"A GTR35 just left Dewan Manzil, boss. Should we follow it?"
"Let it go."
"It's heading toward the airport, boss."
From the other side, Richard answered again in the same calm, emotionless voice, "Let it go."
A faint crease appeared on Nyaso's forehead beneath his brown hair. Since yesterday, he had failed to understand Richard's behavior even a little. From the very beginning, this man named Kayanat had always seemed like a mysterious labyrinth to him—one whose center remained unreachable even today. How an ordinary Bangladeshi boy became the king of Italy's sinful empire was still an incomplete, untouchable story to them.
"I'm nodded off."
Saying that, Richard cut the call.
Nyaso stopped bothering himself with it. He slipped the phone into his pocket and started the car. Destination—garden house. But erasing curiosity from the mind wasn't so easy.
They had never once seen admiration or softness for Elizabeth in Richard's eyes. Yet why had Elizabeth's departure made him so aggressive? And why had he suddenly become this calm again? Why? Why?
Thousands of questions circled inside Nyaso's mind, questions whose answers were almost impossible to find. Richard was a man incapable of expressing emotions. A life drowned in sin had long ago erased every trace of softness from his heart like a mirage. In place of tenderness, a savage beast now lived inside his chest. His mechanical heart had become accustomed to spilling blood rather than bleeding itself.
But why this sudden calmness? He had come from so far away for her, and now… after just one phone call…!
Elizabeth was nothing but Richard's obsession. Richard obtained whatever he wanted, no matter the cost. So was Elizabeth too just another momentary obsession?
But in Richard's case, "obsession" meant an unstoppable determination—something he would destroy everything for until he achieved it. Like an eagle swooping down on prey from miles away.
Then why this sudden withdrawal?
Lost in endless thoughts, Nyaso kept driving while the unanswered questions spun inside his head like a storm.
Even though he claimed he would sleep, Richard didn't sleep at all.
He picked up the remaining bottle of alcohol. Sliding the bottle between his dark lips, he bit down on the cork and twisted it open with his teeth. Then he emptied the entire bottle in one gulp. As soon as it finished, he hurled the empty bottle at the wall.
The loud crash shattered glass everywhere.
The once neat room had already turned into a pile of filth. Broken glass covered the floor alongside drug packets and scattered injections. The entire room looked like a ruined kingdom. Richard had drowned himself in this chaos all night long.
Yet even after drinking so much alcohol, he still couldn't get drunk.
Unable to control his rage, he kept smashing bottles one after another. The sharp smell of cigarettes and drugs weighed heavily in the air. Blood had dried in patches on his arm from excessive injections. Yet Richard felt no pain at all.
His sharp jaw tightened violently in fury. Grinding his teeth, he stood up and strode toward the cabinet with impatient steps.
No more alcohol.
Within moments, Richard began destroying whatever remained in the room like a raging storm.
Even after a nine-and-a-half-hour journey, there wasn't the slightest trace of exhaustion in his body. Instead, a monstrous rage consumed his existence. Yet at the corner of his lips lingered an unreadable expression.
Walking barefoot over the broken glass like a madman, he stopped at the edge of the terrace. His gaze fixed on the border of the dense forest—on the tall trees standing straight like silent symbols.
Chewing on every word, he muttered,
"You have to pay for it, Red."
There was stubbornness in his voice. Fearlessness in his eyes. A fading yet terrifying fire of revenge.
The plane was now in aviation mode, disconnected from the world as it sliced through the atmosphere toward the emptiness of the sky.
Piercing through white clouds, it sped forward toward the USA.
Through the small glass window, the clouds looked as though they had conquered the entire sky, gathering in clusters like secret meetings. White clouds ruled the blue heavens, while the busy city below resembled rows of tiny ants endlessly running in search of survival.
Elizabeth sat silently by the window.
Plane journeys were nothing new for her, so her expression remained normal. Yet for so long she had been staring blankly at the distant sky, like a lifeless object frozen in place. Her eyes were alive, but her mind wasn't there.
She was still trapped in last night's events.
She had barely spent two days near this man, yet somehow he had already stood beside her like a shield. Like a giant banyan tree, he offered her shade—something Elizabeth had never received in her entire life.
He wanted to pull her out of darkness and lead her toward light. He had extended a hand for her to move forward. Yet in trying to erase another person's stain, he was staining his own life instead.
Still, astonishingly, not even the faintest trace of sorrow appeared on his face despite the black-hole-like reality surrounding him.
Flashback
Due to sudden illness, the kazi couldn't come. He had been hospitalized midway. Later, a lawyer was brought in, and it was decided that for now only the registry marriage would take place. The grand ceremony would happen after returning home.
Takbir Dewan.
Within moments, Elizabeth's fate would be tied to his name. With a single signature, her messy life would become bound to an extraordinarily handsome man with a noble heart.
