Greetings all you lovely people! Thank you so much for all the love and appreciation this story is receiving!! I am really grateful! Happy reading!
Twinj: My Lifeline: Episode 81
A quick recap: Krish confesses all his crimes before Twinkle and then proceeds to insult her, which Kunj overhears. As Kunj takes a stand for Twinkle, turning down each one of Krish’s claims and ignoring his threats, he ends up losing the project with Krish and ends all ties with him once and for all.
Twinkle pushed open the door to their room for Kunj slowly, but he only walked in after she had nudged him yet again. She sighed as she spotted Usha and Manohar watching them from the hall downstairs, they had evidently been taken aback by the stark contrast in his mood when he had left from the gloom he brought along just a couple of hours later. She smiled hesitantly at them, nodding and pointing vaguely in Kunj’s direction, hoping they got her message. They smiled back warmly at her, confusion clearly written all over their faces. Before she could try a better hand at convincing them, she heard a soft sob from within the room and decided to get to Kunj first. She didn’t want him to feel isolated.
Kunj was seated at the edge of their bed, his head hung in disappointment as he mindlessly grasped onto the mattress firmly. Twinkle felt a pang in her own heart at the sight of him. Although she knew all the project and Krish himself had meant to Kunj, she still hadn’t expected him to whine this way. “Kunj” she called out in a low whisper, but he didn’t look up, even though she was sure he had heard her. She sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself for the task at hand and tiptoed to his side. Her mind had still been debating if she should bring up the topic already when she sat down beside him. To her surprise, he immediately turned to her and pulled her close, resting his face in the crook of her shoulder. She let one of her hands find their way to his hair while the other held him reassuringly. She could have sworn she had felt a tear drop off his cheek onto her skin a moment later, but she didn’t point that out, choosing to hug him tighter instead.
Twinkle knew that very few things could get Kunj to be so vulnerable that he resigned himself to absolute silence, and even fewer things made him cry. He did sulk and lock the world out for other things more frequently, but she knew this wasn’t one of those instances. Those were easier to deal with. So unlike right now, when she had no idea how she could make him feel better. Although she desperately wanted to. She pulled away from him after a long hour of silently consoling, watching him carefully. His eyes were still lowered, he just wouldn’t look at her. She knew he wouldn’t respond either, but she had to take her chance. She had to do something to divert his attention from the fateful argument that morning.
“Kunj, let’s watch a movie?” She offered, sounding so unsure of it herself that she knew he would turn down the idea the minute the words left her mouth. She ought to do better than that. Looking around, a better idea struck her. She leaned backwards, pulling his guitar towards herself and forwarded it to him. “Here. It’ll make you feel better” She offered but he threw her a disappointed look before muttering “Not now.” She would have pushed him to take the guitar and sing one of his songs if it hadn’t been for the air of finality in his voice. She also knew she hadn’t gotten too good with the guitar herself despite his efforts – the fact that most of their sessions turned in other directions before they knew it was a completely unrelated issue though – so she knew if she had a go with it, it would only annoy him some more, given his awful mood. That option was clearly ruled out.
Kunj refused Twinkle’s idea of listening to music too, along with all the others she had suggested – going out for a walk, for a drive, just to their balcony to feel the wind, for a casual conversation with Usha and Manohar, on a shopping spree for him, and whatnot. Soon she found herself running out of ideas. She stood up abruptly, figuring she would be able to think of some other way out under the pretext of getting him some coffee. But Kunj didn’t seem to be a big fan of that idea, for she had only stepped away from him when he stood up in a hurry, engulfing her in a bear hug from behind. ‘Please don’t go!’ His hug said, and she understood perfectly. She had recognized that Kunj had a small insecure bit of himself somewhere in his heart, one that feared, always, that him being a celebrity kept people from seeing him as a person, they only cared about all the glam and glitter that went about him. He had told her so himself months ago, when they were just getting accustomed to each other. And although that had never come up again, she knew somehow that suddenly, that very fear had returned to him.
