"Damian..." I began to say, but my voice faltered. "It's been a while," I added, my words trailing off as I turned to see Natalie. Who looped her hands over his, and the sight made my stomach twist in disgust. I wanted to react, but my attention was hijacked by a voice announcing the arrival of X Holding.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the CEO of X Holdings, Mr. Chaos Riegrow...."
Every head turned, the hum of strings fading beneath the thunder of whispers. And then, he appeared. No mask this time. Tall, commanding, impossibly composed. His dark suit clung to his frame with effortless elegance, his every step echoing with authority.
All eyes turned toward the end of the ballroom, anticipation building as they waited to see the face behind X Holding. My eyes widened before I could think of anything to say or comment.
A swarm of reporters rushed past us, eager to get to him, and most of the guests followed suit, offering compliments and hoping to make a good impression. I just stood still, Zarri by my side, frozen in the midst of the chaos.
My eyes locked on the man who had just walked in. It was him, the guy from the coffee shop. The one with the piercing blue eyes. I felt a jolt of recognition, and my mind reeled as I took in the scene unfolding before me.
The ballroom erupted into a flurry of activity, with reporters and guests alike rushing to surround him. They were all eager to catch his attention, to make a good impression. But I just stood there, stuck in place, my thoughts whirling.
Zarri was by my side, her eyes fixed on the commotion. I felt her gentle nudge, but I didn't react. I was too busy trying to process what was happening.
Damian's hand was still entwined with Natalie's, a fact that made my stomach churn. But it was nothing compared to the shock of seeing him, the masked man from the auction, standing at the entrance of the ballroom, unveiled and unmasked.
And I was just a bystander, watching as he charmed the crowd with his presence.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts.
The crowd swallowed him whole, men and women alike pressing closer, their voices overlapping in desperate flattery. CEOs from rival firms shoved forward to shake his hand, politicians angled for his attention, and cameras flashed so relentlessly the ballroom shimmered like lightning.
Chaos turned his gaze smoothly away from each guest, accepting a champagne flute from a trembling waiter without a glance.
He exchanged a few quiet words with a banking magnate, his voice low and unreadable. Then he leaned slightly toward a foreign minister, listening with that faint smirk that gave nothing away and promised everything.
He moved like a current, commanding the flow of people around him without effort, and yet he did not look back at me. Not even once.
Zarri scoffed beside me, muttering just for my ear.
"Arrogant bastard. He knows everyone here is drooling at his feet, and he feeds on it. Look at him, mi encanto. Like a king in his court."
Her eyes narrowed, studying him sharply.
Nearby, Damian stood stiff, his jaw tight as he watched Chaos dominate the ballroom. His hand, still resting on Natalie's, had no warmth in it now only tension. Natalie shifted nervously, her voice small.
"Mr. Gray... should we...?"
"Quiet," Damian snapped, his eyes never leaving Chaos. His pride burned in his silence, his glare saying what his lips did not: this man is a threat.
I excused myself from Zarri, convincing myself it was just a coincidence that I had run into him, and instead of dwelling on him and Damian, I decided to enjoy myself at the ball. I exchanged greetings with other business owners, beaming with pride as I smiled for compliments on my dress and posed for reporters who couldn't stop raving about me.
To me, it seemed like everyone was waiting for me to crack, eager to uncover what was going on with me, but I wouldn't give them the satisfaction. I sipped champagne, and before I knew it, hours had slipped by and I'd had about 10 glasses. I was feeling a bit tipsy, but it didn't matter, Zarri was here to keep an eye on me.
Seated at my table, I watched Damian and that wretched bitch of a secretary of his, now his lover, and my anger simmered. I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists, and after another sip of wine, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up, realizing Zarri was nowhere to be found, probably off somewhere, grinning from ear to ear with some guy she could use for tonight's fun.
I walked over to Damian and Natalie, tapping his shoulder. "I see you're having a lot of fun with this bitch," I said, flashing a smile. "Isn't it time you got over this nonsense, Damian?"
Damian turned slowly, the hum of the ballroom dipping as people nearby caught the shift in atmosphere. His sharp eyes locked on me, then slid briefly to the champagne glass wobbling in my hand before returning to my face. His jaw clenched, a warning glint sparking in his gaze.
"Kashi," he said flatly, his voice low enough for only those closest to hear, "you've had too much to drink. Go sit down before you embarrass yourself."
Natalie's cheeks flushed, her grip on his arm tightening as she lowered her eyes. She whispered softly, almost apologetically, "Miss Saints, please... this isn't the time."
A few heads turned from nearby tables. Whispers started like sparks.
"Is that the Saints girl again?"
"She's drunk look at her."
"She's going to make a scene..."
Damian's hand came up, not to comfort me, but to shield Natalie slightly behind him. His voice hardened, cold as marble.
"This is not the place for your tantrums. Don't make me repeat myself."
The sting of his dismissal in front of the crowd cut sharper than any blade, and the air around my little trio thickened. Even Natalie's presence beside him, her innocence, her timid silence, it all felt like salt ground into my wound.
" A tantrum?... is that what you think this is" I laughed " you've embarrassed me far enough.... and you!!" I turn and gripped Natalie's hand tight, my nails digging into her skin as i hissed,
"What is it he sees in you, huh? What styles have you given him in bed, what sorcery did you use to make him crave you so? Tell me!!!"
Natalie gasped, eyes wide, her voice trembling. "M-Miss Saints, please... I... I haven't.... " She tried to pull her hand free, but my grip only tightened, the desperation in my eyes reflected in hers.
Gasps echoed through the ballroom.
