Twinj: My Lifeline

Chapter 18

Hello everyone! A big thank you for all the love this story is receiving! But it's really disappointing to see the number of responses have been dropping continuously, I hope I'm not boring you all. Happy reading!

Kunj looked at Twinkle and Usha alternatively, but neither would even look at him, let alone answer his question. "What do I need to be convinced for?" Kunj asked again, finding the idea that Twinkle and Usha might have some secret of their own very suspicious. "I was telling Twinkle that she will have to take up the post of your manager, Kunj!" Usha said quickly, surprising Twinkle. Kunj smiled at them though. "Ma, you are my manager!" He said as if he was reminding her, trying to put off her ideas. "I used to be. Now your wife will take over. I won't be able to cope up with your crazy schedules anymore, Kunj!" Usha said, carefully avoiding Twinkle's stare. She felt Twinkle's glare soften when she added, "That way the two of you will get a lot of time to spend together and know each other well too." Twinkle now turned to Kunj who appeared to be in deep thought. "I'll take that as a yes from both of you." Usha informed them, for it wasn't a question, it was a declaration. She then asked Kunj to freshen up and join them for breakfast while she would help Twinkle finish her ritual of cooking a sweet dish.

"Mrs. Sarna!" Twinkle called out as she watched Usha pick out things from the different compartments in the kitchen. She had been quietly admiring her mother-in-law so far, as she had managed to get them to agree to work together and dismiss the argument that Twinkle had brought up a few minutes ago as though it had never happened. Usha looked at Twinkle guiltily and sighed. "I'm sorry again, Twinkle! I know it was terrible of me to do all that, but now that you are Kunj's wife, it is my responsibility to make sure that you stay his wife." She spoke slowly, but Twinkle could hear the determination in her voice. "I don't know for how long Alisha will stay in the rehab facility, Twinkle! But that is all the time we have to make sure that when she comes back, she won't be able to throw you out of Kunj's life." She continued, making Twinkle's mind go in circles. She couldn't stop wondering what this woman wanted; was she really cruel, or was she just a mother who could go to any extent for her son, she couldn't decide. "I know you love my son, Twinkle. I promise to do my best to make sure you don't have to suffer anymore." Usha said finally, shocking Twinkle. She then walked out of the kitchen, asking her to finish cooking quickly.

Twinkle's sweet dish was a hit, earning her everyone's praises, but all she could think about was her conversation with Usha that morning. She had prepared herself to be just Kunj's best friend, knowing that expecting and dreaming for his love would only destroy her, but Usha's assurance had brought her new hopes. She tried her best to remind herself that Kunj loved Alisha, but she couldn't help but wonder how her life would be if he actually fell in love with her. She was sitting on Kunj's seat by the window, which was actually only a high stool, unable to get the thought out of her mind even after talking to Leela and Chinki about different things over the phone, when Kunj came in, but she was too lost to notice him. He smiled to himself as he tiptoed towards her. "Boo!" He said loudly leaning in towards her, scaring her so much that she jumped off the stool in a hurry, twisting an ankle. She closed her eyes to prevent the tears from flowing down and tried standing up, but the pain was too much. She finally opened her eyes to see Kunj sitting in front of her, slowly lifting her leg up to gauge the injury muttering "Sorry!" repeatedly. He then stood up and held out his hands towards her, which she took readily, but still couldn't stand up. Kunj took one look at her and picked her up in his arms, while she stared wide eyed at him. He placed her on the bed gently and rushed out saying something that fell on deaf ears, for all she could think was of the concern in his eyes when he saw her tears, and the way he had picked her up and carried her like it was the most normal thing to do.

"What are you going to do with a manager who has a broken leg?" Twinkle asked Kunj as he placed the ice pack that he had brought for her foot. "It's not broken, stupid. Must be a sprain at most!" He said, as he continued trying to ease her pain. "Please never sit on that stool again!" He warned her, controlling his laughter as she made a sad face. "You shouldn't be scaring people like that!" She said a minute later, realising what had actually happened back then. "I know, I'm sorry!" He responded, looking at her worriedly. "I'll forgive you on one condition!" She said, after pretending to think seriously. "Anything you want!" He said quickly, relieved that she looked to be in way lesser pain after he had used a spray and tied a crepe bandage on her foot. "You will now finish your practice session that you had begun yesterday but couldn't complete!" She demanded, surprising him. "What?" He asked, making sure he had heard her right. He couldn't believe that she actually understood that his music was the most important to him. "I'm a strict manager, you know?" She said, smiling at him, and he nodded, rushing to get his guitar.

Twinkle realised that she could simply sit in front of him and spend hours listening to him like that. He told her little things that he remembered about each song that he sang, while she listened with rapt attention. "Alisha would hate it if I spoke so much about my music!" He said as he wrapped up his session, and sat in front of her on the bed, taking a look at her foot that looked almost normal now. "See, this is the only perk of marrying me!" She said in almost a whisper, her heart stinging at her own words. Kunj looked up at her immediately, but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes stayed put on her injured foot as she tried to move it in different angles, pretending like she hadn't even said anything. "That is not true, Twinkle!" Kunj protested. She now looked up at him, to find him staring at her. "Stop making this seem like a punishment! You are such an amazing person! I wouldn't want my best friend thinking like the dumbo that she is!" He added, making her smile. "Want to try to walk now?" He asked, smiling warmly at her and she nodded; he had made her feel better about herself effortlessly. She wondered how she would be able to stop herself from falling deeper for him if he continued to sprinkle his magic around like that.

Kunj held Twinkle by her waist as she stood up, hesitant to put her injured foot firmly on the ground. She tilted her head to look at him, feeling the butterflies in her stomach going crazy at how close he was to her, but he had no idea. She finally put that foot on the ground, still watching him. She smiled as his eyes brightened when she took a few steps around the room. It still hurt no doubt, it wouldn't go away in a few hours after all, but his smile was worth it all, she figured. "Don't exert yourself too much though. We need to get to work tomorrow, remember?" Kunj said as he led her back to the bed. She nodded at him as he excused himself to take a call. Bored of sitting by herself, she opened the drawer of the bedside table to find a picture of Kunj and Alisha. She felt a tinge of jealousy as she noticed how happy the two of them looked. This is the truth, she reminded herself as she stared at the picture, hoping it would keep her from dreaming too much. Just as she was about to put the picture back, Kunj walked back in. He looked at the picture in her hand and then at her, while she uttered a few jumbled up words to explain that she wasn't trying to break into his privacy. "That's alright! Not such a big deal! Calm down. Stop being so scared of me, I won't eat you!" He said as he returned to his place in front of her. He glanced at the picture and told her how he had found it in the wardrobe on the morning of their wedding. She smiled, handing it over to him. "We'll put this somewhere she won't become the cause of awkwardness!" He said, surprising her. "I observed how things become very weird every time I speak of her." He explained, looking at her expression change into admiration from plain sadness. "I'm sorry I reacted that way, Kunj. I'll get used to it by and by. You can let this be right where I had found it!" She said, taking the picture back and putting it into the drawer. "I just realised I never asked you this!" Kunj said, looking guilty as he asked the question that she would never be able to answer honestly, "Are you in love with someone?"

That's it for now, guys. Lots of love!