Renleigh Kensington
How fucking random was it that the minute I spoke about someone, they just appeared out of nowhere? The worst thing was that I couldn't even blame anyone for anything other than myself because... well, because in a way, it was my fault.
My charity balls – or anything that I ever did – were always invite-only. And plus one. But it never occurred to me that certain people could have a link to someone who got that invite or that those invited would bring someone from my past along as their plus one. That may have been because my judgemental arse didn't think anyone from my old life would ever do anything worthy to be around people like those who attended my events.
So, yes, that was all on me.
It took me by surprise. It really did. Seeing old faces around, wearing the clothes I made was the biggest glitch I have ever witnessed. And no one, other than me and those involved, knew that we knew each other. I could have pretended like I didn't know them, I could have had them thrown out. But I just went along with it.
For one, they had to have money if they attended and since this ball was for a good cause, I wasn't about to deny those in need from all the penny they could get. Secondly, it felt good. To see them at my event, to know that they knew this was my event. That they knew I did this, that they knew I succeeded and all that shit talk about me becoming rich and owning all these fancy cars and a penthouse weren't just empty words.
It was all reality.
I made my dreams come true even with so many people whispering and chuckling, thinking I would never be able to make anything out of myself. Because I was a mess during my university days. I was in a rough situation. At times, I, myself, didn't believe I would ever make it out of that time but here I was.
Successful and alive.
That shit never felt better than in that moment.
"Mhm, you look incredible," my whole body jolted when I felt a pair of arms around my waist and a body attached to mine from the back. My hair was brushed from my shoulder to one side before soft lips left a kiss on my skin, just where my red dress reached my neck.
It was long sleeved and reached down, below my knees. It had a slit on the left side so my left leg was out with a very daring V cut in the front. And it was red. The power I felt wearing that dress was insane and it made me feel good when I got compliments on the fits I wore.
"I have to," I smirked as I turned around. There were not many people around us, which was nice because I didn't really want to be seen. "Didn't think you'd come."
"I had to," he shrugged. "Gotta support the cause."
"You could have just made a donation," I teased and he rolled his eyes. I watched him cross his arms in front of his chest, the velvet material of his suit tightened on his upper arms. He was always in a good shape and it made me wonder when he found the time to work out.
"Fine-fine," he sighed as he gave in. "Just wanted to support you in person. Is that better?"
"It'll do," I nodded a little as I turned around. The people that were there, all dressed in nice, expensive clothes – more of them in my designs than not – I felt at peace. Every time an event worked out, I liked looking at the outcome and just feeling like I had achieved something good.
"Wait..." he said as he stepped next to me. It made me laugh. The way we just stood on the side, arms crossed and judging everyone. OK, well, maybe not judging but definitely observing. "Is that Megan?" he asked in a shocked state.
"Yep," I replied shortly. Megan was one of my 'friends' from university. Styles found her account when he stalked my ex. He pretty much went on all of my old friends' instagrams and we just bitched about them. It was oddly therapeutic.
"Who is she here with?"
"I was wondering the same," I sighed. "She is also not the only one here."
"Who else came?" he popped the question. "And how the hell did they get in?"
"No clue, mate. Reckon they're someone's plus ones. There's no other explanation. I mean, I know everyone who gets an invite," I explained.
"Interesting," he hummed. "I'll go mingle and find some things out. You stand here and be pretty," he pressed a kiss on my cheek before he left me on my own and I couldn't help but laugh. Who the fuck did he think he was? Kissing me on the cheek, telling me to just stay here and be pretty?
He is so cute though.
Shut the fuck up.
"So, the rumours are true, then, eh?" I did not realise my partner was right next to me. Partner equals Zayn Malik. He was invited but I didn't see him around so he must have only just gotten there.
"Hello to you too," I greeted him as he leaned down to press a kiss on each one of my cheeks as I did the same. He smelled great, then again almost every male smelt amazing. I was a sucker for a nice scent.
"You look great."
"Ah, thanks," I said. "Did you come alone?"
"No," he said as he looked around. "Missus is here somewhere... probably chatting to some people. Told her I'd come find you."
"Didn't know she was finally home."
"Yeah, came back last night," he smiled. "But back to you and Harry Styles. I knew you were fucking."
"Shut up," I groaned. "You are so annoying."
"Well, I might be annoying but at least I'm not wrong," he smirked at me and I wanted to bash his beautiful face in. He was such an attractive person, it made so much sense why everyone was so in love with him. However, that was still not enough to make me not want to show him my fist from up close. "See? You are not even denying it."
"I can't," I sighed. "Just between you and me... I think he might be good for me."
"Wait. Did you really just say that?" he looked at me shocked. I couldn't tell if he was taking the piss or being serious.
