Chapter 490: Miles Mercer’s Girlfriend
That morning, Nina Scott had already met with three blind dates.
Everyone was there with the goal of marriage, so they were all extremely pragmatic.
The first one immediately asked how much she had in savings and how many kids she wanted after they got married. Nina Scott’s goal wasn’t to get married just to have children, so he wasn’t a good match.
The second one also wanted kids and expected Nina Scott to take care of his whole family after marriage, especially his bedridden mother.
The third was slightly more normal, except he was a gambling addict who demanded Nina Scott first help him pay off his three million in debt.
Nina Scott was exhausted from dealing with them and had no choice but to call the matchmaker. "Ma’am, I’m just looking for someone who also only wants a marriage certificate, without all the messy post-marriage baggage. What kind of people are you introducing me to?!"
The matchmaker replied, "Young lady, you were the one in such a hurry. I’ve already arranged so many for you, and you’re still not satisfied?"
Nina Scott: "..."
’Why is finding a match so hard? Maybe I should just grab a random person off the street and marry them,’ she wondered.
By the end of the afternoon and evening, Nina Scott had met all ten men, but still hadn’t found a suitable candidate.
She called Ivy Sherwood to complain. Hearing the frustration in her voice, Ivy said, "Why don’t you come over? We can talk in person."
"Okay, where are you?"
"At home."
"Great, I’m coming over now. I’ll go buy some alcohol!"
Nina Scott hung up and started heading to Ivy Sherwood’s place.
Ivy Sherwood saw Miles Mercer nearby. ’Perfect, my brother is still here!’ she thought.
Nina Scott arrived quickly. Ivy Sherwood opened the door, and as soon as Nina stepped inside, she gave Ivy a huge hug. "Ivy, it’s so hard! Getting married is just too hard!"
Once inside, Nina Scott noticed someone else was there. "What’s he doing here?"
"My brother came over to hang out."
"Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you had, I wouldn’t have come. Otherwise, that egomaniac might think I came just because he was here!"
"My brother doesn’t think that."
"Whatever, forget him. Let’s have a couple of drinks!" Nina Scott placed the cans of beer she’d bought on the table. Of course, they were all for her.
"I’ll drink, and you can have water. That still counts as you keeping me company."
Ivy Sherwood nodded and kept Nina Scott company while she drank.
"Nina, you have to be careful about something like marriage!"
Back when the Blackwood Family was forcing her to get married, she had never even considered using such a method.
"Careful about what? If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just get a divorce. Say, do you think I should do what they do in novels? Find some pure, innocent guy whose parents are dead and who’s devoted to his grandmother. Then I’ll pay for his grandma’s medical bills, and in return, he’ll marry me."
"What do you think this is, a CEO romance novel? That trope is out of style even in fiction. Besides, where are you going to find someone who fits that description perfectly?"
Nina Scott lamented, "Then what do you think I should do? If I don’t marry myself off soon, the Scotts are going to marry me off to someone."
"Don’t panic just yet. How about I ask around for you, see if anyone else is in the same boat? Like Quentin Blackwood’s friends or someone."
Just then, Miles Mercer, who was sitting nearby, let out a small laugh. Nina Scott looked over at him. "What are you laughing at?"
Then she turned to Ivy Sherwood and tattled, "Ivy, he’s making fun of me!"
Miles Mercer said, "I’ve never seen someone so desperate to get married. So it’s true, you couldn’t find anyone, which is why you tried to latch onto me before. But it didn’t work out, did it?"
"Bullshit!" Nina Scott shot to her feet and marched over to Miles Mercer. "Even if I can’t get married, I would never latch onto you! I can’t stand conceited jerks like you!"
"I never asked you to like me. I’m not the one being pressured into marriage!"
The two started bickering again, and Ivy Sherwood, who was sitting to the side, couldn’t get a word in.
Just then, Ivy Sherwood’s doorbell rang. Assuming it was Quentin Blackwood, she went to get it. "I’ll get the door."
The two were still arguing. "Stop gloating," Nina Scott said.
Nina Scott had actually had quite a bit to drink; she had almost finished all the beer she’d brought.
"Woman, stay away from me!"
"Why should I? This isn’t your house."
Remembering Miles Mercer’s gynophobia, Nina Scott deliberately moved closer. Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, her eyes were hazy, and her long eyelashes fluttered.
Miles Mercer tried to back away, but unexpectedly, Nina Scott lunged at him, causing him to fall back onto the sofa.
Nina Scott braced one hand on the sofa and used the other to hook Miles Mercer’s chin. "If I can’t find anyone to marry, what’s stopping me from latching onto you?"
The position they were in—the woman on top of the man—was incredibly suggestive. And at that exact moment, Ivy Sherwood opened the door.
She had thought it would be Quentin Blackwood, but to her surprise, when she opened the door, it was Old Master Mercer.
"Grandpa!" Ivy Sherwood exclaimed in surprise. Her grandfather had come to Lustre too!
Old Master Mercer was just as happy. "My dear granddaughter, Grandpa missed you to death."
"Why isn’t your brother at home? I just went to his place, and it was so cold and empty, completely devoid of life. You kids, you really worry me. Not a single one of you has a girlfriend. I don’t know when in the blue moon I’ll ever get to hold a great-grandchild."
"Ivy, you have to give your brothers a good talking-to for me."
As Old Master Mercer spoke, he started to walk into the room, but he froze completely when he saw the scene before him.
The two people on the sofa snapped their heads toward the door in unison. Nina Scott jolted and scrambled off of Miles Mercer.
"You... you two..." Old Master Mercer pointed at them, his hand trembling.
The shock sobered Nina Scott up instantly. It was her first time meeting Ivy Sherwood’s grandfather. "Hello, Grandpa. We were just joking around! We didn’t do anything!"
The old man’s eyes lit up instantly. "Miles, why didn’t you tell your grandpa you had a girlfriend? You’ve caught me completely unprepared!"
Miles Mercer hadn’t expected the old master to show up so suddenly. "What did you need to prepare for?"
"A meeting gift for my granddaughter-in-law, of course! Grandpa came in such a hurry... let me see... Here, take this bank card. Spend the money on whatever you like!" With that, Old Master Mercer held out a card to her.
How could Nina Scott dare to accept it? "Grandpa, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not Miles Mercer’s girlfriend. I’m Ivy’s good friend."
’If I had known her grandpa was coming, I never would have teased Miles Mercer like that. Now the old master has the wrong idea,’ Nina Scott thought.
"Ivy’s friend? That’s wonderful! Then you must be a good person, no doubt about it. This means we’re all one big family now! You’re a lovely-looking girl, so pretty. Our Miles has great taste!"
"Grandpa, you’ve misunderstood. She’s really not my girlfriend."
Miles Mercer also tried to explain, but the old master gave him no chance.
"You be quiet! I saw everything just now. Do you think I’m blind? I understand you young people. Nowadays, you’re all so secretive about dating. Back in my day, we were the same. Your grandma and I only dared to hold hands in secret, never out in the open. We’d deny it the moment we saw an adult. Grandpa was young once, too. I get it!"
Miles Mercer: "..."
’Grandpa, you don’t get it at all!’