Rina was on set the following day, just hoping to get through it so she could go see Finn to have a proper discussion, as they had agreed the last time he accosted her on the road. Perhaps, informing Zayn was important, but Rina didn’t want him to get involved in something like that. It could get Finn upset, and knowing how fickle-minded and obsessed he was right now, Rina didn’t doubt the possibility of her ex-husband releasing the tape if he saw that Zayn was involved.
She was distracted during her scenes, but after a while, pushed it to the back of her mind. It was supposed to be the last day of the first part, and the director had still not said anything about there being a second part. The reviews for the trailer were already great, as Rina’s name was always flooding the comments. Still, it wasn’t enough to make a decision. They just needed to get through with the premier first and then, see what happened.
After her last scene, where Rina tried to get Zico’s attention, having a crush on him as the script had detailed, but he talking her off and the female lead coming to kiss him, Rina was glad that it was all done with. She got down and tried to head to her dressing room when suddenly, Mandy blocked her path with a look in her eyes that Rina was too tired and worried to try to figure out.
“Mandy,” she breathed. “You are in my way.”
“I noticed.”
“What is this about?”
“Do you not think I see what you are doing? I see through all the innocence you try so hard to make the world believe, but you can’t fool me, Rina.”
Rina angled her head, lost for words. What was this about and what the fuck was her business with portraying an image she had no strength to keep up with.
“Mandy, I am just going to ignore you and walk to my dressing room so I can get done with this. Hopefully, I won’t get to see your face after the premiere. That way, you wouldn’t have a thing to complain about.”
“I think I will,” she blurted. “You have been trying so hard to outshine me out there during the scenes. I am lead actress, Rina. Me. I know you are not used to being in the shadows, but you have been away for so long that people have forgotten who you are. It is my turn to shine bright right now, yet you attempt to take that away from me. Must you always do that to people?”
“What?”
“The last scene. You were only meant to tap him according to the script. What was the whole speech about?”
Rina, tired of getting cornered all around, and mentally exhausted, suddenly snapped. She edged closer to Mandy with a glare and said, “If you had bothered to come as early as the director instructed us to do today, you would have found out that he changed the last scene. He wanted the viewers to think there was going to be a second part, to spur their requests. But no. You never come early for these things, but find a way to blame every other person apart from yourself. The great thing about this is that you married the right man because it is exactly how Joel acts like he is the saint while every person is one way or the other affiliated to the devil.”
Mandy’s mouth hung open as Rina tried to calm herself. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and opened it in another minute. Mandy was standing there through it all, still surprised. She thought she could easily bully Rina because everyone else did that online through the rumors and Rina never uttered one word. But it wasn’t that easy. That was the social media which was too wide to exactly take control of. But down there, Rina would never be walked on.
“Now,” Rina sighed. “I am going to act like this conversation never happened. Just take yourself and whatever you feel out of the way.”
“Is everything alright?” Zico asked suddenly, appearing from the corner and walking right into them. He could tell that something was off from both their stance as if they were in a heated argument.
“Everything is fine,” Rina said through clenched teeth. ”
With that, Rina walked away and made a beeline for her dressing room. She pushed the door open, relieved to be alone. But a yelp suddenly escaped her lips when she saw Zayn there, sitting on one of the sofas with a muscle working in his jaw. He watched as she got over the initial surprise, and got further into the room, closing the door behind her. The usual excitement that was etched on her features each time she saw him was gone, replaced by worry. Rina couldn’t image Zayn seeing that nasty tape, and neither did she want the world to. It was a time when she was married to Finn, a time that was already in her past, with the ghost threatening to rear its head.
“Hey, Zayn. I thought you were supposed to travel today. Susan said…”
“Rina, is there anything you are not telling me?” He asked suddenly, getting on his feet.
She shook her head at once, not even bothering to consider it. “No. Where is this coming from?”
“I need you to think hard and fast about it. Are you certain?”
“Zayn, you need to be more explicit if you are going to ask me something like that.”
“Okay. Where were you last night?”
“What do you mean by that? You know I was here all through the day. And the moment I was done, I went straight to the villa. I was too exhausted to make any stops. Why?”
“Nothing.” Zayn regarded her intently, wondering why she was hiding it away from him. The tiniest flicker of doubt began to play out in his mind. Was Rina really planning on going back to her ex-husband?