I shake my head. No.
Again and again, I shake my head, willing this moment to be a nightmare. But Asher just watches me, his lips curling into a cold, calculated smile. His eyes gleam with amusement as if he’s enjoying the way I’m crumbling before him. He isn’t speaking. Just watching. Like a predator toying with his prey. I try to absorb his words, to make sense of them, but they don’t fit. They don’t make sense. "But you’re married," I whisper, my voice shaking. "You’ve moved on. What are you saying? I don’t understand." He laughs, low and cold, his mockery slicing through me. "It looks like you got caught up in your feelings, Ariella." His voice is taunting, cruel. "I never said I loved you. I never said I was going to marry you. I never even said you had any significance." My breath catches. "What I did say," he continues, his tone dripping with venom, "is that you my toy. I am going to use you until there’s nothing left. Until you don’t recognize yourself. Until nobody can recognize you." He leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees as his dark gaze burns into mine. "I am going to have fun destroying every piece of you." Tears sting my eyes. My throat closes up, but I force myself to speak. "Please don’t hurt me, Asher," I beg. "It’s been years. You’ve already moved on. You have a family now. You’re happy. Please… just forget about me. I'm sorry...." Another cruel laugh. "Why the hell would I do that?" He tilts his head, his expression dark. "I, Asher Romano, of the Romano Empire, am a man of my word. I never go back on my word. And five years ago, I promised to make you regret what you did to me." His voice drops lower, colder. "And I plan to fulfil that promise., Until the end." He leans back again, completely at ease. "You should know by now, Ariella, I never lose and I never back down. Ever." "But I... it’s been years, I thought...” “Ariella, five years ago, you thought you could make fun of Asher Romano. Five years ago, you thought you could play with my feelings. And that ends today. I came to collect.” I feel myself choking on my thoughts. “I thought you had run away for a better life,” he continues mockingly. “I didn’t expect you would be wearing these rags and living on tips. What happened to Princess Ariella? The one who could have anything? The one who thought she could achieve everything? The life outside the family hasn’t been a walk in the park, has it?" I have nothing to do but cry, letting the tears fall. He stands up again and walks toward me. Slowly. Purposefully. When he reaches me, he lifts a hand and wipes a tear from my left cheek. I flinch, but I don’t move. Then, to my horror, he puts it in his mouth and swallows it down. “I love the taste of your tears,” he murmurs. “There’s going to be a lot of crying for you in the future.” His voice is calm, almost gentle. That only makes it worse. “Now that you’re in my hands, the things I could do to you are endless.” Panic swells inside me. Leon. I think of my son. My baby. He needs me. I have to survive this. I force as much strength into my voice as I can. “I do not belong to the Famiglia anymore. I left years ago, and I’m not going back.” I take a shaky breath, my voice trembling. “What happened was… I didn't know what I was doing then... I was a teenager. I’m not that person anymore. So please, just let me go.” Silence. Then—he laughs. It’s deep. Dark. Amused. He claps his hands together, slow and deliberate. A mocking standing ovation “That was one hell of a performance,” he says sarcastically. "Now. Get on your knees." His voice is filled with command, power, and absolute authority. I freeze. My mind is at war with itself. Some part of me wants to obey, but—what the hell am I kneeling for? Is he going to execute me? The thought slips from my lips before I can stop it. "Are you going to execute me?" He laughs. Slow. Dark. Twisting his fingers into the last strands of my hair, he plays with it lazily, like a cat toying with a trapped mouse. "Why would I want to execute you? Especially in such a public setting?" His tone is almost amused. "I mean, think of all the trouble I'd have to go through—concealing everything, dealing with the restaurant, the cleanup. It’d be such a hassle. And you are not worth it." He leans in, his breath warm against my skin as he whispers, "I could just take you, finish you off, and feed you to my dogs." A