Page 145 of Obsessed by My Ex's Mafia Uncle

There’s something in her tone that’s caught between envy and admiration.

Or maybe just recognition.

“And after she died,” she continues, pulling out another bottle, holding it up, then setting it aside, “He didn’t know what to do with all that love.”

My chest folds in on itself at that.

I’ve had days to sit with what Robert went through, to turn it over, to try to make sense of it.

I still can’t.

I don’t think I ever will.

I killed them all, though. Wiped out an entire family tree for him while he was too broken to act.” She breathes it out like it’s nothing. “I’ll kill for him.”

Her eyes hold mine for a second before she looks away.

“He’s lucky to have you. I have a friend like that, Aisha.” I let out a small chuckle. “Nothing as dramatic as wiping out a family tree, but… we never know.”

“Good for you.” She smiles faintly. “Has she ever proposed to you? Because mine did.”

“What?” I blink.

She finally turns to me.

“It was a contract,” she clarifies, already turning back to the rack. “Family pressure, business expectation… You know, the usual nonsense.”

“And…” My brows pull together. “And you said yes?”

“Of course I did,” She replies lightly. “I’m not stupid.”

That… That doesn’t help.

“We made sense on paper,” she continues. “We were already aligned in everything that mattered. It was easy.”

She pulls out another bottle, studies it, then puts it back.

“And then?” I ask, before I can stop myself.

She pauses for a second.

Then shrugs.

“And then we didn’t need it anymore.”

“That’s it?” I ask.

“We realized we worked better as friends,” she answers. “We valued that more than forcing something else.”

My mind is trying to catch up.

“You were… in love?” I ask, softer now.

She tilts her head slightly.

“We grew into something close,” she admits. “Close enough to know we shouldn’t ruin it.”

I stare at her because I don’t know what to do with that. With the fact that he’s already lived something that intense.