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CHAPTER – 1

Twinkle

“Let me get this straight,” I speak, disbelief evident in my tone. “You want me to impersonate you on a date and reject the guy your mother is trying to set you up to marry?”

“Potentially marry,” says my best friend, Tina.

“Potato, potahto.”

“Oh, come on, you love saying no,” she replies playfully. “It’s your favorite word.”

I roll my eyes at her silly attempt to convince me to play along with the absurd plan she’s concocting. Sure, I won’t deny I’m good at saying no to things I would never do instead of giving in to peer pressure. I’m the girl in the group who is reserved, cautious, and self-assured. I don’t feel the need to prove I’m daring, reckless, and crazy.

Don’t take that to mean I’m some lame goody-two-shoes, girl next door kinda girl.

Quite the opposite.

But my streak for outrageousness comes and goes.

Like waves in an ocean.

“Please do this for me, Twinkle,” she begs. I can imagine her pouting on the other side of the line. “I’ll owe you big time. I’m just so tired of these matchmaking dates.”

“Why don’t you just tell your parents you aren’t ready to marry yet?”

“Umm… you’ve met my mom, right?”

I sigh. “Yeah, the woman won’t rest until you give her a million grandbabies.”

“Exactly.”

Seriously, nothing can beat and no one can compete when it comes to an Indian mom hell-bent on seeing their child settle down. It’s like they become possessed, and no amount of holy water can cure them of the marriage-fevered demon.

It’s the only perk of having parents who barely acknowledge your existence.

I push the sad thought away and focus on Tina. “Let’s say I agree. How will it work, exactly? Don’t those matchmakers send photos to respective parties? We look nothing alike, Tina.”

While my bestie is tall and slim with exotic model features, I’m shorter with an hourglass figure. I have big, round eyes, full cheeks, and pouty lips, the top slightly thicker than the bottom, and sleek brown hair that falls to the middle of my back.

I’m pretty, but Tina is gorgeous. It’s why she’s always the center of attention while I would easily blend into the crowd if it wasn’t for my ambivert nature and sharp tongue. The latter is often told by my close friends.

“No one ever looks like those pictures in person. The one my mom sent of me is so grainy and old, you could never tell it was me. And in the biodata that they share, it’s the size of a passport photo. Next argument?”

“What if your plan backfires and he wants another date? Some like it when the girl is playing hard to get,” I say smugly. “I’m not going on two dates, I’ll tell you that.”

“Then be extra rude or something,” she retorts. “You’re the queen of never giving in under pressure. Just say no in typical Twinkle fashion so he knows it’s the first and last date.”

“You’re putting a lot of faith in my abilities.”

“Only ’cause I’ve seen firsthand how easily you turn down guys.” I refrain from rolling my eyes as she says it as though I have a string of men vying for my attention. “If anything, I’m jealous. My life would be so much easier if I was capable of the same. Remember when I dated Rohan?”

Oh yes. How can I forget?

As I recall the incident, I smother a laugh. If I’m terrible at saying yes, then Tina is horrible at saying no. So much so that even though she wanted to break up with Rohan, she ended up moving in with him. Her people-pleasing nature lands her in a pickle more often than not.

“Don’t laugh, Twinkle,” she grumbles. It only makes me laugh harder. “It was so embarrassing.”

“I can’t believe you pulled a Phoebe.”