Chapter 58 #2
"Oh? What else are you hiding, Shaurya?" Shaurya sighed quietly. "This is only half the truth, isn't it? What's the other half?" she asked, already knowing he was concealing something.
"I came after you mainly because Aakriti demanded it. But she never asked for Dilip's destruction, so I..." Shaurya began, but Akansha cut him off immediately.
"I know you and Dev started targeting Dilip, then suddenly stopped. Why?"
Shaurya shut his eyes briefly. He never wanted her to know all this, but now there was no escaping it.
Yes, Dev and he had planned Dilip Gandhi's downfall carefully. They started destroying him piece by piece, making sure Dilip knew exactly why his life was collapsing around him, so that he would realize what he had done to Aakriti and regret every bit of it.
But then one day, Suman called Akansha.
Suman broke down, blaming Shaurya for destroying Dilip's business and mental peace. She said every day someone or the other troubled Dilip, and he was slowly losing his sanity. She begged Akansha to stop Shaurya, but Akansha refused, saying Dilip deserved it for what he had done to Aakriti.
Then Suman brought Harsh into it.
She begged Akansha to save Dilip at least for their son's sake, but Akansha stayed stubborn.
She could hear her sister sobbing helplessly on the other side of the call, yet she refused to interfere.
That was also the day Akansha truly realized the extent of damage Dilip Gandhi had caused Aakriti.
Visiting her in the hospital had already shaken her, but hearing Suman's broken pleas deepened that realization further.
After the call, Akansha sat crying quietly, apologizing to her sister repeatedly under her breath because, for the first time in her life, she couldn't do anything for her.
She had always fulfilled Suman's demands before, even unwillingly at times, unable to bear her tantrums or their mother's taunts.
If she thought carefully, she wasn't very different from Shaurya and Dev.
She spoiled Suman out of obligation, while they spoiled Aakriti out of love and overprotectiveness.
The only difference was circumstance. Aakriti's privileged upbringing made her innocent, sheltered, and emotionally weak, while Suman's harsh environment made her strong-minded but stubborn and entitled.
Shaurya had witnessed his wife silently wiping her tears after that call. She kept whispering apologies to Suman while stubbornly refusing to ask him to spare Dilip. And with every step he took toward Dilip's destruction, Shaurya knew the pressure and guilt inside Akansha would only increase.
But he couldn't ignore Aakriti's pain either. She deserved justice, and Dilip Gandhi deserved punishment. At the same time, he couldn't bear adding more pain to Akansha's already shattered life.
Once again, he felt stuck between the two women he loved the most.
In the end, he decided they would do whatever Aakriti wanted.
"So... you left him just like that?" Akansha asked after hearing everything. "You shouldn't have, Shaurya. It wasn't fair to Aakriti. That ba**a*d deserved to rot in jail."
"Aakriti was recovering gradually, and therapy was helping her tremendously.
Dev and I discussed everything with her, and she decided she wanted to let go of all the hatred consuming her.
She said she didn't want an innocent child suffering for his father's mistakes.
So for Harsh's sake, she asked us to leave Dilip alone. "
Shaurya paused before continuing quietly.
"We let him go, but fate didn't. His addictions eventually dragged him to the streets anyway.
Sometimes I feel I should've destroyed him much earlier so Suman and Harsh wouldn't have suffered all these years.
But better late than never. Suman would soon be granted divorce, and after that, he would rot in jail permanently. "
Akansha fell silent, lost in thought.
"What are you thinking?" Shaurya asked softly.
"I didn't even know you saw me that day. I thought you wouldn't care even if I begged you... but despite everything, you still considered my feelings."
She looked at him quietly.
"This wasn't just one incident, Shaurya.
There were hundreds of moments where I thought you didn't care, only to later realize you cared more than anyone.
Sometimes I wonder how our life would've been if you could openly express your feelings without fearing your parents. Maybe none of this would've happened."
Her eyes hardened with anger.
"I can never forgive your parents, Shaurya. I want them to suffer every second for what they did. They deserve pain worse than death."
"They will", Shaurya said calmly, but the promise in his tone was unmistakable. "And you'll see it soon."
If Shobha Shekhawat believed she could escape after trying to kill his unborn child and harm his pregnant wife, then she was gravely mistaken. Shaurya might one day show mercy toward Virendar Shekhawat — might — but he would never spare Shobha.
