Nil Chowdhury ripped off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor.
Then, slowly, he climbed onto the bed and hovered over me.
I felt nearly crushed under the weight of his broad chest and powerful body.
Helpless, I lay there with my eyes squeezed shut, my cheeks drenched in salt water.
It was as if Nil was finally fulfilling a long-held dream.
He repeatedly brought his face close to mine.
As his hot breath crashed against my skin, he began to kiss me with a deep, intoxicating intensity.
Despite my loathing, the ferocity of his touch and the scent of his body pushed me into a strange,
disorienting trance—a toxic mixture of fear and arousal.
Nil ran his fingers through my hair, occasionally gripping my chin firmly to force me to look into his eyes.
In my pain and shame, I could only struggle feebly.
It felt as though he was taking me from this world of flesh and blood into another dark realm where only his dominance and my unconditional surrender existed.
From head to toe, I shuddered repeatedly with an unknown sensation.
Leaning over me, Nil Chowdhury whispered, "From now on, Sahana, your every breath will carry only my name.
This night belongs only to us."
I gripped the bedsheets with both hands.
Even amidst the burning sting of humiliation, the intoxicating sensations Nil provided began to numb me.
I realized that the events of tonight had set me upon a new and dangerous path for a lifetime.
Nil Chowdhury asserted his dominance over me for a long time.
There was no love in his touch, only a primal hunger and the satisfaction of a victor.
Though I had not the slightest desire, I endured his every coercion, bound by the chains of the contract.
Taking advantage of my helplessness, he claimed every secret lust and desire he had harbored, as if settling an old debt in full.
Long after his satisfaction was met, he moved away from me.
I lay motionless on the bed, paralyzed by exhaustion and shame.
Nil stood up from the bed as if nothing had happened and picked up his shirt from the floor.
Standing before the mirror, he calmly began to fasten his buttons, as if those horrific moments were merely a mundane affair to him.
I said nothing; I didn't even have the strength to speak.
I just lay curled up on one side.
Pulling the bedsheet over me, I managed to cover my naked body.
Tears were still streaming from my eyes.
The haunting blue light of the room now felt as scorching as the fires of a crematorium.
Finished with his shirt, Nil strapped his watch onto his wrist.
Then, looking at my reflection in the mirror, he gave a cruel smile and said, "You will get what is owed to you, Sahana.
I will make the first move to destroy Rushda tomorrow morning.
Now, pull yourself together."
After he left the room, I remained lying on that bed, helpless.
I felt that in choosing this path to take revenge on Rushda, my body might survive, but my mind and self-respect had died forever on this very bed.
I had nothing left to do.
My head bowed in shame and insult. With numb hands, I gathered my clothes from the bed.
As I put them on one by one, it felt as if every thread was mocking me.
Nil Chowdhury had already left, perhaps already plotting his next move or seeking a new victim.
I didn't stay there for another second. Without a word to anyone, I practically ran out of his office.
By the time I reached my room in a taxi, my whole body was shaking.
Locking the door from the inside, I went straight to the washroom.
I turned on the shower and collapsed onto the floor.
My tears mingled with the rush of water.
I scrubbed my body frantically with both hands, as if trying to wash away every touch of Nil's hands.
My chest felt like it was bursting with grief, an unbearable scream choking in my throat.
I looked up toward the ceiling and cried out in my mind, "Oh God! Why did You do this to me?
What was my fault? Why did You throw me into a situation where I have to live by selling my honor?
Why does this keep happening to me?"
Rushda's betrayal and now Nil Chowdhury's diabolical lust—together, they were pulling me into a deep abyss.
The innocent faces of my mother and brother kept flashing before my eyes.
It was for them that I had stepped into this hell.
But where does this agony end?
Will the intoxication of revenge that drove me to sign this contract truly bring me peace, or will I be destroyed bit by bit?
The shower water continued to pelt my body, but no water had the power to wash away the stain and the burning of my soul.
The lump of tears stayed lodged in my throat.
The shower water couldn't cool my burning body.
I thought to myself—Rushda deceived me in the name of love, played with my trust.
And Nil Chowdhury? He is several steps ahead of Rushda.
If Rushda wounded my heart, Nil Chowdhury has mangled my soul today.
He is satisfying his lust by exploiting my helplessness.
I covered my face with both hands under the shower and screamed, "Oh God! Don't You see? What Nil Chowdhury is doing to me is a greater sin than what Rushda did.
Do something to him so that his sky-high arrogance is shattered to pieces.
I want him to be disgraced in a way that brings some peace to my scorched soul.
Bring his power to the dust, Lord!"
After the bath, the stifling atmosphere of the room was lightened slightly by the ringtone of my brother's phone.
As Abir's call flashed on the screen, a faint smile appeared on the corners of my lips.
For these two people—my precious brother and my mother—I am standing at the gates of hell today.
The memory of Nil Chowdhury's diabolical behavior and the contract made my heart ache again, but I pulled myself together and quickly answered the call.
Abir's anxious voice came from the other side, "Where are you, Apu? I've called you so many times.
Mother is very worried about you.
Her health isn't good at all today, Apu; she's calling for you constantly.
She told you to come to the village home immediately. She says she won't find peace until she sees you. Please, Apu, come quickly."
Hearing Abir's words, my heart nearly withered. My mother is ill—this news was the final blow to my current situation.
I don't know what to do now. I am supposed to go to Nil Chowdhury's office tomorrow morning; according to that 'contract,' I must be present there.
But how can I stay alone in the city while my mother is in such a state?
With a trembling voice, I said, "Abir, stay by Mother's side. I... I'm seeing what can be done."
Putting the phone down, I sat on the bed. My tears would no longer be held back.
On one side was the chain of Nil Chowdhury, and on the other, the call of my mother on her deathbed.
Will Nil Chowdhury let me go? Or will he keep me trapped in this captivity with the might of his power?