Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Vanessa Sanchez sat in the cafe, her eyes welling up with tears.
Her dad had late–stage liver cancer and didn’t have much time left.
He may
have a month or less.
She knew that two things mattered the most to her father. One was her younger brother Danny, and the other was her marriage.
She would take care of her brother, but when it came to finding a life partner….
To ease her father’s worries, she submitted her information to the matchmaking agency and began to go on blind dates. To her, it didn’t matter who she would marry if she couldn’t marry the man to whom she pledged her undying love. “Ms. Sanchez, hello. Sorry for keeping you waiting.” A man checked the photos on his phone and sat across from Vanessa, casually placing the luxury car keys on the table.
“It’s okay, 1 just arrived, Vanessa quickly composed herself and flashed a slight smile.
“Ms. Sanchez, I have a rough understanding of your situation through the matchmaking agency. Your educational background and job are acceptable, and you fit my aesthetic preferences. I am satisfied with you,” the man said with a bright smile as he checked Vanessa out.
This was the most beautiful woman he had ever met since he started going on blind dates.
Flawless–skinned, beautiful, with a refined and elegant temperament.
Just like a lily. She may seem quiet, but you couldn’t ignore her beauty. Despite being picky about women, he wanted to marry her right away. “Thanks!” Vanessa said with a polite smile.
She was about to ask the man a few questions, but the man cut her off.
The man said, “Ms. Sanchez, you know my situation too, am I right? I work at Hawk Group, drawing a monthly salary of three thousand dollars. I have a 1,700 square feet four–room apartment and a BWM car.
“After we get married, your name would not be added to the title deed of the house. After all, it is my pre–marital property. You are a modern woman and will not make unreasonable demands.
“As for the engagement gift, I will give you 20,000 dollars which is the market price. However, the current practice is that the bride will keep the money for the marriage instead of giving it to her parents.
“You can either bring the cash or buy gifts to bring over. My personal preference would be gifts, so the wedding will appear grander.
“I am 29 years old this year, and I am not in a hurry to have children. But you are 24 years old, and for a woman, that’s old. You should have children immediately after getting married as it will not be easy to maintain your figure, and you will age faster.
“Also, I am the only son in my family. If our firstborn is a girl, we must try for a boy. I believe you can understand this.
“Plus, men and women are equal nowadays. Supporting a family is no longer solely the man’s responsibility. If you choose to work, I will ask my parents to take care of the child, and you can take over the child–rearing duties after work.
“If you’re willing to take care of the kid at home, I’ll give you four hundred dollars monthly as your living expenses, so you’re not doing it for nothing.
“My job is pretty tough, so I’ll need you to do the household chores.
“I have a cleanliness obsession, and I hope my home can always stay neat and clean.
“Furthermore, it was not easy for my parents to raise me. They are getting older and should enjoy their lives. Please be more accommodating toward them.
“Oh, I knew your father doesn’t have a job, and your younger brother is still young. I know that in the past, you spent your salary on your family.
“But after we get married, I hope you will prioritize our family…”
Even though Vanessa had a good temper, she was so mad that her heart was beating fast then.
“What kind of jerk is this guy?
“He claimed that men and women are equal and both parties should contribute to support the family. On the other hand, housework should be done by women. It wasn’t easy for his parents to raise him, so was any easier for my parents to raise
te?
Chapter 1
Is he trying to take advantage of everything by playing dumb?”
She suppressed her anger and said calmly, “I’m sorry, we’re not a good match.”
“I think we’re quite suitable, don’t you think. Ms. Sanchez? Do you think I’m not good enough for you? My salary is higher than yours, and I have a car and a house. The man frowned and looked at Vanessa, who was beautiful. He said, “Ms. Sanchez, you are indeed pretty, but you should know that a woman’s youth is short–lived. Smart women will find a man with the potential to marry while they still have their looks…”
“Humph…” came a cold laugh from the table next door, attracting the attention of Vanessa and her blind date.
Vanessa’s blind date looked over with great displeasure.
A handsome man wearing a white hoodie was talking to a fashionable woman in front of him. He said, “It’s true that I’m 28 years old and only have a small three–room apartment with a mortgage and a regular car. However, I graduated at 26 and have only worked in the past two years. So, I disagree with your opinion that not having savings at 28 is a problem.
“By the way, my salary is two thousand dollars a month, and Ms. Scott, yours is only six hundred a month. I don’t think there was any problem with the matchmaking agency’s arrangement.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t like me. I’m not interested in you either.”
As he spoke, the man stood up and turned to look at Vanessa’s blind date with an ambiguous smile. His gaze fell on the man’s hair as he said. “Women’s youth is short–lived, the same goes for men. In a few years, balding, obesity, and repulsiveness will all be inevitable.”
He deliberately emphasized the word “balding“.
After speaking, he walked up to Vanessa and extended his hand to greet her, saying, “Hello, my name is William Hawk. How about we go on a blind date and get married?
“After marriage, I will hand over my entire salary. I don’t smoke, drink or gamble. I keep myself clean and can do house chores after work. You will decide whether we have children, and I’ll treat your parents as my parents.”
Every sentence was a humiliation to Vanessa’s blind date.
“Who are you?” Vanessa’s blind date was furious and wanted to fight with William.
“Her blind date,” William replied.
“Ms. Sanchez is on a blind date with me.” Vanessa’s date thought William was unreasonable.
William completely ignored him and handed a document to Vanessa instead. He said, “This is my information. Shall we find another place to sit for a while?”
Vanessa saw that William’s personal information file was from the same agency as hers. Thinking about the words he said earlier to his blind date, she had a rough picture in mind.
Both of them had not met the right person through blind dates. She encountered a weird man while he encountered a gold digger.
“It is okay to chat with him for a while,” she thought. Her purpose in going for blind dates was to quickly find and marry someone with a decent character and similar conditions.
Nodding her head, she said, “Okay.”
“Ms. Sanchez, isn’t this a bit impolite? We are on a blind date. We can discuss it if you aren’t happy with the engagement gift amount. In the worst case scenario, I’ll put your name as a co–owner of the house, but you have to pay for the mortgage too,” Vanessa’s blind date partner said unwillingly.
“There’s no need for us to discuss further; I don’t plan on having kids after I get married,” Vanessa rejected.
When she was about to reach the counter, the guy she was on a blind date with shouted from behind. “Since the date didn’t work out, I have no reason to pay for your coffee.”
“I didn’t plan on making you pay either,” Vanessa turned her head to reply politely and prepared to pay.
William had handed his credit card before she could. “It’s on me.”
After paying, he said to Vanessa, “Let’s go.”