Chapter 42 #4
"Dadda... no laugh. Bad mannels(bad manners). Write well," she scolded again.
"Yes bacha... Dadda will make you proud," Shaurya promised obediently.
Satisfied, Siya grinned and ran toward her friends.
"Slowly... don't run," Shaurya called softly after her.
The moment she slowed down obediently, he sighed in relief.
"So all dads... ready?" the host asked.
"Yesss!" everyone replied enthusiastically.
The questions began one after another.
"What is your child's favorite cartoon?"
"Favorite color?"
"Favorite online game?"
"Favorite offline game?"
"Favorite food?"
"Favorite gift?"
"Whom do they love the most?"
"Favorite nickname?"
"Cats or dogs?"
"And lastly... how do they pronounce their name or mispronounce it?"
After a few minutes, the host clapped excitedly.
"Okay! All dads are done. Let's see how many marks they score out of ten."
The checking started.
"Amulya's father scored eight out of ten — highest till now!" the host announced proudly. "Now let's see how many marks Siya's dad gets. Siya... come here."
Siya rushed excitedly toward the stage while the host held Shaurya's answer board.
"First question... what's your favorite cartoon?"
"Unicon(unicorn)... What dadda write?" Siya asked eagerly.
"Unicorn," the host replied smiling.
Siya clapped happily.
"Next... favorite color?"
"Bluu(blue)... same like mumma and dadda."
"Correct! Favorite online game?"
"No game."
"Correct again! Your dadda wrote, 'Siya doesn't like online games.' Looks like your dadda knows you really well."
Siya immediately gave her shy little grin at the praise, making everyone adore her even more.
"Next question... favorite offline game?"
"Hide and seek... Mumma, dadda, I, and mamu playyyy," Siya answered proudly, unintentionally giving everyone tiny glimpses into the Chief Minister's family life.
"Looks like today Siya plans to expose her father's entire life publicly," Rachna typed in the group.
Akansha reacted with ?? while Dev sent another jealous emoji, making both women sigh at his ongoing drama.
"Correct again," the host announced. "Okay next... favorite food? Hmm... looks like dadda got this wrong."
The host assumed it couldn't possibly be correct because most children nowadays preferred pizza, burgers, or fries.
But Shaurya had written:
Baingan ka bharta.
"Binjal... bai... baingan..." Siya struggled adorably. "Dadda... what is that cully(curry) you make? I love it..."
The moment the audience realized the Chief Minister cooked, loud cheers and laughter erupted across the auditorium. Akansha immediately covered her face with her palm.
"Baingan ka bharta, baby," Shaurya corrected with a smile while glancing helplessly toward his wife.
She shook her head at him, clearly amused.
Shaurya wasn't embarrassed because he cooked.
He was embarrassed because people reacted as if cooking was some extraordinary thing for a man like him.
To him, it was normal. In fact, according to him, cooking wasn't a gender skill at all. It was simply a life skill.
"Yes... that..." Siya nodded excitedly. "I love it. Dadda makes yummy food."
The audience cheered even louder.
"Wow Siya... such a good girl. You prefer homemade food over junk food? Very healthy choice," the host praised.
"Yesss... Dadda makes yummy food," Siya repeated proudly.
"Okay then... who cooks better? Mumma or dadda?" the host asked innocently.
Shaurya immediately cleared his throat slightly. Understanding his discomfort, the host smartly skipped the question. Shaurya wasn't uncomfortable for himself. He simply didn't want people judging Akansha because he cooked better than her.
Urban audiences might find it cute, but he knew many people still carried narrow-minded ideas, especially in rural areas. He refused to let anyone disrespect his wife because of something so trivial.
"Okay next question... favorite gift?"
"Thich(this)," Siya answered proudly, showing the unicorn necklace around her neck. "Dadda got thich(this)."
"Correct again! Your dadda wrote unicorn necklace," the host confirmed.
"Okay next question... whom do you love the most? Mumma or dadda?"
Siya fell silent thinking seriously.
"Mama bear," she finally answered honestly.
Both Shaurya and Akansha smiled immediately.
"Ohhh... don't you love your dadda?" the host teased carefully, slightly nervous about Shaurya's reaction.
"I love dadda this much..." Siya stretched her tiny arms wide dramatically. "But mama bear mole(more)."
"Awww... won't your dadda feel bad?"
"Nooo... Dadda says he loves mumma most. So I too (and he says I should too...)" Siya explained innocently. "Because mumma is the stlongest(strongest), blavest(bravest), and the best."
