Chapter 44 #4
"Your Dadda is bigger than all of us," he replied in her language itself, though he deliberately kept his tone low. People with dirty minds could twist even the simplest statements. Soon, they reached Shaurya's office cabin.
"We're here. Will you go inside by yourself? I have some work," Suraj asked.
Siya nodded confidently. The moment Suraj opened the door, she walked inside with her school bag hanging from one shoulder and her water bottle around her neck. He quietly shut the door behind her before leaving.
Even though Shaurya was in the middle of an important meeting, he had already instructed Suraj to send Siya directly inside whenever she arrived. The moment Shaurya noticed his daughter entering, his eyes softened instantly.
His office was huge, too huge for his voice to properly reach her from across the room. He turned toward Mr. Sharma, intending to ask him to settle Siya somewhere comfortably, but before anyone could move, the little girl's understanding nature stunned everyone present.
Siya looked at her father... Then at the people seated around him... And immediately understood he was busy.
Instead of running toward him, she simply lifted her tiny palm toward him as if assuring him that she would quietly wait.
Then she slowly placed her school bag on a chair, climbed onto the seat beside it, opened her water bottle, and calmly started sipping water.
The sight filled Shaurya's chest with indescribable pride.
Damn.
His wife had truly raised their daughter beautifully.
Even the Home Minister and senior officers couldn't help looking at Siya with softened expressions. The child was already adorable enough, but her mature little antics made her even more lovable.
Realizing everyone's attention had drifted toward his daughter, Shaurya cleared his throat lightly. The officers immediately straightened.
"So," Shaurya resumed firmly, "as I was saying, make sure opposition party leaders receive double security during campaigning as well. Public safety comes first. There shouldn't be any law and order issue. What happened during the last election must never repeat itself."
His stern tone instantly shifted the atmosphere back to work mode. After discussing a few more important points with DGP Mr. Pathak, the Home Minister, and the senior officers, the meeting finally concluded. While leaving, the Home Minister affectionately patted Siya's head.
The moment everyone left except Mr. Sharma—
"Daddaaa..."
Siya immediately jumped from the chair and started running toward him. Shaurya narrowed his eyes at once. The little girl instantly slowed down. Mr. Sharma bit back a smile watching the father-daughter exchange. Shaurya walked toward her himself before lifting her into his arms.
"How was school, my unicorn?" he asked, settling beside her on the sofa.
"Good... Teachel gave me stals(stars)... foul(four) stals????," Siya said proudly while showing him.
Shaurya kissed her forehead and praised her dramatically, making her grin proudly.
Soon he got her settled with colors and drawing sheets while discussing a few work-related matters with Mr. Sharma. After dismissing him, Shaurya finally focused completely on his daughter and started feeding her lunch.
By evening, Akansha finished her classes and Suraj dropped her back at Shaurya's residence.
A couple of hours later, Shaurya and Siya returned home too.
Technically, Shaurya still had several important meetings pending, but he didn't want to leave Akansha alone on their very first day there.
Thankfully, the remaining meetings involved only trusted people, so he shifted them to the residence itself.
They had dinner early. Akansha fed Siya while Shaurya quietly waited for his daughter to finish before starting his own meal with Akansha.
Once Siya finished eating, Akansha sent her away with Mrs. Sudha because she wanted to discuss something important with Shaurya. The moment they started eating, Akansha looked at him directly.
"Why was I nominated for the award?"
Shaurya frowned genuinely.
"You were? I didn't know."
Akansha narrowed her eyes immediately.
"Shaurya, don't play games. You head the project. How is it possible you don't know about it?"
He sighed softly before answering patiently.
"Yes, I head the CR Committee, but apart from being Education Minister, I'm also the Chief Minister of this state. Usually Mrs. Arora handles the nominations along with Mr. Samuel and Mr. Khanna. I only receive the final list for approval. In fact, I'm supposed to get it tomorrow."
Then he paused.
"How did you find out?"
