Greetings everyone! I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for showering so much love on this story, which is very dear to my heart for reasons that I might never be able to comprehend. I hope you enjoy it! Happy reading!!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 17
A quick recap: Twinkle turns down Chinki’s last attempt to change her mind about marrying Kunj, while Kunj prepares himself mentally, guilt for betraying Alisha troubling him all along. Twinkle and Kunj get married and he takes her home, and shows her his room before she goes to change. She steps back into the dimly lit room and hears him tuning his guitar.
Twinkle tiptoed across the room and sat down on a little stool that was at a little distance from Kunj. She sat quietly and watched as he hummed softly, playing the guitar, his eyes closed, completely lost in the song. She liked to believe that it was a private concert, organised just for her. She had recognised the song unmistakably right when she heard the first note. She watched him in a daze as he proceeded through the song, giving her goose bumps. “Hi!” He said when the song came to an end and he looked up, to find her sitting in front of him. She stood immediately, being jerked out of her happy place. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’ll go away, you should continue!” She said in a go, making him giggle. He stood up, placed his guitar back on its stand and said, “Calm down! It’s absolutely alright. It’s not like my practise hour or anything!” He smiled warmly at her. “It is, actually. Isn’t it?” She asked guiltily, worried that she had disrupted his routine. “Yes it is.” he replied, throwing his hands up in an ‘I give up’ manner, but added “That’s absolutely alright, though. Not like it’s something I must do, today especially.” That didn’t seem to convince her though. “No, you should go back to rehearsing, I insist. I don’t want to be a disturbance.” She said assertively, and he nodded after thinking for a moment.
“Alright. How about I sing your favourite song? Which one is it?” He asked, turning back to pick up his guitar. “The one you were just singing.” She said, surprising him. He quickly turned back to her, looking excited. “Seriously?” He asked, and she nodded, wondering why he couldn’t believe it. “That’s my favourite too!” He said, holding his hand up for a high five. She responded to it with a bright smile. “But that’s not what you say in your interviews!” She said, looking at him doubtfully. “I can’t tell people this is my favourite, since it didn’t do really well among the audience. They’ll think it’s a promotional strategy.” He explained, shrugging. “But I still come back to this song frequently; it’s like my own safe confine.” He added, leading her to the wardrobe so that she could put away the bridal clothes that she had taken off and was still carrying in her hands, not sure of where to put them. She nodded at him, wondering if it would be alright to tell him that the song meant the exact same to her too, but decided against it, afraid that she would come off as clingy.
“I know I was supposed to give you a nice welcome and stuff, but couldn’t really think of what I should have done that you would have liked. Sorry!” He said as he put on the bright lights and she observed for the first time that he was wearing that shirt that he had on in the picture that was her most favourite of his. He snapped his fingers in front of her bringing her back to the real world. “Do I really intimidate you that much? It’s the second time I’ve caught you staring in the last half an hour!” He said with a giggle, and she murmured a “Sorry!” looking away, embarrassed at being caught on her first day itself. When she found it in herself to be able to look at him, she found him watching her, confusing her. “What?” She asked, feeling self conscious. “Nothing!” he replied and burst out laughing again, annoying her. She huffed, went and sat angrily on the bed. “It’s so much fun teasing you!” He said, sitting beside her. When he turned to her, he saw her giggling too, surprising him. “I’m glad you took that like a good sport!” He said, and added, “Alisha would have thrown things around angrily and created a huge scene!” Twinkle looked at him, realising that that was the first time he had recalled Alisha so happily, and she hated it. She looked away immediately, not wanting him to see her disappointment. He stayed quiet for a long time, waiting for her to respond, but she didn’t. “We should go to sleep now.” He said finally, wondering what he had said wrong, and she nodded immediately.
