EPILOGUE #2
"Please... I'll behave. I was deprived of this for five years. Even one night without you in my arms feels terrible," he murmured, kissing her.
"I am already in your arms. If you want, we can sleep like this," she said, breaking the kiss and ruffling his hair.
"Ansha... you know what I mean. Please..." Shaurya whispered against her neck.
"Shaurya, you're behaving like an addict," she scolded.
"I am an addict. Badly addicted to you. Tumhe pata nahi hai? (Don't you know that?)" he said, kissing her lips.
This time, she gave in.
And the rest of the night passed in warmth, tenderness, and the quiet happiness they had been rediscovering ever since they began their married life 2.0.
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Shaurya got ready first and then helped his daughter get ready for school before waking Akansha up.
The moment she opened her eyes, she started scolding him for letting her sleep in and making her late.
"Relax. You needed some rest, jaan. I picked a saree for you. Get ready. I got Siya ready, and Suman got Harsh ready for school. I'll feed the kids breakfast by the time you come down," he said, kissing her cheek.
She immediately slapped his cheek—not hard, but enough for him to feel the sting.
"You're dead if I get late to work today," she warned before rushing to the washroom.
"Bas aaj bacha lena Mahadev! (Just save me for today, Mahadev!)" Shaurya muttered, looking upward before hurrying downstairs to make sure the kids ate breakfast.
"Jiju... you look like you're in a rush. I can drop the kids at school, don't worry," Suman offered.
But both children protested immediately.
"No... Dadda... you only drop us today! Pwease..." Siya pleaded.
"Yes... Mojo, you promised..." Harsh added.
"Harsh... Mojo has urgent meetings. He'll drop you some other day. Be a good boy," Suman tried to reason.
"No Mumma... no no... please..." Harsh whined, and Siya instantly joined him.
"Harsh... Siya... my darlings... Dadda is getting late, I—"
Shaurya stopped mid-sentence.
Akansha was walking down the stairs.
She was wearing the cotton saree he had chosen for her.
"Jiju... close your mouth. The kids are watching you," Suman whispered.
"She is breathtaking. How can someone look so pretty without even trying?" Shaurya whispered back, unable to look away.
"Jiju... I said the kids are watching you. Look anywhere else, but don't stare at Di like that," Suman whisper-yelled, trying hard not to laugh at how helplessly smitten her brother-in-law was.
"Okay... bachhon... let's go, I'll drop you," Suman said, picking up Siya.
Siya was muttering angry little complaints while glaring at Shaurya, who kept whispering apologies to the children—but his eyes still drifted back to Akansha.
"Suman, why are they throwing tantrums? What do they want?" Akansha asked.
The children braced themselves, expecting a scolding.
Instead, Akansha said calmly, "Of course Shaurya will drop you to school. Since Dadda promised you, he will drop you, Siya bear."
The children lit up with joy.
Shaurya, however, looked stunned.
"Make sure you don't get me late, Shaurya," Akansha added.
And he instantly knew this was punishment for the previous night.
"What did you do again? The dragon is spitting fire this early in the morning?" Suman whispered, leaning toward him.
"Nothing you need to know. Go to work," Shaurya whispered back.
"I was only showing solidarity. Fine then. Huh... karma is a bi**h, Jiju," Suman said dramatically before walking out, saying bye to the kids.
Akansha began eating breakfast, and Shaurya quickly joined her, eating in haste.
Once they finished, they saw the caretaker helping Siya wear her socks—but doing it painfully slowly.
Shaurya immediately stepped in.
"Move, I'll do it."
He made Siya wear her socks himself, picked up her lunch box, school bag, and everything else, then rushed toward the door, followed closely by Akansha and Harsh.
They dropped Siya and Harsh at school and then headed toward the Secretariat.
"Drive fast, Mukund... we're getting late," Shaurya told his driver impatiently.
He was genuinely nervous. If Akansha got late today because of him, she would punish him badly.
He had no shame in admitting that he was scared of his wife.
Over the past few years, especially after her teaching experience, Akansha had become highly creative when it came to punishments—and he had no interest in being on the receiving end.
"He is already driving at maximum speed, Shaurya. The road is blocked for your convoy. What more do you want?" Akansha asked quietly, making sure only he could hear.
Even though there was a partition between them and the driver, she always preferred keeping her voice low in public.
