He smiles. It’s slow, calculating.
"Whatever it is," he murmurs, "if they find out, you know the rules of the famiglia." His eyes darken, his voice almost a whisper. "You. Are. Dead." A shudder of fear runs through me. I flinch. Because I know he’s telling the truth. The moment he takes me back, I am dead. Nobody will save me. I can’t leave Leon. I won’t leave Leon. He needs me. He sees the fear in my eyes. And he likes it. "So you better just tell me why," he says, his voice quieter. "Why did you run away, Ariella?" He leans in slightly, watching me. "Were you scared I was going to hurt you?" His voice is almost teasing, taunting. "Was it fear—after breaking my trust—that made you run away?" I am desperate for a way out. I can see that he wants me to say yes. He wants me to admit I was scared of him. So I do. I nod. Trembling. Avoiding his eyes. He smirks. "Good." He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. "I like your fear." He says licking his lip. Then, he moves. His hands drop. His fingers find his belt. The sharp click of the buckle echoes. Then his zipper. And suddenly—He's taking himself out. His dick is right there in my face. It is hot and angry. Its veins are bulging right there in my face. I don't know what to do. I'm frozen in place. What does he expect me to do? He then starts brushing my hair with his fingers. As he says, "Be a good girl and open up." " Why are you doing this to me?" I ask him, my voice low as I realize what is happening here. "Why don't you give it a little lick and see how it tastes? I remember how much you loved sucking me off. I mean, what are your options, really?" He's saying this as he keeps on brushing my hair softly, tenderly, as if he actually cares about me. But I know that's bullshit. "I'm giving you a choice. Do you want to go back like a traitor or are you going to go back as my whore? You can only have one." I cannot believe this. I just kneel there wondering what I have to do. All of those options sound like eating cement. None of those appeal to me. "So, what is it going to be?" He asks I can't believe we're having this conversation with his dick out and me on my knees. "If I do this, you let me go? It's already humiliating enough that I have to do this. But if I do this, give me your word that you're going to let me go. Just go back to your life and forget about me." He toots. "I don't know about that, but let's see how talented you are at this. If you can get me to come in your mouth, then I'll honour your deal." "Open up," he commands, his dick inches from my face. His "ick is already leaking pre-cum. He moves closer, "Take your tongue out." He orders. I obey, extending my tongue. He begins to fist himself, then uses his hand to smear the pre-cum onto my tongue. "Swallow," he orders. I swallow. "Open up," he repeats. I open my mouth. "Suck the head, just like that...," he instructs. I take him in, just the tip, then more, and more, each time deeper. Both his hands grip my hair, pulling, anchoring him. I look up at him, trapped, forced to watch him. His breath comes in ragged gasps through his nose. There is no gentleness in his eyes, no trace of affection. Only raw lust and rage, swirling together. Before I can react, he thrusts fully into my mouth. It feels like hours have passed. My mouth aches, and my jaw feels locked. He drew it out, savouring every moment. Each time he neared his climax, he pulled back, teasing, prolonging. I didn't know how to process the experience or the unsettling sensations it had stirred within me – feelings I desperately tried to ignore. Now was not the time. Right here, right now, I was literally fighting for my life, for my freedom, and Leon's. That was my sole focus. I didn't even notice he was done with me, because he kept prolonging his orgasm. When he withdrew out, I used this time to try and release my locked jaws. So, I was both shocked and surprised when he released his cum all over my face, my hair. That was a lot of cum. It was in my hair, it was dripping down my face. I was too shocked to do anything but feel his release all over my eyes, my lids, my mouth. I couldn't even open my eyes. I wasn't expecting this, I just kept kneeling there, shocked, with my eyes closed, as his release dripped from my face. After a bit of silence, I started hearing the closing of the zippers, and I knew that he was putting himself back together. Eagerly, I asked, " So, are we done now? Are you going to leave me alone?" The answer I got was a low chuckle as he said, "Not even close. I am never letting you go, Ariella, ever." I felt my anger rising, "What do you mean? You promised me, you told me if I get you, to come, that you were going to let me go. You said you'd never go back on your word." I