Rina watched the scene, detached from every emotion, as Zayn told Jada to get out in an eerily calm tone. She couldn’t decide which was scarier, when he used his bass or right now, with him speaking like he wasn’t upset when, in truth, he was almost boiling over. She wondered what would happen from that moment on, whether he would treat her like Jada and demand that she leave the office and his entire life, too. As she stood there, Rina tried to decipher what she would do if that happened. She had lived almost one year without knowing any other friend but Zayn, and she thought that it would be hard to say goodbye to him.
But at the same time, Rina knew how that scene with Finn would have looked to him or to anyone at all who had seen them. She knew she should have just told Zayn about the blackmail on the spot, but she’d been scared that Finn would do something stupid. But maybe, for once, she should learn how to let go and let Zayn take control as he had always wanted to. Rina understood that it was in his nature to always be on top of things, and even if that was the same person that inhibited her, she needed to let him take the lead. Because in that situation, she had to admit to herself that she couldn’t handle it alone.
It was the least she could do.
“Zayn…” she breathed when Jada all but ran out of the office, the door swinging shut behind her. Zayn held up a hand, stopping her mid-sentence. He strolled to the fridge by the corner and bent to retrieve a bottle of rum, stretching out to his full height a moment later and wading back to his seat. He took his sweet time pouring two glasses before motioning Rina forward with a finger.
“Sit,” he instructed, pushing one of the glasses to her. Zayn didn’t know if the situation warranted a drink for her, but as far as he was concerned, he needed to take something. His lips met the rim of the glass, and he took in a gulp, barely wincing as his hands came back to the table. Rina did the same, licking her lips when droplets threatened to drop from there.
“Stop doing that,” he groaned, his eyes half closed.
“What?”
“Stop licking your lips. If I didn’t know you any better, I would think you were doing it on purpose just to distract me.”
“But I’m not.”
“I know,” Zayn sighed. “You’re just too damn sexy, and I am attracted to you as fuck. It’s the reason every single thing you do gets to me.” He took a smaller sip from the glass this time before his gaze fell on her. “Now, are you ready to talk?”
Rina nodded.
“What were you doing in there with Finn, and why didn’t you tell me about it?”
Rina scooted to the edge of her seat. She seemed to be doing that frequently in recent times. “It isn’t what you think it is, Zayn.”
He smirked. “I have had a whole week to think of different possibilities coupled with what I heard. But do you know what? I was never able to do that. I kept waiting for you to say something so I wouldn’t jump to conclusions. I am still waiting, Rina, because I do not want to think. I want you to tell me what is going on.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Why what?”
“Why do you still trust me this much after something like this happened? Doesn’t it make you remember all the rumors spread about me? Didn’t a tiny part of you question whether you have been backing up the wrong tree all this while and that the whole world knew what she was talking about?”
A muscle twitched in his jaw as Zayn set his lips grimly. His dark eyes watched her intently, devouring every inch of her face. “You don’t get it, do you?” he questioned, shaking his head. “Rina, I never back up the wrong tree. I never make such mistakes, so I know who you are and what you can do. To answer your question, no. I never thought about it because I knew there had to be some explanation. And I wouldn’t have held it against you, Rina. Sure, I would have gotten angry and made some people suffer along the line, but I could never do that to you. I ….”
Zayn bit his lips as he started to realize what he had just been about to say. “I care about you too much to inflict any form of harm on you.” He berated himself in his head, wondering why he was just about to tell Rina that he was in love with her. It couldn’t possibly be. That was just something else talking. “So now, your turn.” He frowned. “Tell me what the fuck happened before I lose my wits.”
“He was blackmailing me,” Rina whispered as if scared that if she said the words out loud, it would suddenly become real.
“Blackmailing you?” Zayn peered his eyes. “Does Finn have something on you?’
“A tape from when we were married. We used to be quite…And he met up with me one day on my way back from the set. I was tired and falling asleep on the steering wheel, so I decided to pull over to get either you, William, or Igor on the phone. He had been tailing me quite a number of times before then, appearing in weird places like Claire’s building in Hong Kong, the set, the supermarket, and random places where I find myself as well. That day on the road, he appeared so obsessive, not wanting to let me go. Then, he said that I needed to call off the engagement if I didn’t want the tape out in the open. You know what type of damage that would have brought to me. I still don’t understand why he hasn’t even done that yet, seeing as I left him in quite a shock before coming after you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all of this, Rina?”
“I thought I could handle it alone.”