Chapter 44 #3
Akansha frowned initially, but the very next second, shock spread across her face. Dev Bisht? The prominent opposition MLA? One of the most talked-about young leaders in the state? Seeing her stunned expression, Shaurya couldn't help smiling faintly.
"Yeah," he admitted. "The opposition party's MLA, famous rival of mine in public eye... and my best friend in reality."
Akansha stared at him speechlessly.
Aakriti had always used her mother's surname instead of Dev's. Since she, like everyone believed her mother died while giving birth to her, Aakriti wanted to keep her memory alive through her name. Because of that, Akansha never once suspected she was related to Dev Bisht.
"We portray ourselves as rivals in front of the entire world," Shaurya continued. "Including my parents."
And from there, he slowly started telling her everything.
About how he and Dev built their fake rivalry.
About how they stayed on opposite sides publicly while secretly helping each other expose corruption from both parties.
About how their arrangement allowed them to keep political power balanced while still protecting people from exploitation.
But he carefully avoided mentioning Aakriti as that would raise doubts in Akansha's mind.
Aakriti was the real reason behind their secrecy. If his parents ever found out he and Dev shared such a close bond, there was always a risk they might eventually discover Aakriti's identity too.
And Shaurya would never allow that.
"So technically," Akansha said slowly after listening to him, "both of you joined rival parties to keep corruption under control from both sides?"
"Partly," Shaurya admitted. "There's another reason too... but I can't tell you that right now."
As he said it, he instinctively turned his face away. Because the moment Aakriti crossed his mind, guilt followed immediately after.
He and Dev had hidden their friendship initially to protect her. Later, as they grew older, politics became more than survival. They genuinely wanted to change society, and they realized power was the only thing capable of implementing change on a large scale.
But now another emotion occupied Shaurya's mind completely.
Guilt. Because every time Akansha stood in front of him, he forgot why he had entered her life in the first place.
Forgot revenge. Forgot Aakriti. And that realization itself filled him with self-hatred.
Still, he couldn't stop himself from wanting answers.
Because during these days of knowing Akansha, he had understood one thing very clearly — she wasn't the kind of woman who harmed people without reason. She wasn't impulsively cruel either. So why did she do that to Aakriti?
Whenever he remembered his sister lying broken in the hospital bed, his blood boiled with rage. Yet somehow, even that rage weakened in front of Akansha. He noticed her slipping into deep thought.
"Is something wrong?" he asked softly.
Akansha looked at him for a moment before speaking.
"I was just thinking..."
Then unexpectedly, she asked, "If I ever give you a chance... will you trouble me the same way you trouble Dev?"
Shaurya froze. His brain literally stopped functioning for a second.
"Shaurya," she called again, suppressing her smile at his stunned expression. "Breathe... and answer."
He understood exactly what she meant. But he genuinely couldn't believe this conversation was happening. Finally recovering, he nodded slowly.
"Yes," he answered honestly. "Because then you'll become just as close and important to me as Dev is."
Akansha looked at him quietly for a few seconds. Then finally she said, "Okay... then let's see how exactly you trouble me."
For one whole second, Shaurya forgot gravity existed. He looked like a man who had just been handed the entire world.
"Can I?" he asked carefully, slowly opening his arms toward her.
He wanted to hug her. Just once. Just enough to convince himself this wasn't a dream. But Akansha immediately shook her head.
"Not yet," she replied softly. "Give me some time to adjust."
Shaurya instantly dropped his hands back without argument.
"Okay," he agreed gently.
And that was how they started dating. But truthfully, Akansha had already fallen for him long before that moment.
For his personality. For his honesty. For his shameless charm.
For the way he noticed things nobody else ever did.
For the way he cared without making it feel suffocating.
With Shaurya, she never had to ask for anything.
He somehow understood what she needed before she even voiced it.
Even regarding his demanding schedule, she adjusted without complaints because she understood the nature of his work.
Slowly, without realizing it, she started sharing every little thing with him.
Her thoughts. Her frustrations. Her random moments.
Her softer side. The side nobody else ever got to see.
