Chapter 55 #3
"If you are busy, you could have told me or taken help from Mrs. Sudha. Stop being so obsessed with doing every single thing related to your daughter yourself," Akansha chided.
Then she looked at him more carefully.
"And by late, when exactly will you be back? Siya hardly goes to bed without seeing you these days. Where are you going?"
She knew if he was working at the Secretariat or his camp office, he would at least come back for five minutes to meet his daughter before returning to work. He knew Siya wouldn't sleep without seeing him once.
"Somewhere far from the city. I won't be back before the early hours," he said softly and got up. "I packed Siya's school bag."
Then he added, "I'll leave now. Jasmeet will take you and Siya to school. I already told him the timings of your last class today, he will pick you both from there and drop you at the Secretariat."
"Okay. I'll tell him about my schedule. You don't have to carry every burden on your head, Shaurya. Relax," Akansha said.
She knew he barely rested. Along with his responsibilities and work, he also made sure to go through her schedule and instruct his staff to reach her workplace on time because he knew how much she hated being late.
He nodded. After bidding goodbye to his daughter, Shaurya left with Suraj and the team.
A few minutes later, Akansha's phone buzzed.
"Today, Shaurya is going to meet the victims' families," Dev texted her.
Reading the message, Akansha immediately understood why Shaurya hadn't told her anything. He didn't want her to relive those dreadful memories, so he had avoided mentioning the riots.
Usually, even before she asked, Shaurya briefed her about his plans. Though she never showed interest in his day-to-day life, he made sure she knew where he would be so she wouldn't worry if he got late or at least, so she would know what had delayed him.
She always portrayed that she cared about his whereabouts only because of Siya. The rest of the time, she acted indifferent to his plans. But not once did he let his ego come between them. Despite her careless attitude, he remained soft and polite with her.
Not because he was merely guilty or regretting his actions toward her, but because he truly believed she alone had the right to treat him that way.
That was what had melted her the first time. And that was what was melting her again now. His love for her.
But his betrayal still stung.
She now knew Shaurya had feelings for her from the very first time he saw her, long before the incident with Aakriti.
That was why he stopped Dev from pursuing her.
She never questioned his anger or even his need to hurt her after what happened to his sister because she knew she would have reacted the same way if someone had hurt her siblings.
What she questioned was his method. He should never have played with her emotions, and that betrayal was exactly why trusting him still felt impossible sometimes.
But for once, she tried seeing things from his perspective.
Aakriti was suicidal then, and Shaurya couldn't let Dev carry out that stupid 'love trap' because he already had feelings for Akansha.
Dev had explained everything to her later.
Shaurya agreed only because he feared Aakriti might harm herself again if he refused.
Then, before leaving for the U.S., Aakriti herself revealed everything to Akansha, wanting her to feel the same pain she believed she had suffered.
But even then, Akansha now knew one truth clearly — Shaurya's love for her had never been fake.
After she learned the truth, the way he came running after her spoke enough about his feelings.
But the betrayal still remained. Before he could explain anything, Dilip manipulated situations again.
This time Aakriti informed Shaurya instead of falling into Dilip's trap, and he even tried warning Akash about Suman's marriage.
But Akansha, terrified for her sister's pregnancy and family reputation, failed to think rationally.
In anger, she said horrible things about Aakriti to hurt Shaurya.
Unfortunately, those words became reality within months.
Aakriti's suicide attempt destroyed Shaurya.
Furious after seeing his sister on her deathbed, he married Akansha while consumed by rage and pain, letting her believe it was revenge instead of love.
Circumstances had cornered him till then, but here, he had a choice.
He could have told her the truth after marriage.
He could have admitted he loved her but hated what happened to Aakriti.
Instead, he kept her in darkness, turning what should have been one of the happiest moments of her life into one of the worst.
Still, looking back now, Akansha realized most of what he did afterward was to protect her.
Earlier, she believed he should have trusted her with the truth, but now she understood why he didn't. Had she known everything then, she would never have been able to pretend, and knowing Shobha Shekhawat, Akansha was certain she would have been killed before anyone even learned about the pregnancy.
Even now, remembering the ways that woman tried harming her unborn child sent chills down her spine.
In the end, most of their suffering had been created by situations and people around them more than by each other.
Yet her pain didn't disappear that easily.
She had suffered through pregnancy, loneliness, and five years of hatred believing her marriage was built on revenge.
And still... she couldn't ignore another truth either.
Shaurya was a victim too. He saved her life that day, took the knife instead, spent months bedridden in a hospital, and still silently accepted her hatred without defending himself.
Only a man who loved unconditionally could endure something like that.
But one question still refused to leave her.
Could she ever forgive him for that one night?
The night he had every chance to tell her the truth about their marriage but chose silence instead.
Maybe revealing everything then would have created greater danger, but at least she wouldn't have spent five years believing her love and marriage were nothing more than a cruel joke to him.
"Ma'am, we reached", Jasmeet's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Hm... Thank you, Jasmeet. We'll be done by 1:00 in the afternoon. We can head to the secretariat directly from here", Akansha said politely.
"Okay, ma'am", Jasmeet nodded, helping Siya sling her bag over her shoulder.
"Thank you, Jasmeet uncle. Bye...", Siya said, waving at him happily.
He was her favorite among her Dadda's men.
Though she played more with Suraj, he was stricter and always followed her mother's instructions to the letter.
He wouldn't let her have extra ice cream or play beyond time, unlike Jasmeet, who occasionally let her bend the rules and overlooked her little mischiefs.
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"No media will be allowed here. No telecast, no photographs either", Shaurya instructed firmly, shocking his team.
It was election season. More than ever, this visit should have been publicized.
People needed to see that he still remembered the victims and always would.
Everyone around him knew his visits were genuine and heartfelt, but this was the first time he had completely restricted media coverage, and none of them understood why.
Like every year, Shaurya visited the victims' families, spent time with them, and even had lunch at their homes.
Despite his strict instructions, the media couldn't be entirely stopped, especially in a democracy like India.
A few family members posted pictures on Instagram, and within hours, the news spread like wildfire simply because it involved Shaurya, the state's dynamic Chief Minister.
Opposition-backed media channels immediately tried questioning why media wasn't allowed near the visit, but Shaurya's team shut them down with a single statement that unexpectedly worked in his favor.
They clarified that Shaurya did not want to turn what he considered his responsibility into a publicity stunt to gain votes.
He wanted people to judge him based on state development, employment opportunities, healthcare accessibility, and quality of life.
If they believed he had worked well, they should vote for him; otherwise, they should choose someone better.
The statement only made people admire him more.
But Dev wasn't pleased. Media coverage could have strengthened Shaurya's image further ahead of elections, yet he had deliberately avoided it.
The fact that things still worked in his favor felt more like luck than strategy, and that unsettled Dev.
Why was Shaurya avoiding publicity all of a sudden?
That question refused to leave his mind.
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Later, Shaurya summoned his PR team. They walked in expecting appreciation for handling the situation well.
"Who asked you to release my statement to the press?" Shaurya asked the moment the PR head and Mr. Sharma entered.
"Sir... we were trying to control the damage", the PR head replied carefully while Mr. Sharma silently observed Shaurya.
"From next time, get my approval before releasing any of my statements", Shaurya said curtly before dismissing him.
It was one of the statements he had once prepared himself, intending to release it at the right time. But what they failed to understand was back then, he had wanted re-election. He believed those words reflected confidence and sincerity.
But now...?
Did he even want the same anymore?
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