“You didn’t have to come all the way down here.” Rina finally found her voice as the elevator doors dinged open, sending them out to the lobby. “George and Isaiah are perfectly capable of keeping me safe for the night, and as many nights as it would take to get my cottage back in order.”“I don’t doubt that,” Zayn murmured, his hand on the small of her back as he bounded out into the night. “But I prefer knowing you are in my house. There’s a lesser risk of another attack. You can do that for me, can’t you?”“But you could have asked Oleg to send the message up,” Rina continued, even though she knew she was losing the battle. “That would have saved you all the time in the world, time you spent getting on that flight and flying back here for hours. Didn’t you have a meeting to get to?”In truth, Zayn had to push his schedule downwards to make time to fly back to the country, and even though it wasn’t exactly favorable to him since he had a meeting to get to the minute his plane touched
The car slowed down in front of the villa, long enough for Rina and Zayn to alight. She looked surprised to find him following closely behind since he had mentioned that he had to be on his flight back as soon as possible. But he stood by the door, hitting the passcode.“Did you get it?”Rina nodded.“You can change it whenever you want so you can feel safe.” He pushed the door open and sauntered in, with Rina’s feet whispering on the wooden floor behind. Zayn didn’t stop, flipping on the lights and heading into the kitchen. He pulled open the refrigerator and got out a bottle of water. There was nothing edible in there since they’d had no idea Rina was going to be living there.“Aren’t you supposed to be on your way?” Rina suddenly asked as she sauntered to the kitchen, leaning on the door frame. “Earlier, when you said you had to be on your flight back, it sounded really urgent.”“It is urgent,” he answered shrugging, then slid the bottle of water onto the countertop next to him, pr
Zayn felt her resistance as they walked into the room. He recognized that look in her eyes like a war occurred inside of her, one she wasn’t willing to fight just yet. He swallowed and looked around the room, still not wanting to leave her. But at the same time, Zayn knew he couldn’t keep hovering when he had a business to attend to.“There are a few dresses in the closet that you can change into,” he murmured, already taking a few steps backward. “And there’s a dryer as well in there. Just…make yourself comfortable.”Rina nodded and wrapped a hand around her frame. She looked so vulnerable in that moment, standing there in the center of the huge room, that Zayn felt a compelling urge to pull her into his arms and keep her there for as long as he could. He wanted to protect her from the world, to keep her shielded from everything her enemies might throw at her. But Zayn knew how defiant Rina could get. Doing that would only push her away from him.And he hadn’t considered the possibil
Her eyes fell open when a ringing in the distance disturbed her sleep. For a minute, she looked around the huge room, wondering where the sound was coming from. Her gaze fell on her phone on the floor. It must have fallen off her hands when she slept off clutching onto it. Sighing, she retrieved it just as soon as it stopped ringing. She was just about to go back to sleep when it rang a second time.Rina wondered who it was calling her that early, then checked the time on the small alarm clock on the nightstand. She sat up at once when she realized it was noon already, receiving the call at once.“Joel?”“Fuck!” Joel sighed in relief the second he heard her voice. He had been so worried about her since he heard on the news early that morning that her cottage had been attacked by her anti-fans, and that no one knew her whereabouts. He had driven there that morning but met some men working who refused him entrance into the cottage, even though he told them he was her boss. They seemed t
Rina walked down the stairs after having a bath, intent on asking Igor to take her to the cottage so she could get her car. She saw no need to put off using it every time she needed to go out since the whole country already knew she worked for O.S.N fashion house. At the base of the stairs, Rina heard the unmistakable clatter of plates. Her steps faltered and her eyes darted around cautiously. “Zayn?” she called softly, the heel of her shoes making a clack sound on the wooden ground as she took a step forward. The dining room came into view, yet Rina could see no one. Still, she tried again, craning. “Is that you, Zayn?” It was practically impossible for him to be back already when he had only just left the previous night for an important meeting. But Rina had learned to include the impossible when Zayn was involved. She heard the clatter again, and then the sound of water hitting metal, like a faucet had been turned on. Was Igor making something in the kitchen?Knowing the house wa
Rina’s first stop was at Kayla’s office in her father’s company. She pulled over in front of the building, checking her rearview mirror to confirm Igor was right behind her, though conspicuously, before alighting the car. Planting a condescending smile on her face, she made a fuss with locking the doors of her car, so the beep sound alerted everyone around. The doorman tried telling her parking wasn’t allowed there, right in front of the building, but Rina tilted her head at him and said in a sweet voice, “Oh, I won’t be long. I just want to see my best friend, Kayla. You know us together, don’t you?”The doorman in fact did, because Rina used to go there a lot when she still thought Kayla was her friend. Some of their evenings were spent in Kayla’s office, specifically on the white couch, talking about funny instances they had encountered during a shoot. It was much fun when they worked the same set, as they relived the stories, their laughter carrying across the room, and their care
