“Bryan Turner, will you marry me?”

This woman's announcement sounded extremely loud and unexpected in this luxurious private room.

To be fair, women threw themselves at the tall and devilishly handsome man relaxing on the sofa all the time.

Yet this woman was probably the first to boldly announce her intent so brazenly.

And the ugliest one out of all.

Hard for anyone to ignore the noticeable birthmark that had extended from her cheek to the tips of her brows.

Bryan sat languidly on the sofa with an air of nonchalance. But his sharp eyes sized up the woman coldly, just like a panther sizing up its prey. Other than that, he gave no indication that he heard her gutsy declaration.

Just when everyone thought that the insane woman would be thrown out of the private lounge, the corner of the man’s lips curved upwards.

Audible gasps were quickly smothered.

The devil smiled?

The confused patrons took another glance at the woman standing before them.

No matter how they looked at her, she was remarkably unappealing! Especially her dark yet sallow complexion and a large birthmark on her cheek.

Since he was facing the woman and had his back to his boss, Harry Miller, Bryan’s assistant, missed that miracle.

He was busy trying to drive the loopy woman out the door.

“How did you get in here you crazy woman? Get lost!”

Harry had seen many women try all sorts of ways to seduce his boss but it was his first time seeing one attempt to do so while wearing a dirty t-shirt and jeans.

Harry rolled up his sleeves and was prepared to drag the woman out of the room when a cold, aloof voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Stop.”

Bryan had been studying the strange woman from the moment she broke into Gin Bar. She had somehow successfully paralyzed their entire building's security system within mere moments and then managed to escape from the encirclement of highly-trained security guards that were sent to capture her.

Despite his outward indifference, Bryan was intrigued.

All that just to propose marriage to him?

The shocked spectators started to whisper among themselves.

“Someone pinch me, is Mr. Turner actually interested in that crazy woman?”

Their astonishment was understandable since Bryan was not only handsome but also rich and powerful.

Looking back and forth between the two, nobody could wrap their heads around the possibility of such a pairing.

Harry froze in his tracks.

“Sir?”

Did he make a mistake in his boss’s orders?

Perhaps the boss said to stop her…

Bryan’s next words drove all doubt out of his head.

“Leave us.”

Harry’s jaw dropped open as he finally understood that he, and not the crazy woman, was the one being kicked out.

“Sir, this—“

Bryan leveled an even stare at Harry, “Hm?”

The perturbed assistant swallowed whatever he was going to say.

“Please excuse us,” Harry said and quickly ushered everyone out the door, considerately closing the door behind him and standing guard right outside.

He was ready to rush back in and throw the wild woman out.

The man and woman left in the room silently studied each other.

How curious, the woman did not appear flustered at being left alone with a man people feared down to their bones.

In fact, she looked calmer now that they were alone.

After a moment, Bryan smirked, “Who are you?”

“Finley Keith,” The woman said with a confident smile and held out a hand to shake.

Bryan flicked a disgusted look at the appendage.

“Dirk’s daughter?”

“The one and only,” Finley replied, smoothly withdrawing her hand without a hint of awkwardness..

Bryan did not let his thoughts show.

Finley Keith was infamously ugly, uncouth, and an idiot. Compared to her two dazzling sisters, she was an ugly duckling that would never turn into a swan.

When Bryan’s grandfather, Alton Turner, was choosing a potential granddaughter-in-law, he only considered her older and younger sister.

Finley never made the list.

Seeing her for the first time, Bryan could understand why. However, it seemed that part of the rumors was not true.

At the very least, Miss Finley Keith was by no means an idiot.

Since the young woman had done so much just to wrangle an introduction and so boldly declared her intention, Bryan was utterly put off.

He’d had enough of scheming women to last a few lifetimes.

He was about to chase the woman away when she preempted him.

“Don’t be too hasty, Mr. Turner,” Finley said.

Then she sat down right next to the man. If she noticed Bryan shift away in discomfort, she did a good job of pretending she did not let it show.

“Mr. Turner, I heard that you have a very big problem,” Finley began cheerfully as she rummaged inside her backpack.

She brought out a pink perfume bottle and continued, “As heir to Turner Group, owners of one of the largest perfume brands in the world, how is it going for you now that you have lost your sense of smell? I wonder what will happen if people found out about this…”

Finley shook the bottle slightly and looked into Bryan’s eyes with a grin.

