"Her father was never there for her, he didn't deserve to know her existence, he wasn't there to cut the umbilical cord, he wasn't there to hear her first cry, he wasn't there to hold her first, he wasn't there to hear her say the first word, he was nowhere when she took the first step... So, he is as good as dead for her...", Akansha spat, causing his heart to ache deeply... Shaurya didn't have the strength to take her bitterness, yet he stood there staring at her... She took a deep breath controlling her fury before resuming.
"This is what I wanted to tell her but I can't instil bitterness for her father in her little brain... I know what it would do to a child... Siya knows a few things about her father, I didn't want to give her the hope that she would meet him one day, but for that, I can't lie to her that her father was dead, so yeah... My daughter still hopes her father will come one day", Akansha said and Shaurya took a deep breath, his daughter thought he was dead, it was such a relief, but the pain of staying away from her for 5 years was too painful.
"Siya... Can I see her pictures, right from her birth to date?", Shaurya asked...
"Not now... I will show you when I am comfortable enough... Those memories are extremely dear to me as well as private", Akansha said making him leave a deep sigh.
"Why are you doing this? You haven't informed me of my child, you have no intention to do it in this lifetime, and now you are trying to keep her and her memories away from me? Why Akansha?", Shaurya asked in anger and anguish...
"Why? You dare to ask me why? I am protecting my daughter, what if you are just trying to be nice and have other intentions? You can go to any lengths to seek retribution from me... You once used my family for that purpose, what's the guarantee you wouldn't use my daughter this time?", Akansha questioned... Damn! His lies to protect her have led to these misunderstandings, should he tell her all the truth now, no he can't... Yes, at one point in time, he was crazy for retribution, he had hurt her a lot with his obsession for it but it wasn't the reason he married her, it was his love, there are many things she doesn't know... He thought of telling her everything after marriage but the truth about his parents didn't let him risk her life.
"Siya is my daughter, how can you even think I would hurt her?", he said, looking hurtful... Looking at his face, she thought to not trouble him anymore.
"Fine! I agree you wouldn't hurt Siya intentionally, but what about the unintentional things, Shaurya? You are the Chief Minister, and no one knew about our marriage or our divorce... If you keep meeting Siya, What would everyone think? God forbid if media smelt it, can you imagine the filth they would throw on me and my daughter?", Akansha announced. He sighed deeply hearing her words, she had many misconceptions and the problem was that she believed strongly that there was no truth other than the one she knew, but the reality was far from it, how would he explain everything, and from where should he start?
"I will plan on how to reveal it and when to do it. Till then we can take care of the privacy, I assure you, this won't come out until you want it", he told her
"I would never want it, what part of this don't you understand?", she asked him
"None of it, actually. You sound absurd", Shaurya said and Akansha glared at him, he was the idiot, he destroyed the happy life they could have had and now he was saying she is absurd? How dare he?
"Siya is my daughter, and I wanted to be there for her, in her life throughout as her father, and I have no reason to keep her hidden, she isn't my sin to hide, She is a blessing I would proudly announce the world", Shaurya added
"Nice words, but let me tell you, I am not one of those who voted for you after hearing these great speeches, you are a public figure and this fact will impact Siya's life a lot, I don't want her life to be disrupted in any way, let her have a peaceful life", Akansha told him
"Don't announce your decision, Akansha, consider Siya's opinion, what would she choose? A life with her father in it, or a life without him? I don't want her to resent either you or me because of your overprotectiveness...", Shaurya said and Akansha looked at him, she feared it too, but letting Shaurya in her daughter's life meant letting chaos in their life, letting people drag them into a deep political mess, letting people play with her daughter as a pawn in their dirty politics... "I promise you... I won't let any harm our daughter's way... I'll protect her from everything you are afraid of, I won't let anyone drag you or my daughter into my political mess. Trust me", Shaurya said taking her cold palm in his warm ones.
"How Shaurya? How would you do it? Would you announce to them that you were married once and got divorced as well, and suddenly you got to know about your daughter? Is this what you are gonna say? ", Akansha asked
"No... how I do it is for me to decide, but trust me, I won't let any kind of trouble your or Siya's way... I want to be a part of my daughter's life, not as a friend but as her father, and I would try my level best to manage my political career and my role as a father without one affecting the other, but if it does, I will choose to be my daughter's father", Shaurya said leaving Akansha stunned... She never thought he would sacrifice his political career to be with his daughter...
