PART - 45
Shaurya got his daughter ready and carried her downstairs.
"I'm sorry for the delay, Mr. Sharma. We can continue in the kitchen", Shaurya said, walking to the kitchen to prepare pancakes for his daughter.
Mr. Sharma detailed things and simultaneously took Shaurya's signatures in the required files, while Shaurya cooked.
"Dadda...", Siya walked there with her plate.
"Siya? Why did you come here bacha? I asked you to sit at the dining table, didn't I? I'll come there", Shaurya softly told his daughter but she shook her head.
"No Dadda, feed me, I am hungly", Siya said and Shaurya smiled apologetically.
"I'm so sorry... Give me 2 minutes, come, sit here", Shaurya said, he got his daughter sit on the cozy table in the kitchen and quickly made the breakfast and started feeding Siya.
"Siya, Dadda has some work, Can I keep working while feeding you?", Shaurya asked his daughter. He knew she wanted to talk to him while he fed her but his schedule is tight and these things are needed to be finalized before noon.
"Yes... I won't distub(disturb) you, I am a good unicon(unicorn)", Siya said relishing another piece. "Um... Tasty", she said making Shaurya kiss her forehead.
"I know you are my magical unicorn??, my best kiddo", Shaurya said kissing her cheek before feeding her another piece.
"Mr. Sharma, now tell me what were you saying?
", Shaurya asked, bringing him out of his admiration.
Shaurya's shift from a loving dad to tough chief minister didn't take even a second.
He so gracefully and effortlessly managed his daughter equally concentrating on his work which was so pleasing to watch.
"Sir... Regarding the dam we are constructing, the neighboring state sent us notices to stop construction with immediate effect, they have just sent the email, we have to sort this out before our state media makes a big deal out of it", Mr. Sharma said, Shaurya frowned deeply.
"We signed the contract and took all necessary permissions from the previous government, tell me one thing, do the new government have the authority to cancel this?
", Shaurya asked calmly as though it wasn't a big deal.
But honestly it's a very serious issue to happen, that too just before elections.
"No sir, in fact if they do, they have to pay for our losses with interest", Mr. Sharma said and Shaurya shook his head.
"Their state is not in a position to fund their own needs, how will they pay our losses?
It's a clear case of vote bank politics, they spread false rumours about the previous government and their policies mainly concentrating on the permissions they gave to us for this dam construction.
They ran aggressive campaigns online and offline to make people especially farmers believe that we are behind the water that belonged to them and their then government supporting us in it.
Gather our SMM team and ask them to start a counter campaign anonymously against the current state government highlighting how their state and farmers would be benefitting from this without a single rupee of investment, since we are taking care of all the costs.
Also run a parallel campaign mentioning about their state debt, and how much they have to pay us in losses if they cancel the permissions", Shaurya said and Mr. Sharma nodded
"But all these will take some time, what are we gonna do to fix this immediately?", Mr. Sharma asked
"Ask Shweta about my schedule and fix a meeting with the CM there but only after two days, ask our digital media team to push these campaigns aggressively by then, especially targeting their state youth", Shaurya said
"This is a bold step and a dangerous one too, if the identity is revealed", Mr. Sharma cautioned
"Don't worry, Mr. Sharma. This would never be revealed, even if they guess it, they wouldn't have enough evidence to accuse us upfront.
This is important for the welfare of both the states.
I don't understand how politicians compromise their people for personal benefits.
.. Anyway, I'll deal with this, draft a response to their email, and get it approved", Shaurya said, wiping Siya's mouth and making her have water.
Mr. Sharma nodded, starting to draft the email, and also started working on other things Shaurya asked him to.
"Dadda...", Siya called slowly, understanding her father was in a bad mood though he looked calm.
"Aapko kishine daata?(did someone scold you?) Tell me Dadda, Siya will punch them with hel(her) magical powers (powers)", Siya said making Shaurya laugh.
"No, bacha... Who will dare to trouble me with my magic unicorn protecting me hm?",Shaurya asked pecking her nose.
"Then why mood bad(why are you in a bad mood?)", Siya asked narrowing her eyes as if suspecting her father is lying. Shaurya laughed at his daughter's detective brain.
"My little Sherlock, I am not in a bad mood", Shaurya said with a smile but Siya shook her head.
"Mama bear said you nevel(never) get angly(angry) but I should not distub(disturb) you when thich(this) is like thish(this)", Siya said, showing the fine lines that formed on his forehead due to his frown.
