Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I’m just so tired today. So I decided to put Leon to bed early. I don’t know why I’m so tired. Maybe it’s because I had been waiting till very late at night, thinking that Asher was just gonna show up. Which is very stupid, considering we all know that he hasn’t shown up. I have just been prolonging my suffering.

I’ve also been nervous, and on edge, thinking about what Asher’s thinking, and how he’ll show up, so it hasn’t helped. I look so tired. I have dark circles under my eyes. Makeup may have helped, but now I’m just too tired to dress up. I’m too tired to do anything. I’m just gonna take this night to sleep. And if Asher wants to show up, then he can damn well show up.

But today I’m tired, and I’m not going to entertain his mind games. I’m not going to let him keep playing me.

I take a quick shower and immediately put on a t-shirt and just go to bed. And the moment my head hits the pillow, as I start getting comfortable, I hear the door open. It doesn’t just open. There is a way the person on the other side of the door prolongs this. Takes their sweet time opening the door inch by inch, slowly and deliberately.

Without meaning to, I find myself already awake and sitting upright on the bed, watching the door. After excruciating seconds, the door is finally open, and there steps in Asher.

He looks so good. He’s wearing a white shirt and black pants. He has the top button of his shirt undone. He is carrying his suit jacket on his left hand, with that hand tucked into his pants. His hair is everywhere as if he had been pressing his fingers through it. And he just looks so handsome.

“Asher?” His name slips from my mouth as I look at him.

He gives me this strange look as he asks, “What’s wrong? Were you expecting somebody else?”

I am taken aback by his question But I don’t say anything, I just shake my head. He walks in fully, closes the door behind him, marches towards the end of the bed, and just stands there looking at me as the two of us stare at

each other.

I get I don’t know if it’s fear or it’s embarrassment-but I can’t hold his gaze, so I look anywhere else but at him. And to kill the awkwardness, I find myself saying,

“How are you? You had a nice day?” He just looks at me.

And I realize I’ve said something wrong, so I continue. “I just, I don’t know if we can just stand here looking at each other, maybe we could talk…”

And that’s when he starts laughing. He just laughs and laughs and laughs.

And then he asks me, “What do you think this is, Butterfly?”

“I don’t know, honestly, I’m sure I don’t know why you’re even keeping me here….”

“Do you think you’re my wife?” He asks me.

I flinch.

“What? You want me to come here and tell you about my day? Do you want me to tell you about my work? What else? You want me to tell you about my family? About the famiglia? About my wife? My children? My family?

1/3

Chapter 28

What’s next? What’s on your plan, Ariella?”

“Nothing, I didn’t… I didn’t say that. I was just making small talk.”

+25 Bonus

“Newsflash, little butterfly. I don’t need to make small talk with you. In fact, I don’t need you to talk at all.”

I immediately tense, because Asher has just reminded me again who I am and what position I hold in his life. Nothing.

Nobody but his slave.

I just wish I could explain to him. I wish I could tell him what happened five years ago. And as the thought comes to me, I wonder what’s stopping me. It’s gonna hurt, but it’s better if I just put it out there. And then everything will decide itself.

So I begin. “Asher, there’s something I-”

“Shut the fuck up, Ariella.” His voice cuts through me like a whip. “Did you hear me? I told you I don’t need to talk to you. I don’t need to hear anything from you.”

Frustrated, I ask, “What do you want then? Because I want to explain what happened fiv….”

“I said shut the fuck up.” His tone is low and dangerous, and it sends a chill down my spine. “You know what? When I came here, I wasn’t planning to hurt you. But it seems like it’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“No,” I shake my head, my voice barely above a whisper.

“What did I say about shutting the fuck up?” He steps closer. “I think I need to show you what I mean when I say I want you to shut the hell up.”

“Okay, okay,” I say, raising my hands up in surrender. He raises an eyebrow, his expression unreadable.

I take my hand and mimic zipping my mouth shut, then pretend to throw away the key. Raising my hands again, I try to show him that I’m not going to say another word. I’m not saying anything else.

He just keeps looking at me, his gaze piercing. I avoid eye contact, letting my eyes drift somewhere else- anywhere but him. After a while, when I think he’s gotten what he needs, he finally moves. He walks toward the chair that sits opposite the bed. He puts his jacket down and then sits there, leaning back in the chair, his eyes never leaving me.

It takes a bit of time, the silence stretching between us. I sit there, not looking at him but knowing he’s in my peripheral vision, watching me. I don’t know what game he’s playing, but it’s clear he’s enjoying this. It’s not healthy. It’s not fair. But I don’t dare say a word.

After what feels like an eternity, he suddenly speaks. “Go downstairs and make me some food.”

I’m surprised. Of all the requests I expected him to make, I never expected him to ask me for food. My mind races. Maria made this beautiful lasagna earlier. I could just heat it up and bring it to him. But before I can say anything, I stop myself. I was just about to get off the bed, but I paused and turned back to him.

“Am I allowed to talk now?” I ask cautiously.

“Go and make me the food from scratch. I want you to cook it by yourself,” he says, his tone leaving no room for

2/3

Chapter 26

+25 Bonus

argument.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify