Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 430

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ASHER

Ariella took a deep breath. Then another. I watched her expression change and the smile faded. The nerves returned as she looked toward the door. Toward whatever was waiting for her there.

I squeezed her hand and immediately her eyes found mine again.

"You don't have to do this today." The words came out before I could stop them.

She smiled sadly.

"Yes, I do."

I already knew that answer. I had known it the moment she made up her mind.

"Ariella...."

"No." She shook her head gently. "If I wait another day, I'll find another excuse."

Her voice softened. "And then another.....and another."

She looked away.

"I've spent five years running."

That hit me harder than I expected. She wasn't wrong, Five years was a long time. Five years of loneliness, grief, guilt and survival. Five years of believing she couldn't go back.

"I can't do it anymore." Her eyes shimmered slightly. "I just can't."

I pulled her into my arms again. Not because she was crying, not because she was breaking. Just because I wanted her to feel that she wasn't alone.

"You won't. Never again."

She closed her eyes and I felt her nod against my chest.

"I know."

And that was the problem. She knew. Which meant she was going to see her mother today and Nothing, absolutely nothing on earth was stopping her now.

Not me.

Not even her mother.

Not anyone.

Eventually, she pulled away and took a deep breath.

"Okay."

Okay. That single word sounded terrifying coming from her right now.

I nodded. "Okay."

Neither of us moved. We just stood there, staring at each other, delaying the inevitable.

Finally, Ariella laughed softly.

"We're doing it again."

"What?"

"We're standing here pretending we're leaving."

I sighed, She wasn't wrong.

"Fine."

I grabbed her hand.

"Let's go buy flowers."

She squeezed my hand.

"Okay."

Together we walked out of the room, and as we headed downstairs, I had one very clear thought..... God. Please let Luca work a miracle before we get there.

It was crazy Holding her hand later at the flower shop and watching her smile at me as we walked through the endless rows of flowers.

For a little while, everything felt normal. The florist kept talking and talking, explaining different flowers, different seasons, what grew best during certain times of the year, how much sunlight they needed, and how often they should be watered.

And Ariella listened attentively As if she wasn't about to walk into one of the hardest moments of her life. She also asked questions, Lots of questions. Enough questions that even I started wondering if she was secretly planning to start a garden of her own.

Not that I would complain. If Ariella wanted a garden, she could have one; if she wanted a greenhouse, she'd have one; and if she wanted an entire estate dedicated to flowers, I'd buy it before lunch.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that I knew her And the more she smiled and asked questions, the more I realised she was stalling. Because Ariella already knew her mother's favourite flower, she didn't need all this information.