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131 | another proposal incoming.
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A Handful Of Stars 132 | the boy's day out.
CAMERON'S P.O.VIt was damp, and gloomy, and the soft rain pattered against the windowsill in a soft, steady cacophony. I didn't want to go out just yet, but when my phone vibrated against my coat jacket and I fished my phone out to check the messages, I found Dominic annoying me as usual.DOMINIC :oi matewhere r u ?????i swear if i get hoarded by fans while waiting for u in the restaurant, i will bite ur head off cus i'm ten mis awayu know i will do it. don't cross me. xoI laughed, finally pushing myself off of the windowsill and walking towards the door of my room, reaching out to twist the knob and open the door. I texted back almost instantly.CAMERON:maybe this is my way of winning over the dominic fans...by providing them more time with you.i know, i know, i am very generous.His reply was even faster than mine.DOMINIC:i will make a burner twitter account & badmouth the shit out of you just wait and watch !!!!!CAMERON:don't be obsessive, shayla won't appreciate it. s
A Handful Of Stars 133 | family, dear family.
SHAYLA'S P.O.VI had a lot of expectations built up when my secretary announced that someone was here to meet up with me. For a moment, I thought it was Cameron. For another moment, I thought it was the important investor I had a meeting with this evening, who had turned up early to build a rapport over lunch. And for a few seconds, my heart ached as I imagined… Bryan dropping by, only if to annoy me. It was wishful thinking, but it was very genuine.Out of all the things I had expected, seeing my daadi clasped in a neatly pleated saree, and a cane in her right hand that had flames painted on it was the last thing I had expected."Look at you," My grandmother commented as she shook her hair, tapped on my glass door, and then lifted her cane and put it forward, walking towards me. I was still gaping in shock. "You've become so thin. Business so hard? No time to eat?""Daadi!" I exclaimed, shooting up from my seat as I instantly ran to her, and she gave me a side-eyed glare as I held he
A Handful Of Stars 134 | learning how to cook.
CAMERON'S P.O.VWhen I came back home after recording a new song at the studio with Jake, my record producer, who had flown to New York as soon as I had sent him a sample of the song I had in my mind, the house seemed different. According to his words, the songwriting and the song was so insanely good that we should go to record it right away. I had told him that I could just fly to LA because I did not want to disturb him and disrupt his schedule, but Jake had lived up to his name — he was every bit kind and generous like the magazines said. When I finally returned home — I was expecting to be the only one in the house. I had even made a mental note and knew exactly what I was going to order today. Our routine everyday had become too seamless to exist only in my mind — I came home by nine p.m., would clean up my room, freshen up, order the food, and then make Shayla's bed while waiting for her to come back home. While waiting for the food and her, I'd carefully choose which Netflix
A Handful Of Stars 135 | my friends had my back.
SHAYLA'S P.O.V"Take a left! I said 'left'!" Caira yelled over the phone and I inched the phone away from my ear, trying not to get my eardrums burst. "I took a left, Car, but I cannot see any russet colored doors." I said, shaking my head as I looked around, trying hard to pinpoint any such colored doors. But I failed miserably. "You must be so blind," She cursed over the phone, and then there was shuffling of feet. I heard a few hushed conversations in the background before Car came back on the phone, cursing enough to send even a sailor running and blushing. "Oh no. Turns out I am the blind one. It's apparently not orange but a green colored door? Can you find any green colored door in your vicinity or should I come get you at the crossing?"I turned my head around to take a look, and sure enough, there was a brightly painted green colored door standing proudly about ten feet away from me. "You don't need to step out and ruin your pretty little feet, princess. I located the door.
A Handful Of Stars 136 | the photoshoot.
CAMERON'S P.O.VI wasn't expecting to get a call from my PR manager, Delilah, the first thing in the morning.Twenty minutes after the first time my phone rang — I stepped out of the shower — and into the steam filled bathroom, rubbing the remnants of sleep out of my eyes with the heels of my palm - feeling vaguely human again. I had been up most of the night, thanks to Shayla. When my phone rang for the umpteenth time, I sighed and stepped out.Hastily wrapping a towel around my waist, I scooped up the phone, half-afraid to pick up the call as Delilah's name flashed across the screen."Your antics have shaved off twenty years from my lifespan, already," Delilah said in greeting, and I laughed, not at all surprised by her blunt greeting. Tucking the phone between my ear and my damp shoulder as I went on to dry my hair, "Am I that scandalous?""You're nearly not scandalous enough," Delilah cursed. "We need to generate more buzz around your name, starting from today, and will continue i
A Handful Of Stars 137 | brother and sister.
CAMERON'S P.O.V"Do you think he will be happy to see me?" A familiar voice wondered out loud from somewhere to my right, and I resisted myself from opening my eyes. If I pretended to be asleep, I could hear more of the conversation anyway."He is your brother, Camille," Shayla's voice flooded in, and under the covers, my fingers twitched. Camille? Camille? She was here? Why didn't she tell me she was coming? "Of course, he will be happy.""Ey," Camille said, poking my shoulder. I stayed put. Then, she ripped the covers from my body and gave me such a hard shove that elicited a sharp gasp from me. My eyes flew open. I was caught anyway. Camille's eyes settled on me, grinning brightly. "I knew you were awake!""Even if I was awake, you had no right to wake me up!"Mille frowned at me. "That doesn't even make sense!""You don't make sense!"Beside us, Shayla rolled her eyes. "Typical siblings," She murmured. Then, she leaned in, and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Good morning, babe."I in
A Handful Of Stars 138 | the intruder.
