In that second, it was one of two things. Either he didn’t recognize her or Rina found a way to open the earth and allow it to receive her. But she did neither, as hurt and then anger crossed his face. “Rina?”
She swallowed and then got up slowly, her head reeling, trying to think of the most suitable explanation that had nothing to do with the truth. She couldn’t lose him since that was what Finn wanted, but at the same time, telling him the truth just might escalate things, and Rina wasn’t sure she was ready for that again. The last year had been so dramatic for her and she just wanted a shred of normalcy. Was that too much to ask for?
“Zayn,” she sighed. “What are you doing in here?”
“I should be asking you that!” he shot back. Rina had chosen the perfect space to meet up with Finn. It was a restaurant that was barely visited and was already running out of sales. They had a plan to sell it by the end of the year, and everyone had gotten the news already so no one came around. When Rina had called to make a reservation, they’d been surprised that somebody was actually interested in them. But her real intention was to use the privacy to her own benefit. She sure hadn’t preempted the arrival of Zayn, but at least, no one had their cameras whipped out, recording the moment.
“I am… I am…” Rina didn’t know what to say to him. She found her tongue-tied and her eyes weary. Every part of her wanted to just fuck it all and let him know what was going on. But Finn was sitting right behind her, obnoxiously tapping away at his phone, reminding her that he had the most power in the room. At least, where she was concerned.
“Speak, Rina! And you better tell me something worth it. I have noticed your attitude in recent times but I just didn’t want to believe it until I heard it from your mouth. I gave you a hundred chances, Rina, to come clean and just tell me. Don’t I deserve that much?”
Rina stopped. “Tell you what?”
“What do you think? You are seated in a restaurant almost out of town, in a conversation with the same man I filed a restraining order against on your behalf. Didn’t that register to you? For fuck’s sake, what are you doing here, Rina?”
“We were just meeting.”
“Just meeting? I thought you hated him.”
“Not anymore,” Finn chipped in, amusement laced in his tone. “She can’t hate the person she spent ten years of her life with, Mr. Graham. I am her first love. There’s no taking that away.”
“Finn, shut the fuck up before I come shut you up myself!” Zayn snapped. In all his years of being a public figure, it was the first time he was acting out in public. Zayn had always prided himself in maintaining a clear head and a perfect thought system even in the middle of the most difficult of situations. He had never been seen exchanging words with anyone neither would he even stoop that low.
But this wasn’t just anyone. It was Rina, the one woman he had allowed into his life, both physically and emotionally. And even though Zayn had psyched himself into believing that no one was indispensable, for the first time, he was held with the fear of losing Rina this way. It made him want to hold on to her tight.
“Rina, answer me.”
“Zayn, can we not do this here, please?”
He shook his head. “I am getting a response right this minute, or this is done. I can’t be this way with you, and you know that.”
Rina looked from Zayn to Finn, and then back. “I can’t explain to you right now, because…I just can’t.” Finn was holding up his phone now, waving it above his head like it was his most-priced possession. He laughed and shook his head, making Rina swell with anger. But she couldn’t respond. Not right away.
“Rina,” Finn called. “We still have a meeting to get back to. Just a friendly reminder.”
Rina wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. But instead, she turned around and said, “Give me a minute, Finn.”
Hurt crossed Zayn’s features, more than he could hide. He berated himself mentally for not being able to shake himself out of that situation, out of whatever Rina was doing with Finn. It was hard to get detached, as walking away felt like he was tearing his heart out with a knife. It hurt physically, but Zayn wouldn’t give Finn the satisfaction of seeing him bend from the pressure of the pain. So, he stepped back slowly, with haunted eyes, and turned around, walking out into the evening and getting back to the car.
Rina couldn’t believe how that had just turned upside down. Her eyes stung with tears that came down unchartered as she stared at the empty space he had stood a few seconds ago, wondering if that conversation could have gone any better. She had hurt the one man that had continuously given to her and had never demanded back, for someone who hurt her over and over again and was still doing the same thing.
Turning around, she grabbed her purse from the table, much to the surprise of Finn whose light eyes suddenly turned dark. “Where do you think you are going, Rina? This conversation is not over, and you know you are running out of time.”
“Fuck you, Finn,” Rina snapped. “Fuck you and everything you have done to me. I don’t know why I did this tried to negotiate with you.”
“Because you definitely do not want your sex tape out in public.”
“You can do whatever you want,” she spat. “That’s all you know how to do anyway create pain and destruction wherever you are. You and Kayla are so right for each other, so why don’t you stay with her and fucking leave me be.”