Greetings everyone! Thank you so much for all the love this story is receiving!! The kind of response this story received was a dream come true in all terms, and I’m so, so grateful! Happy reading!!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 68
A quick recap: Twinkle returns to her bubbly, cheerful self, something that Kunj totally enjoys dealing with. As she suffers from cramps one afternoon, he reveals his stand on the issue, surprising Twinkle, and remains persistent on the idea that she should be widening her own thoughts as well.
Twinkle walked into the dining area to be greeted by the aroma of Usha’s signature soup. She stopped just a few steps away when she saw Kunj in his ‘Kiss the Chef’ apron that he had insisted on buying when on a shopping spree during one of their trips for his show. Of course she had laughed at his insistence, teasing him for his very limited cooking knowledge, stating that he would never require an apron in his entire lifetime. If he had actually made the soup by himself though, she would have to take each one of those words back, she mused. Right then, as if to answer her question, she saw Kunj place his soup in front of Usha who was seated at the table, asking her to judge his cooking skills. She watched wide-eyed as Usha hummed appreciatively at her son, ruffling his hair lovingly, and he whined annoyedly like always, making her giggle. “Twinkle!” Kunj greeted excitedly when he heard her, and then rushed to drag her to the chair opposite to Usha’s. She watched Kunj’s expression change suddenly like he had remembered something. “You should have just slept for another hour or two! Look, I learnt to make Ma’s soup, just for you! I would bring it upstairs in a few minutes myself.” He whispered to her as he pushed in her chair, but Usha was too quick to have missed that. “But why? Is Twinkle unwell or something?” She asked curiously, her glance quickly alternating between both of them. “No, Ma. I’m absolutely alright!” Twinkle answered quickly, throwing a ‘Don’t tell her’ look at Kunj, for she still didn’t want to be speaking about her periods. He sighed, already aware that she would need more convincing, but before he could say anything of the sort, Usha quipped in, “What is it then? Did the two of you plan a breakfast in bed?” They looked up at her in embarrassedly, making her burst out laughing and Twinkle thought it would be the best for her to reveal their plans for the day to Usha then.
“I can’t believe this!” Usha muttered in disbelief yet again, watching Twinkle, who had her head bowed down, and Kunj, who for some reason, appeared a little confused himself. “I don’t understand why you want to bring doom upon yourselves, upon us! Kunj has been blind to Alisha’s doings all along, but what is it with you, Twinkle? Have you already forgotten all that she’s done and put you through?” She continued, shouting at the top of her voice. “We’ve wronged her too, Ma. I know that doesn’t cancel out all that she did either, but I believe we still owe her an apology. To ease the burden on our hearts at least. Even though we might deny any such feeling, I’m worried that some day a few years down the line when we’re all happy with our lives, the guilt for our misdeeds will suddenly begin to haunt us again, and for all we know, it’ll then be too late to apologise.” Twinkle explained, almost just a retelling of Kunj’s explanation to her a few nights ago, her attempts to take the entire blame beginning to hurt him. “That’s enough, Twinkle!” Usha shrieked, making the two of them jump up in their places. “I can’t let you pursue this madness anymore!” She whimpered, tears being to roll down her cheeks. “It was my decision, Ma.” Kunj confessed finally, throwing her off-guard, making her give up on her stand once and for all. She knew there was no point arguing any further, she could only hope and pray things wouldn’t go out of control this time around.
Kunj had stayed absolutely quiet as Twinkle managed to get him and Usha through the rest of the breakfast quietly after which she had led him back to their room so that they could get ready and leave already. She had figured she wouldn’t be able to convince Kunj to drop the idea either, so she preferred to get it sone with already. “We don’t have to do this, Twinkle.” He whispered, as she got to the door, checking the contents of her purse one more time, like she always did, his patience completely run out. She had put on her best pretence but Kunj had managed to see right through it nevertheless. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.” She lied despite it all, worried her resolve might come crumbling down. “We don’t have to do this.” He repeated himself, louder and clearer this time, determined to put his point across. “Let’s not then.” She responded with a straight face, turning back to look right into his eyes. Obviously taken aback, he stared at her like he had seen a ghost, but recovered quickly and gulped hard before nodding his head. She smiled at him and shook her head, surprising him further. “Had you told me earlier, I wouldn’t have spent so much time dressing up, Kunj.” She informed him casually as she headed to the closet and put her bag away. She could feel his eyes follow her around when she then sat down on the couch and turned on the laptop, knowing exactly what was bothering him most – the fact that Twinkle wasn’t trying to convince him to stick to his decision like she had a hundred times before, and remained unaffected.
