Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Asher

As I looked down at Ariella asleep in my arms, her body soft and warm against mine, exhausted after the way I had taken her, fully and desperately, I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of my lips.

Just to think… I could’ve died. I could’ve lost her. And I would have never known what it felt like to have her this close, to hold her like this, to be inside her, to feel her so deeply it felt like our hearts beat the

same.

I wasn’t going to let myself be in that position again, ever. Not if it meant I’d never see her like this again.

Still, I had to admit something I hadn’t been able to shake. She’d changed.

I don’t know if it happened in a single day, or if it had been gradually happening and I was too late to notice. But now that I did… it was impossible to unsee it.

There were moments when her eyes looked clouded like there was sadness behind her smile. Sometimes, hesitation through her words, a quiet pull-back in the way she kissed me, touched me. Sometimes, it felt like she was hiding something. And I couldn’t figure out what.

I’d gone so far as to wonder if she was sick. A terminal illness, maybe. The thought terrified me, enough to push me into doing my own digging.

I checked everything.

Her health? Perfect.

Her parents? Fine. No one hiding anything.

Her father? No debts, no shady dealings.

Her social life? Nothing suspicious.

It only deepened the mystery. It made me wonder-could it be me? Maybe she didn’t want to marry me after all. Maybe she had changed her mind.

But how could that be?

Every time we were together, she seemed so happy. She laughed, she kissed me like I was her entire world. I felt her love. It was real. I knew it was real.

Still… something ate at me.

Maybe it was the pressure. The wedding. Maybe she was just nervous, second-guessing, unsure.

Or maybe… Maybe there was something I just wasn’t seeing.

She shifted slightly in her sleep, her lips parting just enough to whisper my name. ‘Asher.’

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Chapter 85.

+25 Bonus

My heart clenched. She was dreaming about me. Even in her subconscious, I was on her mind.

God, how did I get this lucky?

I looked down at her, still tangled in the sheets and wrapped in my arms, her hair a mess from the night we just shared. I couldn’t stop the small smile that pulled at my lips. She looked peaceful, and all mine.

The memory of how we met flashed through me, her standing there, bold as ever, asking me to prom. Just a little girl with too much courage and too little fear. People used to be afraid of me, especially women. The stories about my temper were enough to keep most people away.

But not her.

She had no hesitation. She’s never been afraid of who I am. Maybe that’s what made me fall for her in the first place.

Even now, I knew she’d rather stay here. She probably hoped I’d let her sleep over, wake up in my arms in the morning, and start a new day like it was always supposed to be us.

But I had to be responsible, take her home, not keep her out too late. So I let her sleep, slowly slipped out from beside her, and began repacking our things quietly.

I decided to run her a bath-something warm and gentle, with bubbles, to soothe the night of her skin. When I came back into the room, she was just waking up.

She groaned, eyes still closed, her arms blindly reaching for me.

“No…” she murmured, tugging me back into the bed.

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