ВойтиARIELLA I gave Asher a disapproving look. I mean, I kind of wanted to stay because...... ever since I can remember, my mother and I have never seen eye to eye. This was the first time in years that the two of us were talking without arguing. We were agreeing on something for once and talking abo
ASHER My mother continued staring at me in confusion, so I kept going. "I was hoping you would let me explain what happened eight years ago," I said quietly. "So I could explain why I did what I did...." She opened her mouth, and I already knew she was about to stop me. Probably tell me she didn
ARIELLA My mother snapped, putting her teacup down a bit too forcefully. Tea splashed across the table, but neither of us cared. "I am going to talk about him," I said firmly. "He is my father." "Stop this minute." She raised her hand at me. "Mom, I'm not twelve. I'm not sixteen anymore. I'm an
ARIELLA When Luca and Asher disappeared upstairs, the room somehow became even colder. Even quieter. Neither my mother nor I looked at each other. Neither of us spoke. The silence stretched between us. It had been years. Probably eight years since the last time I had seen her. Years of me pictur
ASHER You really think after that little tantrum I'm going to drink tea made by that woman? At this point, I wouldn't put poisoning above her. "Come on," Luca insisted. "It's fine." Then he grabbed Ariella's free hand. Actually grabbed it, and started pulling her toward the house. I immediately
ASHER "Aren't you happy to see me?" Luca asked Ariella, wiggling his eyebrows dramatically. I immediately shot him a warning look. Then leaned closer and whispered, "What the fuck are you doing here?" He didn't even have the decency to look guilty. Instead, he smiled, then winked at me. The b
ASHER The second shot tore through the air, a hot, sharp sting across my shoulder. Pain flared, but I didn’t falter. My instincts kicked in before my mind could process. I spun, gun raised, and caught the glint of Dinara’s weapon aimed directly at me. Her eyes were unflinching, burning. The chaos
ASHER I sit straighter, my pulse quickening. “And I told myself, I was going to tell you, and you were gonna help me.” She shakes her head. “And they told me the hard truth, opened my eyes, Asher.... That you weren’t Don yet. He was just teaching you the ropes by then. And you didn’t really have a
ASHER I swallowed, feeling the weight of her gaze. The truth was simple, but the words felt fragile on my tongue. Everything I had done, everything I had fought through just to be here, it all came down to this one moment, this conversation, right here in the quiet of the night, just the two of us.
ASHER “That’s not gonna work for me, I’m afraid,” I told her flatly. Her sobs grew louder, desperate, maybe for effect, maybe for real, but I didn’t care to measure the difference anymore. “I’m tired,” I added, dragging my words like I was done with every piece of her. “I want to go inside, take







