Chapter 22 #3
"Shaurya… let… let me go," Akansha stuttered.
She tried to push him away—but the slight movement only made him pull her closer.
The closer they got, the thinner her control became.
"I told you… letting you go isn’t an option," he whispered.
That voice…
Deep. Husky.
Dangerous.
No wonder people got swayed by his speeches. With that voice, that clarity, that presence—he didn’t just speak, he commanded.
"Take your hands off my body…" she said, her tone firmer this time.
"Promise me you’ll listen to me," Shaurya replied.
She glared at him.
"Let me warn you, I am not going to believe whatever reason you give… Siya will never know you as her father, and that’s my decision," Akansha said.
Shaurya cupped her face with one palm while his other hand remained firm on her waist, holding her in place.
"I won’t justify my actions, but please hear me out… Whatever I said that day wasn’t the truth. I had to say those things… Just hear me out, Akansha… please," Shaurya pleaded.
His proximity, his voice—both dulled her senses. She nodded, silently cursing herself for never learning how to build a resistance against this one man who had once left no stone unturned to destroy her.
"Thank you," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
She immediately jerked out of his hold.
"I just gave you a chance to explain, and that too only regarding that night… Because it concerns my daughter. Do not assume anything beyond that. I will never let you back into my life again. And the next time you touch me like this, I’ll break your hands," she snapped.
He nodded, forcing himself to keep his hands to his sides.
She lashed out at him without restraint, yet a part of her needed someone to reprimand her just as harshly—because her heart had betrayed her the moment his lips touched her forehead.
It was just a simple peck, yet it stirred something deep within her, something she hadn’t felt in the past five years.
Shaurya continued to stare at her, observing her labored breathing. She knew he knew—knew the effect he had on her, knew how her foolish body and treacherous hormones still responded to him.
Damn. She was a mother to a four-year-old, yet here she was, reacting like a teenager.
And that made the two of them…
He was a father to a four-year-old as well, yet his heart was pounding as though he were about to confess to his childhood crush. She had felt it—the rapid, unsteady rhythm of his heartbeat—when she had been in his arms.
"Say whatever you have to say, or I’m leaving," Akansha said, taking a step back.
"You haven’t heard the entire conversation from that day…" he began.
"Whatever I heard was enough to make me leave and never look back. You didn’t deserve to know about Siya. Period," Akansha spat.
He drew in a deep breath.
"Will you let me finish? Please," he asked softly.
She nodded.
"I don’t know how my mother found out about us. She knew we were close… that we slept together… We… um… you know what I mean…" he trailed off.
At first, his mother had assumed they slept separately—considering his hatred for Akansha and his so-called gentlemanly nature. He wasn’t the kind of man who would touch a woman without love. Yet somehow, she had discovered the truth about the depth of their intimacy.
"You want to know how?" Akansha snapped. "You idiot… you left marks all over my body. I somehow managed to hide the hickeys on my neck and nape, but how exactly was I supposed to hide the ones on my stomach and waist? I didn’t even know they existed until your mother saw them and taunted me."
The words slipped out in anger, and the moment she saw the embarrassment on his face, realization hit her.
Damn. She had no filter when she was angry.
And the reminder of his passionate love only made things worse—her body betraying her all over again.
Shaurya had been a passionate lover—gentle at times, fierce at others. The most dangerous part? He always adapted to her. He understood what she wanted without her ever having to say it aloud.
During their marriage, the only time she truly felt his love was at night. He had always placed her desires, her pleasure, before his own.
She knew he loved her. She had felt it.
And that was why she had kept trying—hoping he would abandon his need for retribution.
One day, he did.
But he failed to express it.
And by then… she had already given up on him.
"I… I didn’t know. I’m sorry," he said, shutting his eyes.
Damn. Even the memory of those nights was enough to stir him. The way he had loved her… the way her hands would move across his bare back, pulling him closer as if there were no such thing as too close. The way her eyes would roll with pleasure as she trembled in his arms.
No… stop.
