Chapter 46 #2
Deep down, he knew Akansha was mature enough to understand that his love had become genuine somewhere along the way. But betrayal this deep...Wasn't something anyone could forget overnight.
"What if you hadn't fallen in love with me for real, but I had?" she asked quietly before laughing bitterly.
"No... actually don't answer that. That was your plan from the beginning, wasn't it? To break my heart?"
Her eyes finally met his.
"So this was revenge." A hollow smile appeared on her lips. "Now I understand why you never left despite how badly I treated you initially. Everyone else walked away from me at some point... but you stayed." She nodded slowly.
"I thought your love was strong enough to stay. But now I understand. It wasn't love. It was revenge."
She looked straight into his eyes.
"Congratulations, Mr. Shekhawat. You succeeded in breaking my heart." Then she added coldly—"But remember one thing... you can never break me."
"You are misunderstanding this—"
"No," she cut him off immediately. "I won't let you fool me again."
"I love you, Akansha. I genuinely love you. I want to live with you," Shaurya said desperately. Akansha laughed painfully.
"I love you too," she spat. "Far more than your revenge-obsessed brain could ever realize." His breathing hitched. "But I don't want to live with you."
Shaurya felt something inside him crack hearing that.
"Don't say things you don't mean," he whispered.
"Yes... I wanted you to feel the same betrayal Aakriti felt. But not like this. Never like this." He stepped closer carefully. "Don't forgive me if you don't want to... but please let me explain. Aakriti could've died. I know what I did was wrong, but—"
"Stop it, Shaurya!" Akansha suddenly screamed. "I don't care why you did it. I don't care if your sister dies. I don't f**king care."
She didn't mean those words. But right now, rage had completely taken over her pain.
"Akansha..." Shaurya's tone hardened slightly for the first time. "Don't talk about Aakriti like that." His jaw clenched. "You didn't see what your actions did to her. You and that ba**a*d Dilip broke her completely. And whatever happened in that hospital destroyed her further."
He inhaled sharply.
"She's finally recovering now. Please don't use such words for her."
But Akansha only grew colder.
"You know what?" she laughed bitterly. "I won't just talk about her like that." Her eyes burned with fury. "I'll break her now. I'll drag her back to the exact same place she once was in."
She stepped closer.
"What will you do then, Mr. Shekhawat? Come take revenge on me again? Do it. Here's an open challenge. Stop me if you can."
Then she turned and walked away. Dev, who had arrived behind Shaurya after following him there, had heard everything.
"Akansha..." Dev called softly. She halted briefly.
"Thanks for trying to tell me the truth earlier," she said quietly without turning around.
"But I was a fool back then. But, not anymore."
And with that, she walked away before Dev could respond.
"Shaurya..." Dev muttered worriedly. "What if she actually does something to Aakriti?"
He knew he should've first comforted his best friend, who had just watched his entire world collapse. But Akansha's words genuinely scared him.
"She won't," Shaurya answered immediately. "That was anger speaking. Akansha won't hurt someone innocent."
Dev wasn't fully convinced. Because the determination in her eyes had been terrifying.
"Akansha is badly hurt..." Shaurya whispered, staring blankly ahead. "Why did Aakriti have to tell her now?"
"She didn't know you genuinely fell in love with Akansha," Dev sighed. "But after your reaction today... she probably understands now."
Shaurya closed his eyes briefly. He realized he had lost control when Aakriti confessed what she had done. He should've handled it calmly. Considering Aakriti's mental condition, he should've been gentler.
But the moment he imagined Akansha's heartbreak... His emotions completely shattered.
"Ho... how is Aakriti?" Shaurya asked suddenly.
"Did they leave for the airport?"
Dev's silence itself scared him.
"Aakriti refused to go to the US."
Shaurya frowned deeply.
Dev then explained how hysterical Aakriti became after seeing Shaurya storm out angrily. Both Rajnath and Dev had tried convincing her repeatedly, but she refused to leave.
Shaurya slowly sat down on the bench, holding his head. Dev sat beside him instinctively but Shaurya immediately glared at him.
"Get up." Dev blinked. "That's Akansha's place," Shaurya said sternly. "I'll wait here until she agrees to hear me."
Dev stared at him in disbelief.
"You seriously think she'll listen to you after all this?" he asked.