After leaving Kayla’s office, Rina stopped by the O.S.N fashion house next, finding a parking space next to Joel’s car in the lot. She sauntered over to the main entrance, feeling the glee of walking through the doors without the thought of the possibility of anyone bumping into her. She headed straight into the showroom, the shoppers turning back to stare at her as she made a beeline for the linking door to the rest of the building.The whispers hung over her head, some people not bothering to even reduce their tone, yet Rina didn’t spare them as much as a glance as she held her head high, even managing a smile at a cute teenager who thought Rina rocked. But of course, her mother pulled her away hastily, as the heavens forbid that Rina corrupted her child.The exchange made her laugh and shake her head at the irony of the situation, as before she became blacklisted, the same mother would have been ecstatic that her child met the great Rina Powers, even going as far as asking for an a
After ignoring the disdainful remarks of some of the designers at the fashion house, of course, with Joel trying to do damage control as much as his abilities permitted, the day finally came to an end and Rina could leave the building. It was a myriad of activities and emotions going on all at once that it was hard to focus on one thing at a time. But maybe that was what Rina needed.She walked through the hallways, moving from the media department downstairs to her office on the second floor, carrying her head high even though she heard the whispers of some of the people she met on the way. Joel addressed the designers and the rest of the employees after lunch, telling them that Rina was a part of the company and they needed to accord her the respect she deserved, irrespective of what they’d heard about her.But opinions had already been formed and one of the hardest things to do was to reshape an already formed ideology about someone. It was going to take something mind-blowing and
“I don’t think I can sign a contract blindly.” It was the first time Rina had spoken since the commencement of the meeting. “It’s the pattern of relation with every other production house I have worked with. At least, I need to know the genre of movie I am going to be employed for at sets. It's easier that way to make informed decisions. Do you not agree, George?”Her manager nodded with glee. “That is the policy we operate with. And considering how urgent it seemed from our last correspondence, I think we can just hasten things up in here with more details concerning the movie.”The woman spoke next. “You are going to star as the lead actress,” she muttered, confirming George’s speculation. “And that means a lot of attention is going to be on you.”Rina didn’t know the reason she felt like they were stalling, but it was there, persistent and strong. The young man’s eyes darted to the door, as if for help, but it remained strongly shut, making a mockery of his plea.“You are going to
The ceiling-to-floor length window allowed the warmth of the sun rays, to soak into the oddly quiet room. The golden hues created a soft glow on Rina’s face and she closed her eyes briefly, allowing it to go through her. If the situation had been any different, she might have left a comment about how the location of the production company seemed to have been strategically placed, that even though the room was bare, save the sparse furniture in the middle, it still gave that warm aura it was meant to. The chill she had felt first in the room had been dispelled by the sunlight, and Rina found herself relaxing.But not George. He had stared at the watch on his wrist a million times already, wondering when the meeting would commence. His eyes darted to the door at intervals, waiting for the person the rest of the team had mentioned they were expecting. But it remained shut, the fine polish enjoying the glow of the sun too. He sighed in his seat, albeit inaudibly so he wouldn’t ruin Rina’s
Rina was outside the building the following day, staring up at the white walls. They looked really enticing from out there, the floor-length windows creating an aura, like they were stuck in the depths of modernization and making no move to return to the past. The name of the production house was written in fine calligraphy above the building, big enough for everyone to see while walking past. There was something about the name -Allure, but Rina didn’t give it too much thought. She was just so excited about the prospects of being back on screens.Looking at her rearview mirror for the umpteenth time, Rina touched the perfect curls of her hair and angled her head to ensure the makeup was not one hair out of place. Even though she knew she was capable of wowing the directors away, it still took her back to the very first audition she’d attended, before she got scouted by Scottsdale Entertainment. She remembered the nerves that had worked their way into her bones and threatened to ruin e
