Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Dinner was served.

Madge popped open a bottle of red wine, and even Roseanne was allowed a little.

But then...

She ended up downing two full glasses!

While Norris was caught up in conversation and Madge was engrossed in the exquisite flavors of the meal, no one paid much attention to her, except for... Owen: "Roseanne, that's your third glass."

"!" Roseanne's hand froze in the act of reaching for the wine bottle.

Only then did Norris and Madge realize she had indulged a bit too much.

"You little rascal! We said a little, not glass after glass!" Madge couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

She enjoyed her wine, sure, but always knew when to stop, unlike her daughter...

Norris disapproved as well, but his focus was elsewhere-

"Owen is truly the detail-oriented scientist! Such keen observation! No wonder he's made such remarkable achievements in physics at such a young age..." Indeed, Norris had done his homework on Owen, learning about his contributions to the scientific community through various channels.

He couldn't stop expressing his admiration.

Madge even joked, "You're smitten."

Initially, Roseanne didn't see it. After all, Owen's academic feats were known mainly within scholarly circles for their brilliance and incredibility.

But at that moment, she completely agreed with the "smitten" comment, thinking-

Can he really praise anything and everything?

Roseanne seriously felt her dad had rose-tinted glasses on for Owen.

And thick ones at that.

"Owen, you're so considerate of Anne, noticing even these small details. I'm quite embarrassed as a father..." Norris said, taking a sip of his wine. Suddenly, he put down his glass, and solemnly proposed, "Why don't we become brothers, and from now on, Anne can call you 'uncle'?"

Pfft-Madge nearly spat out her wine.

Roseanne was totally speechless.

Owen was speechless and shocked.

Seeing everyone's mute reaction, Norris nodded to himself, "This is good, the more I think about it, the better it sounds! See, Madge and are always in Pinehollow, Anne's all by herself in Lumina City, without anyone to look after her."

"You're reliable, attentive, and capable. You could look after her in both her personal and academic life."

"Of course, don't worry, I'm not trying to pull strings. I'm just...burp! Just thinking it'd be good for her to have an elder looking out for her in an unfamiliar place..." With every mention of "elder" and "uncle," Owen felt speechless.

As Norris got more excited about the idea, seemingly ready to make Owen swear brotherhood right then and there, Madge finally snapped out of it.

She snatched the wine glass from

his hand, "What are you blabbering

about? A few drinks and you lose sense of direction, spouting

att

nonsense! Owen, that age, to be.

swnovel.ne

daughter's uncle? The very thought!"

Owen sat stiffly, daring not to move or speak, silently applauding Madge in his heart.

Roseanne finally caught on, quickly apologizing, "Sorry, Mr. Reynolds my dad gets like this when he's had a bit too much. He gets carried away easily. Please don't mind him..."

"Ahem!" What could Owen say?

What dared he say?

"It's okay, Mr. Cole's drunk. He's not offended."

"Who's drunk? I'm not drunk!" Norris glanced at his wife, then his daughter, and finally, his gaze settled soberly on Owen, "Owen, I truly consider you a brother..."

Owen was speechless. Please no, just no!

"Enough!" It was Madge who put an end to the topic with a firm command.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

But from then on, Norris's nickname for Owen had changed to-

"Little bro, don't be shy, help yourself! Try this peach blossom trout, it's my specialty." Norris beamed.