Wrong Flirt, Right Trouble: His Uncle Pulls Me Close

Ivy Sherwood blinked. She picked up the little red booklet and looked at it again and again, making sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her.

The certificate holders were Nina Scott and Miles Mercer. Her best friend had become her sister-in-law!

She had always wanted to set those two up, and they had certainly given her a huge surprise.

”Nina, what in the world is going on? How did you two end up together?” Ivy Sherwood was dying to know how Nina had managed to convince her brother.

Of her three brothers, Ivy Sherwood had always thought Miles Mercer was the one least likely to ever get married.

After all, Miles Mercer’s aversion to women was plain for all to see.

She never expected that out of all of them, the first to get married would be Miles Mercer—he had even beaten her to the altar.

Nina Scott said, ”It’s a long story. I’ll explain it all to you later.”

The old man, however, was ecstatic. ”Wonderful! I have a granddaughter-in-law! I’m so happy. I have to tell your brothers this right away.”

The old man started making calls again. In addition to telling Xavier Mercer and the others, he also called his old friends.

”What? How did you know my grandson got married?”

”Of course, we’ll start planning the wedding immediately. Make sure you come to the celebration. You’ll have to have a drink or two with me.”

”Fake? How could it be fake? You’re just jealous. If you keep this up, I won’t invite you!”

The old man busied himself with calling everyone, insisting they had to celebrate properly and hold a grand wedding.

”Nina, do you have some kind of dirt on my brother?” Ivy Sherwood whispered, glancing over at Miles Mercer.

”You could say that. I got Grandpa on my side, you see. I was in a rush to get married, and Grandpa was pushing him to get married, too. We just hit it off, each getting what we needed. Don’t worry, there are no feelings between him and me. We’re just using each other. Plus, we have an agreement to divorce in one year!”

Ivy Sherwood was surprised. ”Wow, you two really have this all planned out. But maybe you’ll fall in love after the wedding. Then you won’t have to divorce.”

”Ivy, you’re the one who’s been reading too many novels. With your brother’s personality, it would be a miracle if we could stand each other.”

Ivy Sherwood said, ”But have you thought about this? Now that you’re married to my brother, Grandpa will definitely make you live together. And he’ll be watching you two like a hawk.”

Nina Scott was stunned. She hadn’t thought that far ahead at all. ”He wouldn’t, would he?”

”I don’t know. It was just a thought.”

”It’s too late to worry about that now. We’re already married. For me, this is a huge weight off my shoulders. I’d like to see how the Scott Family can force me to marry now. Bigamy is illegal, after all. And if I get divorced, I’ll be a divorcée. The Walker Family, with their high-and-mighty attitude, would never want a woman on her second marriage.”

Ivy Sherwood never expected that Nina would end up using the very tactic she hadn’t thought to use when she was fighting against the Blackwood Family.

”Nina, congratulations!”

”Congratulations for what?”

”On your wedding, of course!”

”You know this marriage is fake, but I can’t deny I’m pretty happy about it.”

’At least the Scott Family won’t be able to control me so easily anymore.’

”So, does this mean I should start calling you ’sister-in-law’?”

”Oh, god, no! Just hearing that gives me goosebumps.”

The two laughed together, neither knowing if this twist of fate was a blessing or a curse.

The old man was overjoyed, but he also felt this wasn’t proper. ”Nina, my dear, our Mercer Family has always valued tradition. Do your parents know about this? I must pay them a visit. And don’t you worry about the bride price. Your parents can ask for whatever they wish.”

Nina Scott said, ”Grandpa, there’s no need to go to all that trouble. My parents are... not all there. This is my life and my choice. You don’t have to bother with them.”

”That won’t do at all.” The old man found this highly improper.

Nina Scott said, ”Then let’s do it after some time, Grandpa. Miles and I have only just registered our marriage. We... haven’t taken that step yet.”

”Registering the marriage *is* a big deal! This is Miles’s failure to observe propriety. I’ll teach that boy a lesson later. Today is your wedding night. I’ll go stay with Ivy in a bit so I don’t disturb you two.”

”Grandpa, you’re misunderstanding...”

”Why are you still calling me by that title? You should call me ’Grandpa,’ just like Miles does.”

”Grandpa, it’s all the same. You’re our elder. Why don’t you stay with Miles Mercer tonight? I’ll just head home.”

The old man said, ”Nonsense! The house has plenty of rooms. You two will sleep in one, and I’ll just stay here as well.”

The old man was also worried that if he left, Nina Scott might leave too.

He was waiting to hold his great-grandchild, after all!

”Grandpa, isn’t that... inappropriate?” Nina Scott couldn’t even imagine sharing a bed with Miles Mercer.

”What’s inappropriate about it? You’re married now. That’s the arrangement.”

Ivy Sherwood piped up meekly from the side, ”Well, Grandpa, I think I’ll be going now.”

’I do not want to get involved in this.’

”Alright. I’ll arrange a car to take you home.”

”No need, someone’s here to pick me up!”

Ivy Sherwood made a quick escape. As soon as she left the Mercer residence, she spotted a car parked at the gate and sprinted toward it.

”Quentin, you’re not going to believe this, but Nina actually registered her marriage with my brother!” Ivy Sherwood said, still finding it incredible as she shared the news with Quentin Blackwood.

Quentin Blackwood said, ”Really?”

”Absolutely. They work so fast,” Ivy Sherwood marveled.

Quentin Blackwood opened the passenger-side door, taking the opportunity to give Ivy Sherwood’s hand a little squeeze. ”So, when are we getting married?”

”I’m not ready yet!” Ivy Sherwood wasn’t even sure what she needed to be ready for, but marriage still felt like a distant concept.

Quentin Blackwood didn’t press her. ’There’s no rush,’ he thought. ’I haven’t even proposed yet.’

’I just don’t know when Ivy will have the time. We still haven’t gone sailing.’

Quentin Blackwood paused before getting into the driver’s seat, his gaze fixed on a particular direction for a few seconds. Only then did he get in the car.

Ivy Sherwood noticed. ”What’s wrong?” she asked.

”It’s nothing.”

’It’s just that for a moment,’ Quentin thought, ’it felt like someone was watching us.’

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Quentin Blackwood picked up his phone and ordered someone to investigate who it was.

’I will not allow even the slightest potential danger to emerge,’ he thought. ’But I’m certain it isn’t the Blackwood Family.’

The Blackwood Family’s fortunes had plummeted. The company was now an empty shell, its stock had hit rock bottom, Caleb Blackwood was still in the hospital, and Silas Blackwood did nothing but drink all day. Quentin had people watching them, too.

’I also have people watching Charlie Rhodes. So if someone else is tailing us, I don’t know who it could be.’

’But no matter who it is, I won’t allow them to harm Ivy.’

Quentin Blackwood drove away. From a nearby corner, a hatted Jason Summers watched them go, pulling the brim of his hat down lower.

’So Ivy Sherwood has reunited with the Mercer Family after all,’ he thought. ’Things are getting complicated. Is what happened to Winter Mercer all those years ago really going to be brought to light?’

A storm brewed in his eyes. ’I absolutely will not allow anything to go wrong!’