"I just don't want you to be late," he said.
"And I have to bear the consequences," he muttered under his breath.
She heard it.
A small smile appeared on her lips, though she quickly hid it.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked suspiciously.
"Your fearful self? No, not at all," she teased.
"Sir... we are here," Mukund announced as the car stopped outside the Education Department building inside the Secretariat complex, where the CR committee office was located.
Shaurya immediately looked at his watch and exhaled deeply.
They had made it on time.
Thank God.
"Akansha... all the best. Rock the interview," he said warmly.
She gave him a small smile, leaned forward, kissed the cheek she had slapped that morning, and stepped out of the car.
"I'll call you after the interview. Bye," Akansha said before walking inside.
Shaurya watched her go for a moment, then his convoy moved ahead toward the CMO office.
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The interview process concluded after multiple rounds.
Dev had spent most of it trying to irritate Akansha.
That was his personal method of testing a candidate's patience, temperament, and composure.
To his surprise, she remained calm throughout.
He had expected sharp replies that would feel like slaps to his face, but Akansha controlled herself at every stage.
Still, she carefully noted every irritating question Dev had asked.
And she remembered all of them.
She had already decided that when he came home next, she would give him answers so fitting that he would remember them for life.
The results were announced three days later.
And just as Shaurya had promised, he was the first one to congratulate her.
Akansha was working at her desk when Shaurya walked into the office. Everyone immediately stood up on seeing him, including her.
"Congratulations, jaan... I hope I'm the first," he whispered near her ear, making her smile widely.
The official announcement had not even been made yet.
"Hi guys. Hope all of you are doing well. I'm here to congratulate the permanent members recruited by the government for the CR committee. Mrs. Arora, please announce the names," Shaurya said.
Once the names were read out, Shaurya personally handed appointment letters to each selected candidate.
The very first letter went to his wife.
The pride on his face while handing it to her was impossible to miss.
"Congratulations, wife. Now that you have secured a government job, I can stop working. What say?" Shaurya joked.
Everyone burst into laughter.
Akansha glared at him first, then broke into a small smile and shook her head.
"We don't want the government collapsing, sir," someone said from behind.
The room laughed again.
The photographer then asked Akansha to stand closer to Shaurya for a picture.
This time, she moved beside him willingly, with a smile.
The moment she stepped closer, his eyes lit up.
He remembered another day when a photographer had made the same request—and Akansha had glared at him because she hated standing near Shaurya then.
Now she was trying to hide her love for him, but it was visible anyway.
They had come a long way.
And he had loved every minute of the journey with her.
After distributing all the appointment letters, Shaurya returned to his office. Several meetings were lined up.
One person had been repeatedly asking for an appointment for the last two months—Meera Pathak—but he had kept refusing because more important matters needed his attention.
Just as expected, Meera had taken the deal and partially funded Shaurya's election campaign. Her gamble had paid off. Now she wanted to meet him, congratulate him, and subtly show the world that she still had his support.
"Sir... Ms. Pathak is here to meet you," Shweta informed him through the intercom.
"Tell her she has only five minutes before you send her in. I have another meeting in ten minutes, Shweta," Shaurya said.
"Yes sir, I already informed her of that," Shweta replied.
"Okay. Send her in."
A few moments later, Meera Pathak entered.
"Shaurya... thank you for meeting me. Congratulations, by the way," Meera said, handing him a bouquet.
"Thank you. Why are you here? If it is only to congratulate me, then thank you. You may leave now," Shaurya replied coldly.
"Shaurya... I wanted to apologize for what happened at your residence that day. I am really sorry," Meera said.
She knew she could never have Shaurya. But if she failed to repair the damage she had caused months ago, she would lose his support—and that would be disastrous for her company. It was time to focus on business, not personal fantasies.
"I think my wife deserved your apology too," Shaurya said, already returning to his files.
Meera immediately understood.
Shaurya would not move on unless she apologized to Akansha.
"Okay, Shaurya... see you," Meera said and turned to leave.
But his next words stopped her mid-step.
"I'm not your friend, Ms. Pathak. That friendship ended a long time ago. Start treating me like a Chief Minister."
Meera gave a stiff nod and walked out, barely able to hide the humiliation burning inside her.
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"Switch on the TV," Rachna texted Akansha.
"Why?" she replied.