Chapter 38 #3
Until then, his mother limited herself to taunts and passive cruelty. But once she realized her son was growing close to Akansha, everything intensified.
Akansha never complained because she believed he wouldn't care. Meanwhile, Shaurya remained unaware of what was happening inside the house. Mrs. Sudha, whom he trusted with Akansha's care, was often deliberately kept away by his mother.
"No, but physical harm isn't the only way to hurt someone, Shaurya", Akansha said, her voice trembling emotionally. "No matter your reasons... no matter how many truths were hidden from me... you can never justify the pain and torture I went through in your house."
Her tears finally spilled over.
"There are so many things you still don't know. So many incidents I never shared with you. But I would have... I definitely would have, if you had married me out of love instead of retribution."
Shaurya shut his eyes painfully.
"I tried... I still tried to make our relationship work because I believed... or maybe I just wanted to believe... that you loved me." She laughed bitterly through her tears. "What a fool I was."
Tears rolled down Shaurya's face too, and he wiped them away harshly.
"I wanted to tell you everything. I wanted to cry in your arms and tell you how your mother treated me... but I didn't."
Akansha looked straight into his eyes.
"You used to ask me every day if I had any problems. But you knew me, Shaurya. You knew I was never someone who shared my pain easily. I needed to be pushed."
Her voice cracked.
"Despite how much I loved you... despite how comfortable I felt with you... I never even spoke about my parents to you properly. Then how did you expect me to complain about your mother just because you casually asked me once in a while?"
"Not casually", Shaurya immediately defended himself. "I genuinely wanted to know. Yes, I had complaints against you because of what happened with Aakriti, but I could never allow anyone else... or even myself... to hurt you."
His voice weakened.
"I asked because I wanted to solve your problems."
Before he could continue, Akansha grabbed his collar angrily as tears streamed down her face.
"Then you should have asked with love, Shaurya!" she cried. "You should have sat beside me and asked me like a responsible husband. Like a man who genuinely loved and wanted to protect me."
Her grip tightened.
"I might not have told you the first time... but you shouldn't have given up. Why did you give up so easily?"
Her voice broke completely.
"You made me feel like an obligation... not your wife."
Years of buried pain and resentment finally began pouring out of her. And this was only the beginning.
"I'm sorry..." Shaurya whispered brokenly. "But I really love you... I love you so much..."
He cupped her face gently, tears filling his eyes, but Akansha immediately jerked his hands away.
"No... You didn't", she denied painfully. "You never loved me. And the day I left after signing those divorce papers, I stopped loving you too."
Shaurya shook his head frantically.
"I realized you didn't even deserve a place in my thoughts anymore", she continued harshly.
"Please don't say that... Akansha... I didn't marry you for retribution. Please hear me out", Shaurya pleaded desperately.
"Really?" Akansha mocked bitterly. "Then tell me you didn't approach me for retribution in the first place."
Shaurya lowered his head silently, cursing himself.
His betrayal had destroyed every bit of trust she once had in him. And he knew trusting people never came easily to Akansha in the first place. Yet despite knowing that, he still went ahead with his revenge.
One moment of anger, hatred, and frustration had erased every act of love he had ever shown her.
"I can't waste my time with you anymore. If you have anything else to talk about regarding Siya, then do it. Otherwise, I'm leaving", Akansha said coldly.
She waited for a few moments. But Shaurya neither lifted his head nor uttered a single word.
Taking his silence as the end of the conversation, Akansha quietly walked away.
"I love you, Akansha", he whispered to himself brokenly.
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"I love him, bhai", Aakriti finally confessed after weeks of silence.
Shaurya and Dev froze in shock.
Love failure? Was that the reason behind her suicide attempt?
"Who?" Shaurya immediately asked. "Aakriti, tell us his name... Dev and I will talk to him."
But Aakriti simply shook her head before leaning back lifelessly against the bed, her eyes staring into emptiness as memories from the past few months consumed her mind.
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"Di... Please help us... You are our only hope... Please", Suman pleaded desperately, holding Akansha's hands.
"Shut up, Suman", Akansha snapped angrily. "If this guy really loved you, he should have stayed away from Aakriti. I saw him flirting with her multiple times. I warned him too... I warned Aakriti as well."
