Page 47 of Ruthless Royalty

Nikolai’s eyes narrow, his grin turning into a sneer. “And you’re a sore loser. Get over it.”

Before Giovanni can respond, Connor and Mihai almost rush past us, both of them panting from the run. They take in the scene, the tension between Nikolai and Giovanni, and Connor walks toward us, his expression serious.

“What the fuck is goin’ on here?” he asks. “This isn’t the time for any of your bullshit.”

Giovanni glares at Nikolai, his chest heaving with anger, but he doesn’t say anything. He knows better than to push Connor when he’s in this mood.

Mihai’s eyes flick between the three of us. “What the fuck happened?”

Nikolai smirks, still holding me tight. “Just a little rivalry, that’s all.”

“He fucking cheated.” Giovanni snarls, his eyes blazing with fury.

“Cheated?” Connor raises an eyebrow. “There are no rules in The Chase, Gio. You know that.”

“He fucking interfered!” Giovanni snaps, his fists clenched. “I was winning, and he fucking stole her.”

Mihai’s eyes narrow as he looks at Nikolai. “You really couldn’t let him have this one, could you?”

Nikolai’s grin returns, and he shrugs. “I’m not in the habit of letting G have anything, especially when it comes to my sister.”

Connor sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You two arefuckin’ unbelievable. Chiara, you’re out of the game. Get your arse home. The rest of you, we have a fuckin’ job to do. Enough of this petty bullshit.”

Giovanni’s still fuming, but he knows there’s nothing he can do about it now. The game is over, and Nikolai has won—at least in his eyes.

“Next time,” Giovanni says, his voice low and dangerous, “you won’t be so fucking lucky.”

Nikolai’s smirk never falters. “I look forward to it.”

With that, Giovanni turns on his heel and storms off along with Mihai and Connor to finish the rest of The Chase. I can still feel the anger radiating off him, like a smoldering fire that’s only been stoked by Nikolai’s interference.

When Nikolai finally lets go of me, I take a step back, glaring at him. “What the fuck was that about?”

He shrugs, unrepentant. “Gio pissed me off, so I got him back.”

“You’re fucking impossible.”

He just grins at me, that same smug expression on his face. “And you love me for it.”

I shake my head, still trying to process everything. “This wasn’t just about The Chase, was it?”

The smug grin fades slightly, and something darker flickers in his eyes, but he doesn’t back down. “What else would it be about?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” I snap, my anger boiling over. “Because that sure as hell didn’t feel like you were just trying to piss Gio off. You were … possessive. You called meyours.”

His eyes narrow, and for a moment, I think he’s going to brush it off like he always does. But instead, he steps closer, his expression hardening. “Maybe I did.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” I demand, my voicerising. “We’re step-siblings, Nikolai. You don’t get to just claim me like some fucking prize.”

His jaw clenches, and I can see the muscles in his neck tightening. “I wasn’t trying to claim you, Chiara. I was making a point.”

“What point? That you can just do whatever you want, whenever you want, and everyone else be damned?”

“That Gio doesn’t get to have everything,” he snaps, his eyes blazing.

“So you what? Decided to stake your own claim?” I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Because that’s not possessive or controlling at all.”

He growls, stepping closer, and I can feel the heat radiating off him. “I’m not trying to control you, Chiara. I’m trying to protect you.”

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