Chapter 59 #5
But instead of sitting, Akansha quickly pulled out cotton and a small bottle from her bag.
"Keep reviewing the file. I'll clean this quickly", she muttered while grabbing his hand. "How did you even come to office like this? People are laughing at you, Shaurya."
"I tried removing it, but these stubborn stains refused to go away. I'm sure Dev mixed glue into this", Shaurya complained seriously.
Akansha rolled her eyes instantly.
"Grow up, Shaurya. Nail paint doesn't come off easily, especially when it's applied on skin instead of nails. And stop blaming Dev for yours and your daughter's stupidity", she muttered while carefully cleaning the nail polish off his fingers, nails, and the back of his palms.
"By the way, who exactly was laughing?", he asked casually.
Akansha shot him a look while continuing to clean the stubborn nail polish stains from his fingers.
"Didn't you notice the way Meera Pathak kept staring at your hands and giggling?", she asked, an unmistakable edge slipping into her tone.
Truthfully, Akansha had disliked Meera from the very first time she saw her years ago at the restaurant. And that dislike only intensified over time.
Especially after seeing the woman openly flirt with Shaurya despite knowing very well that he was married and the father of a five-year-old daughter.
"I might have missed it. Sorry", Shaurya replied innocently, though his attention remained more on his wife than the file in front of him.
"Focus on your work, Shaurya. I don't want you wasting your time", she muttered.
He nodded obediently and forced himself to look back at the file with great difficulty. Meanwhile, his heart was doing somersaults inside his chest. The simple fact that Akansha came all the way to the Secretariat carrying nail polish remover for him...
The way she quietly cleaned his hands without even asking... Those tiny gestures warmed his heart far more than they should have. Somewhere, it felt as though she had slowly begun accepting herself as his wife again.
Shaurya finally shifted his attention properly toward the file and started reviewing the details related to phase 2, the recent modifications, and the implementation reports.
Whenever he found inconsistencies or had doubts regarding certain figures, he questioned her immediately, and Akansha explained each point before continuing her work on his hands.
After a while, he dragged a chair closer and asked her to sit beside him properly, but Akansha refused. Standing gave her better access to his hands.
"Wait", Shaurya suddenly said.
Before she could react, he gently made her sit in his chair instead. Then he stood beside her and casually extended his hand again as though nothing unusual had happened.
"Have you gone mad? This is not—"
"It's okay", he interrupted calmly. "This position is easier for you to work in. And don't worry, no one enters without permission."
Then, as if he hadn't just placed his wife in the Chief Minister's chair, he calmly resumed reading the file. But Akansha's heartbeat had already gone haywire. The sheer fact that she was sitting in the Chief Minister's chair made her nervous.
Damn this man and his unnecessary antics. She hurriedly finished cleaning his hands while constantly glancing toward the office door.
Thankfully, by the time she was done, Shaurya too had completed skimming through the file.
"The next time you allow Siya to do something like this, I'll make both of you bathe in nail paint", Akansha warned sternly.
Shaurya immediately nodded. He knew very well she was fully capable of doing exactly that if irritated enough.
"I'll need some more time to study this properly. Everything looked fine during the initial review, but I want to go through the numbers carefully. I don't want a repeat of last time", he said seriously.
Akansha silently admired that quality in him. Despite having experts around him, Shaurya never blindly depended on anyone when it came to governance or administration.
He personally studied details before approving anything important. That was the advantage of having a highly educated individual as the Chief Minister.
But more than education, it was Shaurya's willingness to constantly learn and understand every sector that became a blessing for the state.
"Okay then. You can send the file after signing it, or I'll come during the second half and collect it myself", Akansha suggested.
"Fine", Shaurya agreed before looking at her hopefully. "Then maybe we can have lunch together?"
"No. I'll have lunch with my colleagues. You carry on", she replied immediately.
"Maybe I can join you all", he muttered under his breath, already knowing she would reject the idea.
"Huh?", Akansha frowned, not hearing him properly.
"Nothing", he said quickly before changing the topic.
"By the way... tell me something. Why is that friend of yours still unmarried?", Akansha asked casually, raising her brows slightly.
Shaurya instantly understood he was about to be interrogated badly. Mentally, he wished himself luck and silently prayed to his favorite god.
"I don't know", he lied poorly.
Akansha narrowed her eyes. She wasn't stupid. She had understood Meera Pathak's interest in Shaurya long ago.
In fact, Virendar Shekhawat had deliberately discussed marrying Shaurya to Meera multiple times in front of her in the past. Even now, remembering those moments made her blood boil.
"Is she waiting for you to divorce me?", Akansha asked sharply.
Though her tone carried anger, the buried pain beneath it was impossible to miss.
"If that's what she's waiting for, then she'll remain unmarried forever", Shaurya answered seriously. "And honestly, I don't think Meera Pathak is foolish enough for that."
His voice held absolute certainty. There had never been another woman in his life apart from Akansha. Not in the past. Not now. And never in the future.
Hearing that, some of Akansha's irritation eased slightly. It wasn't insecurity. She had never truly felt insecure when it came to Shaurya.
If there was one thing she trusted blindly, it was his loyalty toward her.
"Akansha... what happened?", he asked gently after noticing her silence.
"Your father used to say he would make you divorce me and marry her instead", Akansha admitted quietly. "He said all those things intentionally in front of your mother while knowing I could hear every word. I just remembered those moments suddenly and got upset."
"That old t*at...", Shaurya muttered under his breath. "I'll deal with him properly very soon."
Though he tried controlling himself, Akansha could still see the fury simmering beneath his composure.
"Maybe I should start sending some good marriage alliances to Meera Pathak", Shaurya suddenly suggested.
He genuinely hated seeing Akansha upset because of another woman. Many men enjoyed making their wives jealous. They considered it proof of love. But Shaurya always despised the idea.
To him, deliberately making your partner insecure was disrespectful. Yes, somewhere deep down, he did feel happy seeing Akansha express possessiveness over him. But he never wanted her to suffer because of it.
Akansha frowned immediately at his suggestion.
"Kyu? Broker ho? (Why? Are you a broker?)", she asked irritably.
Shaurya's eyes widened instantly, and he immediately glanced toward the office door.
Sometimes, Shweta or Mr. Sharma barged inside without permission during emergencies.
The last thing he needed was someone overhearing his wife calling the Chief Minister a broker.
"No! I just thought—"
He stopped midway, finally realizing what had actually upset her. Akansha instantly understood his thought process too.
This idiot genuinely believed she felt insecure because of Meera.
"Shaurya..."
She looked straight into his eyes before speaking.
"Even if the most beautiful woman on earth danced naked in front of you, you wouldn't spare her a second glance... let alone Meera Pathak."
And with that, she simply walked out of the office. Shaurya stood there silently. His eyes turned moist almost instantly.
The sheer trust she had in him despite everything they had gone through overwhelmed him deeply.
What more could a man possibly ask for in life when he had a wife who trusted him this blindly? Every good man deserved a woman like Akansha. Unfortunately, he wasn't one of those good men.
Yet somehow, he alone had been fortunate enough to receive her love.