"The printing staff mentioned it while preparing the copies," Akansha replied, calming down slightly.
Shaurya nodded once.
"Then it's a good thing. You're genuinely doing excellent work, Akansha. Honestly, it would've been surprising if your name wasn't nominated."
But instead of looking pleased, Akansha frowned harder.
"I don't need the award. Especially not while I'm still legally your wife.
People won't take even a second to twist things and question your integrity.
I don't care about your reputation personally, but no one will acknowledge my hard work.
They'll simply assume favoritism. So don't approve the list."
Shaurya calmly placed his spoon down before looking at her.
"It's human nature to form perceptions. Sensible people understand things correctly.
Foolish people don't. If we keep worrying about what people might think, we'll never be able to do anything right.
" His voice remained steady. "As the CR Committee head, I will approve the deserving list. According to me, hardworking and talented people deserve recognition, and you're definitely one of them.
I've known Mrs. Somya Arora for years. She would never make mistakes in identifying genuine talent.
So if your name is there, I cannot reject it unfairly. "
Akansha glared at him.
"If I end up getting that award, see what I do to you."
She quickly finished eating before walking away. Shaurya tried convincing her to listen, but she ignored him completely. He sighed deeply. Completely trapped. After finishing dinner, he headed toward his study for the remaining meetings.
Meanwhile, Akansha entered the bedroom and found Mrs. Sudha gently patting Siya to sleep.
"She slept?" Akansha whisper-asked.
Mrs. Sudha nodded tiredly.
"You should rest too," Akansha said softly. "You look exhausted."
The older woman smiled faintly before getting up.
Just then, her phone rang. It was the internal study line.
Shaurya requested coffee for ten people along with light snacks or homemade biscuits.
Seeing how drained Mrs. Sudha looked, Akansha quietly offered to prepare everything herself, and the older woman accepted gratefully.
A while later, the coffee and snacks reached Shaurya's study.
The moment Shaurya took the first sip, he recognized the taste instantly. A small smile appeared on his face. Without wasting time, he quickly texted his wife.
"Thank you."
Akansha simply reacted with a thumbs up ??.
"So... which areas should we cover during the first two campaign days, sir?" Manoj, one of Shaurya's most loyal MLAs, asked while placing his half-empty coffee cup down.
"Finish the coffee first. We'll discuss afterward," Shaurya replied calmly.
"I'm done, Shaurya saab. Thank you," Manoj said respectfully.
"Finish it properly," Shaurya insisted. "We still have a long discussion ahead, and I don't want anyone dozing off midway."
The actual reason, however, was entirely different.
He simply didn't want even a single drop of his wife's effort going to waste.
Something as simple as her making coffee for him despite being angry made him absurdly happy.
Sometimes, just one small thing from her felt enough to place him on cloud nine.
The meetings stretched late into the night. When Shaurya finally entered the bedroom, his heartbeat instinctively slowed seeing his wife and daughter asleep on his bed. No. Their bed.
Even that thought warmed something deep inside him.
After freshening up quietly, he moved toward the bed carefully. Usually he relied on his body clock rather than alarms, though he still set one every night out of habit. But tonight he switched it off immediately, unwilling to disturb Akansha or Siya.
He lay down silently on his side of the bed, but sleep stayed far away. Because his heart was caught between two completely opposite emotions. One side held overwhelming happiness.
Just watching his wife and daughter beside him made him feel like every wound inside him was slowly healing.
But the other side... That side remembered everything they suffered because of him. Especially Akansha. And that guilt pierced straight through his chest. He gently brushed his fingers through Siya's hair.
Almost instantly—
"Dadda..." she mumbled sleepily before turning toward him and snuggling into his chest.
Shaurya smiled softly before pulling his daughter closer and patting her gently.
"Dadda... Unicon stolly(story)..."
Even half asleep, she hadn't forgotten the unicorn story he promised her.
Shaurya almost laughed.
"Tomorrow, bacha... Sleep now."
