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
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
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
Mia got on her feet the instant Zayn got into the office, his calm demeanor a stark contrast to how he really felt. He nodded in acknowledgment to his secretary and moved towards his door, totally ignoring his brother seated in the room. Instead, he typed in his code, thankful that he had changed it before his trip to Hong Kong, before strolling in.He made a long show of setting his computer up, barely paying Nathan any attention as he walked in after him, settling in the seat at the other end of the desk. Zayn sent a quick mail to the stakeholders that he would be a few minutes late. It was already almost six, and by the look of things, Nathan had no plans to leave anytime soon.But Zayn had no plans of letting him stay there either.“You know, for a well-respected and feared man, one would expect you to treat your sibling better.”“Hmmm.” He retrieved his phone and sent a last message to William, reminding him not to even think about purchasing the wine without him. Done, he claspe
The white lights enveloped the conference room as opinions were offered and decisions were made. Zayn was in his comfort zone, one hand casually resting on the arm of the chair and the other clicking a pen repeatedly. His eyes worked fast in line with his mind, thinking about the pros and cons of every suggestion made. Sometimes, he scribbled something down, but most times, his almost perfect memory made it dispensable.Mia, on the other hand, had a perfectly written minute, her hands moving fast against the keypad of her computer, and her eyes never missing a thing. She was already the longest secretary that had ever worked for Zayn, and he had to admit that she was great at her job. That made things a whole lot easier for him.The stakeholders seemed fine with the progress report, until they brushed a subject Zayn didn’t want to compromise on. They suggested that one of them should head the market review and analysis over there, as well as the financial department, since they had be
On their way back home, Zayn and William stopped at the wine store in the middle of town. They walked in together, towering well above the other purchasers as they walked the aisles, an attendant following closely behind, her knees almost reaching the ground in obeisance and pure surprise that Zayn had visited the store himself. Most times, he made orders and had them delivered to his mansion, so they seldom got to see him around. The shock on their faces when the door was pushed open and he strode in, was palpable, as the attendants argued between themselves about who was going to attend to him.“Sir, is there anything in particular you are looking for? You can take a look at your regulars on this other aisle.” The petite lady pointed to the aisle next to the one they were in, her eyes eager and her smile on the verge of tearing her lips.“I’m searching for something in particular,” Zayn answered without looking at her. He continued checking the bottles on the aisle one after the oth
Rina swallowed and looked at the bouquet Zayn was offering, her eyes widening in surprise. She should have gotten used to his random gifting of flowers, but it managed to stun her every single time. She blinked and coughed noisily, stepping away from him. Rina couldn’t think clearly when she was around Zayn, as a few seconds ago, every part of her wanted to stand on her toes, to graze her lips with his. It had taken the last shred of restraint she had around him to pull away. “Thank you,” she breathed, receiving the flowers. Rina was unable to hide the smile on her face when she realized every color of roses was in the bouquet. She could imagine his cluelessness walking into the florist shop. Rina thought he must have asked the florist which of them a woman would prefer, but unable to come up with something precise, he’d decided to buy them all. But then again, she might just be overthinking it. Everyone got everyone flowers, right? It wasn’t a big deal. “Isn’t a big deal,” Rina rep
The click sound of silverware hitting plates reverberated around the walls as everyone busied themselves with the meal. At first, Rina was skeptical about their reception towards it, knowing that they were perhaps used to eating only the best. But she visibly relaxed upon realizing that they were actually enjoying it. Or at least, that was what the expression on their faces told her. When she reached for the pepper shake, Zayn’s fingers brushed hers and she withdrew her hand with the speed of lighting, recoiling from the sudden electric zap that had gone through her. He must have felt it too because he looked up at her at that moment, his eyes dark with an emotion Rina couldn’t place her hands on. Pulling her gaze away from his perfect features, she opted to eat without the pepper, not willing to risk that happening again. Unknown to her, Susan and William watched the duo with keen attention, having their own reservations. They wondered how long they would both deny what they felt
The mornings sun was up and lovely. Rina looked outside her bedroom, wondering how her life had become this way, especially after she had reminded herself of many reasons why she shouldn't get romantically involved with any man because of what she had faced in the past. But here she was contemplating how she was going to make the most of her relationship with Zayn. She couldn't deny the passion that she felt after kissing him and knew that lying to herself was useless at this point. If she could turn back the hands of time, she probably wouldn't have taken that offer, but now she had no choice but to live with it. Pretending that they had never kissed was the coward's way out which she didn't want to take. She prided herself on being an adult who could make her decisions and stick to them but right now she didn't think she fit that category because of every emotion she felt in the last few minutes. Something was wrong with her and it was her duty to find out.Tired of hiding inside
Nathan paced his room when he heard people talking about only one person. Imagine the audacity of his brother to become the talk of the town. So much was happening all at the same time and he couldn't help the intense anger coursing through him. There had to be a remedy to the nonsense that he was facing right now. How they expected him to be happy with their union befuddled him. "How's the plan going?" He asked his Intel."Great, sir. They are still in the dark. We can't strike now because they might easily find out. Just give me a few days to sort some things out." Nathan didn't have the luxury of time like she thought he did, "I don't care about what more time you need. I need you to be quick at getting answers!" He barked, "Surely that's not too much to ask of you, is it?!" "No, sir." A docile response erupted. Meanwhile, the newly wedded couple were having fun at the top of the roof. "Right... I see what you mean about having a grand wedding. This has been trending on the blo
