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 I didn’t want to be here. It was the last place on the planet I wanted to be. These were the last people on Earth I wanted to spend the day....or the night, with. But here I was, sitting in a meeting with my men, the captains, and the leaders of my famiglia. It was necessary. I had to know w
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..
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







