Greetings all you amazing people! Thank you so much for all the love and appreciation the story is receiving!! I’m as grateful as ever! Happy reading!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 76
A quick recap: Although Kunj finally does call up Twinkle, things don’t seem to be looking up for them any time soon. Twinkle’s absence from the hospital infuriates Kunj, and he ends up saying things he regrets soon after. Now that he knows the truth, he seeks to apologize and be forgiven.
Twinkle wasn’t going to relent as easily as before this time around, and Kunj knew that. When she had said that she needed time, he had backed off immediately too. But now an entire night had passed and he couldn’t take it anymore. “Damn! She’s really good at the cold treatment too!” His mind reminded him, causing him to flinch. He had volunteered to stay the night at the hospital with her, hoping for the best. Not that she had spoken a single word to him though. To make matters worse, he had seen her sob quietly by the window after dimming the lights. That, however, didn’t mean that she would let anyone know about their little ‘situation’ that he had begun to refer to it to himself as. They had resorted to the opposite sides of the only couch in the ward, so near yet so far, for she wouldn’t even look at him, let alone flash her signature reassuring smile.
Kunj blinked his eyes repeatedly to get accustomed to the early morning sunlight filtering in as Twinkle opened the curtains. He watched her longingly as she then proceeded to tie her hair in a loose bun, his eyes following her around the room when she walked over to Usha’s side, checking on her. He sighed, almost putting off his ideas to win her back for the time being, when a thought crossed his mind. He smiled, mentally appreciating himself as he got to act on it. Sitting beside Twinkle, he placed his own hand over Twinkle’s that was resting beside Usha’s on the bed. Twinkle shot him a sharp glance, but he pretended to be oblivious, knowing she wouldn’t withdraw her hand in front of Usha. She wouldn’t inflict that pain upon the just recovering woman. As the conversation proceeded with Usha, Twinkle continued to throw daggers at him, but remained unfazed, annoying her.
“Is everything alright between the two of you?” Usha asked nevertheless, she was way more observant than either of them could cover up for. They hastily responded in the affirmative but she refused to believe that, knowing her kids too well. No wonder Twinkle heaved a sigh of relief when Yuvi walked in with Manohar, letting them know they could go home while Manohar stayed with Usha. Twinkle stood up immediately, citing that she had to pack the boxes that Leela had brought them food the previous night in, turning and walking away before anyone could stop or question her. Kunj returned his glance to Usha a minute later to realize that she had been smiling warmly at him. She made a ‘come here’ gesture at him that he obliged to although he found it strange. “What did you do now?” She asked him in a whisper and he knew their acting had failed. “Nothing I can’t handle on my own.” He whispered back with a wink, leaning to give her a not so tight hug, wishing her a speedy recovery. Of course he had lied, he was worried he wouldn’t be able to deal with this mess, but Usha needn’t have to bother about it right now. She nodded at him encouragingly, her eyes flittering over to Twinkle, who looked away as soon as Usha looked at her, making both Kunj and Usha giggle softly.
“Hey man!” Yuvi greeted Kunj at the door, both looking as sleep deprived as the other but still hopeful. “Hey…” Kunj replied back unsurely, and Yuvi faked a wince. “Ooh, I don’t like the sound of that!” He pointed out, earning a sad chuckle from Kunj. “You’ll hate the sound of what I did then.” He answered. “Of course. I got those vibes off of you the very first time I saw your picture on Twinkle’s laptop!” Yuvi said without skipping a beat, a hint of mischief in his voice, and Kunj promptly punched him playfully. “Please don’t tell her I told you that!” Yuvi quipped in almost immediately, their muffled laughter quietening down the instant they spotted Twinkle heading towards them. “I’m going to check on Chinki before I leave. You guys should go ahead. I’m going to Ma’s place for a while anyway, she’ll drive me there.” She said, pausing only momentarily in front of them. “Twinkle, wait!” She heard Kunj’s voice right behind her, and the very next moment she had been twirled into his arms. She stiffened at the proximity that she had missed so horribly that it made her heart flutter now. She had only dropped her guard a tiny bit when the door swung open and in walked Krish. She freed herself and stepped away from Kunj, the past couple of days flashing before her eyes painfully.