“Kunj, had I not known you well enough I would have been jealous of Alisha since my husband is sulking over not being able to meet her when I’m right here.” Twinkle commented after noticing Kunj pacing up and down the room for half an hour. He stopped immediately and turned to her, looking guilty. “I’m sorry, it’s not that.” He defended himself genuinely when she burst out laughing. As he watched her flabbergasted, she walked over to him and put her arms around his nape, urging him to put his arms around her by a slight nod. Kunj Sarna didn’t need to be told twice, at least for this, so he obeyed readily. “I know, Mr. Sarna. Take a chill pill, will you?” She whispered, leaning towards him and gently nuzzling his nose with hers. She giggled as he watched on boggled, following her advances with gentle kisses on his forehead and then his cheeks. “I love you!” She whispered as she rested her head in the crook of his neck by standing on her toes, and he sighed deeply before dramatically exclaiming, “Really! I had no idea!” She smacked him playfully and replied, “You would, had you not been too busy with the thoughts of your ex-girlfriend.” He twirled her around at that, and then pulled her towards himself, making her back crash against him. “I didn’t know that either.” He breathed as he pecked her shoulder, her bun making it very convenient for him. She gasped as he neared the sensitive spot on her neck that he had learnt to find easily now. She hadn’t known when she had shut her eyes, but she did know that they flew open when she realised that he had left an annoying love bite there. “Kunj!” She protested, turning back to face him and he caught her hands, since he knew he would be beaten if not. However, instead of turning violent, she rested her hands on his shoulders leisurely, and he knew she was up to something he would have no idea of. “Twinkle, what’s cooking in your mind?” He ventured to ask, but he was too late to save himself since she had begun her tickle attack, and just like him, she had, by now, learnt all his weak points like the back of her hand. He had dropped to the ground in a hysterically laughing mess and she plopped down next to him, resting her head on his chest, giving him time to recover his breath.
Twinkle put on her best smile as she looked at the clock, it had already been an hour past the point they had to leave the house, preparing herself. “Should we get going now?” She asked Kunj, who had his eyes shut, but not asleep, for she could hear him humming softly. “Going where?” He asked curiously, opening his eyes lazily nevertheless. “Like you don’t know what I’m speaking about.” She snapped and he sat upright instantly. “But you..” He began, trailing off when he saw the look in her eyes – she was definitely as serious as it gets. Before he could begin his next argument she quickly added, “I can’t deal with this cry baby Kunj Sarna getting all sentimental and philosophical, talking about the future so thoughtfully and being worried about guilt and whatnot. I’m only doing this for myself, get it?” He smiled his wholehearted, ‘I love you for this’ grin and she quickly pecked his cheek before getting off the floor. “Be quick now, else I’ll leave you here and go by myself!” She mock threatened, making him fake a terrified gasp just as they burst out laughing. “Guess what though.” He spoke in his teasing tone as he walked up to her setting her hair in front of the mirror. “I know, you love me, I’m the best, and you’re extremely lucky to have me!” She answered, shrugging her shoulders casually, pausing in her track as he sneaked even closer to her. “No. Actually, I was going to say that you wouldn’t dare to go there all alone.” He whispered in his best pleasing voice and she hummed in agreement, only to elbow him in the stomach when her mind had processed that. “You’re going to pay for that, Kunj Sarna!” She challenged, and ensued yet another of their chases that would yet again end in bouts of laughter.
The meeting with Alisha didn’t go too well, Twinkle would have said, given the way she had screamed and thrown things around when she had found about Usha’s involvement in the accident, but she still heartily appreciated Alisha for how she remained composed later on, shedding a few tears even, as she watched Kunj grab Twinkle’s hand casually and thoughtlessly caress the scar that Alisha’s attack had left on her hand. She informed them that she had seen through Kunj’s claim of them being only best friends right when he had mentioned Twinkle for the first time to her, and that she was genuinely happy for them, even if they had every reason not to believe her. And then she had gone ahead and done something that had blown both of their minds. She had walked over to Twinkle and given her a tight hug, telling her that she’s really glad that Kunj had found true love, although that was something Twinkle wouldn’t believe in so easily. Kunj, on the other hand, thought it all went very well, and even went as far as to say that he felt much lighter now, and for that, Twinkle was going to take him on some other day. For now, well, things were at peace by all means. And that looked like a good sign, with their song release less than a week away.
That’s it now, guys. Much love!!