The room fell silent once more.
Nadya was still sitting at the edge of the bed, hugging her knees to her chest. It had been quite some time since Mahendra had left the room, but the man still hadn't returned.
Every now and then, Nadya glanced toward the door.
Then she looked at the clock on the wall. Though faint, its hands continued to move.
The night was growing late.
“Why is he taking so long?”
Nadya let out a soft sigh.
Her head still felt a little heavy. Her body hadn't felt completely comfortable since she drank the beverage Mahendra had given her earlier.
A strange sensation spread through her body. It didn't just make her weak—it also made her thoughts feel sluggish. Every now and then, her vision even swam.
Nadya gave a small shake of her head.
Maybe she was just too nervous.
She intended to lie down, at least to ease the dizziness that was becoming increasingly bothersome.
However, just as she was about to move, she heard footsteps coming from outside and approaching the room.
Nadya immediately fell silent.
The sound grew closer.
Slowly.
One step after another carried the figure toward the bedroom door, which had remained open all this time.
Nadya stared in that direction.
Someone entered.
But she couldn't see his face.
The light from the hallway only outlined the tall shadow behind the man's body. The rest of his face was swallowed by the room's dimness.
Her vision had been even less clear since she drank the beverage Mahendra had given her earlier. Everything looked blurry, made worse by the room growing darker.
The man stepped inside.
Then, without saying a word, he reached for the door.
Slowly...
he pulled it shut.
Click.
The light from the hallway vanished instantly.
The room became much darker.
Nadya held her breath.
Now she couldn't even make out the outline of the man's face.
All that remained was the sound of his footsteps.
Tap... tap... tap...
Closer and closer.
Nadya hurriedly pulled the blanket up to her chest.
“Mr.?”
The man didn't answer.
He continued walking into the room.
Nadya could only follow the sound of his footsteps with her increasingly heavy gaze.
“Mr. Mahendra?”
Still, there was no answer.
The man stopped a few steps from the bed.
Nadya could feel his gaze even though she couldn't see his face.
Her hands tightened around the blanket.
“If you want to talk...”
Her voice grew quieter.
“...please turn on the light.”
There was no answer.
The only sound was a long exhale.
Nadya grew even more nervous.
Something was different.
This man wasn't like before. He barely made a sound.
For some reason, his presence made Nadya's chest feel tight. Even the way he stood felt unfamiliar.
Yet her mind immediately denied her own suspicions.
Maybe it's because I'm not used to that old man yet.
Nadya lowered her head.
She tried to calm herself.
The man took another step.
Nadya shifted backward until her back touched the headboard.
“Mr....”
The man stopped directly in front of her.
In the darkness, Nadya could see only the outline of his body.
She swallowed.
“Slowly...”
Her voice trembled.
“I'm still scared.”
There was no answer.
Nadya closed her eyes.
She tried to remember every reason she was in this room.
Her college expenses.
Mom.
Her family.
Nayra's promise.
Everything spun through her mind.
She had already made her choice.
So she had to get through tonight.
No matter what it took.
Nadya no longer dared to ask any questions.
She simply remained silent as the figure drew closer.
The night passed in silence.
And whatever happened, Nadya could only try to let it all pass as quickly as possible.
She kept her eyes closed, even though her blurred vision made her increasingly uncomfortable.
Fragments of memory began to feel incomplete.
Footsteps.
A shadow.
The sound of breathing.
Everything seemed to blur together.
Her head hurt more and more, and her body felt completely out of sorts.
A moment later, she heard fabric rustle, followed by the sound of a suit being removed and tossed carelessly onto the floor.
The mattress began to shift slowly.
Her fingers tightened around the blanket.
A strange feeling continued to bother her.
A feeling she had been trying to ignore all this time.
The man touched her chin again.
Nadya flinched.
But before she could pull away, one hand moved to her waist.
The man's fingers gripped her tightly, as if holding her body in place so Nadya couldn't move away.
Nadya tensed at once.
Her breath caught.
Her heart began pounding faster until the sound seemed to fill her ears.
Her hands instinctively clenched the blanket even tighter.
She felt an urge to open her eyes.
To see the man so close to her.
But fear kept her from doing so.
Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. Nadya didn't dare open them.
She chose to believe that the man in front of her was the person who would take her to a better life.
Mahendra.
She only had to endure it.
She only had to get through this wedding night.
Yet the harder she tried to convince herself, the stronger that unfamiliar feeling became.
Something was wrong here.
Nadya didn't know what.
All she could hear was the man's breathing, and it frightened her.
Even his presence seemed to change the atmosphere.
Nadya wanted to open her eyes. She wanted to make sure of everything.
But the increasingly heavy dizziness made her eyelids feel almost impossible to lift.
Her consciousness slowly faded.
Faintly, Nadya could feel that the man was still very close to her.
His hand still gripped her waist.
His breathing echoed through the silence of the room.
Nadya tried to hold on and stay conscious.
But the harder she fought the drowsiness and dizziness, the darker her vision became.
Until finally...
Nadya truly felt herself sinking. Her body could no longer move. Her consciousness slowly faded away.