Page 180 of Obsessed by My Ex's Mafia Uncle

“And suspicious.”

“Don’t ruin it.” She scolds. “At least let me lure you properly first.”

I allow myself to be dragged down the hallway anyway, mostly because the house has been painfully repetitive lately.

Wake up.

Heal.

Eat.

Watch guards rotate shifts.

Pretend everything is normal.

Repeat.

When we reach one of the smaller balconies overlooking the water, I stop slightly.

The table is already set with candles flickering softly against the ocean wind. Several platters spread across the table.

And Aisha is already seated cross-legged in one of the chairs stealing shrimp directly from the serving tray.

“You started without us?” I gasp.

“I almost died waiting,” she replies calmly.

“Atelia took too much time to get you.”

“She was doing motherly things,” Atelia defends immediately.

“Okay…” I glance between the setup and both of them suspiciously. “What exactly are we celebrating?”

“Well, let’s see…” Atelia pulls out a chair for herself lazily. “Boredom.”

“That’s not a celebration.” I scowl.

“It absolutely is.” Aisha chimes in.

I stay standing.

Atelia’s eyes flick toward me knowingly before she sighs dramatically.

“The men have taken all the work from me,” she complains. “Do you understand how insulting that is? I’m supposed to ‘rest’ now.”

“You did threaten to stab the house cook with a fork three days ago,” Aisha points out.

“He was annoying.”

“You threatened his assistant too.”

“I was having a bad day and the lamb was barely cooked.”

“Okay, so Robert did what?” I snort softly despite myself.

“He asked me to take some time off…”

I nod, waiting. Something feels intentional about tonight. I can feel it.