Hello everyone!! Thank you all so much for being so considerate and loving towards the story and its characters as they tread through what is definitely one of the toughest points of the plot, I can’t really find enough words to express how grateful I am to each one of you! Happy reading!!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 77
What we’ve seen so far: Kunj does try to make subtle advances in his attempts to apologize to Twinkle, but she turns down each one of them. Although they both desire to get back together, each remains adamant on their respective stands, not sure of what they should do next.
Kunj had begun to grow exhausted of waiting patiently. He had given her as much time and space as was possible for one whole day after all. But now he was done. He couldn’t bear the silence anymore. He grinned when what he thought was not such a bad idea struck him. He picked up the notepad in front of him, whistling a tune that he could bet she would recognize immediately. She did. However, she looked away sooner than she had turned her attention to him, disappointing him a wee bit. Not that he would give up so easily though. When she glanced at him a moment later, she saw him copying each one of her actions as and when she did it, making her glare at him. He pretended not to notice though, smiling to himself. She had had enough when he imitated even her sudden sneeze, and so she stood up abruptly, surprising him. He hadn’t expected her to react so quickly either. He stood up too nevertheless, taking unsure steps towards her as she walked to him. He watched her quietly when they had stopped just a foot apart, awaiting her angered rebuttal, but it never came. “This, isn’t funny Kunj.” She stated simply, her voice so low that he had to strain his ears to hear that. She sounded hurt, and he was determined to resolve things.
“I’m sorry!” Kunj apologized, dodging Twinkle’s disappointed gaze. She felt her eyes well up all of a sudden, his ruthless accusations returning to her mind as if it had been happening all over again in front of her eyes. “I know I messed up big time, Twinkle! I’m also aware that no matter what I might say in my defense, it would still not make up for all that I said. I don’t know what I had been thinking back then, or even if I was thinking at all!” He continued, his own eyes glistening with tears. She looked up at him longingly, but knew that her discontentment wasn’t just because of that. She hadn’t forgotten all that had happened before he had returned, after all. She stepped back, her eyes never leaving his, until she tripped over the carpet, that is. His reflexes worked faster than he knew they were capable of, pulling her towards himself by her wrists. She held onto him as she tried to calm her raging heart, catching her breath, not realizing how close he was until she felt him hug her, one hand in her hair, the other rubbing down her back, assuring her that she was alright wordlessly. She sobbed softly in his arms, freeing her thoughts finally. Keeping everything to herself, all tied up in some corner of her mind had worn her out completely. His embrace felt like home and she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Kunj eyed Twinkle carefully as she pulled back from the hug a few minutes later, her fingers playing at the wet spot her tears had left on his shirt. Both of them could only ponder over where they stood right then. Was that it? Were they completely back on good terms now? “Twinkle…” Kunj wandered carefully, but she refused to look up at him, as though she was scared it would break the bubble of peace that they had somehow managed to find amid their chaos. He crooked his finger under her chin to get her to look at him. “Are we going to continue avoiding each other this way?” He asked, not pointing out that it was she alone who was ignoring him while he tried his best to persuade her. He wasn’t going to worsen things by blaming her solely after all. “I wish the answer to that question was as easy as asking it is, Kunj!” She mumbled, surprising even herself. “I’m sorry, Twinkle! I really am! I know all that I said back at the hospital that way was totally unacceptable! Maybe I don’t even deserve to be forgiven, but please don’t do this to us! Even a quarrel would be better than this, at least that way we would be voicing our thoughts! Please…” He trailed off as a sniffle over took him. He was now watching her intently, and she had realized there couldn’t be a better time to bring up the issue that had been worrying her sick. Besides, she thought it was only fair for him to know what had actually gone wrong. “I know! I know you’re actually guilty, Kunj! Like I said even that day, I understand that seeing Ma lying helpless in the hospital prevented you from thinking straight. I’m willing to forgive you, in fact I already have.” She whimpered, smiling through her tears, letting him pull her into another of his bear hugs.
“There is something that I really want from you, Kunj.” Twinkle spoke with an air of determination a few moments later and heard him agree instantly, although his voice was muffled by him nuzzling into her hair. She flinched, hating herself for taking advantage of the fact that he hadn’t even waited to ask her what this was about before giving in, but she had to do it. She reminded herself that she would be grateful for this someday and mustered every last bit of courage in her. “Retreat from this project with Krish?” She gushed, holding in a breath as she felt his grip on her loosen. Her eyes shut of their own accord, anticipating the worst. “I can’t believe this!” He shuddered, stepping away from her, a look of utter disbelief in his eyes. “Kunj…” She began, but he held his hand up, turning down her stretched out hand. “This is what all this is about?” He muttered, feeling anger begin to bubble within him. “I’m not speaking out of jealousy or hatred! You know how a venture of this kind has gone in the past! I’m concerned, Kunj! For you, your career…” She tried explaining, but he wouldn’t listen. “And you think I’m not? I wouldn’t be half as disappointed had anyone else been saying this, but you know me, don’t you? Do you not trust me enough to realize that if I’ve been pushing this despite all the opposition the idea is receiving, there ought to be a solid reason?” She blinked at him. Once, twice. She still hadn’t been able to come up with the right kind of response to that. He, however, had misconstrued her silence. “I always thought you and I would be the last people to be fighting over being unable to keep our personal and professional lives apart.” He said finally with a deep sigh before walking away, not even turning back to spare another glance at her.
