Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 53

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Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 53

A quick recap: As Twinkle helps Chinki deal with her bridal anxiety, Kunj begins to realise more and more of his folly since he hadn’t cared one bit about their wedding when it was happening. They finally board their plane where Kunj reveals some more details about the trip.

Kunj felt a gentle tapping on his shoulder and opened his eyes slowly when he heard Twinkle calling out to him. But before his eyes had even got accustomed to the lights, she placed her hands on them, leaning closer to him and whispering, “Welcome to Greece, Mr. Sarna! Can’t believe one of your biggest dreams is finally coming true!” She then dropped her hands, presenting him a view of the beautiful city that the plane was descending over. “Not one, two.” His mind prompted, but he didn’t say anything aloud, he instead turned to her and smiled, grabbing her hand and responding, “It wouldn’t have been possible without you!” She looked unsure about that, but one insistent glance of his and she had to give in. “There’s something that I need to tell you.” He confessed when the landing announcement was made, and she threw him her standard sceptical look. “Shoot actually begins two days later. We flew in earlier because I wanted to visit some places that I’ve heard are really amazing, but we won’t be shooting there, so..” He admitted sheepishly, looking as though he had practised saying that over and over until he got it right, and she watched with widened eyes, beginning to wonder what he was up to. It took him his best puppy face to convince her and although she shook her head and murmured “You’re impossible!”, he had seen the small smile she tried to hide, and sunk back into his seat, grinning to himself. She knew him well enough to figure out by then that it wasn’t just sightseeing that was on his mind, but since she knew him, she was also aware that if he hadn’t disclosed it himself, he probably wouldn’t tell her even if she asked.

Twinkle giggled as Kunj’s phone wouldn’t stop pinging ever since they had reconnected to the internet, which seemed to annoy him more than ever. She followed him through the corridor of their hotel with a view of the majestic Acropolis, listening to his incessant complaints with a quick nod each time he asked her something, both of them worn out from the journey and barely making it into their suite. “All ok?” He asked when he had quietly observed her turning over restlessly in bed when they had decided to nap for a while. “Can’t sleep!” She complained with a frown and he chuckled, trying to keep his drooping eyes open. “You could, if you weren’t bubbling with excitement, you know?” He pointed out and she shrugged her shoulders, letting out a deep sigh. How could she not be excited? As she thought of it, she still couldn’t believe she was the one Kunj had chosen for the video. He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes to draw her attention to something he had just said. “Huh?” She asked, making him laugh some more before he repeated, “We have a balcony, must be that door.” She glanced over her shoulder at the door he was pointing towards and then smiled back at him, mentally appreciating him for how well he knew her. What she didn’t know was that he had refused the other room that had been offered to them, one which opened directly to a swimming pool, because it didn’t have a balcony and his wifey always looked forward to spending a couple of hours admiring the view from the balcony on every trip they had ever been to. Besides, he had wanted this one to be the most memorable for her; he had so much planned for her after all.

“Yes, Ma. I will wake him up right away.” Kunj heard Twinkle’s voice the first thing he woke up next morning, and decided to pretend to be asleep, just to see what happened next. “No, the flight was comfortable, must be the jet lag. Don’t bother yourself so much, Ma.” She was saying, and the tone made it evident that it was Usha on the other end. She sighed as she cut the call and walked towards the bed, at which Kunj quickly shut his eyes. “Kunj!” Twinkle called out softly, and he had to fight his heart’s will to just pull her close to himself. When had he fallen so hopelessly for her? When he hadn’t responded the next couple of attempts she made, she climbed onto the bed and sat down beside him, forwarding her hand towards him, so hesitantly that he could feel it even with his eyes shut. It took her every last bit of courage in her to let go of her inhibitions and place her hand gently on his hand, running her fingers through his hair, both of their hearts thudding wildly, when she felt him lean his head against her hand and relax into her touch, making her realise that she had given in to her heart. What was she even doing? What if he woke up? She had just begun to withdraw her hand when he grabbed it, opening his eyes lazily to find her frozen at her spot, making him grin. He raised his eyebrows at her and then looked at her hand in his, which reminded her that she had actually been getting away, but as if he had read her thoughts he tightened his hold, making her shut her eyes. He sat up and looked at her, leaning really close to her, making her look at him in surprise. Ever since he had told her they would be going to Greece, her mind had made up a hundred dreams, but she didn’t seem to be prepared to live even one of them, for his proximity, the raw look in his eyes alone were driving her crazy. “Get ready quickly; we need to leave in an hour.” He whispered with his breath fanning her cheek, making her gasp. Then suddenly he moved back and got off the bed, smiling to himself as he recalled the boggled look in her eyes, while she was staring at his back as he walked into the washroom until she heard him say, “I know you’re admiring me!”, making her blush.