SHAYLA'S P.O.VAfter what seemed like forever, I was finally out of my office at a respectable time. When I got back home, I found only Camille strutting around the living room, muttering something about who murdered and where did the sweater come from. Not wanting to break whatever bubble she was in, I tried to sneak away to my room as quietly as I could, but I accidentally banged my foot against the corner of the sofa, that not only caused a loud bang, but also drew a sharp shriek from my lips. Camille's frantic eyes searched around the room for the intruder until they finally settled on me, and her gaze turned calmer. She heaved a sigh."You almost gave me a heart attack, Shay!"I threw my hands up in the air in surrender. "I was trying not to disturb your case-solving moment and was trying to sneak out. But as you can see — I was very unsuccessful at that endeavor."Camille gave me a smile as she put the papers in her hand onto the table with a loud, resounding slap. She frowned a
A Handful Of Stars 139 | a scary night for the chocolate boy of the town.
CAMERON'S P.O.VI was in the studio, recording, when my newly hired secretary, Daniel, ran to me, his eyes creased with worry. I stopped midway through my vocalizing as Daniel raised his hand and tapped against the glass door three times. Tap. Tap. Tap.I stopped the practice at once, stepping out of the room and cornering him. "What happened?""Your sister gave you ten missed calls," He said, holding up my phone. "Maybe you should call her back? It might be an emergency?"I took the phone from him, my own face turning into a mask of worry and confusion as I saw the consecutive ten missed calls from Camille. Before I could call her back, the phone in my hand vibrated to life once again, her name flashing across the screen. I picked it up instantly, halfway through the first ring."Hey—""Cam," Her terrified voice flooded across the call and my back instantly stiffened. "Cam, there's someone in the house. They just broke in. I am—""Mille, Mille, listen to me," I said, my heart beating
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A Handful Of Stars 150 | the years after — the epilogue.
SHAYLA'S P.O.VTwo years later…I got into my car, finally catching a break since the morning from when I first stepped foot into my office — and I heaved a sigh. My designated driver drove me to our destination — the Sengupta-Taylor residence, which was so devoid of grandeur and striking quality from the outside that never in your wildest dreams would you even think that one of the biggest pop stars of this decade was staying happily in that house as a house-husband.Cameron's third album, Will There Ever Be A Tomorrow? sold one point five million units in the first week, breaking and surpassing all records. The album is still on the top 100 billboards chart, two years later, and was a critically acclaimed album that swept up nine grammys and tons of the other awards. Cameron was named as the artist of the year, and had broken the record of getting the most awards internationally for a single album in a year. To say that I was proud of him was an understatement. I gestured to the dri
A Handful Of Stars 149 | natasha or akash?
SHAYLA'S P.O.VI gained consciousness after a whole day, they said. And counting today, I had been here for three days now.The doctors tried to figure out what exactly had gone wrong with me to lose my consciousness for twenty four hours — but they found nothing wrong. I had plenty of abrasions on my skin because of the windshield glass piercing my skin, I had muscle and tissue wounds due to the seat belt digging into my skin, and I apparently had gotten a blow to the head as well — resulting in a concussion and some kinda… serious blood loss. I had a broken ankle, hairline fractures on my arm — but everything else was good. I had just given the doctors, my family, and everyone a good scare — because getting a trauma to the head and then slipping into a state of unconsciousness for over twenty four hours was apparently not the most assuring combination. But it was all okay — because my baby was safe.With my free hand, I scrolled through the multiple unanswered emails on my phone, t
A Handful Of Stars 148 | the big decision.
CAMERON'S P.O.VIt was the paparazzi. I knew it now. The paparazzi was the reason we got into the accident.Our driver, Dame, who was highly injured but was still the one to get back consciousness faster than Shayla had, was making me worried. Shayla was still unconscious — and in the operation theater, the seatbelt had dug into her skin so deep that we had to pull her from the car with the seat belt attached, as in, we had to essentially tear the seat belt from the car. There was a huge gash on her forehead that was oozing blood when I carried her out of the car, but apparently the doctors had found a huge blow on her head too. It must have smashed into the ceiling, they said when they were reeling her in. I cried. What else could I do? I got out with a broken arm, multiple non-fatal gashes. I was in a private room, staring out the window — wondering why Shayla hadn't woken up yet when Dame had.When he had woken up, the first that Dame had said was paparazzi. "They are the cause of
A Handful Of Stars 147 | the accident.
