will first go for your honeymoon and then meghna can start working with kunal and naina can finish school.

sandhya: yes, and we've also picked the place for the four of you, although i'm sure if you wanted to go somewhere else there wouldn't be a problem.

kunal: masi ma, i'm sure we'd love wherever you've decided to send us.

dadaji: well then, what do you guys think of bali?

kunal was happy with the decision. it had to be fun, an island honeymoon with his wife? nothing could be better. but naina's heart stopped, she couldn't go to bali, she just couldn't risk going back. meghna took one look at naina and realised that this was going to be a problem and she was going to help her sister solve it. karan was just upset at the whole idea. he couldn't go on a honeymoon with naina, he just couldn't.

Originally posted by: -Namita-

Interesting. Love the suspense surrounding NaiRan. Please continue soon.

Originally posted by: nainaasharmaa

i'm not sure if i'll keep posting chapters up here but if you'd like to read the next chapter, it's already up on telly updates in the swabhiman section under the same name. the fourth chapter will be up soon over there as well. thank you!! 😊

Originally posted by: AkshitaGupta

OOpps. will check it asap. Thanks for letting know.

a twist in the tale; swabhiman (chapter 3)

after hearing they were going for their honeymoon to bali, both naina and karan were panicking. naina was pacing around the room not knowing what to do but she did know one thing - she couldn't go back there. karan didn't even accept their marriage and besides, a fake honeymoon to accompany a fake marriage was definitely something he was not a fan of. just as naina decided to call rohit for help, karan entered the room.

karan and naina: we can't go to bali!

at the same time, meghna was at her room worried for naina. after everything naina did for her, the wedding, the last seven years - she had to help her sister now. meghna had to get kunal to change their honeymoon destination. kunal came in the room and saw meghna pacing around the room.

kunal: topper, i can't wait to go to bali with you!

meghna: kunal, please tell dadaji we can't go to bali!

kunal: why not? what's wrong with bali?

meghna: uh, no nothing. sorry um, it's just that i've always wanted to see spain. do you think we could go to spain instead?

kunal: well, if that's what you want, sure. i'll have to talk to dadaji, though. you know what? i'll go and see what he thinks about it right now.

meghna: thank you, kunal. i'll go and tell naina and karan about the change of plans.

kunal went off to talk to dadaji and meghna ran towards her sister's room.

meghna: naina! naina, kunal's talking to dadaji, we'll go somewhere else. don't worry, i handled it.

karan wasn't sure what was going on and meghna was so caught up in the moment that she didn't bother to check if karan was in the room. once she took a breather, she saw him there and realised she had to come up with something, quick.

meghna: um, karan. actually, i've always wanted to go to spain and so i told kunal if it was okay we went there instead. he's talking to dadaji right now, i hope that's okay.

karan: i don't care where we go, bhabhi. although, you made it look like there's a specific problem with bali.

before meghna could say anything, kunal came in to save her lie.

kunal: dadaji said we can go to spain. although, he suggested that it'd be better if we went to greece instead as we have a house there, with a pool and everything. it'll be more comfortable and we'd feel like we're at home and not at a hotel you know? but the choice is yours, meghna.

naina: di, i think greece sounds as good and besides a house would be more convenient.

meghna: if you're okay with greece then greece it is! but where in greece should we go?

karan decided at this point that no matter what it was, he was going to have to go on this honeymoon. so, instead of fighting it, he decided it was a good idea for him to just join in. besides, it wasn't just him and naina going - kunal and meghna was going to be there too and now they were going in their own home, which meant they wouldn't need to share a room either.

karan: santorini.

naina and kunal: what?

karan: (looking at kunal) we can go to santorini.

kunal: okay then, santorini. we leave day after tomorrow for six days.

naina: okay, thank you jeeju.

kunal: no problemo. oh naina, i need your passport for the visa's.

naina: um, actually jeeju don't worry about it. i'll get it done myself.

kunal: you sure? i'm anyway doing all of ours.

naina: yeah, i'll get it done.

kunal: okay.

kunal and meghna left their room and naina breathed a sigh of relief. she managed to take care of the passport issue easily but if it wasn't for meghna, they'd still be going to bali. naina couldn't let kunal take her passport if not he'd know everything. he'd find out everything she's been hiding - her real name, her place of birth, and most importantly, how someone like her - a normal middle-class girl from boondi, already has the visa's needed for greece. karan however, was getting slightly suspicious.

karan: (thinking to himself) something seems off. why was naina so worried to go to bali, and bhabhi too? and why didn't she want to give bhai her passport? ugh, what do i care? she won't be here any longer anyways. when she finds out about my problems, she'll leave like everyone else too.

naina: karan, why did you have a problem with going to bali?

karan: i have a problem with our honeymoon naina, not with bali.

naina: but you were okay with greece?

karan: i'm not. but i figured, there was no way to get out of it and besides, we're not going to stay at a hotel which means we won't have to share a room so i have no problem. why do you have a problem with going to bali, though, naina?

naina: we won't share a room?

karan: no, now answer my question naina. why do you have a problem with going to bali?

naina: i don't, i don't have a problem with bali. karan, if meghna di finds out we're not sharing a room and sleeping in different places, on our honeymoon that too, she's going to know something's wrong. i can't get her worrying about us on her honeymoon. don't be selfish, karan.

karan: selfish? oh god, please naina. don't act like you're so selfless.

naina: what is that supposed to mean?

karan: nothing.

naina: no, tell me.

karan: forget about it.

naina: please, tell me. what's that supposed to mean, karan?

karan: well, you don't expect me to believe you married me for your sister, do you?

naina: (taken back) why do you think i married you then? come on, tell me, karan. what do you think i married you for?

karan rolled his eyes.

naina: oh my god. (scoffs) you think i married you for your money? karan, i don't know what you think of me and honestly, at this point, i don't care. but still, let me tell you something. i married you because i had to. you heard your dad, didn't you? you could have stopped it if you tried but you didn't. my sister was married and your father refused to take her doli unless we got married. (breathes and stops for a second) i love someone else karan. i gave away a life i had planned and dreamt. i was finally going to be happy. but no, i couldn't be selfish, i couldn't see her life get ruined. not after everything she and ma did for me, i couldn't do it. and so, i got married to you. (realises what she said) oh god, we got married. i married you.

it finally sunk in. naina finally realised that she was married. it hit her, she was married to karan. she was not going to get the life that she once planned of having. she was not going to get her much awaited happiness. naina wasn't going to get married now to the man she loved. instead, she was going to live in a loveless marriage all her life. karan realised naina was in shock, he was confused but realised that it all happened so fast that ever since, naina never got time to properly sit and realise what happened exactly happened. and then everything he and she both said came rushing back to him - he accused her of marrying him for money, she was selfless, she couldn't see her sister's life get ruined, she loves someone else.