Chapter 14: Dreaming of the Forbidden

"How did that get sent?"

Terrified that Julian Kingston would see it, Willow Avery hurriedly pressed down on the message, intending to unsend it.

As it turned out, the more panicked a person is, the more likely they are to fail.

She accidentally tapped 'Delete' instead.

Three seconds later, Willow literally leaped off the sofa.

"!!!"

The message she had sent was far too suggestive. She wanted to make amends, but she didn't even know what words to use to fix it.

After a frantic search online, she finally managed to come up with an excuse.

Just as she was about to send it, a message from the man popped up first.

[Perfectly fine.]

Looking at those two words, Willow’s brain began to buzz. She typed frantically to explain: [Uncle Julian, I sent that to the wrong person. I was just chatting with a friend; please don't misunderstand. Besides, I don't even know where you were hurt, so how could I possibly ask about it, right? Haha.]

The fabrication was nonsensical, and the word order was a mess.

The entire row of text practically screamed, "The lady doth protest too much."

Willow was at her wit's end, staring intensely at the screen.

Soon, Julian replied with a single word: [Mm.]

Willow was puzzled. What did that mean?

Did he believe her or not?

[Uncle Julian, you won't overthink it, will you?]

Respectable Uncle Julian: [You are the one thinking too much.]

Willow felt as if she were being seen right through by Julian.

Older men were truly terrifying.

Whether it was their minds... or that aspect of them.

...

In the afternoon, as the time for Julian to get off work drew nearer, Willow’s guilt intensified.

Unable to sit still any longer, she went out to buy a replacement for the gift she had sent previously.

To prevent any accidents, she kept a close eye on the entire process and even did the wrapping herself.

When she returned to the Kingston Penthouse, she happened to run into Julian coming home from work.

"Uncle Julian."

Willow had spent the entire journey building up her mental defenses, and now she managed to appear somewhat composed.

She held out the item in her hand. "A replacement gift."

Seeing the man take it, she mentioned the message incident with feigned calm. "I really sent that by mistake today. I'll be more careful next time."

Knowing the girl was thin-skinned, Julian responded indifferently, "No matter."

Hearing this, Willow let out a sigh of relief and walked into the apartment. Suddenly, the man's voice rang out again from behind her.

"Willow, it’s not good to walk with the same arm and leg moving forward at the same time."

Willow: "..."

Her brain was keeping up, but her body had betrayed her guilt.

She clumsily changed the subject. "Uncle Julian, take a look at the gift. Do you like it?"

Taking the gift box out of the bag, Julian could tell at a glance that the girl had wrapped it herself.

The bow was tied quite poorly, exactly like it had been years ago.

He carefully unwrapped it to find a thermos inside.

Dark grey.

One could see the seriousness and care she had taken when choosing it.

He rubbed it in his hands for a moment before replying, "I like it."

The man's voice was gentle and magnetic. Hearing it, Willow felt a strange itch in her ears.

To be fair, Uncle Julian’s voice was actually quite pleasant.

"Go pack your things," Julian put away the thermos. "You'll be staying in my room."

He wasn't at ease with her poor sleep. "If you're still uncomfortable, I'll arrange a new place for you to stay."

"It's fine," Willow waved her hands hurriedly, terrified of causing Julian any extra trouble. "Didn't you give me the sachet, Uncle Julian? It should be fine tonight."

Even with two doors between them, she always dreamed of things she shouldn't.

Sleeping in his bed... she could hardly imagine what would happen in her dreams.

Julian adopted the stance of an elder. "Do as I say. The master bedroom and the guest room are just rooms; I'm not that particular."

Willow could only nod.

By the time she finished packing her clothes, Julian had already changed the bedding for her.

He pushed her suitcase into the master bedroom. "If you're uncomfortable tonight, come and call me. Don't try to endure it alone."

Willow: "Thank you, Uncle Julian."

Julian made dinner again that night.

Willow wanted to help, but she was shooed away under the pretext that cooking fumes were bad for a girl’s skin.

She could only seize the opportunity to carry the plates.

Julian had prepared a low-carb meal for her.

But it was strange.

Usually, she found these meals tasteless, yet the ones her uncle made were exceptionally delicious.

After dinner, Willow went into the master bathroom to wash up.

Despite the supplies having been replaced with her own, she could still smell Julian’s unique scent.

It was the same when she lay in bed.

The entire room was filled with the man’s scent.

Even the sachet at her bedside seemed to have a fragrance that inexplicably overlapped with him.

Willow thought she would dream again tonight.

To her surprise, she slept exceptionally well.

When she woke up, it was already nine in the morning.

She pulled out her phone from beside the pillow and saw a message from Julian.

"On a business trip?"

Willow murmured to herself, "A lecture in the neighboring city, returning the day after tomorrow."

"Did you sleep well?"

She replied: [I wish you a smooth trip, Uncle Julian. I slept very well, thank you for checking on me.]

On the other side.

Julian had just stepped into the car prepared by the hospital when he received the girl’s message.

Beside him, Adrian Cross was still mocking his thermos. "Julian, what are you doing? It’s not even winter; why are you bringing a thermos? And the color is so dull. Are you really trying to turn yourself into an eighty-year-old?"

Julian said nonchalantly, "It was a gift."

Adrian: ??

"Who has the power to make you accept a gift?" He suddenly realized something. "Is it that 'child' who sent you the kidney supplements last time?"

"Mm."

Julian gave a perfunctory response, leaned back in his seat, and replied to Willow’s message.

[Report to me every night for the next two days.]