Shaurya grinned wanting to know more about what his wife told their daughter about him.
He carried her in his arms to the dining hall and sat for breakfast.
Shaurya offered Mr. Sharma breakfast but he politely denied saying he already had it. Mr. Sharma took his leave and went outside to work on other things.
"Acha? Why so? Didn't you ask your mumma?", Shaurya asked his daughter knowing his curious daughter very well.
She nodded in yes trying to hold the spoon and feed her dadda. "What did Mumma say more?", Shaurya asked helping his daughter hold the spoonful of vermicelli.
"Mumma said you ale(are) good, you love me a lot, will nevel scold me but I should (also) be a good girl and see when you ale up.
. Up...", Siya struggled but Shaurya helped her with the word and she continued.
"Upset... When you ale(are) upset, I (should) not disturb you", Siya finished all the while trying to feed him, wanting to multitask just how her father did just a while ago, by feeding her and simultaneously talking to Mr. Sharma.
Shaurya chuckled at his daughter's attempts to imitate him.
"Awe... My Siya and her mumma think so much about Dadda huh? I love you both so much", Shaurya said making his daughter very happy.
"Mama bear and Siya bear love you Dadda", Siya said making Shaurya emotional, he loved how his daughter said 'I love you' on behalf of her and her mother as well.
He quickly finished his breakfast siding his emotions as he and his daughter, both are getting late. It wouldn't be nice to get late in dropping his child in school being a chief minister.
"Chalo bacha... (Let's go), I'll drop you at school and go to work", Shaurya said and the father - daughter got into the car with Shaurya carrying his daughter's bag and bottle.
He dropped her at school and headed to his office.
He started checking his files that were lined by Shweta based on their importance.
He came across the nomination list that made him remember his wife's warning.
It took him literally ten minutes to fill his heart with courage and take action as a chief minister, signing the nomination list, approving it.
He remembered how Akansha left in hurry that morning, so he texted her to see if everything is fine now.
"All good now?", he sent
"Yes, fixing it", she texted him back, her reply came a few minutes later, and with it brought a smile on his face.
"What happened btw(by the way)", he texted back
"Boss is not supposed to know that... We as a team are fixing it", she sent with a stern emoticon indicating she is serious.
"Who said boss wants to know? It was Shaurya asking you, casually", he wrote back. He so wanted to tell her it was her husband asking but he knew it would dampen her mood so he sticked to name for now.
"Just issues with some numbers, we took wrong data while conducting stat tests, now we have to fix it and conduct again... It increased 7 days of our work, just trying to pump a few more hours into schedule", Akansha sent
"You can use my help, you know I am good with numbers... Maybe I could find a way, send me the issue in detail, I'll try to fix this, if not, don't worry, we'll try to extend the deadline, but first let's try to finish this on the decided date", Shaurya typed back.
"Why is suddenly my boss talking about extending the deadline and all? I explained the issue to Shaurya", She texted wittily
"Sorry, my bad, tell me the issue, I'll try to help", he sent and she knew he is right.
They can't wait to resolve by themselves especially when the deadline is nearing.
No one among the core team's strong suit is numbers and they definitely can't involve the whole team before the testing phase.
They are supposed to complete at least 3 phases till the elections because if by any chance Shaurya was thrown out of power, the new government is likely to dismiss CR committee and return to previous pedagogy, or at least so they thought since they didn't know Dev also works just like Shaurya, for the welfare of people not for his selfish motives, there might be difference of opinions in some things but broader perspective is same for both.
But Somya Arora or the rest of he CR members doesn't know this, so they are pushing to complete at least 3 phases so that the new government might consider about all the investment that was pumped into this project until now and not cancel the project.
Akansha detailed the issue and Shaurya realized this was a bigger mishap than they thought. He quickly summoned the whole CR core team.
"Dr. Akansha? Did you by any chance, told this to CM sir?", Mrs. Arora asked Akansha, surprised at Shaurya's sudden summon.
"Yes Mrs. Arora, I know you might think the step I took was redundant but let me tell you the mishap that has happened would delay the whole progress and would make it impossible to complete 3 phases like we planned.
Shaurya's strong suit in numbers will definitely help us resolve this", Akansha said
"Maybe, but Sir may have many other important things to do", Samuel quietly pitched in
"This is also his job as an education minister", Akansha said.
