Chapter 33 #2
"Sir...?"
He waited, hoping Shaurya would clarify or change his words. But Shaurya remained perfectly calm. Only then did Mr. Sharma realize how serious he actually was.
"You are planning this announcement after elections, sir?", Mr. Sharma asked carefully. "Because if that's the case, we still won't have enough preparation time. To soften the impact on the public, it's better to slowly drop subtle hints beforehand. That would mentally prepare people for the news."
"Not after elections, Mr. Sharma", Shaurya interrupted calmly. "Before elections. In fact... as soon as possible."
Mr. Sharma looked genuinely horrified now.
"What? Sir... you cannot be serious."
"I'm very serious, Mr. Sharma. That's exactly why we're discussing this."
"Sir... this decision will have a massive impact on the elections. This is equivalent to standing unarmed in front of your enemies after handing them weapons yourself. The opposition and their media channels will destroy you." Mr. Sharma's voice carried genuine concern now.
"The only reason our party still stands strongly despite constant attacks is because of YOUR reputation. You are the pillar holding the entire structure together. If that pillar starts cracking, the whole building will collapse."
He paused before adding firmly,
"My honest advice is... don't take this step."
Shaurya leaned back slightly before speaking again.
"Mr. Sharma... you've known me personally for almost fifteen years now, and you've known me professionally as Chief Minister for nearly half a decade." His gaze remained steady. "Tell me honestly... have you ever seen me make a wrong professional decision?"
Mr. Sharma answered immediately.
"Rarely. You always evaluate every possible outcome before making decisions. Honestly speaking, sir... you are one of the best decision-makers I've ever seen. But—"
Shaurya interrupted him again.
"The qualities people praise professionally in me are exactly the things missing in my personal life." His voice grew quieter. "Everyone sees me as successful. Maybe I succeeded as a politician, businessman, or Chief Minister..."
A bitter smile appeared briefly.
"But as a husband? I failed."
"And as a father... I almost failed there too. But I still have a small chance left to fix that. And I refuse to lose it."
He leaned forward slightly now.
"My daughter deserves her father's name. She deserves his love, care, protection... and most importantly, his time." His voice carried frightening conviction now. "I may eventually accept failure as a politician or even as Chief Minister. But I will never accept failure as a father."
He looked directly at Mr. Sharma.
"Now tell me honestly... do you still think this is the wrong decision?"
Mr. Sharma looked deeply conflicted.
"Not if you were only Shaurya Singh Shekhawat", he admitted honestly.
"But unfortunately, you are also the sitting Chief Minister and the ruling party's CM candidate for the upcoming elections.
You cannot ignore that reality, sir." He tried once more.
"There are only a few months left for elections.
Please stay calm until then. Announce everything after beginning your second term. "
But Shaurya remained unmoved.
"I've already decided. The announcement will happen before elections.
" His tone carried absolute finality. "I already have a few strategies to reduce the impact.
I wanted your suggestions before discussing everything with the advisors.
And suggest ways to protect Akansha too.
I cannot risk her peace anymore. I don't want society, media, or anyone else judging or troubling her. "
Mr. Sharma held his forehead in stress. At this point, it genuinely looked like Shaurya wasn't just trying to become a good husband and father... He was actively preparing to become the villain of his own political career.
For the next hour, Shaurya carefully explained his strategies and plans. And every single step prioritized protecting Akansha and Siya... even if it meant damaging his own reputation.
Indirectly, every plan painted him as the guilty party.
He was willingly sacrificing his strongest voter base — women and educated urban voters who admired him for his progressive policies and women empowerment initiatives.
"Sir... this feels like political suicide", Mr. Sharma admitted finally.
"I know the impact will be harsh", Shaurya replied calmly. "But we'll control the damage."
Mr. Sharma spent another hour explaining the political disasters that could follow. Some problems had manageable solutions. Others carried devastating consequences. Consequences Shaurya absolutely could not afford politically. Yet despite hearing everything... he refused to back down even once.
Finally, after hours of discussion, Mr. Sharma left the office to continue his work while Shaurya remained behind, already preparing to discuss the matter with his advisors next.
