Page 45 of Read This Before the Villain falls in Love with You

Nora steps right into Sara's space. "I know your father owes forty million to Sicilian banks and your brother runs supply routes through three leaking shell companies I could bankrupt before dessert. Touch Luca again, and I will destroy your family's line of credit so thoroughly your grandchildren will be filing for bankruptcy. Take your hand off him."

Sara's face flashes red with pure rage. "You arrogant little..."

Before Sara can complete the insult, Matteo suddenly slides into the frame between them, balancing a towering tray of three champagne flutes with terrible coordination. "Pardon me, ladies! Hot appetizers...well, cold vintage, actually!"

Matteo feigns a clumsy stumble, intentionally bumping his shoulder right against Sara's raised elbow. Sara instinctively shoves his chest to push him away.

The moment her manicured palms make contact, Matteo lets out a bloodcurdling, operatic gasp. He throws both arms in the air, flinging the crystal flutes skyward, and collapses backward onto the parquet floor like he has taken a sniper round to the chest.

Crash!

Glass shatters across the polished wood, champagne drenching the hem of a nearby senator's trousers. Matteo clutches his ribs, groaning loudly in agony. "My spleen! She struck me down in cold blood! Don Vincenzo's daughter has gone feral!"

The entire corner of the ballroom goes dead silent. Two prominent venture capitalists and a Supreme Court judge stare down in absolute horror at Sara, who stands frozen with her hands still raised in the air.

"I didn't even push him!" Sara shrieks. She looks around frantically. "He threw himself down!"

An influential shipping magnate steps back, brushing champagne droplets off his sleeve. "Signorina Bellini, attacking innocent guests at a charity gala? Consider our port cooperation completely terminated. Disgraceful behavior."

"Cancel the logistics contract tomorrow morning," another board director mutters loudly to his aide, turning his back on her in disgust.

Sara shoots me a furious, humiliated glare, finds only cold amusement in my eyes, and turns pale under the collective judgment of thirty elite donors. Clutching her stole, she spins around and flees toward the terrace in utter disgrace. Matteo opens one eye from the floor, winks at Nora with a broad grin, and groans loudly again for dramatic effect before scrambling to his feet and limped away, still faking the fall. Nora doesn't even bother watching Sara run.

"Well," Nora breathes out, smoothing down the front of her black dress. "That was completely pathetic."

"You guys humiliated her in under a minute," I point out, stepping closer to guide her past the staring onlookers.

Nora rolls her eyes and smooths her black silk sleeve. "I gave her an opportunity to act like a professional threat. Instead, she went straight for schoolyard malice. And Matteo is an absolute menace with glassware."

Her jaw tightens. She points an accusing finger at my jacket lapel. "Her hands were all over your coat. You just stood there and let that sociopath run her cheap manicure over your chest."

"Take me out of this ballroom right now, Luca. Find somewhere private before I lose my temper and smash a crystal bowl over a senator's head."

I lead her through an arched side hallway reserved for security staff. The private lounge at the end of the hall is dim and silent, wrapped in dark mahogany paneling with a heavy leather sofa and a deadbolt that clicks shut behind us. The muffled bass of the orchestra dies instantly. Nora kicks her designer heels into the corner, spins around, and points an accusing finger at my chest.

Nora closes the distance between us in three furious strides, her knuckles hooking into my tie. She yanks it hard, dragging my head down until our lips are inches apart.

She twists the silk tighter around her fist until I have no choice but to brace a hand against the wall behind her. "Look at me. Never again. You do not stand there like a statue and let that woman put her claws on you. You don't let anyone touch you."

"She was baiting us," I murmur. The fierce golden spark in her eyes flares.

"I don't give a damn what she was doing," Nora snaps, giving the tie another sharp pull that wrenches my chin forward. "If anyone puts their hands on what belongs in this room, I will tear their family empire apart piece by piece, and then I will finish you myself."

A slow smirk touches my mouth, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Understood."

"You are undeniably jealous." I watch the color rise in her cheeks.

"I am not jealous," she fires right back, slamming both hands against my chest.

"I am strictly territorial." She tugs my black silk tie loose with violent precision. "Learn the difference. Jealousy is a pathetic emotional weakness. Territory is corporate policy."

I grab her wrist, halting the motion inches from my throat. "Nora."

She wrenches herself free and shoves my shoulders back until the leather sofa catches behind my knees. "What?" I drop onto the cushions because the heat in her face is intoxicating.

"Pay attention." She climbs onto my lap, straddling my thighs while her evening dress rides up toward her hips. Her hands grip my jaw with unyielding force. "You do not get to show me real you, make me want you more and then let some mafia heiress leave her fingerprints on you. Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly clear," I manage, my throat going dry as her weight settles over me.