Rise To Stardom - Chapter 163

Chapter 163: Wardrobe Malfunction
(A few minutes earlier…)

Having posed for the cameras for most of the Gala thus far, along with the usual pleasantries and mundane conversations from various other celebrities, alongside occasional questions from on-site reporters here and there, Jasmine and Lily, finally got the chance to converse with each other.

“You, are absolutely, breathtaking!” Lily complemented Jasmine with a gaze of amazement.

“And so are you!” Jasmine grinned at the lady with a genuine smile while taking in the simplicity of her attire, one that still brought forth everything that made Lily an absolute stunner of a lady.

Just as both praised each other though, the ladies soon had their attentions shifted as they watched a group of on-site photographers and reporters, rush past them to flock around a certain lady who was dazzling everyone around her.

“Yeah… I’d advise you to be careful around her ’cause honestly, she ain’t as sweet as she looks.” Jasmine advised Lily who glanced over to the lady who was drawing the attention of almost every male around her as she walked in the auction hall’s general direction.

In fact, it almost seemed as if she was moving towards the hall itself… although she seemed to be stopped every now and then by one male celebrity or the other.

“I don’t think she’s a bad person though.” the sexy lady quickly clarified to ensure that Lily didn’t misunderstand her words.

She just wanted her friend to be on alert around Sharon.

Not really reading too much into it though, Lily nodded in response;

“Noted.”

Early on in their careers, Jasmine and Sharon had been fiercely matched by the general public… one that went on for a really long while as both ladies were extremely talented and upcoming young stars in the making.

However, that debate had died down significantly after Jasmine won three Prime-Time Emmies and a Platinum Globe in her early twenties, leaving her ‘rival’ in the dust.

And in all fairness, Jasmine never considered Sharon a rival really… just another actress who was also in the business like her.

In fact, if Jasmine was being honest, she had actually hoped that she and Sharon would get along despite the public’s opinion of them.

That would end up never working out though as Sharon on the other hand, seemed to have considered Jasmine her rival, hence there was almost a sort of competitive spirit mixed with a bit of disdain for the lady that Jasmine herself, couldn’t seem to grasp as at the time.

The last time they had also worked together though, was on the set of [Evermore Chronicles].

Unfortunately, Sharon had lost the lead role to the lady during casting auditions, relegating her to act as one of the more important side characters.

This seemed to have fueled a bit more towards the disdain she had for the lady and Jasmine, now with her years of experience relating to many celebrities in the industry, became fully aware of it.

Still, Sharon remained a very popular young actress in Hollywood… although she was still struggling to solidify herself as an A-lister.

“That said, are you comfortable in that dress?” Lily who was dressed in a beautiful champagne, silk slip dress, then asked her friend with a bit of a concerned expression.

‘Oh Lily, at times I really envy the freedom you and Kyle have as independent artists.’ Jasmine inwardly sighed, her eyes accepting her fate, after which she then replied with a light smile;

“I’m suffocating over here but, hey, let’s just hope I can make it through the auction in one piece at the very least.”

It was a gorgeous, black, silken, fluid high slit dress, one that perfectly accentuated all the curves that Jasmine could only wish she could make less pronounced to give herself more room to move fluidly and breathe lighter.

Honestly, with the amount of times she had made it clear to the brand who made these particular dresses that she’d love to be just a teensy bit free in them, they seemed to never listen.

As a result, she also did the smart thing and blacklisted them from her wardrobe…

That was until some higher-ups in her agency stepped in some few years back when she didn’t really have much star power and had a sort of endorsement deal with them behind the scenes that essentially made her the brand ambassador of said line of dresses without her consent.

* * *

“Babe!” Liz soon ran into both ladies a few minutes later, instantaneously offering a hug to her, after which she then did the same for Lily.

A few threads tensed…

A few minutes later, Hannah and Ellen also came around, and once again, the ladies exchanged pleasantries with each other.

