Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 69

Chapter 69

The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up with concern.

“Ariella, how are you feeling?” she asked quickly, rushing toward me and wrapping me in a hug.

I froze. That was new.

I looked at her, confused and quietly heartbroken. “I’m fine,” I answered softly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because of Asher,” she said softly.

My heart started beating faster, but I forced a mask of confusion onto my face. My mom didn’t know me like that. She didn’t know what I already knew. She looked at me with sympathy, her tone careful.

“You don’t know what happened?”

“What happened?” I asked, feigning displeasure, trying to sound annoyed and surprised.

“Oh dear, maybe we should sit down for this,” she said, placing the shopping bags by the door. She took my hand gently and led me to the living room, settling me on the couch before sitting across from me.

“Something happened to Asher, darling.”

My chest tightened, but I kept my face steady. Was he dead? He can’t be.

“What happened to him?” I asked, injecting just the right amount of fear and concern into my voice to make it sound real, even though the truth already clawed inside me.

“I thought you already knew,” she said. “That’s why I let you sleep in.”

“Knew from who? What?” I pressed.

She took a deep breath, visibly hesitant.

“Asher was shot… and he’s in the hospital.”

“He is alive?” I gasped, wide-eyed. “Why didn’t anyone tell me? When did this happen?”

“Last night. And… he’s not looking good. He lost a lot of blood.”

My heart sank again-even though I knew this, hearing it from her lips made it all too real.

“Is he going to be okay?”

“I think so,” she replied carefully.

“I should go see him,” I said, standing up quickly. My mind was already racing, hopeful. I could see him. I needed to see him.

But just as fast, my mom grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.

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Chapter 69

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“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m going to see Asher,” I said firmly. “He’s my fiancé. No one’s going to question why I’m there.”

“No, you are not,” she said sharply. “His family is there. What I mean by that is… his father is there. And you’re supposed to have broken up with him by now. So no-you cannot go.”

“You cannot be serious,” I snapped, staring at her in disbelief. “Asher’s going to wake up. He’s going to be fine. And when he does, I will break up with him. That’s the plan, right?”

She looked at me with exasperation, like I was being naive.

“Don’t you think that will be harder to do if you’re sitting by his side, nursing him back to health?” she asked. “If he wakes up and you’re still there, everything changes. You’ll feel guilty. He’ll feel hopeful.”

I took a deep breath, swallowing my rage. She doesn’t get it. None of them do.

“This is good,” she continued, her voice suddenly brightening with a strange kind of optimism. “I mean… I heard the bullet went through the bone. He’ll need months of therapy when he’s out of danger. That gives us time.”

“Time for what?” I asked, already fearing the answer.

“I talked to your father,” she said, “and we think it’s best to talk to the Don. Maybe move the wedding up. Get you married sooner than planned.”

My blood froze.

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