Rina wished she could have coffee at the coffee place across the street from the fashion house, but it only took one appearance to get people talking, she had to make do with preparing her coffee from home. Today, because the weather was hotter than normal, she made a tall glass of ice cappuccino and went through the hassle of taking it along with her in a taxi, because she still didn’t think it was time to take her car to work.The taxi driver was warm today, even attempting to smile as she got in. She had a pair of dark shades on as well as her regular vintage scarf that never ceased to tag along each time she stepped out of the cottage. But sometimes, people recognized her through the camouflage and constant change in hair color. This time, Rina wasn’t sure if the driver knew she was the one.She alighted a stone's throw from the back door of the fashion house and managed a thank you when the driver wished her a beautiful day. She was still reeling from how politely she had been tr
She was out of the office only a few minutes after she’d walked in initially, taking the same route out. Rina was careful to keep her sunshades on, and her scarf lowered, almost covering the whole of her forehead and keeping her pink hair away from the view. Kayla texted her a location. Fortunately, it wasn’t such a distance from the fashion house.When Rina got there, she took a deep breath at the glass doors of the diner before stepping in. She remembered the place. Finn had taken her there for a celebratory dinner when she told him she was pregnant. Rina knew Kayla purposely chose that place to remind her of everything she’d lost, everything she wasn’t getting back.But Rina was determined not to crack. Especially not in the face of Kayla.Holding her head high, she breezed in, handing her jacket over to someone at the door. Kayla was seated at the spot closest to the window, and even if Rina didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be there, she couldn’t back out now.“I’m only
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