Chapter 57
Shaurya rested while Akansha kept waiting for him to wake up.
Every moment with him kept running through her head like a reel.
He had been the gentlest with her, always taking care of her in ways she had once taken for granted.
If she eliminated a few situations where he had hurt her — the first being the moment she learned through Aakriti that his love had initially been an act, even though the love itself had never been false; the second being when he said she deserved the betrayal she got; and the third being when he threatened her into marriage — she could barely remember him speaking harshly to her with the intention of hurting her.
Those were the three most painful moments Shaurya had given her.
He had loved her from the day he saw her, long before the issue with Aakriti happened.
So, when he approached her with the intention of deceiving her, he had already developed feelings for her.
She wasn't defending his actions; she was only acknowledging the facts that could possibly soothe her wounded heart.
There hadn't been a single second where his love was false.
When Aakriti attempted suicide after a miraculous recovery — after hearing the words Akansha had spoken to Suman about her character in the hospital — Shaurya had been furious.
Yet he had distanced himself from Akansha because he was afraid his anger would make him hurt her badly for what she had done to his sister.
But when he learned she was being forced to marry a man ten years older than her, he stepped in and married her himself.
His fury, Aakriti's fragile recovery, and the way the thought of avenging Akansha's cruel words gave Aakriti strength pushed him into making Akansha believe their marriage was rooted in revenge.
He had wanted to avenge his sister's suffering for one night. But fate played its cruel game in the form of Virendar Shekhawat.
Was she whitewashing his sins? Maybe.But she was countering them with facts, not excuses.
There was no justification for what he did, but was he the only reason they had reached that point?
Shaurya would not have married her if her mother hadn't tried forcing her into marriage with a much older man.
Aakriti, who had almost recovered, wouldn't have attempted suicide again if Suman hadn't acted out of jealousy.
None of this would have happened if Dilip hadn't played with Aakriti's feelings and manipulated everyone.
And she and Shaurya might have sorted their differences after marriage if Virendar Shekhawat hadn't played his dirty games and tried to kill both her and Aakriti with his wife's help.
Shaurya wouldn't have agreed to deceive her if Dev hadn't been adamant about taking the role himself if Shaurya refused. He wouldn't have done it if Aakriti hadn't demanded it while threatening her own life.
Would Akansha have done the same if her brother or sister asked her to deceive a man while threatening to harm themselves?
Probably not.
She would have slapped them and brought them to their senses. Or at least, that was what she wanted to believe. Could she still do that if the person was truly su**idal and had attempted it multiple times?
She didn't know.
She didn't know what she would have done, but her conscience would never have agreed to deceive someone like that. Highly unlikely. Maybe she would have hurt them in some other way, but she didn't know... and she didn't want to know.
What happened to her was wrong. Shaurya was wrong. But his love wasn't. It wasn't deception, and she had to admit that.
That man, even on the verge of getting killed, had tried to save her.
Did she have the courage to do something like that for him?
Maybe yes. Maybe no. She felt capable of giving her life for him; that was how much she had loved him.
But would she actually have the courage to take a stab meant for him?
She wouldn't know unless such a situation ever came, and she never wanted to find out.
She dared to suffer hell for him. But dying? Maybe not, considering the responsibilities she carried. Then again, was love only about taking pain for the person you loved?
No.
There were other things too — understanding, trust, affection, confidence. Shaurya had given her all four.
Until one day, everything came crashing down.
Now that she looked at the whole truth, she couldn't see Shaurya as either black or white.
He was grey. For almost everything he did, he had either been forced into a corner or had been trying to act as the brother of an innocent, and to some extent foolish, sister who had been played by people who could never be kind to her.
Yes, he had reasons. But did those reasons lessen her pain? Maybe the truth soothed the wounds a little, but it didn't erase the suffering.
The pain of facing pregnancy alone, of giving birth to Siya under such terrifying circumstances, was not something that vanished simply because the truth had changed. What was she supposed to do now? Would holding a grudge against Shaurya satisfy her aching heart?
