Chapter 52 #3
His reassurance gave her enough courage to make a decision.
Though one problem still remained — she couldn't bring herself to go to Akansha's parents' house. She wasn't ready to face Suman there.
So instead, Aakriti decided to respectfully invite Akansha and Siya to her own home for dinner.
Even dialing Akansha's number required tremendous courage. Her palms had turned sweaty by the time the call connected.
The moment she heard Akansha's voice, Aakriti instinctively shut her eyes tightly in nervousness. But after forcing herself to calm down, she somehow managed to invite Akansha and Siya for dinner. And when Akansha accepted, genuine happiness bloomed inside her chest for the first time in years.
By evening, Suraj went to pick Akansha and Siya while Shaurya stayed back helping Aakriti prepare dinner.
The doorbell finally rang.
Aakriti opened the door with visibly trembling hands. The nervousness on her face was impossible to miss. Siya stood beside Akansha holding her palm while curiously looking around the apartment.
The moment Aakriti looked at Siya properly, her eyes softened with overwhelming affection.
Shaurya had shown her countless pictures already, but Siya looked even more adorable in real life.
"Hi, Aakriti..." Akansha greeted gently, instantly understanding how nervous she was.
"H-Hi ma'am... please come in," Aakriti stammered softly, stepping aside.
"Mumma..." Siya tugged Akansha's top lightly. "You said we are meeting boo... where is she?"
Akansha chuckled softly at her daughter's pronunciation.
"It's bua, Siyabear. And she is your bua," she explained patiently.
Siya immediately looked toward Aakriti while walking toward the sofa beside her mother.
Behind them, Aakriti quietly followed, trying extremely hard not to cry, hearing how naturally Akansha introduced her as Siya's bua.
"Booa?" Siya repeated again.
"Yes, bua," Akansha confirmed with a smile.
"I'll bring water..." Aakriti quickly said, needing an excuse to compose herself.
But before she could move, Shaurya walked in carrying a tray with water and milkshake.
"Here..." he announced casually.
"Daddaaa!"
Siya instantly jumped toward him excitedly. Akansha hadn't told her that Shaurya would be there too, so seeing him unexpectedly made her extremely happy.
"My little soldier..." Shaurya grinned, lifting her into his arms after placing the tray down.
Siya giggled hearing yet another nickname from her father.
"So..." Shaurya narrowed his eyes playfully. "Did you miss Dadda?"
Akansha rolled her eyes immediately at his shameless jealousy.
"Yesss... a lottt..." Siya replied dramatically.
"Liar," Shaurya accused with a pout.
"No dadda..." Siya protested quickly before stretching her tiny arms wide. "I missed you this much!"
Shaurya instantly grinned.
"Okay, I believe you. Now give Dadda one magic kissie."
The next second, Siya attacked his entire face with kisses — cheeks, forehead, nose, chin — absolutely everywhere. And just like that, Shaurya became the happiest man alive again. Watching them, Aakriti's eyes slowly filled with tears.
Her one foolish demand for revenge had stolen years of fatherhood from her brother. Would she ever truly be forgiven for that sin?
"Sh... Shaurya..." Aakriti gestured hesitantly, silently asking if she could hold Siya.
Shaurya immediately understood and nodded softly. He settled beside Akansha with Siya still in his lap while Aakriti sat on the single sofa beside them.
"So Siya..." Shaurya began gently. "Have you met bua yet?"
Siya glanced once at Aakriti before shaking her head.
"Okay then," Shaurya smiled. "This is Aakriti — my sister. Say hi to her."
"Sister? Aakliti?" Siya frowned in confusion before proudly declaring, "Dadda, I am Aakliti. Siyakliti."
"Kriti... R, Siya. Stop saying L now," Akansha corrected patiently. "You learned how to pronounce R properly, remember?"
Then Shaurya added
"And yes, she is your Aakriti bua. You are our little magician, Siyakriti."
"Nooo..." Siya whined immediately. "It's my name, Dadda! I am Aakriti!"
Upset over the apparent name confusion, she completely refused to even look toward Aakriti now.
Akansha instantly felt bad seeing the hurt flicker across Aakriti's face. The affection in that woman's eyes for Siya was impossible to miss.
"It's actually bua's name that Dadda gave you," Akansha explained gently.
"Akansha..." Shaurya whispered cautiously, trying to stop her before Siya became even more possessive.
But one glare from Akansha shut him up instantly.
