Chapter 27
After lunch, Akansha quickly got up from the table.
“Can I use your guest room? I have some work,” she asked formally.
“You don’t have to ask... This place is yours as much as mine,” Shaurya replied almost instantly, earning a sharp glare from her.
“Why? Did you purchase this house by taking a loan from me?” Akansha snapped.
“Calm down...” Shaurya said softly.
“Don’t expect me to calm down when you keep uttering nonsense,” she replied, rubbing her forehead to control her temper.
“Okay... I’m sorry, I didn’t give you a straight answer. Yes, you can use the room beside our...” he paused seeing her expression. “I mean my bedroom. If you want, you can use the library upstairs as well,” he corrected politely.
Akansha simply nodded before checking on Siya once and walking toward the guest room.
Shaurya wanted to follow her immediately, but he restrained himself and stayed back in his room with his sleeping daughter while Akansha worked in the room right beside his, separated only by a wall.
Shaurya sat beside Siya with his pending files open before him. He worked while simultaneously staring at his daughter, resisting the urge to caress her hair because she was a light sleeper, exactly like him.
His daughter was truly his replica.
He must have been an absolute fool not to recognize it earlier, he thought bitterly.
Almost an hour passed, but Akansha still did not come out.
Meanwhile, Shaurya had countless things he wanted to discuss with her, most importantly when she planned to tell Siya the truth about him and what exactly her plan of action was.
Unable to hold himself back anymore, he shut his file and walked to the room beside.
He stopped at the entrance seeing her on a call and waited patiently.
“Yes Dr. Khan... Please correct the format from next time. CM Sir has specifically asked for all the reports to be in the same format. If you have any queries, we’ll discuss it tomorrow,” Akansha said professionally.
...
“Yeah sure... That would work. You can give me the data and I’ll prepare the report for you,” she promised.
Shaurya frowned immediately.
That was not her work.
Why was she unnecessarily increasing her workload?
As soon as she disconnected the call, he dragged a bean bag and sat directly in front of her while she continued sitting on the bed, still engrossed in her statistical reports.
“What?” she asked without even looking up properly from her laptop.
“What’s the need to promise Dr. Khan? He can do it himself, no?” Shaurya asked gently, careful not to upset her.
“Why are you here, Shaurya?” she asked coldly, completely ignoring his question.
Without saying it directly, she made one thing crystal clear—
Her work was none of his business.
But staying away from her business was impossible for him.
He wanted to remove every inconvenience from her life.
Unfortunately, that “inconvenience” also included himself.
Akansha knew perfectly well that Dr. Khan could never prepare the report in Shaurya’s preferred format.
It required precision and careful presentation.
Since Mrs. Arora usually sent her to take Shaurya’s approvals anyway, she preferred doing it herself rather than wasting time correcting avoidable mistakes later.
Honestly, it was not too much to expect from someone in his position.
Being the Chief Minister, he handled hundreds of files and endless responsibilities daily. Naturally, he preferred reports in a format that saved time and could be interpreted quickly.
“Give the format to Dr. Khan. Ask him to do his work himself. You can guide him, but you cannot keep doing his work for him. That’s not why you were hired,” Shaurya said more firmly this time, deliberately using his authoritative tone because he knew she rarely listened otherwise.
But once again, she proved him wrong.
“You are not my boss here, Shaurya, so keep that attitude to yourself. I am not here to discuss professional work,” Akansha snapped.
“Okay... then what am I here?” he asked while moving slightly closer, deliberately crossing a little into her personal space.
She frowned seeing the teasing glint in his eyes.
“Siya’s father. Only Siya’s father,” Akansha answered sternly.
Pain flickered briefly in his eyes before mischief replaced it the very next second.
“I’m happy you at least called me her father,” Shaurya said softly with a small smile.
But the smile vanished instantly at her next words.
“You are her sperm donor, Shaurya. I cannot deny that fact and according to societal terms, you are called her father,” Akansha replied curtly without even looking up from her laptop.
She knew her words would wound him deeply.
That was exactly why she avoided looking at his face.
“Akansha... please don’t hurt me with taunts related to Siya’s birth at least,” he requested quietly.
