Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 323

ARIELLA

I hear the sound of drilling from the hallway, metal creaking, and low voices murmuring between themselves. The house feels different today. Like, not just the people, but the house itself is bracing for something.

Maria gently nudges the plate toward me.

“You should eat. Ariella, you look a little pale.”

“I’m fine,” I say automatically.

She gives me that look, the one that says she doesn’t believe me and then speaks low, so only I can hear.

“After what I heard happened, I understand if you’re not okay. But I also know you’re strong, and you want to be strong for Leon.”

I nod. I don’t have more than the nod to give her, so I take a bite to show her, you see, I’m okay, and give her a smile, even though it doesn’t reach my eyes or come straight from my heart.

The sweetness of the cookie almost manages to capture my attention. For a moment, I can only feel the taste. It melts slowly on my tongue. It’s a really good cookie.

Leon suddenly says, “Can I go outside to play?”

Every muscle in my body locks.

He wants to go outside?

After what happened?

Just listening to the voices outside, I can already picture the armed guards, the patrol vehicles, the tension hanging in the air. I’m not even sure they have already gotten rid of that burning car....or the poor driver who was still inside it.

Bile rises in my throat, and I feel like I might lose what I just swallowed.

“Maybe the garden?” William says carefully, smiling at me politely, like he’s waiting for permission.

I have nothing to refute him with, so I nod.

“We’ll have the guards nearby, of course,” William adds politely, but I notice how his posture straightens slightly.

I bet he’s already calculating security adjustments in his head. Things aren’t as normal as we’re pretending they are.

We are all pretending everything is okay—for the sake of Leon and our own sanity, I guess.

From the corner of my eye, I see movement in the doorway, and immediately I feel him there. The air shifts the moment he walks into the kitchen.

“Daddy!” Leon says the minute he sees his father, he jumps off the stool, nearly knocking over his milk as he runs toward him.

Asher catches him effortlessly, lifting him into his arms like he weighs nothing.

He’s getting really heavy for me these days.

“You’re eating cookies without me?” Asher asks, mock offended.

“You were taking too long like a grandpa again,” Leon accuses.

Asher chuckles, pressing a kiss to Leon’s temple, when his eyes lift, they land on me....and I don’t know how to explain it, but there seems to be something there. Something tight. Something unsaid.

Then Asher looks at me again.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

I don’t know why, but I am dreading what he wants to say.

“Yes, of course,” I say, because what am I going to say? No?

He walks out of the kitchen, and Maria immediately steps in, gently guiding Leon back onto the stool, distracting him by asking if he wants more milk, more cookies, anything to keep his attention away from us.

Asher walks out the door, and I follow him. He walks toward his office, waits for me to step inside before closing the door behind him.

And then the two of us are just standing there, looking at each other. I have a lot to say to him. A lot to ask him. And I know he has a lot too.

But we just stare at each other before he clears his throat. I don’t know why, but I’m expecting him to come toward me, to hug me, maybe kiss me.

But he does the opposite.

He walks toward his desk, rounds his chair, and sits. I’m still standing near the door, feeling a little lost, when he says, “Sit down.”

It sounds formal. Controlled. Distant. Like he’s talking to one of his men. One of his associates. Not his wife.

Like he’s putting space between us. And I know what happened was really bad, nearly getting blown up, but this was the last way I expected him to act towards me.

Still, I’m not looking for a fight. I want to hear whatever he has to say afterall.