Zayn navigated through the traffic, drumming his finger on the steering at intervals. Returning to the country had been a spontaneous decision he had made the previous night, weighing the cons and pros in his head before calling the pilot to prepare the jet for take-off. Graham Conglomerates had already been launched over there, but there were a few things that were left before business could begin, but he’d decided to leave it to Mago to handle.
“What are you thinking about?” Rina asked quietly. He had felt her eyes on him since they left the villa, but for the first time, Zayn wasn’t certain of what to say to her. He felt himself pulled under by some feelings he couldn’t decipher, and now, he felt his principles crumbling. Years, and even months ago, Zayn never believed in love. He saw it as the unnecessary release of chemicals, that only ended up doing more harm than good. But now, something had changed. It was… Zayn shook his head abruptly, refusing to accept it.
“Nothing,” he murmured, opting to lie instead. How on earth could he have told her that she was the reason he had returned to the country? That it had been so hard staying away from her that he felt his heart pound painfully each time he thought she was in danger? That calling Igor every minute didn’t put his mind at ease, because he wanted to be there for her. There had to be another explanation for it, other than the obvious. Because the obvious was too complicated for Zayn to go along with.
And then, he had learned about the oil painting before the exhibition started. He’d tried to get his men to do something about it before it started, but whoever was behind it had been hellbent on showcasing that art on the wall, carefully plotting its transportation to the venue. Zayn had no other choice but to let it go, but he was the reason there was no post on social media about it just yet. He had ensured the owner of the gallery put up a no-picture policy with the threat of a legal suit if any image was found online.
Of course, that wouldn’t hold for too long, but it gave Zayn enough time to get to the bottom of R’s identity.
“It is just a contractual relationship,” he silently repeated to himself. “Nothing more. You’re just riding on some euphoria that is certain to pass.”
“Zayn?”
“I heard there’s a new diner close to the fashion house.” He turned his sports car onto the road where the fashion house was located. “What do you think about going there this weekend?”
“I have been there already,” Rina said without skipping a beat. “Just last week. Joel invited me over to… discuss something with me.”
“Joel Osteen?”
She nodded, then looked out the window.
“What did he ask to discuss?”
“He said he was in love with me.”
It was a ludicrous idea to think Rina was in love with Joel too. Zayn had seen how she related to him and knew that it was a one-sided feeling. Still, he felt a rush of pride and desire knowing that Rina had turned him down on the spot. She would be a great force beside him during the five years of their contracted marriage. He was certain of it.
Still, Zayn asked. “Do you think he stands a chance? I know you said you wanted to bring back the term of the contract that stated that we could see other people during the span of the marriage. But we are yet to get around to it, so you can easily walk out now.”
“I have to admit, I sure did think about it for a minute,” Rina retorted, letting go of her restraint. Since Zayn arrived, she found herself going through different emotions all at once. First, she was so excited to see him that it had to be all shades of wrong for one person to bring such lightness to her. Then, she remembered the closet filled with clothes that belonged to a woman even after he’d told her no one else knew about the villa. Rina wondered why he’d lied to her, and then had to struggle when her brain reminded her that he had no reason to be honest to her either. The combination of those feelings made her want to snap at him, yet desperately wanted to be in his arms.
“You did?” Zayn angled his head and pulled up in front of the fashion house.
“Joel is an accomplished man, with his dreams and focus in place. He certainly knows how to take care of a woman without making her feel burdened, and even when the saga after the fashion show brought a lot of controversies to him and the fashion house, he didn’t bat an eyelid before welcoming me back.”
“But?”
“What?”
“There’s a but coming, isn’t there?”
“Urgh!” Rina gritted her teeth in frustration before getting out of the car, plastering a fake smile on her face, and sauntering in through the doors. She hated the fact that Zayn could see through her. There were very few persons who got through to her that way, and she didn’t know what to feel about him being on that very short list.
With her gone, Zayn leaned against the headrest and sort out how he felt. But a rapt on the window drew his attention and he rolled the windows down, a scowl easily settling on his face when he saw it was Joel.
“Good morning, Sir,” he uttered with so much excitement that Zayn found it displeasing. And it had nothing to do with his person. It was the fact that he had dared ask Rina to be his woman. No one dared take what belonged to Zayn, nor even conceived the idea. “I was going to come around to your company to offer my appreciation, but your secretary informed me that you were out of town.”
“Hm.”
“The records from the fashion show are ready and according to the contract, we were supposed to share…”
“You can have it all,” he muttered, before putting the car in motion and pulling out of the driveway, much to Joel’s surprise.