Some threads snapped… barely noticeable…

“Oh~. Kyle? Oliver said he’s already arrived.” Tiana, having run into the group of ladies some minutes later, exchanged pleasantries with them while responding to Lily’s question.

“What sort of sorcery is this?! She’s actually smiling?!” Hannah whispered into Jasmine’s ear.

“I can hear you.” Tiana arched a curious, amused eyebrow in response to the lady’s words as she went on her way, eliciting a stifled laughter from Jasmine and the rest of the other ladies.

More threads snapped, still inconspicuous…

“Ah~ there he is. Stands out without even trying.” Ellen pointed out to the rest of the ladies as they watched Kyle and Jeffrey exchange hugs, handshakes, and greetings with Quentin, Barry and Bruno from afar.

Alongside those three, were a bunch of other DreamLand Executives, a few Hollywood Directors and Movie Producers whom Kyle also exchanged pleasantries with.

“Yep. Dreamboat in every sense of the word.” Lily commented audibly as the group of ladies watched a bunch of female celebrities and models, clamoring towards him the moment he was done conversing with Jeff, Quentin, Barry, Bruno and the rest a few minutes later.

–

Tyrone-29: Bro just can’t catch a break, can he?

FairestQueen: Honestly, I wonder how Kyle even manages to deal with so much attention without getting a big head. Not me though, I’d have been over the moon and beyond by now.

IAmTheStormThatIsApproaching: You guys probably don’t realize but, trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg… especially when the after party is still there.

–

“Hello. Can I take a photo?” a rookie female photographer who seemed to be a bit nervous, walked up to the group of dazzling female celebrities and politely requested of them.

In response, the ladies obliged with receptive smiles, all five posing for the cameras once again.

Jasmine especially, was being careful of how she posed as anything particularly expressive was tough on her with her current dress.

It was also one of the major reasons she had been purposely limiting her movements within a set region in the open hall since it was quite tasking on her.

Still, and unknown to her…

The seam had started ripping, slowly…

A few minutes later, the proceedings of the Gala finally moved to the auction segment, and the group of ladies, finally began to move in the direction of the auction hall alongside the other celebrities.

* * *

Kyle, after being freed from his interactions with the multitude of models and female celebrities, thankfully due to the proceedings of the Gala, soon met up with Jasmine, Lily and the other ladies, who had been walking over in his general direction that led to the auction hall.

“Hello Sapphire. Having fun yet?” Jasmine playfully questioned as she walked side by side with him, her steps calculated yet expertly hidden.

“Oh, tons.” Kyle sarcastically replied, knowing fully well that the Gala itself was just the start of him getting swarmed tonight.

There was the after party afterall.

“Don’t worry, it gets even more fun.” Lily, from his other side, pitched in with a light grin.

“You do realize you’re in the same hotpot as me, 11th Curator?” Kyle stressed that last part with a grin of his own, one that the lady shrugged in response to, a slight smirk on her lips as she countered;

“Yeah… but I’m not the one who also sang a hit song with one of the biggest superstars of our time in recent memory.”

“Right… that’s… that’s fair.” Kyle realized he was truly in for it tonight, his expression getting a bit concerned.

To that, the Liz, Ellen, Hannah and Jasmine, giggled mischievously, a good chunk of the celebrities already in the auction hall as they kept moving.

However, amidst both their giggles and the chatter of rest of the celebrities slowly moving into the auction hall, Kyle’s ears briefly picked up on a faint, peculiar sound that would’ve never been possible without [Peak Human Conditioning].

Maintaining his cool as he kept interacting with the ladies though, Kyle pinpointed the source of the sound coming from his right a few seconds later, his eyes glancing over to a rapidly rupturing seam.

Casually, he leaned over and whispered into Jasmine’s ear without alerting her;

“Apologies for what I’m about to do.”

“Wh- wow!” a flustered Jasmine exclaimed loudly… only to watch in a mix of perplexed surprise as Kyle, effortlessly swept her off her feet.

Literally!

Her loud exclamation, unfortunately, didn’t go unnoticed by most celebrities within range as they instantly, trained their gazes on them.

