Chapter 47 #3
The school authorities immediately arranged a chair for him and politely offered tea, coffee, and water just as they had done for Shaurya, but Dev declined everything.
When Shipra asked whether he needed the form, Dev shamelessly pointed toward his son.
"Um... no... It was Ishan's fault. Give him a remark."
Both Shaurya and Akansha glared at him in disbelief.
Ishan too looked utterly betrayed, but Dev immediately bribed him with chocolates, successfully silencing the little boy.
"Shameless creature... On one side your stupid friend took the blame to save his daughter from punishment and you are sacrificing your innocent son just to save yourself. @Dev Bisht, sharam karlo thoda sa(Be a little ashamed)," Akansha texted.
"I would've done the same if I had such a cute daughter... Anything for my Siya baby," Dev replied dramatically.
"She is MY daughter. My baby girl," Shaurya texted back possessively.
Akansha rolled her eyes at the two idiots before walking toward Ishan and taking his diary from him.
Since Dev refused to pay the fine, she wrote the remark herself. Even then, she deliberately kept it mild enough to leave almost no negative impact because she didn't want the child punished for his father's shamelessness.
"Don't worry," she whispered softly to Ishan. "We'll deal with him later."
Ishan grinned brightly and kissed her cheek, instantly melting her heart. She had already grown ridiculously attached to the little boy. He was Dev and Rachna's son after all, how could she not love him?
Once everything settled down, Shaurya and Dev formally greeted each other, flawlessly maintaining their public facade before leaving for their respective workplaces.
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At night, Shaurya finally decided it was time to tell Akansha the truth. He had tried to free himself early from work, but couldn't.
Meera had requested a meeting with him and even marked the mail as high priority, but he already knew what she wanted to discuss.
So, he instructed Shweta not to schedule an appointment for her, citing his busy schedule, and instead asked the respective staff to check on her and see if everything was fine.
He intended to ignore her completely.
Ever since he had publicly acknowledged his wife and daughter, Meera Pathak had been relentlessly trying to get an appointment with him.
When Shaurya entered the house that night and found it unusually quiet, he assumed Akansha and Siya had already gone to sleep.
He went to freshen up quickly, but the moment he walked into the bedroom and found Akansha missing while Siya slept wrapped in Akansha's dupatta and her unicorn duvet, he immediately understood Akansha must be working somewhere else.
Siya was exactly like him and woke up at the slightest disturbance.
Quietly, he stepped out in search of her after freshening up. And found her in his study.
She sat cross-legged on the floor amidst scattered books and papers, her hair tied into a loose messy bun, a highlighter resting between her fingers while its cap stayed tucked between her lips as she concentrated on whatever she was reading.
Shaurya stopped at the door.
And simply stared.
God knew how long he remained standing there, leaning silently against the frame, just looking at her. His eyes slowly turned moist at the strange calm settling inside his chest.
Only he knew how desperately he had craved even a single glimpse of her all these years. And now, he could look at her for hours if he wanted. He was living under the same roof as her again. Sleeping in the same room.
Sometimes, when she unknowingly fell asleep beside Siya, he could even touch her hair softly without anyone stopping him. Shaurya didn't know if there was any privilege greater than this.
In these five years, he had searched for peace everywhere. Ashrams, temples, spiritual retreats... he had gone to countless places trying to quiet the restlessness inside him despite knowing very well that peace would never come without her.
And after five long years, the moment his eyes found her again, his peace returned as if it had only ever belonged to her. His trance broke when his phone suddenly rang.
Startled, he quickly looked towards Akansha, only to find her already staring at him with a knowing glare. She clearly understood what he had been doing all this while. It was Mr. Sharma's call.
After a brief conversation, Shaurya disconnected the call and finally walked inside.
"What are you doing here? Need to work?", she asked without properly looking up from her papers.
"No... What about you? Why are you still awake?", he asked softly as he walked closer.
"There's a mock presentation regarding our progress till now, so I'm working on that. You wanted to talk about something?", she asked while turning another page.
"Yeah... regarding our visit to Prayagraj.
