Chapter 54 #4
"Your stupid eyes have never recognized talent anyway. You're just jealous of me, huh?" Dev shot back immediately, walking toward them while glaring at Akansha.
Akansha pointed at him lazily.
"I genuinely thought it would take him at least ten minutes to come inside from the back door. But wow... he was quick."
"I rushed in to hear what nonsense you were speaking behind my back. See? I was absolutely right," Dev declared dramatically.
"So mature, Dev," Akansha deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
Rachna walked in right behind him, shaking her head at her husband's childishness. The man had practically sprinted inside like his a** was on fire, when in reality, all he had was unbearable curiosity to catch Akansha badmouthing him.
And even if he did catch her, what exactly would he do about it?
Absolutely nothing.
Nobody possessed the strength to win against Akansha in an argument.
Rachna settled beside Akansha and immediately began complaining about the struggles of dealing with her husband, while the next half hour passed with the women discussing their husbands and children.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shaurya and Dev had already shifted into analyzing the political figures who attended the afternoon lunch and discussing their approval ratings.
Later, the four of them indulged in casual conversations while eating snacks, cherishing the rare downtime they hardly ever got together.
Eventually, exhaustion caught up to all four of them, and they ended up taking a nap right there in the hall itself because they knew very well that if they went into their rooms and lay down comfortably, none of them would wake up on time again.
Soon, Dev, Akash, and Rajnath went to oversee the arrangements for the kids' party while Shaurya and Akansha got Siya ready.
Aakriti helped Rachna freshen up Ishaan and Ivaan and get them dressed for the party, while Suman and Jaya handled Harsh.
Vasant chose to rest for a while since he was feeling extremely weak. Initially, he had considered skipping the function altogether because of his health, but it was Siya's first birthday celebration with them. He didn't want to miss it for anything.
Soon, Siya's friends and their parents started arriving.
Before long, the party was in full swing.
The magic show turned out to be an instant hit among the children, followed by several exciting games conducted by the hosts that entertained not just the kids but their parents as well.
After the cake-cutting ceremony and the delicious snacks, the event slowly came to an end.
Shaurya and Akansha made Siya distribute return gifts personally to all her friends before the guests gradually started leaving.
"So... how did it go? Ma'am, did you like it?" Drishti asked nervously, directing the latter question specifically toward Akansha, having understood by now who the real boss was.
"You all did a wonderful job," Akansha said sincerely. "Honestly, I thought handling so many children together and making sure all of them enjoyed equally would become difficult at some point, but you managed everything beautifully. Not even a single mishap happened. I'm genuinely impressed."
Drishti thanked her with visible relief and happiness. Soon after, Shaurya wrote the cheque and handed it to Akansha so she could give it to Drishti personally.
The amount was considerably higher than the original quote. Almost twenty to thirty percent extra.
The event had been managed flawlessly, his daughter had enjoyed every second of it, the children looked thrilled, and most importantly, his wife was satisfied.
For Shaurya, that alone justified the bonus.
But the moment Akansha glanced at the cheque amount, she wanted to glare at him badly. Still, she decided to save that argument for later.
She handed the cheque to Drishti politely and thanked every employee from the event management team for making the celebration such a success.
Drishti thanked both Shaurya and Akansha warmly before leaving with her team.
Once the door closed behind them, Shaurya thoroughly checked the house to ensure no guests remained inside before locking the entrance properly.
The very second the door shut, Dev dramatically collapsed onto the sofa as though it belonged to him.
Honestly, whether the house belonged to Shaurya or Dev hardly mattered. They were that close.
"God! I'm exhausted. Why did Drishti and her people leave already? Who's going to prepare dinner now?" Dev groaned dramatically. "Please tell me you hired caterers. I can't act anymore. If anyone comes, just throw a blanket over me from head to toe. Wake me up only once dinner is ready."
Akansha stared at him blankly.
"Where does he get so much energy to blabber endlessly when he has zero energy to actually work?" she asked Rachna, who burst into laughter.
"The dinner won't magically prepare itself while you sleep," Akansha continued mercilessly. "No caterers are coming. We are cooking for the family ourselves. So get your lazy a** up and come to the kitchen."
She walked away toward the kitchen immediately, followed by Shaurya, Rachna, Aakriti, and Akash.
"You could've simply hired a cook," Dev whined while dragging himself behind them.
"Shaurya and I wanted to prepare the meal ourselves for the family and the orphanage children too. So stop whining and start working," Akansha yelled from inside the kitchen.
That made Dev stomp his feet dramatically before following them anyway. Shaurya and Rachna exchanged helpless looks at their spouses' constant bickering.
Meanwhile, Suman, Rajnath, Jaya, and Vasant were entrusted with looking after the children.
Even Akash and Aakriti had initially been asked by Akansha to stay with the kids, but considering the huge quantity of food that needed to be prepared, both of them volunteered to help in the kitchen instead.
Shaurya also instructed Mrs. Sudha to simply sit nearby and guide them whenever needed because today, all the younger members wanted to prepare dinner personally for the elders of the family — and Mrs. Sudha was family to them.
Eventually, the meal was prepared, and the youngsters together arranged the dining table before everyone settled down for dinner.
"Where's Suman?" Shaurya asked when he noticed Akansha's sister missing from the table.
"Um... she said she'll eat later after feeding the children," Akash answered softly.
Shaurya glanced toward the hall where Suman sat quietly.
She offered him a small smile, gratitude evident in her eyes for the concern he still showed her despite everything. But she couldn't bring herself to take it for granted.
Sharing the same dining table with Aakriti still felt uncomfortable to her, and she didn't want her presence to inconvenience anyone.
