Chapter 41 #2
Others quickly joined in with questions.
"But how did you become part of such a huge committee if the school never officially sent your name?"
"And what exactly do you handle there?"
Akansha already understood they wouldn't stop unless she answered properly.
Moreover, she didn't want rumors spreading later that she got selected only because she was the Chief Minister's wife. So she decided to clarify things immediately.
"I was hired as the child psychologist for the committee", Akansha explained calmly. "The committee itself contacted me for the role. I attended interviews with all the panelists and got selected."
"All the panelists?" Bharti asked instantly. "Including Mr. Khanna, Mr. Samuel, and Mrs. Arora?"
Akansha nodded.
Bharti looked genuinely shocked because only candidates clearing the earlier rounds got interviewed directly by the head panel.
"Woah..." Bharti muttered. "Those are huge names. Mr. Khanna and Mrs. Arora are major educationists, and Mr. Samuel is one of the biggest names in the industry."
The others looked even more impressed now. Akansha only hummed softly and resumed her work, relieved the topic was finally ending.
Unfortunately, her relief lasted barely a few seconds.
"Akansha ma'am..." Rashi spoke again carefully. "You still didn't explain how you reached the committee in the first place."
Akansha looked up.
"The Chief Minister recommended my name to the panel", she answered honestly.
The entire room froze.
"CM... as in Shaurya?" Rashi asked slowly.
Akansha nodded calmly while already reading the dozens of questions forming on everyone's faces.
"He was once the MLA of my hometown", Akansha explained.
"I met him during a college event where I was working as an Assistant Professor.
He attended as the chief guest, and I proposed my curriculum revision ideas there.
" She continued, "He liked the proposal and promised to discuss it with the Education Minister back then, but things didn't proceed further at that time. "
Then she added,
"Years later, Mrs. Arora contacted me regarding the same project. I attended the interviews and got selected."
The staff room fell into complete silence. And Akansha mentally sighed in frustration. If merely knowing she had known Shaurya for years shocked them this much...
What would happen when they eventually learned he wasn't just someone she knew? He was her husband.
"Wow... So even after all these years, he still remembered your talent?
" Shipra said in disbelief. "Then whatever people say about him is actually true.
CM sir really does handpick capable people for important projects so nothing gets neglected.
God... we're genuinely lucky to have a Chief Minister like him. "
Akansha was honestly exhausted listening to Shaurya's praises. Somewhere deep inside, she did feel proud of him... but she had no intention of encouraging that side of her heart.
"Then why do you dislike him so much?" Rashi suddenly asked, catching Akansha off guard.
"Sorry? When did I say I dislike him?" Akansha replied calmly.
"You don't say it directly..." Bharti cut in. "But your behavior makes it obvious."
"I don't dislike him. I simply prefer staying away from anything related to him in the news," Akansha answered. Technically, it wasn't entirely a lie.
"Why though?" Deepak asked curiously.
Akansha ignored the question altogether. She had already revealed far more than she intended to. She honestly didn't have the patience to answer anything further.
"By the way, how did you even find out about this?" Akansha turned to Bharti. "I specifically asked Mr. Joshi to keep it confidential."
"I saw your leave application in Mr. Joshi's cabin. You had written the reason pretty clearly there," Bharti replied. "Or what? You thought nobody would ever find out how skilled you are at taking away other people's opportunities?"
Akansha slowly looked up from the papers in front of her.
"Excuse me? Taking away someone else's opportunity?
" she repeated calmly. "FYI, Mr. Joshi first approached me for the interview the moment Mrs. Arora's mail arrived.
I rejected it initially. Only after that was the opportunity offered to you, Bharti ma'am.
.. which unfortunately you failed to utilize. "
Then she added without even raising her tone,
"Maybe work on your own skills before trying to compete with me."
Bharti scoffed angrily and stormed toward the washroom.
The others tried hard not to laugh because they didn't want to offend Bharti further, but secretly they always enjoyed Akansha's brutally sharp replies.
"We're honestly proud that one of our colleagues is part of such a huge committee and works closely with the Chief Minister," Rashi said excitedly. "By the way... how often do you actually meet CM sir?"
