Chapter 39
Akansha unlocked the door and Shaurya quietly walked inside with Siya in his arms. His hoodie completely concealed his face, making it impossible for anyone to recognize him.
But unfortunately, the neighbors had already noticed that a man was frequently visiting Akansha's house.
"Akansha... beta, one minute..." a man in his early fifties called out from nearby.
"You go inside with Siya", Akansha immediately told Shaurya.
He nodded silently and walked in.
After settling Siya down with her toys, Shaurya quietly moved near the closed door, trying to overhear the conversation happening outside.
Akansha lived in a decent family neighborhood filled with individual houses. Everyone knew everyone there.
"Akansha... we have known you for the past four years", the elderly man began carefully. "Despite being a single parent, the society agreed to rent you this house only because of Mr. Upadhyay's recommendation. And honestly, we never regretted that decision. But these days..."
His gaze shifted meaningfully toward her closed front door. Akansha instantly understood where the conversation was heading.
"Please don't hesitate, uncle. Just tell me clearly what the issue is", she replied calmly.
Inside the house, Shaurya's phone buzzed.
"Stay inside and don't come out no matter what", Akansha texted quickly, already aware of his impulsive nature whenever it involved her or Siya.
She knew if someone crossed the line, he would immediately rush outside to defend her.
"These days some man keeps visiting your house late at night", the president's wife interrupted bluntly. "And we haven't even seen his face properly, so who knows whether it's the same man every time or different men."
"Enough!" the society president snapped at his wife immediately. "At least learn how to speak properly at this age. You have two daughters yourself."
Akansha was already prepared to give the woman a sharp reply herself, but seeing the old man scold her first, she controlled her temper.
"You don't need to worry, uncle. He is Siya's father", Akansha clarified firmly.
Her phone buzzed again.
"Please tell them I am your husband too. Otherwise these people won't stop. And that lady... I seriously need to show her her place."
Akansha clenched her fists reading the message. This man and his impulsiveness.
People who called him the calmest and coolest politician should really witness this version of him someday, she thought irritably.
"Siya's father?" the woman repeated suspiciously, raising her brows.
She looked ready to continue provoking until the rat came out.
Oops... she meant Shaurya.
"Yes", Akansha corrected coldly. "My husband as well."
The woman looked visibly startled.
"Oh! We all thought he was dead. Then where did he suddenly appear from? At least introduce him to us once", she demanded again.
"I never told anyone my husband was dead, aunty", Akansha replied, already exhausted by the woman's nonstop assumptions.
"But you never corrected anyone either", the woman argued shamelessly. "Then call him outside. We want to meet him. And why is he always roaming around in hoodies as if he's hiding his face from the entire world?"
Damn.
The woman really had eagle eyes.
"Aunty... I can't introduce him right now", Akansha replied patiently despite her thinning patience. "And he wears hoodies because he likes wearing them. He's not some criminal hiding from society. He simply prefers keeping his personal life private, that's all."
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. She sounded as if he were some celebrity.
"Huh... the way you're talking, anyone would think he is the Prime Minister of India", the woman taunted sarcastically.
"Will you please stop now and go inside?" her husband snapped again, finally silencing her.
The woman stomped away angrily. The elderly man sighed before turning back toward Akansha apologetically.
"Akansha beta, please don't mind her words", he said gently. "I only wanted to confirm who the man visiting your house was. That's all. And now that you've clarified things, I don't need any proof." He looked uncomfortable for a moment before continuing.
"Some families in the society noticed him visiting frequently, and since only families stay here... people started assuming things."
"It's okay, uncle", Akansha replied calmly. "But please ask aunty to be careful with her words. I stayed quiet only because of you. Otherwise you already know me." The old man smiled awkwardly.
"And don't worry... I'll introduce him properly very soon."
Akansha hated acknowledging Shaurya as her husband aloud. But unfortunately, that was still the truth.
Well... most of her hated it.
But somewhere deep inside, there was still a tiny part of her that felt content calling him that.
She simply ignored that part because no matter how much pain he gave her, a small piece of her would probably always love him.
Thankfully, her rational side was stronger now.
She would never become an emotional fool and destroy herself in love again.
