Chapter One - The Cold Encounter

Danielle blinked with disbelief, not having expected to see Knox here. The last time she had checked his social media account, he was well-settled in Denmark. When did he return from Denmark? Her life had changed drastically in the last eight years, and now Knox wasn’t her priority any longer. Life has been tough on her and her tinted visions of love have taken a backseat. Anyway, Knox was way beyond her league and she had realized it the hard way at a very tender age! 

“Are you kidding me, woman? How the f*ck can you be Daniel Hartford?” he barked, his face flushed with fury. Danielle’s heart shattered, realizing he hadn’t recognized her at all. 

His harsh words brought her out of her reverie, and she focused on the hard, ruthless man in front of her. 

“I am Danielle from Happy Matchmakers. I’m here to meet Vincent Cromwell.” Although her instincts prompted her to run, she squared her shoulders to face him bravely. However, her announcement had the opposite effect on him, and he scoffed at her reply. 

“Get out!” Danielle’s face paled at the insult, yet she didn’t bow down, shaking her head instead.

“I have an appointment with Mr. Cromwell.” Her defiance seemed to shock him, and she noted the tiny flare of his nose. 

“Don’t f*cking play games with me for money, woman. My grandfather has agreed to meet the owner of Happy Matchmakers, Mr. Daniel Hartford.” His tone, his harsh words, brought Danielle out of her dreamland and she glared at him angrily. She knew he was doing well in his chosen field, but that didn’t give him the right to be arrogant. 

“I am Danielle Hartford, co-owner and partner of Happy Matchmakers. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to get on with the meeting without wasting more time.” His jaws clenched angrily, while his cold, calculating gaze swept over her body as if in disbelief. 

“You cannot meet my grandfather without my permission. Sit down, Ms. Hartford. I have a deal for you first.” With him blocking her exit, Danielle had no other option than to sit down. She didn’t like his tone at all. Why would she consider his deal when it was Vincent Cromwell who had contacted her directly? Yet she didn’t react immediately and waited for him to discuss his so-called deal with her.

He sat down opposite her and pinned her with an angry glare. Danielle squirmed under his pointed gaze, wondering what had him so worked up. 

“I want you to decline my grandfather’s request for a bride.” Danielle wanted to decline his deal right away but waited to hear him out. 

“Why would I do that when your grandfather emailed us directly?” she asked as professionally as she could. Her question seemed to anger him and he got up to pace the floor in front of her. 

“My grandfather has this crazy wish to get married and produce an heir to his empire since I’m not interested in marriage. It’s just to blackmail me into submission. It won’t make any difference to you since I’ll pay you generously for declining his request,” he said, sitting down again to wait for her decision. 

“What if I decline your proposal?” He gave her a look of hatred and stood up agitatedly. 

“How much money do you need? I’ll pay you four times your service charge.” Danielle’s face flushed with anger at his offer. How could he expect her to bow down to his wishes? This wasn’t only about money! Vincent Cromwell was like a jackpot to them. Through him, she had expected to restore the lost glory Happy Matchmakers enjoyed under her mom’s control. After this, they would get their share of fame and money, both of which they needed badly.

“I can’t accept your offer, Mr. Cromwell.” She politely declined him as a sense of disappointment washed over her. It seemed she would have to return empty-handed again. Without providing matchmaking services, her principles would never allow her to accept money from him. So there couldn’t be any deal at all! 

Her words were enough to infuriate him further, and he clenched his hands into fists, pinning her with his angry stare.

“Ms. Hartford, I’m not someone you can fool with your fake ploys. If you’re playing a game to mint more money out of me, let me warn you, I’ll destroy your business in minutes. So just accept what I’m offering you peacefully and get out.” Danielle stood up, anger bubbling inside her, yet she gave him an icy stare, controlling the wish to punch his beautifully chiseled face. The absolute nerve of the man to insinuate that she was a money-grabber! 

“I’m not interested in your offer, Mr. Cromwell. If we don’t provide any service to a client, we don’t charge any service fee. So your offer is quite meaningless here. I shall email your grandfather stating our inability to consider his request. As for your threats, they don’t affect me. I have struggled alone to reach where I am and will do so in the future, too. Have a good day!” She stormed out of the mansion with her head held high, without giving him another look. 

Knox stood stunned by her rejection of his offer. To date, he hadn’t met a single person in his entire life who declined such a huge amount of money. Was she for real, or was she playing a game with him? Would she stick to her promise and send his grandfather an email? He would have to follow up. He couldn’t allow her to screw this up. In no way would he allow his grandfather to bring home a gold-digger. He couldn’t take that sort of stress right now. 

Warily, he looked around to see if his grandfather had emerged from his study. Thankfully, he was still busy on a video call with his group of friends to notice the time. He knew his granddad was stubborn, just like he was. He would definitely pursue this until he got what he wanted, but he wouldn’t bow down at all. 

Massaging his temples, he stormed towards the main door, ready to leave for work. This meeting was the reason he had to postpone all his appointments to the latter half. 

“Knox, who were you fighting with a while ago?” His granddad’s voice stopped him from taking another step forward. Taking a deep breath, he slowly turned around, getting ready for war. This had been going on for the last five years and he was at his wit’s end. This time his granddad tried a different trick, and it seemed to work. He left everything and returned home to LA.

While his granddad tried everything in his power to get him married to Loraine Sylvester, his friend’s daughter, he remained firm in his decision. He would not marry at all! After seeing the bitter war between his parents, he and his twin, Andrea, hated commitments, relationships, and marriage. He didn’t need such complications in his life, especially with Loraine, who was the most infuriating woman in the entire world. 

“Was it the Hartford guy? Don’t lie to me. I know you were threatening him!” said his granddad, walking up to him while his shrewd eyes studied him minutely. However, Knox remained unperturbed, being used to this scene for the last five years of his life. 

“No, Granddad, a woman was here to take advantage of us. I shooed her away.” His grandfather frowned at him with disbelief, but seeing the unflinching look on his grandson’s face, he walked away. 

“I’d better call them up to see what the holdup is all about. The guy should have been here ten minutes ago.” Knox’s eyes widened, realizing what his granddad was about to do. No, if his granddad called up the woman, she would surely give him away. 

“Don’t call them, granddad. If they need the money, I’m sure they’ll pursue your case. These agencies can stoop to any level to please their clients.” However, he sighed at seeing the determined look on his granddad’s face while he picked up his mobile phone to call Happy Matchmakers. He waited for the call to end and the arguments to start all over again. 

“Hello, Happy Matchmakers?” said his granddad into the phone. Curious got the better of him, and he inched closer to his granddad to follow the conversation.

“Yes, I’m Danielle Hartford from Happy Matchmakers. How may I help you?” 

“Vincent Cromwell here. I was expecting Mr. Daniel Hartford at my residence at noon today but you seem to be a charming young lady,” chuckled his granddad while Knox rolled his eyes. 

“Thank you, Mr. Cromwell. Actually, I’m sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. We currently don’t have anyone in our portfolio to match you with,” said Danielle, feeling guilty about discouraging the jolly old man. 

“Oh, that’s alright. You can take your time. I’ll come down to your office to discuss the traits I’m looking for in a partner.” Knox seethed with anger at the woman. Despite his warnings, how could she go ahead with it? Did she have a death wish? He would have to see her before his granddad did!