They reached Shaurya's office and waited till he is done with his sudden meeting with the irrigation minister regarding the tiff with the neighbouring state about the construction of dam.
They were called in when he got free.
"I have studied the data, and it's a major mishap", Shaurya said
"Sorry sir", Mr. Rashid apologized, quickly followed by Mrs. Arora
"I should have checked thoroughly before giving a go ahead, it was my fault, I apologize sir", Mrs. Arora said, taking the whole blame like a good lead.
"Don't apologize Mrs. Arora. It's okay, mistakes do happen, all I say is we need to start the damage control on time, no need to hesitate to reach out to me, don't worry about me being busy, how I manage my time is my headache.
Whatever challenges occur, we'll face it together as a team", Shaurya said with a pleasant smile, not just words, his actions too keeps impressing everyone.
No wonder people call him, Mr. Cool Chief Minister.
Akansha too for a minute stared at him with admiration but quickly composed herself.
"Thank you sir", Mrs. Arora said and Shaurya gave a small smile.
"Dr. Akansha has briefly told me the issues, I would like some more details about it, could anyone quickly summarize what are the variables we considered and what constants we took while conducting tests?
", Shaurya asked while helping Mr. Khan connect to the projector.
His every little gesture highlighted the kind of person he is.
When he is with them, he behaves just as a teammate and talks to them as a person who belongs to their team, not as a Chief Minister.
He likes to keep knowledge of everything that's happening under him, if he doesn't know a particular thing, he doesn't hesitate to ask the other person to teach him.
If he requires a particular skill to deal with an issue, he would make sure to learn that skill at least the basics of it, instead of completely and blindly depending on someone with that skill.
His learning and growth mindset is an asset not just to his state but the whole country.
Many of Shaurya's entrepreneur friends opened their branches in the state and created tens of thousands of job opportunities.
When there were few companies whose working sector was suitable for other states more, he personally arranged meetings with the respective governments and closed deals on their behalf benefitting those states and the country as a whole.
Even the prime minister and the centre recognized his efforts and offered central ministries to his party MPs but he denied the opportunity for now citing he wanted to concentrate more on his state for now.
Maybe in the latter stages of his career, he would consider entering national politics.
The next few hours went into fixing the issues, finally, Shaurya's knowledge of numbers, Rashid's research analytics, and Akansha's detailed analysis of exact tests that would pave results helped them reach a concrete solution and fix the discrepancy in data and errors in output as well.
They took Shaurya's leave after thanking him for his help and support. He nodded and asked Akansha to stay back, dismissing the the rest.
"Why did you ask me to stay back? Gone crazy?", Akansha blasted at him.
"I have to talk to you", he answered
"Is this personal or professional?", she asked sternly.
"Personal, but couldn't have waited till we reached home, sorry", he quickly replied making her sigh deeply.
"What is it?", she asked
"Can we go to Kumbh? It's Mahakumbh and it comes once in...", Shaurya started
"Of course, I know the importance, Shaurya and I was planning to go but now due to all this, I dropped my plan, I don't want to increase trouble for Suraj and the team regarding the security arrangements, so canceled it", Akansha said.
"No need to cancel, I was planning to go with you and Siya... Please let's keep our differences and participate in this divine occurrence for the welfare of our daughter", Shaurya requested.
"Okay, will go for Maha Shivaratri, can we?", Akansha asked
"The crowd would be more that day, managing them may get difficult for Suraj and the team, anyway I'll talk to them and let you know, thanks for agreeing", Shaurya said and Akansha nodded before leaving for her cabin.
"I'm here, I'm always here, don't bother anyone", Shaurya said kissing her hair, and that like every time calmed her stress.
Akash used to tell Shaurya every little thing about how his family, especially his mother and sister treated Akansha, only saw her as a bank balance. But these days, even Akash wasn't aware of all the mistreatments and blame Akansha had to take from them.
Akash was soon done with his mock tests and returned to his home only to see the shocking change in his mother and sister who had no filter to their mouths while talking to Akansha Or about her.
Earlier at least they used to talk to her in a civilised way but now they are spitting venom and he was more surprised at his father and sister's casual reactions to it as if it's pretty normal.
That's when Vasant told his son how this has been the case for some time now.
Akash quickly went to meet Shaurya and told him everything.
Shaurya's fury has no limits.
