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,
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
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.
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
ARIELLA But Leon didn’t seem to understand what Luca said. He didn’t look shocked or confused by Luca's words. If anything, he simply looked annoyed. “My father doesn’t kill people, Uncle Luca,” he said confidently before returning to his food. The dining room went silent. My gaze shifted toward







