Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88

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I went to the bathroom, closed the door behind me, turned on the tap-and started crying.

Silently, as the water rushed into the sink, I let the tears fall. I had to. I needed to get it all out in here, alone, because I couldn’t let Asher see me like this. If he saw me break, he’d know. He’d know I didn’t want this. He’d know something was wrong. And I couldn’t let that happen.

Right now, my job-the only job I had left-was to make him hate me. Because that’s the only way he’d walk away.

If he hated me, he wouldn’t fight for me. He wouldn’t try to stay. He wouldn’t ask questions.

So I looked at myself in the mirror, washed my face, and whispered, ‘This is for our baby.’

Lives were at stake. That’s what this felt like. That’s what I was telling myself.

One day, maybe this wouldn’t hurt as much.

Maybe.

I left the bathroom and saw the bags were gone. My jeans and shoes were neatly placed on the bed, and my handbag lay beside them. I got dressed, reapplied my makeup in the mirror, and gave myself one last reminder: Be strong.

Then I went downstairs.

Asher was in the living room, standing by the glass wall, staring out into the distance like he was

searching for something.

I paused on the last step and just looked at him.

Then he turned around. For a heartbeat, I didn’t know what he would do. Yell? Demand answers? Walk

away?

But instead, he came toward me and pulled me into his arms.

He kissed my forehead softly, then tilted my chin up so I had no choice but to look at him.

“Whatever happened today,” he said quietly, “whatever we talked about upstairs… whatever that was… I want us to leave it here. In this house. Okay? Do you understand me?”

I nodded. Because I saw the look in his eyes-and it terrified me. I didn’t know what he’d do if I didn’t nod.

He exhaled, slow and heavy, like he’d been holding his breath.

“Thank you,” he whispered, pressing another kiss to the top of my head. Then he took my hand.

And just like that, we walked outside the house, it felt like leaving everything-the pain, the truth, the lies locked inside.

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Chapter 88

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But it wasn’t, it was the beginning

The drive back home was quiet. There weren’t many cars on the road-it was already past midnight-so it was just silence between us. Asher drove, focused on the road, and I stared out the window, watching trees blur into shadows and houses pass like flickers in the dark.

But I could feel it. Something between us had shifted. We weren’t the same two people who left for the beach house earlier. Something had broken or changed. Maybe both.

When we arrived home, the second Asher parked the car, my father stepped out of the house. He stood there under the porch light, face unreadable.

Asher took my bag from the back seat and then reached for my hand. We walked together toward the house. My father didn’t move. He was watching me more than anything, like he could see through me.

When we reached him, he spoke, his voice low but firm.

“Ariella, are you okay? Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” I answered too quickly. “Everything’s fine.”

Asher glanced at me, confused, but said nothing. Then he turned to my dad and added,

“I’m sorry, Mr. Costa. There were… things that took us longer than I planned. I promise it won’t happen again.”

My father nodded slowly, though his eyes never left mine.

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

Asher turned to me. He brought my hand to his lips, kissed it softly, and said,

“Have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nodded silently, and he walked back to his car.

We stood there, my father and I, watching the taillights disappear into the night. Then he turned to me again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, more gently this time.

“I’m fine,” I said and started walking toward the house. But he stopped me with a hand on my arm.

“You weren’t picking up your phone. You didn’t answer any of my messages.”

My breath caught for a moment. I had actually forgotten all about my phone. I’d turned it to silent hours ago. I just wanted to be with Asher. To give him all of me for one last day. To forget everything else.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I just… I turned it off for a while. I wasn’t ignoring you.”

His expression softened, but the worry didn’t leave his eyes. My dad looked at me, nodded once, and said,

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“Come on, let’s go inside.”

He took my bag and walked beside me as we stepped into the house. As he locked the door behind us, my mom came down the stairs. She froze when she saw us, her eyes searching my face, already asking questions.

“I told him I wanted us to break up,” I said before she asked. “I told him I didn’t want this. That we couldn’t get married anymore.”

I blinked hard, but the tears still came.

He hadn’t listened. I wiped them away quickly. I had promised myself I wouldn’t cry. Not in front of them. I had to be strong.

My mom and dad exchanged a look.

“He was holding your hand,” my mom said carefully. “So… you’re not with him anymore? We can tell the

Don it’s over?”

I took a deep breath before I answered.

“He didn’t take it very well.”

My mom came the rest of the way down the stairs, and then gently took my hand.

“Did he hurt you?” she asked. “Did he put his hands on you?”

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