"Daddaaa..." she whined again weakly.
"Sleep, both of you," Akansha muttered sleepily without even opening her eyes.
But the next second, Shaurya's heartbeat stumbled.
Because in her sleepy state, Akansha unknowingly rested her hand over his arm wrapped around Siya and softly started patting it, assuming she was patting her daughter.
Within moments, she drifted back into deep sleep.
The patting stopped but Shaurya stayed still.
Then very gently, he brushed her hair away from her face. His eyes filled with quiet love.
Would she ever forgive him? Maybe not. But before she could even consider forgiveness, he needed to tell her everything. Every truth.
"Soon..." he whispered while looking at her sleeping face. "Very soon."
No matter what decision she eventually made, one thing would never change. He would protect his wife and daughter till his very last breath. Whether they wanted him to or not.
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Shaurya woke up early and started his day with yoga, pranayama, and his usual strenuous workout before freshening up. His mornings always began before sunrise; otherwise, fitting hundreds of responsibilities into twenty-four hours would become impossible.
After getting ready, he entered the kitchen and started preparing breakfast for himself and Akansha while simultaneously mixing pancake batter for Siya. Mrs. Sudha walked into the kitchen and smiled seeing him cook with so much focus and enthusiasm.
"So... should I expect this side of you regularly from now on?" she teased while stepping inside.
Shaurya looked at her and smiled.
"Good morning, Mrs. Sudha. How are you feeling now? You must've been exhausted yesterday. Sorry about that."
Mrs. Sudha shook her head before patting his shoulder lightly.
"I am absolutely fine now. But tell me something... did Akansha tell you I was tired?"
"No," Shaurya replied while whisking the batter. "I guessed it when she made coffee for everyone last night. She wouldn't have entered the kitchen unless it was because of you."
Mrs. Sudha nodded knowingly.
"You still didn't answer my question, Shaurya," she said, folding her arms dramatically. "Am I finally getting to see this version of you every day now?"
He shook his head helplessly at her teasing.
"Mostly, yes. I always loved cooking. After taking office, I barely got the time for it, but now I'll make time. Especially when I know my wife and daughter enjoy my handmade food so much."
Then he remembered something.
"I made vermicelli for breakfast. Akansha likes it. Could you please reheat it when she comes downstairs?"
"Of course. And I'll make pancakes for Siya. You go, Mr. Sharma and Shweta must be arriving any minute now."
"No, that's okay," Shaurya replied immediately. "I'll make the pancakes too. Siya still has time to wake up, but Akansha will come down soon and breakfast should be served hot."
A while later, he walked into the hall where Shweta and Mr. Sharma were already waiting with files and schedules. Soon the discussion shifted completely into work mode.
Almost an hour later, Akansha came downstairs, fully ready for work, dressed in an Indian suit with her handbag hanging from her shoulder. She quickly finished her breakfast, internally regretting not being able to properly enjoy her favorite vermicelli, before walking toward the hall.
Shaurya immediately paused mid-discussion the moment he noticed her.
"You are leaving already?" he asked, looking at her bag.
"Yes. Mrs. Arora just called. There's some discrepancy in the data, so I'll have to go early." Then after a pause, she added— "Can you get Siya ready and drop her to school? If you're busy, leave it. I'll handle this and come back before—"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Siya," Shaurya interrupted quickly while getting up. "I'll ask Suraj to drop you. Did you take your lunch?"
"Shaurya, I'm getting late," Akansha said while turning to leave.
"I already packed—"
He immediately stopped himself after noticing the expression on her face because Mr. Sharma and Shweta were standing right there.
"I mean... I asked Mrs. Sudha to pack it," he corrected smoothly.
Right on cue, Mrs. Sudha arrived carrying Akansha's tiffin. Akansha quickly grabbed it, thanked her, and practically speed-walked out of the hall before Shaurya could embarrass her further. The moment she left, Shaurya called Suraj and instructed him to drop his wife safely at the Secretariat.