It was past three in the morning, when Rina sighed deep in her sleep. Her legs shot out from underneath the quilt, and the cold air caressed the skin there. It made her grumble, still with closed eyes, wanting the cold to be gone. Slowly, her eyes fell open, blinking quite a couple of times before finally taking in her surroundings.Her eyes fell on the night light glowing from her bedside, dimly illuminating the room. She didn’t need to try to remember that her last memory was of her on the couch, listening to Zayn saying something. Or was it the other way around? Had she fallen asleep mumbling about her boring day?Zayn.The cold hit her skin again, and Rina recognized it as the discomfort that had roused her from sleep. She pulled her leg back into the quilt and made to wrap it around herself, but it felt hard to pull, like there was something heavy holding it from the other side.Then she heard the intake of breath, and her body froze. Rina turned around slowly, coming face to fac
“Stone, did you get the order I placed a few minutes ago?” Zayn was in his office, repeatedly pressing the cap of the pen in his fingers, with his phone pressed against his ears. He’d just finished with the meetings he had scheduled for the day and wanted to do this before he got into any other engagement.“Yes, Sir?” the voice on the other end of the call answered. Zayn could hear the pages of a book open before his voice came on again. “A red 2024 BMW i7. Where would you want it to be delivered, Sir?”“One of my men would be coming to get it,” Zayn said. “And don’t put it on the company tab. Someone’s been snooping around lately, and it's beginning to get on my nerves.”“Of course, Sir. Is there any other thing you would want me to add to the order?”“Make the glasses tinted.”“Okay, sir.”Ending the call, Zayn ticked something off his list and smiled to himself. His door pushed open at that minute, and he resisted the urge to stop the visitor right there and order him to return to
The reception downstairs was devoid of noise, exactly the way Zayn liked it. But that didn’t stop his employees from staring at him through partially closed doors and stairway landings as he walked past, one hand in his pocket, and his head staring straight ahead. Zayn walked with the confidence of ten people, exuding a powerful aura that no one could beat.He hadn’t earned his reputation by lounging around doing nothing, so when he exercised his powers, people trembled underneath them. And Zayn Graham didn’t care about whoever got hurt in the process. As much as he tried to avoid casualties, he wouldn’t force anyone to get out of his way.They ought to know better than that.It was the reason Zayn was giving Joel as many chances as he could afford. Ignorance was a thing where Zayn was concerned, and as much as he wanted to rip that veil off, he knew Rina wouldn’t like it. He was going to give it time, staying patient even if patience wasn’t one of his few virtues. At this rate, he wa
Pens scratched on paper and sitting positions were altered at intervals, yet it did nothing to alleviate the tension that was hanging in the room. Zayn’s assistant, Mia, thought there was something else going on there- something she couldn’t place her hands on. She had never seen Mr. Graham that way before. He was always bored, and broody, without much care for people.But this? It was different, almost like he was starting to care too much, and it was translating into something that bordered on pure hatred and distaste.“I don’t like the first floor,” Zayn muttered suddenly, flipping open the pages of the document Joel had handed over. “Revamp the whole thing. It looks like a scene from an 80s movie. And don’t get me wrong. Those scenes are great. This just has a little bit of the camera quality too. Do you understand me?”Joel swallowed, and scooted to the edge of his seat, clasping his hands. “The first floor is the way it is because our architect thought it was a great outlay. And
Rina liked to think about things in compartments, consisting of contents that never crossed parts no matter how hard the cosmos tried to shake and pull them together. It was like her deals with acting, and her life when she was still married to Finn. As much as possible, Rina tried not to let these two distinct worlds get mixed up, and the minute she’d realized there was a chance of that happening, she’d chosen one over the other, even though in the end, it had turned out to be a very bad decision.It was like that now, with working at the fashion house. She’d compartmentalized her impending contractual relationship with Zayn and her duty here at O.S.N into different boxes, wanting them never to get mixed up. The first attempt by the cosmos was Joel’s application for a sponsorship, but Rina had thought she’d had nothing to worry about since Zayn wasn’t the kind of person who easily granted sponsorships.But he did, and that had brought the compartments in her head to a test. Maybe Rin