Suman and Dilip — Aakriti's senior — had been secretly dating for years.
Akansha had no idea about their relationship initially, but she did notice one thing very clearly — Aakriti had developed a huge crush on Dilip.
Although Akansha never interacted much with Aakriti outside class, she knew the girl admired her deeply.
And like every sincere teacher, Akansha genuinely wished well for her.
But Dilip was different. Akansha had seen him flirt with Aakriti several times. She knew Aakriti was innocent, but Dilip wasn't. Whether intentionally or not, he was feeding the girl's feelings and giving her false hope. That was why Akansha interfered.
She called both of them to her cabin and warned them to stay away from each other. Aakriti respected Akansha and tried following her advice to some extent, but Dilip never stopped. Every time he saw Aakriti in college, he flirted with her openly until eventually the girl gave in emotionally.
Akansha warned them repeatedly, but neither listened. Eventually, she stopped interfering. They were adults. They could make their own decisions. But a few days later, Suman came to her with the same man, claiming him to be her boyfriend. And suddenly everything made sense.
The "powerful girl" Suman was talking about was Aakriti.
Now Suman wanted Akansha to make Aakriti step away from Dilip without revealing that he was already in a relationship with someone else. Dilip was terrified that Aakriti's influential family would forcefully marry him to her once they realized he had raised her hopes despite already dating someone.
"Di... please..." Suman begged emotionally. "You have taken responsibility for our family for years. You educated me, fulfilled all our needs, did everything for us... Please do this one thing for me too. My life will finally settle, di... please."
Akansha fell silent.
Since childhood, she had been working endlessly for her family. Even during school, their household survived mostly on scholarships and Olympiads won by her. She was brilliant, and her mother depended on her financially for almost everything.
Akansha always dreamt of learning cooking from her mother.
Her mother was an exceptional cook, and every time Akansha saw Suman cooking happily beside their mother in the kitchen, her chest tightened painfully.
Because her mother never allowed her near the kitchen.
She always told Akansha to focus on studying, earning money, and fulfilling the family's responsibilities instead.
Even when Akansha offered to help, her mother refused, saying Suman would handle household work.
Sometimes Akansha genuinely felt less like a daughter and more like an ATM card.
Yet despite everything, if there was one thing she loved obsessively, it was her family.
Securing her parents' future and settling her siblings' lives had become her life's purpose.
Her younger brother Akash was serious about civil services and had direction in life. But Suman worried her. She had neither interest in studies nor any real skills. The only thing she had been taught was how to become a good housewife.
"What's the guarantee that he won't leave you after I solve his problem?" Akansha finally asked seriously.
"Di... we already told you, we're going to marry soon. He loves me and I love him", Suman argued emotionally.
Akansha looked at Dilip coldly.
"I don't trust him. If you want me to agree, then he has to assure me he will marry you. I want your future secured."
"Okay, ma'am", Dilip immediately agreed. "I'll bring my parents to your house. We'll do the roka. Does that satisfy you?"
After thinking for a while, Akansha finally nodded.
"I hope you'll stay away from Aakriti... and every other girl too", she warned him sharply before leaving.
A few days later, Akansha called Aakriti to her cabin. She explained that Dilip was merely flirting with her and was not serious about her at all. Akansha also genuinely believed he wasn't the right man for Aakriti.
Of course, she wasn't particularly impressed with Dilip herself, but Suman loved him and wanted to marry him. Akansha knew her sister too well. Even if she opposed the marriage, Suman would still choose Dilip eventually. And as always, their mother would support Suman blindly.
Akansha simply wanted to avoid another family drama.
Since her mother already knew about Suman's relationship and approved of it, Akansha chose not to interfere further.
And Aakriti trusted her blindly.
The moment Akansha said Dilip wasn't a good man, Aakriti stepped away from him completely despite loving him deeply.
Still, somewhere inside, she wanted to confirm things herself. She even considered asking her brothers to investigate Dilip because maybe Akansha misunderstood him.
And if Dilip genuinely loved her... she wanted a future with him.
Because no matter how much she tried, she couldn't forget him.
But then everything shattered.
One day, Aakriti came across pictures from Dilip and Suman's roka ceremony. Dilip himself had posted them.