Rina was in the studio all day, trying out different outfits and mood boards for the fashion house. It was more fun than work because the designers were so nice to her. They kept complimenting her skin and body figure, chatting away at how much life she would bring to their pieces. She basked in the glow of their words, even allowing herself the freedom to laugh, to forget all about the hell she’d had to go through to get to that point.
The director of designs, Nico, made her feel at home, giving her little stories about how the outfits were made, the troubles encountered mid-design, and the humorous ways they had gotten out of it. Rina was the only model in the studio at first, so the lights of the cameras were focused on her, flashing away at the first line she wore. It was called soothe, and was meant to be released during spring. Rina understood the concept behind the outfit, as they made her feel confident and in touch with her feminine part.
When it was mid-day, the team went on an hour break and Rina spent it at the coffee shop on the first floor, seated at the booth nearest to the window and looking at the passing traffic. For the first time since her agreement with Zayn, she felt loneliness eat away at her. Rina knew it was because she was alone in a foreign city meeting new people, and even if they were really nice to her, it would have helped if there was a familiar face around.
Loneliness had never been a thing for Rina, as all her life, she’d been surrounded by people. At first, it was her parents, instructing her on the path they thought she should be on. Then, after her debut in the movie industry, she met Kayla, then Finn shortly after. Her world had revolved around her fans, her family and her best friend that she barely had the time to think about solitude. But then, after everything slipped away from her, including her baby, Rina was thrown into a world where she had to survive alone.
Then Zayn came along and swept her off her feet, literally. It had been from one high point to another, constantly at the edge of life, pushing and getting pushed. Being a part of Zayn’s life while trying to hide their arrangement from the world was a lot of hard work, a lot of being intentional about the places they went to and how they interacted with each other in public, desperate not to give anything away.
But now that she was in Hong Kong, hours away from home, without George around and with Zayn not answering her texts, she felt locked in a box with no light. Her iced coffee arrived and Rina looked up at the waiter, smiling in appreciation just before she walked briskly back behind the counter.
Left alone once again, Rina toyed with the straw, swirling the ice in the cup before taking a sip. The coolness travelled down her throat and she closed her eyes to absorb it. When she opened her eyes again, nothing had changed. The screen light of her phone was still off with no new messages, and only a few minutes had passed, which meant she still had over thirty minutes before the shoot resumed.
On the screen, an ad for Pages by Claire was showing, and Rina smiled as it brought back memories from her childhood. She remembered desperately wanting to be in those ads, to be the lady dressed in flaming red, eyes daring like she could take over the world, and her feet clad in the most expensive shoes. And now, she was doing it.
After what seemed like an eternity of watching the traffic slowly streak past, an hour finally elapsed and Rina got out of her seat and returned to the studio on the third floor of the building. Everyone was already gathered by the time she strolled in,
“Where did you go?” One of them asked while adjusting the lights. “We were going to invite you to eat lunch with us but you were gone before we could get around to it.”
“Oh!” Rina was surprised. She’d had no idea they ate lunch together, or that they’d even considered inviting her. “I just had coffee at the coffee shop on the first floor. But next time, I’ll keep the invite in mind. Hopefully, it would still be on the table by then.”
“Of course, it would. We tend to always have lunch together as it gives us extra time to get work too. While eating, we could go through some of the images to decide which exactly the ideal one isn’t.”
Rina nodded, surprised at how she’d just been thinking of how lonely her lunch break had been, when she could have spent it with the rest of the team, perhaps getting to know them. If she was going to spend a whole year working with them, it was right she got familiar with some of the faces.
“Let’s get right into it, people!” The director of media called, clapping to gather everyone back. Rina walked behind the screen to change into a flowing yellow dress, assisted by one of the designers. When she stepped out, the photographer was ready for her. The background was black, a sharp yet alluring contrast to the brilliance of the dress. Her hair was woven into two braids that dangled at her back, and her face was left bare, to give off innocence and a care-free nature.
Rina sat on the stool and laughed into the camera, at ease with herself and everyone watching. She was directed to give different poses while she suggested some of her own which the team thought was brilliant. As the session went on, some of the ten other models Claire worked with began to stroll in, their voices carrying along before they even sauntered into the room.
But Rina’s eyes fell on one particular person that walked in, his brown eyes stopping on her.