SHAYLA'S P.O.VIt was our last night here in the Philippines. It had officially been two weeks since we had enjoyed the green foliage and the blue waters that this heavenly place had to offer, and no matter how many times I was seeing the exact same scene — something new always seemed to appear that made the place even more beautiful. Two little undiscovered juts of rocks on the western point of the island. Thousands and thousands of seashells buried in the sand on the eastern tip. This place always had something new to offer."My, I am going to miss this place terribly," I said as Cameron and I took in the serenity of this place for one last time in a long period of time, our bare feet stretched out in front of us, as we sat under the shade of a palm tree, our backs against the thick trunk, as the slivers of moonlight escaped in through the blades of the leaves. I sighed happily as I rested my head on Cameron's shoulder, quietly listening to the waves breaking against the sand and th
A Handful Of Stars 146 | the pregnancy news.
SHAYLA'S P.O.VThis place was awfully romantic. And if I hadn't been here with my hand in Cameron's, I'd have found this place beautiful, but disgusting, because there was just something in the air here that made you want to be here with the love of your life.Thank God I was married.Cameron and I walked on the two-kilometre trail that circled the island. Every nook and corner of this little private island had absolutely mind-blowing scenery. Warm seawater doused our sandal clad feet as we walked along the sea-shore, our feet digging into the muddy sand further with each step. Good God. If someone had told me that God had specifically hired an architect to design this heavenly place, I'd have believed them in a heartbeat. "I am hungry," Cameron said, breaking the silence as he tugged at my hand. "Do you wanna go have dinner?"I turned my head to look at the horizon, and the sun was about to set. I turned back to Cameron, nodding. "Let's go the room first. Let's change into better cl
A Handful Of Stars 145 | the honeymoon waters.
CAMERON'S P.O.VWaking up everyday next to Shayla was like waking up to a dream. But you know what was like a nightmare? Sitting in a seaplane, which was about to take off and fly over miles and miles of never ending waters. "Okay, this is very very scary," I said as I fumbled with the family seat belt, trying to tie it around me properly. Shayla and I were finally on our honeymoon — to the Philippines — and we couldn't wait to catch this break after the enormity of the reception. But thankfully even though there were like over three hundred people invited to the reception, all of us had made it out alive."Do not worry so much, Cam," Shayla said, leaning towards me and placing a hand on my knee. "You've been on a plane hundreds of times.""It's never not scary," I chided. Shay and I were sat next to each other in the compact four-seater El Carpal seaplane — because our room was a luxurious one at the El Carpal Pengalusian Island. Shay informed me that her company had brought this co
A Handful Of Stars 144 | the wedding articles!
THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR : CAMERON AND HIS WIFE, SHAYLA, GET MARRIED IN AN INTIMATE CEREMONY Well, the day we were waiting for is finally here folks! Cameron and Shayla got married this noon in a small intimate ceremony on the beachside! Yes, the beachside — remember that small, quaint wedding that you dreamt of when you were a teenager? With thousands of grains under the feet of you, the sound of the sea waves overlapping against the shore as you said "I do" to the love of your life and kissed them, sealing the marriage officially? It's exactly the same!Except for the fact that we probably only dreamt it — whereas the couple lived it. Shayla Sengupta was spotted getting outside of the car near the chapel on the banks of the Cuncun Beach, and might we say — she looked like an absolute dream. Looking like she had floated off right from the clouds, thanks to the incredible and fluffy tulle skirt she was flaunting as she climbed out of the car, and waved at the paparazzi and the photog
A Handful Of Stars 143 | the haldi ceremony and more bengali rituals.
SHAYLA'S P.O.VTomorrow was my wedding day. It was tomorrow and it was official — it was officially my wedding day. This morning, Cameron and I had dressed up — courtesy of Caira, who insisted on buying us new outfits for our legal wedding, aka the registration of our marriage, or otherwise, she'd throw herself in front of a flashy car and meet her instant death right in front of us to forever change the direction of our lives. Her words, not mine. But either way, none of us took any chances and we followed her to the boutique either way — where Caira already had arranged a galore of more casual wedding dresses for me to try on. After two hours of sifting through racks and racks full of absolutely insanely pretty dresses, I settled on a white jumpsuit with a flourishing train that hung down my waist. The sleeveless jumpsuit was edgy, with a dramatic neckline and shiny white leather straps running down the waist, but the train of cloth provided it with a much appreciated elegance. In
A Handful Of Stars 142 | the rehearsal dinner.
SHAYLA'S P.O.VBefore I knew it, the weeks passed by in a blur. In between the wedding preparations, office work, and so much more — I had been rendered completely and visually exhausted. While I was aware that weddings meant big responsibilities — I was pretty quickly heading to a complete burnout, which I reckoned wasn't all that good of a look for a blushing to-be bride. "My God," I said as I rushed down the stairs, and right into Caira's embrace. She patted my back as I sighed. "I think I will be collapsing any moment now.""Do not worry, as your maid of honor I pledge to be standing behind you all the damn time so that I can catch you when you fall," Caira said sincerely as we walked towards the car. I bid the security guard goodbye. "And as your maid of honor, I can also attest to the fact that weddings are majorly stressful. What's the point of big, fat weddings anyway? Just do a registration and you're done for.""We will do the registration on the morning of the white veil w
