Chapter 5 #3
Akansha, who heard the loud music, welcoming announcements, and looked at the sky lit by fireworks, felt her heartbeat quicken.
This was the closest she had come to him in the past five and a half years, and she absolutely hated it.
All she wanted was to run away, but she couldn't. She had responsibilities to fulfill, and she would do them.
She silently thanked God for not having to go there and face that man directly.
Shaurya greeted all the dignitaries, board directors, and chairman politely.
Everyone was awed by his humble nature. At the same time, his presence made it clear that though polite, he was not someone who could be intimidated.
He was powerful when he chose to be, and he knew exactly when and where to show it.
The host welcomed him onto the stage. After the keynote speeches, the dignitaries were seated in the front-row premium seats, with Shaurya in the first seat, followed by the chairman and the others.
Soon, the host announced the kids' performance. Teachers and the choreographer quickly guided the children into position.
Shaurya's eyes fell on the little girl in a pink frock standing at the center of the group. Her doe eyes and chubby, cute face created an unexplainable warmth in his heart. His eyes refused to look at any other child after that.
The little girl looked nervous, glancing around for someone to reassure her. Shaurya noticed other parents encouraging their children, but no one was doing that for this girl. He wanted to.
As if on cue, Siya looked at him.
He gestured for her to calm down, gave her a thumbs-up, and signaled her to perform well. He then gave her a wide smile, which she shyly returned. For a strange moment, he felt as if he had fallen in love with that smile.
The little girl touched those chords of his heart which he believed had been paralyzed forever.
The music began, and the children started performing. Shaurya did not know why, but he took out his phone and began recording the little girl's performance. Just looking at her brought peace to his usually restless heart.
His chief security officer offered to record it for him, but Shaurya politely declined.
The chairman did not miss the glint in Shaurya's eyes or the way his attention remained fixed on Siya. He understood that Shaurya was as smitten with Siya as everyone else in the school already was.
Soon, the performance ended.
Shaurya stood up and applauded the children, and everyone followed him. The whole crowd clapping for them filled the children with excitement. They jumped happily on the stage, and Shaurya chuckled seeing Siya's antics.
The teachers began guiding the kids backstage, but Shaurya asked the chairman if the children could sit with him and watch the rest of the performances. The chairman readily agreed.
The kids came down, and Shaurya instantly lifted Siya into his arms and kissed her cheek.
"You did so well, little girl... In fact, you all did so well," he said, appreciating all the children while shaking hands with each of the little performers.
He made Siya sit beside him, the other children on his other side, and then continued watching the rest of the performances.
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Akansha was carrying out the duties assigned to her. She was checking the schedule in the staff room when one of her colleagues rushed in.
"Miss Akansha... You know what?" her colleague squealed, bursting into the room.
"What is it, Miss Rathi?" Akansha asked in her usual stern voice.
Miss Rathi ignored her tone and quickly shared what she thought would excite Akansha, but instead, it enraged her.
"The Chief Minister lifted your daughter in his arms, appreciated her performance, and made her sit beside him now. Can you believe it?" Rathi said excitedly, expecting at least a smile from the usually cold Akansha.
"WHAT? I told you my daughter would not be participating today. Who the hell let her? brING HER TO ME RIGHT NOW!" Akansha screamed in fury.
No way in hell was she going to let that man touch her daughter. No... he should never know about her child. She had promised herself she would keep Siya away from him.
Her breathing turned uneven. Rathi stepped forward to help Akansha, but one stern look from her made the teacher stop. Akansha ordered her to bring Siya immediately.
She had known he was the chief guest of the Annual Day function. That was exactly why she had stepped away from the organizing team and the event itself. It was also why she had not allowed her daughter to participate.
Seeing Akansha's fury, Rathi sprinted out to bring the child whom her colleague was shouting for like a mad bull.
"What's wrong? Where are you going?" another teacher asked when Rathi hurried toward the VIP area where the Chief Minister was enjoying the performances with the children seated beside him, one of them being Siya.
"To take Siya to her mother," Rathi said with a deep sigh.
"What? But she's sitting with the Chief Minister. You can't just do that, it would be rude," their colleague Shipra said.
"I know, but that rude woman screamed at me.
Don't know what her problem is. Looks like she hates CM sir.
The principal first offered the supervision of Annual Day to her, and she accepted gladly.
But when she found out Mr. Shekhawat was the chief guest, she backed out.
I didn't think much of it then, but after seeing her reaction now, I'm sure she has some issue with CM sir," Rathi said.
"What's there not to like about Mr. Shekhawat?
He is kind, caring, and a wonderful leader.
We are lucky to have him. Looks like she belongs to one of those crazy families still clinging to the opposition.
.. Huh, how can she dislike him yaar? Look at his face, he is so handsome.
Even if he wasn't the best leader, I'd still vote for him just for that handsome face," Shipra said dreamily while staring at Shaurya.
"Haha... let me go now, otherwise the devil will eat me raw, and then I won't be able to see Mr. Shekhawat with these eyes," Rathi said, blushing as she looked at Shaurya.
"See? Even a shy girl like you couldn't stop staring at him.
How can she dislike a species like that?
Huh... maybe she was one of those dream girls crazy for him, but after realizing he could never be hers, she turned bitter.