But before that... He needed to ensure this news did not reach his father yet.
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A few days passed.
During that time, Shaurya carefully took every possible measure to ensure this news didn't reach his father before he could speak to his top advisors.
And that wasn't easy at all considering Virendar Shekhawat's connections and influence.
Shaurya had to carefully curate every single meeting and discussion, holding them only at his residence — the one place where his father couldn't interfere or sabotage anything.
None of the advisors supported his decision.
Every single one of them advised against making the announcement.
But since Shaurya had already made up his mind, their job eventually shifted toward minimizing the political damage instead of stopping him.
And slowly, the damage-control strategies began.
The plan was to release subtle hints every few days with gradually increasing impact.
It started with anonymous social media discussions speculating about Shaurya's personal life.
Then came posts wondering about his college romance and love life.
Slowly, the narrative intensified into rumors about a secret marriage.
And finally, carefully leaked information revealed that Shaurya had already declared himself married while filing his election nomination years ago, but the information remained hidden because he had legally requested privacy from the Election Commission.
He had even obtained court orders restricting the spread of those details publicly. Now, Shaurya could legally use those same decisions to his advantage. For once, he felt grateful that he had chosen lawful methods to hide his marriage instead of misusing political power back then.
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Soon, Sunday arrived.
Shaurya deliberately cleared his schedule and stayed home, waiting for his wife and daughter to arrive.
He wanted to spend as much time with them as possible because from Monday onward, he would leave for election campaigning and probably wouldn't return for an entire week.
And he already knew he would miss both his wife and daughter terribly.
Most importantly... He still needed permission from his daughter before leaving.
Because according to their agreement, he wasn't allowed to disappear without informing her anymore.
A smile automatically appeared on his lips as he remembered the incident from two nights ago.
Akansha had recorded the entire thing. And since then, he had probably watched that video over a hundred times already.
Even now, he shook his head helplessly before opening it once again.
The video started with Siya's adorable angry voice.
"Dadda... I am angly...", Siya complained the moment Shaurya returned from the kitchen carrying the cupcakes he had specially made for her.
"Dadda is sorry, baby... I had meetings the entire night, that's why I couldn't come meet you. Dadda is really very sorry", Shaurya apologized for what felt like the hundredth time. Then he slowly pushed the cupcake tray toward her.
"Have these tasty tasty cupcakes and forgive Dadda." But Siya immediately turned her face away dramatically and continued pouting angrily. "At least look at what Dadda made for you", he pleaded helplessly.
But his daughter remained just as stubborn as him. Meanwhile, Shaurya turned toward Akansha, who was visibly struggling to suppress her laughter while watching the father-daughter drama unfold. He mouthed a silent "Help" toward her. Akansha only blinked innocently in response.
"Wow... these cupcakes look really pretty. I think I'll eat one", Akansha casually announced while moving toward the tray.
"Mumma... No!" Siya instantly snatched the tray away possessively.
And only then did she properly notice the designs.
Each cupcake had one letter written on it, spelling "SORRY.
" Some carried tiny Mickey Mouse designs while others had little unicorn decorations.
The moment Siya saw them properly, her tiny angry heart instantly softened.
"Dadda... I fo... fol..." She struggled to remember the word before turning toward her mother. "Mumma... what is that wod(word)?"
"Forgive", Akansha helped immediately.
"Yes... I forgive you. But do not lepeat(repeat) it", Siya warned seriously, making Akansha burst into laughter.
The little girl was clearly trying to imitate her mother because Akansha often used the exact same tone whenever Siya did something naughty.
"It's repeat, Siyabear", Akansha corrected gently.
"Yes Mumma... lepeat", Siya repeated proudly, making both her parents laugh.
But Shaurya quickly suppressed his laughter the moment he noticed Siya narrowing her eyes at him again.
"Okay, I promise. I won't repeat it", Shaurya agreed sincerely.
But Siya continued staring at him as if he had committed some terrible crime. Completely confused, he looked toward Akansha for help.
"Mumma... Dadda doesn't know how to plomise", Siya complained seriously.