Lychee being adorable above.

súton

(n.) the end of something

It was just after midnight when Kiara and Vijay lugged their suitcases into the elevator. He was never a morning person, leaning against the elevator wall moodily as dark sunglasses covered his eyes. Looking at her reflection, she quickly smoothed out her hair and fixed her kurti*, making sure everything was in place. While he might not care about his appearance, the last thing she wanted was a wardrobe malfunction to be printed across the front pages of every newspaper. She struggled to drag her suitcase as they entered the lobby, smiling gratefully when Jimmy quickly stepped in and grabbed it from her.

As per usual, Vijay and Jimmy braved the storm of paparazzi as they placed all the suitcases into the car while Kiara handled checking out of the hotel. She watched the men worriedly, knowing Vijay was a ticking time bomb when faced with paparazzi in the morning. The last time paparazzi had accidentally gotten a little too comfortable, he grabbed the poor man's camera and flung it across the street before angrily shoving a few other paparazzi away as he swore at them. That incident circulated the internet for the following week and quite literally almost sent Nicole to an early grave.

Kiara personally thanked the hotel staff, having ensured she learned their names during her short stay, as Jimmy jogged back into the hotel to guide her out. She grabbed her shoulder bag and followed him, gripping onto the end of his shirt as she squinted against all the camera flashes. She laughed upon seeing Vijay's slumped form asleep in the car with his mouth wide open and settled in beside him, leaning over to buckle his seatbelt as they headed to the airport.

Finally arriving back to America, Kiara and Vijay barely said two words as they trudged to their respective homes eagerly looking forward to a long nap. They unlocked their doors before peering over the fence separating their houses to wave goodbye. It would be a long week of press tours and travelling for their much anticipated new series since the premier was set for next month. While she was excited to see how people would react to her Hollywood debut, she feared many fans would be disheartened or even angry at her. The backlash she received when the news of her 'new Hollywood project' emerged in the papers was terrifying as people began worrying that she wouldn't return to the Indian film industry. 

Kiara was dubbed the 'People's Actress' in India not only for her generous humanitarian ventures, but for her kind and approachable nature and as such, was loved and idolised all through India. This was her first time encountering such a negative response but it wasn't the hateful comments that upset her, it was the thought of disappointing those that believed in her. Everything she did was for her loved ones– and that included her fans, so when even one of her fans were saddened, it devastated her.

Kiara woke up a few hours later, popping a 'good morning' text to the cast group chat and smiling as everyone began rapidly texting back and forth. Jeffrey and Vijay always had the most hilarious arguments– this time being 'are hotdogs sandwiches?', but it served as great entertainment to start off her day. The first stop of the press tour was Hong Kong but their flight wasn't scheduled until later tonight so they had all day to rest and relax before preparing for work. It had been ages since she last returned home to Hong Kong so she was beyond excited to see her family again. Since Karan was a successful fashion designer and her father, Samuel, was one of the top corporate lawyers in Asia, their busy schedules worked perfectly with hers but that also meant there were very few times apart from holidays when everyone would be free to spend time together. 

Nevertheless, it had been well over six months since Kiara had last seen them so she made them promise to cancel all plans that evening for a family dinner. In keeping with their tradition, this meant she was in charge of the main course and Karan was responsible for the starters, leaving their father with dessert. Of course neither one knew the first thing about cooking so she would always end up having to heavily 'supervise', making sure they didn't accidentally burn down the kitchen.

Slipping into a floral summer wrap dress, Kiara hopped to answer her phone as she tugged on strappy heels.

Reading 'Mils' on the caller ID, she placed the call on speakerphone and conversed while doing her makeup, "Morning!"

Emilia groaned in response, "I don't understand how you're functioning this early."

"Mils, it's nine in the morning. Not early."

"I bet it's four somewhere else."

Kiara laughed, "Any plans today?"

"Sleep."

"After you sleep."

"Eat."

"Miiilllsss", she whined.

Emilia laughed, "Coffee at Sunny Side?"

"Yes please."

Arranging to meet at their regular café in an hour, Kiara hung up and flopped onto her bed in boredom. She quickly calculated the time-zone difference and decided to call her father, adding Karan to the call. While Samuel always picked up on the first ring, it usually took a few tries before Karan finally picked up.

"Morning!", she chirped.

Karan moaned, "Kunju*, it's late."

"Aww is it your bedtime already, princess?"

"Go away."

Samuel interjected, "You know he needs his beauty sleep. Must be difficult looking that ugly."

He snickered while Karan threatened, "I'm hanging up!"

The three of them slipped into easy conversation, sharing their happiness, worries and hopes as they caught up on the week's events. Before Kiara knew it, her alarm rang, reminding her it was time to leave so she quickly said her goodbyes and hung up. Grabbing her keys, she rushed out the door and sent Emilia a quick text letting her know she was on the way before starting the car. She mentally prepared herself for the intrusion as she turned the corner, already aware of a few paparazzi on her tail. Finding a suitable parking space, she looked around and spotted Emilia walking towards her car. Kiara smiled, getting out to embrace her in a warm hug as they excitedly made their way towards the café.

They were instantly met with cameras shoved into their faces and bombarded with questions, "How is the new series going?"

They continued walking as Emilia wore her sunglasses and replied, "Great, thanks for asking."

"Kiara! Are you planning to stay in America?"

Kiara gently nudged the paparazzi out of her way as she shrugged, "India will always be my home but never say never."

