Rina brushed her long black hair and packed it into a ponytail. She dabbed the powder applicator on her face, trying to look as best as she could before leaving her apartment. She smoothed the lines on her dress with her hand before walking away from the mirror and closing the door behind her. She was set to get herself a deal in one of the industries again, re-write her past and rise in influence once again. She had always fought for what she wanted from life and she wasn't going to back down now. Even though Zayn had proposed her marriage on his return, she didn't want to accept the fact that he was her only ticket to influence and good-fame once again in the city. She alighted from the cab and stood in front of a modern studio. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the studio. Ignoring the eyes of the onlookers, the whispers in hushed tones. She made her way for the producer's office. George Stone had helped her get an appointment with him a day ago. "Ms. Powers." The produce
Kayla paced around anxiously, her mobile phone clasped tightly between her fingers. She was in her private dressing room at the set of a movie and had just received a call from one of her many sources. Rina had gotten the lead female role in a potential movie. If she were to successfully feature in that movie, it was one step out of many into returning to the industry. She couldn't allow that.She smoothed her hair roughly and forced herself into the sofa beside the table, placed her phone on the table and stared at it for a while as if it was what determined her future. After the prolonged silence in her room, she picked up the phone again and dialled a number, the phone buzzed a couple of times and the line was connected soon enough. Kayla cleared her throat and donned on a fake smile despite the turmoil brewing in her. "Hello, Justin, it's Kayla. Are you busy? I was hoping we could talk.”"What is going on?" Justin King asked. He was the son of one of the ruling families in the
The sun was out early that Saturday morning and Rina was already at the studio, awaiting her turn for the audition of the female lead role.She didn't realise that she left her house earlier than supposed until she got to the studio and met only the prop masters who were setting the stage and props to be used for the day.Max wasn't in sight yet so she decided to sit on one of the empty chairs and wait for him.None of the prop masters spared her a conversation but it didn't bother her as she also wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. With the turn outs of events, she had decided to inform Zayn about her lack of interest in their deal when he returned back from his business trip. She was going to take it up from here and do a good job to ensure that she debunks the wrong impressions that were written about her.After a few hours of waiting, some members and supporting role members started turning up to the studio.Just as she was about to go take a pee in one of the restrooms,
Rina sat by the window of her home, staring at nothing in particular. She could hear the world go by - the flowing traffic of distinct people, wrapped up in their bubbly worlds. Of course, there were the others, the vengeful ones that lurked in the comment sections of blogs and social media posts, scratching out their vile nails and clawing deep enough to draw blood. But they weren't the ones to blame and Rina Powers knew that. She leaned on the window sill, her features hardening. The faces flashed in her face - Kayla and Finn. She handed them her lives in trust and they mangled it beyond recognition. And now, she was subject to this; hiding out in her cottage, the only glimpse she had of her taken through her ears. Rina laughed out loud, the sudden melancholic sound breaking through the fragile silence. It sounded foreign to Rina too, almost like a new person had been birthed from her loins. Her bare feet touched the floor as Rina strolled into the kitchen. She gazed at the carton
“Shouldn't you be on the set for the role you stole from me?’ Rina snapped, her attention torn between Zayn hovering behind her and her overwhelming hatred for her former best friend. “Stole?” Kayla's surprised tone irked Rina more than she actually felt. It pushed her into a state of near despair, that if she wasn't so attuned to what was going on, she might have thought she was losing her mind. “That role belonged to me, Rina, and you know that. I'm the queen around here, and whatever I say is law.” Rina searched for a smart comeback in her head, and coming up empty, she said the only thing that had been at the tip of her tongue since Kayla announced she'd been the one plotting all of her misfortunes from the very beginning. “Of course you're queen. You come from one of the strongest families and you never hesitate to use that against everyone. I just don't know how I never saw that part of you until now. But guess what? That's the only power you possess.” The smile on Kayla's fa
