Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52

While I was drowning in my mortification, one of the guys in the group-someone I didn’t know-grinned and said,

“Luca, who’s that? Your latest conquest?”

Luca’s face shifted. Still calm, but suddenly serious.

“No, man. Have some respect,” he said coolly. “That’s my sister-in-law.”

“Sister-in-law?” the guy echoed, eyebrows raised as the others burst out laughing.

Another voice chimed in, “Hey, Ash, did you know Luca had a sister-in-law?”

Asher laughed-just a dry, careless sound-and looked up.

And that’s when he saw me.

That was the first time he really saw me. I realized then-he hadn’t even looked at who was with Luca before. But now his eyes were locked on mine.

In that second, everything about him changed. His easy posture stiffened. His shoulders squared.

His expression turned sharp and furious.

He shot up from his seat like a storm about to devour anything in its path.

Luca tensed beside me. Asher’s energy wasn’t just angry-it was ready for a fight.

“Hey, man,” Luca said quickly, hands up, voice easy. “I knew you were here. I brought her to you. That’s it.”

I didn’t understand what that was supposed to mean-but whatever it was, it made Asher pause.

Just for a second. His fists didn’t unclench, but his pace slowed, and the pure rage simmered down into something colder. Controlled.

Still, he didn’t look at me. Not yet.

He stopped in front of Luca beside me, his eyes hard.

“What is she doing here?” he snapped.

Luca gave a lazy shrug and a smile that said he wasn’t scared of whatever this was turning into.

“I don’t know,” he said. “You should ask her.”

“How did she get here?” Asher pressed, his voice sharper now.

When Luca didn’t answer fast enough, Asher took a step forward.

“You knew I didn’t want to see her. Why the fuck did you bring her here?”

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Chapter 52

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Luca shrugged.

“She made me. It was either a rock or a hard place, so I decided it was better if she came here and the two of you talked.”

Asher gritted his teeth. His jaw was clenched so tight, I thought he might actually hit him. My hand moved on its own-I reached out and touched his arm gently.

He looked down at where my hand rested on him, then back up at me, eyes cold. He didn’t say it out loud, but I could tell he wanted me to let go.

I didn’t.

He turned back to Luca.

“We’re going to talk about this later.”

Luca gave him a single nod, not even flinching, then casually walked away, like nothing had happened.

And then Asher looked at me.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he gritted out.

“Asher,” I began, my voice low-but before I could say anything else, he grabbed my arm and started pulling me with him. I had no choice but to follow, half-speed walking just to keep up.

We climbed up to the second floor, leaving behind the pounding music, the laughter, the smoke, the stares. Up here, it was quiet. There were rooms-bedrooms, I guessed-and no one else in sight.

He stopped in front of the nearest door, yanked it open, pulled me in, and slammed it shut behind us.

Then he turned around and just stared at me.

I stood still, watching him. His chest rose and fell, fast. His fists flexed and unflexed at his sides.

He wasn’t just angry-he was hurt, too. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened when his eyes met

mine.

But I didn’t know why. Luca said he was mad. But mad about what?

Was it because I came here, and crashed a party I wasn’t supposed to be at?

Was it because I came with Luca?

Or… was it something else?

Was this about why he hadn’t been picking up my calls?

“What the hell are you doing here?” he finally snapped, his voice snapping me from the voices in my

head.

“I’m here looking for you.”

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Chapter 52

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He raised an eyebrow, but the anger in his eyes didn’t fade. It was still there, beneath the surface.

I took a step toward him-instinctively, like being closer would make him hear me better-but he shot me a look that made me freeze in place.

“You’re not picking up my calls. You’re not answering my messages. For a moment, I was worried-really worried-that something had happened to you. And then I find out you’re at some party, surrounded by women, just… living. While I’m in my room crying myself to sleep, falling apart over you.”

He smirked, but it wasn’t kind. It wasn’t amused.

“You’ve been crying?” he asked, tone full of mockery. “You don’t look like you’ve been crying. You’ve got makeup on. You’re dressed up. You look…” He gestured vaguely at me.

“You look good. Not like someone going through heartbreak.”

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