EPILOGUE #4
Shaurya also detailed some other important aspects of the bill.
He addressed the recent hospital controversy as well and explained the thorough investigation that had been carried out before taking the decision.
He also said that the patients currently being treated in the now shut-down hospital chain had been admitted into other government and private hospitals, and the transition was handled carefully, with no harm caused to the public.
Shaurya assured the public through the press that the situation had been managed efficiently without any chaos.
Shaurya finished the press conference, got up, and walked toward his car. Suraj opened the door for him when a reporter threw a teasing question at him...
"Sir... Sir... How's your mandatory four-hour sleep schedule going?"
A blushing smile instantly appeared on his face when the reporter teased him about his wife. And that fleeting smile was captured even before he could compose himself.
Suraj cleared his throat, and Shaurya quickly composed himself and got into the car, but the media had already got what it wanted.
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"Are you seeing this, bhabhi? Look at that blush...", Aakriti said, showing the clips that were going viral, capturing Shaurya's blush.
"Haha now... Not just us, the whole world is teasing you guys... His blush gave away his feelings! God di... Jiju is so in love with you...", Suman teased.
"Bhabhi... You have to control this love-sick puppy, otherwise this disease will spread soon", Aakriti said, trying to instigate her against Shaurya, but Akansha's heart warmed at Shaurya's reaction.
Just the thought of her was enough to make him smile.
That was how much he loved her, and it somehow made her very happy.
"Stop it guys! Tumhe nahi lagta ki tum log aaj kal haath dho kar mere pati ke peeche pade ho? (Don't you think you guys are constantly picking on my husband these days?)", Akansha said, and both Aakriti and Suman looked at her in shock.
"Hein? How did you suddenly turn from Mogambo to Mona Lisa?", Suman asked and Akansha slapped her head.
"And bhabhi... Shaurya is getting out of hand these days... Imagine the effect it will have on the kids!", Aakriti said, winking at Suman.
"Yah! Exactly! You know what happened the other day?
Di and jiju were going to the Rural Development Minister's daughter's wedding.
Di came down wearing the black saree and she was looking gorgeous!
Jiju kept staring at her and even whistled and complimented her!
Okay, that's also fine, but he kept staring at di throughout.
Di was detailing to Sudha aunty about the kids' dinner plans and his gaze followed her everywhere.
Poor Siya was saying something, but jiju was nowhere near listening, and Siya had to throw corn seeds at him to bring him out of his staring contest", Suman said, and Aakriti opened her mouth widely.
"She is exaggerating! Don't believe her", Akansha said, but she knew it was true.
The whole evening, he kept staring at her.
.. Okay! She had purposely worn that black Banaras saree because she knew he liked her a lot in black, but she didn't expect him to stare at her throughout the evening, and that night he made sure she understood how much he had wanted her throughout the evening.
"I am not! I captured the whole video", Suman said and showed it to Aakriti.
The video displayed how Siya was telling stories about her school, but Shaurya was busy staring at his wife.
Siya, tired of getting no attention from her father, threw the corn seeds her mother had given her and Harsh for snacks at Shaurya, bringing him out of his reverie.
Aakriti burst out laughing looking at the video, and Akansha was embarrassed.
At the same time, Shaurya entered the house. He got excited seeing his sister, but he had no idea that his sister was actually digging his grave.
"Aakriti... When did you come beta?", Shaurya asked, hugging his sister happily.
"Explain this...", Akansha asked sternly, showing him the video.
"Well... She has come for some work, and looks like it's done now", Suman said, giving a wink to Aakriti.
"Okay bhabhi... I'll go to my room upstairs. Let's meet for dinner", Aakriti said, giggling at her brother's situation now.
"Okay jiju... I will also go upstairs and freshen up... I'll help Harsh and Siya with their homework too. I'm sure di will be busy teaching you for the next couple of hours", Suman said, and Akansha glared at her.
"Teaching me? What?", Shaurya asked, and Suman shrugged her shoulders and started walking away when Shaurya called her again.
"Acha... Oye... Where's my pastry? I pinged you, didn't you check?", Shaurya asked his sister-in-law.
"Of course I saw your message... I brought it, it's in the fridge", Suman said and left from there.
