Facing Samina's sudden, highly intense confession, Rahul completely blanked out.
The desperate, burning warmth radiating from her hand gripping his wrist finally snapped him back to reality.
Looking into Samina's incredibly firm, hopeful gaze, Rahul genuinely had absolutely no idea how to respond.
After several long seconds of dead silence, Samina saw the hesitation on Rahul's face and instantly guessed his answer.
The fierce determination in her eyes dimmed rapidly. A heavy, crushing sense of grievance and rejection rose from the depths of her chest, threatening to spill over.
Seeing the heartbroken look on her face, Rahul took a deep breath. He tried to speak in the calmest, most gentle tone possible:
"Samina... I don't belong here in Dhaka. I'm literally going back to India in a few weeks."
"Long-distance relationships are notoriously difficult, let alone international ones across heavily guarded borders."
"I don't really know your lifestyle, and you definitely don't know mine. So how could we possibly make a relationship work?"
"I've really just... always thought of you as a good friend. Almost like a younger sister."
The exact second he dropped the 'younger sister' line, Rahul felt like the most massive, textbook scumbag on the planet.
But there was literally no other way; he and Samina fundamentally could not be together.
"Rahul, I don't want to be your sister!" Samina's eyes were already rimmed with red. She bit her lower lip hard, desperately trying to stop herself from crying in the middle of the cafe.
"I know, I know. But we're really just not suited for each other right now. I am incredibly grateful that you like me, I really am."
Man, being the heartbreaker is genuinely exhausting! Rahul groaned internally.
"I am completely willing to move to Mumbai with you!" Samina burst out, slamming her ultimate trump card onto the table.
"If you agree to be with me, when we get married, my father will give you two crore Taka as a dowry!"
"And I promise, whatever you say, I'll listen! I'll be the perfect wife for you!"
What?! Hearing this, Rahul's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He was absolutely floored!
Did he hear that correctly? Giving him a two crore Taka dowry?!
A woman's family paying a massive dowry to the groom?!
Wait, is the custom in Bangladesh the exact opposite of traditional Indian weddings? Rahul's mind raced. Or is she basically saying her billionaire father wants to buy me as a live-in son-in-law?!
"Wait, wait. What did you just say? What do you mean giving me two crore Taka? Are you saying your family expects me to move into your mansion?"
Rahul desperately suppressed his shock and asked her directly.
"No, that's not it. It's a very traditional custom here in Bangladesh—and in many parts of India too—for the bride's family to secure the groom with a dowry," Samina explained, her voice entirely serious despite her unshed tears.
Hearing the confirmation, Rahul actually gasped internally.
It really was the bride paying the groom!
Two crore Bangladeshi Taka... converted, that was roughly over 1.5 crore Indian Rupees!
At this exact moment, Rahul vividly recalled the scene from just two days ago. He was sitting in that Bandra cafe while Ananya screamed at him, demanding a ridiculous fifty lakh rupee 'security deposit' just to agree to marry him.
A completely chaotic mix of emotions welled up in his chest. He couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh of irony.
Truly, the world is massive, and its absolute absurdity knows no bounds.
It turns out, in the right market, men could be incredibly valuable assets too!
Who could have possibly predicted that just forty-eight hours ago, his life had completely imploded because he couldn't afford a fifty-lakh dowry?
And now, sitting across from him, an insanely gorgeous, wealthy heiress was desperately offering him over 1.5 crore rupees just to convince him to date her.
Life really is the ultimate, unpredictable screenwriter.
Although Rahul was deeply moved by the sheer weight of the offer, he forced himself to stay completely rational.
Because he knew with absolute certainty that he could not tie himself down to Samina.
If this had happened back in Mumbai, pre-breakup, he would have accepted instantly. He would have retired at twenty-seven!
But the universe had violently intervened. He had awakened this absurd Succubus System.
With this System running in the background, he was acting as a magnet for completely different, top-tier girls every single day. The System practically forced him to constantly flirt and build ambiguous connections just to farm Charm Points and survive.
Given those mechanics, living a quiet, normal, monogamous life was currently impossible.
A crore and a half was life-changing money, but the System offered rewards that money literally could not buy.
As a Humanoid Incubus, his destiny was practically written: he was meant to drift through a garden of endless flowers.
In this moment, looking at Samina's heartbroken face, Rahul suddenly felt that this System wasn't a cheat code or a blessing—it was a heavy, isolating curse.
"Rahul... am I really not pretty enough for you?"
Having completely thrown caution and her heiress pride out the window, Samina spoke with brutal vulnerability.
