ASHERDominic finally lifted his eyes to me, but only for a second before he busied himself with the wine glass, swirling it as though there was something fascinating at the bottom.I chuckled under my breath. “You know,” I said, tapping my knife against the plate, “our father always told us, blood comes first. Above everything. Above business. Above women. Above… temptation.”Dominic froze. Just for a fraction of a second. But I caught it. Dinara’s hand tightened on her fork, her knuckles white.I leaned forward, dropping my voice low, intimate, like we were sharing some sacred truth. “And I believed him. I still do. Loyalty is everything. Without loyalty, there is no family. Without loyalty, there is no us.”I smiled at both of them, but it wasn’t warmth. It was sharp. Deadly.The room was suffocating. I set my glass down and laced my fingers together. “So, tell me,” I asked softly, eyes flicking between the two of them, “what do the two of you think? Is loyalty still sacred… or ha
ASHERI moved quietly, too quietly for a man coming home to his wife. Maybe deep down, I already knew what I was going to see...And then I saw them.My brother. My own blood. And my wife, tangled in sheets that weren’t meant for betrayal. Her hair spilled over the pillows, her body arching in ways I had never touched, never allowed myself to touch. And Dominic....shameless, his hands all over her, his mouth on the woman who bore my name.The two were in a heated passion. No worry, no fear. You could tell this wasn't their first rodeo; they knew each other's pulse points, knew each other's turn on.For a second, the world just… stopped. I couldn’t hear anything but the pounding of my own heart. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I was frozen.I had come home to give her everything she had ever wanted, all she had asked of me.... Except love course. And she had already given herself away.That was the day something inside me broke. I had been faithful to her, and I never thought of bein
ASHER“That’s not gonna work for me, I’m afraid,” I told her flatly. Her sobs grew louder, desperate, maybe for effect, maybe for real, but I didn’t care to measure the difference anymore.“I’m tired,” I added, dragging my words like I was done with every piece of her. “I want to go inside, take a shower, and sleep. So why don’t you go to Dominic? I’m sure he’ll have something to make you stop crying.”I didn’t wait for her answer. I turned my back, leaving her standing there with her tears, and walked toward my bedroom. The click of the door closing behind me sounded like a final judgment.Inside, I leaned against the door and let out a long breath.Dinara... Sometimes I think I shouldn’t blame her, not entirely. But how can I not? Our whole marriage was built on lies. Promises wrapped in silk, but rot underneath. They promised me a virgin. They promised me a devoted wife. What I got was a woman sharp as glass, manipulative, disruptive, disloyal....And a whore.Because who sleeps
ASHERDinara widened her eyes at me.“That’s not true,” she said.“It’s true,” I shot back. “The only thing Dominic is missing is power. If he had power, you wouldn’t still be after me. Nagging me. Chasing me. Talking to me. Afraid of losing me...”She flinched, but I laughed, cold. “Really, Dinara? Really? So you slept with your brother-in-law....my own brother, because I’m your husband? Because you love me so much, don’t you?” I asked, my voice dripping with a sneer.“Don’t you dare put the blame on me,” she snapped. “You’re the reason I ran toward Dominic. You’re the reason he was able to seduce me, able to exploit my weakness and take advantage, because you didn’t have time for me. You left me all alone. You didn’t give me any attention. I was lonely.”“So you fucked my brother?” I asked flatly.She looked away then, taking a deep, trembling breath.“You know you’re the reason I ran into Dominic’s arms,” she whispered. “If only you had given me space in your heart. If only you wo
ASHERI didn’t want to be here. It was the last place on the planet I wanted to be. These were the last people on Earth I wanted to spend the day....or the night, with. But here I was, sitting in a meeting with my men, the captains, and the leaders of my famiglia.It was necessary. I had to know what was going on, to show my presence, to show them I was still strong, that I wasn’t running, I wasn’t hiding. That we were still strong. I had to cut a few tongues to make them understand I meant business.Before even before I even came to this meeting, Luca asked to talk to me.“What is it about?” I asked.“It’s about Dominic and Dinara’s situation.”“What about them?” I asked.“There’s something more going on there. I think they’re planning something.”“They have always been planning something,” I told Luca. “And I’m not in the mood to talk about them right now. Let me figure this out first, and then I’ll figure Dinara and Dominic later.”“It’s serious,” Luca said. “I think we should look
ARIELLAAsher laughed softly, a brief, bittersweet sound, and placed his hand on my cheek, brushing it gently in that way he sometimes did, like one would comfort a child who is blissfully unaware of the dangers of the world.“I want you to know,” he continued, his eyes glinting with that familiar edge of determination, “even if I don’t come back, Luca will always look after you. He knows how much you mean to me, he knows how much Leon means to me, and he knows that the moment I fall, all he has to do is take care of you and Leon and make sure you disappear...”“You will come back, Asher,” I said firmly, letting every ounce of belief in my heart echo in my voice. “Stop talking like that. Nothing’s going to happen to you. You’ll come back to me.”He looked at me for a long moment, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly, and then he smiled. "I wish what you were saying were true," he whispered, "I wish that was my reality… but it’s not.""No," I shook my head quickly, refusing to