Chapter 63
The next few days were extremely busy for Shaurya. Seeing her father's packed schedule, Siya waited patiently for him every day. He barely got time to speak to her or play with her, and instead of throwing tantrums, his daughter quietly adjusted, which only made him feel guiltier.
One morning, he woke up earlier than usual and decided to cook Siya's favorite meal. If he couldn't spend enough time with her, the least he could do was make her happy in small ways.
He prepared Siya's favorite baingan curry and, for his wife, bharwa karela. Just looking at bitter gourd usually earned an "ew" reaction from both him and Siya, but Akansha loved it, so he cooked it anyway. Thankfully, despite his hatred for the vegetable, he made excellent bharwa karela.
Before leaving for work, he recorded a small video message for both his wife and daughter and saved it on the TV. He knew Siya's habits too well. If he wasn't around during breakfast, she would definitely switch on the TV while eating, and Akansha would be busy packing their lunchboxes.
And, as always, he was right. Akansha got ready for work and settled Siya in her chair.
"Siya bear, finish your breakfast. Mama bear will pack our lunches", she said.
Siya nodded with a pout, clearly missing her Dadda.
To cheer her up, Akansha switched on the TV and handed her the remote to put on cartoons, but the moment the screen lit up, Shaurya's voice echoed through the room.
"Dadda!", Siya squealed excitedly.
Akansha couldn't help smiling at his efforts. On screen, Shaurya appeared wearing an apron.
"I know my unicorn misses Dadda. Well, Dadda misses you and Mumma more. Dadda is very sorry for being busy these days. So today, I'm cooking my unicorn's favorite baingan and your mumma's favorite karela."
The moment he held the bitter gourd in the video, both father and daughter made identical disgusted expressions. Akansha shook her head at the similarities between them.
The video ended with him informing them that he had already packed their lunchboxes. But his final line made Akansha freeze for a second.
"Relax and have your breakfast. See you at work, Jaan."
The video cut immediately afterward, as if he realized too late what he had said. A faint blush crept onto Akansha's cheeks. Mrs. Sudha, who was preparing a fruit bowl nearby, cleared her throat with a teasing smile.
"Mama bear, Dadda said bye to me, then who ? Who is Jaan?", Siya asked suspiciously.
"Your mumma", Mrs. Sudha answered immediately.
Akansha shot her a warning look that made the older woman quickly disappear into the kitchen while giggling.
"Mama bear, are you going to see Dadda today?", Siya asked curiously.
"No", Akansha lied smoothly.
If Siya learned that Akansha would be meeting Shaurya at work, she would immediately demand to skip school and accompany her.
After the injury incident, Siya had already missed nearly a week of school because Shaurya insisted she needed "rest" for her "serious injuries.
" Akansha still rolled her eyes remembering how dramatically he stressed the word serious.
Not only that, he had practically deputed Aakriti for the entire week to stay with Siya because neither he nor Akansha could afford to miss work.
"Then why did Dadda say 'See you at work, Jaan'? And why did he call you Jaan, not me?", Siya pouted jealously.
Akansha almost laughed.
"Siya, finish your breakfast. We're getting late", she said sternly and continued eating.
Siya remained upset for exactly two minutes before forgetting the matter entirely.
Akansha hid her smile. It was incredibly difficult resisting Siya's adorable tantrums. Everyone else in the family melted instantly around her, so Akansha had no choice but to become the strict parent or, as Dev called her, "stone heart."
The memory itself made her snort softly.
The other day Siya wanted another scoop of ice cream, and despite tears and dramatic pleading, Akansha refused. Dev immediately declared her heartless while Shaurya distracted Siya with ten different magical unicorn stories so she would forget about the denied ice cream.
After dropping Siya at school, Akansha headed to the Secretariat.
Later that evening, the eight-member core panel of the CR committee was summoned by the CMO.
Everyone attended except Mr. Khanna, who was on leave for his grandson's birthday.
The moment he heard Shaurya had called for a review meeting, he instantly offered to join online, but Akansha and Mr. Khan assured him they would manage anything directed toward him.
These days everyone lived in fear of Shaurya's review meetings. One weak answer and the consequences could get brutal.
