So here is the last part. just so you know i wrote this in a haste so it's more of my jibber jabber and wont be that good.
but hope its adjustable.
Kunj emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in his towel. He stopped. His clothes weren't on the bed.
"Twinkle?" he called. "Twinkle, mere kapde kahaa hai?"
"Abhi aayi Kunj!" she replied, running into the room with his clothes. "Ye lo."
Kunj grinned. "Thanks, Twinkle."
She smiled back at him. "Ab jaldi se tayaar ho jaao. Naashta neeche table par hai, aur Anand Bhaiya tumhaara intezaar kar rahe hai."
His eyes widened. "Bhaiya mera intezaar kar rahe hai?" he groaned. "Theek hai, mai bas paanch minute mei aata hu."
"Aur haan, tumhaarra briefcase wahaa table par hai!" she told him as she left the room.
Kunj shook his head, smiling. Five months into their marriage, and already he had forgotten how to do things himself.
He put on his shirt, thinking about Twinkle. She was such a sweetheart, and she was always so calm and collected, like nothing affected her. He liked having someone who was more mellowed counterpart to his easily-excitable nature. And when she smiled...
Kunj's smile faded. Her smile usually never reached her eyes. It wasn't that she was mellow, he realized; he could tell that her heart still ached for him, whoever it was that she had loved. She'd cry in the night sometimes, when she thought he was asleep. But now that they slept on the same bed it was easier for him to tell that she was crying.
And she still put up such a strong front. She was so much livelier now, at least with him. They had started to do things together now, like watching movies once or twice a month, just as friends, although dinners on Saturdays were still reserved for him and Alisha.
She was such a sweetheart, he thought again as the smile returned.
"Kunj! Jaldi karo! Tumhe dress karne mein itna time kyun lagta hai?" Her voice from the door brought him back to reality.
"Haa, haa, mai aa raha hu!"
-||-
Saturday night.
Twinkle sat in a corner of the cafe, with a now-cool cup of ginger tea and Vikram Seth's 'A Suitable Boy'. Saturday nights were the only times she had to herself, and she relished these moments wholeheartedly.
"Excuse me, Bhaiya, ek aur cup chai ki laana," said a voice across from her.
Annoyed at the interruption, Twinkle looked up to see Kunj sitting across from her. She frowned, glancing at her cell phone for the time.
"Tum aaj itni jaldi aa gaye?" she asked, confused.
"Haa," Kunj replied, smiling at Twinkle.
"Kya hua? Alisha nahi aayi?"
"Aayi thi."
"Toh phir aaj itni jaldi?"
Kunj traced the pattern of the tablecloth. "Alisha chahti thi ki mai tumhe chod du aur uske saath shaadi kar lu."
Twinkle's heart felt like someone had squeezed it. She set down her book. "Aur tumne kya kaha?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady as she struggled to understand why she felt like that.
"Ki tum meri patni ho, aur mai tumhe chod nahi sakta," he replied without looking at her.
She looked down. "Lekin...lekin tum uss se pyaar karte ho Kunj," she said, mostly to herself, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Karta tha," he said softly.
There was silence.
Twinkle's heart raced. Was he saying what she thought he was?
"Keh do ki tum mujhse pyaar nahi karte ho," she pleaded, closing her eyes.
More silence.
"Kunj, please keh do ki tum mujhse pyaar nahi karte ho," she repeated, gripping the edge of the table.
"Main tumse pyaar karta hu, Twinkle," he told her quietly.
Twinkle felt the tears well up behind her closed eyelids. "No, Kunj," she whispered. "No."
She felt Kunj reach out and catch a tear as one fell. She opened her eyes and moved his hand away.
"Pyaar toh hona hi tha," he said. "Tum itni surprised kyu ho?"
"Kyunki mujhe laga ki hum sirf dost ban gaye hai. Sirf dost," she said, her voice trembling. "Maine tumse kaha tha ki mai tumse pyaar nahi kar sakti. Aur phir bhi tumne...?"
"Main kya karta, Twinkle? Din-raat tumhare saath hi toh hu, aur tum itni..." Itni perfect ho, he thought. But looking at Twinkle, he couldn't bring himself to say it. "Mujhe laga ki yeh keh kar tumhe bhi ehsaas hoga ki shayaad tum bhi mujhse pyaar karti ho. Lekin dekho ki maine kya kar diya." He gave a bitter laugh.
They lapsed into more silence, broken only by Twinkle's sobs, muffled behind her hand.
"I'm sorry, Twinkle," Kunj finally said, looking up at Twinkle. "Kasamh se, mai tumhe rulana nahi chahta tha."
Twinkle met his eyes, silent again. "Mujhe ghar le chalo."
-||-
Twinkle lay on her side, listening to Kunj snoring lightly beside her. Her mind kept going back to what he had said to her in the cafe.
He loved her.
Eight months ago they had told each other that they could not love one another. But Kunj had.
And what about her?
There was something she felt for him, she knew. As much as she tried to pretend there wasn't, she knew it was there, and it wouldn't go away, no matter how much she ignored it.
But what about Yuvi? Wasn't she disgracing his memory by falling in love with someone else?
He would have wanted me to be happy, she told herself. She knew it wasn't right for her to be justifying what she was doing, but it was true, wasn't it? He had loved her, and she knew that he would have wanted her to be happy no matter what it took.
She turned to look at Kunj.
Eyes closed, mouth slightly open, a look of perfect contentment on his face, he looked so peaceful. Succumbing to her urge, she reached out and lightly brushed strands of hair back from his forehead.
He stirred in his sleep, mumbling something incoherent, and Twinkle pulled her arm back sharply, afraid of waking him.
She sat up, pulling her legs up to her chest, looking at him all the while.
Was she ready to start loving again?
-||-
Kunj came out of the bathroom, wrapped in his towel. He approached the bed, where Twinkle had laid out his clothes. He sighed. He hadn't seen Twinkle all morning. Was she avoiding him?
Well, he wouldn't blame her. After last night, he'd be avoiding him too if he were in her place.
As he picked up his shirt, a familiar, pleasant smell reached him. He straightened, sniffing the air.
Mooli ke parathey, he recognized with a smile.
He turned, looking for the source of the smell.
And there, on the table next to the sofa, was a tray on which sat a plate of parathey, a glass of juice, a single red rose and a piece of folded paper..
Still in his towel, he crossed the room to the tray and picked up the rose, smiling. He picked up the paper, unfolding it.
Kunj,
Kal raat ko joh bhi hua, usske liye sorry. Tum theek the. Pata nahi kab, pata nahi kyu, bina chahe bhi, mai bhi tumse pyaar karne lagi hu. Lekin mujhe thoda waqt chahiye. Umeed hai ki tum mujhe waqt de sakte ho, aur phir shayaad usske baad hum pati-patni ka farz poori tarah se nibha sakenge.
Twinkle.
Kunj smiled. Turning around, he saw Twinkle's head disappearing behind the door frame. He grinned as she poked her head back again. She blushed and turned, and he saw her dupatta fluttering as she ran to the kitchen.
Returning to the bed, he tucked the note into the pocket of his pants with a giddy smile on his face.
So thats it!
do tell me how you felt about it😆
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