Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 306

ARIELLA

When I woke up the next day, I knew Asher wouldn’t be here.

It seemed like He never was.

I expected the cold space beside me, the quiet confirmation that he’d already left. But instead, I was warm, too warm. When I tried to move, I felt arms tighten around me.

I opened my eyes..... Asher was there.

He was holding me to his front, my back pressed against his chest, his head resting just above mine. His breath was slow and heavy against my hair. One arm was wrapped securely around my waist, the other draped over me like he had no intention of letting go. My chest tightened.

He shifted slightly in his sleep, his fingers brushing through my hair, absent and familiar. I had to bite back the sound that threatened to escape me, because happiness hit me so hard it almost hurt.

I was so happy he was here. So relieved. So desperate to feel him like this that my eyes burned.

He was here.

I didn’t want to wake him. I didn’t want this moment to end. I didn’t want to move, didn’t want to breathe too loudly, didn’t even want to acknowledge the very real fact that I really needed to pee, because I knew he hadn’t been sleeping well.

He deserved this rest.

So I stayed perfectly still and let myself relax into his arms, even though I was wide awake, memorising the weight of him, the warmth, the feeling of being held like this still belonged to me.

The moment didn’t last long. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

And then Leon practically burst into the room.

“Mommy! Mommy!” I flinched, my heart jumping. I turned my head just enough to see Leon rush in, all excitement and energy.

When he spotted Asher, his eyes lit up like fireworks. I wanted to stop him. I wanted to tell him to be quiet, to give him a sign, any sign, so he wouldn't wake his father. Asher needed this sleep. That was the whole reason I hadn’t moved.

But Leon didn’t see exhaustion. He saw Daddy.

“Daddy! Daddy!” He ran straight for the bed and climbed onto it, bouncing with pure joy. I understood it. I really did. He hadn’t seen Asher in a while. He’d been asking about him all day,

Where’s Daddy?

Is Daddy coming back?

Is Daddy coming to dinner?

I told him Asher was at work. That he would be back later. When Leon asked if his dad would have dinner with us, I said yes, even though I hadn’t known if it was true. And I’d been just lucky enough that Leon fell asleep right after dinner, right after I told him his father was “just running late.”

Asher had barely been in his life for most of it. So I understood Leon’s excitement.

“Can we have breakfast together?” Leon asked immediately. “Like, all of us?”

Asher opened his eyes and looked at me again, silently asking the question he wouldn’t say in front of Leon..... I didn’t answer with words. I just nodded once.

“Yes,” Asher said firmly, brushing his thumb over Leon’s cheek. “We can do that.”

Leon whooped and scrambled off the bed, already halfway to the door. “I’m gonna tell Margaret!”

The door banged shut behind him. The room fell quiet again. Asher exhaled slowly, his forehead dropping back against the pillow. One arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer until there was no space left between us. His other hand slid over my stomach, warm and grounding.

“Good morning,” he said into my hair.

“Good morning,” I replied, turning my head just enough to look at him.

Up close, I could see it again, the shadows under his eyes, the tension he hadn’t fully shaken. But there was something else too. Something steadier. Like being here, like waking up like this, had anchored him in a way nothing else could.

“You stayed,” I said quietly.

“I tried to leave,” he admitted. “Couldn’t.”

That simple answer did something dangerous to my heart.