The sight most of them were met with though, had a very interesting implication… an interesting implication that would’ve otherwise made perfect sense if not for the fact that a portion of the silken fabric of Jasmine’s dress was hanging loosely from the sides.

–

Confused-Pikachu: This…

MirrorOnTheWall: Oh my…

Canon_Events101: Yo… that would’ve been so bad…

–

The seams of the beautiful dress had ripped from the upper sides to the high-slit, basically revealing half of her side frame from the midsection of her abdomen, all the way downwards to her thigh.

Typically, it should’ve revealed her undergarments without fail…

However, due to the fact that Kyle had carried her, both sides of the ripped dress was still held in place firmly by his abdomen and arms, albeit messily… hence, why some part of it was loosely dangling from the sides.

As Lily, Liz, Ellen and Hannah watched the sight before them in realization, same as every other celebrity within range, reporters and photographers similarly within vicinity, watched as Kyle, spoke to the lady in his arms calmly;

“If I had informed you, it’d have been too late.”

“That said, if being princess carried was something you had on your bucket list, you can mark it off now.” he joked while giving her a light smile.

No sooner had he said that though, photographers and reporters alike, instantly started taking pictures as a wave of murmur and chatter filled up a good portion of the open hall!

–

Ice_Cold: 100% Maximum Composure from K.K! Also, I love how he instantly joked to diffuse the situation. Bro’s one clever dude.

PrincessInACastle: Yep. Kyle Kestis has officially reached Knight-In-Shining Armor status in my heart from this point on.

Smooth Criminal: This has to be the smoothest wardrobe malfunction save I’ve ever witnessed at a red carpet event. Even the reporters will have a hard time writing spinning this into some oh-so-embarrassing scenario.

–

Jasmine, on the other hand, whom had gone on a rollercoaster of different emotions, ranging from perplexity, to shock, embarrassment and then appreciation, responded with a smile of her own;

“My~ hero~.”

“How did you know?! Honestly, I thought I threw that list away when I was sixteen years old!” the lady quickly added while dangling her legs back and forth.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Kyle curiously squinted at her to which Jasmine replied with a grin.

“Nope… maybe… but I’m mostly buying time till my gals surround you.”

No sooner had she said that, Liz, Ellen and Hannah and even Lily, swiftly surrounded Kyle with their backs turned, acting as a shield for her till Vivian, her agent came along.

And rightfully so, her agent was already running over, her expression calm… although she was inwardly cursing the brand with all her might.

Thankfully, both her and Jasmine had planned to have her change clothes after the auction so at the very least, they could salvage this quickly with a change in attire.

Placing her down, Jasmine took the initiative to crouch as Kyle swiftly removed his overcoat and handed it over to her.

No sooner had he done that, he simply exited the circle of ladies whom were giving him the most thankful gazes, a light smile on his lips as he offered a curt nod in acknowledgement.

At the same time, he instantly reminded everyone who was watching with a warm smile, his voice purposely elevated a few decibels higher;

“So, the signed memorabilia aren’t gonna wait. And we do have to give to charity so, I think its best if we head on in.”

To that, most were reminded of where they were meant to be as they instantly resumed their steps, their destination, the auction hall.

As all these was happening though, Oliver and Tiana had already made their way over, while Sharon, watched in captivation from atop the higher staircases of the auction hall as Kyle, effortlessly directed most people’s attention away from Jasmine and back to the proceedings of the day.

Honestly, she had been a bit nervous to walk up to him all night due to just how dazzling he felt in comparison to her but, after seeing his treatment of Jasmine, a lady whom he wasn’t even in a romantic relationship with, Sharon steeled her resolve.

‘I’m definitely taking my chances with him!’ she inwardly declared.

Now, she wasn’t only going to do it solely because her agents asked of her to do it.

Rather, she now felt more at ease with doing it, mostly because Kyle didn’t seem like someone who would go on to embarrass her for shooting her shot.