WED TO THE FORBIDDEN UNCLE

You're not pretty, but your figure is good. You should be able to give me a child soon."

Mercy sat across from the man her family had arranged for her to marry. He was short and stocky, his beady eyes scanning her up and down with a lecherous gaze.

To scare him off, she had deliberately dotted her face with fake black moles. But to her surprise, he wasn't deterred. In fact, he had the audacity to comment on her body in such a disgusting way, even bringing up the topic of having children.

The man continued, "I can pay to have those moles removed. Once your face is back to normal, we can find a hotel and sleep together. If you get pregnant and have a son, we'll get married. If not, we'll break up..."

Mercy gripped the handle of her coffee cup, taking several deep breaths to resist the urge to dump the coffee on his head.

Just as she was about to get up and leave, a tall man approached. Though he was in a wheelchair, he wore a well-tailored suit and was undeniably handsome. Mercy was momentarily stunned by his appearance.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

The man across from Mercy followed her gaze and became even more enraged. "Who are you looking at?

That cripple is nowhere near as handsome as me! You're not only ugly, but also shallow..."

Mercy couldn't take it anymore. Before he could continue, she interrupted him.

"I'm sorry, but the whole having children thing is out of the question. My family wants me to marry you, but I don't want to. I've already found my true love, and it's him!"

Mercy stood up, placed her foot in front of the approaching wheelchair to stop it, cupped the man's face, and kissed him.

…

Dexter Walker never expected a woman to be so bold as to kiss him like that.

Even more surprising was that he, who was severely allergic to women, was perfectly fine.

The girl's kiss was fleeting, but he caught a whiff of sweet freesia. "You! You! You'll regret this!"

The man across from Mercy slammed his cup on the table, turned around in a fit of rage, and left.

Finally having vented her anger, Mercy felt much better. She was about to turn around and apologize to the innocent, handsome stranger, but he was already gone.

…

After the disgusting matchmaking session, Mercy went straight home without dinner. Hoping to eat quickly, she entered the dining room only to find a messy table, with everyone nearly finished and no one waiting for her.

"Oh? Aren't you supposed to be on a blind date, little sister? Didn't he take you out to eat?"

Zara pulled Mercy to the table.

"Why didn't you say so sooner? I won third place in the piano competition today, and Mom had the kitchen make a lot of good food to celebrate. It's a shame you missed it."

Zara said this with a smug look in her eyes.

Mercy looked closely and saw that the dishes were indeed lavish, but the Boston lobster had been devoured, leaving only empty shells.

She pouted, not particularly caring.

At that moment, her father, Callan Rivers, returned from a phone call. Seeing her appearance, his eyes widened, and he roared, "Mercy! What are you dressed up like?"

"You went on a blind date looking like that? No wonder Wilkins called me just now, saying that our family isn't taking this marriage seriously at all!"

Hearing this, her mother, Michelle, panicked. "If you don't get chosen and can't marry him, what happens if Wilkins withdraws his investment? He's the biggest shareholder in the company Mercy, you can't be so selfish. Are you trying to bankrupt the company because of your own whims?"

"Since it's about business and you need to marry off a daughter, why not let Zara go?" Mercy retorted bluntly.

"Mercy, how can you say that?" Zara immediately burst into tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.

Seeing her turn the blame on Zara, Michelle was completely displeased and said sarcastically, "Zara is so outstanding, men are fighting over her. Unlike you, who's useless. You should be grateful you can marry a rich man, yet you're being picky!"

Her words were filled with undisguised disdain.

Mercy's face paled.

Yes, these were her biological parents.

She and Zara had been switched at birth and only found each other after eighteen years. Returning home brought not pity or apology, but endless glares and ridicule. They looked down on her, the daughter who grew up in the countryside.

What was she still expecting? It would have been better not to come back.

"Madam, should I prepare some more food for the second young lady?"

Sabrina, the maid clearing the table, asked, seeing that Mercy hadn't eaten.

"Just heat up yesterday's leftovers for her," Michelle said impatiently.

"No need, thank you, Sabrina." Mercy stood up and walked towards the door.

"It's so late, where are you going, you dead girl? If you step out of this door today, don't ever come back!"

Ignoring Callan's roar behind her, Mercy left the house without looking back.

…

Mercy went back to the restaurant she had visited that afternoon and splurged on a delicious meal with the money she had saved from working, thinking, "Food really does fix everything."

After finishing her meal, she went to the restroom to wash off the fake moles. As she stepped into the elevator, the man she had kissed that afternoon was there.

"It's you?" Mercy exclaimed.

The man seemed unwell. His face was flushed, and veins were bulging on his neck. "Are you alright?" Was he running a fever? Mercy reached out to touch his forehead.

Before she could touch him, her wrist was grabbed. The man paused, then pulled her forcefully, and Mercy fell into his arms.

Dexter recognized her as the girl who had kissed him this afternoon.

The moles were just a disguise. Though she was cute with them, her true face was stunning.

Since he hadn't had an allergic reaction to her touch...

The man cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply.

"Mmm..."

Mercy hadn't even registered what was happening before her breath was stolen.

And he… he was using his tongue!

The next second, she was swept up into his arms and carried to a room.

…

Mercy groggily opened her eyes, feeling a chill on her chest. Her white shirt hung loosely on her shoulders, wide open.

Her slender waist was gripped by a hot hand, and her body was pressed against a bare, burning chest. The contact felt like it could melt her.

Their eyes met, and Mercy felt dizzy.

He looked to be under thirty, with delicate and handsome features, deep eyes, and was even more attractive than the celebrities on TV.

He was staring at her like a predator eyeing his prey.

"W-what are you going to do?" she stammered, her voice trembling.

"You took my first kiss. You're going to have to take responsibility for that," Dexter murmured in her ear, his voice low and seductive.

Mercy thought she must have misheard him. "How am I supposed to take responsibility?"