"What would you do then?", Akansha asked, hiding her astonishment...
"What? I'm not broke Akansha, I have enough money to feed my wife and child for my whole life", Shaurya said, Akansha glared at him... she couldn't believe he was thinking of staying idle for his whole life, that was so not him, he hated sitting idle, he always wanted to work, the kind of work doesn't matter, he just loved the feeling of being productive.
"Ex-wife", she corrected, he opened his mouth to say something but nothing would make sense to her now, so he shut up... "So, you mean to sit idle and feed on your ancestors' money, huh?", she asked
"That's my money, Akansha, I have invested in businesses, small and large, I have multiplied the wealth by 50 times with my hard work, you can't call it their wealth anymore... anyways, to answer your question, I won't sit idle, it's not like politics is the only thing I know, if you remember, I was the chief financial officer of ********* before that. I can do anything for a living", he said
"Yes, but politics is your forte, everyone has their dream career, Shaurya, Yours is your political career, you always dreamt of thriving in it, and you want to end it now? Why would you take such a stupid step?", Akansha questioned
"You sacrificed your dream career too? No? If you want, you could have pursued your dream career, but you chose not to, to stop me from discovering you, to protect our daughter from potential harm you thought I was", he trailed, every time he said 'our', her heart fluttered stupidly. "if you can sacrifice your dream career for Siya without even experiencing the bliss of doing the work you love, I can definitely leave my dream career to spend peaceful time with my daughter, not to forget, I have already lived my dream for 5 years, unlike you", he pointed out
"And you think media, people, and your rivals will stop spreading dirt on us if you separate yourself from politics? They would not let you do any other job, why are you so stupid not to understand this?", Akansha asked, getting frustrated with his baseless arguments, she didn't know why is she fighting him for his career, well, she had an ulterior motive, if he stays in politics, he would stay away from her and her daughter in fear of his rivals tarnishing their image. But, there's something more in her heart that she didn't want to encourage.
"Then I'll be a house husband", he said and Akansha glared at him... "I mean a house father...", he said and she huffed in irritation cursing the person who coined the term. "Why are you so worried about my career?", he questioned earning a glare from her... That's the kind of look he gets from her now, he craved to see love in her eyes, which he once used to see all the time.
"I'm not worried for you but myself and my daughter, I don't want your fans to blame us for your political exit", Akansha said
"They won't... Anyway, that's the last resort, if I fail to tackle both my roles efficiently... I'm sure I can manage dual roles", Shaurya said
"Of course, who else than me knew about capabilities to slay in it", Akansha taunted him, he understood what she meant but he chose to stay silent because he deserved every drop of venom she spit and even more.
Shaurya's intercom rang bringing them out of their painful memories. He pressed the button still staring at her.
"Sir, Mr. Dikshit is here for you", he heard Suraj's say
"Send him to my study...", Shaurya said and hung up.
"You can leave to the room, I wanted to talk to Akash alone", Shaurya said, his tone hardening indicating his madness.
"Whatever Akash did was according to my wishes... He was not at fault", Akansha said
"Not at fault? Seriously?", Shaurya asked her, it was getting challenging for him to keep his tone in check with the fury bubbling inside him, but he never liked rising tone at her, especially after knowing how much she hated it.
"Akash is my brother, he did whatever any brother would do...", Akansha defended
"I was upset with him for taking you away from me, but the maddening rage you are seeing on my face is because he tried to take my daughter away from me, I would not forgive him for this", Shaurya said looking at her in the eye. "He is your brother, there's no harm in assuring his sister's safety but this is highly unacceptable", he added
"I'm glad my brother didn't choose to avenge his sister's pain like someone who destroyed my life", Akansha said with a blazing fire in her eyes...
"Yeah... because your brother didn't see his sister in the condition that 'someone' saw his sister... I'm glad he didn't, and I also know Akash's sister is strong but my sister wasn't... He never had to lose his senses to an extent that he does something which is unacceptable to his heart, which is against his own belief system... I'm glad he didn't have to face that situation because you, my jaan are the strongest", Shaurya said staring into her eyes, and she lost herself in those, when she heard 'my jaan' from him after years, but she got her senses back with her brother's voice.
"Di...", Akash rushed to Akansha holding her shoulder...
"I'm fine, Akash", Akansha said, she tried to assure her brother...