"Just come back to my house and meet my parents. We can always negotiate a higher dowry!"
Seeing Samina completely debase herself like this, a sharp tightness gripped Rahul's chest.
He took a slow, deep breath, reached over, and gently removed Samina's trembling hand from his wrist. He spoke in a low, incredibly soft voice:
"Samina... you are absolutely stunning. You are easily one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met."
"But matters of the heart, and relationships... they can't be bought or measured by money."
"Let's just stick to being really good friends. Okay?"
Seeing the absolute, unyielding firmness in Rahul's eyes, Samina finally gave up. She bit down hard on her lip, forcing herself to swallow the tears threatening to spill.
Just then, her personal driver finally located the cafe inside the massive mall. He walked up to their table respectfully.
Samina stood up slowly, keeping her head down. She pointed to the mountain of designer shopping bags on the floor, instructing the driver to take them down to the Range Rover first.
Once the driver walked away, she turned back to Rahul. She reached out, lightly holding the edge of his sleeve, and asked in a tiny, fragile voice:
"Rahul... will you just walk with me for a little bit?"
Although he had just brutally rejected her romantic confession, Rahul absolutely couldn't bring himself to refuse this simple, heartbreaking request.
"Of course."
Rahul picked up his DJI camera from the table. It had been silently recording the entire heavy, emotional scene.
Samina naturally hooked her arm through Rahul's. She didn't say a single word as they walked aimlessly through the bustling, brightly lit corridors of the luxury mall.
Suddenly, she looked up at him.
"Rahul... when exactly are you flying back to Mumbai?"
"I don't have a strict date. I'll probably fly back once I feel like I've filmed enough good content."
"When you go back... can I book a flight to India to come visit you?"
Rahul stopped walking. He looked down and saw Samina's large, pitiful eyes looking up at him like a lost puppy. The logical words of rejection formed on his tongue, but he physically couldn't bring himself to say them.
He had already crushed her enough for one day. Dropping the final hammer would just be cruel.
"Yeah, absolutely. You're always welcome to visit Mumbai."
"When you come over, it'll finally be my turn to treat you to dinner."
Hearing that Rahul hadn't completely shut the door on her, a massive surge of fresh hope instantly flooded Samina's heart.
The heavy gloom that had been suffocating her vanished entirely!
"Yay! That is a promise!"
Completely ignoring the crowds of shoppers around them, the excited Samina grabbed Rahul's arm, stood up on her high heels, and planted a quick, hard kiss right on his cheek!
"Rahul, you absolutely have to tell me the exact date and flight number when you leave. I am going to the airport to see you off!"
"And! When you land back in India, you are strictly forbidden from ghosting me or deleting my number!"
"I don't care if it takes you hours to reply, but you are not allowed to block me! Understood?!"
Just like that, the bossy, demanding heiress temperament was back in full swing.
This time, Rahul didn't find it annoying at all. Instead, he felt a massive sense of relief, like a heavy boulder had been lifted off his chest.
Thank God. He hadn't completely broken the girl's spirit; otherwise, his conscience wouldn't have let him sleep for a week.
"Are you giving me orders now?" Rahul joked, raising an eyebrow.
Samina tilted her head defiantly and raised a tiny fist at him.
"Yes! I am giving you strict orders!"
"Alright, alright. In that case, I have a request for you: Do I have your official permission to include the footage of you in my YouTube vlog?"
Rahul finally seized the moment to ask the massive legal question he'd been sweating over, quickly adding:
"Don't worry, the main audience is back in India. It probably won't be seen much here."
Samina looked at Rahul seriously and gave a vigorous nod.
"If having me in the video helps your channel grow, I am completely fine with it."
"Are you going to use filters?"
"Obviously! I promised I'd make you look like a Bollywood star in post-production, didn't I?"
By the time they finished walking, the sun had set, and the city lights were on.
Samina led Rahul up to an exclusive, high-end restaurant on the top floor of the mall for dinner.
Halfway through their steaks, Rahul's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a WhatsApp message from Anika, officially inviting him to a highly exclusive expat bar in Gulshan for drinks.
After a few seconds of thought, Rahul politely typed out a decline, claiming he was exhausted from filming all day.
Tonight, he absolutely refused to ruin Samina's good mood.
He had literally just broken her heart; turning around and immediately heading to a bar to drink and flirt with another woman?
Rahul checked his conscience; he definitely wasn't that much of a scumbag yet.
After all, Charm Points could be farmed tomorrow.
The absolute only thing he needed to do tonight was ensure Samina went home with a smile on her face.