Hey Chiku! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I had written this a while ago, and I finally found a reason to post it. Hope you like it. Have a wonderful birthday!!
BECAUSE YOU WERE WITH ME – OS
She opened the door. The howling wind and some flakes from the snowfall entered the quiet mansion. She walked inside…well rather tried to walk, stumbling over things on her way. The coat slipped off her shoulders and fell onto the floor, leaving her in only the short black dress she was wearing and her boots. She made her way into the room and slumped onto the bed. He walked in and seeing her state, let out a little sigh.
“You drank again Twinkle?”, he ever so quietly whispered.
“Leave me alone Kunj”, the words slurred out of her mouth as she feel into a deep sleep. Kunj walked over and removed her boots from her small, slender feet. He positioned her properly on the bed and covered her with a comforter. It was a cold winter night. Kunj then grabbed a pillow and a blanket and took his rightful place on the couch.
Twinkle woke up the next morning to a dreaded migraine. Holding her head, she sat upright and noticed a glass of lemon water on the bedside table. This wasn’t anything new. She would rarely wake up to find her husband. Instead, she would find a glass of lemon water kept for her after a night of partying and drinking. After taking a warm bath and bundling up, Twinkle stepped outside and laid her footsteps onto the fresh layer of snow. She noticed that there were another pair of footprints already made, indicating that her husband had left the house. She walked to her car and noticed her husband’s car was still in the driveway. Had he not gotten to work yet? Did he not have any important meetings today? Being the CEO of the company, he was bound to always have important conference calls. Then what delayed him today? Edging closer, Twinkle noticed that Kunj was checking the engine. The snow and cold from last night had frozen the engine and the car was not starting. Kunj took a small glance at Twinkle and Twinkle stepped into her car and walked away.
They rarely talked. It has been two months since their arranged marriage, yet they lived like strangers in that huge mansion in London.
Kunj sighed as Twinkle drove away then proceeded to call a taxi. What was he expecting? She would never call him over and give him a ride. Why would she? Who was he to her?
Twinkle went to her usual club party late at night. But the migraine from this morning still remained, so she refrained herself from drinking and instead went home. Upon reaching hime, she noticed a covered plate of food left on the dining table. Coming to think of it, she could remember seeing a plate of food left every night. Did Kunj leave her dinner every night? Slowly, she walked into their bedroom. Kunj looked up from his laptop to see Twinkle standing in the doorway. As a force of habit, he got up to hold her, before she was too intoxicated. He stopped and seemed surprise to see Twinkle in a sober state. He removed his hands from her arms.
“Sorry, I thought you were…”
His eyes fell to the ground. Twinkle looked at Kunj, confused of her feelings. Was he always this caring? Was she always too drunk to realize? She finally decided to speak.
“Did you eat dinner Kunj?”
Kunj was surprised. He tried to comprehend whether this was a genuine question. In the two months of their wedding, she had barely spoken to him, let alone cared about him.
“No, actually I was kind of busy. Also you didn’t come home…”
Twinkle left the room. Kunj didn’t mean to say the last part, but the thoughts in his heart just slipped out of his mouth. He always cared for her. Somewhere, maybe he even had feelings for her. But she never payed any heed to him. Kunj’s thoughts were disturbed as Twinkle walked into the room with a plate in her hand. She put the plate in front of Kunj.
“Have your dinner Kunj.”
Kunj glanced at the plate then at Twinkle.
“Won’t you eat?”
“I’m not hungry.” And with that, Twinkle picked up her cup of coffee and headed to her study room, where she would often go.
The next night, Twinkle walked into the house. She had decided to test Kunj. The never ending questions in her head prompted her to see just how much Kunj cared about her. She never payed attention to him because she would almost always come home senseless. Today was her chance to get the answers to her questions. Twinkle walked to their room and just as she entered, started to act drunk. Almost immediately, Kunj came to her rescue, holding her in his embrace before she fell down. He led her to the bed and made her lay down. Twinkle pulled on his arm and he fell on top of Twinkle. She looked into his brown eyes and her fingers found the back of his head. She pulled him closer. Kunj removed his eyes from her enchanting ones and tried to free himself from her hold.
“Twinkle, your not in your senses. Let me go please.”
“No Kunj. U are my husband. Why don’t you come close to me? Why don’t you love me?”
Kunj was surprised by Twinkle’s questions. But he merely brushed them aside remembering that she was drunk and had no control over what she was saying.
“No Twinkle. You are not in your senses. I can’t take advantage of you. Please go to sleep.”
Kunj removed Twinkle’s arms from around his neck and stepped back. He covered her with a blanket and left. Twinkle smiled thinking about the pure hearted gentleman she had as a husband.
Days passed and Twinkle stopped going out every night to the club. Instead, she would come home. Most of the time she would be found in her study room. Kunj didn’t disturb her and gave her space. One day, Kunj walked in shivering. He walked into the room slowly. Twinkle noticed his face was pale and his eyes were dull. Kunj was struggling to take of his coat and blazer. Seeing him struggle, Twinkle walked up to him and helped him take off his coat. In the process, Twinkle’s fingers brushed against Kunj’s neck as she realized that he was scorching hot to the touch. Immediately, Twinkle turned Kunj around and felt his forehead with the back of her hand.
“Oh my God Kunj. You are burning!”
Kunj’s eyes starting drowsing as worry was evidently visible on the creases that had formed on Twinkle’s forehead. She led him to the bed and sat him down.
“Kunj, can you change by yourself?” She asked worriedly.
Kunj gave a faint smile. “Yea. I think I can manage.”
