Chapter 57 #3
"Dadda is a little sick, bacha. He's in the hospital right now. Doctor uncle told him to rest, so he couldn't come home. Just like mumma takes care of you when you get sick, mumma has to take care of Dadda now too. So will you stay with Rachna aunty and Dev uncle for a few days?"
The moment Siya heard the word hospital, her eyes filled instantly.
"Dadda has fever?" she asked tearfully.
"Yes, but there's nothing to worry about.
Doctor Uncle is giving medicines to Dadda.
He'll be home in a few days, and you can play with him then.
Don't cry, my bacha... Mumma will take care of Dadda, okay?
" Akansha told her daughter, who looked heartbroken at the thought of her father being in pain.
She had never cried like this for her. And this little girl claimed she loved her more than her Dadda, huh! It was all a father-daughter scam to fool her, she thought.
Akansha couldn't help but feel slightly jealous of Siya's love for Shaurya. Whenever Akansha suffered from a fever, her little girl would instead act brave and help Richa take care of her.
"Mumma... Dadda in pain?"
"A little", Akansha admitted softly. "But he's getting better."
Immediately, Siya wiped her own tears with tiny palms.
"Mumma... I'll come with you. I take care of Dadda. Pwease..."
The desperation in her voice broke Akansha's heart.
But she gently convinced her daughter that she couldn't take her there right now. Instead, she promised to video call Shaurya once he woke up properly.
Only then did Siya agree.
After freshening her daughter up and getting her ready for bed, Akansha finally left for the hospital again.
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Shaurya woke up sometime at night and frowned on finding Akansha beside him instead of Akash like the last time he had opened his eyes.
"Why are you staying here? I'm completely fine. Wait... if you're here, then Siya? Is she still at Dev's place? Akansha, you need rest too. Go home and sleep", Shaurya started speaking one thing after another while she simply looked at him, letting him finish his rant first.
"Good that you woke up. Siya wants to talk to you. Here, I'm calling her", Akansha said calmly, already dialing Rachna's number.
Shaurya immediately looked at her. "Does she know I'm unwell?"
"Yes. She insisted on coming here, but I convinced her you're fine. I'll bring her tomorrow", Akansha replied.
A flicker of worry crossed his face instantly.
Rachna picked up the call almost immediately.
"Hi Akansha, how is Shaurya now? Did he wake up?"
Akansha answered briefly in affirmation, and the two women exchanged a few words regarding his health before Siya, who had been tugging Rachna's kurti impatiently all this while, finally snatched the phone.
"Siya, did you brush your teeth?" Akansha asked first.
"Yes mumma. Show Dadda. Is he pain? (Is he in pain?)" Siya asked worriedly.
"Yes, he is a pain in my—"
Dev's voice came from behind Siya before Rachna glared at him sharply, making him immediately raise both hands in surrender.
"Such an a*s", Shaurya muttered under his breath.
But Siya had already panicked thinking her Dadda was in pain.
"Mamabear... Dadda..." she started fearfully before Akansha cut in quickly.
"Siya, Dadda is perfectly fine. Dev uncle is joking. Here, talk to your Dadda."
She handed the phone to Shaurya.
"Daddaaa..." Siya's tiny voice instantly softened his entire face. "How are you? Is it pain? Dadda, you'll become okay na? Listen to mumma. Take care. Doctor uncle gave injection? Did it pain?"
Question after question poured out of her mouth without pause, and Akansha couldn't help noticing once again how frighteningly alike father and daughter were.
"I'm completely fine, my little magician", Shaurya answered patiently, one question at a time. "No, it doesn't hurt much. Yes, I am listening to mumma. And yes, doctor uncle gave an injection, but it wasn't painful."
He smiled softly while talking to her.
"Now don't worry about me. Play with Ishaan and Ivaan, have fun, and I know my unicorn is such a good girl that she won't trouble Rachna aunty, right?"
Siya nodded her head so vigorously that Shaurya instantly opened his mouth to stop her before she hurt herself, but Dev was faster. He held her cheeks firmly to stop the aggressive nodding.
Dev and Shaurya exchanged a silent look of understanding while Akansha sighed internally at the overprotective men surrounding her daughter.
After talking for some more time, Dev assured Shaurya that he'd take care of Siya, and finally the father-daughter duo bid each other goodnight. Siya also wished Akansha before the call ended.
