EPILOGUE #5
Dev shut his eyes in pain, remembering his mother. He missed her terribly, but Shaurya and Rajnath had never let him feel her absence too harshly. Shaurya had stood by him like a real brother, while his father had given them all the love he possibly could.
Aakriti did not remember her mother, but every time she looked at the photographs, her heart twisted in pain.
Her mother looked thin and pale in every picture—frail, weak, almost lifeless.
She knew why. Yet she had never questioned her father, because she loved the old man deeply and never wanted to blame him for her mother's death or hurt him.
But today, something inside her finally broke.
"If you loved her so much... then why did you let her die, dad?" Aakriti asked.
Her question stunned everyone. They had never spoken about Mrs. Bisht's death—or the truth behind it.
"Aakriti...", Shaurya began, but she silenced him.
"I asked my dad, Shaurya. I don't know why you and Dev always stopped me from asking this question.
Why did you forbid me from talking about it?
My heart burns with these questions whenever I see Dad hurting and missing Mom.
I can see he loved her so much, then why did he push her for another child when he knew she was so weak and definitely not in a state to go through another pregnancy?
I feel like I'm the reason my mom died..
. so I at least deserve to know why my dad did that?
" Aakriti asked, and everyone went numb.
"He was not responsible for Aunty's death, bacha... And don't ever speak to him in this manner. He may bear it, but I won't", Shaurya said, shocking Aakriti and everyone else. He had never spoken harshly to her, not even once.
"Shaurya... calm down", Akansha said, holding his hand.
But he simply could not bear to hear his sister blame the one man who had sacrificed his reputation, endured endless insults, and lived with people calling him a murderer and an animal for forcing his sick wife to conceive again.
Rajnath Bisht had borne every accusation with a smile—for her. For a daughter he had not given birth to, but had carried in his heart for years.
"Why are you getting so upset, Shaurya? I was only asking because I want to know what made him act like a heartless man with my mother", Aakriti asked.
"Shut up, Aakriti... Don't say another word about Dad. You do not have the right to question him", Dev said angrily.
"Dev... Shaurya... It's okay. I knew one day she would ask these questions. But what can I say? I have no answer, beta... I can only say sorry", Rajnath said. But the hate and disgust he saw in his daughter's eyes made his own eyes fill with tears.
"All these years, I thought you had a valid reason... I convinced myself that my dad could never be so cold and heartless, but you proved me wrong. You killed Mom... I hate you", Aakriti said.
Dev grabbed Aakriti's arm and turned her toward him.
"Shut the hell up... He didn't do anything. But now I think his only mistake was bringing you up with so much love and care, which you obviously didn't deserve", Dev said.
Shaurya looked at him with red eyes—not with anger, but with pain.
He was becoming selfish. He was watching the one man who had given up everything to keep his sister alive suffer like this. She had been his responsibility, one he had pushed onto Dev and Rajnath. And now he realized he could not let Aakriti hate this wonderful man.
Dev looked at Shaurya apologetically. He had not meant those words, but he could not bear Aakriti insulting the father who had sacrificed so much for her.
"Aakriti... I have something to tell you", Shaurya began.
Vasant, Jaya, Akash, and Suman quietly got up and left the room. Before leaving, Vasant looked at Rajnath and gave him a small nod, asking him to stay strong.
"Don't make up stories to cover his actions, Shaurya... You can't", Aakriti began, but Shaurya cut her off.
"You are not Aakriti Bisht by birth. You are Aakriti Shekhawat, daughter of Virendar and Shobha Shekhawat—the same daughter they tried to kill.
But I could not watch my days-old sister being murdered.
I was just a young boy who did not know how to keep you safe, so I ran to my best friend's house.
His father took you into his arms and vowed to protect you, keep you safe, and love you like his own daughter.
You were blaming the man who lost his honour and was unfairly blamed for his wife's death, when she actually died of illness", Shaurya said.
There was pin-drop silence everywhere.
Aakriti slowly sat down on the sofa chair. No one spoke a word. After five long minutes, she got up and walked away to her room. Rajnath and Dev tried to stop her and speak to her, but she asked for some time and shut herself inside.
Shaurya remained seated there, his eyes filled with tears.
"You shouldn't have told her... that too like this", Rajnath said quietly.
