George called again, but this time with some great news. The higher-ups had personally called him to ask about Rina, and now, they were interested in speaking to her. Rina didn’t know how this had happened, or what caused the sudden shift in their perspective, but the moment she ended the call with George, she jumped out of bed in glee and rushed into the shower. Rina was done bathing in record time, and she walked briskly into her closet, eyeing her line of exotic dresses. She angled her head when she reached a red dress she had gotten a while ago at a vacation in Hawaii. It was a stunning corporate piece, and at the time, Rina had no idea why she had purchased it. She had already given up her career for her home, so the endless business meetings had all disappeared. But now, Rina was glad she had gotten it. If she had anything at all to show the higher-ups, this dress was going to do just that. Taking her time to put it on without getting any creases, Rina opted for minimalisti
Rina thought she was running late by the time she arrived at the building. She was so bothered about her planned impression getting ruined that she barely bothered to pay attention to the stares the taxi driver gave her. All that was on her mind was getting up to the third floor before she lost this chance. She raced through the glass doors, navigating through the sparse crowd of actresses, their teams, and producers. Some of them cast her dumbfounding looks as she glided by, and even though Rina was stung by them, she didn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing it on her face. Her heels clicked on the tiled ground as she hurried along, her head focused and her back straight, maintaining the little that was left of her dignity. When she got into the lift, she allowed the weight of everything that was tossed at her to bring her under. She used to walk through those same halls with respectful glances cast her way, and hushed whispers about how phenomenal she was. Now, the opposite wa
And it wasn’t. Rina paid rapt attention at first, nodding when the director went on reading the terms of the contract. But along the way, it dawned on her that she didn’t even know what the subject matter of the so-called contract was. “Sorry to interrupt,” Rina said suddenly. “But I still have no clue what I’m expected to do for you. With everything you’ve been saying, it doesn’t sound like a role in any movie. So what is it exactly? Modelling?” A mischievous glint appeared in the director’s eyes. “Not exactly,” he murmured. “You see, Rina Powers, we’ve already agreed on how impossible it would be to see you on our screens in that regard so this time, we’re doing something a tad different.” “How different?” Her voice was hesitant. “A lot of podcast owners have reached out to us concerning creating a story around you and since we do not deem it big enough for the agency to sponsor, or any other production team for that matter, we have decided to leave it to them to handle.” “Wh
She rested on the backrest of the back seat, bawling her eyes out while she dished out the address of the house a street before hers to the driver. But after a few minutes, when she tried placing her purse beside her, her hands touched the leather of the seat, and at once, her eyes sprang open. The first thing that came to her mind was that she was getting kidnapped. Rina had heard stories about other actors and actresses getting kidnapped on the way from the set, and not released until the ransom had been sent over. But for her, that would mean death. Rina was penniless. The only thing she had to her name was her cottage. She could imagine the kidnapper asking Finn for money and the response he would give him. Finn would probably even personally ask for her to be killed. It was one less problem he would have to deal with. Flight instinct settled in, and Rina placed her hands on the buttons on the door next to her. She swallowed slowly and tried to move the lock, realizing with d
Zayn watched Rina as he pulled herself up from the couch, clutched her heels in one hand, and mumbled something about needing a bath. He sighed as he let her go, accepting that he had lost the argument at that moment. Rina was probably right, he thought to himself. Their contract which was yet to even begin, was only meant to last for a short time. What happened the minute he left? Zayn hadn’t thought that far into the future, but the fact that he had almost made a damning promise never to let go snapped him back into the present, shoving the crude circumstance they were in into his face. He reached for the glass Rina had been using, filling it with more liquor and placing it against his lips. He took a sip and closed his eyes, relishing in the solitude of the cottage. Zayn couldn’t hear anything from beyond the hallway, but he knew Rina was in there, perhaps, bawling her eyes out again. It was the first time he had seen her cry, other than the forced tears that had graced his sc
Rina was already in bed, trying to forget the episode of Zayn walking in on her, which seemed to have overpowered all the other experiences she’d had earlier that day. Folding into a ball under her sheets, she turned to face the wall, letting out a sigh. She couldn’t sleep, no matter how hard she’d tried. It was almost 10 pm, and even though it was considerably early for her to be in bed, given her past lifestyle, Rina felt too exhausted to stay awake. And now that she was actually in bed, sleep seemed to be eluding her. Rina’s arms wrapped around her b*** protectively and she swallowed from the warmth that serenaded her. And it had nothing to do with the present. She had felt his eyes on her, even though it hadn’t lasted more than a fleeting second. But it had been enough to send her body into an overdrive. Rina told herself it was probably because Finn stopped having sex with her after she got pregnant, leaving her needy body to itself. It hadn’t mattered that much to Rina the
The first thing that roused Zayn from the deep slumbers was Nathan’s gloomy presence, lurking around his room. He opened his eyes to meet his step-brother sitting on the couch on one end of the room, scrolling through his phone in silence. Zayn groaned into his pillow, wishing he could go back to sleep, and then wake up in a moment to find his brother gone. He really didn’t want to have to start his day this way, but like his father would say, it was important to tolerate everyone until they did something over the top enough to push them away. And Zayn knew that day was coming. He could feel it on his fingertips, dark yet unavoidable. Nathan had tried all sorts in the past, but they had all hinted at efforts to sabotage Zayn’s business. However, as a business tycoon who had been in the field for a long time, Zayn was always one step ahead. Most times, he predicted the shitty moves his brother made before they actually happened, and that made him able to nip them in the bud. But
Rina slept the instant her head hit the pillow, and she didn’t get up again until noon the next morning. She reached for her phone first, and shot up from her bed when she met thirteen missed calls from her from her former manager, George. She hadn’t even gotten around to calling him back when she heard the doorbell ring. Every bone in Rina stilled as she waited for the unmistakable sound of the bell a second time And when the shrill of the bell got to her again, her mind went into a frenzy. It couldn’t have been Zayn. He had never rung the bell before, preferring to barge in at will.Then the paparazzi?Panic set in as she rushed into the living room, staring at the door like it was the enemy. The person must have given up on the doorbell entirely as pounding on the door commenced. Rina stepped hesitantly closer to the door and took in a deep breath. This was the reason she needed a spyhole installed, but there hadn’t been a need before since she hadn’t been living there. “Rina?” A
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 o
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