Akansha then gave Shaurya a light dinner exactly as advised by the doctor. He ate quietly, though he tried initiating conversation a few times. She responded calmly, but only in short replies.
Once he finished eating, she silently took the plate away from him.
"Did something happen?" he finally asked when she said nothing further.
He tried getting out of bed to place the plate aside himself, but she instantly took it from him while throwing him a glare for attempting to get off the bed unnecessarily.
"No. You collapsed. That's what happened", Akansha replied flatly. "Now go back to sleep. You need proper rest."
Shaurya instantly understood she was angry but was controlling herself because of his condition.
But, he knew exactly how to provoke the truth out of her.
"Hm..." he leaned back slightly. "You had so many complaints that you couldn't take care of me when I got stabbed last time. Now you finally got the chance. So? How does it feel taking care of me?"
The moment the words left his mouth, even he internally panicked. Akansha looked at him with such fury that he instinctively looked away.
"Look at your audacity, Shaurya", she seethed.
Yes. He was dead.
"Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You were suffering from headaches for weeks. There were so many warnings, and yet you ignored every single one of them. How reckless can you be?" Her voice trembled with anger and fear together. "Do you even remember you have a five-year-old daughter who needs you?"
She wiped her tears angrily before continuing.
"You were so consumed by guilt over what happened in those four years that you nearly risked the next thirty or forty years of our lives.
I genuinely don't understand why people call you visionary when you lack basic common sense.
What would've happened to Siya if something serious happened to you?
Yes, I raised her before too, but back then she didn't know the depth of her father's love. Now she does."
Her voice cracked.
"Siya needs you... and maybe we need you too as a family. I may never forgive you, but... argh... what am I even saying? I think your brain stroke affected my head too. I hate you for being so careless, Shaurya. I hate you..."
She turned away quickly, hiding her tears, but he had already seen everything.
The fear.
The love.
The helplessness.
His own eyes welled up.
"Akansha..." he held her hand gently and pulled her toward him.
She turned instantly and slapped him across the cheek. Not hard. But enough for him to feel her fear.
"I was so scared, you idiot", she whispered brokenly. "Why did you neglect your health?"
"I'm sorry", he said softly. "I genuinely didn't think it would become this serious."
Then his voice softened even further.
"And Akansha... you can cry. I know you've been holding everything in. I know you don't like breaking down in front of people. There's nobody here to judge you." He rubbed her hand gently. "And I promise... I won't assume you've forgiven me just because you cried."
A weak chuckle escaped her through tears. Of course, he knew exactly what was going on inside her head. The moment he reassured her like that, the wall she'd been holding up finally cracked, and tears flowed freely.
Shaurya didn't interrupt her. He simply sat there quietly, rubbing the back of her hand slowly because he knew that tiny gesture always calmed her.
After a while, he tugged her hand gently until she sat beside him on the bed. He poured water for her and handed her the glass quietly.
Neither of them spoke for nearly half an hour. But the silence between them wasn't peaceful. It was heavy with emotions both had been suppressing for years.
Akansha was struggling to hide the love and care she still carried for him. And Shaurya... he was struggling against fear, guilt, regret, and desperation.
In the end, it had always been Akansha who saw through him completely.
"C-Can I hug you once?" he asked finally, almost like a plea. "Please..."
She nodded silently.
The moment she did, he pulled her into his arms tightly, burying his face into her neck while breathing shakily.
"All these days you were so close... yet so far", he whispered brokenly.
"Akansha... I love you. I love you so much.
It killed me staying away from you." His voice trembled badly.
"Please don't push me away. Keep me close this lifetime, jaan.
.. please. I can't live even a single day without seeing you and Siya. "
Akansha's own eyes filled hearing how vulnerable he sounded.
"We'll go far away from here", he continued desperately.
"I won't let anyone hurt you or Siya again.
Don't forgive me for the past if you don't want to.
Keep reminding me of my mistakes forever.
.. but please don't distance yourself from me.
And even if you never want to give me another chance.
.." his voice broke completely, "then at least let me stay as your caretaker?
I'll do any job... you don't even have to pay me. .."
A sob escaped Akansha hearing him speak like that. He loved her so much. It was painfully evident. And it became too much for her heart to bear.
Shaurya rarely lost composure before anyone, but when it came to her, he always did. Every emotion inside him surfaced freely before her.