Chapter 62 #3
Shaurya stormed toward his study while Mr. Sharma, political analysts, and staff hurried behind him.
"Sir, summoning them right now won't help us politically. The women's associations are already criticizing you because of your personal life. Opposition leaders will use this situation too", one advisor warned while struggling to keep up with Shaurya's pace.
Akansha, who was sitting in the hall helping Siya color, immediately noticed the tension in Shaurya's expression. Siya was about to call out excitedly to her father, but Akansha stopped her gently.
Something serious had happened.
Shaurya never ignored Siya after returning home. No matter how exhausted he was, he always noticed her first. The fact that he walked past without even glancing toward them spoke volumes about his state of mind.
"I am not just a potential CM candidate of this party.
I am the current Chief Minister, and I will act like one", Shaurya said coldly while continuing toward the study.
"I will not ignore wrongdoing for political convenience.
If the women's associations think I was wrong, let them punish me.
I accept my mistakes openly, and I am not afraid of consequences. "
Then he looked toward Mr. Sharma.
"Summon the ministers, MLAs, their chief advisors, and the respective district magistrates."
"Yes, sir", Mr. Sharma replied immediately.
The others exchanged worried looks. Shaurya's courage often terrified even his own people. Akansha sighed quietly.
Pressure surrounded him from every direction these days.
Ever since their marriage became public, some women's welfare groups had begun openly criticizing him for abandoning his pregnant wife in the past. Many demanded public apologies and statements from him.
Akansha honestly found the logic ridiculous.
What happened between husband and wife was personal. Why exactly should he apologize publicly?
Still, she knew opposition leaders were deliberately fueling the outrage politically. Dev couldn't fully stop them either; otherwise, he'd risk losing his own leadership position.
A few MLAs soon entered the house. They greeted Akansha respectfully, but she saw through the facade easily. According to them, she was the reason their beloved CM's image was getting questioned.
Not that she cared.
None of them would dare say anything openly to her anyway. Everyone knew exactly how dangerous Shaurya became where his wife and daughter were concerned.
After giving them a polite smile, she carried Siya upstairs.
Later, after what seemed like a brutal meeting, Shaurya dismissed the MLAs and ministers but retained the IAS officers and senior staff.
A few officials stepped outside briefly, clearly exhausted.
Akansha happened to walk downstairs to pick up Siya's scattered color pencils when she overheard them.
"Can I leave using family emergency as an excuse?", one officer muttered tiredly.
"Wait, that's my excuse", another whispered back immediately.
The third groaned dramatically. "Forget your stupid jokes and come back. We took ten minutes saying we needed air, and instead of stress relief, you people wasted time. Let's go back upstairs and get grilled alive again."
They froze momentarily seeing Akansha standing there.
All of them greeted her nervously, clearly afraid she might have overheard everything. But her calm smile relaxed them instantly.
Akansha almost chuckled internally. So Shaurya had entered full interrogation mode.
He rarely shouted, but he could absolutely make people miserable by calmly grilling them until they mentally collapsed.
She sent Siya's pencils upstairs through a helper before heading toward the kitchen to prepare tea and coffee for everyone.
Meanwhile, she texted Akash asking how many people were still trapped inside the study.
No reply.
"Hm... looks like everyone is getting roasted equally, including my overconfident brother, suits him...", she thought with amusement and pity as well.
Mrs. Sudha had gotten hurt that evening, so Akansha forced her to rest in her room.
That left Akansha alone to prepare tea and coffee for everyone.
She didn't mind the work, but estimating the quantity without knowing the exact headcount was difficult, so she prepared everything roughly according to guesswork.
Akansha walked toward Shaurya's study carrying one tray while the househelp followed her with two more trays filled with hot beverages and cookies.
She initially wanted to prepare proper snacks, but cooking wasn't exactly her strongest skill, and she didn't want to embarrass herself by serving disastrous food to senior officials.
So she settled for tea, coffee, and cookies instead.
Just before entering, she heard Shaurya's tone and immediately understood the atmosphere inside.
"The last date to complete this project was three weeks ago, and now you're telling me we're still months away from finishing it.
Does that sound reasonable to you? Because, to me, it certainly doesn't", Shaurya said calmly, but the coldness beneath his composed voice was enough to make everyone uneasy.
"Give me one valid reason and I'll let this go. Otherwise, the only option left is finishing this before election dates are announced."
"Sir, actually...", one officer began nervously.
"I'll listen to a reason, not an excuse. Decide carefully which one you're about to give", Shaurya interrupted smoothly.
His tone never rose, but that silent authority in it was worse than shouting. However, the moment Akansha entered with the trays, his entire demeanor shifted instantly.
He got up immediately, walked toward her, and took the tray from her hands himself, startling everyone in the room.
"Serve everyone", he politely instructed the househelp before gently holding Akansha's wrist and guiding her slightly aside.
"Why did you trouble yourself with this? You could've just sent them", he asked gently.
"It's fine", she replied with a small smile, amused at how quickly his mood changed after seeing her.
"Did Siya sleep?", he asked.
"Yes. She kept painting till now while waiting for you, then finally slept", Akansha replied.
He gave her a guilty smile.
