Page 42 of The Chaos She Brings

Don’t Break My Sisters Heart

Carina to Nate: Do you think they’re really fucking? [delivered]

Tess

CarinaandIsitcross-legged, facing each other on my bed. When did I start thinking of it as mine? I've been at Kai’s for less than a week, yet I already feel more at home here than I ever did in my tiny flat.

I hadn’t noticed it earlier, too caught up in the chaos, but now it’s hard to miss—Carina isn’t wearing her usual pink or black.

“What’s with the blue dress?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

She laughs softly. “I’m experimenting. Figured it was time to branch out.”

I glance at her, a little curious. “How come youwear so much pink, anyway? You’ve got pink hair, pink clothes, even your car is pink. I’ve always wondered but never asked.”

Her smile falters, and she hesitates for a moment before speaking. “When I disappeared. I wasn’t kidnapped. My dad sold me.” I suck in a sharp breath, but for once in my life I stay quiet, letting her continue.

It was all over the news when Dominic Beckett's daughter resurfaced. Engaged to some tech mogul no less. I’ve asked her about it all before, but she’s always brushed me off.

“Once I escaped, I had to reclaim my identity, and pink was part of that. I know it sounds... odd, but it was something that was mine. My choice. It represented freedom. But... It's been a year since I killed the last of the men who hurt me.” She exhales, a small, bittersweet smile flickering across her lips. “It’s time to move on. I realised that by clinging to pink, I was still letting them control me. It kept me tied to that past.”

She grins suddenly, her eyes sparkling with resolve. “But my hair is never changing. That stays. Just expect to see a lot more colours in my clothes from now on.”

I sit back, processing her words, and for the first time, I truly understand the weight behind her choices. And I’m proud of her—proud of how far she’s come, how much strength she’s found to change and take back what was once taken from her.

"So that’s why you started killing? Revenge?" I ask, piecing things together in my head.

"Yeah.” She grins wide, her eyes gleaming. “And boy, did I get it."

Before I can respond, she raises an eyebrow and leans in, her voice teasing. "Now, tell me about you and Kai." She wiggles her eyebrows, and I laugh, masking my face, embarrassment burning my cheeks.

“Ugh. I don’t even know what’s going on there.”

“Talk to me.”

I take a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. "Okay. Well… on Sunday, just before we found out about the break-in, he kissed me…" I tell her everything—the way his kiss silenced me, how he pulled away almost immediately. I explain how comforting he was after that tense encounter with the Russian outside the gym. Then, when I get to last night, my face turns beet red. "And lastnight… I made a huge lapse in judgment. I’ve never done that before, ridden someone’s face. But now, all I want is to find him and do it again."

Carina’s face fills with amusement, but I can’t hide my embarrassment.

“I’m pretty sure he’s going to push me away again. I can already feel it coming.”

She pauses, her expression thoughtful, before responding. “Kai is... complicated. He’s a little hot and cold, honestly. That’s probably the best way I can describe him. When he’s with Nate, he’s way more relaxed. But… he struggles with opening up to people. And he’s not great with change. You just have to give him time.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think time will help.”

Carina doesn’t look convinced, and I can’t help but hope she’s right.

Kai

“I need you to go with Tess when I send her to a safe house.”

Enzo’s words snap my head toward him.

“Huh?”

He sighs, running a hand over his jaw. “Look, I have to get back to New York, but I want someone I trust with her.”

“What about your men?”