"I'm sorry, Di... I'm extremely sorry", Akash apologized, his heart held the pain of becoming an utter failure as a brother.
"Don't be... You tried your best... Anyway, we'll talk about it later... You guys keep talking, I'll leave now", Akansha said and walked away, Akash is damn surprised to see his sister so calm in Shaurya's presence, in his house as if she had accepted the reality. Akash turned to Shaurya, Did he force her to stay with him?
"Why is she behaving like this? Did you blackmail her again?", Akash asked furious at Shaurya...
"How dare you Akash Dikshit?", Shaurya questioned, his tone going cold, there was no emotion except for raw rage in it. Akash stared back at Shaurya...
"I have done nothing wrong, protecting my sister is my responsibility, which you didn't let me fulfill", Akash said
"Fulfilling your responsibility by snatching my daughter away from me? Huh? If that's the case, then I would never let you fulfill your responsibility, Akash, get this imprinted in your thick skull", Shaurya warned...
"Your daughter? You think you deserve Siya?", Akash questioned
"You are no one to judge that... Akansha and I will sort it out... You are her brother, you can do things for her provided she supports it, but you don't have the same right in my daughter's case, Akash... Take this as a caution or a warning, I honestly don't care... but if you even think of doing something like this again, I'll leave you incapable of taking care of yourself, let alone my wife or daughter", Shaurya warned, Akash got the seriousness in his tone.
"I have taken a note of your words, now you hear me out carefully, Sir... When it comes to my sister, I don't care about the consequences, if you dare to hurt my sister or my niece again, I don't mind attempting what I did, this time I'll make sure to be successful", Akash said and stormed out of the study leaving Shaurya thinking.
Shaurya walked to his room, Akansha was pulling off the blanket from Siya.
"What are you doing?", Shaurya asked, covering his daughter with the duvet and took Akansha to the balcony shutting the glass door so that their argument wouldn't disturb his daughter.
"Akash is waiting downstairs, I'm taking Siya home", Akansha said
"Stay for this night, We need to talk a lot", Shaurya said
"I already told you what I want", Akansha argued
"And I am not agreeing to any of those, I'm not going away from my daughter, you can tell her the truth at your own pace, but I need access to my daughter from now on... I want to meet her once every week and let's discuss all the terms for now", Shaurya said, sounding serious...
"Shuarya... This is all a mess... Elections are ahead... Concentrate on them, leave us alone at least till then", Akansha tried again
"Elections are more than half a year away, I can't stay away from my daughter even for a day, but still considering your comfort, I was asking a single day in a week, think about it Akansha, you will understand, I'm not asking for too much", Shaurya said and she sighed.
"You have this whole night, Shaurya, Convince me", Akansha said and walked away to inform Akash to ask him to pick them the following morning.
Akansha sat on the staircase, thinking about all the possibilities. She was in a fix, now that Shaurya knew about his daughter, she didn't know how to keep him away from her. She saw the determination in his eyes, he would do anything to be in Siya's life as her father, she understood it when he got ready to leave his political career for his daughter. Siya too needed a father, and when Shaurya was ready to give that love to her daughter, is it right on her part to keep them away from each other. She knew Shaurya has hurt her in the past and that experience is enough not to give him a chance ever. But, a father in him never harmed her child, she thought he did, now the misunderstanding was cleared, she could at least allow him near Siya, but making sure he stays in limits and wouldn't show Siya dreams that could never come true.
"Why are you sitting here?", she heard Shaurya from behind...
"Just thinking... Anyway if you are done with your work, let's discuss... I have to feed Siya dinner as well", Akansha said walking towards him.
"Let's talk after dinner... First feed Siya...", he said and she nodded walking towards the kitchen. He followed her to see how would she prepare Siya's meals.
Akansha started preparing while Mrs. Sudha helped her and he stared at his wife who once used to fumble in kitchen chores now became a pro.
"Siya is 4 years old na beta?", Mrs. Sudha asked
"Ji(yes)", Akansha answered, stirring the boiling food.
"But you are still feeding her cereal? What about supplements and other nutrients... Now that she is 4 years old, you can start giving hard foods as they can now chew properly", Mrs. Sudha advised.
"Oh no aunty... This is not something I bought from market, I made this cereal at home with all the nuts and grains, crushing them, to give overall nutrient supply to her... And don't worry, I feed her all the regular food and fruits as well... Just that now I need to make her have food in her semi-sleep state, so cereal is the best thing...", Akansha answered with a smile...
