Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 24

Hello everyone! Ananya here. Thank you so much for all the love and affection that you all have been showering on my stories. Happy reading!

Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 24

A quick recap: Twinkle enjoys herself at Kunj’s concert, while he keeps an eye out for her even as he performs. However, she refuses to join him for the success party owing to her secret fears. She ends up breaking down as she struggles to deal with Kunj’s declaration that he didn’t love her.

Twinkle didn’t know for how long she had stayed in Kunj’s embrace before she had managed to calm herself down enough to finally process what he was saying. He was constantly assuring her that it was alright; although she was sure he had no idea what it was about. She heard him sigh in relief when she straightened up and wiped away her tears at last. “I’m still coming with you. I won’t take any of your arguments!” He said slowly, wondering if he should let go of her yet. She nodded quietly, realising for the first time that he had his arms around her, and it wasn’t helping her attempts to calm the butterflies in her tummy. “I didn’t know those ruins, ancient places I mean, meant so much to you.” He said after a long silence, delicately hinting at his desire to know what had led her to crying all of a sudden. He was sure it wasn’t what it had seemed. “Papa was very fond of these historical places. Ma tells me that we used to go on vacations only to such places. I don’t remember much of Papa of course; I was a little girl when he passed away. Perhaps that’s why I am inclined towards doing things that he liked. It makes me feel closer to him.” Twinkle answered, her voice still shaky as she tried hard to recall as much of her father as she could. Kunj was taken aback by that, he had definitely not seen it coming. He regretted making fun of her choice of places to visit, and hugged her tight, feeling a tug at his own heart as he heard her speak.

“My love for music too comes from Papa. He had bought me a small radio when I was hardly two, making sure there was always soothing music playing in the house. I’m sure that had he been around, he and I would have attended each of your concerts. He would have been a big fan of yours too.” Twinkle told Kunj as her heart filled with the warmth of her emotions. He smiled at her, moved by how she had tried to make it relevant to him. “I’m sure he’s really proud of you and Leela Ma for how well the two of you have coped up with the circumstances. He’s definitely smiling down at you today as well, for being such a wonderful person that you are!” Kunj replied, his own eyes welling up as he pondered over how Leela must have managed things. “I scared you with all the crying didn’t I?” She asked guiltily, turning to him to find him way closer to her than she had presumed. She could feel her heart beating so loudly that she was worried Kunj could hear it too. He had been looking right at her too, making things worse for her. All he could think of though, was how headstrong she was, to be able to come up with something cheerful, while he knew he would have taken an entire night to get over something of that scale. Little did he know she was stronger than that, for she was dealing with more things than he knew. She was glad that the daze was broken when they heard a distant clock strike three, making both of them move away from each other. “I’ll be up at 8, I promise. We could go to all those places then. Sweet dreams!” He said, or rather whispered, keeping his eyes off her as he pulled the duvet over himself. Twinkle smiled gratefully at him and looked up, sending up a silent prayer for her father before she fell asleep.

Twinkle was surprised to find Kunj awake and almost ready when she opened her eyes the following morning. He told her that he had already booked a cab for them and also ordered food, so all she had to do was get ready quickly and join him, surprising her. But that didn’t seem to be the only wonder she would be experiencing that day, for a member of his team told her that Kunj wasn’t the kind of person who liked to go sightseeing, and just the fact that he had agreed was unbelievable. She was all smiles as he put on his excited best and led her into the famous City Palace, waiting patiently beside her while she observed the architecture carefully. He found himself watching her more than the things she had been pointing to for him eagerly with childlike innocence. She found him standing a little far away, lost in his phone when she looked for him a while later. “Oh my goodness! The Kunj Sarna is clicking pictures of boring old ruins?” She asked, walking to him. “Actually, I was clicking pictures for you.” He replied, showing her a picture that he had clicked of her smiling to herself as she studied an intricately detailed pillar in front of her. Before she could express her amazement, they heard a group of girls call out to Kunj as they came running. Twinkle nodded understandingly at him, knowing that he always tried not to disappoint his fans. “What else could I ask for?” She thought to herself as she turned around to explore the rest of the palace by herself.