"No, my fucking grandmother did," I rolled my eyes. "Course I really said that. Why is that so hard to grasp?"
"Because it's not like you to say something like that," he told me. "But I'm glad you did. I think he is good for you, too."
"Why?"
"He seems like a nice guy, even with all the rumours and stuff going around," Zayn said. "He seems like he's proper into you and you must have found something in him if you are not doing everything in your power to keep him away."
"What makes you say that? I did everything in my power to keep him away from me."
"See, that's a fat lie," he laughed. "If that were true, he would not be here. He would not have a company to get back to. He wouldn't have anything. You would have made sure of that."
"You make me sound like an evil person," I chuckled. Zayn shrugged his shoulders and I couldn't help but look away from him to see Styles actually chatting to Megan.
"That's because you can be," he said. "Anyway. Point is, it's nice to see you showing your emotions for a change."
"At this point, I don't know if you are being nice to me or just a proper dick," I laughed and Zayn did the same.
Over the course of working together, I felt like we became closer. We had some kind of friendship in the works and that was nice. It didn't feel forced or fake, it didn't happen because of a certain individual but more so because we made it happen. I found him on my own and we got along well because we had things in common. That was an incredibly refreshing thought as, pretty much, every single friend I have ever had, was someone else's friend before mine.
"The day I'll be nice to you will be the same day I die," he scoffed.
"Aw, that's a bit dark."
"So is my soul."
"Alright, fuck off," I laughed at him. "You sound like a teenager."
"Is that a problem?"
"Yeah. It is," I nodded. "Wait. Is Charlotte wearing one of my dresses or suits?"
"She is wearing one of your new designs because her amazing boyfriend didn't let her leave until she had an outfit on that he had something to do with," she replied instead of Zayn and I had to laugh at her commentary as she came out of nowhere. Zayn rolled his eyes as he placed one of his arms around her shoulders and his hand hung off of it on the other side. He shifted his weight to one leg and bent the other.
"So what? This is my night as well," he scoffed.
"No, sir, this is not your night. Or my night. This is the charity's night," I corrected him. "Our names are attached to bring in the money."
"OK, fair point," he nodded. "Did you donate yet?"
"Yeah," I replied. "You?"
"Twice."
"Are you trying to outdo me?" I squinted at him.
"Is it working?" he asked with a smirk. Charlotte followed our conversation closely and I could tell she was close to cracking up.
"Not even a little bit."
"Dammit," he groaned and it made us all chuckle. He then turned his head a little and said, "Harry Styles. Hello."
"Zayn Malik," he greeted the man who stood next to me. "I don't believe I have had the pleasure of meeting you before, Miss..."
"Charlotte," she replied. "Just call me Charlotte."
"Right," Styles chuckled. "Charlotte. You know... my PA is called Charlotte."
"Really? Interesting."
"Hm," he nodded.
"So, did you find anything out?" I asked him curiously.
"Um, yeah," he nodded. "I'll tell you later."
"Why can't we be let in on the secret?" Zayn questioned and I felt Styles look at me right away.
"Because it's none of your business," I said easily. "Now, go and talk to some people. Use your pretty face to encourage them to donate more, would you?"
"Wow!" he said as he acted offended. "Are you both seeing and hearing this? The treatment she is giving me?"
"Yes, we are, babe," Charlotte laughed. "C'mon, let's go. You heard the boss lady."
"So you're on her side?" he asked, shocked. "And since when do you call her boss lady?"
"Women gotta stick together, sorry hun," I smirked at him and he rolled his eyes playfully.
"See you two later," Charlotte said as she linked her arm through Zayn's and they walked away.
"Wow, she is stunning," Styles commented, more so to himself than me. He then quickly looked at me as I raised my left eyebrow in curiosity and he became flustered. "I mean, she is pretty, right?"
"She is," I agreed. "Her and Malik are the ultimate power couple, aren't they?"
"Can't argue with that one," he sighed. "So, Megan. Turns out, her boss couldn't attend tonight so she is here on his behalf and she also brought a plus one."
"Candi, I'm assuming."
"Not quite," he pulled his lips to the side as he looked around. He then stood right in front of me and seemed to prepare himself to be able to tell me what he was going to. "Look. I don't want you to be stressed-,"
"Too late," I interrupted.
"-but I also want you to know what's going on so you are in the loop."
"Go on."
"Megan is here with Wolf."
I laughed. What? That couldn't be true. There was no way they were together. That made no sense.
Why do you care?
"Interesting."
"Have you seen him yet?"
"No."
"I haven't, either," he sighed. "Have you spoken to anyone yet?"
