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
Luca only smiled.NA cold, twisted smile that sent shivers down my entire spine. “Since I can’t touch you and leave all the frustration and anger on you,” he began, his voice low and venom-laced, “not just because I know Asher will kill me for it... but also because there’s this tiny little part in
She wouldn’t just leave without saying anything. Would she? I sat down again, uneasy now. My fingers fiddled with a napkin on the table. A few minutes passed, maybe longer before Alan returned. His face was unreadable. “Hey,” I said quickly, standing up. “What did they say? Are they okay?” “The
After dinner, things settled into a quiet lull. It was clear Rosie and Leon were getting restless, both of them squirming and yawning. Rosie kept tugging on Alan’s ankle until he finally chuckled and said, “I would’ve loved to spend a few more minutes getting to know you, Ariana, but it looks like
Luca drives. And drives. And drives. At some point, I must have dozed off. When I blink back to consciousness, we’re parked in front of a building, not nearly as grand as the one I’d just left behind when Asher found me. It’s not terrible, but it’s older, and worn down. The kind of place where no o







