Chapter 74 #3
"Siya... Mumma will scold both of us... You wet your hair..." Shaurya said, trying to protect her hair—but Siya is Siya...
"Okay then... Dadda... Shampoo." Saying this, Siya got under the shower completely, drenching herself, and Shaurya slapped his forehead.
He had thought of kissing his wife one more time before leaving for his journey that night, and now—forget that—he would be getting a slap or two, all thanks to his daughter.
He washed his daughter's hair with her baby shampoo and bathed her. Siya, however, was in a playful mood, so she picked up her water gun and sprayed water on him, disrupting him from properly bathing her.
Akansha came upstairs to call them for dinner.
She thought the two must be playing in the room with her toys, but when she entered, she didn't see them.
As she walked towards the bathroom, she heard them giggling and talking.
She opened the door to find both of them drenched, playing with water like two silly kids.
She noticed shampoo on her daughter's hair and glared at Shaurya.
"What is this? Why did you wash her hair?" Akansha asked, folding her arms.
"I... um... I... I thought I should... Her hair is greasy," Shaurya said. Siya gave him a 'please don't tell about me' look, though she knew her father would sacrifice himself but never reveal her name.
"What do you mean?" Akansha asked, raising her brow. She knew it was Siya, but she wanted to see how far Shaurya would go to save his daughter.
"No... I don't mean that you don't take care of her hair... I'm sorry... It's actually my fault. I mistakenly poured water on her hair, so I thought of washing it," Shaurya said, and Akansha nodded, knowing that wasn't the truth.
"You have 5 minutes to bathe your daughter and then wash up yourself. I want both of you out—dressed and ready for dinner—in the 6th minute," Akansha said.
"5 minutes? Akansha... please," Shaurya pleaded. He knew 5 minutes was far too little time.
"7 minutes is all you have," Saying this, Akansha walked to the sofa and sat there, watching the father and daughter.
"My magic unicorn, we just have 7 minutes, and we have to survive—and Dadda can't fight this war alone. He needs your support. Are you in?" Shaurya asked, already rinsing the shampoo from his daughter's hair.
"Yes Dadda, Siya is with you," Siya said, and Shaurya quickly finished bathing her.
He dried her with her fluffy unicorn towel, wrapped another around her hair, and carried her to the closet.
He picked her dress and was about to dress her, but Akansha yelled from outside that she would do it.
So Shaurya rushed back, carrying his daughter and her dress, handed her over to his wife, and then ran to the washroom, locking the door behind him.
Shaurya rushed out after washing up, but he was already late by a minute.
"Sorry," he said, looking at the digital clock in their room.
"Not bad! But I said I need you dressed," Akansha said, looking at him from head to toe. He was just in a towel, water dripping from his broad shoulders. He noticed the look in her eyes—under different circumstances, he would have definitely kissed her.
Shaurya rushed to the closet, got dressed, and came back.
The three of them walked to the dining table to have dinner.
"When will Suman and Harsh return? Did you make the instructions clear to her regarding her security?" Shaurya asked Akansha.
"Yes, I did. She said it will take just a day or two more to finish the process.
Thanks to you—even though she didn't want to use your influence, people just know.
I will never understand how," Akansha said, and Shaurya gave a soft nod and a small smile—something close to an apology—but she shook her head.
Except for the security concerns, they had only benefited from being associated with him, so he had nothing to feel guilty about.
Even with those security concerns, he had always made sure they remained safe.
The only issue they ever had was with the constant presence of security personnel around them—but they knew it was for their own protection.
"Mamabear... Dadda... come fast..." Siya yelled for them, rushing to the dining hall.
"Siya... don't run..." Shaurya ran beside her, but seeing Mrs. Sudha holding her, he gave a small smile and a nod, then returned to Akansha to finish their conversation.
Akansha's parents had a small plot, and her father wanted to sell it to help Suman.
She refused, saying the government was already supporting her and she would manage the rest with a loan.
But Vasant didn't want her to take on more burden, so he decided to sell the plot—mentioning that he had already transferred it to her name long ago.
Akansha and Akash both insisted he give it to Suman so she could restart her life.
So, the plot was transferred to Suman's name, and she and Harsh went to their hometown to complete the formalities.
