Chapter 53 #3
Akansha looked at him curiously.
"One formal celebration in the morning with a grand lunch afterward.
Important party members, MLAs, officials.
.. everyone would attend officially. Even Dev would attend in an official capacity.
" He quickly added, "But we won't exhaust Siya with all that.
After the cake cutting, you both can go rest. I'll handle the guests. "
"Won't it look rude if I leave you alone to manage everyone?" Akansha asked.
"I'll manage," he replied calmly. "I don't want you doing anything you're uncomfortable with. I promised you I'll take care of everything."
"Your daughter may think you're Superman, but you aren't one," Akansha shot back sharply. "So stop acting like it. I can handle guests perfectly fine."
A grin instantly appeared on his face. But seeing her glare, he quickly straightened his expression again.
"Then in the evening," he continued obediently, "We can arrange a proper theme party for Siya. Invite her close friends, their parents, Dev and Rachna with the kids, your sister and Harsh..." His tone softened. "And afterward, we can have a proper family dinner. Both your family and mine together."
Akansha quietly listened.
"Aakriti and Rajnath uncle will be extremely happy spending Siya's birthday with her. And I'm sure your father and Akash feel the same way." Then he looked at her carefully. "You can invite Richa too... if you want."
Akansha raised a brow.
"You do realize Richa wanted your destruction, right?"
"I know," he admitted calmly. "But I respect her for standing beside you when nobody else did.
I'm grateful to her for becoming your support system.
" His tone remained steady. "So if she hates me, that's fine.
I can handle that. But she deserves to be there for Siya's birthday. She's her godmother, right?"
Akansha nodded slowly and said, "You don't have to do this."
"It's okay," he replied softly. "I just want everyone important to Siya around her that day. That's all."
Eventually, both of them started discussing themes, decorations, guest lists, and other arrangements.
Shaurya showed her pictures of previous events organized by the planner who usually handled official gatherings at his residence.
Truthfully, he had never cared much for parties before. Perhaps because he never really had anyone to celebrate life with.
"She does a good job, but if you have any ideas or another planner in mind, let me know. We'll hire them," Shaurya said.
"No, these designs are actually good," Akansha admitted after going through the pictures. "We can hire her. Let's discuss the themes with her later. Call her home in the evening."
Shaurya nodded immediately. Then after a brief silence, he looked at her.
"Sleep for a while. You need rest."
"You need rest too," she countered instantly. "You've been working the whole day. Give her to me."
She extended her arms toward Siya.
"I'm fine. One slight movement and she'll wake up," Shaurya protested softly.
"I'm her mother, Shaurya. I know how to make her sleep again. Give her to me and close your eyes."
Reluctantly, he handed Siya over to Akansha, but the sleepy little girl immediately clutched his shirt tightly and whined.
"It's okay, I'll just let her sleep in my arms—"
Akansha rolled her eyes at their synchronized drama before gently placing Siya between both of them. The little girl stirred and whined again, but Akansha softly patted her back until she fell asleep once more.
Shaurya carefully covered Siya properly with the duvet before reclining the seats slightly so Akansha could rest comfortably too.
"Sleep, Shaurya," she whispered softly before finally closing her eyes.
Within minutes, exhaustion overtook her. But like always... sleep stayed far away from him. The anxiety he had been suppressing all evening slowly started clawing its way back. He took deep breaths repeatedly, trying to calm himself.
"Till Siya's birthday..." he silently chanted to himself.
Then he looked at his wife and daughter sleeping peacefully beside him.
Slowly... very slowly... his breathing steadied again.
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The next evening, Shaurya and Akansha sat discussing the party decorations and other necessary arrangements with the event planner.
"What about the dinner menu, ma'am?" the planner, Drishti, asked Akansha politely, despite Shaurya being present there too.
By now, she had clearly understood one thing — whenever it came to personal matters, Shaurya instinctively looked toward his wife before making any decision.
"It's a family dinner, so I think we can manage that ourselves. What do you say?" Akansha asked, directing the last part toward Shaurya.
"Yeah, we will," he replied with a gentle smile before turning toward Drishti. "You just handle everything till the evening kids' party. I want it to be perfect, Drishti. I'm trusting you with this, don't disappoint me."
Akansha immediately glanced at him. Not because of what he said. But because of how softly he said her name. And the familiarity in his tone. She wasn't jealous. Or maybe she was.