Not everyone can accept reality like us, babes," Shipra mocked Akansha, unknowingly being partly right.
There was once a time when Akansha had been crazily in love with him.
But after what he did, that love had turned to ashes, leaving only dark scars behind.
What Shipra did not know was Akansha never had to dream of him being hers.
.. because he was, is, and would always be hers. But she no longer wanted him.
"Okay, let me go bring her child. Siya is so cute despite having such a cold mother," Rathi said before hesitantly walking toward the VIP seats.
"Apologies for disturbing you, sir... but may I take her with me?" Rathi asked politely, looking at Shaurya.
Shaurya glanced at Rathi once, then looked at the little girl beside him. Siya was holding his right hand tightly, while a little girl and a boy sat on his left holding the other. He was surrounded by the children who had performed the welcome dance, and it warmed his heart.
Especially the little girl dancing in the middle. She had captured his heart at first sight and had even made him record her dance for the first time in years.
Hearing Rathi's words, Siya tightened her grip on his hand, clearly showing she did not want to go. And Shaurya felt an unexpected pull not to let the little girl leave his sight.
"Why, may I ask, Miss...?" Shaurya said, partly watching the stage performance and partly addressing the teacher.
"Rathi, sir... Um... her mother wants to see her," Rathi said, looking down at her feet, hiding the blush on her cheeks.
Shaurya failed to notice it, as he had always had eyes for only one woman—his first and last love, his wife, Akansha Singh Shekhawat, whom he had lost through his own foolishness.
"Mumma? Oh no! Is she angly, teachel?" Siya asked immediately, letting go of Shaurya's hand and climbing down from her seat.
Shaurya did not want the little girl to go, but there was little he could do if her mother was calling her. Still... why would she be angry?
"Um... maybe... or maybe not," Rathi said with a smile.
"But why would your Mumma be angry?" Shaurya asked, taking the little girl's soft palms into his hands.
"Because she didn't want me to parti..." Siya struggled to say the word.
"Participate," Shaurya completed gently, just the way her mother always did.
"Palticipipate... Mumma didn't want me to palticipipate today, but I did. She not know. My mumma is very good, she loves me a lot, but I no listen to her, so she will scold me now," the little girl told him.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to her. She won't scold you," he said, making her sit on his lap now and then looking at Rathi.
"Ask her mother to meet me, and let the little girl enjoy the performance if it's not urgent," Shaurya said, the last sentence carrying a finality in his tone that made Rathi nod at once.
"Sure, sir..." Rathi said and left from there.
"So now, little girl... you still haven't told me your name?" Shaurya asked, paying attention to both the performance on stage and the child in his lap.
These few hours spent with children were among the best parts of his job. Whenever he got time, he approved requests from schools inviting him to their functions.
He would perhaps have been a father to two or three wonderful children by now, if only he had not ruined everything. Akansha loved kids.
The thought of the children they might have had made him smile sadly. That dream would remain only a dream now. He had lost his wife forever. She was gone and would never return to him.
Still, he was determined to find her one day and seek her forgiveness.
But what if she had moved on? What if she had married someone else and already had children with that man?
Could he bear seeing her with another man?
Hell no. He would kill him.
That was why he had always been afraid to search for her openly or use all his power to find her. He was scared of facing the truth.
"That's because you no ask me," Siya's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
He smiled at the cute accusation.
"Yeah, my bad. Sorry. Now I'm asking... what's your name?" he asked.
His chief secretary and bodyguards looked at him in quiet awe. The mighty Shaurya Singh Shekhawat always turned into a soft-hearted man whenever children were around.
"It's okay, you ale folgiven. And my name is Siyakliti (Siyakriti)," Siya said.
Shaurya froze the moment he heard the name.
"Shaurya... how many kids do you want?" Akansha, who was hugging his chest, asked suddenly.
"Um... just one, and I'm already holding that kid in my arms," he whispered in her ear, earning a slap on his chest.
"Shaurya... I'm serious..." Akansha whined.
"Fine, fine, lady, stop your physical abuse.
Um... I want just one little girl who is a replica of you, and we would name her Siya," he said with a smile, already imagining a baby who would look like a mini Akansha.
But soon, the real purpose behind all his drama entered his mind, snatching away the smile and replacing it with a smirk but also guilt and fear, fear of losing her.
"Just one? I want lots of kids with you, and Siya is too old. I would name my daughter Akriti," Akansha said, not noticing that his face had gone void of emotion.
"What happened, uncle?" Siya asked, tapping Shaurya's arm.
"Siya, address him as Sir," the teacher standing nearby to monitor the children corrected her, not wanting them to inconvenience the Chief Minister.
"It's okay. They are kids. They don't have to know all this. Let them be oblivious and innocent," Shaurya said, smiling at Siya.
"You have a very pretty name, Siya. Um... I can call you Siya, right?" he asked.
She nodded, giving him a wide smile that stole his heart.
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Rathi walked back toward Akansha, silently cursing her timing.
"Where is Siya?" Akansha asked the moment she saw her.
Rathi opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Akansha’s eyes searched the area again—and panic set in.
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER, RATHI?" Akansha screamed, grabbing her attention.
Rathi flinched. "She is still with the CM, sir asked you to meet him. He wanted to talk to you."
The words hit Akansha like a shock.