Zayn closed the door behind him at once, planting himself between it and Joel, who stretched to look from his shoulders. His secretary, Mia, stood beside Joel, her eyes to the ground, waiting for this to get resolved so she could finally be out of both their hair. From the moment they walked into the building, a tension had settled around them and had thickened with every minute that passed. Mia thought it was getting to its breaking point, and the minute it snapped, it was going to be hard to salvage the situation.“We’ve been searching everywhere for you,” Joel said, confusion in his eyes. “Was there something in particular you were doing in here?”“I was taking a tour,” Zayn answered casually, stepping away from the door. He bounded down the hallway, leaving the rest of them no choice but to follow. However, something insistent ate at Joel as he walked behind the group. The last time he’d felt that way was when he was abroad, taking classes on fashion. It was on his way out when s
She kept mulling about it, wondering why Zayn had decided to come all the way to the fashion house for a meeting when the great Zayn Graham never met people out of his comfort zone. The best he could do was to set up the meeting at a diner and spend the first hour eating to his satisfaction before addressing the issue that had brought him there in the first place.Rina had learned in a negotiation class she took a while ago that it was trite to make the other person not only know but understand his place in the meeting. It was a power play, where dominance was boldly asserted. But Zayn took his a tad farther. He just didn’t care about what the other person had to say, since most times, they were the ones who always needed his help.The cab stopped at her regular stop and Rina alighted, not bothering to say thank you. These days, all of them had a foul look on their faces, and some of them even went as far as zooming off the minute they realized she was the one. Rina thought that treat
“You heard me,” Rina retorted. “Are you done talking?”Finn stepped back a few paces, looking at Kayla for help. It made Rina remember the number of times during their marriage, how Finn expected her to do the things he was supposed to do, relying on the same image and power that he had helped Kayla ruin. Finn had always been that kind of mine, attaching himself to people just because he knew they had a certain level of influence in the country, knowing fully well that it would help his business and affiliations.She sure helped him while they were together, as his software enterprise grew remarkably. Everyone in the industry knew to go to him when they needed his services, and they’d introduced him to foreign clients. But now that Kayla was with him, he might just go even farther, playing the depressed husband who hadn’t had a clue that his wife had been cheating on him.Rina was angry with herself that she hadn’t seen through the façade and gone right ahead to marry him. She never w
EpilogueFive Months Later"With all the evidence presented before me, I have every reason to believe that Mr. Nathan Graham is guilty of a three-count murder charge, blackmail, money laundering, threats, and drug dealing," the judge declared.The courtroom was thick with tension. Every breath, every movement was weighed down by anticipation. Nathan sat stone-faced, but his eyes burned with malice as he glared at Rina, promising vengeance even from behind bars."I hereby sentence Mr. Nathan Graham to life imprisonment with hard labor."Gasps echoed through the room. Nathan clenched his fists as the reality of his fate sank in. His gaze flickered to his parents, searching for even a shred of sympathy. There was none. Instead, their stony expressions confirmed what he had failed to realize before—his parents had been backing Rina all along. The betrayal hit him harder than the sentence itself."I don’t think—""Counsel, please remove your client. Any further disruptions will only worsen
Four Months LaterRina's routine had become predictable—home, hospital, repeat. She had no time for idle conversations or anything that didn’t offer practical solutions.In the midst of everything, she and Mrs Graham had developed an unspoken understanding, rotating their hospital visits so they could each get some rest. Despite their initial differences, the situation had bonded them.That evening, Rina glanced at the time on her phone. She should already be home preparing dinner. Cooking had become her form of therapy—a temporary escape from the overwhelming reality she faced. Besides, her pregnancy cravings were relentless, and hunger gnawed at her stomach every now and then.Her phone rang again, and she already knew who it was."Rina, I know you're about to start cooking up a storm," her mother-in-law's warm but concerned voice came through. "Why don't you take a break? Zayn wouldn't want you overexerting yourself."Rina smiled slightly, though fatigue weighed on her bones. She a
"Rina, I think you need to pick up the phone.”Rina barely acknowledged the George’s words, lazily reaching for her ringing phone at the edge of the bed. She sighed, half-expecting it to be Nathan again.“Yes?” she answered, her voice sharp with irritation.“This is the Central Hospital. Am I speaking with Miss Rina?” a formal yet urgent voice asked.Her brows furrowed. “Yes, this is Rina.”“Mr. Zayn Graham has been involved in an accident, and we require your immediate presence before proceeding with a blood transfusion and other treatments. Can you come?”The words hit her like a freight train.Rina’s breath caught in her throat. Zayn.Never had she imagined she’d find herself in this situation—standing on the precipice of something irreversible.“I’ll be there immediately,” she said, her voice shaking.She grabbed the first set of clothes she could find and rushed out of the house, her heart pounding with dread.She arrived at the hospital in record time, barely aware of how she go