"No," I replied shortly. Why were Megan and Wolf here together? They never liked each other more than necessary. On top of that, Megan was the one I was closest to. She was the one who at least offered me a hug and told me I could speak to her after what happened with my ex. And now she was here, out of all people, with him? "Just Malik."
"Are you OK?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" I chuckled. "Everything's great," I said as I looked at him with a forced smile. His eyebrows were pulled together and his forehead was a bit creasy as he looked at me with concerned eyes. I could tell it bothered him that he had no idea what went down in my head. "Excuse me for a second."
I had to leave. I couldn't stay there and feel myself grow angrier by the second as Styles observed me with his curious eyes.
I felt so fucking bothered by the presence of my ex fiancé and I had yet to see him. The moment I walked out, I thought I left him behind. I had no intentions of ever wanting to run into him and so for him to turn up to my event, rubbed me the wrong way. In some ways, it made me wonder if that was because I wasn't over what happened between us. It had some truth to it but I didn't want that to be the case.
I closed that chapter of my life.
But did you actually or is that what you had been telling yourself?
"Shut up," I mumbled to myself therefore when someone replied, I felt like I had been caught doing something I shouldn't have.
"That's not a very nice thing to say, is it?" fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Fuck.
Is this allowed? It shouldn't be.
"Hello," I decided to say. I had to be mature about this, right? It had been literal years since I last saw him and although he did drag me through shit, I made it out alive. I was fine. "I hope you'll enjoy tonight. Now, I must go."
"Hold on," he laughed. He fucking laughed. I hated him so much. Fuck. "We haven't seen each other in forever and you are just going to walk off?"
"I have better things to do, Wolf."
"Ah, I did miss hearing you say my name," he grinned. "No one says it quite like you do."
"With so much hate and disgust? Yeah, I'm sure there's no one quite like me," I smiled at him sweetly. I wanted an arrow through his forehead.
"The ever so loving Renleigh," he sighed. "This is a nice event."
"Yes, I know."
"And you look stunning, too, love."
"Anything else you want to tell me that I am already aware of?"
"You got a bit cocky, haven't you?" he questioned. "Seems like becoming a CEO showed your true colours."
"Cocky? Please. I think you meant confident," I said. "I understand that you can't see the difference in the meaning between the two words. Confident people always intimidated you. Now that it's me, a woman, who is showing that side of themselves, you don't know how to act."
"You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?" he scoffed.
"I have wasted five years of my life trying to figure you out but I can't say I have."
"You left me too early to get to the best parts," he said cockily.
"No. You see, there was nothing to figure out," I told him. "It doesn't take five years to figure someone out. You just know if someone is special and if they are worth your time."
"Can't really see how that doesn't make me special then. You did spend five years with me."
I chuckled before I opened my mouth to speak again. "Gosh, I don't miss your attitude."
"I have to agree with you there – I don't miss yours."
"Well, why are you here then?" I asked. "You knew this was my event you were tagging along to. You could have easily declined the offer."
"And miss out on an opportunity to get on your nerves? Rens, I thought you knew me better than that."
"Don't you dare call me that ever again," I spat as I felt the anger boil inside of me. "You've lost that right when you went around-, you know what... you are not worth my time. You never did. You used me but the reality is, I'm thankful for you for that. Now, I see the world clearer and I know when to avoid people. You were one of the biggest learning curves of my life and yes, I may have wasted five precious years of my teenage years with you but I came out stronger and braver than ever."
"Is that all?" he smirked. "You seem quite worked up."
"No, actually," I replied. "I forgot to tell you to enjoy yourself. The open bar is there for your entertainment. Knock yourself out."
He told me once I would never be able to provide an open bar. It was a silly conversation. Just about our dreams and goals, future stuff. I mentioned how sick it would be to have an open bar and also how I would do anything to have one at my wedding. He, of course, laughed at that and told me to keep dreaming. At the time, I thought he joked around but thinking back to it, it was clear he didn't believe in me.
Proving people wrong, really was my favourite thing to do.
"Renleigh? Oh my goodness! It's so nice to see you!" Megan. Fuck. Just what I needed, heh. Another mess from the past. The fake kindness in her voice caused my stomach to turn. I really didn't need these dickheads here tonight.
"Megan."
"Everything looks so amazing here!" she smiled at me widely as she noticeably took a hold of Wolf's hand. She made sure I would look at it. And because I was a fucking twat, I did just that. "We're so proud of you, aren't we, Wolf?"
"Proud of me?" I asked before the man had the chance to respond. I had to laugh in disbelief. It was my event – and Zayn's, of course – and I didn't want to cause a scene but my temper was out of control. "You and him, both, lost that right ages ago. Please. There is really no need to pretend like you are here for me or to be nice to me."
"Excuse me?" she looked at me offended. She was actually fucking offended. She was a fucking joke. She turned her back on me and then comes here, with fucking Wolf out of everyone she could have gotten with, and pretends to be the good girl.