"Oh that's nice, what all did you add in here", Mrs. Sudha asked seeing the cereal... Akansha told the ingredients and what all she did to make it tasty and healthy. Shaurya looked on in surprise, grasping all the details, if needed in future.
Akansha is done with the preparation, she arranged the plate and with one last smile she walked away to her daughter and he asked Mrs. Sudha to get two plates ready and send it to his room.
Shaurya entered his room to see Akansha trying to get Siya in a semi-seated position so that shr could easily have her food... Shaurya quickly went and helped her. Siya leaned to Shaurya and shut her eyes sleeping again. Akansha pulled her daughter gently to her, Siya snuggled into her warmth, while she slowly fed her daughter the cereal.
"Do you need any help?", Shaurya asked
"No, I'll manage", Akansha said but Shaurya heard 'I always have' in her 'I'll' and the guilt occupied his head again.
After Akansha is done with feeding and cleaning his daughter, he helped Siya lay down after helping her burp.
Mrs. Sudha brought dinner for them and quickly left from there to give space to the two.
"Let's have dinner", Shaurya said and it only reminded of her days when she was married to him.
"I am not hungry", Akansha said
"You haven't eaten a single morse from morning, come and have dinner", Shaurya said softly.
"I won't eat at random people's places, so no thank you", Akansha said
"Random people? Akansha... Please...", he started but she cut him off...
"I was poisoned by your mother, Shaurya, that terrible experience is enough to make me afraid of having even water at your place", Akansha said...
Shaurya came towards the bed with the food tray and sat in front of her.
"That's my ancestral property... My mother had a say there... But this place belongs to me alone, I had never let her step inside this place, let alone entering into my kitchen... Only Mrs. Sudha enters there...", Shaurya said and ate his plate of dinner, while talking to her. She looked surprised at how he ate shamelessly without bothering about her.
"It's been more than 10 minutes, and I am still in front of you, fit and fine... You know my body reacts to adulterations faster than normal people, I am fine so the food is too... Now have it", Shaurya said
"You didn't have to do it...", Akansha said, she didn't like the fact that he ate just to prove the food is safe... Though he hasn't cooked the food, she felt as if she insulted him.
"That's okay, I don't want you to have any kind of fear while relishing your favorite food, now have it", He said and she nodded.
She started having her food while he kept looking at her time to time, pretending to work in his phone.
After their dinner, the couple spoke about the upcoming meetings with Siya, the frequency and the protocol she needs to follow regarding the meetings to keep people from suspecting the relation between them before the chose to reveal it themselves.
They agreed on everything except for the frequency, Shaurya wanted to meet his daughter once a week, but Akansha wanted to make it once every two weeks.
"That's too long Akansha... Please try and understand", Shaurya pleaded
"I am letting you meet her, be happy about it Shaurya, trust I didn't want to but I had to... Don't push me too far than you have already done", she said and he stared at her and the hatred in her eyes. Will the things get fine between them ever?
Shaurya tried to negotiate but she threw words like swords and at one point, it became unbearable for him to handle that ache, so he nodded agreeing to her. He knew he was at fault but the pain her actions and words gave him became unbearable sometimes but he knew he deserved it.
"Let's finish the formalities regarding the protocal to be followed while you come here with Siya every two weeks...", Shaurya said and Akansha looked at him. He agreed for two weeks? Just like that? She thought he would keep arguing with her but he just agreed? He read her questioning eyes... "I don't want to trouble you more than I already am", he said and dialed Suraj through the intercom.
"Suraj... Who is on the night duty tonight?", Shaurya asked, Suraj detailed him about the people, Shaurya selected a few who he trusted blindly and asked Suraj to put only these in night duty. Suraj made the arrangements accordingly.
After an hour, Shaurya assembled his trusted men in his study and discussed the arrangements of Akansha and Siya's visit to his residence every other sunday, and the measures they need to take, to keep their visit hidden. After all the discussions, Shaurya called Akansha to introduce his trusted men and detail her about everything.
"This is Suraj, Chief security officer... This is Akansha... My wi...", Shaurya started but Akansha's heated glare paused his words.
Suraj stood astonished to see how her one simple look is enough to control their dynamic and brave Chief Minister. That one second of silent exchange is enough to say she is his wife. Only a wife has this power over a man like Shaurya who is hardly intimidated by anyone.