accused, frustrated. He laughed again as he said, " You should really pay attention, Ariella. I didn't say if I come, I said if I come inside your mouth, I would let you go. And as we both witnessed, I didn't come inside your mouth. So no, I'm not letting you go." his voice a low, predatory. "I... you... You tricked me." He laughed again, a sound that sent shivers down my spine. "You should have hung onto my dick in your mouth a few minutes ago. If you had, you would be as free as a bird right now." Something snapped inside me. The fear, the humiliation, the injustice of his words... "Fuck you, Asher!" I spat, He chuckled a dark, amused sound. "I'll be enjoying doing that to you every day, in every way." I felt the tears welling up, a fresh wave of despair swallowing me. My face was already streaked with the remnants of his cum. I was a broken mess. Then, his voice, devoid of any emotion, cut through my despair. "So, here's what you're going to do. Listen very carefully, Ariella." He paused, the silence stretching with unspoken threats. "I'm going to give you two hours. In these two hours, I want you to quit your job. And then I want you to go back to your crappy little apartment and pack a bag. Take only the essentials. If something looks like crap, leave it...A man will come to your apartment to pick you up and bring you to the airport. See you in two hours." "No, wait!" I cried, frantically wiping the stickiness from my face with my clothes and arms, desperate to see him clearly. "I'm not going back home. I can't go back there," I said, shaking my head violently. I was terrified. He smiled, a slow, predatory curve of his lips, as he stepped towards me. "Do not worry, Ariella. I'm not taking you back to mommy and daddy. I'm going to give you one of my apartments, and you're going to stay there and be my little beautiful little toy." He smiles patting my wet head, "I'm going to give you everything you ever wanted. Jewellery, money, clothes, anything you ever want. And in exchange, you'll stop using your head, you'll stop using your strength. All I want you to do is look pretty and let me fuck you in any and every way." The offer, presented as a gift, was a gilded cage. He wanted to break me and leave me with a hollow, manufactured existence. "That's not what I want!" I shouted. "I already told you, you have two choices—to die or to have a luxurious life where you pay for your sins. Which one is it going to be?" I didn't give him an answer. I didn’t have one. He smiled, a winning smile, as he started walking away. His hand was already on the doorknob when I realized—he didn't know of the most important detail. "Wait!" My voice was shaky, desperate. "I have somebody who depends on me. I can't leave them." He turned back, his gaze sharp and questioning. "What?" He scoffed. "A boyfriend? What are you going to say next? That you're married?" He laughed mockingly as if the thought of me having a boyfriend or a husband was ridiculous. "No," I said, biting my remark. "Then who is it?" His voice snapped, filled with impatience as if I were wasting his time. I stammered. I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to tell him. But I knew—I knew he was going to take me, kicking and screaming if I didn't. There was no way out of this. "What?" He snapped. "And don’t you dare try to run away? From now on, you’re being watched. If you try to run, you’ll pay for it. So don’t even think about it. I’m not losing you twice." I swallowed hard. And before I could stop myself before I could rethink..... "I have a son."ARIELLALuca nodded slowly. Maria slipped beside me, pressing a handkerchief into my palm.“Here,” she said.I dabbed my eyes.“Don’t worry, the makeup’s waterproof,” Maria added with a little smile. “You can cry all you want.”That actually made me laugh, a small shaky laugh that broke the tension for a second. But thinking about my dad still hurts. He should have been here.Then Luca said, “Your mom was still mad at you. Asher didn’t know whether to bring her or not. In the end, he decided not to. But if you change your mind, I have a plane ready to bring her here.”I thought about my mother, about how she’d always been against me and Asher, how she always found something to nag about. I didn’t want her to ruin such a beautiful day.“Maybe it’s just better she continues thinking I’m dead,” I said quietly. “Maybe a few weeks, a few months, a few years later, I’ll change my mind. But for now, I just want to be happy.”I told myself the only thing I truly regretted was my dad. I never
