Chapter 56 #2
"That's very bad, bacha. You shouldn't ruin anyone's hard work like that. Mumma does so much for you and for us. You should value her efforts", Shaurya explained gently.
Siya hugged him tightly.
"Dadda... Siya is sorry. I won't be a bad girl anymore. I will color only in coloring books. But please don't tell Mumma about the colors on your shirts", she whispered, hiding her face in his neck.
Shaurya chuckled softly.
Akansha, who had come downstairs much earlier and quietly watched the father-daughter conversation, widened her eyes hearing that revelation.
Shaurya noticed her instantly and gestured desperately for her to stay calm.
The first time Siya had ruined his white shirts trying to "beautify" them after watching some YouTube videos, Akansha had patiently explained everything to her.
Siya had promised she would never repeat it and even offered to accept punishment if she ever did it again.
That was exactly why Shaurya hid it this time.
"Only on one condition", he told Siya seriously.
She looked at him innocently.
"You must never repeat this again. And this time, you have to keep your promise."
"I won't do it again, Dadda. Siya is sorry", she whispered guiltily.
"My little unicorn is not a bad girl... just a little naughty. Now no more crying. And when Mumma comes here, what should you do?"
"Say sorry", Siya answered immediately.
"Correct", Shaurya smiled.
Akansha finally walked toward them, and Siya quickly apologized to her properly, promising she wouldn't repeat such things again. Akansha forgave her with a nod.
After bidding goodbye to her parents, Siya skipped toward her playroom with Mrs. Sudha following behind. Akansha informed Mrs. Sudha that she would be home by afternoon and later take Siya with her to the secretariat.
Once Siya disappeared inside, Akansha slowly walked toward Shaurya.
"So... who's training you?" she asked. Shaurya blinked in confusion. "You're becoming a pro dad", Akansha said with a small smile.
He chuckled softly.
"These days, I'm constantly around the best mother. Naturally, some of her qualities are rubbing off on me too", he replied, making her shake her head at his endless habit of giving her credit for everything.
Both of them started walking out. Shaurya offered to drop her since her school was on his way, and Akansha agreed.
On the way, Akansha began reading the paper Siya had written and suddenly burst into helpless laughter.
"What? Why are you laughing?" Shaurya asked, smiling at the sight of her laughing so freely in his presence.
"Look at this. Your daughter and her talent," she said, showing him the paper.
Shaurya glanced at it while she read aloud.
"She has written eating chocolates under both good things and bad things. Apparently, eating ten to twenty chocolates is good, but eating a hundred is bad," Akansha said, still laughing.
Shaurya chuckled at his creative little one.
"And see this... playing without getting hurt is good, but hurting self is bad. You definitely inspired this one," Akansha stated, not even asking.
Of course, he was the one who kept instructing Siya to be careful and not get hurt.
"Wait... what is this?" Akansha's eyes narrowed as she read further. "Spoiling Dadda's shirts is wrong. Painting walls is wrong. Cutting Dadda's socks is wrong?"
She slowly looked at Shaurya.
He mentally slapped himself for his daughter's innocence. She had warned him not to tell her mother anything, only to write the entire confession herself.
"And look at the next one... playing with Dadda's cuplinks (cufflinks) and losing them is wrong," Akansha added.
"You must have given her a target, so she wrote whatever came to her mind," Shaurya said weakly.
"Yes, I gave her a target of ten. But your five-year-old wouldn't have written these unless she had actually done them," Akansha said, glaring at him.
Shaurya looked like a deer caught in headlights.
"She won't do it again," he said, because that was the only defense he could come up with for his daughter.
"I have realized two things after reading this paper," Akansha said, circling all the wrong spellings Siya had written. "One, your daughter needs to improve her spellings. Two, I need to make you stricter with her. Only then will she stop all this mischief."
She lectured him until their fleet of cars halted in front of her workplace. Akansha got down with her bag and tiffin, responding to Shaurya's goodbye with only a curt "Hm" before walking away.
He understood immediately. She was upset with him for going too easy on Siya.
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Over the next few days, Shaurya became busier than ever and kept postponing his visit to the doctor. His headaches had grown more frequent, and though he knew he needed an immediate diagnosis, his tightening schedule made it nearly impossible to take time out.