Bryan narrowed his eyes at her.

Only a handful of people knew about his secret and all of them were supposed to be trustworthy.

So how did this unknown woman find out?

Finley chuckled, “Don’t bother asking how I found out. Instead, you should be asking how I can help.”

Then before the man could say a word, the woman flipped open the perfume bottle and waved it under his nose.

“Smell this.”

Bryan instinctively sniffed even though he knew it was pointless—

Wait!

Bryan’s eyes widened and he snatched the bottle away from the woman. He poured a drop onto his wrist and closed his eyes.

Peonies, oranges, lilies, grapefruit…

It wasn’t an illusion!

He could smell and identify the notes in the perfume!

A rare gleam of excitement appeared in the man’s eyes and he faced the woman, giving her his full attention.

“Explain.”

Countless experts were unable to help him and yet this slip of a girl just waved a bottle of perfume under his nose and he was cured?

Who exactly was Finley Keith?

Even though he was glad, Bryan was still wary.

After all, he had consulted medical professionals from all over the world and none of them had been able to help him.

He was close to giving and was starting to accept the reality of his condition. He’d never imagined that he would ever regain his sense of smell.

Finley grinned at Bryan’s skepticism. “My maternal grandfather is an ENT specialist who did extensive research into smell disorders. My mother was one of the world's top perfumers. I learned from both of them and married the two skills.”

Finley reached out a hand to take back the pink bottle from Bryan and the man relinquished his hold on it reluctantly.

“This bottle of perfume is a secret little something I came up with. It can help people regain their sense of smell. Unfortunately, the effects are only temporary. It eases the symptoms. A cure is somewhat trickier. Possible but tricky.”

After that, she winked mischievously and said, “If you think about it, marrying me is in your best interest. You would profit from this deal.”

“Why must you marry me?”

After a moment of silence, Finley answered honestly, “You saved my life.”

Seeing Bryan’s frown deepen, Finley chuckled bitterly. “I just escaped from being violated by a dozen men. If not for you… I would be dead by now.”

Finley shook her head. “Do you know that before my mother died, she said the only way I could survive in this poisonous family of mine was to bow my head and become a shadow everyone ignored…”

Bryan remained silent, which somehow prompted Finley to continue speaking.

“A fat lot of good that did me. My half-sisters framed me at school so that I would be expelled. My stepmother dug up my mother’s grave and tortured the dog I raised just so I would obediently follow her here. If that’s not enough, she drugged me and said that it was my purpose in life to be used by those disgusting men.”

Finley’s hands clenched into tight fists, her nails leaving crescent marks on her palm. “If you did not appear and order your men to clear the bar… I probably wouldn’t have been able to escape and detoxify the drug in my system. So, this is my thanks.”

She would never forget the dirty gazes as well as the clammy hands of those disgusting men. It was a girl’s worst nightmare!

Listening to her, Bryan felt that miserable was the only word he could think of to describe Finley’s situation. Interestingly, throughout her narration, there were no expressions of resentment or self-pity.

Instead, Bryan saw the stubborn glint in her eyes and was inexplicably moved by it.

He asked, “So your thanks is to ask for my help to get your revenge?”

“Of course not! I will get my revenge with my own two hands. You won’t need to bother with that small matter.”

Finley looked Bryan straight in the eye and said solemnly, “I need your help to… give birth to a child”

Several heartbeats passed before Bryan opened his mouth, disbelief evident in his eyes.

“Have you lost your mind? No!”

“Listen, you wouldn’t lose out on this either. Fine, take it as me asking another favor from you.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I’m not, you’re a great catch, after all. You have an illustrious family background and you don’t look half bad. With your genes and mine, our baby will be amazing.”

Finley continued, “Once I have a child, the family inheritance earned through my mother’s blood, sweat, and tears will be rightfully mine. By then, revenge will be a piece of cake.”

Before Anthony Keith, Finley’s grandfather, passed away, he changed his will. Instead of naming an heir, he made it so that the first granddaughter to marry and give birth to a child will become the head of the family.

Once Finley became head of the Keith family, wouldn’t those evil people who schemed against her be furious beyond words?

So, when Finley saw Bryan about to reject her again, she hurriedly said, “You would benefit from this too! Those pesky flies in the Turner family will be shooed away once I have your baby.”