ARIELLAMy heart pounded. “Asher…”“Don’t say no,” he said gently, his thumb tracing the corner of my mouth. “You said you always dreamed we’d have a home, the three of us. This, this is how we start it. No more waiting. No more running. Just us.”I covered my mouth, laughing and crying at the same time. “You’re serious?”“Dead serious,” he murmured. “You could say I’ve been planning this since the day I found you again. You’ve said yes to me a thousand times without words. I just need you to say it once out loud.”I looked at him, at the man who’d been through fire and still held me like I was made of something worth saving. And suddenly, there was no doubt left in me.“Yes,” I said softly. “Let’s get married tonight.”His smile broke wide this time, unguarded and real. He pulled me in, kissed my forehead, and whispered,“Then it’s settled. Tonight, you become my wife.”The moment the word yes left my mouth, Asher was already moving. He pulled out his phone, started firing off comman
ARIELLA“I’m sorry. I know how much you loved Dominic,” I say, taking his hand.“It’s fine,” he says. “.... I know it's not fine, but it’s not like there’s anything I can do.”“Yeah, I know,” I murmur, “but I can see it still hurts you, and it pains me to see you like this, to watch you go through this. I want you to know that I wasn’t close to Dominic. I didn’t know him. But if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.”“Thanks,” he says quietly. His thumb brushes over my knuckles.“The only thing that I keep thinking about…” His voice falters, then steadies. “I loved him enough to have let him be with Dinara....even forever, if he had chosen to. Even if he had wanted to be with her and start q family, maybe I could have found a way for the two of them to be together, if it was real. But he knew Dinara was playing him. I gave him a chance to save himself…”I hold his hand tighter. “If there’s any part of you that feels guilty for his actions, I just want you to know that he was an
ARIELLAI should have known the moment the plane began to descend, the ocean below was too familiar, the curve of the coastline too.The island.The same island Asher had taken me to before.The one where he had built that sprawling, luxurious hotel that rose out of the cliffs like a secret only the sea could keep.And just like last time, it was breathtaking. As we drove up the long, winding path toward the hotel, the salty breeze swept through the open windows, and I caught myself staring out, lost in the beauty of my surroundings.“You still remember this place?” Asher asked, glancing at me as the car slowed near the entrance.“Yeah,” I said softly, smiling faintly. “But I thought it was already taking in guests.... It looks deserted.”He smirked. “No, it’s not deserted. I just reserved it for a few days while we’re here.”“A few days?” I turned to him, surprised.He groaned lightly. “Ah, I ruined the surprise, didn’t I?”“What surprise?” I asked, laughing.“Well,” he said, his voi
ARIELLAWhen Asher arrived, I had already packed my bags. I’d already had that talk with Leon and Maria. I told them we were leaving, that Asher was coming to get us.Leon was super excited, almost too much. Every five minutes, he’d ask, “Is dad coming? Is he here?” and I had to keep telling him to be patient.Maria, on the other hand, said she was going to stay behind a few more days at the house until she decided what to do. I told her we could wait for her, that we could go together, but she just smiled and said she needed a few days to herself. So, I had to let her have her way.When Asher finally arrived, the moment he opened the door, Leon was already there waiting. He had been sitting right in front of it, lunch plate and all, determined not to miss a second.And the moment the door opened, Leon ran straight into him, no hesitation, no pause, just pure, overflowing joy.“Dad! Dad! You came! You came! You didn’t lie!”For a moment, Asher just froze in the doorway, startled. I co
ARIELLALuca shifted uneasily on the couch, his big frame looking strangely out of place in my living room. His jaw worked as if he was chewing on his own words, and for a moment, he stared at the floor before he finally looked up at me.“I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you the last time I was here,” he began, his voice quieter than I’d ever heard it. “I’m sorry for not believing you when you told me that Leon was Ash’s son. I know I threatened you, and I told you to run away… and I should have given you the opportunity to explain youRself.”He exhaled hard, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’ve known you a long time, Ari. I’m not trying to justify my actions. But I want you to know something: Ash is a brother to me. He’s my blood. I don’t know why, but I just thought… I was afraid you were lying to him. I was afraid you were using him.”He shifted forward, elbows on his knees. “After I saw those papers...papers saying you were supposed to marry his dad, not him, I thought maybe the pr