“Kunj” was all she had managed to get out when he whimpered, “Stay, please!” She nodded quickly, feeling her own eyes well up at his state. She turned around in his arms to face him, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. She nodded at him again, holding his glance as she detangled his hands at her waist. He let go very reluctantly, searching her eyes for her intentions, but finding only concern and love. The next thing he knew, she had got him to sit on the bed, cushioning his back with pillows against the headboard. He watched her in almost a daze as she pulled up the duvet for him, his hand prepared to pull her back if she attempted to leave again, but that wasn’t necessary. She slipped under the sheets with him, wrapping her arms around his waist as she rested her head on his chest, listening to his raging heart. He sighed deeply at that, bringing his own arms around her and shutting his eyes.
***************************
Twinkle looked up at Usha and Manohar who were watching her in disbelief. They were taken aback, much like she had expected, on knowing about Krish’s deceit. She had slipped off the bed once Kunj had fallen asleep, knowing that his parents would be getting really anxious. Now, as she sat in front of them at the dining table, her mind totally occupied with the day’s happenings, she was unaware Kunj had woken up soon after she had left, missing her warmth. He had heard voices downstairs, and following them, he had overheard every single bit of Krish’s side of the dialogue that morning, even the part he had missed in the studio, leaving him troubled and confused. He hadn’t felt so disturbed ever since Alisha’s truth had been disclosed to him. “Kunj, did you need something?” Usha had asked the moment she had spotted him, and looking up, he realized all three of their eyes were at him. “Water. I came to get a bottle of water, Ma.” He lied, stammering to form a meaningful sentence. Twinkle hurried to bring him the bottle in front of her, which he accepted with a small smile and headed towards the main door, but she caught his wrist firmly, stopping him.
“I’ll be fine, Twinkle!” Kunj spoke, almost a little too loud. Her eyes widened and she loosened her grip for a fraction of a second, making him regret it immediately. “Really.” He whispered; a lot quieter this time round. However, she grabbed his hand yet again almost immediately, staring right at his eyes. “We’ve seen the implications of going by your whims, Kunj! We’ll try my way now.” She stated, making him flinch as all that Krish had said and done flashed before his eyes. “Please?” She added, feeling sorry for the damage she had just inflicted. He just looked away, obviously hurt, but he made no move to retract his hand. She glanced at Usha who had been watching in utter shock, and whispered to Kunj, “Let’s just go back to our room, Kunj. We’ll figure something out.” He shot his eyes at her sharply before they softened of their own accord and surprisingly, nodded.
“Kunj, I’m sorry about all this! I didn’t mean for you to find out. Ever.” Twinkle gushed the moment they had reached their room. “Don’t be, it wasn’t your fault that your stupid husband began missing you the moment you left and came looking for you like a puppy.” He answered, trying to laugh at his own little joke, but failing. She let out a pained laugh at that, their eyes meeting peacefully at last. “Kunj, it wasn’t your fault either. You just trusted the wrong person.” She said simply, placing her hand over his chest to persuade him. “I just wanted to be right, one damned time!” He lamented, startling her. “Kunj, what-” She was cut short by his explanation, “Krish mattered to me, Twinkle! Just like he claimed this morning, he was the one real friend I had before my career got the big push and I was acquainted with lots of people from work. Although there were so many people who cared for me genuinely, I missed him all the time. Because despite all that he did, he was still my friend! My only friend until you came along, becoming everything! When he called me up the other day, with this offer, I desperately wanted to make peace with him! I believed him when he said he was really sorry for all that he had done, and that he wanted to make things better!! I wanted my belief to stand the test of time!” He coughed, feeling overwhelmed by the emotions.
“I don’t mind that you’re always right! You’re right when you recognize someone’s intentions in the first look, you are right when you figure out their intentions before they’ve even begun to act on them, you are right when you claim that you know what’s better for me even though I might argue otherwise every single time! But I wanted to be right this one time!!” He grumbled, dropping to the ground in a thud and crying in her arms as she held him close.
That’s it for now, guys. Please tell me what you thought about it! This was a hard one on Kunj, made me emotional as I wrote it. Anyways, until next time, much love!!
P.S. A very happy birthday to you again, Presh!! I love you so much!