Conversations halted. Every pair of eyes was now on us.
"Let her go!" Damian barked, his voice carrying above the orchestra, sharp as a whip. In two strides he was on me, his hand clamping down on my wrist, forcing me to release Natalie. He shoved me back a step, his body moving instinctively to shield her.
Natalie stumbled behind him, clutching her wrist, her lip trembling as she tried to hold back tears.
Damian's eyes burned into mine, his fury palpable. "Enough, Kashi. Enough!"
The silence in the hall was deafening. Even the violins from above faltered into an uneasy hush.
Damian's next words came low, deliberate, and final, spoken not just to me, but for everyone to hear.
"You humiliate yourself every time you walk into a room with me. You humiliate the Saints name. You humiliate me."
He grabbed Natalie's hand, holding it firmly, deliberately for all to see. "Whatever claim you think you have on me, on us, it's over. Do you understand me? Over!."
The whispers erupted like wildfire around me.
"He ended it did you hear?"
"She's been replaced... publicly."
"Saints are finished."
Natalie looked at me then, her eyes wet, her lips trembling. But she said nothing. Damian had already spoken for her.
No, no, no! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Did Damian just say it was over between us? It couldn't be true. Maybe I had misheard. I rushed after him, grabbing his arm as he walked away with Natalie, spinning him around to face me.
"You can't do this to me, to us," I pleaded, my voice rising to a scream. "Why would you cancel us? We're to be engaged, we'll be married soon. Take it back, take your words back!"
I turned on Natalie, my anger boiling over. "You! What did you do to him?" I spat, my eyes blazing.
I turned back to Damian, my words venomous. "You can't do this to me, because of a lowly whore!!!"
Damian's face twisted in anger, and he grabbed my arm, pushing me aside with force. The champagne in his hand splashed onto my dress, staining it, and I felt a wave of humiliation wash over me.
The whispers started, a soft murmur that grew louder, and I realized everyone was watching, their eyes fixed on me, the jilted fiancée. My dress was ruined, stained with champagne, and I felt like I was falling apart, my world crumbling around me.
The ballroom froze. Gasps rippled across the hall like a shockwave, the whispers rose like wildfire:
"She's lost it..."
"He humiliated her right in front of everyone."
"The Saints are finished. No coming back from this."
Natalie clung to Damian's arm, her eyes wide with horror. "Mr. Gray, please," she whispered, almost begging him to stop, her voice trembling. But Damian didn't soften. He didn't even glance at her his eyes were fixed on me, sharp and unyielding.
"This is the last time, Kashi," he spat, his voice low but carrying in the suffocating silence. "There is no us. There never was. Accept it."
The weight of his words fell heavy in the room, every gaze piercing into me, waiting for me to break.
The ballroom was a blur of whispers and stares, every eye locked on me, Saints' heiress, drenched in champagne, trembling in silk.
And then heels clicking like gunfire, Zarri burst through the circle of gawking guests. Her eyes blazed as she shoved past the reporters and sycophants, her gown trailing like fire behind her.
"¡Basta!" she snapped, her voice slicing through the murmurs. She was at my side in an instant, her hands firm on my arms as she steadied me. "Mi encanto, get up. Don't let them see you bend."
She turned on the crowd with a glare sharp enough to cut glass. "What the hell are you staring at? Haven't you vultures seen enough?" Her voice was so fierce even a few reporters lowered their cameras, cowed.
Then she swung back to Damian, her lips curling into a dangerous smile. "And you, you think this makes you a man? Humiliating a woman in public, throwing her aside for a little secretary?" She spat the words, her tone dripping with venom. "Careful, Gray. One day, the world will remember you not as a tycoon, but as a coward."
The tension snapped like a whip, the whispers swelling louder, some gasps, some chuckles, some murmured agreements.
Zarri tightened her hold on me, her voice softening only for my ears. "Come, Kashi. Let's leave this circus. Let them choke on their own whispers."
The eyes of the room still clung to us as we left, waiting, hungry to see how i would rise or fall from this public shattering.
I blanked out after the scene with Damian, but Zarri's arm was around me, guiding me out of the hall and into the waiting car outside. The ride home was quiet, the only sound the soft hum of the engine.
As we pulled up to grandfather's house, I stepped out of the car, and my eyes met grandfather's and Frank's waiting figures. Grandfather's face was a mask of quiet calm, but I could sense the storm brewing beneath. I wasn't ready to face him yet, wasn't ready to break down.
I quickly walked to my room, shutting the door behind me, and leaned against it, trying to catch my breath. Outside, I could hear Frank's soothing voice, telling grandfather and Zarri to give me space for now. The sound was muffled, but I knew they were trying to protect me, to give me time to process the chaos that had unfolded.
The midnight silence of my room swallowed me whole.
The silk sheets clung damp against my cheeks as the tears finally broke free, soaking into the pillow i buried my face in.
For hours, i had stood tall, chin high, spine straight, refusing to bend under the weight of a thousand eyes. But here, alone beneath the pale wash of moonlight, there was no mask left to hold.
The chandelier above glittered faintly, mocking, as though even it had witnessed my fall at the ballroom. Damian's words replayed over and over, sharp and merciless: There is no us. There never was.
Each echo drove the knife deeper.
For the first time in my life, I felt what it was to lose, not a dress, not a deal, not even an argument, but the one thing i had fought my whole life to claim. And the weight of that loss was unbearable.
I pressed the pillow tighter, muffling the sound of my sobs, though there was no one to hear but the cold walls and the silent moonlight spilling across my bed.
The Saints heiress, the girl who never bowed, never broke, was weeping like a child.