"Dr. Chauhan, yes, I do understand. I will definitely see you today. I'm leaving home now. I'll visit you at your place first and then leave for the Secretariat," Shaurya said into the phone before hanging up.
His doctor had sounded visibly upset with his repeated cancellations.
"Dadda... will you please drop me at school today? Pwease?" Siya requested.
Akansha was going directly to the Secretariat, so she had asked Jasmeet to drop Siya at school, but the little girl wanted her Dadda.
Usually, Shaurya wouldn't say no to his daughter, but today, he knew he had to. Visiting Dr. Chauhan before his condition worsened was important, and he knew if he fell sick, Akansha and Siya would suffer first.
"My dear unicorn, Dadda has some really important work. Otherwise, he would never say no to you. You know that, right?" Shaurya said gently.
Even Akansha looked surprised hearing him refuse Siya.
Was he finally learning to say no to his daughter because he couldn't bear her nagging anymore?
Looked like it.
"Okay, Dadda... will you come to pick me up then?" Siya asked hopefully.
He couldn't deny those eyes, so he nodded, hoping he would finish whatever tests Dr. Chauhan wanted to run by then.
Siya hugged him, kissed his cheek, then kissed Akansha before walking away, holding Jasmeet's hand.
"I'll go with you today," Akansha said, assuming he was headed to the Secretariat too.
"I'm going somewhere else..." he trailed off.
He hated himself for refusing his daughter first, and now his wife. She rarely announced with such right that she was going with him, and today, he had to deny her.
"Okay. I'll wait for Jasmeet then," Akansha said with a soft smile, easing his worry without making him explain further.
"Sir... party leaders from the West and East parts of the state are here. Youth leaders are also with them. Should we allow them in?" Suraj asked.
"Now?" Shaurya asked, glancing at his watch.
"Yes, sir. They're asking for five minutes."
"Okay. Let them in."
Shaurya sat in the hall with Mr. Sharma and Shweta, discussing a few important matters when the men walked in. Most of them were middle-aged, but a few were young, hardly around thirty. He recognized two of them as youth leaders from the West Wing.
One of his party MLAs had recommended those young men for their positions.
They had been praised for their quick response during the riots five years ago and for saving lives.
Seeing their zeal then, Shaurya had given them positions because he wanted more youth in politics — young people brought energy, fresh ideas, relevant perspectives, and the courage to discard age-old practices that no longer served anyone.
The area MLA had come with them too, praising the youth wing endlessly, and Shaurya understood they were here to ask for party tickets for the young men.
He genuinely considered it. He wanted to study their profiles thoroughly before deciding. He did want the percentage of young candidates contesting from his party to increase compared to the last elections.
But then he sighed, remembering what had been running in his mind lately.
If he went ahead with the decision forming inside him, his party would lose. And what would happen to these hardworking young MLAs then? Would they continue working for people's welfare, or would politics eventually teach them its dirtier games?
"Vinay, Vardhan, both of you meet me at the party office this coming Sunday. I would like to have a detailed chat with you regarding..." Shaurya began.
Both young men were listening attentively, but suddenly their eyes widened with visible dread.
"Shaurya, let me know when Jasmeet is here..." Akansha said, walking in while looking into her file.
The moment they saw her, Vinay and Vardhan stood up with a jerk. Akansha looked up, and her steps froze.
"This is Mrs. Akansha Shekhawat, CM sir's wife," the MLA introduced.
Their eyes widened further in shock. Shaurya frowned. Why the hell were they reacting like this after seeing Akansha?
He walked toward his wife, who stood completely still. Her eyes held fear and pain, both sharp enough for him to feel. He took her palm in his and rubbed it slowly, trying to bring her back to the present.
"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked softly.
Before she could answer, she felt someone touch her feet. She jerked back instinctively and almost lost her balance, but Shaurya caught her immediately.
Vinay and Vardhan had fallen at her feet.
"What the hell?" Shaurya snapped, anger flaring through him.
"Maaf krdijiye Madam... (Please forgive us, ma'am...) Sorry... so sorry... We didn't know you were CM sir's wife. No matter what, what we did that night was wrong. We shouldn't have left a pregnant lady on the road like that..." Vinay begged.
They had never imagined that the woman they had abandoned on the road that night — heavily pregnant, injured, and helpless — was their CM's wife, the very man for whom they had created that chaos.