He knew he wasn’t getting any of that again—not anytime soon, perhaps not ever. His wife had no intention of forgiving him.
So he forced himself to push those thoughts aside and focus on what truly mattered—his daughter.
And for that, he needed to tell Akansha the truth.
Akansha gave a small nod at his apology, silently allowing him to continue.
"My mother suspected… you could get pregnant… She said she would mix Ayurvedic ingredients into your food so you would never… get pregnant," Shaurya trailed off.
Anger surged within him at the thought of what she had done.
Akansha wasn’t surprised by her mother-in-law’s thinking, but her audacity to say something like that directly to her own son shocked her. That explained the kind of space Shaurya had given her in their marriage.
"And you didn’t give her a befitting reply? Damn you, Shaurya. Look at how audacious she was—she dared to speak to you about making your wife infertile. You gave her that space in our marriage. You… but no one else is responsible for this, Shaurya," Akansha said.
Shaurya shut his eyes. He knew he was at fault—but everything he did had been to protect her.
"I had to act as if I was dancing to her tunes to protect you, Akansha. You only knew my parents as in-laws who hated you and made you suffer with their tantrums, but I knew how dangerous they truly were… and how far they could go to achieve their goals. I came to know their reality just a day after our marriage. Otherwise, I would have never taken you into that hell. In fact… if I had known the truth earlier, I wouldn’t have married you at all… " Shaurya said.
His words stunned her.
What was he saying? He had married her to avenge his sister… hadn’t he? Or was there something else?
But what would she even do with that truth now? She wasn’t going to give him another chance anyway.
"Leave it," Shaurya said, blinking as if to pull himself out of that dark past.
Knowing the truth about his parents would only put Akansha in danger. It was better she stayed away from all of it.
"That day, I had to show my mother that I was least interested in having children with you.
I thought that would keep her from harming you, but she turned out to be far more dangerous than I had imagined.
Now that you told me she already knew about your pregnancy, I can understand the kind of cheap tricks she must have played…
and like a fool, I fell into her trap despite knowing what she was capable of," Shaurya said, cursing himself.
He had placed people to keep an eye on Akansha and inform him if she entered the mansion, but he had never expected Mrs. Sudha to reveal the back entrance—or that his wife would sneak out to visit a doctor.
If only he had paid as much attention to the dirty politics inside his own house as he did to the politics outside.
Instead, he had let his parents turn his life, his marriage, and his wife into their battlefield.
"I wanted children with you. I always dreamed of it," he continued, his voice quieter now.
"I had planned to move you away from the mansion.
I bought a 3 BHK flat on the west side of the city—far from that ancestral palace.
I even spoke to Mrs. Sudha about becoming your full-time caretaker once we moved. "
He paused before continuing.
"I had to wait until I became the Chief Minister. Until then, I didn’t have enough power to stand against my father—he controlled everything. I thought… once I took oath, we could finally plan a family. In fact, I was preparing to have that conversation with you."
His voice faltered.
"But then one day… you left. Without a note. Without a word. I didn’t even know how to react. I was numb. I searched for you everywhere, but my father used his power to block every lead, every attempt…"
He let out a hollow breath.
"After that, I became more determined than ever to take everything from him—and I did. Today, he’s just a party president in name.
I control everything now. But what difference did it make?
" he let out a bitter laugh. "I lost you… and now, every time I see my daughter’s face, it reminds me of what a failure I’ve been—as a husband… and as a father."
He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.
"Every time I looked at my father, I promised myself I would never become a father like him.
He taught me everything wrong—how to play dirty politics, how to destroy people for gain, how to escape accountability…
But somehow, because of my own sense of right and wrong—and the people I chose to surround myself with—I never became like him. "
His voice softened, almost breaking.
"I was certain I would be a better father. I wanted to raise my children with the right values. And honestly… I didn’t even worry much about it, because I trusted you. With you as their mother, I knew they would grow into wonderful human beings."
A faint, painful smile touched his lips.
"And I was right. You raised our daughter beautifully."
His eyes filled, his voice turning heavier.