Kunj had been sitting in the hall of the Sarna mansion, watching the entrance anxiously for a whole hour now. He cringed at the thought that he might have succeeded at getting her to at least look at him if it hadn’t been for Krish’s perfectly wrongly timed entry. She had stormed out at the sight of him, not even caring enough to glance back at Kunj. He had followed her out obviously, followed by an evidently baffled Yuvi, who was worried he was slowly going crazy with all that happening around him. “Listen, both of you! I can’t run anymore; I’ve spent the entire night in the hospital too! Could you two just hurry up and finish your chasing around?” Yuvi had requested, taking alternate glimpses of them. Twinkle stopped immediately and turned to them, watching them indecisively for a fraction of a second, quickly weighing the worth of this confrontation. She had decided against taking it up right away. “Please go home, you two. Let’s not create a scene here.” She said, it was a clear “don’t you dare defy me” warning, and both boys knew it. “I should get going too, it’s…” She had continued, pausing to state the time, but realizing that she had no watch on. Kunj had forwarded his hand immediately, it was only out of practice – for he had done so on several previous instances when she didn’t have a watch. “…late.” She had finished, rejecting his advance without much thought. She had then passed Yuvi a kind smile and a pat on his shoulder, and to Kunj, she had left a look over the corner of her eyes before literally fleeing. He hadn’t heard from her since then. That was something his heart wasn’t very happy with.
It wasn’t like Twinkle was happy with the seemingly impenetrable wall that had popped up out of nowhere between her and Kunj either. She had prepared herself to forgive him for all the disappointment he had caused her by hiding things from her, but then she had been faced with the fact that the ‘producer-friend’ Kunj had taken along was Krish. The truth had hit her like a wave totally out of the blue. She had been scared, for Kunj. She knew Krish for almost as long as she had known Kunj. He had been Kunj’s go to person in college initially after all. And now, when she had found out that Kunj had begun associating himself with that very person all over again, she had been scared, worried even, for Kunj. However, when she had tried to state her concerns, he had turned it all over on her, leaving her desperate for remedial measures, also fueling her already existing over him hiding the truth from her.
Twinkle had only entered the Sarna mansion when she had spotted Kunj drowsing on the sofa in the hall. She knew he hadn’t been able to sleep properly the previous night, or the nights before that. Ever since he had gone on his trip to be specific. So, she walked in quietly, carefully putting down the bags in her hand, when the landline had begun ringing. She rushed to it, but Kunj’s sleep had already been interrupted by the time she had got to it. “I’ve got this. Why don’t you get some more sleep upstairs?” She whispered to him before speaking a “Hello?” into the phone. “I’m sorry, Papa. I just got here. I must have been driving when you called.” He heard her explain, straining to listen in when he realized that this must be about Usha. “Tomorrow morning? That’s great!” She gushed, humming in response to whatever else Manohar said and heaved a sigh of relief as she put the receiver back in its place. When she turned back, she was hoping Kunj would be gone and she could just send a message with the maid to him, but there he was, waiting impatiently. “Ma will be back home tomorrow morning.” She informed him with a small smile, dropping her eyes to the ground immediately, else she would have given into the pleading look in his eyes. This battle, however, wasn’t over yet.
Kunj followed Twinkle into the kitchen, fighting to keep his drooping eyes open. “Do you need something?” She asked him, or rather, in his general direction. He glanced at the maid eyeing them suspiciously and weighed the proposition his mind had come up with. “You.” He answered right away, making her drop the ladle in her hand. He smiled victoriously as Twinkle’s cheeks turned red at the maid giggling at them and leaving. “Kunj, what do you think…” She began, and he finished for her with, “…you’re doing?” as usual, but instead of the familiar smile, hearing that brought tears to her eyes. “Twinkle, please…” He began, but she cut him short with a curt shake of her head, and he dropped the attempt yet again, although thoroughly disheartened. “This isn’t the right time, Kunj! I need to send Ma and Papa their lunch, and prepare her room for her return.” She spoke in a very matter-of-fact manner, trying to dodge him, but he blocked her way. “Fine, but you need the rest too. The maid can handle this cooking, just come along to grab a quick nap if not anything else.” He said, although he already knew this was pointless. She wouldn’t agree, at least not so easily. Left with no other choice, he stepped close to her while she was at her arguments, bending to pick her up despite her protests. “Get some sleep now, and you’ll be fresh enough to get back to all your work in the evening.” He said, gently laying her on their bed, both their eyes teary from the countless memories of that very moment from when things weren’t as hostile as now. Her heart called out to him just as much as his did to her, but they knew they were bound and couldn’t just make a random decision in the heat of the moment, for that would impact their relationship in the future. And so, they lay with their backs to each other, feeling their hearts crumble, letting their tears flow, thoughts raining down on them, until they gave into much needed sleep.
That’s it for now, guys. Do tell me what you think about the progress the plot made in this episode, and stay tuned, many things are waiting to happen. Until then, lots of love!