Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the love this story is receiving! I hope you’ve all been enjoying your read of My Lifeline’s bonus chapter as well. Happy reading!
Twinj: Meant to be: Episode 11
A quick recap: As Twinkle wraps up her work at the Sarna mansion, Kunj asks for her help at some undisclosed plan of his. Later, Yuvi expresses his concern over any possibility of Kunj and Twinkle getting together, but eventually decides to figure something out for both his friends by himself.
Twinkle sighed as she pushed open the door to her house, perturbed by the darkness and how unwelcoming it felt. Cold and distant. Barely a home.
She missed going home to a characteristic aura that had become so essential to her, but she hadn’t realized its worth until she had left the Taneja Mansion. Of course, she had been all but forced out of there, but that hadn’t made anything easier for her. It had only made her feel worse about herself and terribly lonely. She had spent the initial days keeping herself consciously busy to fight the thoughts that would only end in her tears, but that didn’t seem to work anymore. She had supposedly mastered the skill of multitasking, and her mind could still drift back to anything even if she had been enraptured in her book just a moment ago.
She picked up the day’s newspaper that she hadn’t laid her eyes on yet, only to find the headline to read ‘Taneja’ in block letters. She didn’t read any further, having had enough of avoiding that one name all day, but had caught a picture of her family minus her under it, bringing tears to her eyes. She would never accept it, given how much they had wronged her, but she did miss having someone to call her own. She had brought herself to accept all that had happened, but on days when she was painfully reminded of being cut off from them, and it didn’t look pleasant to say the least. Perhaps it was from somewhere in that darkness that her mind had deemed it extremely necessary for her to be completely independent, so that she could show them that they hadn’t been able to break her down entirely. That she had meant every single word she had said the day she left, that she could stand on her own feet with no advantages of being a Taneja. That she shouldn’t let anyone help her fight her battles.
And that was why she had been a tad bit disappointed at Kunj having to interfere to get her out of trouble that morning. But the overbearing thought, surprisingly so, seemed to be that she was grateful to him for it. She knew that she needed the order to be able to pay the month’s dues. ‘That is why!’ She tried to reason with herself, but it only disappointed her some more, for she felt like was more financially invested in Yuvi’s wedding than emotionally. She knew that wasn’t the truth, but someone or the other was bound to say so, and she didn’t want Kunj of all people to do it. He had hurt her enough on the same issue already. Which led to her current confused state – she didn’t know how to feel about Kunj anymore. Could she warm up to him? Or did she have to maintain her cold distance?
Twinkle glanced at the wall clock I the café for what had to have been the hundredth time in that minute alone, unable to help her frustration. “Hi!” She heard a voice right then, and turned around with her best disappointed look, only to come face to face with a bouquet of flowers. She bent to her left to look at the person holding it, and who else could it be than Kunj Sarna himself? “You’re late!” She pointed out sharply, trying her best to ignore the flowers, but her eyes kept drifting to the gladiolas that she absolutely loved standing out in the bouquet. “I know, I’m sorry!” He apologized, dropping his hand to his side, her eyes now finding his for the first time that day. “Not acceptable. At all.” She informed him. He quickly held his ears, mouthing a ‘Sorry!’ making her laugh at how ridiculous he looked with the bouquet at his ear.
Kunj dropped his hands again, now smiling brightly at her, not even trying to hide that he had been dazzled by her. Yet again. Watching awkwardness take over on her face jolted him back into his senses, and he looked away quickly. His admiration of the work she had already got done was evident in the shine of his eyes and she shrugged, faking modesty. To be honest, she had been pretty proud of how well the decoration had turned out too. “You’re amazing!” He uttered his first praise, and then the string didn’t seem to stop, returning a soft smile to her, and that he was prouder of himself for.
