Unexpected Love from a Blind Date

CHAPTER3

Upon seeing Emmanuel and his family at her house, Milani Zimmerman wore an even haughtier expression than when she was at the café. "Ha! I knew this loser wouldn’t be able to get over my looks, so he’s come to badger me again!"

Milani’s mother, Melody Claus, was just as smug when she learned of the Lowe family’s intention. "If your son wishes to marry my daughter, you’ll have to give us a betrothal gift of five hundred thousand," she said as she raised her palm. "We won’t accept anything less!"

Emmanuel’s heart instantly sank. "Oh, my goodness! Five hundred thousand? Is she trying to sell her daughter?"

Alessandra, however, gritted her teeth and nodded. "T-That’s fine! As long as my son can get married, I’ll do anything to make up for the betrothal gift, even if it means selling the house!"

Roselynn piped up, even going so far as to pull her brother back when she realized he wanted to object. "Sure. That’s no problem! Since Mom is settling the betrothal gift, I shall help Emmanuel with the car and home!"

"Lastly, he will bear all household expenses after the wedding!" Milani suddenly said. Emmanuel couldn’t bear it. "Are you guys marrying off your daughter or selling her? I don’t mind paying this much if she’s coming to work for us as a housekeeper, but if she expects to be treated like a princess or queen, you can forget it! I don’t need that!"

Milani yelled, "Look at your son! What’s with that attitude? We aren’t even married yet, and he’s already so domineering. Wouldn’t it be worse down the road?"

"No, no, no… The marriage will work out. It’d work out just fine!" Alessandra pleaded, desperate to finalize the wedding.

Roselynn knew she had to step in to persuade her mother. "Mom! Stop forcing it! What about his wife? Will she be sending her own money back to her parents?"

Milani’s younger brother, Jacob Zimmerman, suddenly appeared. "Haha! Don’t forget about me, Milani! When it’s my turn to get married, I’d be counting on you guys to buy me my car and house too!"

Emmanuel exploded with rage. "What the f*ck! Am I marrying your sister or your entire family? I may as well support all of you!"

Milani decided to hold him to his word. "Hah! You’d better remember what you just said! In that case, I’ll leave you to plan and pay for the wedding banquet and honeymoon. Don’t tell me you can’t afford that…"

After giving an exasperated laugh, Emmanuel stood up and stormed off, leaving Alessandra and Roselynn with no choice but to follow suit.

To their surprise, they had only just stepped out of the Zimmerman residence when three luxury cars pulled up in front of them. Emmanuel recognized one of the cars from the café.

The next second, Terence stepped out of the car. "I’m here to return the favor, Mr. Lowe, after you helped me outside the café!"

Roselynn couldn’t hide her excitement. "Ah! Isn’t this like those rags-to-riches stories?"

The more Emmanuel thought about it, the more he frowned. "Wow… Who knew this old geezer was a millionaire? Could he have intentionally fallen at the café?"

Terence waved his hand, and within seconds, his subordinates had unloaded several boxes of gifts. The total value had to be at least ten million.

The Zimmermans almost collapsed in shock. Milani smiled and hastily clutched Emmanuel’s arm. "What’s the matter, darling? Oh, wow… You’re so kind to help the elderly! I love that about you!"

Emmanuel embarrassed Milani. "Who’s your darling? Didn’t you just reject me? Why are you still using honeyed words?"

Once the Lowe family had left, a gust of cold wind swept over the Zimmermans as they seethed silently.

“How could you have made such remarks earlier, Milani? Do you think it’s easy to find a millionaire these days?” Melody berated.

“What else can we do? They’ve already come to our place to ask for your hand in marriage. Can’t we do the same?” Melody suggested.

Jacob exclaimed, “You have to marry that multi-millionaire! Otherwise, I’ll disown you!”

Milani replied with a long sigh. "Emmanuel and I left on such bad terms… Would he still care about me?"

“Take all of these things back!” Emmanuel demanded as Terence hitched a ride.

“What?” Terence and others were shocked by Emmanuel’s request.

“These things are worth at least ten million! Are you sure you don’t want them?” Terence asked incredulously.

“That’s right; I don’t want them. My late father taught me not to accept things I don’t deserve. I can’t be accepting such expensive gifts simply for helping you,” Emmanuel replied firmly.

Roselynn sighed helplessly, while Alessandra felt a bit upset.

“Haha! Very well, then!” Terence nodded excitedly and brought the gifts home, even recording the process to show Mackenzie as proof.

“Do you see that, Mackenzie? Now that you’ve lost the bet, it’s time to honor your word and marry him! I want my grandchildren!” Terence urged her.

The next day, Mackenzie, true to her word, arranged for Emmanuel to meet a potential wife.

Emmanuel, receiving a call from an unknown number, recognized it as Terence’s voice proposing marriage instead of gifts.

“Hey, old man, are you some kind of scammer or something? Is this a new tactic to scam people out of their life savings?” Emmanuel responded jokingly.

Emmanuel agreed to meet the potential wife, Mackenzie, at City Hall, surprised by her appearance and demeanor.

“Ms. Quillen? Are you the one who wants to marry me?” Emmanuel asked incredulously.

“Of course I do! I wouldn’t have come here otherwise!” Emmanuel responded, unsure whether to be excited or afraid.

Mackenzie, with an icy-cold aura, quickly arranged the marriage, even handing Emmanuel keys to their new place.

“I’m only marrying you to fulfill a promise I made to my grandfather, so don’t take this marriage too seriously,” Mackenzie coldly stated.

Emmanuel, feeling a mix of hurt and amusement, accepted the keys and agreed to Mackenzie's terms.

As they parted ways, Emmanuel requested three things: her contact details, agreed on a monthly payment, and discussed their plans as a married couple.