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
“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 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
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
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
“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
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
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