Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 187

I lifted my gaze.

“And I’m sorry,” I said.

Dana’s eyes were full of disbelief. Hurt. Confusion.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated, my voice breaking. “I’m sorry we can’t be friends. I’m sorry I said all those things. I’m sorry I have to walk away from you. I didn’t want this. I swear I didn’t.”

I turned to leave. But then, she caught my hand.

“Don’t go!” Dana called out, her voice catching. “What’s the hurry?”

I didn’t stop walking. She hurried after me.

“Listen, really...I’m telling you, we can help you. You don’t have to do this!”

I stopped and turned to face her.

“Look, Dana…” I began, and then I saw it.

I saw it in her eyes. The pain. The confusion. The betrayal. She was hurt.

And so was I. But I had to be strong. I had to think about Leon.

“I know you’re a great friend,” I said softly. “You’re an amazing friend. I haven’t had a friend like you since...God, probably since I was a teenager. Since high school...”

Dana didn’t speak. She just looked at me, eyes glassy.

“I’m so glad I got to meet you,” I continued. “And I’m so glad that even if it was just for a few weeks… or a few minutes… we got to be friends. We had fun. We really did.”

I gave her a small, broken smile.

“Thank you for that.”

She was still holding my hand.

“But you can’t help me with this,” I said finally. “I need you to understand... He is Leon’s dad. And he loves him. He takes care of us. He’s never laid his hands on me. He just....he doesn’t want Alan near my son.”

Dana opened her mouth, her eyes hardening slightly.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to be close to Alan,” she said quickly. “You can just say that. I’m just sorry your connection with Alan is…It’s what’s getting in the way.”

I looked down. She kept going. Her voice cracked, bitter and sad all at once. “I’m just… I’m sorry.”

I nodded. “So am I,” I whispered. “I can’t be seen with you again.”

She flinched.

“What does that even mean?” she shouted as I turned to walk away. “Does that mean we’ll act like we don’t know each other now?”

Her voice echoed off the walls behind me. I stopped. Slowly turned around.

“No,” I said. “It just means we can’t hang out. That’s all. You’re still Leon’s class teacher. I’ll still see you. You’re my neighbour. We can keep things civil. Polite. But we can’t go back to what we used to be.”

Dana stood frozen, the space between us suddenly too wide.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered again, my voice nearly gone. “I know it looks like this doesn’t hurt me. But it’s hurting more than you’ll ever know.”

And then I turned again and walked away. Even though my chest felt like it had been split wide open.

When I stepped outside, I found them all standing beside Dana’s car,

Maria.

Alan.

Rosie.

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