"Kiara! Kiara! Is it true that you and Vijay are a couple?"

Emilia released a disbelieving laugh as Kiara stopped and turned to the small crowd of paparazzi, smiling politely, "I'd really just like some coffee, if that's okay with you, so would you mind if we answer your questions later?"

As Kiara expected, the paparazzi overlooked her request and continued taking pictures but she had hoped they might be a little more compassionate. Most of the time if she reasoned with Indian paparazzi, they would listen and allow some semblance of privacy for at least a few hours. Still, she couldn't complain as she had expected this aspect of her career when she made her decision.

Emilia simply rolled her eyes and tugged Kiara into the café with her, "I don't know why you even bother trying to get through to paparazzi."

"You refer to them as if they aren't human too."

"Just barely."

She tapped Emilia's nose, "Well, there's no harm in trying."

"And this is you without coffee? I'll have whatever you're having."

"Two teas it is then."

Emilia scrunched her nose in disgust, "Nope. Think I'll stick to my coffee thanks."

Kiara gasped in mock-alarm, "How very un-British of you!"

"Oh god, don't tell my mother."

The women laughed, ignoring the customers gawking at them as they waited for their drinks. The barista stumbled over his words, blushing heavily as Kiara thanked him and graciously helped juggle their drinks to one of the tables near the back. Not even five minutes into her tea, a woman came up to their table with her daughter asking for a photo. She praised Kiara, talking about how much she loved her work before nudging the little girl beside them.

Kiara smiled at the adorable toddler, "Hello. What's your name?"

The girl shyly mumbled, "Sienna."

"That's a beautiful name! My name is Kiara."

Sienna tentatively inched closer, displaying her missing front teeth as she grinned, and shook Kiara's hand. Her blonde hair was split into pigtails that bounced with each movement as she retracted her hand and returned to fidgeting with the hem of her sundress.

After pointing to the camera and instructing Sienna to smile, Kiara turned to face her, "It was lovely to meet you."

Entranced by her beauty, Sienna blurted out, "You look like Princess Jasmine."

Kiara brought her hand to her heart then leaned over to give her a hug, "Thank you but I think you look more like a princess."

Sienna giggled and asked, "Are we friends now?"

"Of course! You know what;" Kiara removed one of the string bracelets from around her wrist and tied it onto Sienna's, "I'm giving you a friendship bracelet."

Gasping in awe, Sienna's smile widened as she held the bracelet against her chest as if it were the most precious thing she had. Her mother could barely contain her smile as she thanked Kiara profusely before tugging her away.

She broke away from her mother's grasp, running back to Kiara to give a tight hug, "You really are a princess."

Kiara watched as Sienna happily skipped back to her mother before turning to Emilia as she jutted her lower lip out and cooed at how adorable Sienna was.

Emilia shook her head, "I knew it. You're just a figment of my imagination."

Kiara frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't understand how you can be so bloody nice all the time."

"It's called positivity, you should try it sometime."

"Oh okay, I see we're not acting princess-like anymore."

"Eh. Princesses are overrated anyway."

Making the most of her day off, Kiara spent the rest of the morning reading her books under the shade of a tree in the park before helping out at the animal shelter in the afternoon. She bent over to enter one of the kennels, laughing boisterously as the Doberman puppy leaped onto her excitedly. Being a long-time resident at the shelter, Lychee had appeared around the same time she began volunteering. Most people took one look at him and decided against adopting, misinterpreting his breed as dangerous and aggressive instead of noticing his energetic and gentle nature. 

Kiara sat cross-legged beside his food bowl, unpacking her own lunch as he rested his head on her knee. Lychee had come from an abusive environment so was initially timid, refusing to eat and instead choosing to cower in the corner. Deciding to build his trust, she spent the next few weeks eating her lunch in his kennel until eventually, he grew confident enough to eat beside her. It was because of this that the shelter decided she should name him and thus, the name Lychee came about– prickly and guarded at first but sweet and soft on the inside. She spent every weekend the past few months volunteering at the shelter and as each day passed, she found herself more and more convinced to adopt him.

She scratched behind his ears, "Should we call Jay?"

Lychee perked up as if to say 'yes' as Kiara video called Vijay and rested her phone against the wall.

He picked up, looking disoriented, and ran his fingers through his messy hair as he groaned, "Yellow and no."

"Blue and 'no' what?"

"My answer is no, sweetheart."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

He raised a brow then ranted, "You were going to suggest adopting Lychee to which I would say 'no' and you'd get upset so I'd tell you how busy you are and how mistreated Lychee would end up being at which point, you'd look like you're ready to cry. Am I right or am I right?"

She sighed as he took a breath after his outburst and waited expectantly, "You're right."

"Always am."

"Don't gloat. It's not a great look."

"All my looks are pretty, sweetheart."

"Well this one's not."

Vijay laughed, teasing Kiara a little more as she pouted and reconsidered her decision to call him. Realising her lunch break was over, they quickly confirmed the logistics for their flight this evening before she hung up and pecked Lychee's snout. As strange as it may sound, the animal shelter was the one place she found peace and could clear her mind so she always stayed for as long as she could. She'd have to start preparing early if she ever hoped to get rid of the wet dog smell now well-entrenched in her clothes.

*Kunju: baby/kid, can be used to describe someone small or cute

*Kurti: traditional Indian tunic worn by women

Fifth chapter doneeee! Please don't forget to vote and comment.