Chapter 40
Shaurya left Akansha's house after a while.
More than anything, he wanted to stay until his daughter woke up in the morning, but he couldn't take that risk. If Akansha's neighbors spotted him there at dawn, she would murder him without hesitation.
So he left with a heavy heart. Sleep was nowhere near him anyway. Instead of wasting time pretending to rest, he buried himself in preparations for the upcoming press meet.
Everything had already been planned carefully.
Just like they decided earlier, the social media campaign was slowly intensified while media channels subtly started discussing the rumors too, helping the news reach even the population that stayed away from social media and the internet.
Shaurya personally drafted the statement he planned to post on platform X and forwarded it to his PR team for refinements if needed.
The plan was simple.
The same day the statement went live, he would hold a press conference in the evening regarding the Assembly session and the recent bill amendments.
He already knew the media would definitely question him about his wife and daughter during the same briefing, and he intended to answer it there itself.
He deliberately avoided arranging a separate press conference for his family. A separate press conference would only make the issue appear bigger than it already was and drag unnecessary attention toward Akansha and Siya.
He wanted the entire matter to look casual.
Simple.
As if it wasn't some scandal powerful enough to shake his political career.
The next morning, his PR team urgently requested a meeting after reading the draft statement. Despite his packed schedule, Shaurya gave them fifteen minutes. The moment they entered his office, his PR head looked visibly disturbed.
"Sir... you really want to release this statement?" he asked cautiously, unable to hide the shock on his face.
"Yes", Shaurya answered calmly. "Proceed with the arrangements."
"Sir, this will outrage people... especially women voters", the PR head warned nervously. "And the opposition will never leave such a huge opportunity to destroy your image."
Before Shaurya could respond, Mr. Sharma grabbed the tablet from the PR head's hands and quickly read the statement himself.
The moment he finished, his face went pale.
"Sir..." Mr. Sharma looked genuinely horrified. "You cannot release this statement. This can completely destroy your political career."
Sweat formed on his forehead imagining the consequences. Meanwhile, Shaurya remained unbelievably calm.
"No, it won't, Mr. Sharma", he replied steadily. "The people of this state know my value as their Chief Minister. They aren't foolish enough to throw everything away because of one flaw."
But somewhere deep inside, even Shaurya knew this could destroy him politically. Still, he was willing to take that risk. Because no matter what happened, he refused to let anyone blame Akansha. So he deliberately shifted the entire blame onto himself, making the public sympathize with her instead.
Not because his wife needed sympathy — she was strong enough to stand alone against the world — but because this was the only way to keep her away from public scrutiny and media chaos.
"It's decided, Mr. Sharma", Shaurya said firmly before turning toward the PR head again. "I want this statement posted from my X account tomorrow morning at exactly 9 AM."
That was the end of the discussion. The PR team walked out helplessly.
Shaurya assumed the matter was settled. But by evening, an emergency party meeting was suddenly called.
The moment he entered the conference hall, his eyes darkened.
His drafted statement was already displayed on the projector screen.
"CM saab... are you trying to destroy not only your career but ours too?" Suresh, one of the senior MLAs and cabinet ministers, questioned angrily.
"Sir, what exactly were you thinking while writing this?" another minister demanded immediately. "You are practically admitting publicly that you abandoned your pregnant wife because you wanted to dedicate your life to politics and public service."
Another minister stood up in frustration.
"No matter how polished the wording is, people will only extract one meaning from this statement", he argued. "We won't survive the public outrage after this. Frankly speaking, we don't understand why you are so determined to destroy both your image and ours."
Then Virendar finally spoke. A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"He is trying to protect his wife by making the public sympathize with her."
That single sentence made Shaurya understand everything. His father had clearly manipulated someone from the PR team and leaked the statement internally.
Shaurya tried explaining his intentions repeatedly, but except for a handful of MLAs who trusted him blindly, nobody was willing to listen.
The arguments continued for nearly five hours straight.