"Maybe if you tell her you've given up your revenge—"
"Gave up?" Shaurya interrupted sharply. "I still need answers regarding what happened with Aakriti and I never withdrew my promise. Whoever was responsible for Aakriti's condition... I still won't forgive them."
He just wanted answers now.
Unfortunately for him, Akansha had returned there because she had forgotten her wallet on the bench. And she heard everything. She stormed toward the bench, grabbed her wallet, and turned to leave.
But Shaurya instantly held her wrist.
"I love you more than anything," he said painfully.
"But what happened to my sister is unforgivable, Akansha. If you were in my place, you wouldn't have spared the person responsible either."
Akansha looked straight into his eyes.
"True," she replied coldly. "I wouldn't have spared them. But I would've never stooped as low as you did." She forcefully pulled her hand away. "And yes... postpone your revenge plans for now. Because after I destroy your sister completely, you can take revenge properly all at once."
"Don't you dare, Akansha Dikshit!" Shaurya snapped immediately.
"It was me who wronged you. Come at me. Punish me. Hate me. Do whatever you want to me—" His voice cracked. "But not my sister."
Because despite everything, he still believed Akansha wasn't someone who could deliberately destroy an innocent person. Even if her anger said otherwise.
"Akansha... Aakriti is innocent. You know that," he said restlessly.
Akansha looked at him for a long second.
"I thought so too once," she replied quietly. "But not anymore."
And then she left.
"Akansha, at least listen to us—" Dev instinctively tried following her, but the moment she entered the crowded street, he stopped himself. He couldn't risk being publicly seen with Shaurya.
That's when realization suddenly hit him.
"Damn... she knows about our secret."
Shaurya, however, remained calm.
"She won't tell anyone," he said confidently.
Dev stared at him like he had lost his mind.
"Even after all this?"
Shaurya nodded without hesitation.
"Yes. Even after all this... I trust her." A faint, painful smile appeared on his lips. "And I love her."
After that day, Akansha completely cut him off. She blocked him everywhere. Even Akash was shocked when she abruptly told him she had broken up with Shaurya. She never explained the reason.
She only strictly warned Akash not to contact him and then blocked Shaurya from Akash's phone too. Shaurya tried countless times to reach her afterward. But she never gave him another chance. She made sure he couldn't even reach her shadow.
Akansha got consumed by her family responsibilities, carrying every burden on her shoulders while trying to fulfill Dilip and his family's endless demands.
At this point, her mother and sister's venomous words barely affected her anymore because she was already living through the greatest heartbreak of her life.
She loved Shaurya far beyond what her pride should have allowed.
Even after everything, she couldn't completely erase him from her life.
A part of her still wanted him desperately.
For her, it had always been him or no one.
But the betrayal still burned too fresh inside her, so she decided to stay away from him for a few months, at least until Suman's wedding, which had already been postponed because of Vasant's growing doubts about Dilip.
Then Suman Dikshit got pregnant, and only Akansha knew about it.
Suman confessed everything to her and begged her to somehow convince the family for the marriage without revealing the truth behind her urgency. Akansha eventually convinced her father and took over all the wedding arrangements herself.
Meanwhile, Dilip, despite being engaged to Suman, continued chasing Aakriti for money.
One evening, Shaurya happened to pass by his sister's room and noticed the frustration on her face.
The moment he entered, he found her staring at her phone with teary eyes.
Shaurya took the mobile from her hands and read the conversations, disgust slowly settling inside him as he realized what kind of man Dilip truly was.
He was no longer openly flirting with Aakriti. Instead, he had started feeding her fake stories about how Akansha and her family were forcing him into marrying Suman and how he desperately needed money.
Shaurya also came across Dilip's older chats, the same misleading messages that had once made Aakriti believe he genuinely loved her, all while being in a relationship with Akansha's sister.
From that moment, Shaurya became certain that Dilip was not the right man for Suman.
He immediately went to meet Akash and somehow stop the wedding, but before he could say anything, Akansha arrived there with Akash. The moment she saw Shaurya, anger flashed across her face.
She quickly sent Akash away before turning towards Shaurya.
"So now what? You want to stop my sister's wedding as part of your revenge too?" she blasted at him.
Shaurya frowned deeply. "Akansha, listen to me once before reacting—"
"No, you listen to me!" she snapped, fury evident in her eyes. "You have already destroyed enough. Don't even think about ruining my sister's life now"