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 life.”
“Rina…”
“To think I had great news to tell you,” she sighed. “I was wondering how you would take it, but I don’t need to wonder anymore. I guess I already have the answer to that.”
“Can you just listen to me?”
“I’m going to go have a nice warm bath, put on some music, a glass of red wine, and celebrate in my little win all alone. I would have asked you to take your leave, but then again, you’re just like me. We don’t do well with taking instructions.”
Rina turned into the hallway without as much as a glance in Zayn’s direction. Her heavy heart accompanied her on her short journey to solitude, with the overwhelming need to huddle in a corner and stare at nothing in particular. She moved into her bedroom, and shrugged out of her clothing at once, leaving them on the rugged ground while she sauntered into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Connecting her phone to the Bluetooth speaker, Rina turned on Anson Seabra’s Emerald Eyes. The lyrics soothed her as she lowered herself into the filled tub, leaning on the glass. Her eyes fluttered close and she tried to bring her breath back to normal.
Remembering a panic class she’d once attended just for the sake of it, Rina allowed the instructor’s words to find her in the bathtub.
She took slow and deep breaths, pacing them long enough to get her body still. Rina felt her tensed muscles ease, and her breathing even out. Her heart stopped pounding so hard and her pulse relaxed. And even though Rina knew she could now probably objectively think about what Zayn had said, she thought about Joel instead and the offer he had given her.
Although Rina was yet to accept it, she felt good about it. Not one to accept things on the spot, she had told Joel she needed time to think about it. He wasn’t forceful about it, neither did he give her an ultimatum. And for Rina, what stood out to her most was how much they both needed it. Joel wasn’t doing this for what he could do to her reputation. Instead, he was doing it for himself, just as Rina was as well.
It was a comfortable idea, more fitting than being indebted to any producer who finally agreed to cast her, reminding her that it was only a favor. And that was if it even happened.
The warm tub having done what Rina needed it to, she got out of the water and grabbed a bathrobe, shrugging it on before walking out of the bathroom. She picked her clothes off the floor as she moved, tossing them into the laundry basket in front of the closet, and then made her way out of the room.
The cellar in the basement was the first stop. Rina browsed through the shelves barefoot, looking for a vintage wine she’d kept for her tenth wedding anniversary. Seeing as that had slammed hard on the rocks, it was better she got rid of it now. And what better way to do that than right now?
Finding it lodged in between two of her favorite wines, Rina plucked it off the shelf and walked back up the stairs into the hallway. She made a mental note to reach out to Joel as she walked into the living area. She was going to accept the contract. Although there was bound to be some backlash, they would weather the storm together. It was going to be worth it.
“Hey.” Zayn was seated on the couch, patting the space next to her. He’d gotten two wine glasses and waited for her to return from her room. The last time he’d gone in there, it hadn’t ended really well for him, so Zayn was planning on maintaining the boundary until it was absolutely necessary to breach it.
Rina wanted to hold out on her anger for much longer, but seeing him here, his intense gaze on her, his charming features weaving a chord strongly around her, she couldn’t do it anymore. Sighing, Rina flicked a tongue over her lips for moisture and covered the short distance, sitting beside him.
“I haven’t gotten the ice,” Rina remembered suddenly.
“I’ll get it.”
She watched Zayn cover the living room in long strides, oogling how defined the muscles on his back looked until he disappeared away from view. She couldn’t hear a thing from the kitchen, and just when she thought she probably needed to go help, Zayn appeared with the bucket of ice.
She leaned against the backrest of the couch, waiting as Zayn poured out the wine and slid some cubes of ice into the glasses. Handing one over to her, they clinked glasses, with Zayn staring into her eyes longer than was necessary.
Almost like he was doing absolutely nothing, not breaking eye contact, he said, “I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”
And Rina was certain that he meant it.