Hello everyone! Ananya here! Thank you so much for all your love and affection for my stories! Happy reading!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 26
A quick recap: Kunj is surprised by the tinge of jealousy that he begins to feel when Yuvi offers to drop Twinkle home. He gets used to having Twinkle around for everything, accepting her suggestions and considering her opinions on various issues, as he tries to understand his fondness for her that he finds undecipherable.
“Twinkle!” Kunj called out as he entered his house, looking around for her excitedly, making Usha smile, for she knew that now Twinkle had become the first person Kunj told everything. She knew it was mainly because Twinkle was his manager and understood and loved his music as much as Usha never could, but she was glad that it was bringing them closer. “She’s upstairs, Kunj.” Usha informed him and he nodded with a smile. “I needed to tell her about this song that I was offered today.” He told Usha, who nodded, holding back her laughter, knowing that he thought the way Usha perceived his and Twinkle’s relationship was embarrassing. “Go ahead, tell her.” Usha said, as though he was waiting for her permission and he rushed up the stairs, leaving her smiling and hoping their marriage would remain protected from all the evil in the world. She giggled as she saw Kunj shrug his shoulders and brush away the thoughts that the encounter with her just then had led his mind to ponder over. Her smile faded as she turned to look at the calendar, three and a half months had passed by since she had taken the drastic step to get rid of Alisha, and images from that day still brought chills to her heart. She had begun to feel more burdened by her mistake recently and decided to make a call to ensure that she still had her control over the way things were turning out. However, what she heard on the call blew her mind.
Kunj was annoyed when he couldn’t find Twinkle in the room that he had recently been getting accustomed to calling theirs, although the reluctance in his voice was still evident when he said it. He was just about to turn around and leave when he spotted the door to his balcony open despite the heavy rain that was splashing droplets into the room. “Twinkle!” He uttered in a shock when he saw her drenching in the rain. She turned to him, dreading getting caught by him, shutting her eyes anticipating a sound scolding. “Come inside!” She heard him say, as he stood at a little distance from the door so that he wouldn’t get wet. She knew he hated rains, but she loved it, and it was probably one of the very few things that their tastes differed in. “You are going to fall ill!” He warned, wondering what she was thinking about so deeply, but she wouldn’t budge. All she could think of was how great he looked right then, in the shirt that she had picked for him when he told her it was an important day for him. He had agreed to wear it right away, making her smile brightly at him. Her daze was broken when he stepped into the rain himself and grabbed her hand, pulling her inside with him, his foot slipping on the door mat that brought them crashing to the ground, with her on top of him. Twinkle sucked in a breath when she realised how close she was to him, gathering every ounce of courage in her to look into his eyes that were looking up at hers. Kunj felt his heartbeat quicken, something tug at his heart when he realised how pretty she looked even when her hair was all dishevelled and dripping, and she was soaking wet. He had begun to secretly admire her beauty recently, wondering how and when she had become so important to him. The water from her dress wetting his broke his trance and he let go of his hold on her waist, although he couldn’t remember putting his hand there. The sudden movement caused the realisation of their proximity to dawn upon her and she stood up immediately, muttering repeated apologies, holding her hand out to help him to his feet. “Now I’m completely drenched too!” He complained, figuring that was the best way to avoid any awkwardness, as she cringed and then he headed to change, leaving her blushing as she recalled the look in his eyes when they were so close that made her go weak in her knees.
“I’m sorry about that!” Twinkle mumbled when she had dried and changed, her fingers fidgeting with each other as she slowly walked to Kunj who was sitting on the bed. He looked up at her and nodded, returning to his phone. “I know you don’t like rains.” She began again, hoping he would cooperate and make the apology easier for her so that they could go back to normal. “I catch colds very easily, that is why.” He explained, patting the bed beside him and she complied readily. They both absolutely loved it when they simply sat and talked for hours, for conversations like those were the ones that had made them increasingly comfortable with each other. “I hope you don’t catch a cold because of that!” Twinkle said, holding up her crossed fingers, making him giggle. “I better not, else I’ll lose the song..” He began, realising that their little moment back there had made him forget the news altogether. “The music director offered me a song today!” He announced, watching the excitement in her eyes as she congratulated him. She knew that collaboration had been his dream for years, but had only begun to show some hope recently and she couldn’t have been happier with it. He answered her eager questions about the song patiently before breaking the actual surprise to her. “He wants me to feature in the video of the song too!” He said, holding out his hand for a high five that turned into a hug even before they realised it. They parted quickly, smiling reluctantly for a moment before turning their backs to each other and hoping the other hadn’t minded it.