"Jiju... Yaar, I understand Suman di's behavior, she is always like this, selfish and stubborn, but mummy?
She is so rude to Di, last night, she taunted Di saying she(Akansha) is eating their (Jaya Suman) salt but plotting against her own sister.
.. Di left the plate there and went to bed empty stomach, if it was someone else who had said it, my strong di would have given a muhtod jawab(slap like answer).
It's her money we are all eating jiju but she herself went empty stomach, I got to know from papa that these days di wasn't having food properly because of these taunts.
I don't understand how could mummy and Suman di say something like this to di, I mean can't they see how much di is doing for us, she sacrificed everything for us, these people don't have conscience, jiju", Akash took out his frustration, but Shaurya stayed silent, his blood boiled hearing all this but he stayed cold.
"My home has become a hell for di, she is not eating well, sleeping well, Papa was so worried about her, we have never seen her so sad and depressed in all these years, Mummy and Suman di's accusations are killing her from within", Akash said staring into nothing.
"I'll marry Akansha and take her away from that hell", Shaurya said with determination shocking Akash.
"She has borne enough, so this is what was eating her all these days.
..", he added remembering how she looked broken these days.
She is losing herself from within but in all this, he didn't realize he would regret his decision on the first day of hid marriage only.
"But you said you didn't have plans for marriage until a few years", Akash asked
"I said so... Because there are certain things I am hiding from your sister and when she knows them, I'll take at least a few months to convince her.
.. And a few years to stabilize my political career so that my father doesn't throw me out of the party for marrying against his will", Shaurya said
"But he could throw you out now, jiju.
Your political career is still dependent on him", Akash said and Shaurya smiled with a nod.
Yes, Akash is right, his father might have asked his help to tackle the scams and all but if he feels his son is a threat to his political career, he wouldn't think twice before disowning him.
Shaurya has enough talent, skills and money to handle issues from backend but politics need familiarity among people and that's still with his father.
"I know but for my political career, I can't let Akansha suffer for a few more years, I'll marry her and take her away from this home, I'll see how your family survives without her, maybe then they will realize her value", Shaurya said fisting his palms in anger.
"What if your parents too hurt her?", Akash asked
"I'll not let her stay with them Akash, she stays with me here, and my parents stay in the capital city, even if my father loses as the chief minister which is the most likely thing to happen considering all the scams his corrupt government sheltered, they will live in our ancestral palace whereas Akansha and I will stay in my residence in the city", Shaurya said, assuring Akash, but he didn't realize he would be stuck so badly that his helplessness would force him to stay with his parents.
-----------------------------
Aakriti slowly fell into recovery phase, all thanks to the love and care, Shaurya, Dev and Rajnath showered on her. What forced her out of her suicidal thoughts was her knowledge about Shaurya's act with Akansha. But she has no idea that her brother fell in love with Akansha truly.
Rajnath thought of taking Aakriti to the US when Shaurya told him and Dev about his plan to marry Akansha soon.
He knew Aakriti wouldn't be able to survive this news.
She would feel betrayed again, this time by her brother Shaurya.
Rajnath and Dev tried to convince him to drop his plan for now but Shaurya was adamant.
He couldn't see Akansha like that. Day by day she is losing her charm, her mother and sister's venom started working on her which he didn't like a bit.
He wanted to bring back earlier Akansha, who didn't let her mother or sister's opinion affect her.
Aakriti decided to confront Akansha and give her the same pain as she faced, before leaving to the US.
Aakriti came to Akansha and told her about her request to Shaurya and how he fulfilled her wish.
"Dev Bisht is my brother but Shaurya loves me more than my own brother Dev.
I know what I asked for was wrong but that time I was consumed by your betrayal, Dilip's provoking words and your inhumane mocking.
You mocked my heartbreak, I was already suffering but you had zero empathy.
So, I wanted to give you the same pain. You may not be weak like me to attempt suicide but you also have a heart and I can see it breaking", Aakriti said, Akansha stood strong holding her tears as she didn't want to show her weakness but yes, Aakriti is right, her heart broke into million pieces but she tried filling each piece with strength again, because she is not a loser.
"Yes, it broke my heart, if it satisfies you.
But know this, I was sorry for how I spoke to you, and in the hospital too, I wasn't aware of your true condition, I was made to believe you were acting", Akansha said and Aakriti's heart cooled down with her explanation.
Was it true? Is it possible for Akansha to have a change of heart?