“Why not?” she shot back bitterly. “Maybe the words you spoke to your mother were an act to save me, but those words weren’t the only reason I left you.
They were just the final push. The first crack was your betrayal.
You broke my trust, Shaurya. That’s why I believed your venomous words over my own knowledge of how much you adored children. ”
Her voice trembled with buried pain and rage.
“While you were spending your nights selecting interiors for this mansion, I was struggling to build a roof over my head... trying to create a safe home for my daughter. So don’t think these little efforts, these attempts, or the love you are showering on Siya now magically make you her father,” Akansha spat bitterly.
Shaurya froze.
The weight of her words crushed him.
What all had she gone through alone?
Slowly, he stood up and walked toward her.
Akansha got startled at the sudden movement.
Before she could react, he dropped to his knees in front of her and gently took her palm into his hands.
The pain and unbearable regret in his eyes stopped her from immediately pulling her hand away.
“I want to know how you spent every minute of your life from the moment you walked away from me. I may never feel the exact pain you faced in reality, but trust me, your struggles would kill me, Akansha. Hearing that my pregnant wife suffered for basic necessities is tearing me apart from within. If you truly hate me and want me to suffer, then tell me everything, Akansha,” he pleaded.
She immediately jerked her hand away and looked elsewhere. Her eyes welled up as flashes of her struggling days resurfaced painfully.
“You don’t deserve to know,” she said quietly. “If you really want to correct your mistakes, then give Siya a safe and secure life. Be a good father to her. That’s all I want.”
Akansha quickly wiped the corner of her eyes.
Silence settled between them after that.
When she noticed he was still sitting on the floor near her feet, she awkwardly asked him to sit back on the bean bag. Understanding her discomfort instantly, he quietly moved back without arguing.
“What do you want to talk about?” Akansha finally asked after he settled again.
“When are you planning to tell Siya about me?” Shaurya asked directly.
Akansha froze for a second.
Even the thought of revealing the biggest truth of her life to her daughter terrified her.
Siya was a happy child. As far as Akansha knew, her daughter would probably be excited to learn she had a father, that too someone like Shaurya. But children were unpredictable. Anything could happen. That uncertainty scared her deeply.
“What’s the hurry? Let’s take one step at a time,” Akansha replied after recovering from the initial shock.
“I don’t think we should delay it anymore. The longer we wait, the more detached and cheated Siya might feel later. It will be easier for her to adapt if she learns the truth now,” Shaurya reasoned.
“You don’t know anything about my daughter, so stop talking like you know her,” Akansha snapped.
“But I know myself, jaan... Siya is exactly like me and that’s why I am—”
“Shut up!” Akansha screamed sharply, cutting him off midway. “Dare you call me that again and I swear I will take your life. I am serious.”
“I’m sorry... calm down, Akansha. It just slipped out,” Shaurya apologized quickly in his soft tone.
Earlier, whenever she got angry, he used to calm her with affection and endearments. Showing her love always reduced her temper. The habit had become so natural to him that it escaped unconsciously now.
But the moment he saw her rage intensify at those same endearments, he realized once again—
Nothing between them was the same anymore.
And he had no one to blame except himself.
“I’ll cut your tongue if that slip happens again,” she warned coldly.
He nodded obediently.
Only she could threaten him like that.
Well... maybe his daughter could too.
He would probably let Siya do anything she wanted, but he already knew Akansha would never allow their daughter to speak disrespectfully to either parent. He had already witnessed a glimpse of that earlier.
“Now coming back to the topic... tell me, what exactly are you afraid of?” he asked gently.
“Huh?” Akansha looked at him, debating internally whether she should answer honestly or not.
“I know you’re afraid of something. If it’s Siya’s reaction, don’t worry too much.
She’s still too young to get deeply affected.
She might become upset or angry initially, but she’ll eventually come around.
I know you’ll handle her well,” he said softly before pausing.
“But if you’re scared that Siya might blame you, then don’t be.
She will never know that you hid her existence from me.
As far as she’ll know, I alone was responsible for not being there. ”
Akansha stared at him in shock.
Yes... that fear existed too.
“Look, you don’t need to sacrifice yourself for me. I can handle my daughter,” Akansha dismissed harshly.