Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 198

ASHER

Ariella went down to have dinner with her son.

I selfishly wanted to keep her here with me. Just curl her into my arms and never let go. But I couldn’t. Not anymore. I couldn’t bring myself to be that man again, the one who took without asking, who kept her even when she wanted to run. Not when I’d seen what losing her really felt like.

I wanted to be with Ariella. For real. I just wanted her. And the crazy thing? I didn’t even feel hurt so much anymore about what she did.

Was I still mad? Yeah. Did it still gut me every time I remembered how she ran, how she left without looking back, how she got pregnant by another man, had a child from how she cheated? Yes. It still stings like hell. That doesn’t just vanish. That wound is deep and ugly and personal.

But I want Ariella.

That has never changed. I never stopped loving her. That’s the cold, sharp truth I’ve been circling around since she walked back into my life. I never stopped. I couldn’t. I love her, and I want her. And now she’s here. With me. Here. In my world again. So what’s stopping me from being happy?

Why do I still feel like I’m holding my breath?

I think the real answer hit me just now: I haven’t been happy since Ariella left. I haven’t known peace since the moment she disappeared. I built a life without her, loud, messy, hollow. I chased every distraction I could. But it never worked. I always thought about her. Always wondered what could’ve been.

But she’s here now...... She can make me happy.

Even if she doesn’t love me the way I thought she did… even if there’s always a shadow of another man in her life… even if that kid, Leon, is someone she would protect with her last breath and always, always put first…

So what?

I still get to be part of her life. I still get to have her close.

And it’s easier, so much easier, when she’s not fighting me. When she’s not hating me. When she gives herself to me willingly, softly, not out of obligation or guilt.

I don’t want to pull strings anymore. I don’t want to force her hand. I want her to want to be with me, freely, truly, happily. And seeing her like that… free, happy… it sets something in me loose. Something I didn’t know I’d been choking all this time..... It sets me free too.

And it makes me happy in a way I haven’t felt in years. Not the wild, adrenaline-fueled rush of possession. This is something quieter. Simpler. Safer. And maybe stronger for it.

My focus now… it has to be her. Her happiness. Not just getting her back, not controlling the story, not dragging her into some plan she doesn’t want. Just… her joy. Her peace. That’s what I want to protect. Because in the end, that’s what makes me happy. Her being happy.

But that Ariella isn’t here anymore. And maybe that Asher shouldn’t be, either. So instead, I wait. I walk over to the window, drag the curtain aside just enough to see the dying light outside. The air’s gone dusky-blue. The kind of quiet that only comes with places like this. With places where people breathe more slowly. I wonder if she ever breathed this slow with me.

I sit on the edge of the bed, rake a hand through my hair, and exhale hard.

She's downstairs right now. Laughing over forks and spoons with her kid. Living this… ordinary, sacred little life I don’t understand. And I promised her, I’d wait.

So I do. Because maybe for once in my life, that’s what loving her looks like, not barging in, not dragging her into my world. But waiting to be let into hers.

I’m already in jeans and a hoodie, clothes I’d stashed here, just in case. Just in case today was the day I told her to pack her things. Just in case I said, That’s enough. We’re going back now.

But I walk quietly down the stairs, my feet suddenly heavy with hesitation. From here, I can hear the voices drifting from the dining room. Light, laughing, full of life. The little boy, Leon sounds excited, like the world is one big adventure waiting to happen. Ariella’s voice follows, soft and warm, the kind of sound that could make any house feel like home. Even the girl Luka’s been trailing like a shadow, Maria, sounds lighter than usual.

They’ve made something here. I chance a glance into the room. I stay half-hidden in the shadows. They’re sitting together, plates scattered with food, elbows bumping, voices overlapping. I can’t see the boy, he’s got his back to me, sitting to Ariella’s right, but I have a perfect view of her.

Ariella.