But Shaurya didn't like the idea of excluding her from the family dinner. Whatever mistakes she had committed in the past, she was still Akansha's sister.
And if past sins became the deciding factor for sitting at the family table, then even Dev, Aakriti, and Shaurya himself had no right to sit there after the pain their choices had caused Akansha.
Shaurya looked toward Aakriti silently.
In response, Aakriti subtly gestured at Akansha to call Suman over.
"Suman... the kids will eat with us," Akansha said calmly. "Shaurya and Dev will feed Siya and Ishaan while eating. Harsh and Ivaan can manage their own plates now."
Then she turned toward the children with a smile.
"Right, kids?"
Harsh nodded enthusiastically. The excitement of finally eating from his own plate like the adults practically lit up his face. He had always wanted to eat independently, but his mother never allowed him to.
Suman walked toward the table hesitantly. Immediately, Akash gestured for her to sit beside him, sensing her discomfort.
Moments like these only worsened Suman's guilt.
Her siblings had always loved her selflessly. Even today, Akash handled most of her and Harsh's expenses. When she struggled to secure a job because of her lack of skills, he encouraged her patiently until she learned embroidery and found work at a boutique.
Even then, he repeatedly told her to quit if things became overwhelming because he would always support her financially.
He had even purchased property and converted it into rental income solely to secure her and Harsh's future.
And when Harsh was born, it was Akansha who handled all the hospital expenses because Dilip and his family had shamelessly claimed that the first delivery was the responsibility of the girl's parents.
Her siblings had always stood beside her. And in return, she had only brought pain into their lives. With every passing day, that guilt only deepened.
"Eat," Akansha said softly while serving her food.
Suman looked exhausted these days. Distressed. Broken.
But also matured. Life had changed her completely.
The stubbornness, selfishness, and childishness she once carried had slowly disappeared, replaced by understanding and quiet responsibility.
Though Akansha was glad her sister had changed for the better, it still hurt seeing her reduced to this state — constantly feeling like a burden even inside her own family.
"Will you two feed the kids or should we?" Akansha asked, looking at Shaurya and Dev.
"We will," Shaurya replied instantly.
Akansha nodded and settled down while Rachna looked at Dev suspiciously.
"We will? Speak for yourself. I'm starving. Right now, I can barely feed myself, forget children," Dev complained dramatically before turning toward his wife. "Rachna... please."
Rachna was about to get up when Akansha held her wrist.
"Sit and eat," Akansha instructed before turning toward Ishaan with a smile. "Ishu... you want your papa to feed you too, right? Just like Siya's papa is feeding her?"
"Yes Miss!" Ishaan answered excitedly before immediately running toward Dev. "Papa... I'm hungry. Feed me."
Dev glared at Akansha murderously while trying to negotiate with Ishaan, but the child refused to budge.
"Come here, I'll feed you," Shaurya offered instead.
Ishaan instantly settled beside Siya happily.
Dev sighed in visible relief and immediately resumed eating while Akansha shot her husband a pointed glare. Shaurya only offered her an apologetic smile in return.
"You two spoil this man way too much," Rajnath commented while looking at Shaurya and Rachna.
"Spoil?" Shaurya frowned immediately. "Come on, he's more responsible than all of us." he added, coming to his best friend's defense.
"Shaurya, maybe focus on feeding the two children first?" Akansha cut in dryly.
He obediently nodded at once, earning laughter from everyone around the table.
"God, Akansha ma'am... it's genuinely entertaining watching Shaurya obey you like this," Aakriti laughed loudly.
"Hehehe... eat, stupid," Dev mocked while knocking lightly on her head.
"Dadda... I'm full," Siya announced.
"Eat a little more..." Shaurya coaxed gently. But she stubbornly shook her head. "Please? For Dadda?" he pleaded dramatically.
Unable to refuse him, Siya reluctantly nodded.
Shaurya fed her one more bite, but the next second she spat it out because she genuinely couldn't eat anymore.
Instantly, Shaurya understood. She always did this whenever she was completely full.
Without scolding her, he calmly wiped her mouth and helped her drink water while continuing to feed Ishaan simultaneously.
"Siya, how many times have I told you not to spit food out? If you were full, you should've told Dadda no," Akansha reprimanded softly.
"Sorry Mama Bear... I no(can't) say 'No' to Dadda," Siya replied innocently, making everyone around the table smile.
"So your Dadda has successfully passed his disease onto you too," Akansha muttered under her breath.
The children didn't understand her meaning. The adults absolutely did.
Akansha patiently explained to Siya that saying "No" politely was always better than spitting food out.
Eventually, dinner ended amidst their usual chaos, laughter, and bickering.
Later, everyone settled in the hall while the children watched cartoons and the elders chatted comfortably.
Shaurya and Akansha served desserts personally to everyone.
Akansha prepared the ice cream bowls while Shaurya distributed them around.
"Where's Dev?" Shaurya asked while holding his best friend's favorite ice cream flavor.
"He stepped out to attend a call," Rachna answered while taking the bowl from him.
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Outside, Dev stood frozen after hearing whatever was said on the other end of the call. Slowly, he disconnected and walked straight toward the kitchen where Akansha was still working.
"What made your lazy a** enter the kitchen voluntarily? If you're here for ice cream, Shaurya already took your bowl outside," Akansha said casually without looking up.
"I just spoke to Ashwini," Dev said quietly.
Akansha immediately looked up.
"God... I completely forgot about that. The two-day deadline Shaurya gave him is already over. He stayed quiet because of Siya's birthday, but he'll definitely contact Ashwini soon." Her expression tightened instantly. "Did you warn Ashwini not to reveal anything?"
Dev looked at her grimly.
"Ashwini said... Shaurya already knows the truth."
The color drained from Akansha's face.