Greetings everyone! Thank you so much for all the love and affection that you all are showering on my story! Happy reading!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 31
A quick recap: Twinkle’s worry over Kunj hiding the truth from her is revealed, adding to which she finds out about Alisha being missing. She goes to the Sarna family’s old farmhouse on receiving a message from Kunj, only to realise that she had been tricked by Alisha, who attacks her violently even as Twinkle tries to ensure Alisha doesn’t misunderstand Kunj.
Twinkle opened her eyes to find herself in her room at the Taneja mansion, making her wonder if all that she had experienced was just a nightmare. She was proven wrong when she tried to sit up, but felt stinging pains at several places on her body. Leela came rushing in when she cried out in pain, looking frightened at her state. Soon Chinki and Yuvi too filed in, all of them standing and watching her in horror, until Leela sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug, careful not to touch any bandaged wounds, as she sobbed, repeatedly asking Twinkle what had happened. At that, flashes from Alisha’s madness appeared before her eyes, making her feel weaker than she was already feeling. The fact that Kunj had resorted to something of that sort seemed to jab her heart, for it meant that she had failed even as a friend, he hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her anything. “Twinkle!” Leela called out loudly, probably because she hadn’t heard her the first few times, jerking her out of her thoughts. “Would you tell us what happened? You knew I wasn’t at home, didn’t you? I came back as soon as Yuvi called me up.” Leela spoke, making Twinkle widen her eyes as she slowly joined the dots and figured that it was probably Yuvi who had saved her and brought her here, but why hadn’t he told anybody about Alisha? What was he doing there? Twinkle looked on quietly, not uttering a single word as Leela stood up when the Sarnas entered the room, looking equally worried.
“Twinkle! My goodness! How did all this happen?” Usha asked, sitting where Leela had previously sat, but Twinkle’s eyes remained fixed on Kunj who appeared as though it was him was who suffering from the pain. One look at Usha was all Twinkle needed to know that if she didn’t speak up now, Usha would reveal all that she knew about Alisha to everyone, and Twinkle couldn’t let that happen. “I was actually looking for something in the store room downstairs, Ma. I lost balance and fell off the pile of old clothes, right on top of some discarded things, which were probably sharp. I’m fine though. It isn’t really as bad as it looks.” Twinkle spoke weakly, carefully keeping her glance off Yuvi for she was worried he would reveal where he had actually found her. Leela and Usha then told her many things about how she should have been more careful, how worried they all had been and that she should take care and get well soon, but none of it entered her head, for she was watching Yuvi try to speak something that Chinki was trying to stop him from saying, the two of them had burst out of the room when he didn’t give in so easily. Twinkle nodded at Leela and Usha, who appeared much more relieved now and sighed as she saw Kunj excuse himself to receive a call. She let out a deep sigh as she thought that it was probably Alisha calling him. She looked down to scrutinise her wounds, which made everyone else’s panic clear to her. There were multiple deep wounds, surprising her that they had actually bought her story. She was probably given pain killers though, she couldn’t feel much physical pain right now, but her heart felt like it had actually been crushed to a million pieces, making a tear roll down her cheek.
“What do you think made her lie so horribly? What is even wrong with her?” Yuvi almost screamed when he and Chinki were out of eavesdropping distance. “You do remember her state when you arrived there, don’t you? Why didn’t you say anything then?” He continued, even as Chinki tired to get him to calm down. “What were you doing in such an abandoned place, Yuvi?” She asked, eyeing him suspiciously, making him shoot a ‘You are impossible’ look at her. “I was driving on the highway when my car broke down near that place! I went to the first inhabited looking place I could spot from the road to find help for myself when I heard those horrifying screams! I found Twinkle lying lifeless on the ground, looking miserable. My car wouldn’t start, I had no other go than to call you!” He explained, evidently out of patience, unable to understand why that was so important right then. Unknown to them, Kunj had heard the high pitched arguments and was headed their way. He heard Chinki tell Yuvi, “I know you’re still in love with Twinkle, Yuvi! But would you please understand that she’s happily married now?” Kunj gasped, he had been jealous of Yuvi for so long, but not once had he even deduced that this could be the truth. “Stop it, Chinki! This has nothing to do with my feelings! I agree that I love Twinkle, but you must know that I loved her enough to let her go so that she could have a happy life when she refused having any feelings for me! What crap is this happy marriage thing though? The doctor told me that those wounds were clearly inflicted by a deliberate attack! Was this what I sacrificed my love for?” Yuvi argued, astounding Kunj. He stepped back, causing a vase to crash to the ground, making Yuvi and Chinki turn to find Kunj, their faces exhibiting fear and guilt.
