Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Five Years Ago

“I’m sorry, honey, but you’re going to marry the Don.”

The world around me blurs.

“You mean Asher’s father?” My voice was barely a whisper. “You mean the father of the man I have been spending all this time with? The man you allowed me to date? The man I’ve fallen in love with? The man who loves me? The man I want to spend my life with? That man’s father?”

Neither of them spoke.

I took a step back, shaking my head. “Is that what you’re saying?”

My mother exhaled as if she was explaining something to a child. “Ariella, listen, this is good for our family. We’re moving up the ranks. Your father will gain power. Our family will gain respect. Your children will be royalty.”

“Shut up, Mom!” I snapped, my voice cracking.

She gasped as if I had slapped her. Okay, maybe I had—just not physically.

I turned to my father. “Does Asher know?”

He wouldn’t look at me.

“Does Asher know I’m supposed to marry his father?” My hands were trembling. “Did you at least have the decency to tell him?”

I reached for my phone.

“I’m calling him right now.”

My mother rushed toward me, grabbing my wrist. “No, stop!”

I yanked my hand back. “What are you so afraid of? That he’ll find out the truth? That he’ll fight for me?”

My father sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired face.

“He doesn’t know.”

I felt like I had been punched in the gut.

“The Don arranged for Asher to marry the Russian mafia’s daughter,” my father explained. “It was part of the peace negotiations after… after his wife was killed.”

I swallowed, my throat burning.

“He knew Asher would react badly,” my father continued. “So he let the two of you continue dating. He said when you break up with Asher, it will make him even stronger. He’ll learn to be ruthless. It will be one of the lessons to prepare him to be the next Don.”

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Chapter 37

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I couldn’t breathe. “What do you mean ‘when I break up with him’? I’m not breaking up with Asher! I love him!”

I turned back to my phone. “I’m telling him—’

an’t!” My parents’ voices crashed together.

“Do you want us to die, Ariella?” my mother screeched. “*Do you think your father wanted this? Do you think it’s just because Domenico is his boss? This is about survival!”

My father clenched his jaw. “The contract is done” he muttered.

“Show her,” my mother ordered.

He refused.

My heart pounded. “What does it say?”

My mother’s voice was deadly serious. “If you break this contract, our entire Costa family will be wiped off the face of the earth.”

My blood turned to ice.

“Your father. Me. Your uncles, your aunts. Everyone.” She looked me dead in the eye. “We. Will. All. Die.”

“No.” I shook my head violently, stepping back as if distance could undo everything I just Heard.

My father exhaled heavily, his shoulders sagging. “Listen, honey,” he said, his voice filled with regret. “I don’t want you to do this. But don’t force me. He has all the power, and he can make good on his threat.”

“But why?” My voice cracked. “Why is he doing this? Asher is his son!”

My mother’s expression was hard. “We’re telling you this because you have to break up with Asher before engagement. You have to end things with him, but you can’t tell him it was his father’s decision.”

I flinched. “What are you saying?”

“You have to tell Asher that you wanted this. You have to take full responsibility for the breakup.*”

A shiver ran down my spine. “What?”

My father looked away, his guilt evident. “I tried, Ariella. I tried to get you out of it, but Domenico wouldn’t change his mind. I had no choice.”

your

“What do you expect me to tell him?” My voice was cracked, my vision blurring with tears. “Asher… he’s the man I love. The man I always saw myself with. I don’t even know how to picture a future without him. And now… you’re telling me to throw it all away? To marry his father?” My stomach twisted. “*To think of breaking up with Asher is unbearable. But to marry that old man-hell no!”

My mother’s face darkened. “Do you want us to die?”

I gasped.

“You think Asher can protect you?” she scoffed. “His father is doing this because Asher can’t protect you. If you break this contract, all of us-including you-will die.”

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Chapter 37

My breath hitched.

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“And let me tell you something,” my mother continued, “Asher is not going to kill his own father for you. You’re just his first love, Ariella. He’s enamoured now, but he’ll soon forget you.”

I clenched my fists. “That’s not true.”

“Oh, really?” My mother smirked bitterly. “He’s marrying into a more powerful family. A union that will make the famiglia stronger. Do you really think he would throw that away for you?”

I wanted to scream. To fight. To tell her how wrong she was.

But a small, sick part of me hesitated. Would Asher fight for me? Would he choose me over his family, over his duty, over everything?

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