“You are very well informed,” Bryan said sharply.

“I know enough.” Finley then held out a hand once more. “Do we have a deal?”

Bryan looked at her hand then at the large birthmark on her cheek.

Finley chuckled and raised a brow, “Ah, I forgot about that. Are you worried that our child will inherit my looks?”

After that, she rummaged in her backpack again, this time taking out some make-up remover and cotton squares.

Within a few minutes, a completely different face emerged.

The ugly birthmark, as well as the ugly spots on Finley’s cheek, disappeared, leaving a smooth expanse of fair skin.

Without those flaws, Finley was gorgeous!

Delicately arched brows framed a pair of large eyes that shone. Her nose was straight and her lips were pink and plump.

Other women needed to wear make-up to look beautiful.

Finley needed no such enhancements.

Bryan was dumbstruck at the considerable change. He had seen countless beauties and rejected them.

Yet somehow he was not repulsed by the young woman in front of him.

The phrase innocent seductress came to mind.

Finley confidently allowed Bryan to admire her good looks.

“Does this face meet your high standards, Mr. Turner?”

Bryan deliberately leaned back and studied her deeply. Finley was unlike anyone he’d ever met.

What other woman would hide her stunning good looks by purposely making herself ugly?

He knew now that all those rumors running rampant about Finley Keith were a smokescreen.

Bryan had a sudden urge to get to know the real person beneath the facade.

But someone who could break through the bar’s security system, defeat his highly trained guards and figure out a way to cure his loss of smell was not a simple person.

“What if I refuse?”

Finley shrugged her shoulders, “Then what can I do? We live in a free country. You can do what you like. Of course, I would be free to do what I like too. For example, I’m free to keep what is mine to myself.”

As she spoke she put the pink perfume bottle that momentarily restore Bryan’s sense of smell back into her bag.

“For example, I have a lot of time. I could decide to drop by again tomorrow and say hi. I’m also free to remind you that your security system needs work. Who knows, what happened today could happen again.”

Then, she got up and made to leave.

“Stop right there.”

Finley paused and raised her brow at the man.

“Are you threatening me?” Bryan said dangerously. “I could just lock you up in a cold, dark cell while I fix those flaws in my system. What gives you the confidence that I will let you in?”

Finley was unbothered by his dark tone of voice and fierce face, “Honestly, I’m not. But you can do what you like, I have time. You, on the other hand, do not. You’ll come knocking on my door soon enough.”

She lifted her chin and said confidently, “Your security here is good but I still broke through within 10 minutes. I’m guessing that the system in Turner Group’s HQ is similar. I could always go over there to say hi. Also, if I remember correctly, you have a perfume competition to judge tomorrow. I wonder what will happen if word got out about your… condition.”

Rage coursing through his veins at the reminder, Bryan suddenly reached out a hand and wrapped it around Finley’s delicate neck. Then he forced her back flush against the wall.

He said, “Did your investigation not tell you that the thing I hate the most is being threatened? I could kill you now and take what you have with no one the wiser.”

Finley was having trouble breathing but she did not struggle. Her calm and equally cold eyes stared back at Bryan.

Annoyed by his instinctive appreciation for her bold stubbornness, Bryan pushed her away and spat out, “Get lost!”

Bryan thought to himself that the next time this stubborn woman dared to appear before him, he would not be as merciful.

Finley coughed as air rushed back into her lungs and without a word, made her way to the door.

She opened the door but then stopped at the threshold.

“I feel that I should kindly remind you… I have an invitation to visit Mr. Alton Turner tomorrow. I think your grandfather would be very interested in my secret perfume recipe…”

Bryan clenched his jaw as the veins in his forehead twitched in agitation.. His grandfather was one of the few people who knew about his condition. Not only that but he was also getting on in years and had been pestering his grandson for a great-grandchild to hold and pamper.

If Finley approached his grandfather…

He would never hear the end of it. That old man would no doubt pester him even more than he did.

Well then, if she was so determined to shackle herself to him…

Since her thick-faced boldness was beyond imagination, so be it.

He would ensure she did her part to get rid of those pesky flies in the Turner family.

“Bring your doc–”

Finley interrupted Bryan.

“I have my identity card and other documents with me.”

She shrugged at Bryan’s narrowed eyes.

“I told you, that‘s not that easy to get rid of me.”