The billionaire's woman

CHAPTER NINE -- CHASING KAI

The laughter from the bus still burned through my ears long after I stepped into the rain. It was a cruel kind of laughter, not loud or wild, but sharp, snickering, poisonous. It clung to my skin more than the drizzle ever could.

I walked aimlessly for a while, every step dragging like I carried stones in my shoes. The puddles swallowed my reflection, broken and rippling — just like me. The morning air smelled like exhaust, cheap coffee, and fried dough from a vendor’s stand across the street. A city that didn’t care who you were as long as you kept moving.

I was tired. Not just from the sleepless night or the hangover pounding behind my eyes — but from the weight of humiliation pressing against my chest.

The driver’s voice replayed in my head.

“Since when have prostitutes gotten shameless?”

The way he said it — like it was fact. Like my worth had already been decided the moment I stepped on his bus.

For a second, I wondered if he was right. Maybe I had become that — a desperate woman using her body as a bargaining chip. But no… I wasn’t doing this for pleasure or survival. I had a plan. A reason. Control.

At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

The rain picked up, needling against my skin. I ducked under an old store awning, arms folded tight against my chest. My reflection stared back at me through the dusty glass — the mask half-slid down, eyeliner smeared, hair curling from the damp. I looked like a ghost of someone who used to matter.

A weak laugh escaped my throat. This is what power looks like now, huh?

I pulled out my phone. Still no calls. No messages from Kai. Not that I expected any.

Then, a buzz. Unknown number.

“I see you left your car at the bar. If you want it back, come collect it before noon. After that, it’s getting towed.”

My stomach sank. Great. One more problem.

The bar was ten blocks away. I couldn't even take the bus now.

So I started walking.

The streets were half-awake , vendors setting up stalls, office workers marching past with umbrellas, the world moving forward while I stayed stuck in yesterday. I kept my head low. People like to stare when they think they recognize a fallen name.

Then a low hum pulled up beside me .. smooth engine, tinted windows, the unmistakable scent of money.

I froze.

The car glided to a stop at the curb. The passenger window slid down slowly, like a stage curtain being drawn for an act I didn’t sign up for.

And there she was.

Beth.

Perfect, polished, angelic Beth.

She looked like she belonged to another world — hair neat, makeup soft, pearls glinting under the grey light. The woman every headline adored. The one Kai would destroy the world to protect.

“You shouldn’t be walking here, Miss Shane,” she said, voice honeyed but sharp enough to cut glass. “People might mistake you for something you’re not.”

I forced a smile, though my fingers curled into fists inside my pockets. “And what exactly do you think I’m not?”

She tilted her head. “Innocent.”

I stared at her, unsure whether to laugh or slap that smile off her face.

“What do you want, Beth?”

“Oh, don’t sound so defensive. I came to offer a ride. You look… misplaced.”

“I’m fine walking.”

“Really?” She leaned on her arm, studying me. “Because from where I’m sitting, you look like a woman who’s just been kicked out of somewhere she didn’t belong.”

Her words hit closer than I wanted them to. I bit down on the inside of my cheek.

She smiled, soft and knowing. “Come on, Naya. Get in. You and I need to talk.”

“I don’t think we do.”

She sighed, the kind of sigh that said she was indulging a child. “If you’re smart, you’ll get in before I stop pretending to be polite.”

That did it. My pride warred with my curiosity — and lost.

I opened the door and slid in.

The interior smelled of leather and lavender, and her scent filled the space like it belonged there. The driver didn’t look at me, just started the car as soon as the door shut.

Beth crossed one leg over the other and faced me. “You know,” she began casually, “Kai has a soft spot for broken things. Maybe that’s why you thought you had a chance.”

I turned my face toward the window. The rain outside blurred the world into streaks of silver and grey. “You talk like you know him.”

“Oh, I do,” she said sweetly. “Better than you ever will.”

Silence filled the car. Then she added, “You think you can manipulate him? Threaten him? You have no idea what kind of man you’re playing with.”

“I know exactly what kind,” I said quietly.

She laughed. “Do you? Because Kai Hadez doesn’t bend for anyone. Not me, not his father, not you. Whatever little fantasy you’re chasing — end it before it ends you.”

Her tone had changed. The sweetness was gone. What was left was pure warning.

I finally looked at her. “So this is you marking your territory?”

“This is me being generous.” She smiled thinly. “You have until tonight to disappear. After that, I can’t promise what will happen. People like you… tend to vanish when they play games above their league.”

A chill crept up my spine. I swallowed hard, masking it with a smirk. “You think you scare me?”

“I don’t have to scare you, dear. He will.”

She leaned closer, her breath ghosting my cheek. “Ask yourself one thing — if Kai really cared, why did he leave you alone last night?”

The words hit like ice water. She sat back, satisfied.

I turned to the window again. My reflection looked pale, almost translucent, like the ghost of a girl who’d lost too many wars in one night.

“Drop her off here,” Beth told the driver.

The car slowed to a stop near the corner of Vlax Street — the bar’s neon sign faint in the distance.

I stepped out without another word.

The door shut behind me with a soft click, and the car glided away, leaving me standing in the drizzle once more.

I looked up at the bar. The place that had started everything.

My hands curled into fists. My reflection in the rain-blurred window looked almost determined now — tired, yes, but not defeated.

“If he won’t come to me…” I whispered, voice trembling but steadying with each word, “…then I’ll make sure he has no choice.”

I took a deep breath, straightened my wet clothes, and walked toward the neon glow toward the next mistake I was already ready to make.