Chapter 50 #3
"Okay, my unicorn. We won't play this game anymore", Shaurya promised seriously.
Siya still looked at him suspiciously, as if worried he would play the game behind her back. Then, just to reassure her further, he turned towards Vasant and added,
"We won't play this game anymore. My Siya doesn't like it."
"Of course", Vasant taunted bitterly. "Maybe you'll start some new game now. You're very talented at such things."
Shaurya's smile faltered for a second, but he maintained it for Siya's sake.
"Papa..." Akansha warned softly, uncomfortable with him speaking like that in front of Siya.
"It's okay", Shaurya interrupted gently. "You all spend time together. I have some work anyway. I'll come later to pick you up."
He tried putting Siya down, but she clung to him stubbornly.
"Dadda no... I come with you."
When he tried convincing her, she immediately started throwing tantrums. She didn't like the way Vasant spoke to her father and refused to stay there without him.
After thinking for a moment, Akansha sighed.
"Take her with you for now. I'll call you later and then bring her back."
She needed time to explain everything to her father anyway.
Maybe once he learnt the entire truth, his anger towards Shaurya would soften slightly. Shaurya nodded quietly.
After one brief glance towards Vasant — who was glaring at him for taking Siya away too — he left with his daughter.
He decided to visit his party office meanwhile since it had been months since he personally reviewed the constituency work there.
The moment they left, Akansha turned towards her father.
"Papa... kya zarurat thi yeh sab bolne ki(What was the need to say all this) to Shaurya? Especially in front of Siya? She was so excited to meet you..." Her voice softened towards the end seeing his fragile condition.
"Why shouldn't I say it?" Vasant burst out emotionally. "That rascal married you for revenge! He destroyed your life and now wants my granddaughter too? Did you see how Siya was defending him against me? He doesn't deserve her love." His breathing turned uneven again.
"Why are you still with him, Akansha? Leave him before he hurts you again."
Akansha quickly hugged him and rubbed his back gently before making him sit down properly.
"Relax... please... just calm down first."
Only after he settled slightly did she slowly start talking about normal things first — Siya's habits, her mischief, daily life. Nearly an hour later, when Vasant had calmed down completely, Akansha finally spoke carefully.
"Papa... I'm sorry. I punished you too much." Vasant looked up at her immediately. "You only wanted my welfare. And Shaurya..." she paused softly, "he isn't bad."
Even now, saying those words felt strange to her. Fate had been the biggest villain in their lives. Not Shaurya.
Yes, he hurt her terribly. Yes, she still carried those wounds. Years of pain and hatred couldn't disappear overnight just because she now knew the truth. But she could no longer blindly hate him the same way either.
"Isn't bad?" Vasant stared at her in disbelief. "What has happened to you, beta? Come back home with Siya. I'll send your mother and sister elsewhere if needed but you don't stay with that man anymore."
"Papa... please listen to me completely first." She held his hand gently.
"Shaurya would never turn Siya against either of us.
Do you know why Siya was so excited to meet you today?
Because of him. Last night he kept telling her how cool her Nanu was going to be.
" Vasant fell silent. "Papa... Shaurya isn't bad.
What he did was wrong, yes. Very wrong. But you need to know the truth. "
Akansha took a deep breath.
"I never thought there would come a day when I would defend him like this but... it's important you know." Her eyes slowly filled again. "Shaurya didn't marry me for revenge."
And then—
She told her father everything.
By the time she finished, Vasant sat there with tears rolling silently down his face, one trembling hand covering his mouth in shock.
"I was such a fool..." Vasant whispered brokenly. "I got you married into a house where people wanted you dead every minute. I..."
"Papa... I'm fine now," Akansha said softly, though her voice still carried years of exhaustion.
"Shaurya never let even a scratch come near me.
Physically, he protected me every single time.
.. but mentally..." She gave a hollow smile.
"I don't know if I can ever forgive the pain I went through because of him. "
Vasant lowered his gaze, guilt crushing whatever little peace he had gathered after hearing the truth.
