Chapter 39 #4
Jay immediately shifted his attention toward her, talking more to keep her entertained, and Siya became active again instantly.
"So when will you officially join there?" Akansha asked him.
"I still have to wait", Jay replied. "Neither the promotion nor the transfer is officially announced yet. It'll probably take a couple more months... but honestly, I'm happy. Finally I'll get to serve my own people."
Akansha smiled softly, hearing that. One of the biggest reasons she connected with Jay was his madness to serve people. The same madness existed in Shaurya too. Just a hundred times stronger.
Despite all her complaints against Shaurya, the similarities between Jay and him unconsciously made her lower her guard around Jay little by little.
Jay was Richa's paternal uncle's son. Years ago, during Akansha's delivery complications, he was the one who coordinated with doctors here and ensured she got proper treatment on time.
Back then everything was chaotic, and without Jay's contacts, things could've gone terribly wrong. For that alone, Akansha would remain grateful to him forever.
Since Richa practically lived at Akansha's house most of the time, Jay also spent a lot of time there whenever he visited from Bangalore. Over the years, they became genuinely good friends.
Though it took Akansha a very long time to come out of her rigid shell and behave normally around him.
Back at the Secretariat, Shaurya finally lost patience. He immediately called Akansha. After releasing a tired sigh, she answered the call. Even that tiny expression hurt him. Still, swallowing his emotions, he spoke calmly.
"Where are you?"
From his tone alone, Akansha immediately understood he was upset. Or more specifically... jealous. And she also knew he already knew exactly where she was.
"I already told you", Akansha replied coldly while walking a little away from the table. "You are only allowed to ask questions related to Siya."
She deliberately lowered her voice because she neither wanted to speak rudely before Siya and Jay nor explain Shaurya's existence to Jay. Watching her walk away secretly to speak to him irritated Shaurya even more.
"My mistake", he replied bitterly. "Where is Siya then?"
"With me. We came out for lunch", Akansha answered shortly.
"With whom?" he asked immediately.
Akansha shut her eyes briefly in frustration.
"I know you already know everything", she snapped quietly. "And don't you dare spy on me or question me like this. I am not answerable to you anymore. Better remember that."
And before he could respond, she disconnected the call. Standing there, Akansha closed her eyes tightly for a second, trying to calm herself.
Ironically, Shaurya was the one who faced the worst of her anger, fury, and bitterness. Yet he continued doing things that only earned him more of it... almost as if he willingly accepted whatever she gave him. Deep inside, she knew that was the truth.
After the call disconnected, Shaurya immediately asked Ashwini to deactivate the CCTV access. If Akansha didn't want him spying on her, he wouldn't continue. But he would definitely ask her about Jay personally. She had threatened to block him if he called for reasons unrelated to Siya.
Fine.
Then maybe he would simply visit her directly. And if not through the front entrance... perhaps from the back. That way nobody would notice him. Later, Akansha and Siya returned to her office.
By evening, Jay picked them up again and the three went out together. Soon, Richa joined them too. Although Akansha and Richa carefully hid their issues in front of Jay, he could still sense the tension between the two best friends.
Still, he wisely chose not to comment on it.
After dinner, Jay and Richa dropped Akansha and Siya home before leaving for Richa's house.
It was almost midnight when Shaurya finally decided to sneak into Akansha's house from the backside by climbing the compound wall.
"Sir... what if someone notices you and mistakes you for a thief?" Suraj asked nervously.
Never in his life had he imagined that the Chief Minister of the state would climb walls to enter his own wife's house like some criminal.
"It's 2:30 in the night, Suraj. Who exactly is going to notice?" Shaurya muttered while adjusting his sleeves nervously. "And stop putting these thoughts into my head. I'm already tense enough."
"Nervous about getting caught?" Suraj asked cautiously.
"No... nervous about what happens after getting caught", Shaurya corrected seriously. Suraj looked at him in horror. "Not by others, Suraj... by my wife", Shaurya clarified helplessly. "I'm terrified of how she'll react after catching me."
Suraj silently nodded. Despite all his careful planning, this mission already looked dangerous.
"Stay here. I'll message you when we have to leave", Shaurya instructed.
"Sir, I'll come inside with you", Suraj offered again for what felt like the hundredth time.
"No. Stay here", Shaurya refused immediately. "This isn't some terrorist's house that you're panicking so much. It's my wife's house."