Zayn watched as Rina packed her belongings with sharp, deliberate movements. Her scowl was the only warning he needed—she wasn’t in the mood to listen. He wanted to tell her the truth, to explain everything, but he knew it wouldn’t matter right now.Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed Igor If she wanted to leave, he wasn’t going to stop her—not like this.“Take her home safely,” he instructed, his voice void of emotion.Rina clenched her fists. He wasn’t even going to fight for her. That hurt more than the betrayal itself.She had wasted her time on him. She should have known he was like every other man.A few hours later, she was back to her cottage sitting in silence. The worst part? He hadn’t even tried to defend himself. He had just… let her go. That made it worse—worse than the rumors, worse than Nathan’s revelations, worse than the pictures she had seen online.Nathan, at least, was there to fill in the blanks. He was the only one who seemed to care enough to tell her wh
The days following Kayla Reese’s exposure were nothing short of chaotic.News outlets, social media platforms, and tabloids were flooded with updates about her arrest and the Reese family’s collapse.#JusticeForRina and #KaylaReeseExposed trended for days, while old interviews, articles, and videos surfaced—showing how Rina had suffered for years because of Kayla’s actions.Netizens Demanded JusticeIn comment sections across social media, apologies to Rina Powers poured in."I feel so ashamed. I was one of the people who dragged her. I'm so sorry, Rina.""I can’t believe we turned against her for so long. This woman went through HELL.""We owe Rina an apology. She deserves the world."But netizens weren’t just apologizing—they were also going after the young actors who had lied against Rina three years ago."So now that Kayla is exposed, WHERE are the actors who lied about Rina?""I hope those ‘up-and-coming’ actors are ready to face consequences.""We need those fake witnesses to co
Despite the man’s confession reversing his previous statement, a significant portion of Kayla’s fans and other netizens refused to believe him. The sudden shift in his stance made them skeptical.“How does a man go from accusing Rina to suddenly defending her in 24 hours?”o9“She probably paid him off. The timing is too suspicious.”“Rina has finally bought her way out of this. What’s new?”The hashtags #RinaIsAWitch, #RinaIsAManipulator, #RinaIsEvil, and #RinaIsAHeartlessFriend surged to the top of trending lists. The internet was once again divided, and Kayla’s camp felt victorious.“We’re back in control,” Damien smirked, taking a sip of his drink as he scrolled through the hate comments directed at Rina.Kayla, lounging on the sofa, smirked. “Of course, we are. People believe what they want to believe. And right now? They want to see Rina suffer.”Just as they were about to toast to their small victory, Damien’s phone buzzed with a notification. His smirk vanished instantly.Kayla
George stared at his phone for a moment, then sighed. He knew better than to question Zayn Graham’s methods. The man was always ten steps ahead of everyone else, and if he said he’d handle it, then the situation was about to take a dramatic turn.Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he turned to Rina. She was still staring at the screen, her face unreadable.“What was that about?” she asked, her voice calm but laced with suspicion.“Just a call I had to take,” George said smoothly, not daring to mention Zayn’s name. “Listen, Rina, I know things look bad right now, but we still have a shot at turning this around. We just need—”“We need proof,” Rina cut in, her gaze shifting to him, sharp and determined. “I don’t care about public opinion anymore. I want the truth out there. I want that man exposed, and I want Kayla to rot for what she’s done.”George hesitated. “Rina…”“No.” She stood, pushing back her chair. “I’ve played nice for too long. I let people walk all over me, let them d
As George stepped out of the room, Rina glanced at the clock. It was nearly time for her planned livestream. She’d decided earlier that morning to address her fans directly, to try and regain control of the narrative.She sat in front of her ring light and adjusted her camera, her heart racing. For someone used to the spotlight, this felt different. This wasn’t a red carpet or a press event—this was her, raw and vulnerable, speaking directly to the people who had the power to either support her or tear her down.After a deep breath, she hit the “Go Live” button. Within seconds, thousands of viewers flooded in, the chat scrolling rapidly with a mix of messages:“We’re with you, Rina!”“Is it true what they’re saying?”“Why didn’t you address this sooner?”“Hi, everyone,” she began, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her. “I know there’s been a lot said about me in the past few days. I wanted to take a moment to speak to you directly, without any filters or edits.”Just as
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