Twinkle saw Kunj picking at the pillows that constituted her ‘wall’ on the bed one night as they were about to sleep, and stood watching him amusedly. “What are you doing?” She asked him, trying hard not to giggle as he frowned. “Oh nothing! I’ll go take a bath.” He answered and quickly corrected himself with “No, not a bath. The bathroom, I mean”, avoiding eye contact and she immediately knew something was wrong. She stood in his way, looking at him suspiciously but he tried to dodge her, making her wonder what he was up to. She wouldn’t let him go so easily, not when something was bothering him. “Will you just tell me what the problem is, Kunj?” She asked, blocking his way when he got out of the washroom. For the first time, she couldn’t recognise the look in his eyes as they finally met hers, she didn’t know what it meant, scaring her further. She moved away, and he walked quietly to the bed and lay down on his side, pulling up the duvet. She walked to her side of the bed and climbed onto it, sitting simply for a few minutes as she wondered if it would be alright for her to persist further. “Kunj!” She called out, her voice almost a whisper. “I’m pretty vulnerable right now, Twinkle. We’ll speak in the morning, please.” He murmured, and she heard his voice crack. “Aren’t we all at times? It’s absolutely alright to feel low, Kunj, you should definitely not bottle everything up inside though.” She spoke slowly, weighing her words carefully. He simply hummed in response, not prepared to speak up yet. “I can’t let my best friend suffer all alone!” She said after weighing the idea. She felt him loosen his hold on the duvet and pulled it down. She smiled warmly at him as he sighed with the realisation that she wouldn’t give up and sat up.
“It’s about Alisha, isn’t it?” Twinkle asked after sitting in silence with him for a long time, hoping he would initiate the conversation. He nodded quietly as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. She sighed, having realised as much by the way he kept mum. Any other issue, she was sure he would have told her by himself. “Is she unwell?” She asked again, unsure if that question could be asked right then; if she should have figured a better way to ask the same. “She’s fine. Much better than before actually.” He replied, surprisingly not even a hint of joy in his voice. “And that is not happy news because?” She asked curiously, beginning to wonder if it was time for her to begin packing her bags already. Her heart stung at the thought; things had just started to get better between her and Kunj, they had just begun to put away their differences, she had just raised him to the position of her best friend – she was sure Chinki would be disappointed and Yuvi would be amused at that – was her time up already? Would she get thrown out? “She wants to meet me.” Kunj’s response jolted her out of her thoughts. “And?” She asked again, fighting the raging fire in her heart. “She probably assumes I’m still her Kunj. She couldn’t have the slightest idea that I’m married to someone else.” He spoke, voicing his deepest fear.
When Twinkle remained quiet unusually long for her cheerful, bubbly self, Kunj realised that she probably didn’t know what to say anymore. “Could you remove these pillows, please? These actually create a divide, making me feel isolated, like I’m all alone in a world where so many people claim they love me, but hardly know the real me!” He added with a sob, stunning her. She had never heard him speak like that, making her assume that he was way too strong, but it turned out it he was just too good at hiding his emotions. She quickly pushed away the pillows in between them and moved closer to him, resting her head on Kunj’s shoulder and spoke, “Do you think she doesn’t know already?” She heard him sigh as he spoke, “I’m confident she doesn’t.” “We’ll get through this together. I’m coming with you, as your best friend!” she declared, preparing herself to stay strong and stick to her decision no matter what argument he might come up with. “Wait, did you call me your best friend?” He asked after a long silence as he attempted to ease the tension in the air, and earned a playful smack in return, while she sighed gratefully, though she knew he would need longer to come to terms with it than he pretended, realising that he had consoled her exactly like that back in Udaipur and quickly crossed her fingers, hoping that whatever was coming up for them would be for the best.
That’s it for now, guys. Lots of love!