Twinkle had just finished buying bangles for Usha and stepped into the crowded street when she felt a hand on hers. She looked up in fear to see Kunj right next to her, demanding where she had been without telling him. She smiled when she saw his eyes soften as she explained that she had bought presents for his parents and her mother. “You could have always told me before you left! I looked for you everywhere!” He said, trying his best to sound annoyed, but failing miserably. “I did leave you a message, Kunj. Besides, I know how important your fans are to you. I couldn’t pull you away from them, could I?” She spoke, walking ahead of him to get into their cab, leaving him stunned yet again. They then had lunch at a traditional Rajasthani place, with Twinkle laughing her heart out as Kunj complained about hygiene, the spice, the surroundings and pretty much everything. That was when Kunj realised that he had totally forgotten what it felt like to be happy with the little things in life, and allowed himself an ice cream to celebrate his decision to listen to Twinkle more often, for when he did, it always brought him incredible experiences. He was jolted out of his thoughts when Twinkle snapped her finger in front of him because she was miffed that he wasn’t listening to her. “There we go again!” He heard Twinkle say and turned to see another group of youngsters running towards him. This time around though, he didn’t let her go away, for he definitely didn’t want to spend the rest of the day looking for her again. He released her hand when a fan pointed it out, calling it cute, making everyone else hoot and Twinkle thought she saw a slight blush cross his face right before he dismissed it. Maybe she was just imagining things?

 “I wonder how I had never considered doing this before!” Kunj exclaimed as he told Twinkle how much he had enjoyed himself the entire day, with the boating trip that they had taken in the evening being an entirely fresh experience. “That is because you hadn’t met Twinkle Taneja before!” She chirped as she pulled out their suitcases to put all their stuff back. “Who Twinkle Taneja?” He asked, pretending to be unaware. She glared at him, making him quickly explain, “It was a joke!” She shook her head and replied, “Wow! You have such a terrific sense of humour, Kunj Sarna!” When she turned back after picking up her clothes from the wardrobe, she found him standing right in front of her. “At least my sense of the present is better than yours.” He countered, looking right at her eyes. “What?” She asked confusedly, to which he responded, “You keep forgetting that you are Twinkle Kunj Sarna now!” Her eyes widened as she saw the serious look in his eyes, but it was soon replaced by laughter. “Gotcha! Scaredy-cat!” He teased as she walked back to the bed, avoiding him. He caught her smiling to herself and teased her some more before she angrily asked him to finish his packing on his own and stomped off.

“Still angry?” Kunj asked Twinkle as he stepped into the balcony beside her. She pointed to her phone to indicate that she was on a call, but Leela who was on the other end had already heard him, and was now ridiculing Twinkle for playing childish pranks on her husband when she had to try and make their relationship stronger. He cringed as she frowned at him, knowing that he would have to hear an earful from her after Leela was done. “Ma thinks that I trouble you all day long.” Twinkle informed him as she put her phone down, making Kunj giggle. “I’ll speak to her when we get back, don’t worry.” He offered with a smile, and added “I’ll tell her that you don’t just trouble me, but irritate me all day long!” as he ran into the room with a wink at her. When Twinkle closed the balcony door and walked towards the bed, she glanced around, but couldn’t find Kunj. “Kunj?” She called out, when suddenly the lights went out. “Oh no!” She grumbled, having a certain dislike for darkness, especially when she was in an unknown place. Listening carefully, she heard Kunj’s muffled laughter not too far off. “Turn the lights on, Kunj!” She demanded and the lights came back on immediately. She threw an uninterested look at him as he emerged from behind a door. “Alright, I’m sorry!” He said, looking genuinely sorry as he walked to her and handed a small gift-wrapped box to her. She looked at him questioningly and he blinked assuringly at her.

That’s it for now guys. Lots of love!