Page 74 of Ruthless Royalty

But how the fuck? We’ve only been together for a week, and now proposing marriage? She’s going to think I’m fucking insane.

I won’t lie, I’ve thought about the possibility of marrying Chiara to secure her place, but I never thought it would come to this so soon. I’m not ready for it, not by a long shot.

“You’re not ready,” Dmitri says, as if reading my thoughts. “ Readiness is irrelevant when it comes to survival. You know that.”

I grit my teeth, hating that he’s right. It’s one thing to claim Chiara, to protect her, but marriage? That’s a whole different level of commitment, one that comes with its own set of complications.

“I don’t think she’ll go along with this,” I admit, the words bitter on my tongue.

Dmitri’s gaze sharpens. “Then you better figure out how to change her mind before that choice gets taken away.”

The warning is clear, and I know it’s not just a threat. Dmitri’s the kind of man who doesn’t make idle promises. If he says he’ll do something, he’ll damn well do it.

“I’ll think about it,” I say, though the thought alone makes my head spin.

Dmitri nods, seemingly satisfied with my answer for now. But there’s still something in his eyes, a coldness that makes me feel like I’m standing on thin ice.

“Don’t take too long, Giovanni,” he says, his voice low and dangerous. “The world doesn’t wait for you to be ready. If you care about Chiara, you’ll do what needs to be done. And if you don’t … I will.”

With that, Dmitri turns and walks toward the door, his presence still suffocating even as he leaves the room. I stand there, watching him go, feeling like the ground beneath my feet is shifting, like everything I thought I had under control is slipping through my fingers.

When the door clicks shut behind him, I let out a breath and pinch the bridge of my nose. His warning hangs heavy in the air, and I can’t shake the feeling that no matter what I choose, I’m fucked.

GIOVANNI

I’m pacing the length of my Suite, my thoughts a tangled mess ofwhat-ifsandhow-the-hells.

This wasn’t how I pictured spending my night, but after Dmitri’s warning last week, I can’t get his words out of my head.

Marry her.As if it were that simple. As if I could just solve everything with a ring and some vows. Like marriage would be a magic shield against all the shit coming our way.

I stop in front of the window, looking out at the moonlit campus of Willow Bridge, but the view does nothing to calm the storm in my head.

Fuck, I need to talk to someone about this before I drive myself insane. There’s only one person who might have a clue what the hell I’m supposed to do next. But I don’t know if he even wants to speak to me anymore.

“Fuck it,” I say and grab my phone, dialing Nikolai’s number. He picks up on the second ring.

“G,” he says, his voice cautious. “What’s up?”

“I need to talk,” I reply, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. “You busy?”

There’s a pause, then a sigh. “Not really. You want to meet up?”

“Yeah, your place?”

“Fine. Give me ten.”

“Be there,” I say, ending the call and grabbing my jacket.

The walk to Nikolai’s Suite is short, but it feels like it takes forever. When I finally reach his door, I knock twice, and it swings open almost immediately.

“What’s going on, G?” he asks, stepping aside to let me in.

I walk past him and into where I know his bedroom is, running a hand through my hair. Thank fuck Chiara and the others are having a sleepover at Mihai’s Suite. I can’t deal with having her here right now when I’m not in the right headspace.

“Your old man came to see me.”

Nikolai sighs, closing the door behind me. “Yeah he told me he would be coming. What the hell did he say?”

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