His hands shook as he reached to undo the tie around his neck. Twinkle held Kunj’s hand to stop him and then undid the tie. She then unbuttoned his shirt and brought out a t-shirt from the wardrobe. Her hands slid under his shirt as she removed it off of his shoulders. Twinkle couldn’t fathom the sight that was in front of her. She had never payed attention to Kunj. Now that she did, she just gazed at her husband’s perfectly sculpted body. Shaking her head a bit, Twinkle came out of her trance and made Kunj wear the t-shirt. Then her eyes fell on the pair of track pants on the bed and then on the dress pants that Kunj was currently wearing. Kunj let out a low, husky laugh.
“I think I can manage my pants. Thank you.”
Twinkle turned around as her cheeks turned pink. His deep voice was so enchanting. She had never noticed how hot her husband was. Breaking her thoughts, she left the room and Kunj changed into his track pants. Twinkle returned with fever medication. She gave Kunj the medication and watched as he swallowed the pill. He then proceeded to take his pillow when Twinkle’s hand stopped him. Kunj’s confused eyes met Twinkle’s.
“Kunj, you sleep on the bed tonight. You are not feeling well today anyways. I will manage on the couch.”
“But…”
He was cut off as Twinkle took the pillow and went to sleep on the couch. With no other option, Kunj went to sleep on the bed. This caring nature of hers had made him fall for her once again.
The next night, Twinkle was not home. By now, Kunj had gotten used to Twinkle coming home sober, since she had stopped partying and drinking. But her absence in the house worried Kunj. Should he go check on her? Kunj put on his coat and grabbed his car keys and headed out.
“Twinkle, where are you?” Kunj’s eyes wandered the deserted streets of London, hoping that his wife was somewhere to be found. It was as if his prayers were heard as he saw his wife stumbling on the road, without her jacket and her stilettos in her hand. It was freezing. She was drunk…again. Kunj immediately rushed to her and took off his jacket to put around Twinkle’s shoulder. He put her in the car and drove home. It was a struggle to lead Twinkle to their room. She would occasionally burst into a song or deny knowing who Kunj was.
“Why are you touching me?” The words barely came out of her mouth.
“Twinkle, come inside. Why did you drink again?”
Twinkle immediately grabbed Kunj’s collar, shocking him.
“Who’s Twinkle? My name is Twinkle Kunj Sarna. Did you get that Mr. Sarna?”
Twinkle identity coming out of her mouth caught Kunj off guard. This was the first time he had heard her refer to herself by that name.
“Mr. Sarna, I have a question for you.”
Twinkle wrapped her arms around Kunj’s neck. The innocent pout on her face made Kunj melt as he waited for her question.
“U are my husband right?”
Kunj nodded silently.
“Then why don’t you ever love me? You never touch me.”
What kind of questions was his wife asking him? He had always refrained himself from her thinking that she needed space and didn’t accept this marriage. Did she accept it? Was she willing to start a relationship? What did…
Kunj was broken out of his thoughts when he felt a slight tug on his lower lip. He looked to see his wife with her eyes closed, kissing him. She slowly sucked his lower lip, tugging on it slightly. The moment Kunj was waiting for was finally happening, but he broke the kiss and moved away.
“No Twinkle. This is wrong. U are not in you senses.”
Twinkle collapsed onto Kunj’s chest. Kunj sighed and then lifted her into his arms and laid her on the bed. Twinkle again woke up with a terrible headache. But this time, the headache was accompanied by flashbacks of the last night.
“Oh no. What did I do? I admit that I fell for Kunj, but I didn’t want to do that. His care and affection for me just made me fall in love with him. But…”
While Twinkle was busy reprimanding herself, Kunj walked in. A playful smile showed up on his face as he saw his wife talking to herself. Twinkle finally noticed Kunj’s presence in the room and stood up to face him.
“Kunj, I’m really sorry about last night. I..I don’t know what happened…I drank too much and…”
Kunj’s eyes tried to meet Twinkle’s, but it was awfully hard especially since hers were wandering everywhere around the room as she nervously talked.
“I finally noticed how much you care about me. It’s been two months since our marriage and I admit that I didn’t accept it at first and we were staying like strangers but then I saw some hope, but you were always working on this one project you had and we were again drifting away…I…”
Twinkle’s rant was cut short when a pair of soft lips were placed on her soft, plump ones. She remained dazed even after Kunj pulled back and innocently smiled at her.
“I love you too.” Twinkle was shocked by her husband’s sudden confession. They stared at each other for a while before bursting out into the sounds of laughter. Twinkle nudged Kunj’s head.
“Tum na pagal ho. You loved me all along?”
As he rubbed the back of his head, Kunj nodded guiltily. Suddenly, as if he had just remembered, Kunj’s eyes lit up.
“Now quickly get ready. And remember to bundle up, it’s cold.”
“But where are we going?”, she asked confused.
He merely gave a smile and responded, “Don’t you want to see the project I’ve been working on?”
****
Twinkle stood on top of a snowy glacier, overlooking a winter wonderland. Kunj walked up next to her. Twinkle’ teary eyes met his gaze. Now she realized that he had seen her study room. He had seen the picture of the Northern lights. He had found out that it was her dream to see these lights. Now they were standing in Alaska, fulfilling her dream.
“Now that you are seeing the Northern lights, did you dream come true?”
Twinkle shook her head no, arising confusion and worry in Kunj’s eyes. She smiled and responded, “My dream has come true because you are with me.” Kunj smiled as he kissed her forehead and then wrapped her arm around her shoulder and together they witnessed the godly wonder in the sky.