As she walked along that path in Dhanmondi, Mehreen realized that her feet were moving forward, but her insides seemed to have stopped somewhere.
People around her were busy as before. Some were laughing, some were talking on the phone, some were walking to their destinations. But standing in this normal world, Mehreen felt like her own world had collapsed.
The scene she had seen a moment earlier kept flashing before her eyes.
Rashed…
That smile of his…
Holding someone else's hand…
Everything was so clear, so real—that there was no chance of explaining it to herself.
Her chest suddenly felt heavy.
She stopped walking.
Her knees were shaking.
It was hard to breathe.
It felt like if she didn't sit down right now, she might fall.
She sat down on a bench by the side of the road.
Tears were rolling down her eyes.
But she wasn't wiping them away.
Because there was no one here to hide these tears.
After a while, she took out her phone from her bag.
Rashed's name was flashing on the screen.
The call was coming.
She stared at it for a while.
Then she hung up.
Called again.
She hung up again.
When the phone rang for the third time, she answered.
"What do you want?" Her voice was dry, tired.
A few seconds of silence on the other end.
Then Rashed's voice—
"Where are you?"
"You don't need to know this," Mehreen said.
"Mehrin, please… listen," Rashed's voice pleaded.
Mehreen closed her eyes.
"I saw everything today," she said slowly.
"Is there anything else to say?"
Silence on the other end again.
This silence seemed to acknowledge everything.
"Everything is not the way you think," Rashed finally said.
Mehreen laughed lightly.
"This dialogue is very old," she said.
"Is there anything else new?"
Rashed paused for a moment and said—
"Meet me once."
"Why?" Mehreen asked.
"What else is there to show?"
"To know all the truth," Rashed said.
Hearing this, Mehreen remained silent for a while.
She remembered the words of the unknown woman.
"The truth."
Today, everyone wants to show her the same thing.
But which one is the truth?
Finally, she said slowly—
"Where?"
Rashed gave an address.
A little deserted place in the city.
"I'm coming," Mehreen said.
The phone hung up.
Evening had fallen.
The sky was slightly dark.
The street lights were on.
Mehreen reached the address.
An old house.
There weren't many people around.
This place was strangely silent.
That unknown fear returned to her heart again.
She stood in front of the door.
The door was slightly open.
He slowly pushed it open and entered.
The light inside was dim.
Rashed was standing in a room.
His face was tense.
"You've come…" he said.
Mehreen didn't answer.
She just stared at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked directly.
Rashed was silent for a moment.
Then he said slowly—
"What you saw today… is not the whole truth."
Mehreen laughed.
"Then tell me the whole thing," he said.
Rashed took a deep breath.
"Oh… not just my first wife," he said.
Mehreen paused.
"What do you mean?"
Rashed closed his eyes.
Then he said slowly—
"Our relationship ended a long time ago."
Mehreen was surprised to hear this.
"Ended?" he said.
"So you're still with her…?"
Rashed opened his eyes and said—
"Because he didn't leave me."
Mehreen couldn't understand anything.
"Tell me clearly," she said.
Rashed slowly approached.
"He knows everything about my life," he said.
"My business, my family… even your words."
Mehreen's chest heaved.
"My words?" she whispered.
Rashed shook his head.
"He knows who you are," she said.
"And he doesn't want me to admit you."
Mehreen felt the air around her become heavy.
"Why?" she asked.
Rashed was silent for a moment.
Then he said—
"Because he's blackmailing me."
Hearing this, Mehreen froze.
"What?" Her throat trembled.
Rashed slowly said—
"He has something… with which he can destroy my entire life."
Mehreen's head started spinning.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
Rashed lowered his eyes and said—
"Because I didn't want to get you into this trouble."
Mehreen suddenly got angry.
"You got me into this trouble before!" she shouted.
The silence in the room was broken.
Rashed stood still.
Tears were streaming down Mehreen's eyes.
"I am your wife," she said.
"And you don't tell me anything!"
Just then—
A sound was heard outside the room.
Both of them were startled.
Someone seemed to be standing near the door.
The door slowly opened.
Mehreen's chest heaved.
Standing in front of the door—
That woman.
That woman from Dhanmondi.
A slight smile on her lips.
A strange confidence in her eyes.
She slowly entered.
"Were you talking?" she said in a calm voice.
Rashed's face turned pale.
"Why are you here?" she said in a trembling voice.
The woman smiled and said—
"Because it's not okay to hear only half the truth."
Mehreen stared at her steadily.
Everything seemed to be spinning inside her head.
The woman looked at her slowly.
Then she said—
"Do you know why he married you?"
This question hung in the air.
Mehreen's breath was coming to a halt.
"Why?" she asked slowly.
The smile on the woman's lips deepened.
Then she said in a very calm voice—
"Because you were something he needed… not love."
Hearing this, Mehreen felt like the last bit of hope inside her had been shattered.
She looked at Rashed.
A question in her eyes—
Is this true?
Rashed was silent.
This silence says it all.
The air in the room had stopped.
Mehreen felt that her life had now reached a point from which there was no turning back.
But what lay ahead was still unknown.