A man who promised to protect her carefully.
Just like flowers picked gently from the ground, she too would be kept close—like something precious tucked into the left pocket of a pure white panjabi beside a strong chest.
Not for a single moment would he allow her to burn in loneliness. On roads, in fields, in rallies—everywhere she would remain beside his heart, inseparable like his own ribs.
Bound in a sacred relationship, a stained woman would transform into the wife of a righteous and ideal man.
The wife of Minister Takbir Dewan.
A man she had known… from long ago. Very well.
No one—not even a bird—had been informed about the marriage.
Thinking of Elizabeth's safety, Takbir decided to reveal the marriage later during the official ceremony. News of a minister's wedding would spread overnight. Eventually, that despicable man would hear of it too. Takbir didn't want to take any risks.
With only his father Tazuar and his trusted bodyguards Reyan and Biyan present, he planned to complete the marriage quietly.
Elizabeth showed no expression during the wedding. No excitement. No enthusiasm. She didn't even cry once.
Suddenly she had locked herself inside a hard shell.
Takbir personally bought a bright red Benarasi sari for her, but Elizabeth refused to wear it. Even then, Takbir didn't force her despite having every right to do so. He buried that wish deep inside his heart for some future rainy day.
Elizabeth sat for the marriage wearing only a simple three-piece outfit.
Takbir changed his bloodstained panjabi and wore a fresh white one instead.
Not once did Elizabeth look toward the eager man sitting beside her.
Takbir silently stared at her lifeless face. Deep inside, he desperately wanted his Elokeshi to smile—to at least fidget inwardly from the happiness of becoming one with him.
That was all he wanted.
But even now, he didn't force her. Understanding her mental state, he gave her time to adjust.
He was willing to wait.
And he would keep waiting.
The lawyer prepared all the papers. Reyan and Biyan stood proudly beside Takbir, both smiling sincerely. Everything was proceeding smoothly.
Until Tazuar Dewan intervened.
Right before the marriage, the door burst open loudly and Tazuar Dewan stormed out with thunderous steps. His aged jaw trembled with anger.
The atmosphere shook with his roar.
The registry papers fell from the lawyer's hands.
Swallowing nervously, everyone looked toward former parliament member Tazuar Dewan.
Elizabeth flinched, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Bir, I'm telling you again—you will not marry this girl."
Takbir's jaw hardened at his father's words. Taking two steps forward, he stood before him and said in a controlled voice,
"Abba, please go inside."
But Tazuar advanced further stubbornly.
"I will. And you're coming with me. There will be no marriage here."
"Abba, I'm asking you to leave."
"You will not go against my words, Bir."
"Abba, it's time for your medicine. Go sleep."
"Don't try to ignore me deliberately. Don't forget—you were born from me."
Takbir closed his eyes, exhaling sharply while struggling to control his anger.
Politely he said,
"That's why I'm asking you to go inside. I don't want any trouble right now. This moment is very special to me."
Tazuar's stubborn voice thundered again.
"This marriage will never happen. At least not while I'm alive."
Takbir began losing control.
Locking eyes with his father, he said through clenched teeth,
"The marriage will happen today, Abba. Whether you accept it or not."
Suddenly Tazuar shouted,
"For some cheap two-penny girl, you're raising your voice at your father? You shameless girl—"
"She is not cheap."
Takbir roared out of nowhere.
"She is my love. I brought her here because I love her. And if another filthy word comes out of your mouth about my wife, then by God, I won't hesitate to leave the marks of my fingers on that throat, Abba."
Takbir had finally broken free from his shell of politeness.
The veins along his neck bulged in rage like a wild beast ready to attack.
Elizabeth, who had silently endured every insult until now, finally lifted her eyes.
Her eyelashes became wet.
Her tear-filled eyes glowed brightly as she looked at Takbir.
Her entire being trembled with emotion.
Warmth flooded her heart. The darkness drowning her soul suddenly lit up with a pure light.
Forgetting everything, she stared at the furious black hole before her.
Tazuar Dewan became speechless seeing such aggression from his son.
Without giving him another chance to speak, Takbir returned to his seat angrily, picked up the fallen papers, signed them, and pushed them toward Elizabeth.
Still dazed, Elizabeth signed them too while staring at his furious jaw.
Writing
Takbir sat there burning in anger while Elizabeth remained lost in a strange trance.
So deeply was she drowned in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone was devouring her with his eyes.
Resting his cheek against his palm, Takbir stared at her stubbornly, completely mesmerized. His deep eyes wrapped around her from head to toe with endless affection.
Once, at sixteen, she had stunned him with her delicate beauty. Though four years had changed her figure, not a single drop of that poisonous charm had faded from her face. Any man in love could see his own destruction within a single glance at that enchanting face.