Twinkle was glad when Yuvi and Chinki walked back into the room, followed by a distressed Kunj, she could finally convince Yuvi to keep mum about whatever he had seen back there. She wanted to confront Kunj on her own, she had hundreds of questions that demanded answers, but for that, it was necessary that the others didn’t find out about Alisha, for if they did, they would never let her go back to Kunj, she knew they loved her that much. “Twinkle, why are you lying?” Yuvi asked after Chinki had convinced the others to go and have their dinner while she and Yuvi stayed by Twinkle’s side. “I’m sorry I can’t reveal much right now, Yuvi. I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anybody the truth, please!” Twinkle requested, a fresh stream of tears flowing down her cheeks. Yuvi cut short his protest and nodded when he saw her tears, his own heart stinging at the sight. “What were you doing all alone in such a place though?” He asked, surprising her. He had clearly said ‘alone’, hadn’t he? Where was Alisha then? “That is Kunj’s old farmhouse. I was just planning a little surprise for him.” She said sadly, hating that she had to lie even to her dearest friends, but then, even her best friend had lied to her, so it was fair, right? She looked up at Chinki pleadingly, hoping they wouldn’t ask any further questions, and Chinki spoke, “Yuvi, you didn’t see anyone there, did you? This isn’t an attack like the doctor had told you. Twinkle and Kunj are happy together too. Stop being sceptical and let her rest now, will you?” Yuvi smiled at them and nodded, they all knew he hadn’t given up. He had just let them sideline the issue temporarily, and Twinkle thought she could deal with that. She had had a long debate with herself as to whether Alisha’s love was actually true and if her merciless behaviour was actually the impact of her mental trauma, for it seemed impossible to believe her right now. She had considered all possible ways of viewing the issue and had finally convinced herself by the fact that if at all Alisha was a fraud, Kunj would have known by now. Just the idea that he still trusted Alisha gave her the push she needed to re-establish her faith in Alisha though at the back of her mind would always be the horrifying thought that Alisha wasn’t the right kind of person to say the least. Kunj’s happiness would always be most important to her nevertheless.
Kunj walked into Twinkle’s room stealthily that night, careful not to trip over something stupidly like he had done earlier, his mind clouded with thoughts of Yuvi’s feelings for Twinkle that he had recently discovered, and the strong probability that she had been attacked. “I’m awake.” He heard Twinkle’s voice in the dark right before she turned on the bedside lamp. He felt awful at the sight of her tired eyes that cried out the need for some rest, her injuries that made her look like a weakling that she definitely wasn’t and her resigned look. Her eyes followed him as he walked over to her side and sat down. She had been expecting him anytime now, for she knew he had wanted to speak to her ever since he had first seen her in that state but had never got the opportunity. She had heard Leela ask the Sarnas to stay back since it was already past midnight and they had agreed reluctantly. “How are you?” He asked softly, unable to look straight at her anymore. “Oh my god! Are those marks of dried tears? The Kunj Sarna cried?” She spoke dramatically, trying to sound as casual as possible although the tension in the air was getting unbearable. He gave her a bored look, making her smile and then questioned, “What had actually happened, Twinkle?” She shut her eyes, trying to hold back the tears as she realised that all that had transpired had destroyed their honest friendship completely for her. Although she had tried telling herself that he loved Alisha and was allowed to do that, she failed horribly. “I was in the storeroom..” she began, but he cut her short with, “Enough! Everybody knows that it wasn’t a small accident! They’re just waiting for you to get better to interrogate you further! The doctor thinks it was an attack!” She sighed deeply, wondering how long she had before she was bombarded with questions again.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Twinkle?” Kunj asked, placing his hand gently over hers, but she withdrew with a shriek, making him apologise profusely when he realised that he had accidentally touched a wound. She watched with teary eyes as he carefully held her hand in both of his, blowing on it to relieve her of some pain. “Does it hurt a lot?” He asked, looking up with welled up eyes. She shook her head quickly, managing to put on a little smile. “I hope you get well real soon!” He whispered, and was about to get up when she grabbed his wrist and motioned him to sit closer to her. “Is there something you want to tell me, Kunj?” She asked in the same tone that he had used. He looked at her indecisively, he had hundreds of things to tell her, to ask her, his worries for her, his feelings for her that had begun to intensify even more lately, his insecurities regarding Yuvi’s love for her, the fear that he might be the reason she was attacked, him getting Alisha out of the rehab facility, so much, but he shook his head for reasons that even he wasn’t aware of. “What about you?” He asked instead, and she shook her head too, disappointing him. “You should probably rest now in that case. I’ll be right here if you need anything.” He said and she shut her eyes immediately, not wanting to argue. She was hurt that he still chose to hide things from her, that he didn’t trust her enough, had he called her his best friend for fun? She couldn’t fall asleep, her thoughts troubling her way too much, but she wouldn’t open her eyes either, she knew he was still sitting beside her. Not much later, she heard him whisper “I’m sorry for everything, Twinkle.” He then placed a gentle peck on her hand before getting up and leaving.
That’s it for now, guys. Hope you all liked it! I know it might not have been an episode that stood up to your expectations, all of your wishes that Kunj be the one to save Twinkle having been proven wrong, but with time, things will get better than this. Lots of love!