In the car – On the way back to Saints Estate
The city lights streaked past the tinted windows, but the silence in the car was loud. Kashi sat with her arms crossed, staring out the window, the weight of Chaos's gaze from earlier still pressing into her skin no matter how hard she tried to shake it.
Zarri, of course, was the first to break the quiet.
"Well," she started, her tone dripping with playful accusation, "that was intense."
Kashi glanced at her briefly, but Zarri was already leaning forward dramatically, clutching her shopping bag like a prop. "Kashi Saints, heiress extraordinaire, reduced to silence by one man sitting in a chair. And not just any man, but Chaos Riegrow. Do you realize how insane that sounds?"
Kashi rolled her eyes, but Zarri pressed on, her voice sharp but laced with worry. "And then there's Alex, the human hurricane. Between those two, mi bebe, we're standing in the middle of a storm. One cold as ice, the other reckless fire. And somehow…" she gave Kashi a sly smile, "they're both circling us."
Frank cleared his throat from the driver's seat, pretending not to listen but failing miserably. Zarri smirked at his reflection in the rearview mirror before turning back to Kashi, her hand slipping over hers.
"Kashi," Zarri said more softly now, "don't play this off like it's nothing. You've already been burned once by love. I won't sit back and watch you get dragged under again, no matter how sinfully hot that man is."
Her words hung heavy in the car, leaving Kashi to decide whether to laugh it off, or admit the storm inside her was already brewing.
Zarri leaned back against the seat when Kashi didn't immediately respond, her lips pursed, eyes narrowing as she studied her. For once, she didn't push, just sighed and crossed her arms.
"Fine," she muttered, though her tone was still edged with that fiery protectiveness. "Keep your secrets. But don't expect me to sit quiet if that man gets too close."
She tilted her head back dramatically against the seat, staring up at the car's ceiling. "Honestly, mi encanto… between Damian's betrayal, Chaos prowling, and Alex sniffing around me like a stray wolf, it feels like we're living in some twisted telenovela."
Her voice softened, barely audible over the hum of the car. "Just… promise me you won't let him, any of them, break you again."
The weight of her words settled heavy, even as the car rolled smoothly through the city toward the estate.
The house was quiet now, everyone long since retired. Moonlight spilled in silver lines across Kashi's bedroom floor, painting shadows that felt heavier than usual. She sat at her vanity, the faint glow of the lamp highlighting the exhaustion in her eyes.
The day's events pressed down on her, the boutique, Chaos's gaze that felt like it pierced straight through her, Zarri's warnings echoing in the car. And then, as if summoned by memory, the kiss replayed in her mind, vivid and dangerous. The way his mouth had claimed hers, the way her heart had stumbled out of rhythm.
She pressed a hand to her chest, hating the way it still fluttered.
"Just a kiss," she whispered to her reflection, as though saying it aloud would make it true. "It meant nothing."
But the words rang hollow.
She stood, pacing toward the window, pulling the curtains aside. The city stretched endlessly, alive and glittering, yet she'd never felt more trapped. For years, everything she'd wanted was Damian, and now? Now she couldn't untangle her thoughts. A cold, unreadable man had walked in and now wants to rewrite the script.
Her hand brushed her lips unconsciously, a frown tugging at her face.
"Chaos Riegrow…" she muttered, the name tasting like trouble on her tongue.
The silence swallowed the words whole, but her heart thudded on anyway, refusing to settle.