LOGINARIELLA My mother caught my gaze sweeping across the room. "I wasn't expecting company," she said a little too quickly. "I was just... cleaning." I nodded, pretending to believe her. "Of course." Thankfully, Leon noticed absolutely none of it. "Grandma!" he shouted, already running toward the
ARIELLA I stared straight into his eyes. "You haven't betrayed me? You haven't lied to me? Asher..." My voice cracked. "You lied to me." "Ariella, I'm sorry. Just give me a chance; I can explain. Please don't leave when you're angry." "I don't want to listen, Asher." I pulled against his grip.
ARIELLA I stared straight into his eyes. "You haven't betrayed me? You haven't lied to me? Asher..." My voice cracked. "You lied to me." "Ariella, I'm sorry. Just give me a chance; I can explain. Please don't leave when you're angry." "I don't want to listen, Asher." I pulled against his grip.
ARIELLA I heard Asher coming after me. Then A loud thud. I stopped instinctively and turned around, terrified he'd slipped and hit his head in the bathroom. Instead, I found him sitting hard on the bathroom floor, the wet tiles having betrayed him. For one split second... I almost went back. Then
ARIELLA I thought of the towel around his waist. Sia standing there in that nightdress. The two of them inside a bedroom..... Inside a bathroom. Every horrible thought crashed into my mind at once. I took one step back. "Ariella." His voice was firmer now. "Don't." He started walking toward me
ARIELLA Until... I found myself inside the house. The first door led into the kitchen. It was completely quiet. There wasn't a cook in sight, although there were signs that someone had been cooking here not too long ago; the kitchen was still warm, and there were dishes in the sink. From there,
I nod, swallowing down the bitterness. “Okay… so what now? We just wait here until Leon comes? I thought you were going to get him.” “Yeah, I’m not staying here,” he replies, turning toward the door. “You’re leaving me here?” I ask, glancing around the cold, uninviting apartment. He tilts his hea
Asher's gaze flashed. "I can't be a righteous man right now, Ariella... Stop doing that." I bit my bottom lip. He hissed as I asked, "Stop doing what?" "If you continue doing that, I'm going to have to break all the promises I made to you. Break all the promises I made to your parents...." He t
ARIELLA Maria held my hand tighter. “Go back with your head high. Show them how strong you are. Stop feeling guilty for wanting good things. Family comes first.” I smiled faintly. “I don’t think they mean one's own family when they say that.” She laughed, pulling me into a hug, and then I left h
ASHER I swallowed, feeling the weight of her gaze. The truth was simple, but the words felt fragile on my tongue. Everything I had done, everything I had fought through just to be here, it all came down to this one moment, this conversation, right here in the quiet of the night, just the two of us.