shiver of horror runs through me. My eyes widen with fear, and he chuckles. Then—just like that—his expression shifts again. Cold. Detached. "On your knees. Little butterfly.." I hesitate for only a moment before sinking down. What choice do I have? He looks down at me, playing with my hair, touching my face, running his fingers along my lips as if he’s testing me, toying with me. My stomach twists with nerves. I don’t know what he wants. I don’t know what he’s going to do. Desperate, I finally whisper, "What do you want, Asher? What will make you let me go?" His hand grips my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "I want a lot of things from you, Ariella." His voice is low, almost gentle. But the words cut deeper. "I want everything." He leans closer, his grip tightening. "And I am never letting you go. Not until I take my last breath or you take yours. Because you…" His eyes burn into mine. "You belong to me." A sob claws its way up my throat. "I don't understand!" I cry, my voice cracking. "What do you want from me?" A slow smirk appears on his lips. "You, Ariella." His tone is cruel. "You have just become one of the many whores at my disposal." He tilts his head, watching me like a predator savouring its prey. "So… congratulations. You just won the lottery." I look up at him, my eyes filled with horror. "What? No. Never!" My voice is shaky but firm. "I would never be that. I've been through too much. Suffered too much. And I have never stooped so low. Not even for you. Not even for you." I shake my head repeatedly. He only looks amused, his dark eyes glinting with something unreadable as he stares down at me. The contrast is almost laughable—me, on my knees, and him standing tall and powerful above me. He brushes his fingers across my lips, slow and deliberate."You have no choice." His voice is calm, but something is terrifying beneath the surface. "From now on, you have no say. What I say goes." He tilts his head, watching me, waiting for my reaction. "If the family finds out what you did—if they find out you made a mockery of them, that you purposely destroyed your family's house just so you could run away…" He trails off, studying me. Then, his voice drops, mocking. "And for what? What exactly have you been doing all these years, Ariella? What was the purpose of all that drama..,?" I shake my head, my breath catching in my throat. I can’t tell him. I won’t.He smiles. It’s slow, calculating."Whatever it is," he murmurs, "if they find out, you know the rules of the famiglia."His eyes darken, his voice almost a whisper. "You. Are. Dead."A shudder of fear runs through me. I flinch. Because I know he’s telling the truth. The moment he takes me back, I am dead.Nobody will save me. I can’t leave Leon. I won’t leave Leon. He needs me.He sees the fear in my eyes. And he likes it."So you better just tell me why," he says, his voice quieter. "Why did you run away, Ariella?"He leans in slightly, watching me. "Were you scared I was going to hurt you?" His voice is almost teasing, taunting. "Was it fear—after breaking my trust—that made you run away?"I am desperate for a way out. I can see that he wants me to say yes. He wants me to admit I was scared of him.So I do. I nod. Trembling. Avoiding his eyes. He smirks."Good."He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze."I like your fear." He says licking his lip. Then, he moves. His hands
Asher stood still, frozen, as seconds ticked by before he turned towards me. He looked at me, and I could see the anger, the fury, the fire burning hot in his eyes, and it made me scared. I took a step back, and that little movement seemed to be the thing that broke him from his trance because before I could blink an eye, he was already there—right there in front of mAs he looked at me, I tried avoiding eye contact. His gaze was too piercing, too intense, and it made me too scared, so I looked down.But he gritted out angrily, commanding, “Look at me.”I raised my head up, forcing myself to meet his gaze.“Look. At. Me.” He gritted out each syllable, his voice sharp. Then, he asked me, “What did you say?”I shook my head. I was afraid to speak out, afraid to repeat the words that had already left my mouth. Just moments ago, he had mocked the idea of me having a boyfriend, of being with someone else, of being married. And now, now he was acting so mad because I told him I had a son.
