Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 41

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the love and affection that this story has been receiving! Happy reading!

Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 41

A quick recap: Kunj struggles to get back to his normal schedule, missing Twinkle more than ever. Twinkle, on the hand, lets Leela know that she had been informed of Kunj’s love for Alisha well in time for her marriage, disappointing her. Alisha finally understands Kunj’s pining for Twinkle and resolves to sort things out. Yuvi informs Kunj and Alisha that he and Twinkle are getting engaged.

“Seeing that, Usha Sarna? That, is my Kunj. Today, I’ve successfully uprooted his and Twinkle’s relationship completely, there’s no way on Earth that they are getting back together now. You won’t believe what the icing on the cake is though. Twinkle Taneja is getting engaged! To Yuvraj Luthra if you hadn’t guessed it already. You know how this is a win-win for me? He now thinks I’m a good friend who understood his love for Twinkle and made the supreme sacrifice for his sake!” Alisha jeered in taunting whispers to Usha as the two of them stood at the foot of the staircase and watched Kunj walk to his room, a dejected, doomed look haunting his face. “Don’t you dare..” Usha began with her finger held up pointedly when she managed to recover from the shock that Alisha had inflicted on her. “Tch tch. Bring this down, to be mother in law. Or you know what, I honestly don’t care if Kunj marries me or not! As long as I’m in this house, I’ll still get what I need, his fame and wealth giving my career and social image the push it needs. So, let’s say all the effort right from tricking and attacking Twinkle in the farmhouse and hiding in time when I spotted that brat Yuvraj Luthra, who is so hopelessly in love with her, to all that I did today, has finally paid off! It’s time to celebrate! Bring out the wine glasses, will you? I’m going to push you into the servants’ quarters real soon either ways.” Alisha spread out all her doings before Usha and walked away with a wink.

Kunj entered the room that was now only his, for the person who filled it with life was no longer around. He couldn’t believe his ears. Twinkle had already moved on and decided to get engaged? Was one week all it took for her to completely let go of her ties to him? He found a large package leaning against his bed and ripped it open, knowing exactly what it was- a picture of him and Twinkle that he had planned to hang on the wall right above the bed as a little surprise to her. It was a candid click that his photographer had snapped on their previous trip for his concert; they looked so happy in it, as though nothing in the whole wide world could separate them. He had her in his embrace, her head leaning on his chest sideways and her hands around him, nobody could tell that they weren’t actually a couple in love. Her smile still brought him the same sense of peace, of solace that it always did and right now, it took him back to that moment. The concert was held on a cliff, and they could see the far off sea from the stage, glistening with sun rays as the cool breeze hit their faces. “It’s freezing up here, Kunj! You’ll catch a cold by the time the show is over!” She had said worriedly and he had brushed off her fears with a simple shrug. “No! Listen to me! How about we go and get your costume designer to add something warmer to your outfit?” She had asked, grabbing onto his wrist as he turned to leave. “I’ll be fine, I’m not a baby!” He had complained as he turned to look at her. “Yes , you are! You are Usha Ma’s baby, and she wouldn’t want you falling ill!” She had shot back, looking at him dead in the eye. “Wait, let me guess, you’re only worried that if I fall ill, you won’t get to go and explore this place tomorrow!” He had exclaimed dramatically, pretending to wipe away non existent tears, making her laugh as he joined in with a grin. “Good luck! Rock it!” She had finally whispered, giving him a tight hug, unaware that their little moment was being captured.

Kunj didn’t know for how long he had sat in front of the picture, but when Usha had used her spare keys to unlock the room and walk in, turning on the lights, his heart and mind still felt no better at all. He didn’t want to lose Twinkle, he had told her so already, hadn’t he? Why hadn’t she listened then? She had called him her best friend, she was supposed to behave like it then, right? He turned to find his parents looking down at him dotingly, they appeared equally hurt, looks like nobody had seen Twinkle’s sudden engagement coming. His mind dragged him back to the moment when he had bumped into Twinkle earlier that day. She seemed torn apart too, now that he came to think of it. He wondered and hoped, although he knew it was awfully wrong to do so, if she had taken that decision without thoroughly thinking it through, and perhaps-he crossed his fingers as he thought of the possibility-she began regretting the decision when she had suddenly encountered him. “I need to learn to be happy just with the fact that she’s happy, isn’t it? I love her enough to do that!” He told Usha as she and Manohar sat down in front of him. They shook their heads, they knew Twinkle loved him, they knew Alisha had been a big fraud all along and it hadn’t taken them too much time or effort to figure out that something was fishy.

