Zayn halted abruptly as someone else raced past him, the face barely registering to Zayn. He caught his very distinguishable features, his eyes sharp and beautiful, and his gait perfected for a runway. It was glaring that he was either a model or a fashion enthusiast, with his bold choice of clothing, and his tall, impressive gait. If Zayn was a woman, he would have agreed that the right word for him was ‘sexy.’He must have seen him somewhere, because it ticked his senses and his brain tried to nudge something in his direction. Coming up empty, Zayn shrugged it away. If he was important, there was no way he would have been going through so much just trying to remember who the hell he was. But coupled with that was Zayn's disgruntlement as he watched the scene unfolding before him. The man had reached the stage, planting himself between Kayla and Rina. He leaned closer to Rina, putting his arms around her shivering frame, and whispered something into her ears. The skin on Zayn’s for
The noise and bustle of the city were left behind in its wake, a sense of peace and tranquility ushering Rina and Joel into another part of the town. They had made the journey on foot, wanting to partake in nature with the subtle warning of the mess they would have met had they returned to the car park to get Joel’s car.Rina asked a million if she wasn’t being a bother to him, but all the time, Joel’s response had always been the same. Rina could never be a bother to him, not in a thousand years. Although Rina had never met him before, Joel had been obsessed with her from the very beginning. He followed all her movies and series and was one of the saddest people when she announced her retirement from the industry. When the news about her scandal got out, Joel didn’t need to speak to anyone to know it was a lie. Rina didn’t strike him as the person who could do that, and for a while now, he had been wanting to see her, to talk to her. Nature had presented the opportunity when he’d s
Rina halted at the door the minute she realized there was someone inside. Nothing had given it away, other than the slight wavering of the curtains in the living room. If Rina hadn’t been so psyched with the fear that someone might trail her home each time she left the house, she might not have noticed it. The person inside had seen her. Rina was sure of it. That was the only thing that explained the fast letting go of the curtains, and the seemingly hiding away from view. Stilling her breath, Rina knew she had to act fast before whoever it was got outside. Her legs moved first, sliding backward while still watching the door. She watched it push open in slow motion, and her flight senses kicked in. But before she could bolt, she heard a familiar voice say, “Stop, Rina.”Her legs stopped moving, as Rina allowed the baritone to embrace her. Her pulse raced and her skin flushed as Zayn came into view, leaning on the door frame with a grim expression and his hands folded across his che
Neither of them had said a word to each other. Although it had only been for a few seconds, to Zayn, it felt like forever. He couldn’t retract the words he uttered, even though he wanted to. It was something about the person he was. He had never been made to go back on his words, but right now, he was on the precipice of doing just that. After what felt like forever, Rina finally tore through the silence. “Don’t you think you’re being hypocritical?” She asked. “I have only known you for a couple of weeks now. And on the first day, we had a personal conversation, I agreed to marry you. You should have brought up this line of argument then. How could I be expected to get into a contract with someone I barely knew?”“This is different, Rina. It’s purely contractual.”“I apologize for thinking any different,” she hurled harshly in his direction. “I couldn’t help it with the flowers and the late-night takeout. But as you’ve rightly pointed out, that was just me not taking lessons from lif
“You are right,” Zayn breathed. He obviously wasn’t used to doing this, but that was what got to Rina mostly. It was the fact that he was willing to apologize for something he’d said, even when the whole world knew Zayn Graham wasn’t one to apologize. “I shouldn’t have jumped to a conclusion, especially not after everything you’ve been through. The whole world doesn’t believe you right now, so I shouldn’t pull that on you as well. The basis of a good contract is belief in the other’s judgment, so I’m going to trust yours going forward as long as you do the same.”To anyone else listening, it was sure to sound like propositions in a formal meeting, But if they came closer, they would notice how Zayn held Rina’s gaze. He watched her intently, his eyes slowly caressing hers. Rina found herself unable to say anything, spellbound by the moment. Her lips parted slightly, and she squirmed underneath his gaze, feeling the temperature in the room go up a notch. Zayn blinked, then turned away
The first day Rina went to see Joel at the building he purchased for O.S.N fashion house, she woke up with a huge smile on her face. Absolutely nothing could go wrong for her, and to Rina, it was such a deviation for the last month.She turned on a pop song and allowed her body to move to the music. Craving the smell and taste of fresh coffee, she moved into the kitchen, getting started on a small pot. Her parents phoned in to check on her, adding to the excitement that Rina already felt. If she needed more proof that it was going to be the best day ever, she’d just gotten it. There was a knock on the door, yet Rina didn’t even flinch. She swayed to the door and pulled it open, taken aback when she met a fresh bouquet of tulips on her doorstep. Rina came out of the door and looked at both sides of her driveway, searching for the person who’d dropped the tulips. She walked back into the house, armed with her tulips and a smile on her face when she saw nowhere there. When Zayn mentio
Mr. Graham was in his study when Zayn walked in briskly. He was a very agile man, who even in his older years, still had a certain charm and strength to everything he did. He was going through some papers, but stopped mid-way and looked up to welcome his son home.“I was beginning to think you might turn down this invitation as well,” his father said, shaking his head subtly. “When was the last time you’ve been home?’“You said it was urgent,” Zayn replied, making himself slightly comfortable on the white couch away from the desk. “What happened?”“So you wouldn’t have come home if it wasn’t.” It wasn’t posed as a question because both Zayn and his father knew the veracity of those words. Although Zayn loved his parents and could do anything for them, there were just some variants that made him weigh his choice each time he felt like coming over.But when his mother had called the previous to inform him it was pretty important he was over at the house that morning, Zayn had at once, p
She had already started on her way out of the house but returned a few minutes later to check if the doors were locked, even though she knew she’d locked them before leaving. Call it paranoid, but Rina knew Finn had all the resources he could employ to ensure she lost the house.But one thing was sure. Rina Powers wasn’t giving up without a fight.Even though Kayla had hinted a week ago about a relationship between her and Finn, Rina hadn’t exactly believed it because she didn’t know Finn to be that low a person. But when he threatened her with the powers of Kayla’s family, it finally dawned on Rina that Kayla had had no reason to lie to her about that.Rina laughed at the absurdity of the situation, coupled with the fact that even after everything Finn had said and done to her, she’d still believed in the personality he’d shown to her all those years before it got bad.Or could that all have been a lie?Hugging herself from her stylish black trench coat, Rina walked down to the bus s