She left from there fearing she would again melt hearing Akansha.
Akansha sat there on the same bench for hours which used to be her and Shaurya's favorite place.
The place where his arms acted as her solace.
His love wasn't an act, she knew it, his intentions might have been wrong but his love was definitely not an act because she wasn't a fool to fall for an act.
The priority and importance he gave her couldn't be false.
He kept her above everything always, his feelings weren't false, but can she ever forgive his betrayal?
Akansha always had the habit of being highly practical in every scenario, but for the first time she wished she had been a little emotional, because then she would have started hating Shaurya by now for playing with her feelings.
Her heart was bleeding but her love for him didn't disappear.
Shaurya got worried when he didn't find Aakriti at home, and their flight is in few hours. Just then Aakriti walked inside.
"Where were you? You are getting late for yourflight", Shaurya started but Aakriti hugged him. "What happened beta? Is everything alright?", he asked her softly ruffling her hair.
"Thanks for doing everything for me, Shaurya.
I know you didn't want to betray a woman's trust but you did it for me, but you don't have to continue this act anymore, I am fine now.
I thought I would be happy to see the woman who broke me broken but I didn't feel any happiness Shaurya.
In fact, I felt bad, I feel so wrong and guilty so leave all this", Aakriti said and Shaurya's heartbeat fastened at his sister's words. What did she mean?
"W... Where did you go?", Shaurya fumbled, sweat beads forming on his forehead.
"I went to Akansha ma'am, I told her about my wish and how you fulfilled it", Aakriti said, not liking the tension on her brother's face.
Shaurya stood still, his heart beating wildly, his body sweating profusely, thinking about the amount of pain and heartache, Akansha might be going through.
"WHY DID YOU DO IT?", Shaurya asked sternly, glaring at Aakriti, startling her.
Rajnath and Dev rushed there hearing ever calm Shaurya's angry tone.
Before they could ask anything, he stormed out.
He had to see her, he had to see Akansha.
He thought of giving her the same heartache of betrayal his sister faced at least for a few hours but he couldn't bear the thought of her in pain even for a minute.
He headed to her home to check on her.
---------------------
A few days passed and based on several factors, they finally chose the best performers among the nominees and Mrs. Arora along with Mr. Khanna and Samuel arranged the award function.
As per Shaurya's orders, it was conducted internally, only employees working in the education department wing of the secretariat will attend the award ceremony.
Though they were supposed to distribute these awards in front of the whole secretariat, along with the other department awards, Shaurya avoided so much gathering as he is already afraid of his wife's warning, he wanted to at least reduce the intensity of her anger so limited the audience.
But his fate is so twisted that he got an important work at the end.
He informed Mrs. Arora that he couldn't make it but asked them to continue with the award ceremony but everyone respected and loved Shaurya too much to hold the award ceremony without him, they wanted to receive awards from his hand.
Mrs. Arora called for everyone in the CR committee that involved a good number of people to choose between holding the ceremony today in the absence of Shaurya Or in his presence and 98℅ of the people voted to push the award ceremony and the next available date is clashing with the whole secretariat staff's award ceremony.
The problem here is they cannot hold it post the main ceremony so Mrs. Arora clubbed it with the main event so that Shaurya wouldn't have to take out time separately for their event.
Mrs. Arora thought she is helping Shaurya but actually she is pushing Shaurya towards hell and it started immediately the minute he stepped in home.
"What do you think? You cancelled today's event on purpose right? Shaurya... I will kill you...", Akansha started blasting at him.
"Can you please call Mrs. Sudha to serve me food? I haven't had anything since morning", he said and she took deep breaths to calm her anger.
"Fine! I'll set the table, no need to disturb her at this time, freshen up and come in 15 minutes", Akansha said and walked to the kitchen.
Shaurya sighed in relief. He bought 15 more minutes of life.
He purposely told about being hungry as he is sure she would calm down a bit or at least postpone her anger till his stomach is filled.
Shaurya walked to his room, freshened up and got changed, kissed his daughter's forehead and walked downstairs.
Shaurya started having his dinner gulping his fear and morsel together.
"So Shaurya? Will you tell me why the hell did you not come today?", Akansha asked but didn't give him gap to answer. "I know you wanted to trouble me... You are so sick Shaurya...", she started rambling when he interrupted her.