"Your Dadda loves his sister very much," Akansha continued calmly.
"I only suggested the name Siya. But Dadda wanted your name to be Siyakriti because he loved you more than anyone. "
Then she added dramatically,
"So technically, you are sharing bua's name. And if you keep fighting like this, bua might ask for her name back."
That immediately alarmed Siya.
"No! I am good girl! I don't fight, Mumma!" she protested quickly before turning toward Aakriti seriously. "And bua... don't cry. I will share my name with you."
Aakriti instantly burst into a watery smile while Shaurya chuckled helplessly.
His daughter possessed so much ego that somehow she had managed to behave as if she were generously donating her name to Aakriti instead of the other way around.
Still, hearing Akansha include him so naturally in Siya's naming story warmed something painfully deep inside him. Yes, they had indeed chosen the name Siyakriti together once upon a time but now how his wife told. But reality had been crueler.
How could he have named his daughter when he hadn't even known she existed? And for that, he blamed no one except himself... and his monstrous parents. Soon, Aakriti and Siya became busy talking endlessly.
And watching them together, both Shaurya and Akansha slowly realized something surprising. There were far too many similarities between the two.
Since Siya already resembled Shaurya heavily, she naturally carried traces of Aakriti too — in her expressions, her stubbornness, even the way she spoke excitedly.
"Shaurya, Siya looks much more like me when I was a child, doesn't she?" Aakriti said softly, unable to take her eyes off the little girl. "It's as if she's connected to me by blood. Neither Ishaan nor Ivaan resembled me this much. See? That's why you're my most favorite... even more than Dev."
Akansha's face instantly paled hearing those words.
But Shaurya's expression didn't change even slightly. He simply smiled as though Aakriti had cracked an innocent joke... as though there wasn't even a trace of truth hidden inside her statement.
And at that moment, Akansha understood something terrifyingly deep.
It was engraved into Shaurya's mind that Aakriti was Aakriti Rajnath Bisht. Somewhere along the way, he had completely erased the fact that she was actually his sister by blood.
"Dev uncle? Ishaan?" Siya asked curiously, not fully understanding what Aakriti meant.
"Oh yes..." Aakriti smiled instantly. "You know Dev uncle?"
Siya excitedly bobbed her head.
Soon, the two of them started talking about Dev, Ishaan, and Ivaan while Akansha quietly drifted into her own thoughts.
Her mind replayed the conversation she had with Dev earlier.
He had informed her that Shaurya had given Ashwini exactly forty-eight hours to uncover the truth about the day Siya was born. It was only a matter of time before everything came out.
And once Shaurya learned the truth... how was she supposed to handle him after that? The thought alone made dread crawl into her chest.
He was already drowning in guilt and regret. This truth would completely destroy him. It would burn him alive in rue.
She had even asked Dev whether Shaurya suffered panic attacks during those five years. What Dev revealed had genuinely shocked her.
He admitted he barely knew anything about Shaurya's mental condition because Shaurya deliberately hid it from everyone, including him. Dev only knew that somehow Shaurya had forced himself to recover after taking charge as Chief Minister.
Why would he hide his condition even from Dev? That confirmed Akansha's growing suspicion.
Shaurya had suffered attacks. Serious ones. And only he could reveal how badly those years had broken him.
"Okay, you both continue talking. Siya and I will play there," Shaurya suddenly said, pulling Akansha out of her thoughts.
He gave a small nod toward both women before lifting Siya into his arms along with her milkshake and walking toward the farther corner of the hall where he had already arranged a few games for her.
While the father-daughter duo got busy playing, Akansha and Aakriti slowly started talking properly for the first time in years.
Aakriti apologized repeatedly, expressing how deeply she regretted everything that had happened.
Akansha too admitted her own mistakes — especially the cruel words she had once spoken about Aakriti. Even now, the thought that Aakriti could have died because of those misunderstandings filled her with agony.
"Please... it wasn't your fault," Aakriti immediately said, shaking her head.
"I was the weak one. I alone was responsible for my condition back then, so please don't apologize to me.
" Her voice cracked painfully. "In fact, I was the one who ruined both your lives by demanding revenge like an idiot.
I hurt you, Shaurya... even Siya. I made Shaurya helpless. "
Tears slowly welled up in her eyes.
"He never wanted to do any of it. He suffered every single second. Somewhere deep down, I always knew he was suffering... but I kept forcing myself to believe otherwise."
Her breathing turned uneven as memories resurfaced.