"This was supposed to be completed five days ago. Why is it still under construction?", Shaurya asked while reviewing the pending data storage setup.
Silence filled the room. Everyone silently prayed the question would somehow disappear on its own. Akansha sighed internally.
"The bug hasn't been fixed yet, sir. The IT team is still working on it. It'll go live by tomorrow", Mrs. Arora answered carefully.
Even after decades of experience, dealing with someone like Shaurya Singh Shekhawat still intimidated her.
Previous Chief Ministers held political power, but most lacked technical understanding and depended heavily on bureaucrats for explanations. Delays were often ignored unless public image or elections were directly involved.
Shaurya was different. He understood systems, numbers, implementation, loopholes — everything. Fooling him was nearly impossible. And worse, he remained calm while exposing incompetence.
"If the IT team failed, it was your responsibility to ensure they delivered. Instead, this got delayed by five days. Six, including today", he said evenly.
No raised voice. No anger. Still, everyone felt pressured under his calmness.
"Yes, sir. That's our failure. It won't repeat", Mrs. Arora admitted.
Shaurya's gaze moved across the room before briefly pausing on Akansha. Then he slipped fully back into his CM role.
"I want this project to continue irrespective of who remains in power after elections.
This project decides the future of our education system.
At least three phases must be completed before elections.
If another government takes over after Phase 3, discontinuing it would become too costly politically and financially.
That's how important this is. Treat this project as a priority. "
Everyone nodded seriously.
He was already fighting political pressure from multiple sides to protect this project. The least he expected from them was consistency.
All he wanted from them was to give their hundred percent, and they had done that until a few weeks ago. He didn't know what exactly had happened for them to suddenly start showing such laid-back behavior.
He had gotten caught up with other work, so he hadn't been able to sit with them and discuss the project, but that didn't mean they could stop working altogether.
He was truly exhausted by the level of dependency every department seemed to have on him.
"What about the alpha user analysis? Is it ready?", he asked next.
Akansha immediately shut her eyes briefly. That responsibility belonged to her. And she was behind.
The past few weeks had become exhausting. Siya had grown crankier because Shaurya barely spent time at home, which meant extra emotional labor for Akansha. Midterms at school added further pressure, and after people learned about her PhD credentials, the school handed her senior classes, too.
Balancing teaching, research, motherhood, and this project had become overwhelming. Shaurya had noticed it too. He tried helping whenever possible, but his own schedule barely allowed him to breathe.
Mrs. Arora gave her a subtle look. Speak. Akansha inhaled slowly.
"It's in progress, sir. Results are available. Analysis and collation are pending. I'll submit everything by the end of this week."
She hated disappointing him. Especially regarding this project.
"Dr. Dixit, that analysis was supposed to reach me a week ago.
Everyone else here works eight hours on this project while you're contributing four.
I never objected to your school responsibilities because earlier, they never affected this work.
But now they are. Out of everyone here, you should understand this project's value the most. It was your vision long before implementation began.
Neglecting it at this stage isn't wise. The rest.. . I leave for you to decide."
His tone stayed professional, but she heard the disappointment underneath. Not disappointment in her. Disappointment at seeing years of her hard work slowing down. And somehow that hurt more.
The meeting continued for another hour, mostly consisting of Shaurya grilling everyone while the entire team mentally begged for the meeting to end.
Finally, he dismissed them. The moment they stepped outside, collective relief filled the corridor.
"Uff... I feel roasted alive", Samuel muttered.
"True. But honestly, it's our fault. We need to speed up pending work", Mrs. Arora admitted.
Akansha quietly walked beside them, disappointed in herself, but also affected by Shaurya's words.
"Looks like CM Saab won't get dinner tonight", Mr. Khan commented dramatically.
Akansha glared at him, though a reluctant smile almost escaped.
"I think it's the opposite. Given Dr. Dixit missed deadlines, maybe CM sir won't feed her tonight", Mr. Goel added. "I heard CM sir is an excellent cook."
"He won't starve me", she replied instinctively before realizing what she had just admitted.
A chorus of teasing sounds immediately erupted around her. Akansha shook her head and walked ahead while everyone laughed.
Even Mrs. Arora smiled slightly.