Semua Bab The Comeback of a Star: Bab 21 - Bab 30

AYRA The inside of "The Lifeline" was luxurious, with cream leather seats, a full bar, and a bedroom in the back. Obviously being born into a family like the Yaldons was no small feat, but even Chris wasn't as lavish as this. This must be all Liam. "Impressive," I grinned at Liam. "It takes seeing a display of my wealth for a heartfelt compliment, Cupcake? Now finally you can stop shoving your money at me anytime we happen to meet. I won't lie, it was becoming offensive." Liam joked, sending me a wink which got me rolling my eyes. "Oh please, how was I to know? Besides, I was willing to support you, but it turns out I'll have to rely on you." I pouted. Liam leaned in close. "You know the easiest way to my riches is getting married to me. Let's get married and you can easily own my assets, and I come as a bonus." His hands stretched forward to cup my face. "Just say the word." "Don't threaten me with a good time," I smiled. "I'll be happy to swindle you." "I'll happily get

AYRA "Okay, this is officially creepy," Raven said, holding up what had to be the fourth hidden camera that we had found in the suite. This one was tucked inside a fancy soap dispenser in the bathroom. "Who the hell does this?" I was sitting on the bed, watching Liam and Raven tear apart every gift, and every fancy hotel amenity. It was like watching a really expensive episode of Criminal minds. "Someone who really doesn't want me to get this contract," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "The question is who." "Could be Rina," Raven said, checking inside a box of Italian chocolates. "Or Callum. Or hell, maybe some random psycho fan." Liam looked up from where he was examining a bottle of expensive lotion. "This isn't random, since they cost a lot.” "Great," I muttered. "So I'm being stalked by someone with a budget." "Well, whatever they were hoping to see, they're out of luck now," Raven said, gathering up all the cameras into a hotel laundry bag. "Should we call the po

AYRAThe photographers ate it up, snapping away while Rina posed effortlessly. When they turned their cameras to me, I smiled politely, not wanting to overdo it."Thank you so much," Rina said finally, taking Callum's arm. "We really must run. Such a busy day ahead."As they walked away, I heard one photographer mutter to another: "Well, that's pretty clear who the frontrunner is."Throwing my purse at him isn't illegal, right?"Ignore them," Raven said quietly. "That was all staged. She probably tipped them off.""Oh, I'm ignoring them alright."******After that incident, we made our way to the shoot. The wardrobe fitting was held in a converted ballroom at the hotel, with racks upon racks of designer clothing arranged like a high-end boutique."Ms. Smith!" A thin woman with severe glasses approached us. "I'm Patricia, the wardrobe coordinator. So lovely to meet you.""Thank you for—""Now, I do need to mention," Patricia continued, not letting me finish, "Ms. Rina was here earlier

AYRAI was still internally celebrating my wins when Rina came over after being called by a set assistant."Now we do something special," Giuseppe announced as the crew reset for the final shots of the day. "Both of you together. The campaign needs shots of potential ambassadors side by side.""Wonderful," Rina said, her voice bright and professional.The crew set up the scene. They placed two elegant chairs facing each other."Ladies, take your positions," Giuseppe called out.We both took our seats as the shoot began."Beautiful," Giuseppe said, snapping test shots. "Now, I want you to interact. Look at each other, create a story together."We both nodded and tried to follow his instructions."Ayra, lean forward slightly," Giuseppe directed. "And Rina, beautiful, perfect as always."Everybody was now watching us. Who would make the other look bad? Who would shine the brightest?"That's interesting," I heard one of Giuseppe's assistants whisper to another. "Look how natural she looks

AYRA"Ayra! Wake up!" I woke up to Raven screeching in my ear as she opened the curtains wide to let light in."I swear if it's about a cricket player, I'll stone you with this pillow," I said groggily, trying to cover my face with the duvet."Raven?" I called out."It's your speech," she said, grinning like she'd won the lottery. "It's everywhere."She turned one of the laptops toward me, and I watched myself on the stage last night, giving that impromptu speech."Look at this," Raven said, scrolling through Texter. "Your speech has been retweeted over fifty thousand times since last night.""Fifty thousand?""And that's just Texter. On Postshare, the clips have millions of views. Cliptok is going crazy with people doing their own 'second chances' videos inspired by your speech."I sat down hard on the couch, staring at the screens. "This is insane. Adrian's team must be really working hard. Giuseppe told me that my photos did the same yesterday. I'm so grateful for them.""That's the