Hello everyone!! Ananya here. Thank you so much for your love and appreciation. I’m really glad that you all have been this receptive of this story. Happy reading!!
Twinj: It’s Always Been You: Episode 10
A quick recap: Twinkle and Kunj begin to work together. Aparna reveals that the patient she’s treating in town is none other than Alisha. Twinkle’s eyes keep looking for Kunj, making her shift to another table. She lays down the fact that they’ll need to have a set of rules to be able to work together. Kunj finally confesses his love for her.
Twinkle opened her eyes what seemed like an eternity later, to find herself in Kunj’s embrace. She pushed him away as soon as she realised that she was sitting on top of his table right in the middle of their workplace. Kunj was evidently confused at her actions, and he watched her disappointedly as she jumped off his table quickly and began walking away without a single word. She picked up her bag and a few files from her table and headed for the door, keeping her eyes away from him. But then she stopped suddenly and turned towards him. “This is exactly what I was afraid would happen, Kunj! It should have never happened. Everything will go out of control now.” She said, voicing her biggest fear ever since she found out that they would have to work together. Kunj stepped towards her slowly, looking at her with an expression that she couldn’t decipher. “I love you, Twinkle. As long as the two of us are together, I’m sure we can take on the whole world! I don’t understand what you are so scared of!” He exclaimed. “The two of us, together? You might as well know that is never happening! It’s all over now, Kunj! You are just another colleague to me.” She responded with a sad smile.
“Look at me, right in the eye, and tell me that you don’t love me then. You should be able to do it with ease in case you have absolutely nothing left in your heart for me, right?” Kunj dared her, stepping so close to her that she could smell his cologne, the one that was etched in her mind permanently. She looked at him, trying to do just as he had said, to keep him away, but she failed. Looking into his eyes, she could never deny the fact that she had always lost herself in them, dreaming of him being just hers, but then, on that fateful night, she was injured in ways that she could never recover from them. Kunj let out a deep sigh right then, and said, “You can’t deny it, Twinkle!” Right then, to his astonishment, she looked up at him, held up her index finger pointedly and replied with a fury, “Listen to me, Kunj!” He held her finger and brought it down. “No, you listen to your heart, Twinkle! Just ask yourself what you want!” He spoke so calmly that it threatened to chase away her anger. She freed her hand, glared at him and banged the door before she walked out without speaking another word.
Work on the project had been making good progress, and RT and Manohar were more than happy with their children’s efforts. What was not making progress though, were Kunj’s attempts to resolve the issues between him and Twinkle. A couple of weeks had passed by since he had confessed his love, and she had been avoiding him completely. She maintained a strictly professional relationship with him, not even laughing at his jokes anymore. He had made sure he was kept informed about her all the time. He had seen her cry her heart out in the parking lot that night when she had left angrily, but had been told that she had been the most cheerful person whenever she was around people, as though nothing had changed. However, he also knew that she was struggling with her feelings, but wouldn’t tell anyone that. He hated the cold look in her eyes whenever she looked at him, and had made several attempts to repair things, but nothing ever worked. If anything, he found himself falling more hopelessly for her as he observed the way she dealt with both her personal and professional lives so perfectly, supporting everyone at work in their attempts, becoming her father’s go to person for everything, accompanying Leela anywhere she asked her to, hanging out with her friends, and always being real nice to his parents whenever she met them.
Basically, all Kunj did these days was think about Twinkle, find out about her and follow her if she went alone somewhere. “How much longer is this going to continue?” He heard Usha’s voice as he entered his house late one night. “The project will take a few more weeks, Ma.” He said simply, although he knew she wasn’t talking about the project. She stood in his way at the foot of the staircase, demanding an answer. “She was alone, and it was getting dark, Ma. I couldn’t leave her alone.” He said, still not looking at her. “And, you’re also looking for the right opportunity to speak to her?” She asked, but Kunj shook his head instantly. “It’s more important that she is safe and happy, Ma. I could live with this distance if that’s what she wants!” He stated, although even the thought of staying away from her was tearing him apart. “But that’s not what she wants, Kunj!” Another voice spoke, making the mother-son duo turn around. Aparna stood at the entrance, smiling at them. Usha smiled at her and welcomed her, asking her to sit down.
“Are you sure?” Kunj asked as soon as Usha was done with her pleasantries. He heard the two women giggle, joined by his father who had just come down the stairs. “Everyone in the world knows, except for the two of you, Kunj!” Aparna said, looking at him being annoyed with their laughter. He looked at his parents, who nodded at him. “Her parents might deny it all they want, since they are really worried for her and have seen her breaking down completely, but they know that it’s the truth too.” Usha informed him, a hint of resentment towards him in her voice. “What you did was a horrible thing, Kunj. If Twinkle can find it in her to love you despite it all, you have no idea how lucky you are. I totally understand if she finally decides to stay away from you though. She shouldn’t be expected to give it her everything all over again after all that she has suffered alone.” Usha added, and Aparna agreed to it. “Hasn’t she already decided that?” Kunj asked, and was pleasantly surprised when Aparna replied, “She wouldn’t give up on you so easily.”
When Aparna entered the Taneja mansion, she saw the family having dinner with Chinki and Yuvi. They were laughing at some childhood incident that Leela had just finished narrating. Now everyone was teasing Twinkle and she had been laughing with them. They look so happy, Aparna thought to herself, sighing deeply, when Leela saw her and asked her to join them quickly. Twinkle smiled at her and tapped on the chair on her left, asking her to sit down. Chinki, who was on Twinkle’s right, managed to smile at her. Twinkle had had a tough time convincing Chinki that it didn’t matter to her what Alisha did anymore, and hence Chinki might as well forgive Aparna. “Alisha needed you to wipe her tears, didn’t she?” Yuvi taunted her as she sat down, but he quietened down with a huff when Twinkle glared at him. “Done with your secret meeting with Kunj?” Twinkle asked her in a whisper, shocking her. Twinkle smiled at her, but didn’t bring it up for the rest of the dinner.
“How did you know?” Aparna asked Twinkle, barging into her room later that night. Twinkle stood up and put on the lights, pushing something that was in her hand under the bed quickly. Aparna observed quietly as Twinkle turned to her after wiping away her tears. “I’m sorry, what?” Twinkle asked, trying hard to remember what it was about. Aparna walked towards her and made her sit on the bed, sitting beside her herself. “When you know you still love him and are going to suffer like this as long as you keep him away from you, why are you doing this to yourself, Twinkle?” She spoke slowly, making sure each word hit exactly where she intended it to. “I don’t love him!” Twinkle protested. “If you say so, I’ll accept it, Twinkle. I just want you to stop bottling up your feelings. It’s lovely that you try your best to stay happy all the time these days, but it’s making you numb on the inside, which is definitely not a good sign.” Aparna explained, assuring her that she understood. “I’m not taking his side. I know he deserves to be punished, but in your attempts to stay away from him, you are hurting not just him but also yourself, and I can’t let that happen. While it’s totally up to you to decide what you want to do, would you please speak to him once and let out all that is clogging your mind so horribly? For my sake, at least?” Aparna continued, and somehow it was exactly what Twinkle wanted to do. She had had enough of faking happiness. Now she wanted to get over her past and actually be happy. Even if that meant forgoing her anger and making peace with it.
That’s it for now guys. Lots of love!