Everything inside him turned upside down.
Time truly passed too quickly.
The pages of memory flipped back four years.
It was election day.
The scorching heat of Chaitra month had dried ponds and canals into cracked earth. In the same way, a fragile man's broken heart had once dried into a desert.
Despite winning the election by a landslide, Takbir had felt no joy inside. For no reason at all, sorrow clouded his heart.
The results were announced at noon. Right after hearing them, Takbir drove away alone without any bodyguards. In the middle of the busy city, his mind wanted solitude—someplace without noise.
So he drove toward a rural road away from the residential areas.
Finding a wide open field, he parked beneath a banyan tree.
The moment he stepped out of the car, a cool breeze brushed against him. Closing his eyes, he inhaled the soothing scent of nature deeply. The lower edge of his panjabi fluttered wildly in the wind, while some curls scattered across his forehead.
When he finally opened his eyes and looked around, his gaze suddenly froze upward.
For a moment, his strong masculine body trembled, and he stepped back twice.
He swallowed nervously.
He had heard many village tales before—how one shouldn't roam outside at noon because spirits wandered around banyan trees. Of course, such nonsense didn't suit the dignity of a respected minister.
Gathering courage, Takbir stepped forward.
Through the thick leaves and narrow branches of the banyan tree hung a handful of long red hair.
Takbir took another step.
At that very moment, a sweet feminine voice floated down.
"Don't be afraid. There are no ghosts in this area. I'm human."
Takbir froze.
"Are you joking? What kind of human sits on top of a tree at noon?"
"I'm a girl human."
Takbir frowned hearing such innocent words in a honey-like voice.
"What do you mean?"
"I climbed the tree because I got scared of dogs."
Takbir bit his lip and glanced around. Sure enough, several dogs stood behind his car waiting like hunters for their prey to come down from the tree.
Everything suddenly became crystal clear.
Smiling to himself, Takbir picked up a broken brick and threw it toward the dogs. They immediately scattered and ran away.
"You can come down now. The dogs are gone."
"Really?"
"Three times really."
The moment she heard that, the girl jumped straight down.
And Takbir froze again.
He forgot to blink.
Now it truly felt as if he were seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
His vision blurred with fascination.
For a few moments, time itself seemed trapped.
Forgetting everything else, he stared intensely at the enchanting girl standing awkwardly before him.
Inside his heart, a single word echoed—
"Elokeshi…"
Elizabeth became nervous under his strange gaze.
Because she had spent most of her life locked indoors and alone, her mind still remained that of a twelve-year-old girl. She lacked maturity. The only thing she knew was that the world wasn't safe for her. Her uncle had taught her that.
Hurriedly, Elizabeth tied up her waist-length messy hair and covered herself from head to toe with a shawl.
Takbir narrowed his eyes at her actions. From head to toe, he quietly observed her.
She wore a loose cotton dress almost touching her ankles. With its full sleeves, it resembled a burqa. Even the old torn fabric couldn't hide her beauty and sweetness.
Clearing his throat, Takbir asked,
"Why are you outside at this hour? Don't you know beautiful girls attract ghosts more?"
Elizabeth answered innocently,
"But dogs tried to attract me."
Takbir tilted his head and laughed softly.
Within minutes, he had understood how incredibly simple and innocent she was. For some reason, he suddenly wanted to tease her.
Wettting his lips, he said,
"Silly child, dogs don't possess people. They bite them."
Elizabeth's eyes widened.
"Really?"
Takbir nodded seriously.
"Hmm. See those red hairs of yours? The dogs would bite and tear them apart."
Instantly Elizabeth grabbed her head and tightly wrapped her shawl around it until even her eyes were covered.
This time Takbir couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.
A genuine laugh escaped him.
"Where were you going?"
Embarrassed by her own foolishness, Elizabeth answered softly,
"No one's home. My aunt has a fever, so she told me to take my little sister to school."
"And your school? Didn't you go?"
"No."
Takbir looked at her sideways.
"Why? Don't you study?"
Elizabeth replied plainly without any hesitation,
"Auntie said there's no money to educate me."
Then suddenly, despite the sadness in her voice, her eyes lit up.
"But Mom said I'll go to school again someday."
"Mom? Don't you have parents?"
"Dad's gone."
Takbir wanted to ask more questions but stopped himself.
Instead, he silently stared at her fragile figure. Beneath her calm face, he could sense the pain hidden inside her brave little heart.
Changing the topic, he unlocked his car and opened the front door for her.
"Get in the car, kid."
Hearing the word "kid," Elizabeth wrinkled her nose and looked up.
Takbir smiled warmly.
"Come. I'll drop you home, Elokeshi."
Elizabeth nervously twisted her fingers together. She didn't understand the meaning of the nickname.