Sensing his mind spiraling again, Akansha decided not to stay on that topic longer.
"What about Akash's marriage?" she asked, leaning back slightly. "Have you thought anything about it?"
Vasant sighed tiredly. "I don't think that boy even believes in marriage anymore.
He watched both his sisters' marriages collapse in front of his eyes.
Suman is still struggling with the divorce case and Harsh's custody.
.." His expression suddenly changed. "Wait.
.. Siya's custody? You have it, right? And—"
"We're not divorced, Papa," Akansha interrupted gently.
Vasant frowned. "Then why did you leave? I thought he divorced you and threw you out."
A bitter laugh escaped her.
"He gave me divorce papers, yes... but not because he wanted to end the marriage.
It was to protect me from his father." Her fingers curled tightly around the edge of the sofa.
"Virendar Shekhawat played filthy games and then his mother.
.." Her jaw clenched. "That woman manipulated me into believing Shaurya didn't want children from me.
She knew I was pregnant and still tried to kill me and my baby. "
Even now, remembering those days made her blood boil.
And despite everything she had learned recently, a part of her still remained angry at Shaurya too. He could have found some way to tell her the truth. Yes, she now understood the kind of danger Virendar Shekhawat posed, but emotional wounds were never as rational as logic demanded them to be.
That was exactly why she kept forcing herself not to soften toward him too much.
Vasant looked disturbed. "And now? Is he treating you properly? Akash told me you're staying with him."
"For now...yes, and he's treating me very well," she admitted honestly. "And Siya..." A faint helpless smile appeared on her lips. "She's completely wrapped him around her little finger. Shaurya is obsessed with his daughter."
"Still be careful," Vasant warned immediately. "What if he only brought you back because the media found out about his marriage? Maybe he just wanted to save his political image and career—"
"He was the one who leaked the news," Akansha cut in calmly, making him freeze.
"He... what?"
"He was ready to destroy his own image by portraying himself as the villain publicly. At the last moment Dev told me certain truths, and I decided to protect his political career." She paused before adding quietly, "Not entirely for him. For me and Siya too."
Vasant listened carefully.
"If the truth had exploded publicly, initially I would've received sympathy, yes.
But eventually his supporters, his enemies, the media.
.. everyone would've come after me. Siya and I would've become vulnerable.
" Her tone turned practical. "Shaurya staying in power was the safest option for my daughter, and I chose that.
" A tired smile touched her lips. "Maybe that makes me selfish. "
"No," Vasant said immediately. "A mother becomes the most selfless when she turns selfish for her child."
Silence settled briefly between them.
Then he looked at her carefully. "One thing is very clear after hearing all this... Shaurya Singh Shekhawat loves you deeply. Even now." His voice softened. "Now that you know the truth... what do you feel?"
Akansha looked away instantly.
"Yes, his initial intentions were wrong," Vasant continued thoughtfully.
"But he was trying to save his sister. Even now I cannot digest the fact that Aakriti is actually his sister.
.." His face hardened bitterly. "What kind of parents think of killing their own child?
But then..." He gave a humorless laugh. "If a mother like yours can exist, maybe I shouldn't be surprised anymore. "
"Papa..." Akansha stopped him quietly. "Leave that aside. And please... don't tell anyone about Aakriti. Shaurya trusted us with that truth. No one knows her real identity. Not even Aakriti herself."
Vasant nodded immediately.
That trust still affected her deeply. Shaurya had agreed without hesitation when she asked if she could tell her father everything. He trusted both of them that much.
"What is really bothering you, beta?" Vasant asked softly. "Tell me honestly."
They had always shared a friendship beyond the usual father-daughter bond. She used to tell him everything — complain about her mother and sister, laugh about stupid proposals, even show him ridiculous love letters boys gave her before running away after facing her temper.
The only thing she had hidden from him was her relationship with Shaurya.
At that time, their family already carried enough chaos.
"Shaurya asked for a chance..." she admitted slowly. "But I don't think I'm able to give him one. At the same time..." She exhaled heavily. "I don't want to regret not giving him one either."