"That's exactly why I'm more scared", Suraj muttered under his breath.
Shaurya glared at him instantly.
"Waise(by the way)... you're right", Shaurya suddenly muttered to himself. "Even terrorists might think twice before attacking me... she definitely won't."
"Sorry, sir?" Suraj asked, not hearing him properly.
"Nothing", Shaurya sighed. "Just wait for my message... and pray for me."
With Suraj's help, Shaurya finally climbed over the wall. The compound wall was much higher than he expected, and despite Suraj's support and techniques, Shaurya still ended up with a few scratches.
Thankfully, all the physical training he started after getting stabbed by his father's men had strengthened him considerably. Meanwhile, inside the house, Akansha suddenly froze hearing the faint sound of someone landing near the backyard.
The lights inside the house were still on, making Shaurya realize she hadn't slept yet. And knowing her, she was probably panicking already. He immediately texted her.
"It's me... don't panic. Please open the back door. I need to talk to you."
Akansha stared at the message in disbelief.
"Are you freaking kidding me? You jumped my f**king compound wall and trespassed into my house?"
"Please open the door. We can talk", he replied quickly.
"Leave. I'm not opening the door."
Shaurya clenched his jaw stubbornly before typing again.
"I'm not leaving until I know about Jay Upadhyay."
Akansha's irritation instantly exploded.
"THEN DIE THERE."
She was already emotionally exhausted after learning the truth about still being married to him. And now, meeting Jay Upadhyay again had dragged back memories that felt sinful to her now. On top of that, this stubborn man had crossed every possible limit tonight.
For almost half an hour, Shaurya waited outside stubbornly. Then, as if fate itself hated him, it suddenly started raining heavily. Suraj called repeatedly, asking him to return, but Shaurya refused stubbornly.
Finally, he texted her again.
"Jaan, please open the door... I'm completely drenched. I have an entire state to run. I seriously can't afford getting sick."
Akansha would've probably opened the door immediately... if not for that one word.
Jaan.
That alone irritated her beyond limits. Still, another hour later, his next message appeared.
"I'm shivering now. Day after tomorrow, the UN delegation is arriving and I have to host them. Please open the door."
The moment she read "I'm shivering", all her anger weakened instantly.
No matter how much pain he caused her, she still couldn't stop herself from worrying about him. Finally, she opened the back door.
"Go change first", she ordered coldly. "I've shifted the heater to the hall. Change and come there."
Thankfully, Shaurya still had spare clothes at her house. After changing, he quietly walked into the hall where Akansha had already arranged blankets around the heater. Without saying anything, she wrapped the blankets around him herself because he was visibly shivering badly.
Slowly, the heater and blankets helped him recover. Akansha brought him khada while glaring murderously at him the entire time. Shaurya quietly drank it without arguing. Suddenly, his phone pinged. A voice message from Suraj accidentally played aloud.
"Sir... I'm responsible for your safety, but right now I genuinely feel like I personally planned your murder by sending you alone into a lion's den..."
Shaurya immediately tried stopping the audio, but thanks to the blankets tangled around him, his phone slipped straight into Akansha's hands. She slowly looked up at him and glared.
Before Shaurya could explain anything, another voice message popped up and she played it.
"Sir... did you enter the den or are you still standing in the rain? At least take the umbrella and raincoat. You can't stay outside the whole night..."
Akansha's glare darkened further.
"Kaisa Chief Security Officer hai(What kind of Chief Security Officer is he)... literally planning my murder", Shaurya muttered to himself.
"So your CSO thinks I'm some kind of devil?" Akansha asked dangerously while typing a reply to Suraj informing him Shaurya entered safely.
"No... lioness", Shaurya corrected nervously. "That's what he actually meant."
"Shut up", Akansha snapped immediately. "Not one more word. Right now I genuinely feel like killing you, but I don't want to dirty my hands."
Shaurya quietly looked everywhere except at her.
"Now tell me one thing", she continued furiously. "Why the hell are you even here, Shaurya? Couldn't you simply call?"
Shaurya immediately opened his mouth.
"You said—"
But one glare from her shut him up instantly.
"I would prefer your phone calls over your physical presence any day", she said coldly. And damn... that hurt. Even Shaurya looked away this time. Finally, he directly asked the question eating him alive.
"Who is Jay Upadhyay?"