Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Julian Grant had no choice but to go back and change. He switched to a different pair of swim trunks, though these weren’t nearly as gaudy.

The summer evening was still a bit warm, and even the sea breeze felt hot. The beach was crowded with people waiting to watch the sunset.

The afterglow of the setting sun and the evening clouds illuminated more than half the sky. Shimmering sunlight scattered across the surface of the sea, creating a picturesque scene.

Ivy had seen the sunrise last time, and now she’d seen the sunset. It felt complete.

She took out her phone, snapped a couple of pictures, and posted them to her feed.

Since being discharged from the hospital, Silas Blackwood had been recuperating at home. Naturally, Anna Nash found an excuse to move in with him. Ostensibly, she was there to take care of Silas and her pregnancy, but in reality, she was establishing her foothold in the family home.

In Silas Blackwood’s room, Anna Nash was scrolling through her phone when she saw Ivy Sherwood’s post and let out a small laugh.

She dangled the phone in front of Silas Blackwood’s face. "You’re always going on about Ivy Sherwood, but she’s certainly not thinking about you. Look, she’s out on a trip, having the time of her life."

Silas Blackwood snatched the phone from Anna’s hand and, sure enough, saw the photos Ivy Sherwood had posted.

Besides a sunset that looked like burning clouds, the photos also captured a few small buildings. Silas Blackwood recognized the place. Wasn’t it that resort from last time? He’d vacationed there before.

’So Ivy went to the resort?’

’Who did she go with?’

Silas Blackwood picked up his own phone, only to find his feed completely empty. After Ivy Sherwood had blocked him, she never added him back.

He immediately grabbed his phone and called his assistant, telling him to arrange a trip to the resort. He wanted to go right away.

The assistant quickly replied that the resort was extremely popular and there were no rooms available at all.

Silas Blackwood couldn’t be bothered with that. "I don’t care what you have to do, you have to get me a room!"

After calling around, the assistant finally managed to book a room for three days from now.

Silas Blackwood did this partly to spite Anna Nash. He just despised the woman.

But Anna Nash just had to provoke him. "Silas Blackwood, do you know what you look like right now?"

"Like what?"

"Like a dog. A pathetic simp."

It was the first time anyone had ever called him that. He already despised Anna Nash, and now, furious and disgusted, Silas Blackwood snarled, "Get out! Get the hell out!"

Anna Nash said, "Silas Blackwood, it doesn’t matter if you hate me. For the rest of our lives, you’re going to be tied to me. I suggest you start treating me better. Otherwise, I’ll cripple you and keep you trapped by my side forever."

A chill ran down Silas Blackwood’s spine. That really did sound like something Anna Nash was capable of.

The thought of having to marry a woman like her made Silas Blackwood feel like he was suffocating.

"You psycho! You crazy woman!"

Silas Blackwood threw Anna Nash out of the room, and the ruthless glint in her eyes vanished.

Over the past couple of days, she had familiarized herself with almost the entire villa, but she still hadn’t found Ivy Sherwood’s mother’s ashes. ’Where could Caleb Blackwood have hidden them?’

Anna Nash was running out of time. She worried Ivy Sherwood might actually reveal the secret, so her only option was to go directly to Caleb Blackwood.

Caleb Blackwood was in his study. Before heading there, Anna Nash deliberately changed into a slip dress with a bandeau-style top. The dress was form-fitting, revealing her gently rounded belly.

Once changed, Anna Nash made her way to the study.

She knocked on the door but didn’t wait for a reply before walking straight in.

"Get out!" Disgust immediately rose in Caleb Blackwood the moment he saw Anna Nash.

’This woman... she dared to scheme against the entire Blackwood Family.’

"Dad, I brewed you a cup of coffee," Anna Nash said, carrying in a mug.

"Get out!" Caleb Blackwood’s tone was laced with suppressed fury. His eyes were so sharp that not even Silas Blackwood would have dared to provoke his father at a moment like this.

Anna Nash, however, was unfazed. It wasn’t like Caleb Blackwood could do anything to her anyway.

"Dad, I know you don’t want to see me, but I’m here on important business." Anna Nash moved to Caleb Blackwood’s side, standing very close.

"Ivy Sherwood called me. She said you took her mother’s ashes. If you don’t give them back, she’s going to marry Silas. But I’m Silas’s fiancée now, and we’re getting married in less than ten days. Dad, why don’t we just give her mother’s ashes back to her?" Anna Nash lowered her voice, making it sound sweet and pleading.

However, Caleb Blackwood was not Silas Blackwood; he didn’t fall for her act at all.

"Her mother’s ashes? Why would I have them?" Caleb Blackwood denied it flatly.

’He was never going to hand over Ivy Sherwood’s mother’s ashes. Since he could no longer force Ivy to marry into the family, the ashes might be his only remaining bargaining chip. There was no way he would give them up.’

"But Ivy Sherwood distinctly said..."

"Enough! Get out!" Caleb Blackwood unceremoniously threw Anna Nash out.

Biting her lip, Anna Nash had no choice but to leave Caleb Blackwood’s study. She would have to think of another way, perhaps to see if she could wheedle any information out of Silas Blackwood.

...

Ivy Sherwood and her friends played on the beach until evening, then went to have dinner together.

Ivy Sherwood had a wonderful time and even ate an extra half-bowl of rice at dinner.

After dinner ended, there were still plenty of other things to do. The resort had a pool hall, and Julian Grant wanted to play a few games, but Ivy Sherwood was a little tired and decided not to go.

Since Ivy Sherwood wasn’t going, Quentin Blackwood certainly wasn’t going either.

So in the end, only Julian Grant and Graham Sherwood went together.

Ivy Sherwood and Quentin Blackwood walked along the path. The night was beautiful; the sky was filled with countless stars, and the moon hung high among the treetops.

After eating and drinking their fill, neither of them felt like moving at all.

As Ivy Sherwood and Quentin Blackwood walked together, she suddenly noticed a young couple nearby. The girl must have been tired from walking, because the boy was giving her a piggyback ride.

A playful idea struck Ivy Sherwood. She patted Quentin Blackwood on the back. "Mr. Blackwood, I’m so tired I can’t walk another step."

"Hm? You want me to carry you?" Quentin Blackwood’s voice was cool, but it sounded especially pleasant in the night air.

As he spoke, Quentin Blackwood stopped walking.

Ivy Sherwood imagined him carrying her. ’A princess carry, out here in public? That would attract way too much attention, wouldn’t it?’

"No, I want a piggyback ride," she said, her voice soft. To Quentin Blackwood, it sounded like she was being playful.

Ivy Sherwood assumed Quentin Blackwood wouldn’t agree. After all, how could a powerful man like him possibly give someone a piggyback ride?

’Still, she wanted to know what it felt like to be so tall. Did everyone else look like a dwarf?’

But as soon as Ivy Sherwood finished speaking, Quentin Blackwood squatted down in front of her. "Hop on."

The corners of Ivy Sherwood’s mouth lifted into a grin. An opportunity to be carried instead of walking? Of course she wasn’t going to pass it up.

She jumped right onto Quentin Blackwood’s back, and just like that, he lifted her up.

Afraid of falling, Ivy Sherwood wrapped her legs tightly around Quentin Blackwood’s waist.

But Quentin Blackwood patted her thigh. "Relax. There’ll be plenty of time for you to grip me later."

Understanding his meaning, Ivy Sherwood’s cheeks instantly flushed crimson. "!!"

’What kind of shameless words were those!’