Andrew Hardy spent his childhood in an unhappy home. His mother had married his father for his money, and once she gave birth to Andrew, she considered her duty done.
Andrew had seen his father’s sadness and knew he truly loved this woman, who cared nothing for him and lived only for luxury and social status. Andrew was determined never to marry a gold digger. His life was going to be very different.
Andrew had gone to university in England and then done his post-graduate studies in Australia, so when he returned home he had few connections to the community except for his father and grandmother.
Andrew decided this old house was the perfect setting for his marriage proposal | Source: Shutterstock.com
As for his mother, she had long since divorced his father, remarried, and had never contacted her son. So Andrew was a newcomer in town, and no one knew he was the son of Danton Hardy, the sole heir to Hardy Industries, and he liked that.
“Dad,” Andrew said to his father. “I was thinking… What if I started working in the company?”
Danton was delighted. “I’d love that!” he exclaimed. “You can start as vice president of marketing…”
But Andrew shook his head. “No!” he said. “I want to start at the bottom, work my way up, and I don’t want people to know I’m the boss’s son. Hire me as an intern in the marketing department.”
Andrew wanted to find a girl who would love him for himself | Source: Unsplash
Danton frowned. “Are you sure? The pay isn’t great!”
Andrew smiled. “It doesn’t matter! I can still live at home, right?” Danton laughed and said yes, of course.
Andrew bought himself a modest used car and a wardrobe that matched an intern’s salary. He started working at his father’s company and loved it. He made friends with many of his coworkers, especially his fellow intern, a kind girl named Cynthia, who quickly became his best friend.
Andrew bought himself an old car | Source: Unsplash
One day, Andrew was jogging and passed a Starbucks. A girl was coming out, but she didn’t see Andrew and bumped into him. The inevitable happened: her coffee flew through the air and splashed Andrew.
“Oh my God,” the girl exclaimed. “I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay,” Andrew said, and his mouth fell open. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.
The girl looked worried. “Are you okay?” she asked.
He got an intern job at his father’s company | Source: Unsplash
Andrew continued to stare at her and said, “You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Have a coffee with me, please.” The girl, whose name was Linda, started laughing. She had coffee with Andrew, and they soon started dating.
Andrew was madly in love with Linda and was sure she was the one. He told his grandmother, but she frowned. “Sweetheart, a pretty face doesn’t guarantee a good heart,” she said.
“Grandma,” Andrew protested. “Linda thinks I’m an intern at Hardy Industries, she doesn’t know who I am!”
“Andrew,” the grandmother said quietly. “You don’t know who she is either!”
Andrew bought Linda a cup of coffee and they started dating | Source: Unsplash
Andrew thought about it a lot and even told Cynthia about Linda. “I went to high school with Linda,” Cynthia exclaimed. “She’s beautiful… and ambitious.”
“Me too,” Andrew said crossly, and Cynthia didn’t say another word. She could see Andrew had taken a shine to Linda, but she knew her former classmate very well. Linda would never settle for a bad intern!
The most valuable quality in a friend is kindness and honesty.
Andrew came up with a plan. He went out and bought a stunning five-carat diamond and rented a shabby old house in a poor but respected neighborhood. Then he called Linda to tell her he had a surprise for her.
Andrew led Linda to the old house and let her in. He had lit a hundred candles in the dining room and scattered rose petals on the floor, the perfect setting for a romantic proposal.
Cynthia wanted to warn Andrew about Linda | Source: Unsplash
But even as Andrew knelt at her feet, Linda looked around in disgust. The candles and rose petals couldn’t disguise the shabby look of the furniture…
Then Andrew took out his beautiful ring and presented it to Linda. “Linda,” he said, “I love you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my wife?”
Linda looked at Andrew in disbelief. “Marry you? Are you serious?”
Andrew was beaming with love. “Very serious,” he replied with a smile on his face.
Andrew proposed to Linda in the old house | Source: Unsplash
Linda giggled. “You think this…” she gestured with her hand, “this shithole is where a girl like me belongs? Be serious! I thought you figured it out. We were just having fun, Andrew, that’s all!”
“Listen, Linda,” Andrew said, standing up, “I know you deserve better…”
“Yes, I deserve it! And the ring!” she mocked. “What is it? The biggest zircon you could find? It’s all ugly, like you! When I get married, it’ll be to a man of means, do you understand?” And she turned and left, leaving Andrew devastated.
In the following days, Cynthia could see that something was wrong with Andrew. He no longer smiled or joked, he had lost weight, and he looked heartbroken. “Andrew,” she said softly. “She’s not worth it.”
“I thought you understood. We were just having fun, Andrew!” | Source: Unsplash
“What?” Andrew asked. “What do you mean?”
“Linda,” Cynthia explained. “I should have told you, but you were so in love… You see, Linda always bragged in high school that she was going to marry a rich guy. I knew she was leading you on…”
“Shut up!” Andrew shouted. “I don’t want to hear you. Do you think you’re my friend? You don’t even know me!” Cynthia turned very pale and walked out of the office. As soon as she left, Andrew regretted his actions.
He called Cynthia, but she didn’t pick up. He sent her text messages, but she didn’t respond. On his way to work the next morning, Andrew bought a huge bouquet of flowers for Cynthia, but when he arrived at the office, she wasn’t there.
Andrew was devastated when he realized he had hurt Cynthia | Source: Unsplash
Andrew asked his boss where Cynthia was, and he told him she had asked to be transferred to another department. The young man was devastated. He had hurt his only true friend for a gold digger!
As the weeks passed, he missed Cynthia more and more. He remembered the good times they had together, and how sweet and kind Cynthia was. He decided to win his friend back.
He knocked on Cynthia’s door and waited nervously for her to open it. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Please, Cynthia, forgive me. Be my friend again.”
Andrew apologized to Cynthia | Source: Unsplash
Cynthia shook her head. “No, Andrew, I can’t. You see, when you started seeing Linda, I realized I was in love with you…” But before she could say another word, Andrew had thrown his arms around her and kissed her.
Things always turn out well when two good hearts meet, and a year later, Andrew and Cynthia were married.
Linda was a little shocked when she saw the headline on her morning coffee: “Industry heir Hardy marries in romantic ceremony,” next to a photo of Andrew and Cynthia kissing. She missed her chance to become a millionaire…
What can we learn from this story?
- Greed and a cold heart are bad counselors. Linda could have married a rich man who adored her, but her gold-digging instincts caused her to reject him because she thought he was poor.
- The most valuable quality in a friend is kindness and honesty . Andrew learned to appreciate Cynthia’s kind heart and kindness more than Linda’s beauty.
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