"Hi Suraj... Akansha Dixit", Akansha introduced herself forwarding her palm to make the moment less awkward but Shaurya's blazing gaze on her indicated how he hated her introduction as a 'Dikshit'
Suraj quickly shook her hand and introduced others. To Shaurya's luck, Akansha didn't shake her hands with any other men as they quickly started the discussion. Akansha walked to Shaurya's room to check on her daughter after she was done with the discussion.
"Suraj, ensure their privacy is maintained whenever they come here... Take extra precautions, because it's election time and some opposition members can stoop any low to defame me, I don't want any problems for Akansha or my daughter", Shaurya said, this was the first time Shaurya opened up about Siya, though Suraj and the team deduced already.
"Congratulations Sir... Your daughter is really adorable", Suraj said, a proud grin appearing on Shaurya's face, this was the first time, someone addressed Siya as his daughter, he felt as if someone had just given him the greatest award. It's true in a way, Siya is his greatest blessing and if he gets successful in bringing happiness to his daughter and her mother, that would be his greatest achievement.
Others followed Suraj in congratulating Shaurya but none questioned why Shaurya didn't know about her or how he would handle the mess this news would create if he decided to announce his daughter to the world. There were these questions in their heads but they kept them to themselves, Shaurya always liked this professionalism in them, they knew where to draw the line, and they just do their duty, not a word more than that.
Shaurya, after discussing other things regarding work, dismissed them, and he walked to their room to see his wife on his bed caressing his daughter's hair... Damn! the belongingness in the word 'his' gave him extreme satisfaction. He was grinning widely, Akansha looked at him.
"What a weirdo? Why are you grinning like a fool standing at the door?", Akansha asked him... He rolled his eyes at her choice of words. It's been around 5 years since someone talked to him like that, since he became the chief minister, everyone chooses their words carefully, even Mrs. Sudha's words became a bit polished compared to how she used to talk to him before, but his best friend was the only person who didn't change at all, and now Akansha was added to that list.
"I liked seeing you and our daughter in my room, on my bed... I imagined this millions of times, never thought I would see this in real", Shaurya said walking in...
"This is not your reality, this is a one-day arrangement, won't happen again", Akansha spoke, erasing his grin... The way he handed the divorce papers to her and how she signed them reminded of his head snatching his peace.
"Sometimes, memories of a single day will keep us going for years", Shaurya said, remembering the day he proposed her, that single day kept him going all these years. Looking at his face, Akansha knew what day he was talking about, the very same day, she claimed to regret, giving him heartache enough for a lifetime, her heart said, 'which he deserved', her brain added.
"I'm comfortable here, you can go to the other room", Akansha said, waiting for him to leave.
"Oh no no, I'm going nowhere... I'll sleep here", Shaurya said sitting on the other side of the bed, Akansha quickly got up.
"Shaurya, leave or else I will", Akansha spoke, glaring at him. He could see what even the thought of sleeping on the same bed as him did to her.
"Relax... I'll take the couch", Shaurya said quickly getting up and walking to her side, she moved aside, knowing he was coming to kiss his daughter 'good night'. Shaurya has this habit to kiss 'good night'. He thought she didn't know but she did.
Shaurya placed a gentle kiss on his daughter's forehead, his eyes teared up, he was unable to believe that he had a daughter. His heart was burdened with all the hurt, pain, and betrayal, but there's also unlimited happiness and bliss balancing them, keeping him sane and he thanked his daughter for that.
He took his duvet from the bed and took the couch.
"Where is my blanket?", Akansha asked
"I told you where the blankets are placed, go and take it", Shaurya said, lying on the couch comfortably, covering himself with the duvet.
"Are you serious, Shaurya, I'm your guest", Akansha whisper-yelled storming towards him.
"I already told you, one can never be a guest in their own house", Shaurya said
"Shut up, stop speaking stupidly", Akansha glared at him... He rolled his eyes and turned to the other side ignoring her words. Akansha cursed him before walking into his closet, she picked up 3 blankets, she would teach him a lesson. how dare he do this to her?
She lied on the bed beside her daughter, covered her daughter and herself with the blankets, before putting the AC temperature at its minimum and hid the remote under her pillow.
Within 5 minutes, she heard the request she was wanting to hear...