"Nobody! It is nobody!" I cried out, my voice breaking with desperation. "I have never cheated on you, Asher. It’s always been you. It has always been only you.""Shut up, you bitch!" he snapped, his voice laced with pure fury. "You think I’m foolish? Do you think I’m stupid? You think I—" He cut himself off, running a hand through his hair before glaring down at me again. "Then where did this son come from? You think you're the virgin Mary?""No. I never said that, I....""You think I haven’t heard the rumours? People whispering behind my back, saying you were sneaking around? You think I don’t know why you were after me, the Don’s son?"I shook my head, my lips parting to speak, but he wasn’t done."You think I don’t know why you forced me to sleep with you just weeks before you faked your own death?" His voice dropped lower, more dangerous. "Staged it, I should say.""I don’t know what you’re talking about, Asher," I whispered, still curled up on the floor, my arms wrapped around m
"Do you want me to get someone else?" Damien asked hesitantly. "A woman, maybe? Do you think you'll feel better talking to a woman rather than talking to me?"For the first time since this nightmare began, I answered. "No," my voice was barely above a whisper. "I just… I’d like to take a shower. Maybe a change of clothes?""Yes, of course!" His voice lifted as if I had finally given him something sensible to do—something that could help, even if just a little.He practically bolted out the door, his footsteps fading down the hall. For a few moments, I just stood there, hugging myself, my mind still reeling from everything. Then, not too long after, Damien returned, his arms full of clothes and toiletries."I brought everything I thought you might need," he said, placing them on a broken chair. One of its legs was missing, making it tilt slightly. "I asked Maddie to prepare it." He motioned toward the back of the room. "There's a bathroom right there behind you. You can use it. It has
I went straight to my apartment.It was small—just one tiny room divided into a kitchen, a cramped bathroom, a bedroom, and a barely-there sitting area. The walls were dull, the furniture mismatched, but it was home.I prepared Leon’s soup first, making sure it was just the right temperature before heading out to Tracy’s place to get him.When she opened the door, her eyes widened in surprise. “Ariella? I thought you wouldn’t be back until later tonight. Doesn’t your shift end at eight? What are you doing here?”I forced a small smile. “Yeah… I just felt bad leaving Leon by himself.”Tracy scoffed playfully. “He was with me, silly.”“Yeah, I know. But he’s sick… and I just felt bad, so I asked to come back and take care of him.”She shrugged. “Okay, that’s fine.”Tracy and I were neighbours, but like most people in the city, we had separate lives. We were always working, always chasing money, always trying to survive. I was lucky she helped me watch Leon when she could—especially sin
The officer reached my car and knocked on the window, signalling for me to roll it down. My heart raced, my palms sweating as I took a deep breath and lowered the window. The officer didn’t crouch down to look me in the face, standing tall as he asked in a voice that was calm but firm, "Where are you going, ma'am?"I froze, my mind scrambling for an answer. "I'm just going to visit a friend... a little out of town.""Where to exactly?" he asked, his tone still measured.I felt the panic set in as my mind searched for a place. Westwood. The name popped into my head before I could think better of it. "Westwood," I stammered, praying he wouldn’t ask anything else. It was far from the city, but it was the only thing I could think of."Yeah? Is there a problem? Did I do something wrong? Was I speeding?" I managed to ask, trying to keep my voice steady.That’s when the officer crouched down to look at me through the window. My breath caught in my throat as he still kept his cap low, hidin
There was a way that Luca was treating the whole thing. If we were to put him into terms, we would say he was here to kidnap me.But can you even call it kidnapping if you're being forced into doing things?It was the way he was so sure of himself, so certain that I was going to do everything he said just because he was Mafia, just because Asher had asked him to.But he didn’t know me. Not this new version of me.I wasn’t just going to let them pick me up and throw me into their cage, controlling me with their batons. I had survived too much, fought too hard, to let them take me without a fight.So, I decided to use Luca’s weakness against him.He hit the top of the roof of my car twice as he said, "Come on, let's go." Then, without another word, he started walking back toward his police cruiser.No. He wasn’t taking me that easily.I turned the car back on, gripping the wheel tightly. Just as I was about to press my foot on the gas, a hand shot out and held mine in place.I stiffene
