After the show, Mandy walked them out to the first floor, with appreciation falling from her lips yet far from her eyes. They weren’t exactly filled with venom. Instead, they were shifty, like she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing. After Mandy walked back inside, Zayn snaked a hand around Rina’s waist and moved toward the car. A fan popped out of nowhere, excitement in her eyes as she rushed towards Rina, almost skipping at intervals.
“Rina Powers!” As she got closer, Rina saw she was only a teenager, quite tall for her age. The first thing that came to her mind upon seeing her was the possibility of her being a basketball player or a model. She had on braces, and pigtails, and Rina could see she was still in high school with her cheerleading uniform.
“Hi there,” Rina beamed, smiling at the teenager. “You look great, I have to admit. I didn’t even look this good back in high school.”
The girl gushed at the attention, and a red patch appeared on her cheek. She looked from Rina to Zayn, and then back to the ground. Zayn smiled warmly and pulled Rina flush to his side with the hand still on her waist. “I’ll be in the car, waiting,” he whispered, his rich voice sending delicious tingles down to her core. Rina bit her lips and her eyes glowed as she watched Zayn walk away the man she was falling in love with but didn’t think he would ever feel the same way, the man she had to leave after five years of marriage. It was something she was going to have to accept.
Rina brought her attention back to the girl, accepting the cute little note she handed her for her autograph, as well as a girly pen with feathers on top. Granting the girl her request, Rina wished her all the best in life and asked her to write a letter to Zayn’s office if she ever needed to start a career in modeling. She was going to ask Mia to always look out for it.
The girl hopped out of view with a huge grin, acting like her whole day had been made. When Rina made to move to the car, she thought she saw an eerily familiar figure cross the distance and walk over to her. Blinking and hoping she had seen it wrong the first time, Rina waited for the figure to get closer. His steps slowed down remarkably as his face became much clearer the same face she had fallen hopelessly for many years ago.
It had been a lot of months since Rina last saw Finn, and she’d barely realized it with everything going on. But he was there, right outside the private station, his eyes on her frame, making it known that he was coming to her. Rina swallowed, and waited for that feeling that was always spoken about the feeling that came when a woman saw the man she used to be in love with, one she hadn’t left on her own terms, but instead, had chosen to leave her for his own reasons. They said true love never died, and that it only reduced with time.
Still, Rina felt nothing but fury watching Finn Smith with that impeccable swagger in his steps, and that cocky look in his eyes, like he knew how much she loved him and was confident that it still remained.
“Hey, Rina,” he greeted, his eyes twinkling as he stopped right in front of her. Rina saw he had put in more effort than usual in his appearance that day, and it made her want to burst out in laughter. “It’s been a while. How are you doing? I saw you in the parking lot and thought I would say hi.”
Rina didn’t want to fight him, and she didn’t feel the need to since she felt nothing but anger for him. Coldly, she said, “I am very fine. And happy. It took me a while to get here, but I did. How are you doing too? And how’s your girlfriend?”
He pursed his lips, then sighed. “Rina, I…I know it’s been a while since we last spoke. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
“No, we don’t,” she murmured, her lips barely moving. “And you didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m fine, at least for the hours I am not in the house with Kayla.”
“Trouble in paradise?”
“That can barely be described as paradise. More like being in hell, only with a sprinkle of wealth.”
“You chose it for yourself,” Rina said. “Enjoy.”
She turned to walk away, but he held on to her arm, stopping her abruptly. Rina saw only red at that moment, as she turned back to look at him, portraying every bit of the anger she felt inside. His hand dropped slowly from her arm back to his side.
“Sorry,” he blurted. “I was just… Can I talk to you? I need to talk to you?”
“I will be going to Hong Kong tomorrow for work. Claire expects me.” Rina had every reason to flaunt it. “And I won’t be back for another week.”
“I can wait,” Finn replied without a second break. “Just…when you are back, let’s see. Maybe dinner. Or something else. Anything you are comfortable with.”
Nodding curtly, Rina turned around and walked away from him. He called from behind abruptly. “How can I get in touch with you? Your number isn’t going through.”
“My manager will send you a message,” she replied without looking back, heading towards Zayn who had brought the car out front, returning the stares of the crowd gathering. He got out and walked around to get the door open for her, winking before returning to his place behind the wheel.
“What was that about?” he asked as he pulled out of the driveway and into the road. He never missed anything.
“Finn. He wants to have dinner with.”