No.
It didn't.
But she still couldn't forget the deception, or even the fact that the idea of deceiving her had once existed in Shaurya's mind.
Shaurya had suffered too. His life wasn't the bed of roses she had once assumed.
He had been fighting his parents from childhood, though from the shadows.
For years, he had attacked his father from behind for trying to kill Aakriti, and yet he had to live under the same roof as the people he hated with his whole being, pretending otherwise.
Maybe they weren't so different after all.
All her life, she had struggled, endured hardships, and shouldered her family's responsibilities. In return, she wanted genuine love, which she never got. Even then, she had been so used to doing things for them that neither her mother's cruelty nor her sister's selfishness stopped her.
But after marrying Shaurya and suffering through everything that followed, that pattern broke. She started thinking about her own life. She started doing things for herself. And whether she liked it or not, Shaurya deserved some credit for that.
If he hadn't married her, she might still have been that foolish elder daughter of the house who sacrificed every minute of her life for her parents and siblings. She had given almost three decades of her life to her family.
And what had she received in return? Nothing. But with Shaurya, she had received love. She had felt it in his every gesture.
She had been the rudest to him. Even now, she treated him terribly at times, and yet he stayed. Despite his sins, was she right in treating him the way she did? She had suffered, yes, but what had he gained by suffering her?
He had suffered too.
Where did this realization leave her?
What was the solution to their problem?
Could she forgive him for his past deeds?
Could he forget that she was the same woman who had spoken ill of his sister and pushed that fragile girl toward suicide?
She was sure of only one thing. If they moved on from the past, if she forgave him and started afresh with him, they could be one of the happiest couples, living a peaceful life with Siya.
But the question remained. Could they do it?
Could she do it?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Dev walked in.
"I handed over the reports to Dr. Chauhan.", Dev asked, settling beside her. "Did you have your food?"
"Yeah. Siya?" Akansha asked immediately.
"She's fine. Playing with the kids. Don't worry, Rachna is looking after her", Dev said.
Akansha nodded.
"Are you okay?" Dev asked.
"Yeah. I was just thinking of ways to break your best friend's bones for neglecting his health. The next time I find him giving speeches about health, I'll be the first one to throw chappals at him. Mark my words", Akansha said angrily.
Dev chuckled despite himself.
Health speeches were among Shaurya's best speeches. He always asked people to take care of themselves and constantly promoted a healthy lifestyle through his social media handles too.
"You know, you behave more like his mother than his wife", Dev said, trying to lighten her mood.
"One of my friends once told me why he was so scared of getting hurt during childhood.
He used to be very careful while playing, not because he feared the injury, but because he feared the beating he would get from his mother for hurting himself.
I never understood that kind of love, but maybe now I can see it. "
Akansha shook her head at his attempt to shift her mood.
"I don't know about your 'behaving like a mother' theory, but your 'this' friend deserves a beating. Scratch that... a proper thrashing", Akansha said, looking at Shaurya, who slept unaware of his wife's violent thoughts.
Dev chuckled, but he couldn't disagree.
He too was angry at Shaurya for neglecting his health, but after seeing Akansha's anger, his own anger turned into pity.
God save his best friend.
"Did Dr. Chauhan say anything after seeing the reports?" Akansha asked.
"No. I came here right after handing them over personally. He won't say anything to anyone without your presence", Dev replied.
She sighed.
Technically, Dev was the one person who had never left Shaurya's side. He was the most trustworthy person in Shaurya's life, but unfortunately, the public image those two best friends maintained didn't exactly convince the doctor to reveal anything to him.
"How does Dr. Chauhan know about you and Shaurya being friends?" Akansha asked.
"He doesn't. As far as he knows, Shaurya and I are mere acquaintances who met because of Aakriti. Well, that's what he thinks", Dev clarified.
He paused before continuing.