“Kunj! I can read sign boards, you know?” Twinkle protested when they had been got into the back of a car that Kunj had hired over an hour ago, and he still refused to tell her where they were headed. “I know.” He answered, pretending to be too busy in clicking pictures on his phone to even turn to her. “Kunj!!” She called out sounding really annoyed, and he responded without much thought, “Aww, yes baby?” He stiffened when he saw her look at him, appearing more confused than surprised. He realised that he hadn’t said that in really long; it had been his regular term of endearment for Alisha, but he had never called Twinkle anything other than her own name. In fact, he had never realised any such need with her, he knew his love for her was true and that seemed to suffice for everything. As he brushed away his thoughts and looked at her though, he realised he would use it every now and then, not to show off anything, but to tease her. He really loved it when she would stare at him innocently, or when something he said would turn her cheeks crimson, after all. He chuckled when she quickly got out of the car when the driver announced that they had arrived. He knew she was trying to pretend nothing had just happened. “Mycenae!” He announced standing behind her, as they watched the excavated remains of the ancient city from the cliff they were standing at the top of, in a daze. When Twinkle had watched in amusement for a few minutes, she turned to Kunj, who was watching her, equally amused. “This is so beautiful!” She exclaimed, choosing to ignore his gaze on her, although at the back of her mind was an cyclone of questions, what, why, how, and her heart seemed to know all the answers, answers that she didn’t want to accept, fearing another heartbreak. “I know.” Kunj exhaled, his eyes still fixed on her. “Thank you for planning this!” She told him quickly before heading towards the path that would lead them to the city below. He smiled brightly and followed her, knowing that she would now spend all day exploring every corner of the city, but he had to stop from getting to that one place until his plans were fully ready for execution, right? Besides, he didn’t mind doing anything at all if it meant he would be with her.

Twinkle was worried she wouldn’t be able to hide her love for Kunj any longer, but why would he reciprocate those feeling for her? She was his best friend, his manager, his go to person for every single thing, but was she his love? The possibility seemed really bleak to her. She found solace in the enchanting charm the citadel from so long ago still held and when she found Kunj listening to her rant about how much she liked the place patiently, she couldn’t help helplessly drowning in his eyes. She had learnt to love every bit of him over the previous months, be it his reluctance, his hesitation, or his cheerfulness and excitement, but he always seemed to offer something new every single time, and needless to say, she almost instantly fell for that as well. It would be an understatement to say she was surprised when he had disappeared in the evening and had a little boy bring her a package with a note. She accepted it nevertheless, taken aback when she found her gown in it. When had he taken it from her suitcase and how had he hidden it so far? “I know you’ve been anxious to visit the Lion Gate all day and there’s a reason I made excuses to prevent you. You’ll know only if you change quickly (I’ve made arrangements, trust me! This boy will lead you) and get there without much of a fuss. a.k.a. I have a surprise for you! – Kunj.” She giggled at the note, but followed his instructions despite how strange she felt it was, for he had managed to make everything really special for her all day, she could ‘trust’ him with this as well. When she finally got to where the boy insisted Kunj was waiting for her, two rows of lanterns arranged to make a path to the ancient structure light up at once, producing a soft glow. It was almost the only light in the vicinity and she couldn’t still spot the one person her eyes were looking for, for really long now. She slowly walked down the path and turned around slowly to find him strolling towards her in a black suit, god, she was dead at just the sight of him, and the moment their eyes locked, he enacted being struck by her beauty, making her laugh. She slowly stepped towards him as well, and they met a few steps later.

After what seemed like an eternity of simply looking at each other, Kunj held Twinkle’s hands in his, realising that he didn’t really have to practise his confession for hours. Now that she was in front of him and the moment had finally come, his heart seemed to know exactly what to say and do and it just seemed better this way. He placed her left hand on his shoulder and closed the distance between them before placing his right hand on her cheek. She felt her heart raging, could this actually be the moment that she had waited for all her life? His eyes seemed to affirm her doubt before he confirmed it with, “You already know that you are the prettiest girl I know, and that you look just breathtaking today, and that’s something I’ll never get tired of telling you. Today however, I’ve finally found a befitting place to tell you what my heart has known for so long now. Twinkle Kunj Sarna, you’re already my wife, which is good, because there’s no way you’ll leave me when I tell you this, and a little weird as well, because this isn’t how it usually happens, but either way, it’s a win-win for me, because I love you! I really do! I know you must be finding it strange, I did too, but any amount of thinking only led me to realise that you taught me to love and to live, you taught me what it really means to be there for someone at each step. It was only when I feared losing you that I realised what the pangs of separation actually feel like. You redefined patience and selflessness for me, you accepted me at my lowest and seemingly effortlessly brought me back up again. Being in love with you brightened my days like never before, there was this constant charm about my life that was never there before. I know that I must be sounding like one of those heroes that I myself used to call cheesy, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I don’t mind it anymore either! I don’t mind declaring to the world that I’m hopelessly in love with you! I love you!” He watched Twinkle’s eyes glisten with unshed tears, and even though she had on the brightest smile he had ever seen her with, the tears frightened him. Was she going to reject him was the only thought on his mind.

Okay guys! That was the longest I’ve ever written, and this deserved it! I know we’ve waited with Twinkle, crying with her, rejoicing with her, and I hope this wait was worth it. I had originally intended to push the entire confession scene to the next episode, but then figured that we’ve waited for so long that more waiting should be a crime. Tell me what you guys thought about it! Also, Kunj isn’t done yet. 😉 Stay tuned! Lots of love!!