Twinkle stood quietly and watched as he got off and walked around the bed, reaching for a pillow. When he picked it and began to walk towards the couch, she called out to him. “Where are you going?” She asked, stepping towards him. “You should sleep on the bed. I’ll be fine on the couch.” He said, making her realise that this was a problem she had not thought about. She looked around and asked “What’s that?” pointing at a door beside the closet that he had said nothing about. He led her there and opened the door, revealing what seemed like a room that he used for some musical requirement. “My home studio.” He said, affirming her guess. “I’ll sleep here.” She said quickly, pointing at a couch in a corner of the studio, which had been the place where Usha sat when she came to listen to him there. “You can pretend you’re still unmarried and enjoy your freedom.” She said, looking at him with a smile. “No ways! I can’t do that!” He protested, pulling the door to shut it. “Trust me, Kunj. It’s the best solution!” She said, but he wouldn’t listen. “You are my best friend. That’s not just for the social media, you actually are! I think we both can manage absolutely fine in this room without making things awkward. If not, we should learn to.” He said strictly forbidding her, while her mind threatened to drown in the thoughts of him actually considering her his best friend. “I can’t let you sleep on the couch!” She said quickly to prevent losing control over her mind, and he could feel the guilt in her voice. “I can’t either!” He shot back, hoping she would give in, but he had no idea how stubborn she was.
“This is fine?” He asked her as she placed a row of pillows in the middle of the bed, as though it would partition the whole world into two. “You have left me no other go, Kunj Sarna!” She said as she inspected the ‘wall’ to find it satisfactory. Kunj looked at her with a ‘You’re impossible!’ expression, to which she responded with a “Didn’t you say I’m your best friend? Deal with my craziness now!” He giggled as he saw her walk over to the left side of the bed, where he had already been standing. “Left side?” he asked. “Yes, thank you!” she said, holding back her laughter. “Good God, you’ve given me a mad best friend!” He said, looking upwards, making her laugh. “A mad best friend who doesn’t even consider her husband as her best friend!” He continued his rant, pretending to be deeply saddened by the thought. “What?” She asked, sitting on the bed. “I know.” He responded, his tone monotonous. “You know what?” She demanded as he sat down in front of her. “That I’m not your best friend. Chinki is. And then there’s Yuvraj, and maybe then it’s me.” He said with a frown, drawing patterns on the bed, not looking at her. “So much drama!” Twinkle said, smacking him playfully on his arm. He looked up at her immediately, making her withdraw her hand in a flash. “I’m sorry!” She said, but he burst out laughing. “I told you it’s fun teasing you!” He said, earning a glare. He then wished her ‘Sweet dreams’, got up, went over to his side of the bed and laid down. Just as he was about to turn the lights out, she heard him say, “You can stop staring now.”
Twinkle was the first to wake up the next morning. In fact, she had hardly slept, the thought that he was at two arms distance snatching away her peace of mind. She couldn’t stop thinking of him, and fallen asleep at what felt like just before sunrise. She quickly freshened up, bathed and changed into a comfortable Salwar suit, although she remembered Leela insisting that she wore a Saree on her first day there. She made no noise as she sneaked out of the room and stepped into the corridor, closing the door after her, not wanting to wake Kunj up. She had been walking down the corridor slowly, carefully observing the pictures on the wall, when she heard Usha call out to her from behind. She turned around to see Usha cast a quick glance at Kunj’s room as she passed by, as though she was trying to make sure everything was alright, and then walk swiftly towards her. “Good morning Mrs. Sarna!” Twinkle greeted her, making Usha smile sadly. “I’m sorry for interfering in your life like that, Twinkle. I just knew that there couldn’t be a better match for Kunj than you, and I had to do something!” She explained, having figured out the reason for Twinkle’s coldness towards her. “Really, Mrs. Sarna? What if Alisha had never met with that accident? Do you think you would have been able to convince Kunj then?” Twinkle thundered at Usha, who gave her another smile, this one somehow seemed happier than the previous one. “Convince me for what?” Kunj asked, walking towards them. He had evidently just woken up, but they couldn’t be sure how much he had heard.
That’s it for now, guys. Lots of love!
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