Andrew Hardy had spent his childhood in an unhappy home. His mother had married his father for his money, and once she’d given birth to Andrew, she’d considered her duty done.

Andrew had seen his father’s sadness and knew that he truly loved a woman who cared nothing for him and lived only for luxury and status. Andrew was determined that he’d never marry a gold digger. His life was going to be very different.

Andrew had gone to university in England and then gone on to do his post-graduate degree in Australia, so when he came home, he had few ties to the community, except his father and his grandmother.

As for his mother, she had long since divorced his father and remarried, and had never contacted her son. So Andrew was a new guy in town, and nobody knew that he was the son of Danton Hardy, the only heir to Hardy Industries, and that’s how he liked it.

“Dad,” Andrew said to his father. “I was thinking…How about I start working at the company?”

Danton was delighted. “I’d love that!” he cried. “You can start as vice-president of marketing…”

But Andrew was shaking 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.”

Danton frowned. “Are you sure? The pay isn’t great!”

Andrew grinned. “That’s OK! I can still live at home, can’t I?” Danton laughed and said, of course, he could.

Andrew went out and got himself a modest second-hand car and a wardrobe to match an intern’s salary. He started working at his dad’s company and he loved it. He made friends with many of his co-workers, and especially with his fellow intern, a sweet girl named Cynthia, who quickly became his best friend.

Then one day, Andrew was out jogging and he ran past a Starbucks. There was a girl coming out and she didn’t see Andrew and ran right into him. The inevitable happened and her coffee flew through the air and splashed Andrew.

“Oh my God,” the girl gasped. “I’m so sorry!”

“That’s OK,” Andrew said, and then his mouth fell open. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.

The girl looked worried. “Are you OK?” she asked.

And Andrew kept staring and said, “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, please have coffee with me?” The girl, whose name was Linda, started laughing. She had coffee with Andrew and soon they started dating.

Andrew was head over heels in love with Linda and he was sure she was the One. He told his grandmother as much, but his grandmother frowned. “Sweetheart, a pretty face doesn’t guarantee a good heart,” she said.

“Gran,” 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 thought about it a lot and even talked to Cynthia about Linda. “I went to high school with Linda,” Cynthia exclaimed. “She’s beautiful…and ambitious.”

“So am I,” said Andrew crossly, and Cynthia didn’t say another word. She could see that Andrew was infatuated with Linda, but she knew her old classmate very well. Linda would never settle for a poor intern!

The most precious quality in a friend is kindness and honesty.

Andrew made a plan. He went shopping for a stunning five-carat diamond and rented a shabby old house in a poor but respected neighborhood, then he called Linda and told her he had a surprise for her.

Andrew drove Linda to the old house and led her inside. He’d lit a hundred candles in the dining room and scattered rose petals on the floor, the perfect setting for a romantic proposal.

But even as Andrew was kneeling at her feet, Linda was looking around in disgust. The candles and the rose petals couldn’t disguise the shabbiness 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 was staring at Andrew in disbelief. “Marry you? Are you serious?”

Andrew was glowing with love. “Dead serious,” he smiled.

Linda laughed. “You think this…” she gestured with her hand, “this rat hole is where a girl like me belongs? Be serious! I thought you realized. We were having fun, Andrew, that’s all!”

“Listen, Linda,” Andrew said, getting to his feet, “I know you deserve better…”

“Yes, I do! And the ring!” she scoffed. “What is that? The biggest zirconia you could find? It’s tatty, just like you! When I get married, it’s going to be to a man of means, you understand?” And she turned and walked out, leaving Andrew shattered.

The next days, Cynthia could see that there was something wrong with Andrew. He no longer smiled and joked, he lost weight and he looked heartbroken. “Andrew,” she said gently. “She’s not worth it.”

“What?” asked Andrew. “What do you mean?”

“Linda,” Cynthia explained. “I should have told you, but you were so in love…You see, Linda always boasted in high school that she was going to marry rich. I knew she was leading you on…”

“Shut up!” Andrew screamed. “I don’t want to hear you. You think you are my friend? You don’t even know me!” Cynthia turned deadly pale and walked out of the office. As soon as she was gone, Andrew regretted his outburst.

He phoned Cynthia but she didn’t pick up. He sent her text messages but she didn’t answer. On his way to work the next morning, Andrew bought a huge bouquet of flowers for Cynthia but when he got to the office she wasn’t there.

Andrew asked his office supervisor where Cynthia was, and he told her she had asked to be transferred to another department. The young man was devastated. He had hurt his one true friend over a gold digger!

As the weeks passed, he missed Cynthia more and more. He remembered the fun they’d 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 until she opened it. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Please, Cynthia, forgive me. Be my friend again.”

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 was kissing her.

Things worked out the way they always do when two good hearts find each other, and a year later, Andrew and Cynthia were married.

Linda got a bit of a shock when she saw the headlines over her morning coffee, “Hardy Industry Heir Marries in Romantic Ceremony,” next to a photo of Andrew and Cynthia kissing. She had missed out on her shot at a millionaire…

What can we learn from this story?

• Greed and a cold heart are bad counselors. Linda could have married a wealthy man who adored her, but her gold-digging instincts led her to reject him because she thought he was poor.
• The most precious quality in a friend is kindness and honesty. Andrew learned to value Cynthia’s good heart and kindness more than Linda’s beauty.

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