Chapter 13 #2
"Yes. SI Ankit later summoned Ms. Dixit late at night to warn her.
When I found out, I went to bring her home.
I also decided to warn Shekhar to stay away from Ms. Dixit, but he had already fled.
After that, I decided to gather concrete evidence to ensure he could be put behind bars," Akash explained.
"How could you leave Akansha there alone, Akash?" Shaurya asked sharply.
"Sir—Ms. Dixit doesn’t..." Akash began, visibly uncomfortable with Shaurya addressing her so familiarly. He deliberately used “Ms. Dixit” instead of “my sister” to maintain a formal boundary, reminding Shaurya that he was speaking as a subordinate, not as Akansha’s brother.
"Cut the crap, Akash. Tell me why you didn’t take your sister with you when you knew such a creep lived next door. And why didn’t you take any action against him? Bl**dy p*dophile," Shaurya said, his voice controlled, though anger simmered beneath it.
"Neither his wife nor his daughter were willing to give statements. If I acted without evidence, he could easily twist the case and blame my sister. His wife and daughter are terrified of him; they could even testify against her under pressure," Akash clarified.
Shaurya nodded slightly. He understood the risk, but one thing still didn’t sit right with him.
"But you could have taken her with you, no?" Shaurya asked.
"Di didn’t want their lives to be disrupted," Akash said, almost instinctively.
"Their?" Shaurya caught it immediately.
Akash realized his mistake instantly. He masked his expression quickly, forcing himself to stay composed, but Shaurya had already noticed the shift. He frowned slightly.
"She lives with a friend... and they didn’t want to stay with me," Akash added casually.
"Friend?" Shaurya repeated, his tone sharpening slightly.
"Female friend," Akash corrected quickly, aware of the risk. Shaurya’s jealousy, if triggered, could lead him to investigate further—and that would expose Siya.
"Wasn’t she with her that night?" Shaurya asked.
"No. She frequently goes on camps. Unfortunately, she wasn’t present on either of those nights," Akash replied.
"Now tell me what happened the other night," Shaurya said, glancing at the report. By then, he had already understood that that b***ard Ankit had tried to drag Akansha into a pr***itution-related case to protect Shekhar. The thought alone made his blood boil.
Akash proceeded to describe the events of that night, carefully omitting how Akansha had called Richa’s parents to stay with Siya.
Shaurya clenched his fists as he imagined that bastard slapping his wife—his Akansha. His grip tightened so much that his nails would have drawn blood had they been as sharp as hers.
"You asked me not to dig into this matter, and as I told Akansha, I’m going to keep my promises this time. But in return, you need to get this b***ard... I want him to suffer a brutal punishment," Shaurya said.
Akash nodded.
"Are you hiding anything, Akash?" Shaurya suddenly asked, catching him off guard. The abrupt question sent panic through Akash, and it took him a few microseconds to recover. But Shaurya had already seen through his facade.
"Out with it, Akash," Shaurya ordered.
Akash mentally apologized to God for using the mother-daughter situation to protect his sister and niece, but he had no other choice. Besides, revealing it to Shaurya wouldn’t cause them any harm.
"Shekhar had private videos of his wife and even his daughter, secretly recorded. He threatened to leak them if either of them spoke against him," Akash said.
Shaurya closed his eyes, trying to control his rising anger.
Even after years in public service, where he had seen and heard the worst of humanity, the extent of depravity people could reach still shocked him.
How could a father do that to his own daughter—his own blood?
He felt an urge to destroy the man with his own hands.
"Don’t involve Akansha in this mess, but make sure that man spends the rest of his life behind bars," Shaurya said.
Akash hesitated, wanting to point out that with Shekhar’s influence and resources, getting bail or even manipulation of the case wasn't impossible. Shaurya understood his concern.
"When the department decides, no one can save his a**. We both know how they handle such cases when needed. Let that ba***rd Ankit also taste his own medicine. I’ll speak to the DGP. Follow up carefully," Shaurya instructed.
Akash nodded.
"One more thing. I will have a personal conversation with Shekhar a day before sentencing," Shaurya declared.
Akash knew better than to argue. He simply nodded again.
"Now I want to know about Akansha, Akash. How did you find her, and when?" Shaurya asked, his tone immediately turning more intimidating.