With him, she never felt the need to wear armor.
And that itself terrified her a little.
Because for the first time in years, Akansha Dikshit wasn't behaving like the strong woman carrying the entire world on her shoulders.
She was simply... a girl in love. But despite sharing almost everything else, she never opened up about her family.
Never told him how badly she was treated at home. And Shaurya kept waiting patiently.
Waiting to understand what exactly happened between her and Aakriti. Waiting to know how the same woman capable of so much kindness had once hurt his sister so brutally.
A few days later, Akansha introduced Akash to him.
Initially, Akash looked utterly horrified seeing his strict, terrifying elder sister dating someone.
.. especially their MLA. But Shaurya's nature won him over quickly.
Soon enough, Akash became comfortable around him and unintentionally started revealing parts of Akansha's life that she herself never spoke about.
And every new detail confused Shaurya further. Because none of it matched the image of a cruel woman he had created in his mind after Aakriti's breakdown.
Then one day, Akash finally mentioned Dilip.
Mentioned how Suman's fiancé claimed some obsessed girl was threatening suicide to stop the wedding.
Mentioned how their father's health collapsed after hearing all that.
Mentioned how Akansha eventually went to warn Aakriti to stay away from Dilip and Suman.
At that moment, Shaurya finally thought he understood the misunderstanding.
He assumed Akansha had simply received false information.
And for the first time, he genuinely wanted to clear everything peacefully.
He wanted to tell her Aakriti never attempted suicide to stop Suman's marriage.
That she was already emotionally shattered because of Akansha's words and Dilip's manipulation.
But before he could say anything, Akansha herself shocked him.
"Akash," she interrupted sharply one day when she found both men talking, "don't you have classes? Go study instead of gossiping like aunties."
Akash groaned dramatically.
"So rude, di... He sacrifices sleep to come meet you and you don't even appreciate me for giving company to your boyfriend till you arrive."
One glare from Akansha was enough to make him flee immediately after hurriedly saying goodbye to Shaurya. The moment he left, Akansha finally looked at Shaurya quietly.
"It wasn't that girl's fault," she admitted softly. Shaurya's jaw tightened instantly. "Aakriti," she added after a pause. "Her name."
His palms clenched automatically. If she knew Aakriti wasn't at fault... then why did she say all those horrible things to her?
"Then why did you do it, Akansha?" he asked finally, unable to stop himself anymore. "Why did you say all that to her?"
But Akansha dismissed the question entirely. She didn't tell him Dilip had manipulated her. Didn't tell him she later realized the truth and she secretly tried calling Aakriti's house to apologize but instead got threatened by Rajnath Bisht himself.
Because she knew Shaurya too well already. If he ever found out someone threatened her, he would never stay silent. And she didn't want more problems in Aakriti's life because of her existence. So she stayed silent. Unfortunately, her silence only deepened Shaurya's anger.
Because from his perspective, she acknowledged Aakriti was innocent... yet showed no remorse for hurting her. That contradiction destroyed him internally.
Yes, he had promised Aakriti that he would make Akansha feel the same betrayal she felt. But now he genuinely loved her. He couldn't destroy her forever. But somewhere inside him, the protective brother still wanted Akansha to experience at least a fraction of Aakriti's pain.
Just enough to understand it. Just enough to realize what she had done.
So he made the worst decision of his life.
He decided to hurt her for a few hours, make her feel his sister's pain for a few hours.
But fate had far crueler plans. Because those few hours of betrayal eventually stretched into months. .. Then years...
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Suraj dropped Akansha at the school before taking Siya to Shaurya's office. At that moment, Shaurya was in a meeting with the Home Minister and senior police officials regarding the security arrangements for the upcoming election campaign period.
"Uncle... Where is Dadda?" Siya asked curiously while walking beside Suraj.
The guards stationed across the corridor greeted Suraj respectfully as they passed, and the sight completely fascinated the little girl.
"Wow... Uncle... you are vely(very) big," Siya said innocently.
Suraj understood exactly what she meant and chuckled softly at her cuteness.