LOGINARIELLA The room was still dark, the faintest hint of early morning barely touching the curtains, and for a second I was too lost in the feeling of him even to think properly. By the time he finally pulled back, I was breathing hard, completely flushed, my chest rising and falling rapidly. I tri
ARIELLA "What do you mean?" “Tonight..... My mother humiliated me in front of everyone. Creating problems for you publicly... in front of everyone.” I looked away from him. “I know how these people are. I know how they talk and you have a reputation to uphold. I am supposed to....” Asher's enti
ARIELLA My voice cracked completely after that. “She is my mother." I began, trying to hold it together. "She's the only relative I have left, the only parent I have left, and I know my dad loved her. And as much as my mom was... that to me...” I swallowed painfully. “She was there for my father.
ARIELLA Leon had been a very welcome, loving, and warm distraction from all the emotions and the pain I was fighting inside. He had occupied my mind when I helped him to bed, when I read him a story, and when he fell asleep and I just sat there on his bed, watching him sleep, seeing him taking in
ARIELLA Asher helped me into the car carefully, like I might shatter if he moved too fast. The second I sat down, he followed after me, pulling the door shut behind him before anyone else could touch it. Outside, I could still see movement near the ballroom entrance. Men collecting phones and Guar
ARIELLA Asher lifted his hand slowly toward my face. For one terrifying second, I thought he was going to wipe the spit away himself.... Instead, he took out a handkerchief from inside his jacket and placed it gently into my hand. Like he knew I would break completely if he touched my face right n
His grip tightened. With each struggle, with each desperate attempt to push him away, his fingers pressed deeper into my throat. My lungs burned, my vision blurred, and I realized— I was going to die. Here. Like this. Beneath him. Panic seized me. I couldn’t die. I couldn’t. Leon—he needed me.
ARIELLA After getting dressed, I glanced once toward the bathroom door. The water was still running. For a brief second, I considered walking in, wrapping my arms around him again, just to reassure myself he was still here. But I didn’t. If I started doing that every time fear crept in, I would ne
ASHER They all looked at me, a little surprised. “We don’t go in through the main boarding entrance anymore.” Luca leaned forward slightly. “Side entrance?” I tapped my finger toward the screen once, thinking it over. “Yes.” I decided “The left or the right?” “The left. You know I can never t
ARIELLA Asher didn't move at first. He just breathed, a long, shaky exhale that vibrated against my skin. His hands were wrapped around my thighs, his grip firm but not demanding. It was the grip of a man holding onto a life raft. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice muffled by the duvet. "I didn'







