Page 78 of Lovely Venom

In response, Tommy gets down on bended knee, mimicking a proposal. It’s funny—until it’s not.

“Holy shit.” Lucia freezes.

“What?”

“Cristian just clocked us, and he looks like he’s about to raze the earth.”

I pivot to face him, and my spine stiffens as our gazes clash.

Raze the earth might be an understatement.

Cristian has always been the king of control, but right now, there’s an undeniable fracture in his composure. His body is rigid, save for the barely leashed violence simmering beneath the surface.

After my initial shock wears off, it quickly turns to anger. The audacity of this man to look at me like I’m doing something wrong while he’s standing there with Jolie at his side.

They aren’t alone, either. Angelo and another man are with them—presumably the father who will sign off on the marriage contract.

A few tense seconds pass as Cristian hesitates, his conflict evident. Our worlds are colliding at the worst possible time for him, and he doesn’t like it. But ultimately, he makes a decision and crosses the room with clipped, measured steps.

“You better get up,” Lucia tells Tommy.

Once Tommy realizes what’s happening, he staggers to his feet with a muttered, “Oh shit.”

Cristian casts a murderous glance at him long enough to issue a warning. “You better leave while you still can.”

“I’m sorry.” Tommy holds up his hands as he backs away from me. “I didn’t know, Mr. Vitale.”

Cristian takes me by the arm, his voice plummeting to a frigid degree. “You’re coming with me.”

“No, I don’t think I am.” I try to yank away, unsuccessfully.

He levels me with a stare that could probably make grown men cry, but I’m irritated enough that I don’t care.

“You’re making a scene.” I glare right back. “Why don’t you go tell your girlfriend what to do? I’m here with my friends.”

“So help me God, Chantel, I will pick you up and carry you through this club if I have to.”

The stubborn part of me wants to challenge him on that, but I can see that he’s not joking.

I glance over at Lucia, who’s watching the scene unfold with wide eyes.

“It’s okay,” she tells me quickly. “Just…keep me updated.”

I nod, not really sure if I’ll be back or not, so I offer Gio an apologetic smile. Tommy already tucked tail and ran.

“It was nice meeting you.”

Gio makes the wise choice not to respond, and Cristian pulls me away.

As we walk across the terrace, Angelo comes to meet us, and he looks pissed.

“Cristian—”

“I’ll be right back,” Cristian bites out. “I’m sure you can come up with something to say.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Angelo sighs.

Cristian manhandles me into the elevator, and we stop on the second floor, where he steers me into his office.