Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 80

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Chapter 80

My chest tightened.

Asher.

I swallowed hard, trying to relax my stiff shoulders. But I couldn’t. Not after hearing Asher’s name roll so carelessly off Domenico’s tongue.

How could you bring Asher into this? I wanted to scream. How could he be okay with any of this?

Domenico cleared his throat, casual and composed. “I came here to see you because I thought it would be appropriate for us to meet before our engagement.”

I cringed at the word engagement, but I masked it with a tight, polite smile.

He continued, voice smooth. “I also thought we should talk about my son.”

My stomach dropped.

There was an awkward pause before my mother gently nudged me.

“Yes,” I answered quickly, forcing my voice to stay steady.

“I thought we were under the same understanding,” he said, eyes narrowing slightly. “That you were supposed to have broken up with him by now.”

“-” My lips parted, but nothing came out. “Yes, I was going to…..”

“But just this morning, I spoke to him, and he was… excited. He said he couldn’t wait to see his girlfriend- his fiancée as he called you. And I-” He raised an eyebrow. “That confused me because I thought I was your fiancé. So… perhaps you lied to your parents? Or is there something I should know?”

Before I could say more, my father’s voice cut in, stern. “I can explain…”

The Don raised a hand to silence him and then turned towards me.

I bit down on my lip, eyes burning. “I was going to break up with him,” I said, my voice low. “But then he had the accident-the shooting. I couldn’t… not then. But I’m going to. When I see him.”

Domenico studied me for a moment, then nodded. “He told me he’s coming to see you this Saturday. Said he planned something special for the two of you. A date, or whatever. Do it then. Not a day later. Do we understand each other, Ariella?”

I nodded quickly. “Yes. Yes, we do.”

“Good.” He stood, brushing down the front of his coat. “That will be all. It was wonderful to see you again, Ariella.”

“You too, Mr. Domenico,” I managed, barely above a whisper.

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Chapter 80

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He chuckled lightly, then turned to shake hands with my father. The two men exchanged a few low words before leaving the living room together.

Only then did I realize I’d been holding my breath.

I dreaded Saturday.

I prayed it wouldn’t come. Wished time would just stop, hold its breath with me. But it didn’t. It kept moving toward the moment I’d have to hurt him.

On Friday, during our call, Asher was so excited-too excited, and I hated myself for what I was about to do.

“I can’t wait to see you,” he said. “I’ve missed you like crazy. I’ve been pushing myself just thinking about this day.”

My throat tightened. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive? Maybe we should wait a few days longer.”

“What?” He laughed gently. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I mean… if you’re not feeling well, we can wait. Maybe we can meet next week or something. Let’s not rush it. I just want you to be at your best. Healthy.”

“I am healthy,” he said, amused. “But are you okay?”

“Yes,” I said too fast. “I just-did the doctor actually say you could drive? You told me you were coming alone. Maybe… maybe you could find someone to drive you here?”

There was a beat of silence.

“Ariella… what’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“It sounds like you don’t want to see me. Like you’re not excited to see me again.”

“I am excited,” I insisted. “Of course I’m excited.”

“Then where is this coming from?” His voice had shifted-no longer light, but cautious. “You’ve been acting strange all week. I didn’t want to say anything, but… is it your mom again?”

“No, no. It’s not my mom. We’re fine.”

“Then what is it? Talk to me. Is something wrong?”

“No,” I lied. “I just want you to be okay. I care about you. Is it so wrong that I care about you, Asher?”

His voice cracked slightly.” No. And you know that’s not what this is about… Because it feels like I’m the only one excited about this.”

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Chapter 80

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I didn’t respond fast enough.

“When you started acting this way last time, it was about the sex. But that’s not even a thing anymore. So what is it now?”

“No, it’s not that,” I whispered. I swallowed, forcing a brighter tone into my voice. “I’m really excited to see you, Asher. I miss you. More than anything. You don’t know how much I care about you. I just…”

“I am okay,” he said, more gently now. “And our engagement is just around the corner. Nobody’s going to stop me from showing up to it.”

I winced at the word engagement-the one that would never happen.

“Yes. Yeah… of course,” I replied, weakly.

“You sure you’re okay? You sound-” he paused, “-you sound off.”

“I’m fine. My mom just walked into the room. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, hesitant.

I ended the call before he could ask anything else.

And then I cried.

Asher had planned a big day for us.

He told me he’d called my dad, and that surprisingly, my dad had given his blessing. He said he’d be by around 10, and I should “put myself in the mood for something bright and funny.” He even suggested bringing a change of clothes for later, when it got cooler.

So I wore my sunflower summer dress-his favourite. I packed some jeans and a soft t-shirt in my tote bag, planning to use Asher’s jacket when the evening chill rolled in. Then I pulled on my boots and waited.

A knock at the door made my heart jump-but it wasn’t Asher.

I knew it was my mom. My dad had left the house early this morning-too early. I had a feeling he didn’t want to be around when Asher arrived.

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