Chapter 30
Akansha and Shaurya finished their breakfast and joined Siya, expecting her to behave normally with Shaurya again like earlier, but it was as if she had withdrawn into a shell.
For the next hour, Siya remained distant from Shaurya. She avoided even looking at him.
Shaurya kept trying patiently. He spoke to her continuously, involved her in different activities, and tried every possible way to engage her.
Siya responded meekly.
She took the crayons from his hand whenever he suggested color combinations, and she even allowed him to help her, but she neither looked at him nor properly talked to him no matter what he tried.
Slowly, anxiety started consuming Shaurya.
He looked at Akansha helplessly.
"Siya... bache... won't you look at me? Talk to me?", Shaurya finally asked after patiently enduring it for nearly two hours.
His voice cracked painfully.
Akansha quietly held his palm and pressed it gently, trying to console him, but nothing seemed capable of easing his anxiety.
Just then, Shaurya's phone rang.
It was Shweta.
He disconnected the call immediately, but when she called again, he had no choice but to answer.
"Yes, Mrs. Gupta... Is it urgent?", he asked, his voice turning instantly steely, surprising Akansha and shocking Shweta herself.
"Y-Yes, sir... Actually, you have a cabinet meeting today... I called to remind you", Shweta informed nervously.
Shaurya shut his eyes briefly.
"Postpone it until tomorrow. I won't be available today. Keep the team on high alert to handle anything in my absence. Inform Mr. Sharma, and call me if something urgent comes up", Shaurya instructed before disconnecting the call.
From the corner of her eye, Siya glanced at Shaurya anxiously, scared he would leave. Akansha noticed it immediately.
"Oh... You have to leave?", Akansha asked deliberately.
"No, I-", Shaurya started immediately, but Akansha pressed his palm lightly, silently making him understand what she was trying to do.
Siya wouldn't confront her emotions unless forced to.
So both of them silently decided to push her a little.
"Um... Yes, I have to leave... I'll come again later", Shaurya said carefully, expecting some reaction from Siya.
But she continued coloring silently.
"Yeah... You should leave. You're here for Siya, but since she isn't in the mood to talk to you, you should go. I don't want you upsetting my daughter", Akansha said sternly.
Immediately, Siya raised her head and looked at her mother disapprovingly, clearly unhappy with the way Akansha spoke to Shaurya.
Despite his anxiety, Shaurya almost smiled at his daughter's adorable reaction. Still acting along, Shaurya stood up, picked up his bag, and pretended to pack for a minute before zipping it closed. Holding the bag, he started walking toward the exit.
"Mamabear... Ask Sholya not to come here... I don't want to play with him anymore", Siya suddenly said.
Her words instantly halted Shaurya's steps.
Even Akansha looked shocked. She had expected Siya to stop Shaurya from leaving like she normally would in such situations.
The next second, Shaurya immediately threw his bag aside and rushed toward his daughter as fear consumed him. He hugged her tightly while ruffling her hair desperately.
"Don't say that, bacha... I love you so much... Dadda loves you so much, Siya... Tell me what's bothering you, baby... please", Shaurya pleaded brokenly while hugging her tightly.
His tears wet Siya's neck and cheeks. Akansha knew Siya was only saying those things out of anger and hurt, but how could she make Shaurya understand that? The mere thought of losing his daughter was enough to make him lose all sense. Slowly, Siya pushed his arms away and moved back.
But then, she carefully wiped his tears before kissing his cheek softly.
"You love me? Leally(really?)", she asked with an adorable angry pout.
"Yes... a lot... I love you so much, bacha...", Shaurya replied immediately.
"Mumma says lying is bad", Siya declared stubbornly, as if she refused to believe him.
"I'm not lying, Siya... I really love you", Shaurya said softly, desperately trying to understand what was going on in his little daughter's mind.
"No... only Mamabear loves Siyabear... Ammu's papa dlop(drop) her to school, he plays with hel(her), he give chocos(he gets her chocolates), he callys her like this(he carries her like this)", Siya complained while stretching her tiny arms to demonstrate.
"You no love me(you don't love me)", she concluded sadly.
Then she continued listing everything she had seen other fathers doing for their children.
She spoke about Ammu's father, about her friends' fathers, and even about the fathers shown in her favorite cartoons. All of them lived with their children. But her father wasn't there for her.
Both Shaurya and Akansha finally understood what had been hurting their little girl all this time. That was why she couldn't believe him when he said he loved her. How could he make her trust him now?
