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
ARIELLA Alan takes a step closer, his eyes darting around the room as if checking we’re truly alone. His hands are clenched slightly at his sides, and there’s a hardness in his jaw I haven’t seen before. “I… I don’t have much time,” he says, his voice low, urgent. “Something’s happening, Ariella..
ARIELLA I rub my temples, trying to push the ache away, but it only grows heavier, pressing against the sides of my skull like it’s trying to split me open. My breathing feels too loud in the silence. I don’t even know why I’m thinking about trusting Alan. Maybe because right now, he’s the only
ASHER I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew I couldn’t stay in that room. Not with her staring at me like that. Not with everything inside me cracking wide open. So I kept walking, down the hallway, down the stairs, through the house that now felt too quiet, too heavy with what hadn’t been
ARIELLA Luca’s voice dropped lower, deliberate, each word heavy as it settled into the room. “This isn’t about threats anymore. This isn’t about the mistakes we’ve already made. Those mistakes are already done.” He paused, letting the weight hang between us. “Right now, this is about survival. F