It was hard avoiding him in the same building, as even though he’d been doing so since he confessed his feelings, it just felt different this time. She could feel his presence, looming in the hallways, yet she never bumped into him. Even as she told the models it would be her last day working with them, she half-expected to see his intense eyes by the door, watching with a scowl on his face. That would have been better than the last look he’d directed her way on the first floor earlier that day. It made the hair on the back of Rina’s head stand.However, the worries about Joel soon got immersed with the others when George sent her another email. It was a confirmation message from the production house, scheduling the following day for the meeting to discuss the terms of their contract and how long it would subsist. Rina didn’t think it would be that soon, as she had already planned on spending the day indoors.Her fingers hovered above the call icon, but George was faster as the phone
“I wonder what that was about,” Joel murmured as he stepped in through the doors. Rina had been deep in a conversation with the photographer, so he met her in the hallway. She peered at him, noting the worry lines on his face.“Is it some of my anti-fans?” They were always up to something, so Rina didn’t doubt the possibility of them causing some trouble with Joel. It was all the more reason she needed to get moving.“It’s Mr. Graham. I met him outside and he seemed so … I don’t know, angry. Like I’d done something wrong. Remember when we got into that contract and I told you it felt like he was constantly attacking me? It felt like we were back on that page. I was going to schedule a meeting to split the output from the fashion show, but he didn’t even want to hear it. He asked me to keep it all.”If Joel had paid close attention, he would have seen the sudden change in Rina’s eyes, how they watched him with an emotion that bothered on pity. He would have figured out that she knew th
Zayn navigated through the traffic, drumming his finger on the steering at intervals. Returning to the country had been a spontaneous decision he had made the previous night, weighing the cons and pros in his head before calling the pilot to prepare the jet for take-off. Graham Conglomerates had already been launched over there, but there were a few things that were left before business could begin, but he’d decided to leave it to Mago to handle.“What are you thinking about?” Rina asked quietly. He had felt her eyes on him since they left the villa, but for the first time, Zayn wasn’t certain of what to say to her. He felt himself pulled under by some feelings he couldn’t decipher, and now, he felt his principles crumbling. Years, and even months ago, Zayn never believed in love. He saw it as the unnecessary release of chemicals, that only ended up doing more harm than good. But now, something had changed. It was… Zayn shook his head abruptly, refusing to accept it.“Nothing,” he mur
The next day, Rina got a forwarded mail from her manager while getting ready for work. She opened it once, her eyes reading the message in one glance. She heaved a sigh of relief, going through the details again. The phone vibrated in her hands, and she picked up the call at once.“George, I got the mail. What do you think?”“I received it late last night and had to research the production house first before sending it to you. They are legit, and the best news is you wouldn’t have to leave the country to work for them since they are a local production house. If it is something you want to do, I can reach out to them to schedule a meeting on your behalf.”“Yes,” Rina nodded. “I trust your judgment. Since you’ve done your research, I can go ahead with it. It will at least, keep me busy until something else comes along. And the longer I stay at O.S.N fashion house, the more I put Joel’s business on the line. He doesn’t want to admit it, but I know his sales are suffering because of me. P
The gallery suddenly seemed to be devoid of people, even if their chatter had gone up a notch. She drowned out the noise unconsciously, unnerved by the looks in their eyes. “Seen what?” Rina looked from Isaiah to George, wondering what that was about. It didn’t seem like something she would be ecstatic to find out, but then again, Rina knew there hadn’t been enough ecstasy in her life since the spread of the rumors started.“Didn’t you see the people gathered at the entrance of the gallery?”“The oil paintings lining the wall?” She angled her head, even if anxiety was eating away at her.George nodded, then sighed. “I think it's best you see it yourself. I must warn you though, there’s nothing joyous about it.”“There’s nothing joyous about what my anti-fans think of me,” Rina murmured, allowing George to lead the way while Isaiah came up at the rear. The small crowd that had gathered parted ways and whispers graced their lips as the trio approached the line of paintings. They stopped
It had been a few days since Rina’s confrontation with Regina at Scottsdale Entertainment and what she had been trying to avoid still happened. There were videos everywhere, circulating like wild fire.Almost every person in the country knew that she had been banned from stepping feet into that building, and it didn’t help that she had to go to work every day with certain people who entirely believed the rumors on the internet. Even if Joel had warned them not to do anything against her, it still didn’t stop the glares getting sent her way.Rina was taking the development remarkably well as she still went about her usual daily activities. She had brought some of her stuff at the cottage down to the villa, and no longer had to use the items she had met in the closet. It was one of her greatest reliefs as she hadn’t let go of the fact that even though Zayn told her no one else had been in there, there were traces that it had been a lie.Trying not to feel entitled or anything, she said