Whatever it was, she tried hard not to let it show.
But one look at her face was enough for Shaurya to realize she hadn't liked that little familiarity at all.
"I won't disappoint you, sir," Drishti assured quickly. "Everything will be exactly according to yours and ma'am's liking."
Shaurya nodded once. After bidding goodbye politely, she left. The moment the door closed, Shaurya immediately spoke,
"She's the one who handled all the gatherings hosted by me before, so I know her a little. I mean... I know her work a little."
Akansha raised a brow.
"Did I say anything?"
"No... I just wanted to clarify..." he fumbled awkwardly.
Akansha almost smiled.
"Okay, I'll be in my study. Let me know if you need me," he said before pausing awkwardly again. "I mean... for work, of course."
And without waiting for her response, he quietly escaped from there.
A small smile finally made its way to Akansha's lips. Whenever he fumbled around her, something inside her softened involuntarily. Not because she enjoyed seeing him nervous. She knew very well Shaurya didn't truly fear her. He was simply terrified of hurting her again.
That fear made him cautious with every word and every action around her. And sometimes... his care cracked the strong walls she had built around herself.
The next day, they planned to send out invitations.
Later that evening, Shaurya finally stepped out of his study for dinner and found his wife feeding Siya in the dining hall.
"I'll feed her. You eat properly," he said, naturally taking the plate from Akansha's hands.
"Dadda... yay! You are home?" Siya asked excitedly.
"I'm home from noon—"
He immediately stopped seeing Akansha subtly shake her head. He understood instantly.
She must have told Siya he was at the office so their daughter wouldn't disturb him while he worked from home.
"I... I just got home," he corrected smoothly before feeding Siya another bite. "Come on, finish this."
Siya obediently ate from his hand.
"The invitation cards will be ready by tomorrow," Shaurya informed Akansha while continuing to feed their daughter. "I'll send invites to party members, MLAs, MPs, and other important people officially. We can personally invite family and close friends. What do you think?"
"Yeah, that works," Akansha nodded. "What about Siya's friends? I'll collect their parents' contact numbers."
"I already have some of them," Shaurya replied. "I took them during the Father's Day event at her school. Give me the remaining contacts too, I'll call them personally."
Akansha frowned slightly.
"Leave it. I'll invite them."
She had noticed how little he slept these days. Between elections, government responsibilities, and now balancing his personal life too, he was clearly exhausting himself. And despite everything, he still tried his best to be present everywhere.
So naturally, she wanted to ease his burden wherever she could.
"Mama bear... Dadda... are you planning my birthday party?" Siya suddenly asked excitedly.
"Yes, my magic unicorn," Shaurya answered affectionately, feeding her the last morsel.
"What will happen in the party?" Siya asked curiously.
"Dadda's friends, my friends, and your friends will come with their families," Akansha explained calmly, deliberately hiding the evening surprise theme party Shaurya had planned specially for the kids. "You'll cut the cake, everyone will eat, give you gifts, and go home. That's it."
"My friends will come? And they'll give me gifts?" Siya gasped dramatically.
"Yes," Shaurya confirmed.
Siya instantly clapped her hands happily before wrapping her tiny arms around Akansha's neck and kissing her cheek loudly.
Then she repeated the same with Shaurya. Both parents smiled helplessly at her excitement.
"Dadda... did you talk to Mumma about my gipht?" Siya suddenly asked innocently.
Akansha slowly narrowed her eyes at Shaurya.
"What gift?"
Siya immediately looked at her father with a guilty expression. Shaurya returned a look that clearly screamed: You weren't supposed to say that.
"What are you both hiding?" Akansha asked suspiciously. "Siya... what exactly did you demand from Dadda?"
"Demand?" Shaurya immediately defended his daughter. "No, she didn't demand anything. She just... made a wish. She wasn't stubborn at all."
"And since you're apparently her personal genie, I'm sure you're planning to fulfill that wish too," Akansha folded her arms. "So tell me what it is."
Shaurya swallowed. This time, it wasn't fear. It was pure attraction.
The way she stood there with folded arms, glaring at him sharply, made his self-control considerably weaker. He quickly made Siya drink some water before asking Mrs. Sudha to take her to the room. The moment they were alone, Akansha looked at him expectantly, her arms still folded.