Page 66 of Obsessed by My Ex's Mafia Uncle

Uncle?

It takes me a minute. Not because it isn’t obvious. Because I don’t want it to be.

But the more I look, the more it clicks into place, piece by piece, like something I should have seen earlier and didn’t.

The shape of the nose.

The structure of the face.

It's not identical, Daniel is softer, less defined, like the edges were never fully sharpened, but the foundation is there. In the bone. In the way certain angles hook the light.

And then, there's the presence. It explains everything.

The way Daniel moves through things without consequence. The kind of carelessness that only comes from knowing, somewhere deep down, that someone else will handle the fallout.

That someone else will always be there.

My gaze flicks between them once.

My stomach drops, like something just knocked loose inside me. Bile rushes up my throat, climbing fast, almost choking me.

“See you around, Uncle.” Daniel steps back, turning toward Celine like nothing just happened.

The room begins to move again as if nothing broke. But the room feels different now. The music is the same, the laughterhasn’t stopped, glasses still clink but I feel it. Underneath it. That thin crack running through everything I just built so perfectly.

Too much.

It’s too much all at once.

Uncle?

I step away before anyone can stop me, before anyone can call my name or ask if everything is alright. I don’t wait for Aisha’s eyes to find mine, don’t look back to see if Blue is still laughing over something small and harmless.

I move through the crowd. Past the soft glow and the noise and the perfection of it all.

I step outside, the air hitting me differently. I inhale like I haven’t done it properly all night, my chest rising too fast before I force it to slow down.

My heels carry me further, away from the entrance, past the valet line, past the neat arrangement of parked cars that reflect the golden light spilling out from the building.

The sound dulls behind me, fading until it’s just me.

I stop for a second, pressing my fingers briefly against my temple, trying to think.

Daniel. Robert.

Uncle?

My breath leaves me in a slow, uneven exhale. I push forward again, needing more distance, more space, more… I hit something.

No, someone.

Hard.

The impact stops me mid-step, my balance shifting just enough that my hand comes up instinctively, catching against a solid built.

My breath stutters as I look up.

Robert.