She rubbed her palms unconsciously before continuing.
"He's a good man, Papa. A genuinely good man. An excellent leader... and an even better father." Her voice softened despite herself. "Earlier, I could easily call him the worst husband alive. But now..." She shook her head lightly. "I can't say that anymore."
Vasant stayed silent, letting her speak without interruption.
"Which man in today's world risks getting stabbed just to save his wife?
" she whispered. "Yes, there are men who protect their families, but how many actually go that far?
He stayed bedridden for months and still let me hate him instead of telling me the truth.
" Her eyes welled slightly. "The fact that he suffered alone in a hospital bed like an orphan while I was there. .. it doesn't sit right with me."
Her voice lowered further.
"I wanted to punch him for hiding it from me. As his wife, I had the right to know. But he only wanted to protect me, so he sent me to Dev's house."
She paused briefly.
"And he must've suffered too... pretending to hate me while actually loving me." A bitter ache flickered across her face. "Knowing him now... I think seeing hatred in my eyes must've killed him every day." For a moment, neither of them spoke.
"And when I think about our marriage honestly..." Her throat tightened. "I always felt his love. No matter how hard he tried to hide it."
The memories still carried weight inside her chest.
Even during the darkest phase of their marriage, there were moments when his love became impossible to deny. He never made her feel unwanted as a woman. If anything, he loved her too deeply, too completely. Perhaps that was what made everything more painful.
"After meeting him again, all I did was push him away, insult him, remind him how much I hated him," she continued quietly. "At one point, I even told him I wouldn't care if he died."
A humorless laugh escaped her.
"And he still stayed."
Not once had he aggressively defended himself. Not once had he shifted the blame onto circumstances. If anything, Shaurya blamed himself far more brutally than she ever did.
"I see fear in his eyes now, Papa," she admitted. "Sometimes he doesn't even sleep the whole night. He just watches me and Siya as if he's terrified we'll disappear from his life again." Her voice lowered further. "He's suffering too... and he thinks I don't notice it."
Vasant leaned back slightly before asking softly, "Then what is stopping you from giving him another chance?"
Akansha immediately shook her head.
"I don't know." The answer came out almost helplessly.
"Years of pain don't disappear overnight.
And it's not like I fully trust him again either.
" Her brows furrowed. "What if his father threatens him again someday?
What if he once again chooses sacrifice over honesty?
Maybe things are different now because he holds power, but what if he loses the elections?
What if everything goes back to how it was before? "
"Have you spoken to him about these fears?" Vasant asked calmly.
"No." She sighed tiredly. "Because I myself don't know what I want.
Until I'm sure about giving him a chance, what's the point of opening these conversations?
" She rubbed her forehead lightly. "The marriage I lived through destroyed my idea of peace, Papa.
That ancestral palace of his suffocated me emotionally to the point where I stopped believing married life could ever feel safe. "
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. Then Akansha gave him a small smile.
"But... talking to you helped. I think I just needed someone to hear me without judging me."
Vasant's eyes softened instantly.
"I am your father, beta. You never need to thank me for listening." A shadow crossed his face. "Especially not a father who failed to protect his daughter when she needed him the most."
Akansha immediately held his forearm and shook her head.
"I know you don't see me as a bad father," he continued quietly, "but I know my own mistakes. Still... let me at least try now. Come to me whenever life feels heavy. I know you're strong, but maybe let this coward father lessen his guilt a little by standing beside you this time."
Her eyes welled up again, but this time she smiled through it.
After a while, Vasant spoke again, almost cautiously.
"I want to see Siya... Ask Shaurya to bring her to me."
Akansha instantly understood the hidden meaning behind his words and couldn't stop the faint amusement that appeared on her face.
"Her father will come too. One plus one package, remember?"
Vasant sighed dramatically before shaking his head.
"What choice do I even have? My granddaughter clearly worships her father."
That finally broke the heaviness between them, and after years, father and daughter laughed together without pain suffocating every conversation between them.