Zachary Smithson was my uncle in name.

When I was seventeen, I confessed to him, but he rejected me fiercely.

He tore up my love letter and told me to give up on such thoughts.

When I was twenty-two, I graduated and attempted to move out. To my surprise, I found a dress I had lost.

He had hidden it under his pillow.

I knew that Zachary had not liked me since I was fourteen.

He only took care of me because of my parents’ will.

Apart from that, he harbored no affection for me.

If I did anything wrong, he would punish me by making me copy texts.

If I started dating while I was still studying, he would hit my palm.

However, as I grew up, I started harboring different feelings for him.

When he learned that I liked him, he blew up. “If you harbor those thoughts toward me ever again, leave!”

He tore up my love letter and yelled at me.

So, the only thing I could do was hide my love for him.

From then on, I would quickly look away when I found myself gazing at him.

Eventually, I turned twenty-two and graduated from university.

That night, we had a dinner gathering, and after summoning my courage, I drank a lot of alcohol.

I believed that Zachary would still be working at his company at this time. Otherwise, he would surely give me another lecture if he saw me coming home so late and getting so drunk.

After I entered my room, I sighed in relief.

However, when I turned around, I saw someone sitting on the couch.

That someone looked really similar to Zachary.

I must be drunk.

Ever since I was fourteen, Zachary had never entered my room, so how could he possibly be sitting on my couch?

Besides, I did not have a couch in my room.

Since I had to be dreaming, I intended to wash up and go to bed.

At the next second, Zachary walked over, and his tone suggested that he was holding back his emotions. “This is my room, Summer.”

I knew it. I was dreaming.

Dream Zachary was even more of a scatterbrain than I was.

I pointed at the dress on the couch. “If this isn’t my room, why would my dress be here?”

Zachary said nothing.

His ears even started turning red.

Dream Zachary did not yell at me either.

What a miracle.

With this being a dream, I did not intend to talk to him. Just as I was about to strip, Zachary stopped me. “Summer.”

His breathing was labored, and various emotions raged in his eyes. “Don’t take off your clothes.”

I was not convinced. “But your pants were off!”

Zachary gulped and hoarsely said, “What did you see just now?”

His belt was on the couch.

When I came in, I saw Zachary with his head thrown back and the veins on his arms bulging. There was even a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.

The moment he saw me, panic flashed in his eyes.

I had never seen Zachary like that.

I remembered him as a stern man whose eyes were always calm.

While I pondered, I realized dreams were completely different from reality.

I pushed his hand away and took off the cardigan I wore over my dress.

Dream Zachary even blushed.

How interesting.

I placed his hand on my waist. “Why don’t you help me take off my dress, Uncle?”

Zachary’s eyelashes fluttered, and his hand on my waist was stiff.

“Are you feeling shy, Uncle?”

Fortunately, I was just dreaming.

If this had been real, Zachary would have been so livid.

He did not like it when I acted like that.

He also felt disgusted by my confession.

I only dared to act so fearlessly because I was dreaming.

Zachary said nothing, but his gaze changed.

Just as I attempted to remove the spaghetti straps on my dress, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. Then, he pinned me down on the bed and kissed me.

I was lost in this gentle but deep kiss.

All the love that I had kept locked away in a corner of my heart started flaring up.

Zachary acted like an out-of-control animal and looked like he wanted to devour me.

I felt like I was about to lose my breath from the kiss.

When things started heating up between us, Zachary hoarsely said, “I love you, Summer.”

This dream sure was nice and spicy.

It reflected what I wanted the most in my heart.

I wanted his love and embrace.

Unfortunately, Zachary was completely different in reality.

Just when I thought that we would go to home base, Zachary stopped.

Yeah, I supposed a dream would just stay a dream.

After all, I could not imagine something I had no experience with.

Hence, the dream came to an end.

When I woke up, the sun was already up.

I was in my room, and Zachary was not beside me.

I must have lost my mind.

I really thought that Zachary had come into my room last night!

As I remembered all that transpired in my dream, my cheeks burned.

How embarrassing.

I ran into my bathroom and washed my face with cold water. Only then was I able to calm my jumbled-up thoughts and emotions.

However, the moment I looked up, I noticed an obvious love bite on my collarbone.

My heart skipped a beat.

The embarrassing things that had happened in my dream rose to the forefront of my mind again.

Oh, no.

Had I been too thirsty and left a love bite on myself?

…

My thoughts were a mess.

When I walked into the living room, I met Zachary’s eyes.

“Come have breakfast,” he said coolly, as usual.

Since he was part of the embarrassing dream I had last night, I could not bring myself to look at him.

“Did you drink last night?”

I knew it. I could not run away from answering the question.

“It was a class gathering, and I drank a little.”

“Drink less next time, and don’t come back too late.”

I kept my head ducked and did not continue the conversation.

After some time, Zachary asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

I wondered if I should tell him that I wanted to move out.