"And when are your parents coming here from Akash's place? It's not good for your father to travel such long distances in this condition. Why did they even go? Do they have any problem here? Are people not looking after them well?" Shaurya asked.
"Shaurya! Stop!" Akansha said, holding his wrist. It felt too good to see him worrying about her family like his own—it always warmed her heart.
"From the time Akash came here for work, he lived alone.
Papa and Mummy had to stay back to look after Suman, so they barely visited him.
Even Akash would want our parents to stay with him now, right?
That's why they went. This has nothing to do with how we take care of them here. .." she explained.
"Are you sure?" he asked again.
"I'm very sure. You know, on the day they were leaving for Akash's place, Papa said he felt like he was leaving his son's house to go somewhere else.
.. You know what that means? He felt at home here—and it's all because of you.
You made sure they were comfortable, that they felt at home.
.. You even got the mattresses changed to their liking.
.." Akansha started, but Shaurya cut her off.
"Akansha... it's nothing..." he said.
"I'm not talking about just that one instance. I mean you took care of even the smallest details of their routine. So don't worry—they'll be back soon," Akansha said.
"They should... This is their daughter's house, which means this is their house," Shaurya said. Akansha was about to respond, but he interrupted her, knowing she would argue. "I was thinking... why don't you and Siya join me? No one's here..." Shaurya said.
"Oh, hello sir... What about your sister? Aakriti is still here, did you forget?" Akansha said.
"Her? By the time she wakes up tomorrow, we will be back... Our sunset is her sunrise," he replied.
"Stop roasting her... She's working till late. That's why she woke up late yesterday," Akansha said.
"And today..." Shaurya added, "she can sleep as much as she wants, but she can't miss her meals. She missed her breakfast for two consecutive days and had lunch at 3 in the afternoon. What will happen to her health?" Shaurya argued.
Akansha sighed at her husband's obsession with health, but she agreed. "Talk to her, please... If I do, we'll end up fighting and I don't want that," Shaurya requested his wife. He knew Aakriti would listen to Akansha; she respected and loved her a lot.
"I will," Akansha assured him.
"By the way, security concerns will be reduced in a few days, as NIA has found some leads, and they'll crack this soon. I'm so sorry for all this inconvenience. I can understand how you must be feeling, locked up in this place," Shaurya said.
"It's good news that you shared, and don't worry about this.
Your daughter is very much enjoying this time—playing with Pogo and she's also learning piano, crafts, and troubling people," Akansha said, and Shaurya chuckled at how Akansha roasted Siya.
"If you talk about me, I'm working from home, and my work wasn't disrupted.
It's working very much the same, so no complaints. "
"But still... I think you both should come with me. It will be good for you both... Aakriti will be fine. Like I said, we'll be back before she wakes up tomorrow," Shaurya said, and Akansha nodded.
"Your daughter will be the most excited," Akansha said with a smile, walking toward the dining hall, followed by Shaurya.
"Did Aakriti have her dinner?" Shaurya asked.
"She said she'll have it later. She's working on something..." Mrs. Sudha said.
"It's 8:30 already. When will she have it?" Shaurya said, getting up to call Aakriti, but Akansha held his hand.
"Call her," she said.
Shaurya called her and asked her to come downstairs for dinner. After he spoke seriously, she agreed to come down.
"Dadda, are you angry with bua?" Siya asked while eating her dinner.
"No, Siya... I'm not," Shaurya said with a smile, and Siya nodded.
Akansha asked him not to talk to Aakriti about her wake-up timings, and Shaurya agreed.
Shaurya started feeding Siya and also ate his dinner, slowly informing his daughter about their trip. She became the most excited, just as her parents had predicted.
Aakriti made her way downstairs, glaring at Shaurya.
"I told you I would have it later, right? I'm working on an important post, Shaurya. It could help a lot for our upcoming social media campaign. We will be covering your infra projects in the next campaign," Aakriti said with irritation.
Siya looked at Aakriti with an upset face—why was her favorite bua scolding her Dadda?
Akansha signaled Aakriti to calm down, pointing at Siya's expression. Aakriti immediately realized her mistake.
"Bacha... I want you to eat on time. Health first, everything else next," Shaurya said calmly.
"Yes, Shaurya! I know, and I'll take care from here on. Thank you," Aakriti said.