"And let her blame you for your wife's death? I know Aunty's demise affected you more than anyone. I cannot let her give you more pain than you already carry", Shaurya said and walked away.
Akansha followed him, assuring Dev and Rajnath that she would take care of both the siblings one by one.
A whole week passed after the truth came out, yet nothing returned to normal.
Aakriti stayed at Shaurya's residence but barely spoke to anyone. She wasn't angry anymore; that was the problem. The anger had settled into something heavier, something she herself didn't know how to process. She avoided everyone deliberately, especially Shaurya, Dev, and Rajnath.
Rajnath called her every day but she didn't pick up. He texted her, sometimes softly. Sometimes pretending everything was normal.
"Bacha, come home."
"The house feels empty without you."
"At least reply with one message."
But she never replied. Not because she hated him. She simply couldn't face him.
Every night, Akansha took dinner upstairs despite Aakriti repeatedly telling her not to trouble herself.
That night too, Akansha entered the room with dinner only to hear the home theatre blasting some romcom in the background.
The movie was clearly trying too hard to be funny, but Aakriti sat curled up on the couch without even the shadow of a smile on her face.
Akansha placed the tray on the center table.
"You know, at this point, I think you are only watching these movies to torture yourself."
Aakriti gave a weak smile. "Maybe."
"Eat first."
Aakriti quietly started eating while Akansha stayed there for some time, hoping she would finally speak properly, but apart from a few replies here and there, nothing came. After waiting for almost half an hour, Akansha finally got up and walked downstairs.
Shaurya was in their room attending a video conference while simultaneously typing something on his laptop. The moment he saw Akansha enter alone, he understood.
"She didn't talk?" he asked softly after disconnecting the call.
Akansha shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed. "Things don't work like this, Shaurya. She's your sister. Rajnath uncle's daughter. How long are you all planning to avoid the conversation?"
"We are not avoiding it. We are just giving her some time to process everything," Shaurya replied calmly.
"One week is not 'some time'."
"We kept texting her, Akansha. She didn't reply to even one message. Clearly she doesn't want to talk yet."
Akansha sighed deeply. No. This wasn't patience anymore. This was fear. All three men were scared of seeing Aakriti break down.
She immediately picked up her phone and opened the secret group they had created without Aakriti after the anniversary incident.
@DevBisht
@ShauryaShekhawat
@RajnathBisht
@RachnaBisht
"You all are coming here right now and resolving this issue tonight."
The reply came within seconds.
"Now? This is why I tell you not to drink wine late at night. But no one listens to me. @Shaurya please lock your wife's access to alcohol", Dev replied.
Akansha rolled her eyes.
"????"
"Dev, your jokes are becoming worse with age. And I don't drink idiot, you're the only person in our group joh peeta hai"
Rachna immediately texted. "I think Akansha is right. It's high time you three stop behaving like scared teenagers and talk to Aakriti."
"No. She still needs time," Dev replied.
"Yes beta... maybe a little more time," Rajnath texted.
Akansha looked at Shaurya sitting beside her. He clearly agreed with them too. Hopeless. All of them.
Without wasting another second, she directly pressed the group call button. Everyone picked up immediately.
"If this is how you people react whenever Aakriti gets hurt emotionally, then honestly, none of you are fit to raise Siya, Ishan, and Ivaan."
Shaurya looked at her with widened eyes.
"I agree with Akansha," Rachna added seriously. "Maybe Akansha and I should raise all three kids together. At least one parent in the house should know how to deal with emotional situations."
"Excuse me?" Dev gasped dramatically.
"Okay okay! We will talk to her. But not suddenly. We need some time to prepare mentally," Dev defended himself.
Akansha blinked slowly. "Prepare? Dev, you aren't going to a war zone."
Nobody replied because unfortunately, she was right. These men could handle political pressure, media attacks, billion-dollar decisions, riots, scandals, and life-threatening situations calmly. But one crying girl? That terrified them. Especially when that girl was Aakriti.
Akansha finally softened and looked at Rajnath through the screen.
"Uncle... if you all are scared she'll break down, then let me and Rachna start the conversation. You just stay around in case she needs you."
Rajnath nodded quietly. "Maybe that will be better. Right now she is more upset with us three for hiding the truth."
"Fine. But I want all of you here tonight. No escaping."