The penthouse was dark, save for the pale city lights streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Chaos sat at the edge of the bed, shirt back on but unbuttoned, sleeves rolled to his elbows. A thin trail of smoke curled upward from the cigarette between his fingers, the sharp scent mixing with the faint sweetness of perfume lingering in the air.
Behind him, on the king-sized bed, a woman lay sprawled beneath silk sheets, her body still flushed, hair tangled. She was beautiful, perfect, even. The kind of beauty most men would have killed to keep close. Yet Chaos hadn't so much as glanced at her since he'd finished with her.
His icy blue eyes were fixed on nothing, his jaw tight, his thoughts circling relentlessly.
She said my name.
The smoke burned as he exhaled slowly, his gloved hand flexing against his knee. He could still hear it, Kashi's voice, sharp with fury, fierce with defiance, spitting his name like it was both poison and power.
It hadn't been surrender. It hadn't been affection. But it had been real.
He smirked faintly, though it carried no humor, only hunger. "She thinks I want her broken," he muttered under his breath, watching the ember at the tip of his cigarette glow. "She doesn't understand. I don't need her weak. I need her burning."
The woman on the bed stirred, stretching languidly, her voice soft and sultry. "Come back to bed…"
Chaos didn't even turn his head. "Get out!."
Her gasp filled the room, a sting of humiliation. She scrambled for her dress, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but his gaze never left the window, never left the city lights. She was gone a minute later, the door shutting softly behind her.
Silence returned. Only the faint hum of the city below, only the whisper of smoke curling toward the ceiling.
Chaos leaned forward, elbows on his knees, cigarette dangling loosely between his fingers.
"She thinks she can dismiss me," he murmured, more to himself than the empty room. A slow, dark smile tugged at his lips. "But every fire denies the wind… until it realizes it can't burn without it."
He stubbed out the cigarette, the ember dying in a hiss, and leaned back into the shadows, his eyes still cold but alive with obsession.
"Kashi Saints… you can fight me all you want. But in the end…" His voice dropped to a whisper. "…you'll be mine."
The Next Morning – Rumors Ignite
The city woke to headlines hotter than wildfire.
• "Chaos Riegrow Seen Leaving Saints Tower After Private Meeting With Heiress"
• "Are They Really Just Business Partners? Inside the Closed-Door Encounter Between Kashi Saints and Chaos."
• "Gray Engagement Overshadowed Again: Saints & Riegrow—Power Couple or Scandal?"
The press had been quick, merciless, feeding on scraps. A single photograph, Chaos striding out of Saints Tower in his black suit, Xavier at his side, was enough to send the world spinning. No one had been inside the office to know what transpired, but that didn't matter. The story had already been written.
Social media swelled with speculation:
• "Look at her, smartest move she's made yet. Gray is history. Riegrow is the future."
• "She's a saint, but she's playing like the devil. Respect."
Business analysts jumped in too, spinning theories that X Holdings and Saints were preparing a merger, investors watching the Saints stock climb another 3% before noon. Meanwhile, Damian and Natalie's names were dragged mercilessly across gossip sites, mocked for being upstaged at their own engagement party yet again.
Inside Saints Tower, the phones wouldn't stop ringing. Calls from reporters. Calls from investors. Calls from board members eager, nervous, suspicious.
And in the middle of it all, the name Kashi Saints paired with Chaos Riegrow was now inseparable.