"Akansha... Siya might feel cold... Increase the temperature", Shaurya said, but Akansha shut her eyes ignoring him. "Akansha...", he said but there was no response. He got up only to see his daughter and wife wrapped in thick blankets, while he was shivering in cold. He tried to search for AC remote but unable to find it. He cursed himself for challenging Akansha, he should have quietly handed over the blanket to her. He walked to his closet to take another blanket for himself.
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He kept staring at his wife and daughter's sleeping forms, trying to get this imprinted in his memory as he knew he wouldn't be getting these moments anytime soon. He lied on the couch to sleep in the wee hours but it's far away because of the uncomfortable couch, and especially AC.
He freshened up and due to his bad mood and his previous night's conversation with Akansha left his mood bitter and angry. The fact that he would be seeing his daughter only after two weeks is upsetting him. He hated himself for agreeing to Akansha.
Akansha woke up, she was still rubbing off the sleep from her eyes, when she spotted the condition of the room. Shaurya hadn't changed a bit in all these years, she thought. If he was angry, upset or sleep-deprived, his mood gets so bad that he messes up the whole room and that's exactly what happened now. What she doesn't know is this is the first time in years did he messed up his room like that. He was a changed man after she left him but looks like with her return, all his habits were returning.
Looking at the condition of the room, she was more than pissed, she couldn't tackle the room's condition, she waited for a while to see if any helper comes to the room so that she could ask them to sort the mess but none showed up, her patience was running out, so she cleared it before going to freshen up.
Shaurya's shirt was torn as it got stuck to a nail in his study, his forearm got a small cut as well, so he came back to change, seeing the room clean,he smiled to himself knowing who did it. He shook his thoughts as he realized Shweta and Mr.Sharma are waiting for him as there are very important things they need to alert him on. He didn't do any work the previous day so it gets more important to hear them today. He quickly cleaned his wound, but accidentally some antiseptic was spilled on the floor. He saw his towel hanging in the balcony, he quickly grabbed it and dropped on the spilled antiseptic, but then realized he was getting late so he quickly got changed and stepped out of the room.
He was met with Shweta and Mr. Sharma near the staircase.
"I was about to come down stairs... What's so important that you too were early by an hour than your usual time?", Shaurya asked in his usual calm yet commanding voice.
"Sir... I need to speak with you regarding the adjustments of appointments according to your campaign schedule, also...", Shweta started but her words paused hearing a lady's roar.
Akansha came out of the washroom after finishing her morning chores, she was going to wake up Siya but then she saw red spotting Shaurya's wet towel which was supposed to be hanged in the balcony was now lying on the floor. She picked the towel and stormed out.
As soon as she saw him, his back facing her, she threw the towel at him.
"Shaurya, your stupid habit of messing the room in anger didn't go anywhere, even today, huh", Akansha said in irritation, the towel she threw hit his back, a gasp escaped her when she saw him talking to Shweta and Mr. Sharma, now with towel she hit him with at his feet. His ears turned red indicating his embarrassment.
Shweta's eyes widened followed by Mr. Sharma's. Akansha didn't know what to do, she is extremely embarassed and hated the situation they are in. She wasn't his wife anymore, but the act she just performed looked so much like a wife. Why did she do it? Akansha rushed back to his room cursing herself. What might his staff be thinking? And Shweta? She always helped her, and she also suspected Shaurya of harassing her, what if she thought Shaurya used his power to sleep with her? Chi... What was she even thinking? Eh! But there's a possibility they think like that considering no one knew about their marriage. Damn! She didn't want unnecessary judgements on her character.
A part of her, cursed Shweta and Mr. Sharma for being there so early in the morning. She didn't expect them to be there that early, so she acted careless and now she regretted.
---------------------------
Shaurya's ears turned red, he quickly picked the towel and Mrs. Sudha who walked there quickly took the towel from his hands, stifling her laughter.
"Mrs. Sudha... Please", Shaurya said knowing why she is laughing. He had this habit of messing up things when his mood is sour but he had overcame this habit with difficulty after Akansha's departure as he never liked someone enter his room Or sort things out for him neither he had so much time to do it with his hectic schedule, so he learnt not to mess up. But despite his good behavior, he had to hear his wife's taunts which made Mrs. Sudha laugh at him.
"Sorry Shaurya", She apologized and left from there...
