Dumping Him for His Uncle (Natasha and Zachary)

Her hands completely squished and distorted Zachary's sharp, handsome face.

"I'll take you home," he said.

Natasha struggled for a moment but quickly realized it was pointless.

In the end, she had no idea how she returned home. When she woke up next, it was already noon the next day.

Even though she'd drunk quite a bit, her head felt surprisingly clear.

She changed into fresh clothes and had just stepped out of her room when she heard noises coming from the kitchen. Her first instinct was to think a thief had broken in. She grabbed a fire extinguisher from the corner of her room without thinking.

But she soon realized that there wasn't anything worth stealing in the kitchen anyway.

Carefully peeking around the corner, she caught sight of an unexpected figure. "What are you doing in my house?"

Natasha let out a relieved sigh and placed the fire extinguisher aside, finding the whole situation a little funny.

This was especially true with Xavier standing there, wearing one of her old floral aprons, looking absolutely ridiculous.

"It's all because of you! Why drink so much for no reason?" Xavier huffed. He looked genuinely annoyed.

Natasha pretended not to hear him and slipped into the bathroom. While she washed up, though, something started to nag at her.

She'd gone to the bar alone last night. If she had come back by herself, how would Xavier have gotten into her place?

She really didn't remember anything.

But then she remembered something. Before leaving the lab yesterday afternoon, she had texted him her address because she wanted to rest today.

"I brought the research data over. You live alone, so you should be more careful. Don't drink so much," Xavier said from outside.

He'd even made lunch, which left Natasha genuinely impressed.noveldrama

"I didn't know you could cook," she said teasingly.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Natasha frowned. She had lived here for a while now, but hardly anyone ever visited.

She checked the peephole and froze. It was Zachary.

It wasn't right to just leave him out there, so she reluctantly opened the door.

"Mr. Foster, what brings you here?"

Zachary stepped inside, his gaze immediately locking onto Xavier.

The air between the two of them was practically crackling.

"Why don't you ask him?" Zachary said coolly, tossing the problem straight at Xavier.

Xavier hadn't divulged anything yet, and he most definitely hadn't expected Zachary to show up now.

"He opened the door for me when I got here," Xavier admitted.

Natasha swallowed nervously.

"So... you've been here since last night?"

She tried to piece her scrambled memories together, but there was nothing to grasp.

"Now that you've delivered what you needed, you can leave," Zachary said, putting the paper bag he was carrying down on the table. His tone made it clear that he was kicking Xavier out.

Natasha was too busy trying to make sense of last night to even hear them properly.

Sighing in defeat, Xavier grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

Before he left, he turned back to warn her, "Don't forget what I told you. Be careful, or you'll end up getting yourself into trouble."

With that, he left against his will—knowing he had no right to stay.

"What did he say to you?" Zachary asked as he set aside the food Xavier prepared and started unpacking the takeout he'd brought instead.