Akash felt the pressure but had already prepared for this. He silently prayed to his deity, Hanuman, for strength to say 'No' to his brother-in-law, —ex-brother-in-law, he corrected himself mentally.
"I explained this case because, as Chief Minister, it is your responsibility to be aware of issues concerning your people. You were fulfilling your duty, and as your subordinate, I was obligated to assist you. But I don’t believe asking for someone’s personal details—especially a woman’s—is part of your responsibility or my duty, sir.
With due respect, I cannot share any personal information about my sister.
However, I remain committed to my word. I will arrange two more meetings with her as promised," Akash said, his tone soft but firm, his determination unmistakable.
Shaurya could have pressed further if he wanted, but he chose not to.
After everything he had put her through, he knew it would be difficult for her to cope if he suddenly re-entered her life after five years.
He remembered the fear in her eyes when she realized he had found her.
That expression still haunted him. Meeting him, for her, seemed worse than a nightmare.
He finally understood the depth of the damage he had caused.
He decided not to overwhelm her—for now. She needed space. She needed peace. But even that realization couldn’t fully capture the pain she must have endured.
Shaurya dismissed Akash, which slightly surprised him. Akash offered a polite greeting and left quickly, before Shaurya could change his mind.
Shaurya was overwhelmed by emotions. He immediately called his closest friend, Dev, to share what he had learned. He knew Dev was equally concerned about Akansha.
Dev was the only person who knew Shaurya’s true feelings for her.
Dev had warned him repeatedly that this path of revenge and anger would cost him dearly, but Shaurya had been consumed by rage then.
Now, he was facing the consequences. Shaurya confided in Dev always, their friendship had remained intact over the years—if anything, it had only grown deeper.
Dev was in a meeting with his party members when Shaurya called.
Shaurya rarely called him during the day; both of them avoided contact during working hours to ensure no one suspected their connection.
Dev immediately sensed something was wrong.
He dismissed the meeting, locked the door, and answered the call.
"Shaurya, is everything okay?" Dev asked as soon as he picked up.
"I met Akansha," Shaurya said.
Dev took a few seconds to process his words.
"You saw her? How is she, Shaurya?" Dev asked.
Shaurya then narrated everything he had learned.
"So Akash knew where she was all these years?" Dev asked.
"No. He said he found her only a couple of years ago. And I’m sure something terrible must have happened to her in these five years, Dev.
I could see the pain in Akash’s eyes when he spoke about how he found his sister.
I’m scared to even know what she has gone through," Shaurya admitted, his voice heavy. "I already hate myself enough for everything I put her through. It feels like the day isn’t far when I’ll end up destroying myself because I can’t bear who I’ve become. "
"You found her, Shaurya. Finally, after five long years. Isn’t that what you wanted?" Dev said gently. "Be patient. She deserved better—you gave her pain. Now it’s your responsibility to heal her, to give her the life she deserves. Stay strong, Shaurya. Don’t hate yourself like this."
"I don’t know what to do anymore, Dev. I’ll have two chances to meet her, but the coldness in her eyes makes me feel that nothing I say will reach her mind—only her ears.
She has built walls against me. Any attempt right now will be pointless unless she is ready to look at me…
to hear me… to see how sorry I am… and how much I love her," Shaurya said, voicing the doubts weighing on him.
"You’re right. Don’t waste those two meetings.
It will be like blowing a ‘Shankha’ in front of the deaf.
If you try to force contact after that, she’ll only run further away.
Akansha is determined—she can go to any extent to avoid you.
Let her anger settle first… maybe then she’ll listen," Dev advised.
"How am I supposed to stay away from her, Dev?
" Shaurya’s voice broke. "All I want is to go to her, ask for forgiveness, confess my love… take her into my arms… I can’t stay away from her now," he said, struggling to steady himself.
"And if I leave her alone, her anger will never calm down. I know her. I need to bring her back from this, and for that I need more than two meetings. I don’t know why I agreed to this—I should have asked for more. "
"Stop blaming yourself. At that time, you were afraid she would disappear again. Stop thinking about the past and focus on what you can do now," Dev said firmly. "Shaurya… if you meet her ‘accidentally’ or in an official capacity, it won’t count as one of those meetings, will it?"
Shaurya paused. His mind immediately began working.
"Dev… God, what would I do without you?" Shaurya said, a rare relief slipping into his tone.