“And why exactly did you get those flowers?” She asked finally, having held back her curiosity for too long. “For Aditi.” He lied. She crossed her arms in front of her, watching him strangely. He grinned, hoping she had expected them to be for her, only to be taken aback when he heard her say “Yuvi always brings flowers for Aditi on their dates. I don’t think it’s fair for either of us to intrude further than the decoration, planning and food, which we’ve already done!” She ran a quick glance around the café, mentally noting all that was pending. “I know.” He said, mustering all his courage to finally confess, “I brought these for you.” He glanced at her, only to find her eyes searching his face for any sign of a prank. “For me?” Why? She wanted to ask, but she figured it wouldn’t exactly be civil. “As a thank you present, for agreeing to set this up for those two absolute idiots.” He managed to say. Yet another lie. “There is no need. You’re paying for all this anyways.” She said bluntly, surprising both of them. “But you aren’t just another person I’ve hired to do this for me.” He hit back, and on watching her freeze at that, he cringed internally. ‘Grab a hold on yourself, Kunj! She definitely thinks you’re creepy!’
Twinkle quietly led him to the center table so that they could finish their work in time. A few minutes of observation was all she needed to figure out that he had supposedly never done something of that sort before. He looked up on feeling her gaze, and looked sheepish immediately. “I’m sorry I’m so clumsy!” He gushed, earning another of her wholehearted laughs. He suddenly found himself torn between being glad that he could make her laugh and being embarrassed that she was laughing at him. “That is so unfair! I felt really bad!” He said dramatically nevertheless, and now her eyes were glistening with tears from all the laughing. He realized the former side was winning. If it meant she would be this happy, he could spend his entire life being foolish and stupid around her.
She stilled when he feigned annoyance and threw the rose petals in his hand at her. But before she could say anything at all, she heard him curse under his breath, muttering something about his thoughtlessness. Staring at him with a straight face on, she picked up the bowl of rose petals in front of her and showered him with it all, totally enjoying her watch as his expressions changed from guilt to surprise to something she couldn’t quite decipher. “Tit for tat.” She said casually, returning to her work like nothing had transpired.
“I figure you’re a really fun person to be around, Twinkle!” Kunj quipped in cheerfully – also gratefully – when Twinkle offered him a spoonful of the dish she had been tasting. “And this is amazing!” He added, humming appreciatively. “And I think that you’re an amazing friend, understanding that this day should have been their wedding day and making sure they got enough time with each other in what is arguably a fine ambience.” She spoke slowly, weighing each one of her words carefully, and keeping her eyes trained on him. He definitely hadn’t seen that one coming, for he seemed at a loss of words, and she only flashed a tender look at him for it. “Thanks, I guess. Those two are practically family anyways. Yuvi is my brother in every way but blood, and Aditi? She’s just …” He began fondly, trailing off with a sniffle that he best tried to hide, but failed. “She’s annoying!” He said finally, both aware that he was lying, making them grin ear to ear.
Kunj pretended to be engrossed in rearranging the same set of candles again as he watched Twinkle take off her apron, realizing that he had seen her in it so often that she looked like an entirely new person this way. A person he loved a little more nevertheless. Wait, did he say ‘love’? He shook his head, trying to shrug away those thoughts and headed for the nearly private corner to cool his mind. His moment of realization was interrupted when he saw Maya go rushing to Twinkle and speak to her worriedly.
The next thing he knew, Twinkle was headed straight for him, forcing him to wonder where he had gone wrong. “The woman on the other end sounded really impatient, Twinkle. All she gave away was that she was one Mrs. Taneja. You should probably take it!” He heard Maya gush before leaving Twinkle to herself, just across the thin partition from where he was standing. She would definitely see him if she peered through the bamboo mats hanging between them. Before he figured that it was probably personal and he had to leave, Twinkle had already picked up the phone and managed a hushed, “Why have you called me on this number? Do you not understand all that I’ve been trying to say to you for so long?” He realized that now would be too late to slip out of his place, it would only imply that he had been eavesdropping and continued to stand with as little movement as possible.
“Yes, I’ve understood all that, Mrs. Taneja. I just can’t-” He heard her say next, after a long pause when the other person continued to speak apparently agitatedly, but she was cut short immediately. “And what happens when news that you’ve been sneaking out to meet me gets out? Does Mahi know at least? Alright, if this matters so much to you, I’ll find some way out of this too, in your way of course, like always” She said in soft whimpers before cutting the call and holding the headset close to herself and sobbing quietly, blowing his mind. What was even going on? By the time he had mustered enough courage to step out with the intention of consoling her, he saw her place the headset back and rush into the washroom. Should he just ask her?
That’s it for now, guys. Tell me what you thought about it. This episode brought several fresh possibilities and implications to the plot and hence was important. Until next time, lots of love!!