The process for Rahul to replace his debit card went smoothly, and he received the new card on the spot.
The 500,000 Taka eventually converted to roughly ₹41,000, all of which he deposited immediately. As for his ID, he applied for a replacement at the local station. Since he was in a different district, it would be mailed to his permanent address in Qu County, but he received a temporary ID card right then and there. This temporary document would be enough to handle the house title transfer in a few days.
After finishing his errands, Rahul rushed home, determined not to lose another minute of editing time.
But as he arrived at his doorstep, he saw Ananya sitting at the top of the stairs, scrolling through her phone. From the audio leaking through her speakers, he realized she was actually watching the very video he had posted that morning!
Damn it.
A look of pure disgust crossed Rahul's face. This shameless woman actually had the nerve to track him down? Did she have zero self-awareness?
Hearing his footsteps, Ananya snapped her head up. Even with his mask on, she recognized him instantly.
"Rahul! You're back!"
Ananya scrambled to her feet, a fake, practiced smile of "surprised joy" plastered on her face. Seeing that expression, the disgust in Rahul's heart only intensified. It was like seeing a mangy dog in a garbage heap; even looking at her felt like it lowered his personal worth.
Rahul ignored her completely, pulling out his keys to open the door. But Ananya blocked the way with her body, reaching out to grab his arm, her voice turning urgent and high-pitched.
"Rahul, I want to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have listened to my mother; I shouldn't have asked you for that ridiculous 50-lakh security deposit. Please, just forgive—"
Rahul roughly shook off her hand, his tone freezing. "Get lost!"
As she was flung back, her finger accidentally hit the Omega Seamaster on his wrist, and she let out a sharp cry of pain. But seeing him opening the door, she rushed forward again, desperate to grab his hand.
"Rahul, I'm sorry! Please forgive me! I don't want you to work so hard anymore. I don't care about the marriage gift! I'll move in right now, I'll—"
"Enough!"
Rahul spun around, pulled down his mask, and roared at her. When Ananya saw his face—now significantly more handsome and masculine than before—a flash of shock crossed her eyes, followed by a forced look of grievance.
"Rahul, don't be like this. I was wrong, I was really wrong!"
"I'll make it up to you! I'll do whatever you want. I won't be the way I was before, I—"
"Shut up!"
Rahul frowned, his revulsion bursting forth. Seeing his terrifying expression and hearing the lethal edge in his voice, Ananya's heart began to race with genuine panic.
"If you don't leave this second, I'm calling the cops. Don't ever come looking for me again. Why aren't you in the passenger seat of that Mercedes-Benz E300 you loved so much?"
"Oh, I almost forgot. You two made a global laughingstock of yourselves at that concert. You probably won't be able to hook another rich guy for the rest of your life. Get lost. I don't want to see your face."
Rahul's words made Ananya's face turn a sickly, hideously pale color. A wave of bone-deep humiliation washed over her.
"Rahul, I..."
"I what? You think I don't know exactly what you're thinking?"
"You watched my videos. In Dhaka, I have women ten times more beautiful and wealthier than you confessing their love to me. One offered me a 1.5 Crore dowry! A Crore and a half!"
"And this watch? It's worth 5 lakhs. Open your eyes and look at me—who do you think you are? What do you even have to offer? How do you have the face to stand here?"
"Do you really think you're someone special?"
"Get lost, and try to save whatever tiny shred of dignity you have left!"
Ananya felt a physical pain in her chest. She still wanted to beg him because she realized she had reached the end of her rope. The regret in her heart had finally reached its peak. Seeing Rahul look at her as if she were something filthy, her mind snapped for a second.
With a thud, she fell to her knees on the landing, weeping bitterly. "Rahul, I'm sorry, I was wrong... just give me one more chance, I was really wrong..."
Rahul didn't even look at her. He turned, stepped into his apartment, and slammed the door with a thunderous bang, shuting her out of his life forever.
To be honest, Rahul didn't feel a single ripple of emotion. There was no joy in humiliating her; there was only the lingering disgust of having seen a fly in his soup. If he didn't need to wait for the house title transfer, he would have left Mumbai already.
He sat at his computer, put on his noise-canceling headphones, and went back to work. He needed to focus on his career now. Growing his channel and traveling the world while gaining Charm Points was the only goal that mattered. If Ananya dared to spread rumors online to hurt his brand, he'd send her a lawyer's letter and make sure she ended up behind bars.
He edited until 8:00 PM, finishing the segment of Samina at the police station and the first appearance of Anjali.
While waiting for his dinner delivery, he opened the TikTok backend. The notifications were still "99+." His views had cleared 8 million, and his likes had doubled. He scrolled through the comments. Most men were green with envy, while the women were obsessed with his looks.
However, a few top-rated comments caught his eye.
The users were claiming that Rahul was a "scam promoter" for a human trafficking park, and that he was filming these videos to lure naive Indian men to Bangladesh to have their kidneys harvested.
Rahul frowned. This is pure slander.
He hadn't said a single word encouraging people to travel there. How had he become a recruiter for a 'kidney harvesting' ring? Looking at the replies, he saw a disturbing number of people supporting this theory. Furthermore, several threads were devolving into toxic gender wars or questioning if his entire life was a scripted prank.
He realized then that as a creator, he had a responsibility to set the record right. He couldn't let bad actors control the narrative.
Rahul typed a message and pinned it to the top of his comment sections on all platforms:
"A message from Rahul: I want to clarify that my videos are 100% authentic and unscripted. Furthermore, I want to emphasize that international travel always carries risks. Please do not blindly follow trends or try to imitate my journey. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid traveling to high-risk or controversial areas alone. Stay safe and be smart."
Immediately after pinning it, the replies flooded in.
"Support for the responsible vlogger! Glad you said it."
"Who cares about kidneys? He's a global heartbreaker!"
"Rahul, please update! I need to see what happens next!"
"Hurry with the sequel! Even a donkey in a production team wouldn't dare to take a break like this!"
Expert Guide Follow-up:
Rahul has successfully shut out his past and addressed the rumors. As the views continue to skyrocket, he gets a private message from a high-end luxury brand wanting him to do a "Travel Lifestyle" collaboration. Should he accept the deal to fund his next trip, or should he stay independent to maintain his "authentic" image for a little longer?