Rina stared at Kayla’s retreating figure, fury wrapping tight around her like a tightly belted jacket. She tried deep intakes of breath, even as her limbs trembled and her lips shook. Swallowing, Rina fished for her phone in her purse, her eyes still on Kayla as she leaned on her car outside, in a conversation with one of her men. They looked at her with so much respect that Rina wondered how Kayla managed to keep everyone fooled. None of them had seen her for who she really was, and Rina would only look like a raving lunatic the minute she opted to point fingers. Still, she couldn’t let go of this. She called Zayn, and he answered on the first ring like he had been sitting around, waiting for her call to come in. “Zayn,” she breathed, and at once, she could hear him sit up. Rina wasn’t going to call him first after the awkward conversation they’d had over the weekend, but there was no other person she could talk to. It was hard to admit, but since she became blacklisted, the only pe
“That bitch has got to be kidding me!” Kayla was furious as she paced the huge space her office provided. Enraged, she walked over to her table and pushed every single thing off it, the files and computer clattering to the floor. Still, she was no way better than the way she felt when she first got in. Rina was getting on her nerves, and if she didn’t do something about it now, Kayla wouldn’t feel good about herself.“I should have killed her when I had the chance to,” she murmured, pushing a stray curl from her face. “Now, I have myself to blame for watching her attempt to get back at me.”An eerie laugh escaped her lips as she dropped onto the light pink couch at the other end of her office, where she received guests. “Does Rina actually think she stands a chance against me? She’s got to be kidding me. She’s just a fly around me, and when I squash her this time, I will make sure she doesn’t have the energy or life force to get back at me.”Ringing the only person that she allowed in
Zayn and Rina had gotten over their little awkward conversation by choosing unconsciously not to talk about it anymore. It never came up in any conversation of theirs as the days went by, but neither did any discussion surrounding their contract marriage, or the five years they would spend together. It felt like life was happening around them, while they remained unaffected by it. But at the same time, Zayn increased the security he put around Rina. He was certain Kayla would try to do something funny again, and he would rather be prepared than let it catch him off guard. Since Rina had refused to take her car with her to work, and Zayn wouldn’t let her stay in the same car with Joel, he had William get her everyday from work. At first, Rina put up a huge fight against it, not wanting to draw attention to herself especially because of her models. But it was a deal breaker for Zayn, as he couldn’t stay calm and go about his day knowing that Rina could be put in harm’s way at any mome
They drove around town for a bit, with Rina asking every minute where Zayn was taking her to. He always responded with the same grin, promising her that the wait was going to be worth it. Each time he looked at her from the passenger’s seat. Rina felt her heart stop. The doctors would probably say it was a bad thing, but not for Rina. In those split seconds, she felt alive, better than she had felt all these weeks working at the fashion house.Zayn had stayed away during that while, only sending William over to get her whatever she needed. And even though Rina tried convincing herself that it was what she needed to get her mind over him as well as to focus on the fashion show, she found herself thinking about him at odd moments, like the one time she’d been watching the models walk and suddenly zoned out in the middle, thinking about Zayn’s confident smirk and knowing eyes.She missed him more than she cared to admit, and when he appeared at her door about an hour ago, she had to pull
They watched the waterfalls with so much space between them, wide enough to house four other people. Rina was so aware of how far Zayn was, half her attention on the sound of the water as it hit the earth and the other half on him. They had gone to the other side of the building that had railings around it, and Zayn was now leaning on the iron railing painted black, staring at nature like it was the most fascinating thing he had ever come across.But he still had that sharp look in his eyes, that showed that he was still attentive to his surroundings. Rina could bet that he would hear the footsteps of anyone who approached before they even got into the room.She wanted him to stand next to her, rather than this gaping space he had put between them, almost intentionally. It made it hard to appreciate the view, the way the night arched over the tall trees, encasing the fountain. It made it difficult to close her eyes and just let go, allowing the sound of the waves to soothe her nerves.
Rina fussed around the stage, having the models walk through the runway a million times. Joel came to stand beside her, wrapping a warm hand around her neck. He pulled her closer to him and whispered in her ears, “You’re going to do great, Rina. I believe in you.”She looked up at him with an appreciative smile, even though it did nothing to unravel the knot inside her stomach. Still, Rina didn’t allow it to show on her face or her behavior. She rehearsed with the girls like she had gotten everything figured out, that there would be no mistakes that day because she had left nothing out. Rina was hoping that would be the case.When the designers started coming in, Rina moved out of the hall with the models into an inner room that had been prepared for them. She was introduced to the people in charge of makeup since there was no way she would get up on the runway without their help. Although they were yet to be told that she was the anonymous model, she saw the confused looks in their e
CThe noise in the entrance to the hall seemed to quieten as Zayn Graham stepped in. He was the major sponsor for the fashion show so the name ‘Graham Conglomerate’ flashed everywhere. Zayn wasn’t sure it was something he loved to see, but he was doing it for Rina. The media team and other journalists from TV stations rushed toward him, shoving mics in his face. His men stepped forward to create a circle around him, keeping his fans at bay.Zayn looked straight ahead, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and approached the red carpet for a few pictures. He didn’t exactly like these parts of events because Zayn hated the lights flashing in his face. Still, he stayed put, his regular broody stare on, with both hands in his pockets. When the anchor of the red carpet stepped up to ask him a few questions, he shook his head lightly at her and stepped out of her way, intent on heading inside.He planned on granting an interview, but not yet. The night was still young, and a lot of things were
The music started and the anchor of the show stepped onto the stage. Rina could hear her voice from where she stood backstage, trying to get the models ready for the last time. Even though they were already clothed, with the process of the walk embedded in their heads, Rina ran it through with them one last time. They were supposed to launch three collections, so that meant each model was walking the stage three times.They were going to open the event and close it. That meant Rina was only going to appear towards the end of the show. She was content with the plan as it gave her time to get her nerves back in place. Joel rushed to the back to tell them it was time, and the models filed up in the order they’d been taught. Rina watched them with so much pride in her eyes as they stepped onto the runway.The show was being aired to the world in the present time, so everyone had access to it. Rina watched it from the screen backstage, biting her lips as each model stepped onto the runway,