Chapter 34
"Akansha... please come here. I need to talk to you", Shaurya called out.
"I don't want your involvement in my life. And if you are going to ask about the call with Neil, then don't. If you do, I'm not responsible for what I'll do to your face", she warned from the kitchen, making him pause instantly.
Yes, his wife was fully capable of breaking his bones. He knew that very well. But right now, the anxiety inside him was far worse than the fear of physical injuries.
"Akansha... I just...", Shaurya started while walking toward the kitchen, but the moment he entered, he froze seeing Akansha glaring at him while heating a spoon.
He immediately took a step back.
He knew Akansha well enough to understand that if he uttered one wrong word, she would throw the hot spoon straight at him without hesitation.
"I... I got my childhood albums. Siya wanted to see them. Show them to her while I'm gone for the week", Shaurya said quickly.
The moment Akansha nodded, he immediately walked back toward the hall, though not before giving one final cautious glance to the spoon.
The moment he left, Akansha shook her head while suppressing her laughter at his visible fear. She mixed the slightly heated jeera and other ingredients into water before drinking it calmly.
"It would be better if both of you look at them together. She'll enjoy it more", Akansha said while walking out.
"We'll do that too... but for now, show them to her so she doesn't miss me too much", Shaurya replied softly.
"Okay...", she responded.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Shaurya finally stood up to leave.
"Okay, I'll go now... You'll be coming to my place this Sunday, right?", he asked politely.
The moment she nodded, he visibly relaxed. Giving her a small smile, he took a step toward the door.
"Shaurya... one minute."
His steps halted immediately hearing her voice.
"I forgot to ask you before... when can I expect the documents regarding our divorce?", Akansha asked, freezing him to the spot.
"Why do you suddenly remember that now?", he asked carefully, trying hard not to fumble. If he did, Akansha would immediately realize something was wrong.
"What do you mean why?" Akansha frowned. "You should have handed me the copy yourself, but you didn't, so now I'm asking. I need the divorce decree before this Sunday."
Her stern tone instantly worried him further.
"Akansha... I'm currently very busy. I can't search for all those documents right now. Give me some time", he said cautiously, only fueling her anger further.
"Search?" she repeated sharply. "That's our divorce decree, Shaurya. Not some grocery bill you misplaced and now have to 'search' for."
She folded her arms while glaring at him.
"As far as I know, you are an extremely organized person. So how exactly do you misplace something this important?"
"It's not that...", he trailed off helplessly, but she cut him off immediately.
"I need those documents in my hand before next Sunday", she said firmly.
Shaurya opened his mouth to say something, but Akansha silently pointed toward the door, clearly dismissing him.
He took a deep breath before finally leaving. He barely had ten days left to tell his wife the truth. That she was still his wife.
Because they had never actually divorced.
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On Sunday, Akansha and Siya arrived at Shaurya's house. Akansha had to put in extra effort to stop Siya from telling her father about the Father's Day celebration at school. Only after Akansha promised that she herself would inform him later did Siya finally agree to stay quiet.
Akansha felt guilty for lying to her daughter, but she was left with no other option.
It was better if Shaurya stayed unaware of the event.
If he found out, he would definitely make sure to attend, and then it would become impossible to stop Siya from openly claiming her father in front of everyone.
Shaurya would surely think of some solution for the aftermath later, but either way, Siya would end up hurt if she wasn't allowed to proudly claim her Dadda publicly.
What Akansha didn't know was that Shaurya was already prepared to let his daughter claim him in front of the entire world if needed. Any consequences could be handled later.
His daughter's rights came first.
The three of them spent the entire day together happily. Shaurya finished his pending work only after Siya fell asleep. Meanwhile, Akansha once again reminded him that she needed the divorce documents before next Sunday, immediately pushing him back into guilt and worry.
At night, Akansha and Siya returned home. Since Siya was asleep, taking her away became slightly easier. Otherwise, the little girl hadn't left her Dadda's side the entire day after learning she wouldn't get to see him for the whole next week.
The following morning, Shaurya left for campaigning with a heavy heart. The thought of staying away from his wife and daughter for an entire week filled him with uneasiness.
Meanwhile, his PR team and advisors had already begun their work by dropping subtle hints online.
