Rina fussed around the stage, having the models walk through the runway a million times. Joel came to stand beside her, wrapping a warm hand around her neck. He pulled her closer to him and whispered in her ears, “You’re going to do great, Rina. I believe in you.”
She looked up at him with an appreciative smile, even though it did nothing to unravel the knot inside her stomach. Still, Rina didn’t allow it to show on her face or her behavior. She rehearsed with the girls like she had gotten everything figured out, that there would be no mistakes that day because she had left nothing out. Rina was hoping that would be the case.
When the designers started coming in, Rina moved out of the hall with the models into an inner room that had been prepared for them. She was introduced to the people in charge of makeup since there was no way she would get up on the runway without their help. Although they were yet to be told that she was the anonymous model, she saw the confused looks in their eyes and the unsaid questions on their lips.
When they thought she was out of hearing distance, they wondered what the founder of O. S. N fashion house was thinking about bringing a blacklisted actress to walk his runway as well. They muttered about how he hadn’t been thinking about the possibility of it affecting his sales. Rina was just so relieved they still hadn’t figured out her exact role in the fashion house. She wanted to keep the suspense bottled in the hall until she revealed it herself.
Rina wanted to feel the power standing above them, and revealing her identity. She wanted to witness their gasps, and the stunned looks in their eyes, which would later change to realization and then pride. She wanted them to know that even though they had tried to kick her out of the game, she would never stay on the ground, because she was meant to go up perpetually.
Rina was back to take her rightful place in the entertainment industry.
Her makeup was being done when a delivery man knocked on the door. “There’s a package for Stomping Beauty.” His voice traveled into the room, the last bit sounding more like a question. He couldn’t be blamed. Who on earth bore a name like that?
The men at the door were silent, their confusion resounding. “That’s me,” Rina called at that moment. “Rita, can you please help me get it?”
Rita angled her head at the awkwardness of the situation but went to get it eitherways. She returned with a glass vase filled with white and red roses, with a note attached to it. The model grinned as she dropped it on the vanity, while Rina tried really hard to hold her smile.
And failed at it.
She remembered telling Zayn that she had run out of vases. Rina thought it was really thoughtful of him to have sent the flowers in a vase. She picked out the note and opened it, unable to reign in the light in her eyes.
“Remember what they say about light in the darkness?” the note asked. “I think you are more than that. The whole world thinks so too. They just do not know it yet. You are going to be the most stunning woman on the runway today, and I’m going to be in the front row, playing the role of your greatest fan. It is what you stand to enjoy as the woman who is going to be my wife. All you have to do is stare at the seats in front of you. I will be there, cheering you on with the biggest smile on my face. You deserve all the good things you have set before you. I believe in you, Rina Powers.”
A tear slid from her eyes, and she sniffed hurriedly, grabbing the box of wipes. The makeup artiste stopped her gently, telling her that it was no big deal, that she had it all covered. She tried to engage in small talk, and tried to get more information from Rina. But Rina was too buried in her feelings to even make out her words. She nodded where appropriate, abut sometimes, zoned out completely from the conversation.
It was moments like these that made Rina want to hold on tightly to Zayn, even though she knew she had no right to, even though she was well aware that no part of it was real. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, pleased with the image that stared back at her. The makeup had been done to accentuate the most pleasant parts of her face, like her sharp jawline, and the eccentric nature of her eyes. The dark and smoky shadows that had been created around them would make anyone want to keep staring for as long as she remained on that stage.
When the makeup artiste left, Rina folded the note carefully and tucked it into her purse which was on the vanity, then pulled open the drawer and tossed it into it, trusting that no one would go there. Dressed in a flowing black robe, she rose out of her seat and went to check on the other models, ensuring their makeup was the precise way she wanted it to be.
At the same time, in the parking lot, Zayn had just gotten to the large hall that was being set up for the fashion show, but he stayed put in his car, watching everyone else alight their cars and streak into the hall. He scrolled through his phone at intervals, waiting for a message from Rina. He knew she would send one soon, because of what he had done a few minutes ago.
The message didn’t come in after waiting for ten minutes, and Zayn laughed to himself. Of course. She would be too busy to even bring out her phone. He should have taken that into consideration. Still, Zayn remained in the car while everyone else went in. He was there when Kayla arrived with Finn, dressing as part of the attendees of a fashion show in their jaw-dropping outfits.
But Zayn couldn’t be impressed in the slightest.
When he decided he had waited long enough, he signaled to William that it was time to go in.