The husband and wife continued talking for a while until Akansha finally ordered him to sleep.
Though clearly exhausted, Shaurya kept dragging the conversation because he didn't want the moment to end.
Eventually, after repeatedly requesting, he asked for her scarf again, and when she finally handed it over, he grinned like a child.
"Di... Dr. Chauhan wants to talk to you", Akash informed Akansha while entering the VIP ward, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Now what?" Shaurya muttered irritably. He was finally getting discharged today; he just hoped the old man wouldn't completely ban him from working. There was already a mountain of work waiting for him.
As expected, Dr. Chauhan ignored Shaurya entirely and gave every instruction directly to Akansha instead. That vile old man had discovered Shaurya's weakest point and was shamelessly exploiting it.
Akansha shot Shaurya a warning glare for his irritation.
"I'll go talk to him. Till then, stop whining. You're the Chief Minister of a state, for God's sake, behave like one."
With that, she walked out.
Dr. Chauhan had practically become her admirer by now.
She succeeded in controlling Shaurya with one glare where he had completely failed earlier.
The doctor had struggled to keep Shaurya admitted before because he couldn't openly argue with the Chief Minister, but things were entirely different now.
Shaurya obeyed his wife religiously, so Dr. Chauhan wisely chose the easier route.
Once Akansha left, Akash looked at Shaurya.
"She keeps telling you to behave because you're the Chief Minister, but what about her behavior with the Chief Minister?"
"Oh? Great point. Why don't you ask her that?" Shaurya mocked lazily.
Akash instantly shook his head and subconsciously cupped his cheek, remembering the slap he received recently for waking Shaurya while he was resting. The matter had been urgent, but his sister clearly didn't care.
Shaurya chuckled knowingly.
"You are cruel. You're enjoying this?" Akash accused.
Shaurya innocently shook his head, pulling the exact same expression Siya used whenever she got caught.
Akash stared at him in disbelief.
"Now I understand who Siya inherited this from. With this face, you could make anyone believe anything."
"Thanks. I know I'm cute. But we're brothers, and I'm husband only to your sister, so don't think of sharing me", Shaurya said, making Akash roll his eyes.
"I wouldn't have woken you if it wasn't about..."
Before he could finish, Shaurya's playful expression disappeared completely.
"Coming to that... prepare all the key documents and a brief file regarding how far we've progressed with the project."
Akash frowned.
"Why? You and all the officers involved already know everything. We agreed to keep it confidential until elections, remember? Preparing documents now could become risky."
"Do it. It's necessary for the handover."
Akash stared at him in shock.
"Handover? To whom? What are you talking about?"
Before Shaurya could answer, there was a knock on the door. Akash swallowed his doubts for later as Akansha entered with Mr. Sharma and Shaurya's advisors.
Mr. Sharma briefed Shaurya about the growing rumors spread by opposition leaders.
Some accused him of becoming complacent and irresponsible, while others claimed he had secretly gone on a vacation with his wife and daughter.
Since Akansha had also taken leave from work and shifted to remote coordination temporarily, many people had started believing those rumors.
Mr. Sharma suggested releasing an official statement, but Shaurya refused again, unsettling everyone in the room. Akash immediately connected this with Shaurya's earlier mention of "handover", but stayed silent for the moment.
"Sir, EO(Electoral Officer) is appointed officially. The Election Commission will announce it shortly.", Mr. Sharma began filling Shaurya with all the information needed. "Principal Secretary Arundati Rajgopal has been appointed as the Chief Electoral Officer",
Shaurya nodded calmly. He already knew, since the Election Commission had consulted Mr. Sharma, the Chief Secretary of the state, before finalizing the decision.
Then Shaurya looked at Akash with a small smile, and Akash instantly noticed the guilt hidden behind it.
Akash had always been the strongest candidate for the role of Chief Electoral Officer. It was his dream position. But election rules required complete impartiality, and his close family ties with Shaurya automatically made him ineligible.
"Elections will be announced soon, sir, and as you know, they are not far away. We need to prepare. And regarding your nomination... we suggest you contest from two constituencies this time...", one of the advisors began carefully, but Shaurya cut him off before he could continue further.