Shaking her head, she said,
"No."
"Why?"
"My uncle said I shouldn't take help from strangers. He said no one is safe for me."
Takbir immediately understood why her uncle had said that.
Softening his voice, he replied gently,
"You can trust me. I'm safe for you. I won't hurt you."
Elizabeth looked at him uncertainly.
She was already very late because of the dogs. If she walked home now, she'd be even later. The later she got, the harsher her aunt's scolding would become. Maybe she wouldn't even get food today.
With no other choice, she agreed.
Takbir smiled faintly and sat behind the steering wheel.
As they drove, they exchanged little conversations. The distance from the field to her house normally took fifteen minutes, but Takbir drove so slowly that it took only five.
Inside, he felt irritated.
Why did time move so fast today?
Couldn't it pause for a little while?
He stopped the car in front of Shanti Niketon.
Since it was noon, the surroundings were empty.
Elizabeth got out and gifted him a bright smile.
After all, the man hadn't harmed her at all. Nothing like the frightening stories her uncle had warned her about had happened.
"You're a very good person."
Takbir rolled down the window.
Smiling softly, he said,
"We'll meet again, Elokeshi."
Elizabeth paid no attention to his words and walked away smiling.
Takbir drove off too.
But even after leaving that place, he couldn't escape the trance.
An unknown girl had quietly conquered the kingdom inside his heart.
Later, Takbir secretly brought Elizabeth's cousin Shihab to his club. At that time, Shihab was heavily addicted to drugs. From him, Takbir learned that Elizabeth was an orphan.
After that, Takbir stopped digging into her family matters.
Although he ordered Shihab to enroll Elizabeth in school, he later changed his mind.
This girl was dangerously beautiful.
Wherever she went, people would burn in the fire of her beauty.
Thinking of all possible consequences, Takbir abandoned the idea of sending her to school publicly.
Instead, he kept giving Shihab money to secretly keep track of Elizabeth. He arranged private tutoring for her at home.
Takbir often sent extra money and even bought many things for Elizabeth out of his own desire.
But Elizabeth never received any of it.
Shihab claimed everything as his own and gave them to Ibrat instead.
Although Takbir's warnings protected Elizabeth somewhat from Shihab's evil intentions, she was never fully safe.
As the saying goes—coal never loses its stain.
Whenever he got the chance, Shihab touched Elizabeth inappropriately.
Takbir knew none of this.
One glimpse of that fragile girl had completely shaken him.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn't calm his restless heart. Like a stubborn child, he refused to accept that she was still too young.
Though he managed to stop her marriage by threatening and bribing Shihab, he couldn't stop himself from wanting to see her again and again.
Using excuses, Takbir frequently had Shihab bring Elizabeth outside. And whenever she stepped out, Takbir would mysteriously appear on the road.
To innocent Elizabeth, it seemed like coincidence.
But to a man in love, every meeting had been carefully planned.
Takbir patiently waited for the right moment—the day he could finally claim his Elokeshi as his own.
Even though he burned to see her more often, he suppressed his desires only for Elizabeth's safety.
Despite living in the same city, they met perhaps once or twice a year.
And thus four years passed.
Four long years of waiting for a glimpse of his beloved.
And today, finally, Takbir had the chance to quench those years of thirst.
Like a patient hunter, he silently took advantage of Elizabeth's indifference.
The baby hairs falling along Elizabeth's forehead had grown longer and spread softly near her temples, creating a strangely untamed beauty.
Takbir stared at her silently before instinctively reaching out to move the strands away.
But suddenly he remembered his promise.
He stopped himself.
Instead, he gently blew a warm breath toward her face.
The strands of hair fluttered away.
Elizabeth finally returned from her thoughts.
Turning her head toward him, she looked surprised.
Takbir immediately spoke in a hurried voice,
"I didn't touch you. I promised I wouldn't touch you without your permission."
A faint smile appeared on Elizabeth's lips.
In a calm voice, she replied,
"I know."
Yawning repeatedly, Nyaso entered the living space.
For the past two days, Richard had ruined not only his own sleep but everyone else's as well. Seeing Richard suddenly quiet earlier, Nyaso had taken the opportunity to rest for a while. But before he could sleep properly, one of the guards woke him up.
The moment he saw Lucas sitting on the couch, all traces of sleep vanished from Nyaso's eyes.
He was about to speak when the sound of footsteps echoed nearby.
Both Nyaso and Lucas turned around curiously.
The moment Nyaso saw Richard, his brows furrowed in suspicion.
Why had Richard changed so quickly?
Just a short while ago, he had seen him lying there in yesterday's clothes, half-mad from drugs.
And now?
Now Richard was descending the stairs elegantly with one hand tucked into his pocket, walking with aristocratic grace.
But Nyaso's surprise didn't last long...