Zayn pushed the door open and stepped into the dark, finding the switch easily. He had seen Rina off to her doorstep before bidding her goodnight. But why did it feel like he left a part of himself with her? He sighed and sauntered further into the living area, his shoes making a clicking sound on the floor. Zayn moved to the refrigerator and retrieved the half bottle of wine that Rina had the last time she was over, settling onto the couch.
Kicking off his shoes, he poured himself a glass and stared into the distance, bringing the rim to his lips. All of his being stilled when he heard something else in the room, a deep breath like someone was there with him. But he shook it off in one second when he remembered that there was practically no way anyone could gain access to his room without passing through the thick security around.
There was only one person who could have been given free access that way, especially after he’d warned the front desk not to let Nathan in until he said otherwise.
“Mago, I thought you were going home tonight?” Zayn called, settling further into the couch. “Or did you suddenly realize how much you missed me and wanted to spend more time with me?”
She made a gag sound and moved into the living room, already washed. Her vanilla scent filtered into the space as she plopped down beside Zayn, taking his glass from his hands. Zayn rolled his eyes and got up, walking to the refrigerator to get another.
“Great launch, right?” Mago started, playing it chill in the first few seconds. And even though Zayn knew she was headed somewhere, he obliged her.
“Yeah. Exactly how I had envisioned.”
“And the proposal. Sure didn’t see that coming. You should have told your baby sister beforehand, don’t you think?”
Zayn grabbed the glass and returned to the couch. “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise for anyone. The only person who knew was…”
“William,” she cut in. “No one has been able to come in between you two from the beginning. It used to piss Mom off so bad, but she got used to it at the end of the day, that you would forever be closer to him than Nathan.”
Mago didn’t say it with any spite in her tone. It was more with longing, like something she wanted but wasn’t conscious of it.
“William is my friend, and yours too.”
She bit her lips and seemed to get lost. But her eyes found Zayn in a moment and the look in his made her come back to the present, made her shake out of her melancholy. “That is beside the point. You got engaged, Zayn, and we heard nothing about your dating period. You never mentioned anything about Rina Power, despite the fact that she was trending on all social media platforms, all for being a slut and a disgrace to the movie industry. And in all of that story, not once did I see you do something about it. Is there something I missed?”
Zayn scratched his forehead. “She didn’t want anyone to know about us because…well, the truth is, she wanted to get back to where she was before all of the drama and thought if I interfered, people would automatically think it was all because of me. So, I let her have her way. Trust me, half the time, I was seething with anger, and almost went back on my words.”
“Still,” Mago murmured, not letting it go. “There’s something missing. You, Zayn Graham, found someone that made you relinquish control.”
“Temporarily.”
“That has never happened.”
“I guess that’s how much I love her.”
“You don’t believe in love.”
“That was in the past.”
“I know,” Mago replied. “Her shoes. They are right by your door. She was here earlier and probably forgot them in the … What I am trying to say is that this is the first time I am seeing you this way brighter, lighter, like you’re not carrying a god-awful load on your shoulders. She’s good for you.”
Zayn blinked. That was not what he’d been expecting.
“And the way you look at her. Gosh! I never thought I would ever see you look at someone that way. When you were with Jada, I tried to talk you out of it because you merely tolerated her. But you seemed to be of the opinion that love was only fictional, that what made great marriages was the union forged, and its strengths. I’m glad we’ve gone past that.”
“I’m glad I have.” But Zayn felt like he had suddenly been drawn into something he’d been trying to avoid all along. He tried to justify it in his head, that the only reason Mago loved the way he looked at Rina was because he was a damn good actor and portrayed the image he was aiming for. It couldn’t be because he was in love with Rina. That was impossible.
“I should go to bed,” Mago yawned. “Its pretty late and we have a long day tomorrow with the company going fully into business. I have already picked out the theme for my office, but I’m sure you are not interested in hearing all about that.”
“Right.”
“Are you going back tomorrow?”
Zayn nodded. He had thought about it over and over again. The only reason he had made plans to stay back was because of Rina. She was not due to travel for another three days and he wanted to be around her while she worked, to ease the fatigue off her bones when she returned. But it looked exactly like the picture Mago painted. And Zayn was far from ready to accept it.
“I trust you all to handle the job here. I’ll make plans to check on you later.”
Mago nodded.
“And you should make plans to see William before we leave.”