Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 321

ARIELLA

I was still shaking.

I know I have been through a lot, but a bomb… I never expected it. Especially not here. Especially not at the house. Especially not with Asher here. Especially not with Leon here.

I have to admit, for everything I have survived, being kidnapped once felt like the worst thing that could ever happen to me. When Alan and those men walked into the house… when they put a gun to my head…

I shake my head..... It has been a long time since I allowed myself to remember what happened back then. But after today, I cannot stop obsessing about it...... about what happened then and what almost happened now.

Still, I refuse to let Leon notice anything has changed. I refuse to let him worry. So I force a bright smile onto my face as I prepare his bath. I turn the water to the temperature he likes, toss in his favourite floating balls, boats and little rubber ducks. Anything to make him happy. Anything to help him forget.

Because I know he was scared. I felt it in the way he clung to me. In the way his tiny fingers gripped my clothes like letting go meant losing me forever..... He was terrified.

I know what his father told him helped a little, but I can still see the questions sitting behind his eyes. I feel them every time our gazes meet. So I smile wider. I laugh louder. I turn everything into a game. If I’m honest… I am distracting myself just as much as I am distracting him.

He takes the longest bath he has ever taken. I sit beside the tub, splashing water with him, making silly jokes, letting him throw bubbles at me. I laugh when he laughs, even when my chest still feels tight and hollow.

After he is finally bathed and dressed, he announces that he wants to go outside to play. I freeze for a split second.

I don’t know why he would want to go out there. Out there is chaos. I have already glanced through the windows, and this house has never looked like this before. The guards are not hiding their weapons anymore. Heavy rifles are strapped across their chests, and there are far more of them than usual. Their movements are sharper, more alert, more… prepared for war.

I guess I should feel safer. It means security has doubled. It means they are protecting us. But after seeing that car explode just a few feet away…

I shake my head quickly, forcing the thought away. We are protected. We are going to be fine. I have to believe that.

“Mom… are you okay?” Leon asks softly.

I straighten instantly. “Yes.”

“You didn’t answer me,” he says, tilting his head.

“Oh… what did you say?” I ask, trying to gather myself.

“I said I’m already changed, and you still haven't,” he says. Then he studies me carefully. “I think you need a bath.”

“Oh… oh, yes,” I say quickly, touching my hair unconsciously. After everything that happened, I forgot about myself. I must look like a mess.

He nods with serious approval, like he has just solved a very important problem.

“Yes, of course,” Asher replies without hesitation.

I leave the room and walk toward our bedroom, heading straight into the bathroom. The moment I step inside and see my reflection in the mirror, I stop.

I just stand there… staring at myself. Soot stains my skin in faint grey smudges. Tiny scratches run across my arms. My hair is tangled, strands dusted with ash I hadn’t even noticed before. I look like someone who survived something terrible.

I remind myself I am safe. I chose this life knowing it would never be easy. And that thought terrifies me even more when I realise my son may have to walk the same path one day.

Taking a deep breath, I remove my clothes and step into a cold shower. I need it. The cold water shocks against my skin, stealing my breath, but I let it. I let it wash over me like it can cleanse the fear, the smoke, the memory of fire exploding into the sky. Maybe it can rebuild me into someone stronger, someone ready to face whatever is coming next.

Because I know Asher has been dealing with something. I have seen it in his tension, in the distance that creeps into his eyes when he thinks I am not watching. Seen it when he came home covered in blood and cuts.....

And now I know. Whatever war he is fighting… it is real.

And whoever he is fighting… They are not just coming for him.

They are coming for us.