Twinj: My Lifeline

Chapter 4

Greetings all you lovely people!! Thank you all so much for the amount of love and appreciation I've been receiving for my work! Although there hasn't been much happening in the story yet, I'm really grateful for the patience you guys have been showing, not letting me down.
"Ma..?" Twinkle called out as she entered her house with Chinki trailing behind. "Twinkle! You've come home at the right time! I have some great news for you! Mrs. Usha Sarna has asked for your hand in marriage for her son" Leela began speaking, as Twinkle looked on in a shock. However, her attempt to put forth her disappointment was cut short by Chinki, who quickly added, "Kunj Sarna", while Twinkle's eyes widened in surprise. "Kunj Sarna?" She asked, to which Chinki answered in a nod. She turned around to see Leela and Usha exchanging a tensed smile. "Twinkle... Usha Ji is here to finalise the date for your engagement." Leela spoke, while Twinkle shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't bring herself to comprehend whatever was happening. "Ma, how could you?" Twinkle protested finally, interrupting some conversation that the ladies were having. She had been too lost to pay attention to what they were saying, but she noticed the unhappy expressions at her talking in between.

"I'll see you soon then, Mrs. Taneja" Usha spoke a little too quickly, and gave Twinkle one last look, an unsure one, before walking out. "Kunj Sarna" Chinki's voice echoed in her head. Kunj Sarna. The celebrity singer, who was initially just Twinkle's favourite singer, but had pretty soon turned into the prince of her dreams. Although, they had studied in the same college, and Twinkle had watched, or rather observed him closely, he had never set his eyes on any girl, and in all probability, he didn't even know Twinkle. Despite such impossible situations, Twinkle's affection for him saw no end. She would listen to just his music day and night, and watch the telecasts of all his concerts without fail. She had been stalking him on social media for hours, and knew all that he had ever revealed about himself.

Twinkle's thoughts came to an end when Leela placed a hand on her shoulder. "Twinkle... You need to trust me with this! I'm sure you'll be very happy with this marriage. Besides, you know that I always take every decision after considering what's best for you, don't you? What's wrong, Twinkle? You know Kunj as well, he studied in the same college as you, didn't he? Twinkle?" Leela spoke, cupping her face. "Twinkle, Ma is right! I am with her on this. You should get married to Kunj." Chinki spoke, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Twinkle gave Chinki a 'you are impossible' look, and turned to Leela. "Ma.. I trust you, and I trust each one of your decisions too. I agree that you know what's best for me, but marriage? Ma, marriage is a very big step, and I don't want to make any mistakes. I'm not ready to get married right now Ma! I agree with you that I know Kunj. But I've only seen him a few times in college, nothing beyond. What is the hurry anyways? Can't we just delay the wedding?" Twinkle spoke, although she herself seemed to be unsure of what she was arguing for.

Twinkle's mind now drifted to the day's happenings. She recalled how Yuvi had confessed his feelings for her. She knew that she would never be able to reciprocal his love, but his proposal had struck her like lightning. It had somewhere inflicted terrible damage on the honest bond and deep friendship between them. Given her way, Twinkle would have never wanted all this to happen. "Twinkle!! Are you even listening to me? My goodness! What am I to do with you? Twinkle! What makes you think that I have no concern for your choices?" Leela spoke jerking her out of her thoughts. She reduced her pitch, and spoke a little softly, "Twinkle, all this isn't easy for me either. On the other hand, it isn't like you are unaware of all the difficulties that I had to face, bringing you up all alone! Had your father been here, he would have given you a much better life. You would have been a princess in real terms! I know the Sarnas, they are really good people. I'm sure you'll be happier there than here. Why princess, you'll be a queen there! I just want to see you happy, Twinkle... What else could I ask for?" Twinkle melted as Leela spoke of how much their life was incomplete without Twinkle's father.

"Ma, please don't take me wrong! I couldn't ask for anything else in my life. You have given me all that I could dream of! You've never let Papa's absence get in the way. Ma, please try to understand! Kunj is a really nice guy. I'm just not sure about getting married right now. I could really use some more time!" Twinkle spoke, struggling to keep her emotions under control, knowing that if she broke down, Leela too would end up crying, and right then, she knew Leela needed her support and assurance, not any blames. "Twinkle! You will get married to Kunj whenever the auspicious date is! And that is final! Do you hear me? You can do all the other things that you are interested in, even after the wedding. The Sarnas will never hinder your dreams. Get it? Now go, prepare yourself to become Mrs. Twinkle Kunj Sarna!" Leela's voice thundered through the house. Twinkle had never seen Leela shouting that way, but she knew too well, that there was something that Leela was hiding behind her anger. Twinkle quietly walked upstairs to her room, Chinki following her, while Leela watched her with teary eyes. "I'm sorry Twinkle! I wanted to give you your time too, but I'm helpless now. The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that you'll be happy there. Please forgive me if possible!" Leela whispered, wiping away her tears.

No sooner had Twinkle entered the room, than she declared, "No Chinki! I will never get married to him!", although she seemed like she was convincing herself more than Chinki. "But Twinkle, you have already seen the consequences of saying such things just now! He's Leela Ma's choice after all." Chinki tried reasoning. Unable to draw a conclusion from her friend's silence, she continued, "He is the Kunj Sarna!!" "What about the Yuvraj Luthra?" Twinkle retorted, silencing Chinki. A few moments of silence followed, before the two besties eased the tension in the air by laughing at the little drama of arguing that they had just performed. "I only wanted to see you happy, Twinkle! And I believed that Yuvi would be the right person, because honestly, I couldn't have even imagined that you would ever even meet Kunj, let alone getting married to him, or spinning your perfect love story with him! I thought Yuvi would make you realise that Kunj would just remain a dream for you, since I was getting worried with the kind of feelings you had developed for Kunj, although he didn't even know you. I was worried for you! But looks like I don't need to anymore." Chinki spoke to herself, as Twinkle excitedly picked up her laptop, and browsed through the hidden folder that held thousands of pictures of Kunj.

Usha had covered just a few miles when she received a call, someone apparently informing her something. She seemed to be extremely angry at the person at first, but then her smile returned, she asked the person to continue with the rest of her plan before ending the call. "No one messes with Usha Sarna, sweetheart! Now you will see the consequences..." She muttered, and sent her driver away before she herself sat at the wheel and drove away. At the Sarna mansion, Kunj was excitedly planning the changes that would have to come in his room for Alisha, and had been looking through the pictures he had clicked with her, smiling as he recalled each memory. "Getting married!!" He wrote on his social media page, and soon, loads of fan mail started coming in, wishing him good luck, and congratulating him. He couldn't contain his happiness anymore. He was looking through Alisha's pictures when his phone rang. "My love" it said. His smile widened as he received the call. "Hmm... So my would-be wifey is missing me already?" He spoke, but he could only hear muffled cries from the other end. He looked at the phone, wondering what must have gone wrong, when someone spoke from the other end. He listened carefully, his expression went blank, as he uttered, "An accident? Are you sure? Is she alright?" The reply left  him shocked beyond his wit.That's it for now guys.Many surprises! I hope you all liked it.See you all real soon