Twinkle hoped desperately that Kunj would back into the room for something, anything. And that then she would get her chance to try to convince him, make him view the problem from her perspective. But he didn’t. Instead, a couple of minutes later she heard the door to Manohar’s study slam shut, a clear indication that he would spend the rest of the day avoiding her. She winced, feeling as if he had shut the door on her face. The argument he had put forth had never occurred to her, not even when she had planned this conversation with him in her mind repeatedly before. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see the ‘solid reason’ he had claimed to have, no matter how hard she thought of the possibilities. She hated the turn of events. She hated that they hadn’t been allowed even a few moments of peace. All she could do right then though, was run over all that he had said repeatedly. Of course, she had tried to convince him to open the door, but would he listen?
A long, silent, painful night later, Twinkle and Kunj ran into each other in the dining area when they had been setting up a proper welcome for Usha. “Good morning” She greeted hesitantly, stretching her hand to ruffle his hair that he had evidently just set. “You too.” He replied nevertheless, narrowing his eyes at her act. She allowed herself a small smile but he didn’t return it, turning to leave instead. She grabbed his wrist, just like he had done on so many occasions previously. He stilled, taken aback, his mind furiously at battle with his heart. And before he knew it, he was facing her yet again, watching her curiously. “I never doubted your intentions, Kunj. I was only pointing out something that I noticed…” She tried explaining, but right then they heard a car pull into the driveway, forcing them to part. The conversation had remained incomplete, and he was obviously dissatisfied, recognizing from her tone that she was still unwilling to let him work with Krish. He had spent the entire night pondering too, and had come to realize that she wouldn’t understand his stand. She had obviously never had to face a situation like that after all. He frowned in her direction, feeling helpless, before forcing a smile on his face and following her to the door.
Usha had looked worn out, but her spirits were as high as ever. She chattered as usual with Twinkle, who had been feeding her breakfast, sitting beside her on the sofa. Kunj, however, stood distantly a few steps away, despite their agreement to carry on pretending in front of Usha. “Isn’t it great that Chinki returned home today too? Else you would have to go all the way to the hospital to see her.” Usha was saying when Kunj snapped out of his thoughts and his eyes immediately darted to Twinkle. He lamented not asking about Chinki even once, let alone visiting her. His admiration for Twinkle, however, grew yet again as he noticed that she was quietly nodding to Usha. He knew that had she her way, she would have definitely rushed over to Chinki’s place as soon as she could. “Maybe we could go and visit her at home sometime?” He suggested, her eyes flittering over to his immediately with a clear ‘Thank you!’ in them. He nodded kindly at her, not revealing that it was his guilt that had led to this decision. “The sooner the better!” Usha quipped in, placing a gentle hand on Twinkle’s head and smiling at her. “This afternoon? If it’s possible, I mean, since you don’t have anything scheduled.” Twinkle enquired, faltering midway as she watched his eyes widen. “I have a session with a composer today.” He said simply, looking anywhere but at her.
Usha looked at them suspiciously. Twinkle forgetting Kunj’s appointments? That was new, had never happened before, she noted. Twinkle quickly checked her phone before returning her eyes to Kunj. “No, Kunj. You don’t.” She informed, making him fidget, for all eyes were on him now. “You don’t have to accompany me if you don’t want to.” She said softly finally, even the possibility of that hurting her. Had they drifted so far apart now? “It’s not that. I really want to; except I do have to work.” He said quickly, but nobody seemed convinced. “You probably don’t know of it yet.” He added, making Usha scoff. “She’s your manager, Kunj! She would know by all means!” Usha argued. “No, she doesn’t! Because her opinions on the project don’t match mine, I didn’t tell her.” He revealed, making Twinkle gasp. Krish’s project. She sniveled as the realization dawned upon her. He had chosen to go ahead with it despite it all. She smiled unsurely at Usha and Manohar who were watching curiously. They returned her smile immediately, although equally disillusioned. Kunj’s eyes though, remained lowered. Why was he doing this?
That’s it for now, guys. I would love to hear your say on the episode, it’s really important for me. Until next time (which could be a little longer than usual), lots of love!!