Page 36 of The Don's Soulmate

I look back up at Ettore, who I can tell can hear us from across the room. Our eyes meet, and a jolt passes through me like an electric current. He starts toward us, a man on a mission.

I just pray he stays out of it. But, he doesn’t. He keeps walking, prepared to save me, yet again.

Ugo begins dragging me with him. "Liar," he hisses. "You played me.”

I gasp for release, clawing at his wrist, but it does nothing. “Listen to me,” I try to reason, looking up at him. “I swear this is a coincidence.” The next thing I know, he’s trying to drag me out of the exhibit in a rush, away from this roomful of people. But I’m petrified, because I know once we’re alone, he’s capable of inflicting more pain than I can imagine.

I dig my heels into the floor, trying to stay where we are. “Let me go, Ugo. Please, I beg of you!” I screech, louder than I wanted to. Around us, heads begin to turn in our direction. I hear a clattering of a tray and look back to see Ettore banged into a waiter serving champagne. He doesn’t stop to help the man, instead he begins jogging towards us.

What happens next, happens fast.

Ugo grabs my hair and tries to pull me. I almost trip and fall, but he doesn’t care, my legs dragging against the floor as I’m under his control. My scalp burns from where his fingers dig into me. Around us, people are shouting and screaming for security, reacting to Ugo's rage. I struggle against him with all my might, panic flooding my veins. I can't go with him. I won't! If he is capable of treating me like this in public, what the hell will he do to me in private?

"Let me go!" I shriek, clawing at his hand. "Ugo, stop!"

He grabs my neck with his other hand, pulling me with him. Pain explodes behind my eyes, and for a moment, I see only blackness as I lose air.

"You little bitch," he snarls. "You planned this, didn't you? Brought me here to make a fool of me in front of him!"

I try to shake my head, but he’s got my hair and neck in his clutch. I begin to feel numb and realize, we’re nearing the entrance. Soon, it’ll be just him and I.

“You are mine, do you hear me?” he roars at the threshold. “I won’t let some two-bit thug take what belongs to me!"

Chapter 16

Ettore

My heart skips a beat the moment I spot Carlotta in the crowded gallery with that bastard, Ugo. Rage boils in my veins, hot and venomous. After what he did to her - how he assaulted her and left her bruised and battered - she's still by his side?

There can only be one reason why.

Knowing that her family is still forcing this marriage, her beauty fades in the light of how fragile she looks in front of her abuser.

A memory from 300 years ago rushes back, of a past lover from my time spent in the Zulu tribe in Africa. Nandi, her name was and we fell in love as children. Being from different clans, I was kept at bay. One night, we were discovered by the baobab trees. I was tied to one for three days, in the sweltering heat. When my clan men found me, they released me only for me to learn that Nandi had been wed off to a prince at the tender age of sixteen,only to be killed at the hands of her husband when he discovered our love affair the morning after our wedding. I clench my fists, anger coursing through my veins at the realization that not much has changed.

How could such a thing happen in today's day and age, and in Italy of all places? How could her family still force her to marry a man she doesn’t wish to, knowing the evil that runs through his veins?

"Carlotta," I grit out under my breath, snapping back to the present. I notice Ugo's furious gaze locked onto mine. He's clutching Carlotta's arm tightly, his grip possessive and tight. He’s hurting her. Ignoring the swelling anger within me, I swiftly move towards them, to put an end to this madness.

Focused on reaching Carlotta, who Ugo is now shouting accusations at, I don't notice the waiter carrying a tray of champagne glasses. I slam into him, sending the delicate glassware crashing to the floor. The sound of shattering glass fills the air, but I have no time to apologize or even look back. My sole concern is getting to Carlotta and freeing her from Ugo's hold.

There's no way I'll allow him to harm her any further. If her family won’t protect her, I certainly will.

My fury reaches boiling point as I watch Ugo grab Carlotta's hair, yanking her towards the exit. His other hand is at her neck, fingers digging into her delicate skin. Panicked voices rise around me, people shouting for security to intervene. But I can'twait for them; my body propels forward in a sprint, like I used to when hunting in the Africa Savannah with just a spear in hand.

"Please, Ugo, let me go!" she begs, her cheeks tear-stained from the pain he's inflicting on her.

They’re at the threshold of the exit. One more minute, and they’ll be out of sight. I run as fast as I can.

As I close the distance between us, I draw upon my centuries of martial arts training and experiences. The ancient technique of Aikido, honed during my time as a samurai, rushes to the forefront of my mind.

"Let her go!" I roar, lunging forward and seizing Ugo's wrist. Using the art of Atemi, I force him to release his grip on Carlotta's hair and neck by slamming the dorsal edge of my hand on the ulnar nerve of his right elbow.

"Argh!" Ugo cries out in pain, pulling away as the pain shoots up his arm.

"Get behind me, Carlotta," I command, positioning myself between her and Ugo when she doesn’t move from fear.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ugo spits, now standing back up to face me. "She's mine!"

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