She Was Forced To Marry A Poor Homeless Beggar Unaware He Is The Richest Man Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Evelyn who never left a job half done. If a stray dog had a cut on its ear, she stayed out in the rain until she wrapped it in a clean cloth. If her neighbor’s roof leaked, she was up on the rusty ladder holding the nails. She did not [music] do these things to be nice or to hear people say thank you. Around her was broken. That was just who she was. But on this particular evening, Evelyn felt completely broken herself. She stood in the middle of her stepmother’s massive kitchen staring down at a shiny white piece of paper on the marble counter. The kitchen smelled like expensive vanilla candles and roasting meat, but the air felt so thick and hot that Evelyn could barely breathe. Her throat was dry and she kept squeezing the hem of her faded blue skirt until her knuckles turned white. Across the counter stood Victoria, her stepmother. Victoria was not screaming. Instead, she was slowly cutting a piece of chocolate cake with a silver fork making a Scratch. She looked up at Evelyn with cold, calm eyes. Victoria said that if Evelyn did not sign the marriage paper by midnight, the checks for the hospital would stop. She [music] said the private room where Evelyn’s grandmother lived would be locked. [music] The machines that helped the old woman breathe would be turned off and she would be sent to a crowded, noisy state clinic where nobody would watch her. Evelyn felt a hot drop of sweat slide down her neck. She looked at the paper, then at the silver fork in Victoria’s hand. She asked why it had to be him. She asked why it had to be the silent man who lived in the alley behind their big house. Victoria took a slow bite of her cake, chewed it, and wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin. She told Evelyn that the family business was going through a very difficult time. She said that according to her father’s old will, the family could only touch the grandmother’s medical trust fund money if Evelyn was legally married and settled. Victoria smiled a tiny sharp smile. She said she was just finding Evelyn a husband so they could get the money to save the business.

She looked at Evelyn with a cold, satisfied smile. She did not even look at the broken glass on the floor. She pulled a piece of paper out of the envelope and pressed it hard against Evelyn’s chest. Victoria told Evelyn that she was there to collect what was owed. She said that before Evelyn’s father passed away, the family had spent $50,000 on Evelyn’s school clothes, her food, and her bedroom.

Victoria called it a formal family debt. She said that if Evelyn did not pay back every single dollar by the end of the week, the previous contract for her grandmother’s hospital room would become completely worthless. Victoria ruggedly argued that a girl who had hidden debts could not legally hold a trust fund, meaning the hospital would kick the old woman out anyway.

Evelyn felt all the blood leave her face. Her hands shook as she looked at the fake numbers written on the paper. She told Victoria that this was completely unfair and illegal. She had worked since she was 15 to pay for her own things, [music] and this debt was completely made up. She begged her stepmother to leave her grandmother out of their fights.

Priscilla laughed and told Evelyn that she should start looking for a second job, though she doubted any other place [music] would hire someone so useless. Mr. Henderson nodded his head in agreement with Priscilla. He told Evelyn that he was going to write a formal report to the main corporate office tonight, and he promised her that when she walked into work tomorrow morning, her firing [music] papers would be waiting for her on his desk.

Victoria and Priscilla turned around and walked out of the store, their loud laughter echoing through the parking lot. Evelyn went home that night in a state of [music] complete terror. She did not even tell Julian what had happened because she did not want to worry him. She just sat on the lumpy couch, staring at the floor until it was time to go to sleep.

But while Evelyn was worrying, Julian was acting from [music] the shadows. Later that evening, he met his assistant Thomas in the dusty white delivery [music] van. When Thomas told Julian about what Victoria and Mr. Henderson had done at the store, Julian’s face [music] became as hard as stone. He did not say a word, but his eyes were filled with a dark, dangerous [music] light.

He picked up a special phone and made a single call to the highest directors of the massive corporation that owned the [music] grocery store chain. Julian did not just ask them for a favor. He told them exactly what was going to happen the next morning, and his voice was so powerful that the directors on the other end of the line trembled [music] with fear.

The next morning, Evelyn walked into the grocery store with a heavy heart. She was certain she was about to lose her only source of income. [music] She walked into the back office where Mr. Henderson was sitting in his chair with a massive, cruel grin on his face. He held up a pink piece of paper and told [music] Evelyn that her time was officially up.

He told her to pack her things in a cardboard box and get out of his store forever. Before Evelyn could even take the paper, the office door opened again. A tall woman named Ms. Albright walked in. She was wearing an incredibly sharp gray suit, and she held a leather folder under her arm. Two strong men in dark suits [music] stood right behind her. Mr.

Henderson’s jaw dropped, and he jumped out of his chair so [music] fast he knocked his coffee mug over. He knew exactly who she was. Ms. Albright [music] was the top executive director for the entire regional division of the corporation. Mr. Henderson started to stutter, asking Ms. Albright why she was visiting his small store without [music] telling him first.