Zayn smirked and leaned back into the black couch in her living area. That was the first thing that had him captivated the instant he walked in. Black wasn’t a color one would find a woman opting for in her living room theme, yet Rina had done it so exceptionally well that Zayn thought there had to be more beneath all that layer. He angled his head as he watched all the emotions flash through her eyes. She was fighting this as hard as she could, and Zayn understood her reasons. She had just come out of a marriage and a friendship where she was stabbed in the back. It was only natural for her to not want to depend on anyone other than herself. But Zayn didn’t have the patience for her to work around that. He needed to set his plans in motion as soon as possible. His family was forcing him to get married and he knew that the more he stalled, the higher the chances of his step-brother getting in the way. Zayn needed to have this sorted out fast enough so he could face other integral
Rina couldn’t stop thinking about it, long after Zayn’s departure. She stood by the mirror, wondering why on earth she had held such a long conversation with him without remembering she had picked one of her most flimsy tops to put on earlier that day. “Urgh!” she groaned, throwing herself on top of her bed. She tried to create a balance in her head. She shouldn’t even have this reaction since she had had no clue that Zayn was going to stop by unannounced. She hadn’t even told him where she lived, but she had an inkling how he had gotten the address. She could imagine him dishing out orders to his private detective, paying him enough to snoop around her until he got information about the woman who was to be his contract wife. Rina knew she was becoming overly dramatic at that point, but she couldn’t stop herself as she jumped over to her window, parting the silky curtains and pressing her nose up on the glass. There was nothing in the near distance, other than a long overgrown
“I…I didn’t know… She…” The more Zayn’s personal assistant stammered, the more he got so infuriated. Stifling the urge to wrap his hands around her throat and squeeze the life out of her, he closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. It did nothing to reduce the fury Zayn felt inside. “Forward the call to my office,” he instructed his expression back to its stoic and fierce nature. “Okay, Mr. Graham.” She sounded relieved, but Zayn was far from done. “And that’s going to be the last thing you’d be doing for me here. You are fired. Clear out your desk, and see HR on your way out for your official letter and your payment in lieu of notice.” “Sir?” She rushed out from behind her desk, stopping before him but with enough distance so as not to encroach on his personal space. Everyone who worked there knew how he felt about that. “I didn’t know that…Everyone in Country G knows her story and I was looking out for you.” “Looking out for me,” Zayn smirked darkly, his lips r
Zayn paced his bedroom with one hand on his waist, and the other clutching onto the phone pressed against his ears. He had just wanted to have one simple day since his return back to the country, but Nathan wouldn’t let him be.“Keep him in the waiting room,” he told Mia, who was asking if she could let him in as usual. “I’ll be there in a jiffy.”“How about your meeting with the stakeholders scheduled for 6 pm?” It was already past five and Zayn already planned on leaving for his office in a few minutes. It was meant to be a corporate dinner to discuss the progress of the opening of Zayn’s Conglomerates in Hong Kong and was very important before any further steps could be taken. But Nathan had waltzed in at the precise moment, almost like he knew about Zayn’s trip.But that was practically impossible. He had made sure of it.Sighing, he walked into the closet to change into a black two-piece suit, then grabbed his car keys from the headboard and sauntered out of the room. In the hall
The sunlight had already settled by the time Rina returned to her room. A soft, golden glow from the evening sun still lingered on the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of amber and lavender. The faint scent of jasmine from a candle she had forgotten to extinguish in a haste to see Zayn, lingered in the air, wrapping around her like a familiar embrace. Laying on her bed, she rolled over to her abandoned phone on the nightstand, her eyes widening when she realized she had missed George’s calls ten times. She returned his call at once, armed with a properly constructed sentence intended to assure him that she was doing alright, and wasn’t one bit affected by Regina’s drama.But when she pressed the phone against her ear, she heard a chirpy and ecstatic tone instead. Narrowing her eyes, Rina sat up and folded her legs against her chest. The soft fabric of her duvet crinkled beneath her, and the distant hum of city life beyond the window seemed to fade. “George, you have to slow down