But the public response only increased his anxiety.
Most of his supporters fiercely defended him and bashed the admins of those accounts for trying to spread dirt about their leader.
None of them were willing to believe that Shaurya could have loved someone, let alone secretly married her.
Before leaving, Shaurya instructed his team to move to the next phase. This time, selected Instagram and Facebook pages would stop hinting vaguely and instead directly claim that he was married and still married instead of continuing with mere speculations.
Shaurya was on the third day of campaigning when he received a call from Akansha. The moment he saw her name flash on the screen, he immediately walked back toward his car and called her back.
He already knew the reason behind the call.
His daughter must be missing him terribly and troubling her mother because of it.
Honestly, he had expected this. Siya had grown so used to his presence that if he didn't visit her for even two straight days, he would receive a call from her. And now, three days had already passed. He knew handling Siya while balancing school and the CR project must be difficult for Akansha.
"Hello...", Shaurya answered quickly.
"Shaurya... Siya is missing you a lot. If you're alone, talk to her once", Akansha said softly.
"Yeah... I'm video calling you right now", Shaurya replied immediately.
Luckily, the staff room was empty at the moment. Even then, Akansha took Siya to a corner before making her sit there carefully so that even if someone entered, they wouldn't be able to see who was on the other side of the call.
"Okay, keep observing my hand. If I ask you to stop talking, you stop immediately", Akansha instructed seriously.
"Yes ma'am...", he replied instantly, making her take a deep breath in frustration.
"Sorry... are you in the staff room again?", he asked.
"Yes and I don't have my earphones with me", she answered.
"Don't worry. I'll handle it", Shaurya assured before disconnecting and video calling her again the very next minute.
"Dadda...", Siya squealed excitedly the moment she saw him on screen.
"How is my Siya doing?", Shaurya asked lovingly.
"Dadda... I missh(miss) you. When will you come?", Siya asked with a pout.
"Bacha... I'll come soon. Just a few more days. And please don't trouble Mumma, okay? Mumma's Siya bear is a very good girl, right?", Shaurya said gently.
"Yech(yes)... Dadda's princhess(princess) is also good girl", Siya replied proudly.
Shaurya smiled instantly at his daughter's adorable response.
Akansha quietly watched the father-daughter duo with a soft smile, completely failing to notice Bharti and Rashi entering the staff room.
"Yes... I know my Siya bear...", Shaurya started saying, but the moment he noticed Akansha signaling him with her hand, he immediately stopped talking.
"Okay Siya... say bye to Dadda now", Akansha said quickly.
Siya was about to protest, but before she could say anything further, Akansha disconnected the call immediately and walked away, completely ignoring Bharti and Rashi.
"That voice... it sounded too familiar", Bharti commented suspiciously.
"Um... yeah... but voices can sound similar", Rashi dismissed casually.
"I have never seen Akansha Dixit panic like this before", Bharti muttered thoughtfully.
Rashi ignored the comment because she already knew Bharti disliked Akansha and always looked for something negative to say about her.
"Mama bear... I was talking to Dadda...", Siya complained while walking back toward her classroom with her mother.
"I know, baby... but this wasn't the right place. We'll go home, and then you can talk to Dadda for as long as you want, okay?", Akansha explained patiently.
Siya nodded obediently as they reached her classroom.
After leaving Siya there, Akansha walked back to continue her back-to-back classes because the next day she had to visit the Secretariat for CR project work.
She had already requested Richa's parents to babysit Siya for the next two days because things were about to get hectic after the second phase of the CR project officially began.
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After Akansha abruptly disconnected the call, Shaurya immediately understood the reason behind it. He slipped his personal phone back into his trouser pocket and stepped out of the car, but before he could move further, Suraj rushed toward him and asked him to get back inside immediately.
Within seconds, the other commandos took their positions around the convoy, and the vehicles quickly moved away from the crowd.
"Sir... an attack is being planned on you. We received an intelligence report, and the team has already captured one of the suspects", Suraj informed seriously.
"An attack? During elections?" Shaurya frowned thoughtfully. "Definitely not the opposition's doing... then who?"
"We're still working on that. Right now, your safety is our priority", Suraj replied.