Shaurya loved his daughter more than anything in the world. She was as precious to him as Akansha herself.
But unfortunately, both the women he loved the most struggled to believe in his love now and he himself was the reason behind it.
The realization tore his heart apart.
"I am sorry, Siya... Please forgive me. I had very important work, that's why I couldn't come to meet you before. But now that I'm here, I won't go anywhere", Shaurya promised emotionally.
Akansha stared at him with wide eyes. Was he crazy?
He had just indirectly told their daughter that work was the reason he never met her before. Siya would become even more upset now. She wouldn't forgive him that easily.
"No... You ale(are) bad, vely vely bad(very very bad)", Siya cried angrily, throwing a tantrum.
Akansha sighed softly. Recently, Siya had started pronouncing "r" properly, but whenever she became emotional or angry, she slipped back into her old pronunciations. And right now, she was extremely angry.
"Dadda loves you, Siya... a lot... Please trust me, baby... and forgive me", Shaurya pleaded again.
"Siyabear... You trust Mamabear, right? Papa really loves you, baby... Didn't I tell you that already?", Akansha tried her best to help him.
"No... Dadda no love Siya(Dadda doesn't love Siya)", Siya declared stubbornly.
Shaurya froze.
Meanwhile, Akansha quickly hid her smile because laughing right now would only make her daughter angrier.
But Shaurya completely lost control over his emotions.
He pulled Siya into another tight hug as tears escaped his eyes once again.
And once again, Siya broke the hug only to wipe his tears carefully.
That tiny gesture melted his heart instantly.
He knew his daughter loved him deeply.
She was just hurt.
"Okay... if you think Dadda doesn't love you, then why don't you test him? If he passes the test, you forgive him. If not... you stay angry", Shaurya proposed gently. His little daughter looked at him in confusion.
After thinking for a while, she shook her head stubbornly.
"No..."
"Okay... then why don't you treat him as your best friend Shaurya instead?", Akansha suggested softly.
That still felt better than Siya completely avoiding him. But Siya's next words made both of their hearts flutter while worrying them at the same time.
"But he is not my best fliend... he is my dadda...", Siya said innocently.
"Yes, I am... but I'm also your friend, Siya... your best friend", Shaurya replied while trying to compose himself quickly.
Because every single time he heard the word "dadda" from his daughter's mouth, his heart overflowed with happiness.
"No, I don't want to talk to you... You ale bad", Siya declared stubbornly.
Akansha sighed at her daughter's stubbornness.
Like father, like daughter.
"Okay... If that's what you want. But I will still stay with you the whole day... I want to play with my daughter... my Siyu...", Shaurya said softly before kissing her hair.
Immediately, Siya wiped the spot he kissed just to show that she was still angry with him.
Shaurya couldn't stop himself from chuckling at her adorable antics, but the moment his daughter glared at him angrily, he instantly stopped.
"Sorry", he apologized immediately while holding his ears dramatically.
But Siya simply turned her face to the other side stubbornly.
The three of them spent the next few hours together, with Siya still refusing to properly talk to Shaurya.
Her anger and indifference hurt him deeply.
But what made everything bearable was the way she kept calling him "Dadda" repeatedly, as if somewhere deep inside, she had already accepted him completely.
"Mamabear... It's Dadda's turn now", Siya suddenly declared while snatching the dice from Akansha, who had purposely skipped Shaurya's turn just to make her daughter address him again.
Every single time Siya called him "Dadda", the smile on Shaurya's face became impossible to miss.
And Akansha wanted to see that smile more often.
Especially after watching him cry repeatedly since the previous night.
Shaurya had always been emotional, but he was never someone who cried easily.
So whenever he did, Akansha knew he was in unbearable pain.
And despite everything, she wanted to lessen it somehow.
"Oh! My honey bunny protected my turn, huh? Thank you so much", Shaurya said dramatically.
But his daughter, as usual, gave him no response.
"Okay, my favorite ladies... I'll go make lunch now. You both keep playing, okay?", Shaurya said while getting up after finishing the game.
Akansha instantly glared at him for using the words "favorite ladies", and Shaurya mentally cursed his tongue for the accidental slip.
Before she could stop him from cooking again, he quickly escaped to the kitchen, leaving Akansha sighing helplessly.
After finishing the cooking, Shaurya requested to feed Siya himself.
So once again, Akansha and Shaurya teamed up to trick their daughter.