Rina didn’t allow the setback from Regina’s plot to dampen her ferocious need to get back on her feet, which were way higher than the height she had attained before. All it took was a nice warm bath and a surprisingly soothing conversation with Zayn. They stayed in his study for the rest of the day, talking about everything other than themselves. He told her more about Mago and her ex-boyfriend, and how much he had wanted to squash him up in his palms, while Rina told him, for the first time, about the baby she had lost because of Kayla.Because Zayn wasn’t a very expressive person, he didn’t know how to respond to that sudden revelation. His hands hovered around the small of her back, hesitant because his brain made it feel so weird. He tucked them back by his side and cleared his throat noisily, deciding that he needed to do something about the tears that had pooled up in the corner of her eyes, threatening to spill.She choked out strained laughter and swiped angrily at the pools o
“I thought you were having some sort of meeting,” Rina said, consciously pulling at her sweater as she stretched her legs across the bench, taking a sit. “I would hate to interrupt.”“He was just giving me a report.” Zayn poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her. “You look more relaxed. I think I should try having a bath whenever I’m worked out. It sure seems to work for you.”“That is no assurance that it would work for you too.” She took the glass up and toyed with the rim around her lips. Zayn stuck a tongue in his cheek, with his gaze narrowing in on her lips, pursed above the rim.“I think a trial wouldn’t hurt.” His voice came out thick and husky, making Rina look up at him sharply. He stared at her, letting his eyes roam from her long brown hair to her beautiful hazel eyes that seemed to piece deep into his soul. Her facial features were one that couldn’t be easily forgotten. It was no wonder the country refused to let her off their hook, whether good or bad. “We were go
Zayn stopped by the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses. While rummaging through the drawers, Susan walked in, her eyes widening in pleasant surprise when she saw him. “Mr. Graham, you could have sent for me to do this,” she chided gently. “You need all the rest you can get after the work you traveled out for.”He grunted but said nothing as he balanced the glasses perfectly between his fingers. “Thank you for taking care of her while I was away,” he murmured. “She should be moving to her cottage the minute the reconstruction is done.”“You don’t want her to leave, do you?” Susan said, moving around him to get started on lunch.Zayn turned to face her. “What do you mean?”“Mr. Graham, I’ve looked after you since you were a kid, so I know when things are different with you. You like her – Ms. Power. And really, you do not want her to leave the villa just yet.”“I think you got it all wrong,” he replied, shaking his head. “I’m only helping her because she’s been through a l
Rina was stunned into silence. She found her lips parting and closing repeatedly, unable to get her tongue to function. Zayn watched her intently, wondering what he was going to do about this. It was true – what he told her. He never took an attitude from anyone because he knew who he was in the country. And no one even ever dared to do that with him too. Of course, except for his brother, Nathan.But the rules seemed to be different for Rina and no matter what he did, it was practically impossible to change them. Where she was concerned, he always overlooked things, and those acts were always beyond his control like no part of him wanted to treat her the way he treated others. Even his rationality seemed to agree with it.“Rina,” he breathed. “Say something.”She shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.”“Let’s start from the reason you are taking a bath in the middle of the day, and go up to why you are upset with me. I’ve pushed up all my meetings for the day, and I don’t have an
The instant she got to the villa, she slammed the door behind her in a fit of rage and stormed up the stairs. Its silence echoed back at her reassuringly as she pushed her room door open and dropped her purse on her bed, plopping onto it with her head in her palm. Rina took a deep breath, trying to let go of everything that had happened that day.But it was the hardest thing to do.It plagued every part of her, snaking through her like a disease. She wanted to do something to hurt Regina at that moment, without the slightest hesitation. But at the same time, Rina knew it wouldn’t be worth it. She had come too far to let all of her carefully plotted plans go up in flames that way. Still, it didn’t help the fire that was trapped inside her, threatening to burst out and engulf every person who had chosen to become her enemy.Knowing sitting wouldn’t change anything, Rina retrieved her phone from her purse and walked into the bathroom, connecting it to the speakers Zayn had asked Igor to
“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