"You have this beauty that captivates men, don’t you? There were plenty of naked women in this room, but the second you walked in, the men lost control. They wanted a piece of you. They wanted to own you." His fingers trail down my jaw, tilting my chin up. "Not knowing you already belong to me." I swallow hard, my breath caught in my throat. He moves away, settling into a chair with ease. He unbuttons his coat, leans back, spreads his legs apart like a king, which I guess he is... And then, his voice turns lethal. "From now on, Ariella Costa, you are mine to use. Mine to play with. Mine to do with as I please." The words hit me like a heart attack. "Your body belongs to me. Your mind belongs to me. Your soul belongs to me." He smirks, his dark eyes locking onto mine. "I own you."
Lihat lebih banyakI cried ugly tears.Big, ugly, dramatic sobs.But I didn’t care. I wanted the drama. I needed him to see the side of me that wasn’t composed calm or cool. Because if I didn’t get through to the part of Asher that still loved me—really loved me—I was going to leave here today with nothing. And I wouldn’t get another chance. I knew once I left, he’d talk to Luca, and they’d make sure I couldn’t reach him again.I only had two days left to fix this. One day to save us. And I was willing to use everything I had—every tear, every trick, every truth—to fight for our love.“What the fuck… are you crying for?” I suddenly heard his voice, closer now.Before I could say anything, he was pulling me into his chest. His arms wrapped around me as he gently patted my back, smoothing a hand over my hair, holding me steady as my body shook. He murmured quiet things, soft things, trying to calm me.It worked. Eventually, the sobs died down into soft sniffles. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a h
While I was drowning in my mortification, one of the guys in the group—someone I didn’t know—grinned and said,“Luca, who’s that? Your latest conquest?”Luca’s face shifted. Still calm, but suddenly serious.“No, man. Have some respect,” he said coolly. “That’s my sister-in-law.”“Sister-in-law?” the guy echoed, eyebrows raised as the others burst out laughing.Another voice chimed in, “Hey, Ash, did you know Luca had a sister-in-law?”Asher laughed—just a dry, careless sound—and looked up.And that’s when he saw me.That was the first time he really saw me. I realized then—he hadn’t even looked at who was with Luca before. But now his eyes were locked on mine.In that second, everything about him changed. His easy posture stiffened. His shoulders squared.His expression turned sharp and furious.He shot up from his seat like a storm about to devour anything in its path.Luca tensed beside me. Asher’s energy wasn’t just angry—it was ready for a fight.“Hey, man,” Luca said quickly, ha
Luca had been driving for a while. I didn’t know how long—we’d left the city behind, and the houses were gone, replaced by long winding roads and thick clusters of trees. But I wasn’t watching the time. I was too busy rehearsing over and over everything I was going to say to Asher.Still, the longer the drive stretched, the more my nerves twisted. I shifted in my seat and turned to Luca. “Why aren’t we there yet? This is taking forever...”He glanced at me, then shrugged. “I could drive as fast as I want, sure. But I’d rather not have your death on my hands. I’m sure Asher would kill me twice if something happened to you. So yeah, I’m sticking to the speed limit.”I sighed, frustrated. “I’m tired of sitting in this car. I just want to see Asher.”He chuckled, low and amused. “‘I want to see Asher. I want to see Asher,’” he mocked in a singsong voice, then laughed at himself.I frowned. “What’s so funny?”“Nothing.” He smirked. “You really love him, don’t you?”The question caught me
An agonizing hour later, Luca finally calls."I'm below your window," he says.I don’t know how the hell he knows which window is mine, but I pray he's right. I’ve never snuck out before, not like this. And the second I crack the window open and peer out, my stomach flips.It’s far. Like, break something far.I lean out just enough to spot him—there he is, standing casually beneath my building in a black hoodie, hands in his pockets like he’s got nothing better to do. No fear. No nerves. Just still and calm.Doesn’t he care that my parents might see him? Or is he just built differently? I stare, uncertain. He stares back, expression blank.I grab my phone and text him:Me: How do I get down?He reads it. Looks up. Shakes his head.I wait for a response—but instead, he raises his voice, shouting loud enough to make my soul leave my body.“How were you expecting to get down in the first place?”“Shhh!” I hiss, putting a finger to my lips, frantic. Is he trying to get me caught?He just
When I get back to my room, I start looking for traces of Luca. Is he somewhere partying? Has anyone seen him?With a little help—thanks to my very public relationship with Asher—I get the right location. There he is. Apparently, he’s throwing a party at his father’s beach house, which is at least forty-five minutes away on a good day, and a full hour on a bad one.I think about it. Should I get an Uber and go there?I’m not asking my parents for permission. I already know the answer. They won’t allow it. I’d have to sneak out.But just sneaking out isn’t the problem. Getting a ride is.Still, I decided to be daring. I call Luca again.He doesn’t pick up. It’s okay, I was expecting that.I sent him a text: Where are you?He doesn’t respond.I wait five minutes before I send another message: 'I’m coming to you right now. I need to see Asher, and you’re going to take me to him.'Another five minutes pass.I send another: I’m just calling an Uber and dropping at your house.And just as