"That... That's my wife", Shaurya said looking at Shweta and Mr. Sharma. Shweta stifled her grin, her boss was completely smitten by his wife. Shweta expected Mr. Sharma to be surprised but he went into deep thinking, that explains he already knew this. But how?
"So she is Mrs. Shekhawat? Your wife? Glad to meet her, Sir", Mr. Sharma said and Shaurya acknowledged the older man's wishes though they didn't seem genuine to him.
"You knew about Sir's marriage?", Shweta asked surprised
"Yeah, I saw in the affidavit sir submitted, at the time of his nomination", Mr. Sharma said, shocking Shweta and alerting Shaurya.
"Mr. Sharma... I hope you knew this news isn't for everyone...", Shaurya said, indirectly asking Mr. Sharma not to mention regarding the affidavit to anyone.
"I understand sir... Will be careful next time", Mr. Sharma said with an apologetic face.
Shaurya nodded and three of them left to his office downstairs. After finishing the pending work, he returned to his room, to see his daughter looking fresh, Akansha is making her hair but seeing Shaurya, Siya jumped into his arms irking Akansha.
"Sholya... I missed you", Siya said spreading her arms around his neck, while Shaurya held her securely in his arms.
"I missed you too Siya... By the way, how did you wake up so early, hm?", Shaurya asked and Siya giggled shrugging her shoulders cutely. "Very good Siya, you are such a good girl", Shaurya praised making Siya grin happily.
"Siya... We are getting late, come to mumma... I need to make your braid", Akansha called... She didn't have the heart to break the father-daughter moment but she had to...
"Sholya will do it", Siya claimed, tightening her hold on Shaurya...
"He doesn't know how to do it baby...", Akansha tried to convince her daughter...
"It's okay, let me try", Shaurya said taking the baby comb from Akansha. He sat beside her on the bed, adjusting Siya in front of him. He tried his best, and with Akansha's help and his own practice a few years ago, with his wife he succeeded but he couldn't tie the bands making Akansha roll her eyes.
"You are still the same", she said taking the band from him and tied her daughter's pigtails.
"Yep... I don't know why I can't do this... Show me how you do it?", Shaurya asked
"Let it be, Shaurya, I showed you numerous times before but you never got it, this isn't your thing", Akansha said, making Shaurya glare at her.
Siya got up excited, she rushed to the mirror to look at her hair, with which she is very excited. She crashed into her mother's arms hugging her tightly.
"Mama bear... They ale so pwetty(they are so pretty)", Siya said kissing Akansha's cheek tightly. By now, Shaurya has figured out his daughter loved kissing her mother, just like him. Especially Akansha's cheeks, they are so soft that Shaurya couldn't stop touching them when they were together.
"Shaurya... What are you doing?", Akansha shrieked when she felt his hands on her cheeks from behind.
"I love these softies... God, I so want to bite them...", he said
"Don't even think about it, and go from here... Let me concentrate on my books", she said resuming her study but his lips trailed kisses on her cheeks distracting her.
"Shaurya... Let me concentrate... You are such a distraction", Akansha whined trying to push him away but failed badly.
"I am a distraction, I am? Have you ever seen yourself, woman? These milky cheeks and these soft plump petal like lips are such a distraction... I can keep kissing them till eternity", he said kissing her cheeks tightly.
"Sha... Shaurya... Please...", Akansha fumbled, resisting his touch had always been a challenge for her.
"You can study later... Now let me devor my favorite dessert", he said pulling her to him, his hands softly pinching her cheeks, simultaneously kissing them.
"Mama bear, you said Sholya doesn't know how to make blaid(braid)? But chee(see), they ale so pwetty (they are so pretty)", Siya said admiring her braids.
Her cute voice brought Shaurya out of his reverie, he looked at Akansha only to earn a glare from her. By her expressions, he knew she understood what he was thinking.
"Yeah, they are good, say thank you to him", Akansha said
"Thanku (thank you)", Siya said, kissing Shaurya's cheeks. Though he is clean shaved, his cheeks are rougher than Akansha's which Siya didn't like. "Loph loph... (Rough... Rough)", Siya said rubbing his cheeks making weird faces, Shaurya laughed at his cute daughter.
"I am already clean shaved baby... Can't do anything else for this rough skin", Shaurya said...
"Wait...", Siya said and quickly brought her mother's handbag and took out all the creams out of it.
