Chapter 6 #2
The next morning, Akansha's school group was filled with pictures from the previous night, and one particular photo caught her attention. It was of her daughter in the Chief Minister's arms—him kissing her cheek in one picture, and in the next, both of them smiling while looking at each other.
Akansha couldn't control the rush of emotions she felt.
She saved both the pictures on her phone and decided to get them framed.
Maybe when her daughter grew old enough to understand her situation, she would tell her about her father and then show these to her. She might not have the recognition of being his daughter, but at least she would have a fond memory.
Also, she knew her daughter didn't deserve a father like him.
Akansha convinced her heart of that… but there was always a tiny part of it that accused her of being selfish for hiding the truth about his daughter from Shaurya.
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Shaurya stayed awake the whole night to finish the files Mr. Sharma wanted him to sign by the next morning.
He worked willingly, not once regretting attending the school function instead of focusing on those files.
In fact, he was glad—he had gotten to meet the cutest little girl.
Her smile had brought him a kind of peace he hadn’t felt in years.
That one hour felt like the best moment of his life in the past five years.
He opened his phone again and watched her dance video for the nth time that night. The phone finally ran out of battery, and only then did he shift back to his work after putting it on charge.
This continued the next day as well, and both his personal assistant and principal secretary noticed it.
"Sir... the school sent the pictures last night. I have selected these and sent them to the newspapers. Please have a look," Shweta said, showing him the newspaper coverage of the previous night’s event.
Shaurya quickly shifted his attention to the newspapers, and one particular photo in the collage drew him in—it was him holding the little girl in his arms.
"Good job, Mrs. Shweta," he said.
Shweta and Mr. Sharma both raised their brows in surprise. He had never thanked them for PR work before. In fact, he disliked these image-building exercises and avoided involvement in selecting photos, leaving everything to Shweta.
The following hours passed with Shaurya buried in work, but whenever he got even a minute, his eyes went back to the little girl’s image. He was surprised by how deep a connection he had felt with her in just an hour.
He finished his work at midnight. After many years, he felt like talking to his best friend, like actually sharing what he was feeling. In all these five years, he had barely opened up to Dev.
"Hello..." Dev’s sleepy voice came through.
Shaurya sighed at his friend’s tone.
"Come to my place. Now," Shaurya said.
"A**, it’s 2:30 at night. And being the Chief Minister, you should know 'Right to Sleep' is a fundamental right. I can file a case against you," Dev said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
"Sure. Do that tomorrow. For now, come over. We need to talk," Shaurya said and hung up.
Dev blinked at the phone.
"Is everything alright?" Rachna asked him.
"Yeah... I guess. He just wants to talk," Dev said slowly.
"Dev... what if someone sees you going there? Is it necessary? Talk to him on call. I don’t want trouble for either of you," she said, worried.
Dev shook his head.
"That idiot finally decided to let it out. I’m glad. I don’t care about anything else. I just want him to move on… otherwise I’m scared his guilt will take his life one day," Dev said, clearly worried.
"He won’t. You won’t let him. I trust you and your friendship," Rachna said, kissing him softly.
Dev smiled, grateful for her understanding.
"Bye... take care," Dev said, kissing her forehead.
"You too," she replied with a smile.
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Dev entered the building through the back door and sneaked into Shaurya’s room through the balcony. Shaurya helped him pass through the grills by opening a hidden door within the iron structure.
"I feel like your f**king girlfriend… can’t we sit in your study downstairs? A**h*le," Dev cursed his friend.
"I don’t drink in my study," Shaurya said, shocking Dev.
"You want to drink? Like hard drinks?" Dev asked, and Shaurya nodded. He had stopped alcohol completely after taking office as Chief Minister. Even before that, he was never fond of it and only drank when his friends forced him.
"I’ll fix a peg," Dev said, walking toward Shaurya’s collection.
"Damn man… you have such a fine collection. All this just for decoration, huh?" Dev commented. "I was thinking—"
"Don’t even think about it. They’re mine," Shaurya cut him off quickly, already knowing what his friend intended. There was no way he was giving away his finest collection to Dev; Rachna would kill him if he did.
"F**king Ba***rd," Dev muttered while preparing their drinks.
He handed one glass to Shaurya and settled on the bean bag with his own.
"You wanna talk about it?" Dev asked, expecting his friend to open up about his guilt, his pain, and Akansha.
"Yeah… I am so happy today. I always shared this with you," Shaurya said, confusing Dev but also surprising him. It had been a long time since he had seen his friend genuinely happy.
"What is it that made my friend so happy?" Dev asked.
"This little girl…" Shaurya said, showing Siya’s dance video.
Dev took the phone, but Shaurya couldn’t resist leaning in, watching it again for the nth time. No matter how many times he saw it, his heart wanted more.
"Awe… she is such a cute baby. I’ve seen her pictures in the newspaper. She’s the one in your arms, right? Even in a small collage photo, she stood out," Dev said, recalling it.
"Just seeing her face gives me so much peace, yaar. I don’t know why. I’ve always loved kids and enjoyed these events, but never felt such strong attachment in such a short time. She is something else," Shaurya said with a smile.
Dev was genuinely happy seeing his friend like this, though he was slightly disappointed that Shaurya hadn’t opened up about his past.
"You share your happiness with me… I would have been happier if you shared what’s hurting you too," Dev said.
"Dev… don’t talk about that now. Please… I am happy after a long time. Let me be," Shaurya said, still staring at the video.
"I think it was her first stage performance. All the other kids had their parents there encouraging them, but hers didn’t come. She was scared, but she calmed down when I wished her luck. She smiled at me so cutely… her smile is so precious. She did so well… I am so proud of her," Shaurya said.
"You are reacting as if it’s your daughter’s first performance," Dev said, and Shaurya’s smile faded instantly. Dev immediately regretted it.
"Um… why didn’t her parents come? Are they that busy? Who would ignore such a cute baby, yaar?" Dev quickly diverted.
"Apparently, her mother didn't want her to participate in the dance performance, it seems… for reasons unknown. So they didn’t know," Shaurya said.
"That little one is so scared of her mumma, at the same time loves her so much. When the teacher informed her that her mother wasn’t feeling well, she rushed towards her without even bidding a bye," Shaurya added, his tone carrying a slight complaint.
"Awe, Shaurya Singh Shekhawat is upset that the little girl ignored him for her mother, huh? By the way, what’s the name of this little one?" Dev asked.
Shaurya’s face paled instantly.
"Siya… Siyakriti," he said.
Dev’s expression changed too, his face going pale for a brief moment.
Dev assumed Shaurya was disturbed because the name reminded him of his sister, but the truth was different—Shaurya was shaken because it was the same name he and Akansha had once chosen for their future daughter.
"I want to see her again, yaar. Tell me a way," Shaurya said after a pause.
"Abbe… what do you take me for? And are you crazy? If the press even gets a hint of it, they won’t waste a second in calling the little girl your daughter. The first one to do that will be Richa Upadhyay. So for now, stay away from it," Dev advised.
"God, that woman… it’s good that she has zeal for reporting the right content, but she really needs to do fact-checking," Shaurya said.
"Yeah… you advised her, let’s see if she listens," Dev replied.
"She seemed stubborn. Chances are bleak," Shaurya said with a faint smirk.
"Can’t argue on that," Dev said, finishing his drink.
Both friends spent some good time together after a long gap.