A millionaire tests his girlfriend by inviting her home to a very old dilapidated house and proposing she marry him.

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.