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My Child

Author: JacqueAuthor
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-27 23:12:49

ARIELLA

Asher gets off the stool slowly, like a man weighing violence in his bones. Then he raises a finger at me.

Not to hit me. But the gesture cuts like a warning, like a slap in its own right.

“I was right,” he says coldly. “Something did happen with you and a neighbor.... You kissed him.”

His voice is calm in that dangerous way that always comes before the storm.

“Which neighbor was it? I want to know.”

He starts pointing vaguely toward our left. “It couldn’t have been the old guy over there.” He scoffs. “Was it that poor woman’s husband? Is that it?”

I blink, stunned, not because he’s close to the truth, but because he’s so wildly off.

And that’s when it hits me: whoever told him about it… didn’t tell him much at all. Maybe they were afraid. Maybe they wanted to protect me. Or maybe they just wanted to stir chaos without getting burned.

Either way, he doesn’t know everything.And strangely, that doesn’t make me want to lie.

“It wasn’t her husband,” I say quietly.

“Then who was it
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  • CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON   His Reason

    ARIELLAI was so close.I was this close to telling Asher the truth. To finally getting rid of all this guilt, all this pain I’ve been dragging behind me like a curse.Because once I told him the truth, it would be his burden to carry. His decision to make. It would be on his side to decide if he wanted to carve a new path in his life, or bury the one we had.But as long as I’m the one holding everything, every thread of this story, every scar, every silence....then the truth, the guilt, the pain… they only get heavier.And God, I just wish I had blurted it out.Whatever the cost would’ve been.But I didn’t. And now it’s done. He’s gone.And I know when he comes back, there will be no room for talking. He won’t be coming to listen. He’ll be coming for action. To pick us up like luggage and drag us back to that prison. To that golden cage. And honestly, I didn’t even care that much for me. The only person it hurt me for was Leon.Because I’ve seen how happy he is here.He has friends.

  • CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON   My Child

    ARIELLAAsher gets off the stool slowly, like a man weighing violence in his bones. Then he raises a finger at me.Not to hit me. But the gesture cuts like a warning, like a slap in its own right.“I was right,” he says coldly. “Something did happen with you and a neighbor.... You kissed him.”His voice is calm in that dangerous way that always comes before the storm.“Which neighbor was it? I want to know.”He starts pointing vaguely toward our left. “It couldn’t have been the old guy over there.” He scoffs. “Was it that poor woman’s husband? Is that it?”I blink, stunned, not because he’s close to the truth, but because he’s so wildly off.And that’s when it hits me: whoever told him about it… didn’t tell him much at all. Maybe they were afraid. Maybe they wanted to protect me. Or maybe they just wanted to stir chaos without getting burned.Either way, he doesn’t know everything.And strangely, that doesn’t make me want to lie.“It wasn’t her husband,” I say quietly.“Then who was it

  • CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON   The Other Woman

    ARIELLAThe truth is, I'm nervous. I am so freaking nervous.I feel like this will not be a good conversation. I feel like this is it. This is the time that Asher tells me we're going back. This is it. I can feel it in every part of my body. And the last thing I want is to go back and be kept in a cage.....in a prison, in isolation.But I guess we're going to have this..... we're going to have this conversation. Even if I try to delay it today, it will probably just be later. Or tomorrow. So I know it has to happen. I remove my apron and begin putting things back. Yes, I’m stalling. Can you blame me?Before I go, I don’t sit next to him. I just take a chair at the kitchen island, facing him."What do you want to talk about?" I ask with a forced smile.He's quiet for a minute, watching me.He’s been watching me a lot. He thinks I don't see it, but I see it. I see him, the way he studies me, the way his eyes follow me. Almost like he's trying to make a decision about something.I just

  • CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON   He's Your Son

    ASHER“He is your son,” I say, my voice low but firm. “And you love him. So of course I know his name.”It’s all I can say. The only truth I can offer her right now.But she’s still bewildered. Still surprised. Her eyes stay wide, like she doesn’t know whether to cry or reach for me. Like she’s caught between relief and heartbreak.But I’m still angry. Still hurting. So I turn my back to her, walk to the door, and open it with more force than necessary. The cool air from outside rushes in, but it does nothing to soothe me.“I’ll be back,” I shout behind me, more for myself than for her.And then I just walk. Because if I stay, I might break. If I stay, I might say something I can’t take back. And I don’t want to release my anger on her, not tonight. Not when the truth is finally beginning to rise.Not anymore.I kept walking, ignoring Luca’s calls as they lit up my phone one after the other. I didn’t want to talk to him, not now. I knew if I picked up, I’d end up snapping at him, and

  • CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON   Never Was

    ASHERAriella is smiling. Really smiling.Her hair is tucked behind one ear. Her hand gestures in midair as she talks, and then she laughs at something Maria says. That sound...God, that sound. I used to hear it in my dreams. I used to ache for it in the silence of every damn night.And now it’s real. It’s here. She’s here, happy. I realise I want to keep her like this. Not just with me. Like this. Happy. Light. Unburdened. Always.So even though I came down here to tell her to pack their bags, to come back with me, to return to the life I had planned for her… I know now she won’t be this happy there. That life was never hers. Maybe it never was mine either.But I also can’t just leave her here. I guess… I can give her a few days. Let her breathe. Let her live.I quietly open the front door, stepping out into the cool air. I close it just as quietly behind me.One more day. I decide as I take a walk around the block. The air is a little stale, the sun lower now, and I can see some of

  • CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON   Happy

    ASHERAriella went down to have dinner with her son.I selfishly wanted to keep her here with me. Just curl her into my arms and never let go. But I couldn’t. Not anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to be that man again, the one who took without asking, who kept her even when she wanted to run. Not when I’d seen what losing her really felt like.I wanted to be with Ariella. For real. I just wanted her. And the crazy thing? I didn’t even feel hurt so much anymore about what she did.Was I still mad? Yeah. Did it still gut me every time I remembered how she ran, how she left without looking back, how she got pregnant by another man, had a child from how she cheated? Yes. It still stings like hell. That doesn’t just vanish. That wound is deep and ugly and personal.But I want Ariella. That has never changed. I never stopped loving her. That’s the cold, sharp truth I’ve been circling around since she walked back into my life. I never stopped. I couldn’t. I love her, and I want her. And now

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