Kunj had prayed, or rather begged to god, that he would reach there in time. He didn’t know how successful he would be, but one of the things Twinkle had taught him was to never give up, and right then, it was time for him to show her how well he had caught on that lesson. He jumped off his car and entered the Taneja Mansion among a crowd so that he wouldn’t be spotted by Chinki or Yuvi, for that would destroy all his chances. He stopped dead in his track when he sighted Twinkle right outside the main door, dressed up in a Lehenga, scrolling down her phone anxiously, she was evidently looking for something, but all Kunj could think of was how beautiful she looked. It was the first time after their marriage that he had seen her in a Lehenga, and god, he couldn’t stop wishing she would wear it more often. She seemed too lost to notice him though; she was cutely muttering something to herself as she continued to type something on her phone and shook her head disapprovingly. He had missed her so much that right then he felt like his life that had been snatched away from him was being returned to him. What caught his eyes were the Mangalsutra and Sindoor that she had on, a clear indication that she had not gone too far from him. He walked towards her slowly; his heart was filling up with so much joy that he didn’t even know was possible. He cringed as he realised how impossibly in love he was with her, he had no idea it could be this way as well, but there was absolutely no other way he would want it to be.

“Hey..” Kunj’s voice was almost a whisper as he stood right in front of Twinkle. She looked up at him in surprise, and he caught her pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. He glanced at that and then returned his eyes to her face that made evident her mixed up emotions. Little did he know that she had missed him so much that she had begun hallucinating about his presence everywhere, which was why she thought it would be better to make sure. “Kunj! What are you doing here?” She asked, not even attempting to hide her surprise. “I shouldn’t be here?” He asked in return and she shook her head firmly, making him giggle. “You should, I mean, could be here, but I don’t remember anybody inviting you!” She said, mentally smacking herself as she realised she made no sense. “This is my wife’s old home, you see? I don’t need to be invited to be here.” He responded quickly and she raised her eyebrows and nodded, wondering what to say next. When had things become so awkward between them? “But I’m getting engaged today. Not your wife anymore. Besides, weren’t you supposed to be getting married soon too? I saw that bit of information on Alisha’s social media page..” She spoke hesitantly, studying his expressions carefully. He flinched when she had said ‘not your wife anymore’, but that changed to a fed up look real quick at the mention of Alisha, and she was sure she had seen him muttering something to himself. She herself was having a really hard time trying to push him away and his attitude was definitely not helping. She had read about Alisha’s post on her and Kunj getting married anytime soon online, which had crushed her completely, but Kunj’s expressions each time she encountered him didn’t seem to go with it. From what she knew about him, she presumed he was feeling overtly guilty because of her, which was why when Yuvi told him earlier that day that he and her were getting engaged she hadn’t revealed the truth that it was actually Chinki whose engagement was happening. She thought that that way at least he would be able to move on without much burden.

“Let me see.. Is that your ring?” Kunj asked sarcastically as he held up Twinkle’s hand and ran his fingers gently on her ring, their ring, the one that he had slipped onto her finger when they had marked the beginning of their togetherness formally, on the day of their engagement that is. She pulled her hand back immediately, looking away from him; ‘why was he doing this?’ was the only thought on her mind right then. “You still have those on..” He pointed out her Mangalsutra and Sindoor, making her realise he had caught her lie. “Fine! It’s Chinki who is getting engaged. But Kunj, you shouldn’t be here right now! You are going to get married to Alisha!” She spoke with a painful voice, shutting her eyes and shaking away the images of him and Alisha that were repeatedly appearing before her. She had stalked them for hours in the previous week after all, and now she had a hard time putting it away. “I’m not! I wish you would listen before jumping to conclusions like that, Twinkle! I tried to explain even the other day, but you would only do what you thought was right for both of us!” He expressed his dissent, having run out of patience. It was now her turn to look at him in surprise. Despite her repeated efforts, she couldn’t form a single sentence; her thoughts and confusions had barred her thinking capability. “I know I must have given off the impression that I’m still in love with Alisha as much as ever, but it’s not true. I agree that it’s my fault that way. I realised by and by that I wasn’t in love with Alisha, and also that, with you, I was happy, way happier than I had ever been! With you I felt like there was nothing else in the world that I could ask for. Please come back! I don’t think I can take this distance from you anymore! I need my best friend back by my side, and this time, forever!” He confessed, looking right into her eyes and heard her gasp.

That’s it for now, guys. Like I had said, I have absolutely no intention of keeping the love birds away for too long. Hope you all liked it. Lots of love!