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.

Sitting on a crate under the tarp was Julian. He wore a heavy, torn brown coat that was covered in dirt. His hair was long and messy and a thick beard hid most of his face. He was holding a small piece of wood and scraping it with a blunt pocketknife [music] making tiny wooden shavings fall onto his knees. Evelyn knelt down on the damp concrete [music] in front of him.

The ground was freezing, and the chill went straight through her skirt. Julian did not look up. He just kept scraping the wood, his hands moving in steady, slow circles. Evelyn did not know that under that dirty coat, Julian’s muscles were tight and ready. Three expensive black cars were parked in the dark, filled with men in suits waiting for Julian to type a single message on a hidden phone.

Julian was the richest man in the country, the head of a massive company called Apex Industries. He was living in this alley on purpose [music] to find out which of his workers were stealing millions of dollars from his charity funds. He had spent weeks pretending to be a man who could not speak, >> [music] >> watching the dark side of the city.

Evelyn reached out and gently touched the rough sleeve of his coat. She told him that she needed his help. She said she needed him to marry her. Julian stopped scraping the wood. He did not look at her face yet, but his fingers gripped the knife a little tighter. Evelyn pulled out the marriage certificate and laid it on the wooden crate between them.

She spoke quickly, her voice small but clear in the quiet alley. She told him that it was a fake marriage. [music] She said they would not have to live like real couples. She promised that she would buy him hot food every single day, give him a warm place to sleep on her floor, and buy him a new coat for the winter.

She said she just needed his name on the paper so her grandmother could stay in the hospital. Julian finally raised his head. [music] His eyes were not dull or confused like the eyes of the other people who lived on the streets. They were bright, sharp, and deep. He looked at the white paper. Then he looked at Evelyn’s face. He saw the red marks on her knees from the cold concrete.

He saw the smudge of dirt on her cheek and the fierce, protective look in her eyes. For weeks, people had walked past Julian and kicked his feet, thrown trash at him, or ignored him completely. Evelyn was the only person who had ever brought him a warm meat pie and asked him his name. Julian did not say a word.

He closed his pocketknife with a sharp click and put it in his pocket. He took the pen from Evelyn’s hand. His fingers were rough and stained with charcoal, but he held the pen with absolute [music] steadiness. He wrote his name, Julian Vance, on the line at the bottom of the paper. His handwriting was beautiful, sharp and elegant, not like the writing of a man who had never gone to school.

Evelyn let out a long breath she had been holding for [music] hours. She took the paper back and looked at his signature. She told him thank you, and she promised again that she would take care of him. Julian just nodded once and sat back down on his crate. As Evelyn turned to walk away to prepare for the morning, Julian reached into his coat pocket [music] and tapped a tiny black button on a hidden device.

The screen flashed once in the dark. He watched her walk out of the alley, his sharp eyes following her every step, [music] realizing that his undercover mission had just become a lot more complicated. [music] The next evening, the main dining room of the mansion looked like a glittering jewelry box. Gold-rimmed plates sat on a long white tablecloth and a giant glass light hung from the high ceiling, casting bright sparks over everything.

The air smelled like expensive roasted fish and [music] sweet lemon butter, but it felt heavy and cold to Evelyn. Victoria had ordered Evelyn to come to dinner, [music] and she had specifically told her to bring her new husband along. Victoria said it was a family celebration, >> [music] >> but Evelyn knew it was just another way to make her feel small.

Before they walked into the bright room, Evelyn had tried [music] her best to help Julian clean up in the dim hallway. She had used a wet paper towel to gently wipe a smudge of dark dirt [music] from his jawline, and she had used her own plastic comb to smooth down his wild, messy hair. >> [music] >> But, there was only so much she could do.