The entire auditorium erupted into cheers.
Akansha hid her face again in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Shaurya's ears turned completely red.
He never imagined his own daughter would publicly expose him like this.
He was too scared to even look toward Akansha now.
He knew he was definitely dead after reaching home.
"Okayyy... next question. What's your favorite nickname?"
"Siyabear... Mama bear calls me Siya bear."
"Correct again! Next question..."
"Shhh... how many ale thele mole(are there more)?" Siya complained dramatically, already exhausted.
Shaurya laughed hearing her impatience. Usually she behaved patiently like him... but in moments like this, she became completely like her mother.
"Just two more, little girl. Sorry for tiring you," the host apologized while pinching her cheeks affectionately.
"What do you like more? Cats or dogs?"
"Puppies! I love them."
"Correct again! Looks like your dadda is going to score ten out of ten. Last question... tell us your full name."
Without hesitation, Siya proudly announced:
"Siyakliti Dikchit Sholya Shekawt."
Shaurya froze. Instantly, he looked toward Akansha. But she had already turned her face away deliberately.
"Oww... dadda got this wrong," the host announced. "He wrote Siyakliti Dikchit."
But strangely, Shaurya felt grateful he got it wrong. Years ago, he and Akansha had once dreamed together about their daughter's future name. He never knew Akansha had already taught Siya the changed version adding his name too.
"Hmm... so Siya's dadda didn't score ten out of ten," the host laughed softly, "but he still wins the competition with nine out of ten!"
The audience applauded loudly as the host handed a small trophy to Siya.
"Siya... give this to your dadda."
Siya proudly presented the trophy to Shaurya before clapping enthusiastically for both herself and her father.
"Second prize goes to Amulya's dad!"
As the game concluded, everyone slowly stepped down from the stage. Before returning to his seat, Shaurya shook hands with Amulya's father once again warmly. After all, the man was his daughter's best friend's father. And Shaurya intended to become the best father possible for Siya.
He had failed as a husband once. But he refused to fail the trust Akansha still placed in him as the father of their daughter.
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The moment Shaurya sat back in his seat with Siya settled comfortably in his lap, Akansha turned toward him and glared.
"RIP," Dev whispered dramatically near his ear.
Shaurya bit back a brutal response only because they were sitting in public.
"I'm the next Chief Minister," Dev added smugly.
"Aren't you enjoying my condition a little too much?" Shaurya muttered under his breath.
"I honestly wish I could come home with you and enjoy this live," Dev whispered back shamelessly.
Shaurya wanted to bang his head against the wall. Unfortunately, the crowd around him prevented him from committing violence.
"Siya bear..." Akansha called sweetly, looking at her daughter with a suspiciously calm smile. "Did Dadda make you proud today?"
"Yesss Mumma... a lottt," Siya answered enthusiastically, completely unaware of the sarcasm hidden in her mother's tone.
"Of course he did," Akansha replied softly, finally looking at Shaurya. "He made me proud too."
Shaurya gulped.
That calm tone scared him far more than shouting ever could. He genuinely didn't know what future awaited him once they reached home.
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After the Father's Day segment ended, the Family Day celebrations officially began. A few more games and activities followed afterward.
Sometime later, Shaurya received an urgent update regarding work.
He clearly didn't want to leave the function midway, but Akansha assured him it was fine because the major events involving him and Siya were already completed. From there onward, most of the activities were focused more on extended family participation, and Akash would be enough to handle Siya.
She also reminded him that the remaining games mostly tested family bonding and interaction rather than parent introductions. Only then did Shaurya reluctantly decide to leave. Of course... only after obtaining formal permission from his daughter first.
"Siya... baby, Dadda has to go now," Shaurya started carefully. "Something urgent came up."
"Nooo... No Dadda..." Siya immediately protested. "Pwease(please) don't go."
She instantly started throwing tantrums, hugging his neck tightly.
"Go... I'll handle her," Akansha assured him calmly.
But Shaurya still looked reluctant.
"If you stay any longer, people will start assuming you don't work at all and simply sit idle the whole day," Akansha remarked casually.
Shaurya chuckled hearing that.
"I'm serious, Shaurya," she continued with a perfectly straight face. "I'll personally tell everyone you spend the entire day at home playing with Siya. That's clearly why you know so much about her."
This time, Shaurya immediately believed the threat. One look at his wife's serious expression told him she was absolutely capable of doing exactly that.
Without wasting another second, he quickly convinced his daughter somehow and escaped before Akansha publicly destroyed his image herself.