MasukARIELLA I exhaled. “Okay.” “I’ll see you later,” he said. “Don’t be late for dinner,” I responded. “I want a promise.” A small smile slipped into his voice. “Okay. I promise.” “I love you.” I couldn't help myself. “I love you too.” The call ended and I stayed there for a moment longer, star
ARIELLA The truth was… maybe I did. Maybe I had seen them before. Maybe I had grown up around them. But I didn’t actually know who had died. “I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Maybe.” Leon frowned again. “Then why didn’t you go to the funeral?” I hesitated. “I guess I should have,” I admitted
ARIELLA After breakfast, I tried to keep the morning as normal as possible. For Leon, and most importantly…For myself. “Mom,” Leon said, looking up at me, “should we go and prepare my study room? You told me that I could help.” “Of course,” I said. But before we walked out, I turned toward Marg
ARIELLA I held his gaze. “I can’t survive without you,” I said again. “You won’t have to,” he replied quietly. “I’m going to be okay. I’ll come back. I have to. You and Leon are waiting for me. I won’t break that promise.” He lifted my chin gently so I had no choice but to look at him. “I just
ARIELLA I woke up to feel light kisses on my face. I opened my eyes to find Asher hovering over me, pressing soft kisses against my skin. I let out a small laugh as he brushed his lips against mine before straightening. He was already dressed. Tie in place. Hair perfectly styled. Everything about
ARIELLA When Asher is finally, fully seated inside me, the bed groans beneath our combined weight. He pulls back out just as slowly, and the friction is enough to make my head swim. He’s doing this on purpose; I can see the intent in his eyes. He’s paying me back for every stolen glance and silen
Then, without a word, I turned and walked up the stairs, ignoring her calls as I disappeared into my room—where I finally let the sobs take over. ~~~~ When Asher called me that night, I was too tired and too angry to pick up, so I didn't pick up at all. So he sent me a text [Hey, are you okay?]
I loved Asher Romano. What was there not to love about him? You should see him—the way he smiles, the way his eyes sparkle when he talks about something that excites him. So sexy. You should see him when he’s annoyed, there’s this look on his face—so sexy. Asher gets angry too. They say he has a
Five Years Ago That night, I cried until my body ached. My mind kept racing, searching for a way out. How do I stop this? I couldn’t tell Asher. If I did, my parents would die. My father, my family—so many innocent lives were on the line. I loved my dad. I couldn’t be the reason he gets killed.
The room fell silent. Then my mom broke it, her voice softer now, but still sharp. “Ariella, be reasonable for once. I’m doing this for you. For your dad. For myself too, yes—but also for the entire Costa timeline. Didn’t we tell you everything? We laid it all out. Why are you being so stubborn?”