"Not very often," Akansha answered shortly. "But we do have periodic reviews with him. He also personally clears documents after every phase gets completed, so we attend meetings for that too."
"You probably report directly to Mrs. Arora, right?" Deepak asked. "I heard she's a terrifyingly strict boss."
"You heard?" Akansha questioned slightly, genuinely surprised people outside knew about Mrs. Arora's working style.
"Actually, during the inauguration event, CM sir joked publicly about her being strict, remember?" Deepak explained. "That clip was shown repeatedly on news channels. I happened to watch it."
Akansha nodded in realization.
Right.
Parts of Shaurya's speech had been circulated heavily to spread awareness about the Curriculum Revision Committee, though most members' identities were kept confidential.
"Oh yes... she is strict," Akansha admitted. "But technically, I report to the Education Minister."
That single statement was enough to excite everyone again.
"You report directly to the CM?" Rashi almost gasped. "Tell us honestly... what kind of a boss is he?"
The next few minutes went by with Akansha answering their endless questions in short, clipped responses. Despite her irritation, she didn't snap at them because their curiosity about the committee was genuine. Eventually though, her patience reached its limit.
She excused herself and returned to evaluating papers while the others resumed discussing Shaurya and his mysterious wife.
"By the way, do you all know?" Rashi suddenly announced dramatically. "Dev Bisht is coming to our school for the Father's Day event."
Akansha's concentration immediately shifted toward their conversation.
"Opposition leader Dev Bisht?" Deepak asked in surprise.
Rashi nodded excitedly.
"Yes. His son Ishaan studies here. Akansha ma'am, you met him that day, remember?"
Akansha nodded quietly.
"That child is honestly adorable," Rashi continued. "He's always following Siya around."
"Akansha ma'am, looks like Siya is going to introduce her boyfriend very soon," Shipra joked playfully.
"She's literally a child, Shipra ma'am," Deepak laughed. "What are you even saying?"
"I'm joking, Deepak sir... relax," Shipra laughed before immediately looking at Akansha apologetically, worried she might have crossed a line. To everyone's surprise, Akansha simply smiled lightly.
"Well, I personally don't mind," she said calmly. "But Siya's father would probably suffer a heart attack."
The entire group burst into laughter. The surprise on their faces was obvious, and Akansha understood why. In all the years she had worked there, she had rarely participated in conversations this freely. It wasn't that she never spoke to them.
She did.
But never this comfortably... and definitely never this warmly.
"Is he really that possessive about her?" Rashi asked, amused.
"Overprotective," Akansha corrected immediately. "Actually, both of them are equally possessive of each other."
A faint smile appeared on her lips as she remembered something.
"The other day, Siya scolded him because he skipped dinner. She literally lectured him, then served food herself and fed him with her tiny hands."
Everyone instantly melted hearing that. They could perfectly picture little Siya bossing around her father adorably.
"So... when exactly are we meeting your adorable daughter's adorable father?" Shipra teased again.
Akansha didn't answer this time. She simply smiled faintly and returned to her work. Strangely enough, talking this freely with her colleagues actually felt... nice.
She didn't know what exactly had changed inside her, but for the first time in years, she felt some invisible burden loosening slightly from her chest. Maybe all these years, she had subconsciously feared what would happen if people discovered Shaurya was Siya's father.
Or worse... how they would react once they learned the truth.
What if they judged Siya? What if people assumed she was born out of wedlock?
How many people would she keep explaining herself to?
But now things were unfolding respectfully.
And she knew nobody would dare point fingers at Siya anymore.
Yes, she was nervous about the upcoming Father's Day function. ..
But she was excited too. Finally, her daughter would get to experience having her father beside her like every other child.
"God, I'm honestly excited to see Dev Bisht," Rashi sighed dramatically again. "That man is ridiculously handsome... though obviously not as handsome as Shaurya Shekhawat."
"Oh please, have some shame," Shipra laughed. "He's a married man, and you're literally his son's teacher."
"What did I even say that's shameful?" Rashi defended herself instantly. "I'm just excited to meet him. Besides, we're planning so many fun activities for the kids and their fathers. It'll actually be fun watching him participate."
Then she suddenly turned toward Akansha.
"So, Akansha ma'am... are you absolutely sure Siya's father won't attend the function?"