CLAIMED BY THE MAFIA DON のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 171 - チャプター 180

ARIELLALater that night, I went back into my bedroom, the silence of the house weighing heavier than it had all day. I had realised something....no, accepted it.I couldn’t change what was coming.I couldn’t stop the inevitable.But that didn’t mean I was going to let it happen quietly. He wasn’t going to get to walk all over me, not this time. If he wanted a fight, I was going to give him one.I reached for the doorknob, bracing myself for the stillness of my bedroom, the solitude I’d been clinging to. But the moment I pushed the door open..... I froze.There was someone sitting on my bed.I let out a sharp squeal, my heart immediately jumping to my throat. And when I realised who it was, who it really was, I stopped that squeal from turning into a scream.It was Asher.Just sitting there.Like he belonged.Like he hadn’t dropped a bomb and vanished.My hand trembled against the door. My breath stuttered. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t stand. Didn’t even blink. Just sat there, elbows on h

ARIELLABefore I could finish, he kissed me. Harder this time. Hungrier.He kissed me like he was trying to shut me up. Like he couldn’t handle the words but still needed to feel them through me, in me. It wasn’t gentle anymore. It wasn’t about comfort.It was desperate. Like we were both confused and hurting and searching for answers we didn’t know how to ask for.But somehow, even through the chaos, we found each other again. Right there. Right in that kiss.Before I could make up my mind about what I was going to do, Asher jerked me against him again and claimed my mouth in a fierce kiss that made me gasp, then tense. His tongue slipped between my lips, and without wanting to, I opened up for him, parted my lips, and wrestled his tongue with mine. My hands found their way into his hair, tugging, raking, wanting him closer and at the same time wanting to shove him away. Asher gripped my butt and hoisted me up. My legs wound themselves around his waist, but our lips never parted. My

ARIELLAMy two worlds. Collided. Face to face.Leon.Asher.Asher crouched in front of him, still in nothing but his boxers, one hand resting gently on Leon’s small shoulder. And Leon, my little boy, stood frozen in his dinosaur pajamas, messy hair stuck in odd angles, cheeks streaked with tears. He looked like he’d just crawled out of bed, shaken from some dream or maybe just disoriented.But his wide, curious eyes were locked on Asher. And Asher’s gaze on him?It was unreadable. Complex. Stunned. Quiet and Heavy. I stood in the doorway, unable to breathe. My heart thundered in my chest because no matter how much I had rehearsed this moment, it had never looked like this. So Real. Too soon.And far too late.I couldn’t see Asher’s face clearly from where I was standing. He was completely focused on Leon. He was looking at him like he had just discovered the world, or maybe like he was his world. His universe. The center of something bigger.There was something so still, so intense ab

ASHERWhen I left Ariella in the bathroom, my phone was ringing.I went toward my clothes, dug into my pocket, and pulled it out. Luca. Of course.I picked it up."Where are you?" His voice came in sharp, tense. "This is not good, Asher. People will start pointing fingers when they realize you're not here. They’ll start suspecting you of Alex's death. You have to come back.""I know," I said, jaw clenched. "You think I’m an idiot?"But after being away from Ariella for so long, after she snuck out of my life, after everything...I couldn’t think straight. All I wanted was to be near her. Close enough to feel her. To hold her. To make things right.When she was gone, all I did was regret. Regret not telling her how I felt. Regret not letting myself be with her. Regret not letting myself love her. And that’s what I wanted now. Love. Her."I love her," I say instead."What are you saying?" Luca asked slowly. He sounded cautious, skeptical... maybe even afraid. As if he already knew where

ASHERI 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 said.Leon was warm against my chest. His little hand gripped the back of my neck like it belonged there. Like he knew. Like he had known all along.I don’t remember sitting down.I don’t remember grabbing a glass, or finding the cookies, or setting him on the kitchen island beside me.But somehow, we ended up there. Just us. My son and I...He sniffled once, rubbing at his nose with the back of his sleeve, and I handed him a napkin.He took it like he was used to taking care of himself. That broke something in me; this was proof that he wasn't a baby. He didn't get a chance to need me or rely on me....We didn’t talk much at first. He dipped a cookie in milk, took a bite, and stared at it li