"There is a security lapse. There was an attack planned on me again... And according to Suraj, this doesn't seem like opposition party activists anymore. Dev and I are doubting my father, so I had to attend an emergency meeting", Shaurya told her, her face paled at the new found information.
"Attack again?", She asked
"Yes, I will ask Suraj to get the evidence...", he started, thinking she didn't believe him.
"Shaurya... Shut up, you stupid. What is wrong with you... I'm worried about something happening to you...", She said holding her head.
He stared at her with hundreds of emotions in his eyes.
"You want me safe?", Shaurya asked. He knew her answer but still he wanted to hear her.
"Of course, I want you safe Shaurya, despite all our differences, you are a father to my child and I will always want you safe", Akansha said
"Not just a father to your child, your husband too... I know you are unwilling to acknowledge that fact, but a fact is a fact, and you both are my responsibility, I will not let anything happen to myself", He said
"Oh really? How are you planning to do that?", she asked folding her arms, looking at him sternly.
"I have alerted multiple teams, they all did their job effectively...", Shaurya started but she cut him off angrily
How did it feel when your own parents plan attacks to harm you?
Heck Shaurya's father got him stabbed or to say, Shaurya himself got stabbed to save her life.
And why did it happen? Just because she rebelled against Shaurya and went out.
That wouldn't have happened if she stayed in Shaurya's ancestral palace, but not for once he blamed her for the fatal attack.
Any other person in his place would have done that, at least after that brutal attack he suffered, he was bed-ridden for months but Shaurya didn't even let her know, why?
He thought not to trouble her because he knew she would rush to serve him in that situation despite the many complaints against him and he felt he didn't deserve her care.
Instead, he decided to make her hate him more.
He preferred her safety, he might be very hurt by how much she hated him at that moment yet he played a drama.
He told her that he didn't trust her with his parents so sending her to his best friend's house, but in reality, he didn't trust his parents with her and just for her safety, he bore all her hatred.
She cursed him multiple times in those few months for putting her in Dev's house where she was uncomfortable but in actuality, he was the one suffering, months bedridden and at the mercy of nurses and doctors.
No single family member or friends to look after him?
She couldn't even imagine how he might have felt because that was her worst nightmare, and she had endured it for a couple of weeks when she was hospitalized during Siya's birth, even then Richa and her parents were there for her.
Yes, she suffered a lot, a lot but she can't compare her sufferings with Shaurya's.
Both are different; in this case, Shaurya selflessly sacrificed everything for her.
He left his only trustworthy friend to stay with her at that time, denying his visits to him.
"Akansha... Are you okay?" Shaurya asked, holding her palm and lightly tapping it. She looked shaken and deeply in thought, and he didn't like the distress on her face.
"Ca...Can you show me your scars?" she asked suddenly. He was taken aback, and she realized what she was asking. "Have your dinner and come to sleep", she said and got up to leave but he held her wrist, she glared at him and he quickly left her hand with a quick 'sorry'.
"Please sit till I finish", he pleaded and she sat back.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't attend today's award ceremony.
It wasn't intentional, so is there any other date decided?
I'll keep my schedule free for that time, this won't happen again, trust me", Shaurya said, and Akansha smiled slightly at how he was trying to rectify, though it wasn't his mistake entirely.
"Leave it now. Mrs. Arora has clubbed it with the award ceremonies of all other functions in the Secretariat", Akansha said glaring at him. He choked his food hearing her answer, giving her an apologetic look.
"I honestly didn't expect this. Oh no! This shouldn't have happened", he said shaking his head slightly.
He knew she had a problem with more and more people knowing about her bagging an award because when people will get to know who she is, the same news would spread, earlier it was just one department, now the whole secretariat will be there.
He prayed his wife would let him live till the award ceremony, looking at her glare, he wasn't so sure.
"You should have rejected the nomination list", Akansha again started but he answered calmly.
"I talked to Mrs. Arora about it, not after this list was made, but before that.
She discussed with me about nominating you considering the value you add to the team, I asked her not to, not for any reason but the complications and controversy involved in it, but that woman so bravely said she would handle whatever controversy media or the opposition party would create, she would fight for the right talent to be rewarded under her.
If she could draw so much courage, would it be nice if I backdown fearing the controversy?
Well, even if I backdown, it would be fearing you but I can't tell them that, right?
", Shaurya said and Akansha glared at him.