Still, nothing was resolved. Shaurya remained stubborn about his stance while the MLAs stayed equally adamant against it.
Finally, Suresh stood up decisively.
"If you release this exact statement, most of us will resign immediately and demand fresh elections", he declared coldly on behalf of several ministers. "We are not sinking with you, CM saab."
And with that, he walked out of the hall. Meanwhile, Dev had silently listened to everything. He was still processing the disaster when his media head suddenly called him urgently.
"Sir, we received an interesting story", the man informed excitedly. "Honestly, this could even make you the next Chief Minister. I've mailed you the details along with the action plan. Please check it immediately."
Dev's expression darkened instantly.
"I'll check and call you back", he replied coldly. "But listen carefully — nobody takes any action without my direct approval. Not from anyone. If you fail to follow this instruction, you're fired."
Then he disconnected the call. The moment Dev opened the mail, shock spread across his face. It contained Shaurya's entire strategy. And an even bigger media manipulation plan attached to it. Dev instantly understood everything.
Shaurya must have deliberately leaked everything directly to the media channel because he already knew Dev would never agree to such self-destruction willingly.
Without wasting another second, Dev immediately called Shaurya.
"What the hell is this sh*t?" Dev exploded the moment the call connected. "Were you high on drugs while planning this, you ba**a*d? A**h*le!"
"Relax, Dev", Shaurya replied calmly. "This is the only way to protect Akansha. Haven't you seen how people are already blaming her just based on rumors?" His tone grew heavier.
"And if I casually announce everything now, people will definitely assume she did something because of which I left her. Once society forms an opinion, changing it becomes nearly impossible. I won't let anyone malign her name."
"I understand that", Dev argued immediately. "But there is another option. Show people that both you and Akansha made this decision together while still remaining together publicly."
Shaurya rejected it instantly.
"For that, Akansha would have to stand beside me publicly... and that would hurt her more, Dev. She doesn't even want to stay near me anymore. I cannot force her into this."
"But this is still the best option, Shaurya", Dev insisted desperately. "If the three of you stand together — you, Akansha, and Siya — eventually everything will calm down. Just convince her once."
"I don't want to", Shaurya replied stubbornly. Then his voice softened slightly. "She has already suffered enough because of me. Not anymore."
Dev shut his eyes in frustration. He knew this stubborn side of Shaurya far too well.
"And now that you know the plan", Shaurya continued calmly, "make sure everything proceeds exactly the way I intended." he said and disconnected the call.
Dev cursed loudly under his breath. Taking a deep breath, he immediately called his security head. Enough was enough. It was finally time Akansha learned a few truths. Because no matter what happened, Dev refused to stand aside and watch his best friend destroy himself like this.
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"Ansha... I have huge news for you!" Richa screamed while storming into Akansha's house.
"What's with that tone?" Akansha snapped irritably, but Richa ignored her as usual.
"Look at this", Richa said excitedly while showing her phone. "We got a massive story on Shaurya Singh Shekhawat. This alone is enough to destroy him... and the best part is, he chose this path himself."
The moment Akansha read the contents, she immediately understood what Shaurya had been planning all these days. And why. He was deliberately taking the blame upon himself to make the public sympathize with her.
He was willingly turning himself into the villain just to protect her image and make her appear like the victim.
Akansha hated it. But at the same time, she also knew no matter how mentally strong she was, public backlash on this scale was not easy to handle.
She knew she wouldn't survive that chaos calmly.
And that was exactly why Shaurya chose this route. Akansha didn't want his downfall.
But if he still decided to walk this path, then she knew he genuinely believed there was no other way left to protect her and Siya. Her chest tightened painfully thinking about the aftermath of his decision. What would happen to his political career after this?
Shaurya Singh Shekhawat was genuinely one of the finest Chief Ministers their state had ever witnessed.
Was it right to jeopardize the future of crores of people just for her and her daughter?
From Shaurya's perspective, he was prioritizing their safety.
But from the public's perspective? How was his decision justified?