My mouth hung open, but Luca just smiled, like this was all some funny joke."You ain't planning on keeping the money so you can run away from Asher again, are you?" he asked, amused.I stared at him, frozen, like a deer caught in headlights. That only made him chuckle. Then, as if I had just told the funniest joke in the world, he burst into laughter.Luca laughed so hard I didn’t think I had ever seen him like this. It wasn’t just a chuckle—it was a full, uncontrollable laugh, his shoulders shaking, his head thrown back.I frowned, growing more irritated by the second."You can't be serious," he said, still laughing.I just stared at him.Then, still chuckling to himself, he turned and walked out of the diner, shaking his head as he headed toward the car.Thank God Leon was too busy with his food to pay attention. He hadn’t noticed our exchange or pretended not to.I paid the bill and followed him outside. By now, I was mad. No—fuming.I got into the car, sitting stiffly, arms cross
I am underneath Asher's weight. He's on top of me, and he's heavy, and the sound of gunshots makes me want to scream, but Asher places his hand in front of my mouth.Just a second later, the girl we were with started running while screaming aloud, and the sound of gunshots followed her as she ran away from us.Asher keeps pressing on me for a few minutes, but what feels like hours, until he says, "Shh," and then he stands up.He groans a little. I'm about to ask him what's going on when he makes this communication with his hands, not saying a word as he keeps telling me to shut the hell up.We start walking, following Luca on the other side of the way from where the girl had run, and just when we're a few paces away, we hear more screaming, screams of agony before it all goes quiet.Luca mutters under his breath, "Shit," and then he starts running.Asher starts running behind him, pulling my hand forward. We're running. I don't know where we're going, but I'm not supposed to be talkin
Pop! pop!Suddenly there was the sound of gunshots in the air and I just froze.I don't know what happened as I sat there on the bed, frozen, but then suddenly Asher was in my face, talking to me. He was already dressed, he had never taken anything off, so he was fully dressed. I was the one naked lying there on the bed as the sound of heavy gunshots kept being heard in the air.He was touching my face, his face was on my face and he was telling me, "Ariella, Ariella, look at me, look at me, Baby." That's when I turned to look at him.He tells me, "Get dressed right now, hurry up." He throws the clothes at me, he's on his phone, he's making calls. I don't know, I'm scared, I'm confused. I start putting the clothes on, my hands are shaking. I ask him, "What's going on?"He's not answering me and he's not panicking like I am, but I can feel that something's wrong. And then I hear a scream and I can't help myself, I start screaming too.He comes towards me and puts his hand on my mout
Asher groaned as he tried to take my hand away from him, but I pulled him by his sweater and started kissing him.After nibbling and sucking and playing with his lips, he let me inside his mouth and actually started reciprocating my kiss.As his hands went towards my neck, pulling the hoodie off my head, I used this chance to open the zipper of my sweater, opening it and tossing it aside, left inside with a strapless pink crop top.He groaned in appreciation, and as he did, I started taking the top off, but he put his hand on mine to stop me.As he pulled back, I stood up and went to stand in front of him as I took the crop top off and opened the button of my jeans, the zipper, then took it off me.He looked at me, taken by surprise, clearly. I couldn't read the look in his eyes, but I knew that he wanted me. There was pure lust there, but he seemed to be fighting his want for me. I got on top of him while he was still frozen and As soon as I reached him, Asher grabbed my nape, threa
“I’m angry, okay?” Asher said, finally turning to face me again. “I’m angry that you put me in that situation. I’m angry that you care so little about yourself. I’m angry that you nearly destroyed something I’ve been working so damn hard to build... for us. For you....”I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My throat had closed up."And you even laughed about it too... As if the whole thing was funny to you..." He took a deep breath filled with anger.And that’s when it started to click. It started to dawn on me—what I’d done. What I had made him do.That day in the bedroom... How I’d tried to cross lines that maybe shouldn’t have been crossed.How I thought it was intimacy, but to him, it was something else entirely.It mattered to him. Deeply. More than I’d realized. I hadn’t seen it then. Not in his eyes. Not in the moment.But now, seeing the disappointment and hurt on his face... Hearing it in the tone of his voice...It hit me. Hard.I felt sick with guilt. Sick because I ha
I 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