"No, she's not!" I snapped, and then I realized my mistake, seeing the look in my dad's eye."I'm sorry, Dad. But Asher Wouldn't do that to me... he loves me."My dad looks at me. His eyes are filled with pity and sympathy.He ignores my outburst and says, "Since Asher's not picking you up today, just get ready. I'm late. I gotta go to work and drop you off on the way.""Okay," I say, about to leave, but then he holds my hand and says,"From what I know, Asher is at home. He's fine. He's got his phone with him. If you've been calling and he's not picking up, take this as a sign—a way for you to let him go."I nod numbly."I'm sorry," he says as he kisses my hand and then silently walks out of my bedroom.The moment he closes the door behind him, that's when it all crashes back to me—that nothing has happened to Asher. He's okay. He is fine. He's just ignoring me.Why?I sit down and start trying to think about it. Just yesterday he was calling, he was texting. He came all the way here
I woke up with a jolt, the phone still in my hand. The first thing I did was check the screen—still no calls. No texts. Nothing from Asher.A cold wave of panic washed over me.He should’ve called. Now I’m getting scared.We both know what he does. He doesn’t tell me specifically what he does, but we both know what he gets up to every day. It’s serious. He could be dead. He could be hurt. He could be in the enemy’s hands.Just to put it into a nutshell, I was scared. Scared for his life, wondering if he was okay—because this has never happened. He has never gone quiet on me for so long.But before anything, I rush towards my parents’ door and knock. Nobody answers.I open the door. There’s nobody inside.“What time is it?” I ask the room. Nobody answers.I start going down the stairs and hear voices coming from the kitchen.I get in and see my dad at the counter. My mom is making breakfast.I don’t even say good morning. I go towards my father, and the first thing I say is, “Where’s
The room fell silent.Then my mom broke it, her voice softer now, but still sharp. “Ariella, be reasonable for once. I’m doing this for you. For your dad. For myself too, yes—but also for the entire Costa timeline. Didn’t we tell you everything? We laid it all out. Why are you being so stubborn?”I blinked at her, stunned. “I’m being stubborn? After everything you just said?” My voice trembled, not with weakness but with rage. “I thought you loved Dad. But now I’m really starting to question the love between the two of you. Have you ever loved him? Ever?”And that was when my father finally decided to speak.“Ariella,” he said gently.I turned to him, my chest tight. I was angry. I was sad. I was hurting for him—for the man who had always put his heart and soul into our family, only to sit through my mother’s words like that.But when I looked into his face, all I saw was… tiredness. Not sadness. Not hurt. Just quiet resignation. Like a man who had long made peace with things, he coul
I stayed in the bathroom long after my mom left. I wasn’t doing anything in there—I just didn’t want to be in the same room with her while she kept trying to convince me to break up with Asher. That wasn’t happening.I had a plan. And the plan was going to work. I hadn’t expected Asher himself to be the obstacle. I knew he loved me. I felt it. In the way he kissed me, the way he touched me, how his hands lingered when he held me. I thought that would be enough. I thought if I wanted it, he’d want it too—if not more.But he was hesitating. And that made it a problem.Still, I could see him slowly bending. I just needed to wait for the right moment—somewhere calm, somewhere private. Somewhere where no one could interrupt us.When I finally walked out of the bathroom and into my bedroom, I called him. He didn’t pick up. For a moment, my heart sank. But then I remembered what he said earlier—his father had tasked him with something, and he had to work on it. So I told myself to relax. He’
I was late to work again. Having a four-year-old isn’t easy.This morning, Leon woke up sick, burning with a fever. I couldn’t take him to daycare or just leave him alone, so I had to ask my neighbour, Tracy, for help. She agreed after I promised to pay her with my tips. I handed her some money, gave Leon one last worried glance, and a kiss and then ran out the door.The minute I stepped into the restaurant, I knew something was different today. There was a tension in the air, an unease that I couldn’t quite place. I barely made it to the back room to change into my uniform before the manager appeared."Where have you been, Ariella?" he barked.He never yelled. He was always composed, even under pressure. But today, he seemed agitated—nervous, even.I swallowed hard.It hadn’t been easy to land this job. This wasn’t just any restaurant—it was an exclusive, high-end place, the kind where getting hired was nearly impossible. The only reason I was here was because of Damien. I had met hi...
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