"I would very much like to excuse you, yes, but the cause that is the centre of attention tonight needs your boss' help. He may as well be the only reason why both of you are not thrown out of here."
"What's going on here?" fuck off Harry Styles. I turned to look at him and caught him with his eyebrows furrowed. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything is perfect, thank you, Mr Styles," I replied as professionally as I could. There was no fucking way either of them was going to find out I had a thing for him. Megan and Wolf did not deserve to know anything about me. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yes, actually," he nodded. Internally, I sent him all the way to hell and made him go through the worst things possible. I knew what he was doing. Trying to get me out of the situation but I didn't want to be saved. I wanted to put these fucking cunts in their places. "It is to do with my donation so if I could just talk to you privately about it, I would be very appreciative."
"Of course, yes," I gave in. I wasn't going to argue with him in front of them two. No way. I had to act professional towards others if I let my tongue get the best of me when it came to my trouble from the past. "Miss Clark, Mr Matthews."
The fakest smile was the last thing I gave them. And then the view of my back. I hoped they saw my legs. The heels I wore made my calves look amazing. Wolf was a proper lad, I had no doubt he stared at my fucking arse as I walked away. When Styles placed his arm behind my back and his hand landed on my waist, I smirked. I smirked because I knew they saw it all.
"What the hell was all that about?" he whisper-shouted at me as he kept a smile on his face. I hummed and shrugged my shoulders. "Seriously, Ren, what was that? I thought you didn't want to see them."
"I didn't lie – I didn't want to see them. But I also wasn't about to pass up an opportunity."
"An opportunity for what?" he questioned me. Once we got to a quieter place, he stood in front of me and crossed his arms. It was honestly adorable how invested he was. I loved giving him grey hairs before his time.
"To go off at them? To make them feel like shit?"
"For what?"
"Dunno... for myself, I guess."
"You guess?" he laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Are you indicating that I'm childish?"
"Maybe I am, yes," he admitted. "That was wrong, what you did."
"How so?"
"The fact that you even have to ask me that is baffling," he scoffed. "Seriously. Why are you acting so weird?"
"Well... my ex is in the room. With a woman who showed me some kind of support and now she's apparently shagging him? I don't know. I just feel like a fool."
"You have no reason to feel like a fool, Kensington!"
"Maybe I do."
"Why?"
"Because I trusted them both and they both fucked me over?" I looked at him like he was crazy. What didn't he get? Fuck. His mind needed to learn how to process information quicker or something. "And now they are probably thinking that I'm shagging you and that's why I got to where I am and-,"
"Shut up, please. Just stop talking," he interrupted me. "Are you even hearing what you are saying? Shagging me to get where you are? You sound fucking mental."
"Well, that is not a complete lie-,"
"Renleigh. You literally started your business before I did. If out of the two of us anyone would have needed to shag someone to get to where they are today, it's me. To be on the same level as you, definitely."
"How is that meant to make me feel better?"
"It's meant to make you realise that you are feeding your own fears. I just don't understand why you give a shit about what your ex-boyfriend and friend thinks of you. I thought they meant nothing to you and you were done with them."
"I thought so, too," I sighed. "But seeing them here tonight... together... it just ignited something in me. Something that I didn't know was still there to light on fire. It's fucked and I know it makes no sense. I tell you one thing and yet I feel another."
"So, tell me everything."
"Not the place or the time," I laughed.
"After this then. Come back to mine – or we'll go to yours – and we'll chat. I know how you are after an event like this. Still so hype from the adrenaline and pride that something like this gives you. We can stay up and talk and take tomorrow off."
"I can't take a day off."
"You can and you bloody will," he said firmly. "I will lock you in a room for the whole day if I have to."
"Interesting..."
"It will be when you won't be able to leave the room."
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "What about the donation you were chatting about before?"
Styles smirked at me and shook his head. "That was a lie, you idiot."
• • •
a.n.
can you believe they're doing okay like they're not fighting this is amazing
also zenleigh. yes. best part of this chapter. other than the last line. kinda loved it
one more thing,, i'm planning a boxer harry fic idk if anyone knew that but yeah i kinda have the basics down and i sort of started the first chapter but i deffo don't want to get myself too into it before i finish ffc cos then i will never get it done lol
OH and before i forget we are so close to a 100k reads this is lit rally madness luv x
thank u for all the luv on this book i kinda fuck with it a lot n the fact that u do as well makes me so happy <3
but anyways don't forget to vote and comment n imma see u on sunday x
ps he wants his dick sucked 100000% sure abt it
(thank you thank you thank you 👇🏽)
(special addition👇🏽 — fist me sir)