"Why do you need pastry? No sugar at night, Shaurya", Akansha said strictly.
"It's for you...", Shaurya said, and Akansha gave a brief nod.
"Why do you look upset? I'm sorry about that clip, Akansha... I just couldn't control it, before I—", he began, but she cut him off rudely.
"I'm done with your excuses. Let's go to our room, I don't want to argue here", Akansha said and walked away.
Suman giggled and slipped into Aakriti's room to inform her that their plan was working. The two had officially become the biggest pranksters in the family.
Shaurya entered the bedroom and locked the door behind him.
"Jaan... you're really bad at acting, but somehow your sister still couldn't figure it out", he said, and Akansha laughed.
"I'm not that bad, okay? It's just that you know me too well...", she replied.
"Those two are getting worse day by day. They were trying to set the field against you—kept provoking me with that video and even the one where Siya hit you with corn seeds. I had to act convinced, otherwise they would've come up with something worse to trouble you", she added.
Shaurya chuckled, remembering that day. His daughter had been completely fed up with his lack of attention. It had taken him two whole days and a pile of gifts to make it up to her.
And yet, he knew he would do it again.
Because that day, his wife had looked so beautiful that he simply couldn't take his eyes off her. He had even convinced her to click a picture with him. After a lot of persuasion, she agreed. Suraj had clicked it, and Shaurya had immediately set it as his WhatsApp display picture.
"Aww... my knight in shining armour... thank you", he said, kissing her nose.
Akansha shot him a glare, and he instantly stepped back.
"Sorry...", he said quickly, and she nodded, a smile playing on her lips.
"Stop being afraid of me...", she said.
"I try... but I genuinely can't help it", he replied, making her laugh at his expression.
"By the way, since Aakriti is here, why don't you ask her to stay a few more days?" he asked. He knew his sister would refuse him, but she wouldn't say no to Akansha.
"I already did. But these days even my charm isn't working, so I had to be smart. Our anniversary is next week, so I told her we're planning a small family gathering and asked her to stay and help with the preparations. She agreed", Akansha said.
Shaurya pouted.
"What happened now?" she asked.
"I had planned a surprise for you...", he said, and she sighed.
"A night surprise?" she asked knowingly.
He smirked and nodded.
"Give Shameless Shaurya Shekhawat a break. Cancel it or postpone it", she said.
He nodded, pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair.
"Tired?" she asked softly.
"Not at all. I actually have a plan for tonight. After dinner, let's go for a walk on the terrace... and we're sleeping in the penthouse", he said.
She gave him a look.
"God, Shaurya... where do you even get these ideas from?"
"Trust me, you'll love it", he said.
She smiled and kissed his cheek.
"I'm already loving every single night since we restarted our life together", she said.
A slow, knowing smile spread across his face as he pulled her into a passionate kiss.
He understood exactly what she meant.
And that confidence in his eyes was enough to make her blush.
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It was the evening of their anniversary, and the entire family had arrived. Dev and Rachna came with Ishan and Ivan, who had become best friends with Harsh. Together, the three boys protected Siya, adored her, and pampered her endlessly, which made everyone happy.
Richa had also been invited, but due to some groundwork, she had to leave early. She greeted Akansha and Shaurya, had dinner, and left while the rest of the family settled in for some fun party games.
This time, Akansha did not exempt the kids. She followed a strict schedule, fed them on time, and exactly at bedtime, asked Mrs. Sudha to put them to sleep.
All the elders gathered in the main hall on the top floor.
"Looking at you two today... I was reminded of myself and my wife.
We were so deeply in love that despite many differences, we always stayed together until her last breath.
She was the most beautiful woman and loved me to the moon and back.
She loved me so much that she never refused anything I wished for.
I know I will never have anyone love me the way she did", Rajnath said, looking at Shaurya and Akansha.
"I know... She was a wonderful woman", Shaurya said, holding Rajnath's palm gently to give him strength. Shaurya knew he was missing his wife terribly.
All these years, Rajnath had kept himself busy taking care of Dev and Aakriti, and in building his business, so he would never have time to dwell on his loss.
But these days, he had slowly started handing responsibilities to Dev and taking a back seat so he could retire soon.
With that extra time, his loneliness had only grown deeper.