Wed To The Forbidden Uncle

CH 8

He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw his boss holding a tube of ointment. Suddenly, their eyes met and the cold gaze made him shiver. He quickly turned back, muttering, "Sorry, sorry, my hand slipped."

Mercy felt a bit embarrassed, but seeing the man's insistence, she obediently stretched her foot over, resting it on his expensive suit pants.

Holding her delicate, fair foot in his hand, it felt as smooth as silk, as if it might slip away if he wasn't careful. The man swallowed hard, focusing intently as he gently applied the ointment.

The coolness of his palm, combined with the slight sting of the wound, made Mercy shiver and she seemed to accidentally nudge something.

"Mm..."

Dexter let out a low groan, a mix of pain and something else, as his grip on Mercy's ankle tightened.

"Did I hurt you, mister?" Mercy was startled and quickly tried to pull her foot back.

"It's fine." His voice was a bit hoarse, as he held her still and finished applying the ointment, finally covering it with a band-aid.

"Thank you, mister!" Mercy smiled at him, her eyes curving into crescents.

Her heart felt warm and full, like being soaked in warm water. Though the orphanage director was kind to her, with so many kids around, small injuries were inevitable. This was the first time someone had cared so much about her hurt.

"You're welcome." Dexter wiped his hands with a wet wipe and gently ruffled her hair.

He then took a detour to buy Mercy a pair of flip-flops and after they had a meal together, he took her home.

As soon as she walked in, she saw the Rivers family couple sitting side by side on the couch, just like the day they had confronted her.

But this time, both of them were smiling and Michelle greeted her warmly, "Welcome back, Mercy."

Mercy felt a bit out of place. It had been a year since she returned and this was the first time they had smiled at her. She knew it was all because of her connection with Mr. Dexter.

So, she just gave a nonchalant "hmm" and was about to head back to her room.

Michelle, noticing Mercy's indifferent attitude, felt her face twist with irritation for a moment. But she quickly forced a smile and pulled Mercy to sit on the couch.

"Why are you in such a hurry, child? Come and chat with your mom and dad."

"Mercy, how did you meet Mr. Dexter?" Michelle asked and Zara, who was pretending to read nearby, perked up her ears.

"I helped him with something on the day I went on a blind date and he offered me a part-time job. Who knew he was the Mr. Dexter you always talked about?"

Mercy deliberately downplayed their relationship, wary of them trying to use her to gain benefits from Mr. Dexter.

They met on the day of the blind date! Zara was filled with regret. If she had known she would meet the famous Mr. Dexter and have him owe her a favor, she would have gone herself.

"And about this investment..." Michelle began to probe further, but Mercy lost patience with their scheming. "How would I know what the boss is thinking?"

Finally, Callan stepped in to smooth things over. "Anyway, this time we have Mercy to thank. If there's anything you want, just tell Dad."

Callan was a sly old fox. He had noticed the interaction between Mr. Dexter and Mercy that day and suspected Mr. Dexter had an interest in his daughter. He figured that if he kept Mercy happy, Mr. Dexter might invest a fortune in the future.

Mercy didn't believe Callan's sudden kindness, but since he was offering... She rolled her eyes and tentatively said, "The place I'm living in is too small. I'd like to knock down the wall and combine it with the room next door."

Callan was taken aback by her modest request. If it were Zara, she would have asked for a car. So, he readily agreed.

"Alright, I'll arrange it for you tomorrow," Callan said. He added, "By the way, you should find some time to enroll in an etiquette class and maybe learn an instrument. It'll save you from embarrassment at big events in the future." It was time to reassess his daughter's value and start grooming her properly.

"Thank you, Dad," Mercy replied before heading to the study. Zara, seeing her father being so kind to Mercy, was fuming inside. She stomped her foot and left as well.

Once they were gone, Mercy quickly reached out to Michelle. "What do you want?" Michelle's expression was complicated, thinking about how Callan was starting to pay attention to Mercy.

"If Mom doesn't give me money, how can I learn etiquette and an instrument? Or should I ask Dad?" Mercy smiled slyly, like a little fox.

Despite her reluctance, Michelle knew Callan had spoken, so she pulled out her phone and transferred $500 to Mercy. But Mercy wasn't done yet.

"Training classes are ridiculously expensive these days. Five hundred is only enough for one subject, right? I guess I'll have to ask Dad," Mercy said, turning to head upstairs.

Fearing Callan's wrath, Michelle quickly transferred another $500. "Is that enough, you little debt collector?" she snapped.

Since the last time they tried to marry Mercy off, she had changed. The once quiet girl had suddenly become quite a handful. Afraid she'd ask for more money, Michelle hurriedly left the room.

"Hahaha..."

Watching the woman almost flee in panic, Mercy laughed so hard she nearly cried. Even though the One thousand bucks was just a day's allowance for Zara, getting any money out of the stingy Michelle felt like a real victory.

The next day, Mercy tidied up her room a bit, temporarily storing everything in another servant's room and then the construction crew arrived.

"Mercy, where should we move the old laundry room?" the foreman asked.

The girl rested her chin on her hand, thinking for a moment. "Let's move it to the second room on the third floor."

Zara had claimed that room was her gym, but it only had a yoga mat in it and she never seemed to use it.

"Got it."

The workers headed up to the third floor to start their work.

In the afternoon, Zara returned from wherever she'd been, looking utterly exhausted, though her cheeks were flushed and her lips slightly swollen. She walked past Mercy in the living room as if she wasn't there. Since the last party, Zara couldn't be bothered to keep up the pretense of civility with her and Mercy was perfectly fine with that.

The sun was shining beautifully outside and Zara planned to take a lovely afternoon nap. But just as she was about to drift off, a loud rumbling noise jolted her awake.

"What on earth?"

Zara opened her door and stepped out, only to see Sabrina coming out of the room next to hers, carrying a pile of freshly dried clothes.