Rina inspected her dress in the mirror as she twirled around, appreciating how put together she was. She looked every inch of a blushing bride and felt like the world was a better place. No one would ever know that this was a contract marriage with how Zayn had gone all the way out to act like he was head over heels in love with her. Given the unusual circumstances, she had completely forgotten that anything of that nature existed and tried to find a means of dealing with the man in the present. He looked like he was enjoying himself. On cue, her phone rang, which she picked up instantly. "Hey." She answered breathlessly, before clearing her throat to reduce the awkwardness. Heaven forbid that she showed that she was thinking about him. Who knew what he could be thinking and how that was going to affect her? "Hi... I called to ask how things are going on your end. You didn't tell me anything about your dress. Is it up to your taste?" Zayn asked, making small talk just to hear her
"I don't think I have missed coming home like in this few days. I could have almost pulled out my hair if help hadn't arrived at the time it did." Rina muttered as their home came into her line of vision. She was still trying to get over the shock that she had been kidnapped and had no powers to save herself if not for this man who had come at the right time and now she could finally have some breather. Zayn chuckled at her relief, yet refused to speak because he wanted her to let out everything that she was feeling. Some people who bottled things up ended up getting destroyed by the time they tried to process things on their own. "I don't think I can thank you enough for everything that you've done just to get me out of that hell hole." Rina continued her speech as she shuddered. If he had arrived just a few minutes late, she would have been dead meat.Zayn reached for her hand and stroked it in reassurance. "I'm certain that it mustn't have been an easy thing for you to handle, bu
Rina trembled at the thought of losing her beauty, especially at the hands of Kayla, her archenemy. She would never understand what she had done to warrant such treatment from someone who she had never offended in any way, shape, or form, but had decided to be a pain in her ass. "You don't want to get caught by the cops and serve a jail term, do you?" She threatened Kayla who looked unperturbed, yet filled with vengeance and cascaded with cruelty. She was sure that, at that moment, no one could stop her from misbehaving. "Don't come an inch closer!" Rina warned out of fear as Kayla cackled, relishing her victim's cries. This was exactly what she wanted from her and it was a lovely sight to behold. "Aww, poor Rina. I hope you can live with the consequences you brought upon yourself. I know that you must have been through a lot but here is my verdict. No one is going to save you from me. Absolutely no one, no matter how much they try. The earlier you get this into your head, the bett
Rina had told herself over and over again that the last thing she would let Kayla elicit from her is fear and tears, especially what happened the last time with her losing her reputation in the country. It still stuck to her like glue – the aftermath, everything she’d had to go through. And now, it was happening again, sneaking its arms around her and threatening to pull her under. But Rina held her ground, refusing to let it overwhelm her again.Despite how scary the gun looked, being waved in her face, Rina tried to calm herself down, to think through the situation at hand and try to find a way around it. Swallowing, she counted to ten in her head, then smiled disdainfully at Kayla. “You are still the same child from many years ago, do you know that?”“Your psychoanalysis isn’t going to work on me.”“But think about it. We were nineteen, with huge dreams and bright smiles, walking through those doors knowing we’d just gotten scouted into the movie industry. You were scared. I saw th
Rina sat beside Marco as he navigated the traffic, trying not to feel nervous about what was going on. Her mind swirled with all the discoveries she’d made in the last twenty-four hours, wondering how to move on from that point. Everything she had grown up to believe was shaking at the very root and now, she was left with whispers and ghosts, not even certain which of them existed and which didn't.Marco turned left and shot her a look. "You don't seem fine. Do you want to pause for a minute and take it all in?" He glanced at his watch and then back at her. "We can spare a couple of minutes."Rina swallowed. “I want to get this done as quickly as possible so I can return to my life.”"Return to your life?" Marco struck Rina as someone who the Jones family would employ as their lawyer, with his grey hair, impeccable suit, and glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. She recognized all the brands he was putting on, but it made sense that he was earning a lot of money from managing the
Zayn sauntered through the high gates he had grown behind, steeling himself for what was going to happen in there. He hadn't been careful enough when it came to this, only discovering mere minutes ago before his father's call came in. This was the reason he always said feelings never ceased to complicate things, and yet, he had fallen victim to it. Zayn should have known better. If he hadn't been so occupied with trying to make sure Rina was fine, even though he knew that was an excuse to be around her, perhaps, he would have noticed this development before it got out of hand. Now, he was left with the task of salvaging it, but his brain wasn't working in that direction. Zayn was worried about Rina, despite everything. He had whipped out his phone on his way to his father's house to call her, but changed his mind mid-way, deciding to call Susan instead when he was done with this little issue. He tried to think about a way out of this, his mind reeling and his eyes darting around the
The moment the call dropped dead, Rina pulled herself off her bed, wincing slightly as she moved to the bathroom. She had a quick bath, and part of her was grateful that Zayn had decided to leave for his mansion. If he had remained in the villa, she wouldn't have been able to do what she had in mind. Zayn's clear instruction rang in her head, but Rina shrugged it off as soon as it occurred to her. She used her anger as her ammunition – anger that she had fallen in love with Zayn when she shouldn't have, anger that she had given herself a false hope that he would come around and admit his feelings knowing fully well that the great Zayn Graham doesn't give two fucks about love and whatever it came with. Walking out of the bathroom, Rina sauntered into her walk-in closet and pulled off something simple from the hanger – a pair of black wide-legged pants and a matching button-down shirt. Pairing it with white heels and a black tote bag, Rina applied light make-up on her face, almost unno