Chapter 12

Zara’s POV

“Stop!”

The word tore out of me before I could even think or react. It sounded loud enough that heads snapped in our direction.

Matteo stood over the man on the floor like something carved from stone, his fist still clenched, knuckles smeared red.

The room had gone eerily still, and the music muted, conversations frozen mid-breath that I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

“Matteo, stop!” I yelled again, my voice breaking this time.

He didn’t look at me at first. For a terrifying second, I thought he wouldn’t.

Then slowly, too slowly he straightened and turned his head. His eyes met mine, and something in my chest twisted painfully. And for some reason, I felt fear.

That was when his hand reached for mine without consent or a care in the world.

His fingers wrapped around my wrist in seconds, firm, and before I could react, he was already pulling me away from the crowd.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, stumbling to keep up.

“Let go of me!” He didn’t answer. Instead, people parted as we moved, whispers buzzing around us like insects. I felt exposed and humiliated as my skin burned under curious stares around.

As we continued, my heels slipped once, and he tightened his grip, dragging me faster than before.

“Matteo!” I hissed. “You’re hurting me.”

His jaw clenched, but he still didn’t slow down. By the time we reached the exit, my pulse was racing, not from the chaos, but from the way he was handling me like a problem to be removed.

“Get your hands off me,” I snapped, trying to wrench free and that was when he stopped. He turned sharply, towering over me, his expression ice-cold this time and I froze staring at him.

“You will not make a scene,” he said quietly.

I laughed staring back at him. “Are you serious right now? You just beat a man half to death in the middle of a gala.”

His eyes flicked briefly toward the doors, then back to me. “We're leaving now!”

“No,” I said immediately without thinking, and in seconds something dangerous flashed across his face.

I resisted when he started pulling again, digging my heels in, yanking my arm back. “I said no! You don’t get to drag me around like this!”

But that apparently was a mistake, because in one swift motion, he shifted his grip, his hand sliding from my wrist to my forearm, tightening until I gasped.

“Zara,” he said with a voice barely above a whisper, “I said we're leaving. Now.”

“I’m not your property!”

His mouth twitched into something way worse than before as he pulled me forward.

The car door opened, and before I could process what was happening, he maneuvered me inside with ruthless efficiency as the door slammed shut.

I fumbled for the handle, heart racing in my seat. “Open this door right now!”

But instantly, the engine roared to life and Matteo slid into the seat beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him as the car pulled away.

I folded my arms tightly across my chest, staring out the window, jaw trembling with rage. “You’re insane,” I muttered.

He said nothing, instead had his eyes glued to the screen. Obviously ignoring me.

Every second stretched painfully as the city blurred past. My mind replayed everything in seconds, the punch, the blood, the way Matteo’s face hadn’t changed at all.

And the thought of all that, made cold chills run up my spine.

When we finally reached the mansion, the gates opened slowly before us and I felt something settle heavily in my stomach.

In a couple of minutes, the car stopped but I didn’t move. The door opened too but I had my eyes elsewhere.

“Out,” Matteo said.

“No.” I stayed frozen, staring straight ahead.

“Zara.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

For a moment, I thought he might argue. Instead, he shut the door. And then I blinked, feeling confused, watching as he walked away from the car without another word. This time, my chest tightened.

“Fine. I’d stay right here,” I muttered to myself. Seconds passed. Then the door opened again, this time abruptly, and before I could react, Matteo leaned in, his arms wrapping around my waist.

“What—Matteo!” I shrieked. In one fluid motion, he lifted me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. I pounded my fists against his back. “Put me down! This is humiliating!”

“Be quiet,” he said coldly, already striding toward the house.

My heart raced, with so much fury and disbelief tangling in my chest. Staff averted their eyes as he carried me through the entrance, up the stairs, my protests echoing through the halls.

“You don’t get to do this!” I yelled. “You’re not my father, you’re not—”

But all of that didn't make him slow down.

The door to my bedroom opened, and suddenly I was dumped onto the large-sized bed, the force knocking the breath from my lungs. And I scrambled upright just in time to see him straighten.

My room looked exactly as I’d left it, clothes draped over the chair, shoes kicked aside, the bed unmade. The normalcy of it felt surreal after the chaos but neither of that mattered.

“You think this is okay?” I shouted, tears burning my eyes. “Dragging me like that? Embarrassing me in front of everyone?”

His expression still didn’t change.

“You embarrassed yourself the moment you engaged with that man,” he said flatly.

I stared at him in disbelief and my brow raised. “He came up to me! I didn’t ask for any of that!”

“You didn’t leave.”

“I shouldn’t have to run away because a stranger can’t take a hint!”

He stepped closer, looming over me. “You don’t understand how this world works.”

“I don’t care about your world!” I yelled back and then he spoke, with a voice calm and cruelly controlled. “That man disrespected you and no one does that to a member of the Ferraro!”

I laughed bitterly. “This was never about me, was it?”

His gaze hardened as he glared at me.

“Get some rest,” he said. “You have school tomorrow,”

My chest tightened as I stared back at him, feeling disgusted. “You can’t just decide that.”

“I can.”

He turned toward the door.

“That’s it?” I demanded. “You don’t even care how this made me feel?”

He paused with his hand on the handle, shoulders rigid.

“You’re alive,” he said without turning around. “That should be enough.”

The door closed behind him and I just stood there shaking, staring at the door, my emotions crashing over me all at once. And with a sob of pure rage, I slammed the door shut.