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 put up walls around him. Everything just felt remarkably easy.
Too easy.
“I will call you,” he murmured, nodding in the direction of the door. Rina pulled the lock open and stepped out, waving to him as he pulled out of the driveway onto the night. Zayn looked in the rearview mirror as he drove, staring at Rina until he couldn’t see her anymore.
Stepping on the gas, Zayn increased his speed, moving back to his office. He got there in a few minutes, but didn’t take the main entrance. Instead, he circled around the building, until he met the persons he had asked to meet him there.
“Mr. Graham,” the lawyer greeted, leaning away from the wall. He was the best lawyer in the country but was known for his unconventional ways of settling disputes. His eyes always bore a sense of deep reflection, like he was always contemplating ways to get past something. Zayn didn’t want the matter with Rina and the cottage to get to court because it was bad press for her image, especially with the fashion show coming soon. So this was the only other way to get around to it.
“What did you gather on them?” Zayn asked, going straight to the point. He pulled out a seat, and plopped right into it, crossing his legs.
“Finn Smith is in a shit load of debt. He’s been in it for quite a while now. When he was married to Ms. Powers, he used her account to pay off some of the debt, in bits so that Ms. Powers never discovered. And my best bet is that he is doing the same thing with Kayla.”
“Interesting,” Zayn murmured. “That can work, but what if Kayla decides to institute the claim in her own name instead the moment Finn is forced to withdraw it from the court?”
“She can’t,” the lawyer answered. “And it wouldn’t be any of our headaches to deal with. I’m going to approach Finn alone with what I’ve discovered. If he doesn’t want us to tell Kayla, he has to get her to leave the cottage with Ms. Powers. And I’m certain he has a lot to lose by us telling her. His debts aren’t going to pay themselves, are they?
“Thank you for a job well done,” Zayn muttered, rising from the chair. “You’re going to be putting the plans in motion tonight, right? I need this to be handled before tomorrow.”
“Of course,” he replied. “I will be on my way as soon as we leave here.”
Zayn put his hand out for a shake, then turned around and walked back to his car. Inside, he called Rina to tell her he was done with what he had to do. She didn’t ask if he was going to come around this time, and Zayn decided to let it be.
“Are you walking the runway for the fashion show?” he asked instead, putting his car into drive.
“I’m going to sit it out,” she replied. He could hear her moving around her kitchen, glasses clinking, and drawers opening. “I’m not sure I’m ready for the whole world to know I’m the anonymous model. The idea of ripping off my facade is scary.”
“Rina,” Zayn called softly. “When do you think you’re going to be ready?”
“I don’t know,” she answered, sighing. “Maybe never. But not right now. I’ve told Joel and even though he wasn’t totally cool with it, he said he’s going to wait until I’m ready.”
“I think you are. You just don’t know it yet.”
“Zayn..”
“You’re a great model and actress, Rina. And I’m not saying that because you’re my proposed fake wife. I really mean it. This is evident from all the reviews left in magazines and on social media. People think highly of you because you’re great at what you do. And when they find out it’s been you all along, they’re going to feel really stupid for judging you all this while.”
Rina was quiet for a while, so much so that Zayn thought she’d ended the call already. But then, she breathed a shaky sound that latched itself deep in Zayn’s being.
“I guess I’m going to have to think about it,” she muttered. “Thank you for saying that, Zayn. You’re not bad for a proposed fake husband.”
“We should get married after the fashion show. It’s taking too long already. I need to get this done with already.”
Rina swallowed sharply and choked on whatever she’d been drinking. The sounds of her cough traveled through the phone, spurred by the sudden mention of their marriage.
“I’ve got to go now,” she said hastily, ending the call before Zayn could say anything else.
He stared at his blank screen seconds after Rina had ended the call, then blew out a steamy breath. It was going to be a hell of a long night, and Zayn knew he would pick sleeping on Rina’s couch any day, over sleeping alone in his mansion that was suddenly becoming overwhelmingly huge.