"I'll make it up to her."
"I told her the same thing", she replied, making him smile properly this time. These days she no longer hid how well she knew him, and somewhere along the way, she had slowly begun accepting the comfort that came with being his wife again.
"What about your dinner?", she asked.
"I'll eat later. Wait... actually, I'll ask everyone to stay for dinner. Ask Mrs. Sudha to prepare extra food", Shaurya said quickly.
Before Akansha could stop him, he turned around and announced dinner for everyone at his residence since the meeting would continue late into the night.
Akansha internally wanted to bang her head against the wall. Shaurya didn't even let her react.
Usually she would've agreed anyway — she had often told him to make sure his overworked staff ate properly before leaving late at night — but this time the problem was different.
There wasn't enough food ready. And Mrs. Sudha was injured.
Akansha gave everyone a polite smile before leaving the room to think about how exactly she was supposed to feed an army of IAS officers and senior staff members at midnight.
Ordering from a restaurant crossed her mind immediately, but she dismissed it just as fast. It wouldn't look good if Shaurya proudly announced dinner at home only to serve restaurant food.
More importantly, many of them preferred home-cooked meals, and with officials of this level, outside food always carried unnecessary security concerns.
A few minutes later, she called Shaurya and informed him about the disaster he had confidently created.
The moment he realized the situation, he cursed himself internally for announcing dinner without consulting her first. He apologized immediately, but Akansha brushed it aside while both tried figuring out a solution.
"We'll cook together", he suddenly said. She blinked in surprise. "They work hard for the state. I know it's their duty, but their dedication matters. Let me at least do this much for them", he said sincerely.
"You have work, Shaurya. That's literally why they're all sitting there", she reminded him.
"They also need a break before facing another round of questioning. Trust me, they'll appreciate it. I'll be in the kitchen in five minutes."
And before she could argue again, he disconnected the call.
Shaurya assigned everyone tasks to prepare notes and responses for the next round of discussions before excusing himself temporarily.
Exactly five minutes later, he entered the kitchen, folding up his sleeves dramatically.
"Chef Shaurya Singh Shekhawat at your service, ma'am."
For a brief second, Akansha forgot about the situation entirely. He looked unfairly attractive standing there in formals with rolled-up sleeves.
She quickly looked away before he noticed her staring. Well... before he pretended not to notice her staring.
"What are we cooking?", he asked.
"A simple meal. That's all we have time for. I'll ask someone to prepare rotis. We'll make fried rice, one curry, something with paneer since we have fresh paneer, and pasta. You make good pasta."
"Perfect", he replied before kissing her forehead naturally.
Akansha froze. The gesture happened so casually that neither of them processed it immediately.
"Sorry", he whispered gently after a second.
It wasn't awkward exactly, but both of them still understood they were slowly relearning comfort around each other. Nothing was rushed anymore. They were trying, patiently.
She nodded softly, and both got to work.
The kitchen soon became busy with househelp chopping vegetables while Akansha and Shaurya handled the cooking themselves.
"More garam masala, Shaurya", Akansha instructed.
"It's enough already. Trust me."
"More. Trust me."
"Jaan, listen to me..."
"No. Half spoon more."
He sighed dramatically and obeyed her while mentally preparing himself for extremely spicy curry.
But when he tasted it afterward, his eyes widened.
"Wow... how?"
Akansha smiled slightly.
"Richa and I used to cook in huge quantities during potlucks. Once every few months either her office or my school would organize one."
He nodded thoughtfully.
Shaurya cooked well, but large-quantity cooking always confused him. During Siya's birthday too, Akansha, Rachna, and Aakriti had practically rescued him in the kitchen.
"I'll freshen up. Ask them to arrange the table and call everyone downstairs", he said, but halted hearing her.
"Don't wake Siya. Don't go near her. Don't even kiss her goodnight. She'll wake up immediately."
"Noted, ma'am", he replied dramatically with a slight bow, making her shake her head at him.
Soon, the dining table was arranged properly with salads and side dishes. The officials slowly came downstairs. Akash took one look at the food and instantly understood what had happened. Of course, Shaurya would've abandoned his CM duties midway to cook beside his wife.
Some things never changed.
"Di...", Akash began mischievously.
"Not now, Akash", Akansha warned instantly before realizing she had accidentally snapped at her brother in front of his colleagues.
She cleared her throat awkwardly. Meanwhile, Shaurya joined everyone downstairs.
"Please help yourselves", he said politely.
Akansha intended to serve everyone properly, but Shaurya quietly filled her plate too before she could protest.
"The meal was prepared by sir and ma'am for all of us", Akash announced with suspicious enthusiasm. "This gesture means a lot. Thank you, sir. And the food is genuinely delicious."
Both Akansha and Shaurya instantly understood the hidden tease.
Because historically, whenever they cooked together in the past, the kitchen mostly became a romance spot rather than an actual cooking space. Half the food ended up burnt, uncooked, or completely inedible.
Akash had unfortunately witnessed enough of those disasters over the years. Everyone else, however, found the gesture genuinely heartwarming.
The officials appreciated both the effort and the food sincerely.
Akansha thanked them politely while Shaurya simply responded with a calm smile.