I confirmed everything with my team. Arrangements will be made for us on Mahashivratri, but we'll have to leave early in the morning.
There's a ghaat reserved only for VVIPs, but the Prime Minister is also visiting on the same day, so we'll need to go early", Shaurya explained.
Akansha finally looked up at him properly.
"PM? The same day? You'll have to meet him too?", she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"It won't look nice if I leave without greeting him, but it'll only be a brief interaction. I've already informed Mr. Sharma to coordinate with the PM's internal team, so don't worry", he assured her calmly.
One look at her face and he immediately understood what she was actually concerned about.
"Yes, since you and Siya will be there, you'll have to accompany me too. It won't look nice otherwise", he added carefully.
Akansha sighed deeply at that.
"Maybe we can go some other day?", she suggested while struggling to secure her bun properly with the flucker.
"But you wanted to go there on Mahashivratri, Akansha", he reminded gently. "It'll be fine... please trust me on this." There was something almost vulnerable in his tone that made her pause briefly before she finally nodded.
"Sleep now, it's late. You have four free lectures tomorrow. You can finish the work then", he said casually.
Akansha immediately looked up and glared at him.
"Did you see my timetable? How many times did I tell you not to touch my stuff?", she snapped before throwing the hair clip at him in irritation.
Shaurya caught it effortlessly.
"I didn't touch your stuff. I saw it on the notice board in school today. Timetables for all classes were displayed there", he clarified while walking towards her.
Akansha instantly turned her face away for a second, embarrassed after realizing she had wrongly accused him again. Shaurya quietly crouched beside her.
For the past few minutes, he had been observing her struggling with her hair. A few strands kept slipping loose no matter how many times she tried securing them.
Without saying anything, he gently gathered all her hair in his fingers. Akansha froze slightly at the familiar touch.
His fingers moved with practiced ease as he twisted her hair into a proper tight high bun before securing it neatly with the flucker. The movement was so painfully familiar that her chest tightened instantly.
A memory flashed before her eyes.
"Shaurya...", Akansha complained while struggling to tie her hair properly.
Without a word, he took the clip from her hand and neatly tied her hair into a high bun, making her sigh in relief immediately. She hated when strands of hair kept falling over her face while working.
The next second, she climbed into his lap comfortably and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"How do you tie it so perfectly?", she asked before kissing his cheek lovingly.
"Learnt for you, madam...", he replied with a grin before kissing her hair and pulling her closer.
Back then, his warmth and these tiny gestures had meant the world to her.
Akansha immediately looked away. Her heartbeat had risen stupidly at such a small gesture, and she hated it.
Hated that even after everything, he still affected her the same way. The same warmth. The same comfort. The same foolish feelings she had spent five years trying to bury.
"Sorry...", Shaurya murmured softly and immediately stepped away, as if realizing he had crossed a line.
He understood exactly what was going on in her head.
"Thanks", she said at the same time, surprising him.
Shaurya looked at her quietly for a moment. For the first time since meeting her again, there was softness in her voice while talking to him. A very small softness... but enough for his hopeless heart to notice instantly.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Not bitterness.
Just... softness.
And for him, that itself felt enormous.
"I... I need to tell you something", he started carefully, finally gathering courage after seeing that tiny crack in the walls she had built around herself.
He wanted to tell her everything. How helpless he had been.
How he never married her for revenge, but because he loved her.
How that hatred had only been momentary anger born out of misunderstanding.
How every single thing spiraled out of control after that.
He wanted to tell her everything tonight.
"I need to ask you something first", Akansha interrupted.
The softness disappeared instantly. Her tone had turned serious again. Shaurya felt his throat tighten slightly.
"What is it, Akansha?", he asked carefully.
Akansha looked directly into his eyes.
"What's the story behind your stab scars, Shaurya?"
His jaw clenched immediately. For a second, anger surged inside him as memories flashed through his mind. His father repeatedly trying to harm Akansha. Those scars being one of the consequences of it.
He didn't answer immediately.
He didn't want to tell her everything and worry her. No matter how angry she was with him, he knew she would never be able to digest the fact that he had gotten those wounds while trying to protect her.