"I mean, it wouldn't be nice right? And Mrs. Arora is my inspiration, if she could fight, I could do that too to get the right talent, right recognition and you are one, and regarding people, their job is talking, let them", Shaurya said and she rolled her eyes.
"Stop these stupid speeches, you can draw voters with this, not me. Finish your dinner soon, I'm sleepy", she said and suddenly a memory brought a small smile on his face.
"Finish your dinner soon, I'm sleepy", Shaurya said to a slow-eating Akansha.
"Let me eat in peace Shaurya... I'm relishing my food, if you want, you can go and sleep", Akansha said
"I can't sleep without you, you know that. And I know why you are eating so slowly, dirty-minded woman. I just want to sleep cuddling you. Please, come soon," Shaurya said, earning a glare from her.
"You said the same yesterday...", she said... "I'll finish eating and by then Akash will come to pick me up, I'll go home", she added, Shaurya stared at her in disbelief.
"I'll see how you escape after our marriage", he said
"I'm not afraid, because my one No is enough to stop you, in fact, slight hesitation in my eyes will do the job, I loved a man, so I don't fear", she said making him kiss her forehead.
"You deserve better, but I'm too selfish to let you go", Shaurya said making her shake her head in disapproval.
"That should be my dialogue, you are too good for me, but I don't complain, I had the lion's share in this deal", she said and he shook his head.
"Let me feed you, you are wasting time", he said and started feeding her.
----------------------
They were so happy then but fate and his own decisions had to ruin it.
He quickly had his dinner and both of them went to their room and slept on either side of their daughter.
Siya on sensing her mother's warmth, snuggled closer to her and Akansha pulled her dupatta which was earlier covering Siya and put it aside.
She tried a lot but couldn't get her daughter over with the habit of sleeping either snuggling with her or her dupatta or her saree having her scent.
She didn't understand where she picked this weird habit from. Actually she did.
Akansha sighed when she saw Shaurya picking up Akansha's dupatta she kept aside just now and shut his eyes, holding it close to his face. Siya picked almost all the habits from her father, his genes are too strong.
"You should be trying to get your daughter off this weird habit, instead you yourself are stuck in it", Akansha snapped slowly, trying to take her dupatta away but Shaurya held it tight.
"Will try to get her over it, but I'm not getting over any sooner, or maybe ever", Shaurya whispered back snuggling into her dupatta more.
"I'm not touching that dupatta again", She said glaring at him.
"Thanks, I'll keep it... Remind me to get you a new one, I know this is your favorite suit... I wonder how it still fits you, after 7 years...", Shaurya said
"Excuse me?", Akansha said
"Yes...", Shaurya started but his daughter's whining in sleep got both of them shut up otherwise they would continue this argument till morning given their track record.
Shaurya slept with a small smile on his lips. He would consider himself the luckiest if God allows him to be with his wife and child till the end of his life. He wouldn't mind even if it's just to guard them, serve them. He just wants to be with them.
Precap - The award ceremony. Shaurya clicks picture of his wife in conversation with the governor.
The remaining past and Shaurya's explanation to Akansha.
Note - I request you all to be gender neutral while reading the story. Don't be driven by your gender sympathy and ignore the opposite gender's pain.
For example -
Shaurya prayed to God to be with his wife and child throughout their life, even just to serve them, like a guard to them.
If it was a statement given by female lead, if she wished to be with hum, maybe only to serve him and his child, the comment sections would be filled with bashing for her, saying how she threw her self-respect to gutter and all.
I knew women are oppressed for generations and that's what they kept doing, serving the family, so it might have triggered many of you, but it wouldn't be feminism, it's psuedo feminism.
We can't be doing the same mistakes as the men did to us by oppressing us.
We need not dominate them like they did to us for centuries.
We can set equality by demanding for equal opportunities, equal pay and equal respect.
Let us be gender neutral and keep our sympathies based on gender.
I was saying because I have seen sufferers, victims on both the sides.
Suffering and pain can't be limited to one gender.
Let's be open and accept this fact. Also a message for men, a real man wouldn't hurt women, not physically at least because hurting with words is something a human does, irrespective of gender.
I feel most men tend to hurt physically because they think they are physically stronger than women and tend to show their masculinity but trust me, masculinity is where you embrace the feminine side of yourself in front of women.
Note - Parts 46-53 are now available in scroll stack. Links are in my message board and Instagram highlights as well.
I'm dealing with some personal issues so updates can be delayed. Appreciate your understanding.