EPILOGUE #6
Within an hour, Dev, Rachna, and Rajnath arrived at Shaurya's residence with the children. The kids quickly settled downstairs with the househelp while the elders sat in awkward silence. Nobody knew what exactly would happen upstairs.
Akansha and Rachna finally walked toward Aakriti's floor. The loud movie sounds guided them toward the theatre room again. Aakriti looked up seeing them and immediately muted the movie.
Rachna sat beside her casually while Akansha occupied the other side. For the next few minutes, they spoke normally. About Siya. About Dev irritating everyone. About how Ishan had convinced Harsh that eating crayons increased brain power. Slowly, the stiffness around Aakriti started easing.
And then suddenly, she spoke.
"I feel stupid."
Both women looked at her quietly.
"Right now, I don't even know what part of my life was truth and what wasn't."
Her eyes slowly filled.
"All my life, I saw gratitude in Shaurya's eyes whenever he looked at Dad. I used to think it was because Dad loved him like his own son... But now I understand what that gratitude actually was."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"He gave up everything for me. His reputation... his peace... his image. People called him heartless for years because they thought he forced Mumma into another pregnancy."
Aakriti shut her eyes painfully.
"And Shaurya..." she whispered.
Rachna quietly held her hand.
"He was just a child himself. What kind of child hears his parents planning to kill his newborn sister and runs barefoot carrying her in his arms just to save her life?"
Akansha felt her throat tighten.
"He kept protecting me all his life... and what did I give him in return?"
Fresh tears rolled down Aakriti's cheeks.
"My stupid revenge ruined his life too. Because of me, Akansha bhabhi and Siya stayed away from him for four years. He missed his daughter's birth... her first years... her childhood."
She laughed bitterly through tears.
"And still he never blamed me even once."
Neither Akansha nor Rachna interrupted her because she needed to let it out.
"You know what hurts the most?" Aakriti asked quietly. "The fact that none of them ever made me feel like a burden."
"And the worst part is... I almost threw away my life for Dilip Gandhi..." Aakriti laughed bitterly through tears.
The name itself disgusted her now.
"I let him manipulate me, and I attempted su**ide because him... I ruined everyone's peace for him..."
She looked at Akansha helplessly.
"And all this while, I already had men in my life who would've burned the world down just to protect me."
Akansha and Rachna stayed silent.
"Shaurya ran barefoot carrying me in his arms when he himself was just a child... Dev stood beside me through every disaster like a shield... Dad sacrificed his reputation, his comfort, his entire personal life for me..."
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"The life these people fought so hard to protect... I treated it like it had no value. That's what is killing me right now."
Her lips trembled badly.
"When I recovered after everything... I wanted to leave all luxury behind and work for old age homes. I wanted a simple life away from everything. Dad could've easily refused. Instead, he shifted with me."
Rachna smiled softly hearing her.
"He left that massive house and moved into a normal 3BHK apartment just because he didn't want me to stay alone. He handled board meetings from that apartment while pretending it was completely normal for one of the biggest media owners in the country to suddenly disappear from his mansion."
Aakriti wiped her tears helplessly.
"His office was nearly 20 miles away, yet he travelled back and forth every single day.
Despite being the chairman, he chose to work from a local branch and visited the head office only once a week.
The constant travel affected his health too, but he still refused to leave me alone.
He never once treated me like someone else's child. "
Akansha gently cupped her face.
"Because you were never someone else's child."
Aakriti looked at her silently.
"This truth changes absolutely nothing, Aakriti. Did your love for Rajnath uncle or Dev reduce after knowing the truth?"
She immediately shook her head.
"Did your love for Shaurya suddenly increase because now you know he is your biological brother?"
Again she shook her head.
"Exactly. Because you four were already a family long before this truth came out."
Before Aakriti could reply, the theatre room door slowly opened.
Shaurya. Dev. Rajnath. All three stood there silently.
The moment Aakriti looked at Rajnath, she completely broke down.
"Dad..." she cried and rushed toward him.
Rajnath immediately held her tightly.
"I am sorry... I hurt you so much..."
"No bacha... no..."
"I questioned you... blamed you..."
Rajnath kissed her forehead repeatedly while trying hard not to cry himself.
"You have every right to question me."
"No!" she cried harder. "Not after everything you did for me."
She then looked at Shaurya. His eyes were already red.
"I am sorry..." she whispered brokenly.
Shaurya immediately pulled her into his arms before she could say anything more.
"Who told you that you are Virendar and Shobha Shekhawat's daughter?" he asked softly.
Aakriti looked at him tearfully.
"The daughter they wanted dead ceased being theirs the moment they decided to kill her. The baby I carried in my arms that night was only my sister."
He pointed toward Rajnath.
"And the moment he accepted you in his arms, you became his and Aunty's daughter. End of discussion. You were never a burden to any of us."
Rajnath quickly wiped his tears.
"Your mother loved you a lot, bacha. Don't ever doubt that."
"I'm sorry Dad, Dev and Shaurya... I'm so sorry", Aakriti held Shaurya's hand tightly.
Shaurya immediately held her like she would disappear otherwise.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered brokenly. "I gave you so much pain..."
Shaurya shut his eyes emotionally.
"Idiot..." he whispered softly. "You are my sister. Protecting you was never a burden."
Aakriti cried harder. Dev immediately pulled both of them into a hug too.
"Enough crying now. My reputation as a savage elder brother is getting destroyed."
Everyone laughed through tears. Dev wiped his eyes dramatically.
"And honestly, if anyone still doubts whose daughter she is, they can go check Dad's property papers. More than half the empire is in her name anyway."
"Obviously," Shaurya replied casually. "That's because he knew you're useless and incapable of handling something that valuable."
"Excuse me?" Dev glared.
"He's right," Aakriti joined immediately. "You would've probably sold the company for football tickets."
"Wow. Betrayed by my own sister and best friend... Thank God my sons didn't inherit your intelligence," Dev added dramatically.
"Yes actually..." Aakriti nodded seriously. "Now I understand why Siya resembles me so much while Ishan and Ivan don't have a single trait of mine."
"Thank God for that too. My sons are safe."
A cushion immediately hit his face. The room finally echoed with laughter again after one whole week.
And for the first time since the truth came out... Aakriti finally felt home again.