The living room was in a celebratory state as Rina stepped downstairs after having a bath and getting ready for the day. Susan had made a simmering pot of lasagna, her eyes bright with excitement and her feet light and swift. She smiled up at Rina the second she was at the foot of the stairs. “Isn’t it such a beautiful day?” Susan was over the moon with the announcement. She wasn’t even that happy with Regina’s public apology. But this? It was exactly what Rina needed.
As Susan prepared the table, Rina looked around for Zayn. But even before her eyes gazed round the living area, she already knew he was not in the villa. She would have felt him around, the charge in the air pulling her attention to his presence. But she felt nothing now, just his lingering scent and the overwhelming memory of what had transpired between them.
The door pushed open, halting Rina’s thoughts. Her head whipped in that direction just as George sauntered in with a grin. She angled her head at his arrival, wondering who had called him over. It was fine the one time he had come over for dinner because she’d wanted him to be there. Still, she knew how Zayn felt about bringing outsiders into the villa.
“Don’t worry,” Susan muttered as she walked around to welcome him in. “Zayn invited him personally. I have to admit. I was shocked when he told me. Zayn never does that. Never.”
Rina swallowed and stayed still, watching the whole scene unfold before her. Susan took George’s coat and walked him to the dining area. He hugged Rina. “Our superstar” he said, his excitement almost infectious.
Almost,
But the one person Rina wanted to speak with was nowhere around and she could do nothing about the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She moved to the tables and sat by the table with George and Susan, and watched the both of them laugh about moments during the announcement, but clearly more ecstatic about it than she was.
Although it didn’t change the fact that Rina was over the moon, things had temporarily changed for her after that morning, and her mind was plagued with those minutes, pinned to Zayn’s wall in his room. While a part of her wanted to go back to that moment, the other part knew Zayn was right. Feelings tended to ruin things and she could see him trying to protect the pristine nature of the agreement they had between them.
“You’ve been oddly quiet, Rina,” George mused, things like that never missing his scrutinizing eyes. “What’s wrong? When we spoke this morning, you were so happy. And now…”
“And now?”
“There are just whispers and echoes of that.”
“I’m fine.” She plastered a smile on her face, and scooted to the edge of her seat, willing her mind to be in the moment. “I was just thinking about certain things, but that’s not important now. I learned Zayn asked you to be here.”
“Yeah,” George nodded. “I was quite surprised myself. He called about an hour after we spoke and asked if I could be at the villa this morning. He said he had to go in to work and didn’t want you to be alone after hearing such great things.”
“Interesting.” Rina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Was that all he said?”
“Is there something else you were hoping to hear him say to me?”
Rina shook her head. “No. Of course, not. Come on. Let’s eat. Susan is a great cook. I wouldn’t want her lasagna to just sit there.” She pushed herself to be present, immersing her memories with the thought of working with Claire for a whole year. In no time, she was huddled together with George, going through the comments on Instagram. People were wondering why Rina had yet to make any official statement, or at least a post on her Instagram page since Regina’s apology, that would at least make her fans know what she was thinking.
“We don’t have to do that now,” George said, answering Rina’s unasked question. “It is too soon. We need to make the most of the announcement. Let it pan out for as long as it can. Let people wonder and ask questions. For one, it would keep your name relevant as hashtags and that is an important element in your working with Claire. You would be able to easily influence the country’s decision to get her lines because even if you are still not exactly accepted, there is still a fickle of doubt in their hearts. And really, that’s all we need.”
Rina nodded in understanding. “And I am not even ready to be back online. I need more time to figure out my strategy. And there’s still the fact that even though things are a little on my side right now, Kayla wouldn’t rest until she has taken every single thing away from me. That only means she isn’t really excited about the news today.”
“That should be a great sight to behold.” George chuckled. “I can imagine the fire in her hair, and some coming out of her ears. I presume Finn would be running in the opposite direction.”
The mere thought made Rina double over in laughter, holding onto her stomach. “One of her greatest fears has always been her hair getting caught in fire. She’s going to lose her wits.”
“What a strange fear.” He shook his head. “But then again, there’s nothing normal about her. She’s just a really pretty snake. It is still a mystery how she has managed to fool the entire country about her true nature. Especially her father. That man thinks she’s such a sweetheart. For how introspective he is in political matters, I don’t see why he’s so blind to her faults.”
“But I am not,” Rina said, grabbing a glass of juice. “And I will let him see it. I will let the whole country see it. And just as she has brought them to despise me, I would do the same to her.”