Zayn had decided to stay back in his mansion that night, as he had a flight to catch early the following morning. Or at least, that was what he made himself believe. But the truth was that he caught himself thinking about something he shouldn’t have, and it had rattled him. A few hours before he returned to his mansion, he was at the office trying to close for the day, when he thought about going to get Rina from her set. He hadn’t done it once since she started shooting, intentionally because he thought he needed to give her enough space so as not to make her think there was anything more than the contract between them.
Even though it was true that it was practically impossible to hide their sexual attraction, the air always sizzling with tension anytime they were next to each other, Zayn still fought his feelings hard. Sitting there in his office and thinking about how refreshing a ride with her would be, even thinking about stopping at his favorite food truck so they could eat under the night skies, Zayn found himself falling down a hole he thought he had gotten over. He was overwhelmed with so much emotion all at once that he knew sleeping under the same roof as her wasn’t going to do them any good. He would have been unable to keep his hands to himself and might even go as far as saying something he might regret at the end of the day.
So his mansion seemed like the only answer, even though the silence and smell felt strange to him. Zayn was already used to the scent of Rina’s perfume in the air, mixing with his. It felt like home, like he was safe, like he couldn’t be judged. Sighing, Zayn sauntered over to the bar and prepared a glass of martini for himself, coming around to the fireplace crackling in one of the living rooms the one he used privately. Although the mansion had a modernized heating system, Zayn wanted the fireplace for that particular living room. He loved watching the flames and sparks as they moved up but never got beyond their confines. It soothed him on bad days and made him focus on the days he was trying to make a decision.
Bringing the rim of the glass to his lips, he took a sip, the heat of the liquor running through him. His eyes fell on the fur couch, where his phone sat. But the screen light was still off. Rina had neither called nor texted all through the evening, and even though he was getting worried, he decided to ignore it.
“She’s fine,” he repeated in his head over and over again like a mantra, willing himself not to make things worse by calling her. Zayn took another sip of his martini and sighed. He knew he should go to bed or do something since there was no way he could work with that head space. Still, he couldn’t move from that point, staring at the crackling fire like that was his lifeline.
Zayn heard his butler walk into the room, stopping next to him. “Sir, there is a young woman by the door asking to see you.”
He whipped his head around at once. “Rina? My fiancee?” She didn’t even know where he lived, yet that was the first name that occurred to him.
“No sir.” The butler shook his head. “It’s Jada,”
“She’s the last person I want to see.”
“Sir, she sounded really upset, and claimed it was urgent.”
Zayn rolled his eyes. Jada was always so dramatic, acting like the world would end if things weren’t done her way, for and with her. “Tell her to remain in the waiting room downstairs. I will be there soon.”
With the butler gone, Zayn stayed in front of the fire for another fifteen minutes before finding his way down the stairs to the first floor, into the waiting room. Jada looked up as soon as he entered, and got on her feet, rushing over to him. He tried to look for what his butler had seen but found nothing. He was certain Jada had only used that to get his sympathy so she could be allowed inside. If he had something else to do that night, Zayn would have downright ignored her. But a little unwanted distraction couldn’t hurt, especially with the thoughts he was trying to hold at bay.
A smile stretched on her face as she walked into his arms, holding on tight. Zayn brought his strong hands to her shoulders and pushed her away. Holding her at arms-length. “You do that one more time and I am sending you out of this place. What do you want, Jada?”
“Can’t I come to see the man I am in love with?”
Zayn scoffed. “You still don’t get it, do you? I am getting married to Rina, but even though I wasn’t, you would never have the chance to get back with me. You already fucked that up, Jada. It’s surprising you keep forgetting that I walked into you fucking my brother with your legs in the air.”
The graphics made her wince but Jada was out of it almost immediately. “So, you think Rina is a better person than I am?”
“Than you will ever be.” He didn’t waste a second in vouching for Rina. It was like second nature because, to him, Rina could do no wrong.
“You don’t know how many things are happening right under your nose. How she’s two-timing you and her ex-husband, Finn.”
Zayn chuckled in amusement. “When will you stop looking for ways to bring her down? She had proven time and again that nothing can ever stop her.”
“That’s not what I am doing,” Jada insisted, shaking her head. “She is really trying to get back to her husband. I don’t know why, but your fiance is cheating on you.”
“Get out, Jada.”
“I have evidence.” Jada brought out her phone at once and flashed it in Zayn’s face. His eyes darkened at the image on the screen. It was a picture of Finn with his hand above Rina’s head, bending low like he was going to kiss her. And Rina wasn’t fighting him.