Chapter 5: The Flame and the Fallout

Before Kain kissed her, Jade still thought she was in control.

One second, she was playing a game. The next, she was falling into a kiss that felt like drowning in fire.

Her lashes fluttered. Her breath hitched. Her entire body betrayed her.

Kain’s mouth was fire—hot, firm, possessive. His hands gripped her waist like he’d earned the right to touch her. His tongue tangled with hers, a slow burn that ignited memories of how perfectly they'd fit.

This was supposed to be revenge. A performance.

Just one kiss to make Rob suffer.

But Kain didn’t kiss like a man playing pretend.

He kissed like a storm. Like he was tearing through her—one slow, devastating heartbeat at a time. Every wall she’d built cracked under the pressure. He tasted like ruin and want. Like danger laced in silk. Like a man who didn’t ask for permission to claim.

Her spine arched. Her thighs squeezed. Her hands clenched his jacket like if she let go, she’d drown in everything he made her feel.

God, she wasn’t supposed to want this.

Not this much. Not this man.

She melted against him, letting the world vanish in the heat of his body, the ache in her chest, the way he kissed her like he’d been starving.

And then—

A hand yanked her wrist.

Hard.

Jade gasped, ripped from Kain’s arms, her body lurching.

Rob.

Her past in a suit. Rage in his eyes. The worst mistake she’d ever loved.

“What the hell is this, Jade?” he spat.

Her blood iced. Her pulse dropped. The haze shattered.

Kain stepped forward, his arm in front of her, shielding her like instinct. His lips swollen from every mouthful, his jaw tight.

His whole body was thunder barely held in check.

“Let. Go. Of her.”

Rob sneered. “So this is what gets you hot now? Rich boys who auction themselves off like designer wristwatches? You let him feel you up in public like some desperate prize?”

The venom hit her like a whip. But it was the betrayal that split deeper.

Jade’s voice trembled. “You don’t get to talk to me like that. Not anymore. Not after—”

But Rob didn’t care.

He pulled out his phone.

Her heart dropped. No. Please, no.

He held up the screen.

“Smile, sweetheart. Let’s see how your billionaire boytoy handles a scandal.”

He flipped it.

Her stomach turned.

A photo. Caught mid-kiss.

Kain’s hand, buried in her hair. Her mouth parted. Her body flushed. Every pixel screamed lust. Power. Sin.

The restaurant stilled. Conversations died. All eyes locked on her.

Kain’s voice dropped like ice. “Delete it.”

Rob grinned, eyes glinting. “Make me. Or maybe I leak it. Tag your name. Tag his. Billionaire caught devouring mystery woman while Grandma’s charity falls apart. The internet’s going to feast.”

He turned to Kain, sneering.

“You touch what belongs to me, you get burned.”

Jade stepped forward, heat in her voice. “He’s my boyfriend now. You lost me the day you were f*cking my sister behind my back.”

Boyfriend.

She hadn’t meant to say it. But it came out fast. Too real. Too raw.

Rob flinched—but only for a second.

Then he hit send.

Their phones buzzed in unison.

Breaking News:

BILLIONAIRE KAIN WOLF CAUGHT IN STEAMY KISS WITH MYSTERY WOMAN—IDENTIFIED AS JADE MILLER.

And just like that, the bomb exploded.

Flashes from across the restaurant. Gasps. Whispers. Headlines loading in real time.

Panic clawed at her throat.

But Rob wasn’t done. He leaned in, voice like poison.

“You came here to humiliate me, didn’t you? Called me just to twist the knife. You think I didn’t see this coming? I brought backup—tipped off the paparazzi myself. Because I knew you’d curve me. Knew you’d play dirty babe.”

Her knees buckled.

Because he was right—at least partly. She hadn’t trusted him. Hadn’t believed he’d take a simple “no” without retaliation.

And she’d been right.

Then Kain stepped forward, quiet rage in his voice.

“You just made the biggest mistake of your life.”

Rob laughed. “What, you gonna sue me? Cry into your millions?”

Kain didn’t blink. Didn’t raise his voice.

“No. But blackmail. Harassment. Coercion? Those are criminal charges.”

He took out his phone. Calm. Cold.

“To the manager. I want security footage for the last ten minutes. Table sixteen. And Rob Harper?”

His stare sharpened.

“He’s permanently banned from all Mazuka properties.”

Rob’s voice cracked. “You can’t do that—”

“I bought Mazuka last year.”

The silence was thunderous. Jade’s mouth parted. She didn’t even know he could do that.

Kain’s tone was lethal. “Thanks for the confession. My lawyers will love it. And your next blind date?”

A pause. Sharp. Final.

“Will be with a state prosecutor.”

Rob lunged—rage exploding.

But Kain moved faster.

One pivot. One punch.

Rob hit the floor.

Out cold.

Gasps scattered like broken glass.

Kain stood over him, chest barely rising.

“He touched you. That’s all it took.”

Jade swore her knees would give out. Not from the punch. But from the gravity of what he’d done.

He hadn’t done it for pride.

He hadn’t done it for revenge.

He’d done it for her.

Kain turned to her, voice low. Gentle.

“Babe… do you want to press charges?”

Her eyes burned.

No one had ever asked her what she wanted.

Not Rob. Not her family. Not the world she’d been shaped to serve.

Only him.

But her....she'd used him as a chess piece to get back at Rob. Now she was drowning, breathless in shame.

Kain leaned in, voice velvet and violence.

“I saw him lurking suspiciously at the auction.” he whispered. “Had my team on him the moment you walked out.”

“You what?”

“I wasn’t letting him near you. Not again.”

He looked down at Rob’s unconscious form.

“And for the record?” His voice was a blade dipped in honey.

“She didn’t use me to get over you. She used you to remember she deserved more.”

Her knees wobbled. Her breath caught.

And in Kain’s eyes, she saw something terrifying—

A man who didn’t just want her.

A man who would burn for her.

Her body begged to run to him.

Her heart begged to collapse into his unforgettable arms.

To kiss him again.

To stay.

But her past whispered: You don’t deserve this.

Her lips parted. A whisper rose to the surface.

But before it could escape—

She turned.

And ran.

She ran from the part of herself still convinced she was unworthy of being chosen.

Because for the first time in her life—

She wasn’t afraid of Rob.

She was afraid of what it meant to finally be loved right.

And she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life.

Jade Miller had lit the fuse…

And thought she could outrun the fire.

But Kain Wolf wasn’t just a man.

He was more.

And when a Wolf chases—he finishes the kill.