Kayla and Finn had already been gone for a few minutes, but Rina still stood there, staring at nothing in particular. Her plans of coming up in the industry were getting stronger, with the brand spreading further than she had imagined. They had gotten a lot of calls for collaborative shoots, and Joel had ensured to communicate her reservation, that she would only partake in it if her identity remained a secret. That meant none of the other party could be in the studio during the shoot and she would only do it with the media team she was used to. Surprisingly, they followed through with it, only wanting the sensation that the media had gone crazy over. Sometimes, Rina tried to gauge what their reaction would be the minute they discovered Rina Powers had been the one behind the image all the while. They sang her praises now, but would they do the same the minute the anonymity cloak got ripped off?But Rina felt a sense of urgency, now more than ever. Kayla’s threat wasn’t going to fall
Rina was at the fashion house with the new models Joel had brought in to work with her. They needed to put out more content out there and she couldn't do it all alone. With the International Fashion Show in the plans, they had to get the models ready to walk the runway. Rina was going to sit this one out since she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to reveal her face just yet. For some reason, she enjoyed the peace and sanity of being anonymous. She loved reading the comments on Instagram about her being a sensation. The uncertainty of what would happen the moment the world knew her weighed down on her.“Your back is too stiff,” she gently corrected one of the models walking the runway they had created on the fourth floor. It was a large space meant for only the training of the models. Rina still hadn't been able to get over the surprise that had been etched into their features when they walked into the room and met her sitting with her legs crossed, waiting for them.“Oh my God!” The fi
“Hey,” he called softly, his eyes caressing her as she sauntered over. “You look exhausted. After we're done here, do you want to see a movie?”Rina chuckled lightly. “Maybe some other time. I'm just so exhausted that I need to drop into my bed the minute I leave here.”“What about the weekend? You said the girls don't have to come in then since they've worked hard this week. Should we see the movie then? I can book the tickets beforehand, or better still, we can stay back at my house and just catch your favorite series. What do you say?”“Er…”“You don't have to give me an answer now,” he was quick to point out, hearing the impending rejection in her voice. “The weekend is still two days away so you can think about it all you want.”“Joel, the movie sounds nice but…”“I can't take a no from you.” Although, he said it lightly, there was no disputing the fact that he meant it. She didn't want to be rude, but Rina thought there had to be a way out of this. It wasn't because she couldn'
Rina walked back onto the runway with her phone clutched in her palms and her eyes stuck between excitement and anxiety. She sat beside Joel as he rounded up his address with the girls, then appreciated them for their hard work one last time.“We will meet again tomorrow for the last time this week,” she announced to the girls when Joel was done talking. “Rest up. You don’t have to come in early, but I expect us all to be here by 6 pm. Are we fine with that?”“Yes, Powers.”“I understand that this arrangement might be keeping us from a lot of things, and I apologize for that, but the moment we have this fashion show behind us, we can take a week's break to recharge before resuming back at the fashion house. So, let’s give this our best shot for O.S.N fashion house.”The models were fine with that arrangement, ecstatic even. Their debut with the O.S.N fashion house had brought more to them than they could ever have gotten with their infrequent freelance deals and because of that, they
“What are we going to do?” Rina said, with panic in her tone. A smile played on Zayn’s lips as he interestingly watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. She opened them a second later, set in grim determination. She’d done that thing she always did when she needed to get out a fix, employing her acting skills, which Zayn was greatly relying upon to get them through the next five years of their fake marriage.But it was way too early for her to use it, as far as Zayn was concerned, and he wasn’t going to let her go out of her way to cover up something that honestly, he was getting tired of keeping away from the world.The smile on Zayn’s face grew wider as Joel got closer. He’d already noticed Zayn’s car and was approaching them, probably to confirm if Rina was fine. Zayn counted the seconds, and Rina put her hands on the car lock. He knew she was going to pull it open when Joel came around, offering some explanation she already thought of in her head.But Zayn had a better s
Zayn didn’t go into the cottage like he always did. He leaned over to click off the seatbelt from Rina’s body, feeling her take a sharp deep breath. When he leaned away, her cheeks had turned red, and there was a sudden silence in the air.“You aren’t coming in?” Rina asked quietly when she realized he hadn’t unbuckled his belt too.“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “There’s something I have to do tonight. I’ll call you when I get home.”“Something?” She was being clingy and Rina recognized that fact. But she was unable to help it, and honestly, she wasn’t even trying not to sound or feel clingy. She was just too exhausted from either trying too hard or trying too little.But at the same time, she was certain that it was all going to be over the moment she walked into the cottage. Rina just needed to be out of Zayn’s presence to think straight. There was something about being in his presence that made every other thing melt away. She tended to forget the reason why she needed to pu
Rina stretched out on her bed, yawning noisily as her eyes slowly got accustomed to the light. She stared at the clock by her bedside, her eyes widening as she realized it was noon already. It had been a while since she’d last had her morning to herself. And Rina had to admit that it sure did feel good.Rising slowly from her bed, Rina started her day, taking as much time as she could. She walked gently from her room to the kitchen, brewing a glass of coffee to begin the day. She took it while staring out from her kitchen window, watching the sun tease nature gingerly, the rays highlighting every hidden path in the woods beyond.She was tempted to go for another cup, but Rina knew there was something called a caffeine high. So, instead, she made a quick pan of scrambled eggs and grabbed the bread she had purchased the last time she went grocery shopping, which was only about two days ago.Settling back in the living room, she turned on the TV to see a movie while munching on her break
Rina got to the fashion house exactly ten minutes before 6 pm and headed straight for the runway. The models were there already, much to Rina’s delight, looking well-rested and better than they’d looked the last time. They welcomed her with anticipation on their faces.She searched for Rita amongst the faces, smiling at her when she saw her laughing with another model, her blonde hair catching in the light. It was a great sight to behold, and it made Rina glad she had asked them to return home that day.Dropping her purse in front of the room, Rina gathered them together to remind them of all that Joel had said the previous day, as well as the areas they ought to be looking at improving on. They were going to be walking with the music now, and she expected them all to remember that they were walking in beat with it, and that would affect how long they were meant to wait for the model on the runway before they stepped into it. It needed to be uniform.Joel poked his head in and muttere