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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