"No problem, beta. I trust you", Mr. Bansal assured her kindly. "And don't worry, I'll handle the society people."
Akansha gave a faint nod before her expression hardened again.
"And also ask those society people where their social conscience disappeared when Kavita was getting abused by her husband", Akansha said bitterly.
Mr. Bansal immediately lowered his gaze.
"If they can notice a man visiting my house at night and sit around discussing what happens inside my house, then they definitely could have heard Kavita and her daughter's screams too."
Her voice grew colder.
"But nobody stepped forward to help her. Everyone locked themselves inside their homes because they were scared of police trouble. If everyone had raised their voice together that night, the police wouldn't have taken us into custody."
Mr. Bansal stood there silently, unable to meet her eyes. That was the very same night Akansha first met Shaurya.
She didn't exactly regret it anymore because her daughter finally got her father and Siya was genuinely happy now... but yes, she still wished that night hadn't unfolded the way it did.
"I'm sorry, Akansha", Mr. Bansal apologized sincerely. "I should have come to help you that night instead of giving in to my wife's fears."
His voice turned heavier with guilt.
"In some way, all of us are responsible for what happened. But I promise you this... you won't be alone from now onwards."
With that, he quietly walked away. Akansha took a deep breath before finally entering the house.
"I'm sorry... just give me a few more days. I'll sort out this entire mess", Shaurya apologized the moment she walked in.
Akansha didn't even bother responding.
"Yayyy... Dadda losht(lost)... I win!" Siya suddenly squealed excitedly as she jumped out from her hiding spot.
Akansha instantly understood what had happened.
While Shaurya was busy eavesdropping on her conversation with the society president, little Siya assumed her father had failed to find her during hide-and-seek.
Poor child had no idea her father got distracted spying on her mother instead of searching for her.
Shaurya had initially tried distracting her with toys, but Siya wanted to play with him instead. So he told her to hide while he "searched" for her.
Clearly, he failed miserably.
"Hide and seek at this hour?" Akansha asked sternly, looking at the father-daughter duo. "Siya... it's already past your bedtime. Chalo, go to sleep now."
"Mamabear... not sleepy", Siya whined immediately.
"Siya..." Akansha warned again in a firmer tone.
"I want to play with Dadda... pwease mumma..." Siya pleaded, wobbling her lips as tears gathered in her eyes.
"Ten more minutes won't really—" Shaurya started cautiously before instantly shutting up after receiving a glare from Akansha.
"Go to bed", Akansha repeated firmly, pointing toward the bedroom.
The moment Siya started crying, Shaurya immediately picked her up in his arms.
He gently rocked her while walking around, trying to calm her down. Seeing tears in his daughter's eyes genuinely shattered him.
"No... no, Siya... my brave unicorn doesn't cry like this", Shaurya whispered softly while kissing her hair. "Mumma will let you play, hmm? Don't cry... shhh... calm down, my bacha... Mumma loves you a lot..."
Then he deliberately looked toward Akansha.
"In fact, Mumma will even play with us. Hai na, Mumma?"
"Dadda... my mumma", Siya corrected possessively, instantly hugging Akansha tighter.
That innocent possessiveness made Akansha smile despite herself.
"Okay... only fifteen minutes. Deal?" Akansha finally surrendered, making both father and daughter grin widely.
The two looked unbelievably similar with those childish grins on their faces. This time Akansha became the seeker while Shaurya and Siya went to hide. Shaurya first helped Siya hide properly before quietly choosing a hiding spot for himself too.
Akansha found Siya almost immediately because of her uncontrollable giggles, but she deliberately ignored her first. Catching Siya too quickly would only make the little girl cry again.
So instead, she searched for Shaurya first and found him. Siya dramatically slapped her forehead in disappointment seeing her father's poor hiding skills. Later, after pretending to search a little more, Akansha finally "found" Siya too.
"Uffoooo, Dadda... you don't know how to play properly. I will teach you", the little girl declared seriously.
Shaurya listened attentively as if receiving life advice while pretending to feel deeply offended at getting caught so easily. After playing three more rounds, the trio finally moved toward the bedroom.
Just like Siya wanted, she slept on top of her father's chest and then stubbornly forced her mother to lie beside them too.
Akansha reluctantly agreed.