"Siya... What are you doing?", Akansha asked
"Mama bear... Making Sholya's cheeks choft choft(soft soft)", Siya said.
"That's not needed, Siya", Shaurya tried to stop his daughter, looking at all the creams in horror. He looked at Akansha for help.
"Siya bear, these can't make his cheeks soft, these are all girl creams", Akansha tried but Siya is as stubborn as her father. Both Akansha and Shaurya tried a lot but she pleaded with them to let her apply it. Finally! Shaurya's stubbornness failed in front of his daughter's.
Siya squeezed out the creams one by one and applied on Shaurya's face. She even applied the foundation making his face painted with cream with patches of foundation all over his face.
She kept checking the roughness of his cheeks after applying every cream. She is disappointed to see that his cheeks still felt rough on her baby skin even after applying all the creams but it's much better than before.
"It's still loph(rough)", Siya said
"I told you, these are for girls", Akansha said and Siya nodded and looked at Shaurya again and smiled.
"Sholya, You look so pwetty, hai na mumma? (Shaurya, you look so pretty, right mumma?)", Siya asked, Akansha nodded stifling her laughter. He was looking like a swollen pumpkin.
Siya applied all kinds of creams on his face, from toner to primer, moisturizer to foundation, serum to sunscreen one over the other.
"Now go down stairs, I'll feed you breakfast and then we are leaving home", Akansha said
"Mama bear... Can we stay hele(here)? Pwease(please)", Siya requested.
"Not now Siya, mumma has work and you have school too, don't worry, we'll come here soon", Akansha said and Siya got excited hearing her mother say they will come there again. She rushed out...
"Don't run... You'll fall...", Shaurya and Akansha rushed behind Siya, but seeing Mrs. Sudha taking care of Siya, Akansha quickly pulled Shaurya inside as she doesn't want someone to see him like that.
"Clean yourself...", she said
"Hm...", he hummed, walking towards the mirror, his eyes widened looking at his reflection. He was about to go out with that face? Akansha chuckled seeing his expression.
"Here... Use this cleanser, it helps remove these easily", Akansha said and Shaurya nodded taking it from her.
He came out of the washroom after washing his face, which is now red as it would be just before the rashes.
"Apply this, otherwise you will suffer rashes", she said picking a gentle soothing cream from his collection and he nodded. Being a public figure, he had to be among people and under the sun most of the time, so Shaurya followed a basic skincare routine whenever he had some time which was not so often.
"Jasmeet, Suraj's reportee will drop you and Siya home, after breakfast", Shaurya said and Akansha looked here and there, wondering how to apologize to him for the mishap that happened. No matter their differences or how she treated him when they were alone, she should be respecting him in front of people, he is the chief minister of a state for god sake, how embarrassed he might have felt in front of the people who worked for him.
"I'm sorry Shaurya... for whatever happened outside... I didn't know your people starts working so early... Looking at the towel on the floor, I lost my temper... I shouldn't have... I have no right to treat you like that", Akansha apologized genuinely but even her apology hurt him... her words felt like needles on his already wounded heart.
"You have all the right Akansha... That's okay... No need to apologize", he said walking towards her.
"I have no right... Not legally, emotionally, or morally. There is no relationship between us, Shaurya, whatever is there, it's because of Siya and it will stay like that, I have no right to behave the way I just did, for a day, my anguish, pain, and hatred dominated my senses, but now they are back. I won't trouble you anymore, but yes, if my daughter is hurt because of you, I will not leave you", Akansha warned and walked away leaving Shaurya broken. All the peace he felt seeing his daughter and wife in his room, disappeared into thin air with her statement. Honestly, he did feel embarrassed when she did that, but there was happiness in that embarrassment, he wished for more such embarrassments if that could keep his wife and daughter at his place. He was ready for everything but she wasn't and that realization shattered him.
Precap - Akansha gets to know Shaurya called her his wife in front of Shweta and Mr. Sharma, Shaurya comes across his past sins when his friend comes to meet him in his office. Past starts...
ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!
My New Book 'Amidst Chaos' is now live on Wattpad. It's an intense love-hate love story with all the dramatic elements that would hook you to the plot. Below is the link. Hope you will give it a shot and soon will love it just like my other works 'The Royal BEAST' trilogy, HIS Retribution & Rue, Rainbow, Impounded Love, For Him...?? & 'MY WOMAN'.
https://www.wattpad.com/story/379770787-amidst-chaos