But Zayn didn’t come to pick her up. Instead, he sent William early the next morning. He bowed as she sauntered out of the building with a huge smile on her face that immediately flattened out when she realized it wasn’t Zayn.
“Good morning, Ma’am,” William greeted, walking around to open the door and helping Rina get in.
She waited for him to get behind the wheel before asking. “Why isn’t Zayn picking me up?”
“He had to be at the office really early,” William explained. “And he said he wants to have breakfast with you before you go back to the cottage so I’m taking you to a breakfast spot.”
Rina nodded, and leaned her head against the headrest, staring at the traffic as it went by. It was barely 6 am, yet the whole world seemed to be awake already, going about their activities, oblivious to the lives of others. Rina thought about oblivion and how much it could make a person insensitive to the feelings of another.
It was just like when she was lied against and had all those rumors thrown harshly at her face. There was nothing she could do but read the hate comments on the internet, and accept the blacklisting of her name from the entertainment industry and Scottsdale Entertainment. While others thought it was just another actress probably getting what she deserved, to Rina, she was watching her entire life dissipate into nothing before her eyes.
The only reason she’d wanted to fight back so hard was because she couldn’t lose everything and watch the persons who had caused it in the first place live a happy life. That was her driving force the fact that she needed to see the expression on their faces when they realized that although they’d pushed her down, they were never able to keep her there. She needed to see the fear on their faces when they imagined what she was capable of having risen up all by herself.
Rina wanted them to be scared of her, because in truth, she was going to get her revenge, starting from Kayla. And she would be damn satisfied knowing she had the final laugh.
“Ms Powers,” William suddenly called with urgency in his tone, pulling Rina forcefully away from her thoughts. She sat up at once, staring at him with wide eyes.
“We’re being followed,” he said in a measured tone. “I noticed them the moment we pulled out of the fashion house and I’ve been trying to gauge if they were really on our tails. We went past the breakfast spot already just to confirm that point.”
Rina hadn’t even noticed.
“Oh God!” She breathed. “What are we going to do? Do you know who they are?”
William shook his head. “But you don’t have to get worked up about it. Just brace yourself. I’m going to increase the speed now and lose them on the highway. It’s going to be a little rough. That’s why I’m informing you.”
“Okay,’ Rina replied. She had a feeling it was Kayla and Finn, or whoever they’d sent to do their dirty job for them. Rina wore her seat belt and held on tight to her purse as William gripped the steering and increased his speed, navigating the morning traffic easily. Cars honked at him but he paid them no attention as he continued onwards, intent on losing the car tailing them from behind.
Rina looked out through the back and identified the car. It was a black Toyota, very regular and common. It was an intentional choice, so they could easily get lost in a sea of cars just in case they got met with a threat.
She gasped when William’s phone suddenly started ringing and took a deep breath when he connected it to the speaker and Zayn’s voice came on.
“What’s going on now?”
“They’re still hot on our tail, Sir,” William said. “But I’m approaching the highway now. I’m bound to lose them there. We’ll turn around once I’m sure they’re no longer behind us.”
“No. Don’t turn around. Take Rina to the villa in that part of town. I’m headed there now, but I’ll take another route just to be safe.”
“Okay, sir. We will meet you there.”
“And Rina?”
“Yes?”
“You’re safe, okay?” Zayn said, soothing Rina’s tensed bones immediately. “William is my most skilled driver and my most trusted man. I gave him the task of overseeing everything about you for a reason, so you can be rest assured that nothing will happen to you.”
“I’m not scared,” Rina answered. “I know I’m in safe hands.”
“Perfect.”
The line clicked dead just as they got onto the highway, and true to his words, William picked up the speed. Rina felt dizzy immediately, and her eyes fluttered close, unable to keep up with the blur as they sped past the other cars. Because she loved counting, she ticked off numbers in her head, starting from one. When she got to a hundred and five-, William’s voice searched through the silence in her head.
“Ma’am,” he called gently.
Rina opened her eyes and raised her head.
“We’re at the villa now.”
“We lost them?”
William smiled. Rina tried to rack her brain on the spot. It had to be the first time she’d ever seen him smile. “I’m great at what I do.”
“Thank you.”
Rina got out of the car and approached the entrance. The outside of the villa looked magnificent, and Rina had to stop to admire the sight. The lights were alluring and seemed to weave a web around Rina, pulling her in slowly, steadily. She couldn’t let go. Didn’t want to. The walls were encased in dark stones, that stood between ancient and modern.
But all of that didn’t seem to matter the moment Zayn came out of the villa. He seemed to carry all of the lights with him as he jogged down the stairs quickly and pulled her into his arms.
Rina thought her heart was going to burst wide open.