LOGINARIELLA "No," I said shaking my head. "I am not doing it anymore." "You barely started," Asher said. "I'm finished." "You ran for three minutes." "It felt like two years." Leon laughed so hard he nearly fell over. "Mom." "No." "Mom." "No. No, no." "You look and sound exactly like Leon wh
ASHER "I think... yeah. I mean, I guess someone who can help me deal with this. Give me ways to deal with this." Ariella explained herself. I tightened my hold on her hands. "I'm here." She looked at me. "Nobody deserves your thoughts. Nobody deserves your truth. Nobody deserves you more than
ASHER Ariella had the right connections to get whatever drugs she could pump into herself if she wanted to. She had the means to do it, and I wasn’t going to let her. “It’s gotta stop,” I told her point-blank without sugar coating it. She narrowed her eyes at me. “I know about your little alcoh
ASHER I stayed patient... or at least I tried. Finding out about the alcohol was the moment that really terrified me. Because Ariella wasn’t like that, she wasn’t reckless and she barely drank unless it was socially, and even then she never lost control of herself. But grief changes people. Loss
ASHER As soon as Leon disappeared, the room became quieter. I slipped my hands into my pockets. “How is he doing?” I asked. Sia’s face softened immediately. “He’s doing great,” she said honestly. “Just as he said himself. If he keeps progressing like this, I’ll contact the school so he can sit
ASHER Luca nodded once. I stood up slowly and walked toward the window overlooking the estate. "We can still pull Fabio in and make him spill everything the hard way." He said. “I want Fabio comfortable,” I responded. “I want him to believe we know nothing. The second he gets nervous, he’ll eith
I lifted my gaze. “And I’m sorry,” I said. Dana’s eyes were full of disbelief. Hurt. Confusion. “I’m sorry,” I repeated, my voice breaking. “I’m sorry we can’t be friends. I’m sorry I said all those things. I’m sorry I have to walk away from you. I didn’t want this. I swear I didn’t.” I turned t
The room went dead silent. No one moved. No one spoke. It was like time had paused again, but this time it wasn’t fear or chaos, it was tension. The kind of tension that threatens to squeeze the life out of you. Everyone seemed to be weighing their next move, their next word, their next breath. B
“I know, I know,” Dana said, waving her hand. “It’s no wonder he’s your ex-husband. What kind of an asshole, an idiot... I mean, how did you even get married to that tool?” I just stood there. No idea how to answer her. No words. No excuses. She took a deep breath and kept going, earnest and wide o
I froze. My stomach dropped. “I... what?” I said cautiously. “Why?” Alan took a breath. “Don’t worry. I know everything. I’m going to get you out of here.” His words sounded in my ears like gunshots. He knew. He knew who Luca was. I stared at him, unable to breathe. He knew. How? How could he kn