After all, I was an adult, and Zachary did not like me very much because I was not his niece by blood.

If I continued staying at his place, I would only cause him trouble.

“Uncle, I’ve rented a place with a friend, and I’d like to move out.”

He froze before he looked at me. “You’re moving out?”

I nodded. “I’ve already graduated.”

His expression sank. “What’s this? You think you’re all grown up and no longer want to stay with family?”

I quickly defended myself. “That’s not it! I just… don’t want to be a bother to you anymore.”

“A bother to me? You talk as if you were never a bother to me in the past,” he said coolly.

…Yeah. I was a real menace when I was a kid.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for a girl to live alone?

“Besides, you don’t even know how to cook. How are you supposed to survive?”

“I… I know how to cook.” I did not sound confident when I said these words.

Zachary did not even bat an eye when he said, “Alright. Fry an egg right now.”

He was underestimating me!

I entered the kitchen full of spirit, but half an hour later, I ruined the kitchen.

Zachary dragged me out.

As he stared at the charred mess that was supposed to be “food,” he snickered. “That’s what you meant when you said you could cook?”

This was his fault!

He never taught me these things. That was why I did not even know how to cook.

“When you learn how to make a full-course meal, you can move out.”

Zachary was basically putting me on the spot.

“But I can’t do it,” I said frankly. “Besides, I can order takeout, and I’m staying with a friend.”

“What friend?” As Zachary continued demanding answers, my phone suddenly rang.

When he saw the caller ID, he scowled.

It was Avalon Clark, my friend.

Zachary gave me a really intimidating glare, and I dared not ignore the call.

“I’ve found a place, Summer. Has your uncle agreed to let you move out?”

Zachary pursed his lips and gave me a stern look.

I immediately said, “Avalon, I’ll call you later.”

Once I hung up, the atmosphere in the room became tense for a moment.

With a cold expression, Zachary asked, “Are you moving out so that you can live with him?”

“No… I’m staying with another friend from the studio.”

Zachary’s glare turned chilly. “I told you to stop talking to Avalon.”

It seemed that he was truly not fond of Avalon.

“He’s my friend…”

“Are you not listening to me anymore?” he said in a severe voice.

Zachary had always been very strict about the friends I made, especially when it came to male friends.

However, I was already an adult. Why did I not have even this bit of freedom?

I took a deep breath. “Uncle, I believe I have the right to choose my friends.

“Avalon is my friend, and it’s my business whether I want to move out or not.”

This was my first time going against Zachary’s wishes.

He stared at me, and his gaze turned a little dull. “Do you want to be rid of me that much?”

“That’s… not what I meant.”

He stared at me. “I’ll let you move out, but you have to work at my company.”

“Is there another option?” I protested weakly.

“If you quit your job at the studio, I’ll allow you to move out as well.”

Zachary did not like me working as a photographer, much less joining the studio that Avalon had opened.

I slumped my shoulders and stopped arguing with him.

At night, Avalon sent me a message. [Summer, there’s a new photography gig the day after tomorrow. Can you make it?]

I checked the location of the shoot and asked Zachary to test the waters, “Uncle, can I go?”

“How long is it going to take?”

“Three days.”

Zachary fell silent for a while.

I thought that he was going to say no, but he agreed to it readily this time. “Remember to come home as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Uncle!” I ran over and hugged him happily.

He froze as if he felt a little awkward about it.

I soon realized my gaffe and stepped away from him. “Sorry, Uncle. I won’t do it again.”

When I was seventeen, I hugged him just like that. But he yelled at me so harshly that I cried.

He had said that, considering my age, I did not know what real love was. Plus, I showed no proper restraint as a woman by throwing myself into a man’s arms as unceremoniously as I did.

He also told me that if I did something out of line again, he was not going to stop at merely hitting my palm. And it really hurt when he hit my palm.

At that time, I was terrified, so I stopped saying that I liked him.

However, Zachary did not fly into a rage this time. Instead, it seemed like he was suppressing some emotion that he could not put into words in his eyes.

It was just like he did in my dreams.

Yet, he quickly hid those emotions. “Do you need me for anything else?”

“N-No. Nothing.”

For some reason, things had become quite strange between us.

I just did not know what had changed.

Then, I noticed that the tips of his ears had turned a little pink, and I could not quite believe my eyes.

Was Zachary feeling hot?

I turned around and returned to my room.

The moment I shut the door, the crazy dream I had popped up.

If Zachary learned that I had attempted to do such a thing to him in my dream, would he be mad?

I tossed and turned in bed. When midnight arrived, I still could not sleep. With a well of complicated emotions in my heart, I went to the bathroom.

The lights were not on, and the door was partially shut.

I heard faint gasps coming from within.

“Are you in the bathroom, Uncle?”

The gasps came to an abrupt end.

When I was about to turn on the light, he stopped me.