The southern state.
It was ten o'clock in the morning on the main street in downtown Rever City, in a small makeshift stall, a young man was selling fruit.
"Brat! I have already told you many times that I do not want you near my store, you scare my customers ».
A middle-aged man, dressed in a tailored suit and leather shoes, yelled at the young man, at the same time that he knocked over the table where the fruits were.
"Sorry Mr. Brown, I have nowhere else to put my post." Said the young man while on his knees he lifted the fruits that were rolling on the floor.
The young man was tall and had a delicate face, however, his long and tousled hair, his very worn white shirt and his faded jeans made him look very poor.
Her shoes were badly worn, one of them had a split heel.
Standing in front of Mr. Brown pleading, he felt completely humiliated, but at that moment he could do nothing but plead.
His name was Alex, a 21-year-old young man, he was not a rich person, he lived alone with his mother, he never knew anything about his father, long ago he left his studies to work and help his mother, he did occasional jobs in the area but the money was never enough.
Mr. Brown looked at him through narrowed eyes, as if this person in front of him was not worthy of his attention: "In this world there are two kinds of problems.
My problems and your problems.
If you have nowhere to sell your junk, it is not my problem, pick up all that and leave, if I go out again and see you, do not blame me for being rude »
Were the words of Mr. Brown as he entered his store, leaving his bodyguards behind to run the young man.
The people who saw the scene at that time felt bad for the young man, but no one came to help him, they all knew the reputation of Mr. Brown, a man who likes to humiliate all those he considers inferior.
Rumors in the streets said that Mr. Brown fed his dogs, with people who disrespected him.
Alex! You are well? Who did this to you?"
A beautiful and very well dressed girl approached the young man, her name was Lucy Williams.
She had a face praised by all, she was beautiful to the point that no one could match. Every man who knew her would instantly soften deep in her bones. As long as she smiled, numerous men would offer their lives to her.
"Ms. Williams this business has nothing to do with you, I ask you please do not intervene. One of Mr. Brown's bodyguards explained.
"You better not intervene Miss Williams, I don't want to cause you problems" Said an embarrassed Alex King, as he got up to pick up the last fruit on the floor.
She and Alex knew each other from college, although while Alex was studying, they didn't bond much beyond seeing each other in the classes they watched together. But ever since he dropped out of school and started working on the shopping street with his little fruit stand, Ms. Williams was always very nice to him.
Every afternoon she came to his stall to buy fruit, and she always talked to him, she belonged to the Williams family, and as a second-generation rich daughter she was pampered in everything, but that did not affect her character.
It could be said that she was famous throughout Rever City for two reasons, the first being that she was the most beautiful among all the rich young women of her generation, and the second was because of her good character coupled with a fervent desire to fight against women. injustices.
"It doesn't matter if you bring me problems or not, it's not right for them to throw away your things."
Alex King took the table and the fruit basket, his face downcast and very embarrassed.
"Don't worry, Ms. Williams, I'm, I'm going, thank you."
Lucy Williams rolled her eyes, but she kept talking: "Alex, I already told you to call me Lucy, Ms. Williams sounds very formal."
At that moment a very luxurious white car pulled up to the side of the road, and a handsome young man got out of it.
«Lucy, what are you doing here? Tell me, did this failure do something to you? "
The young man who spoke was Edward Robinson, the heir to the Robinson family, one of the ten richest families in the region.
I didn't wait for Lucy Williams to respond, and pushed Alex King, causing all of his things to fall off again.
Edward Robinson wanted to show Lucy how dominant he was, to win her heart, that strategy he had used for years, and he never found a girl who resisted that.
How dare you do that?
A very angry Lucy reproached the young man, as he helped to get Alex King to his feet.
Young Edward Robinson couldn't believe what he was seeing, the girl he was trying to surprise was not only ignoring him, but also helping another man instead.
«Lucy, what are you doing? He's just one more starving man, he can't be your friend, won't you give me face for him? "
Who gave you permission to call me by my name? For you I am Miss Williams »
Edward next door looked annoyed and embarrassed and said, "Ms. Williams, I came looking for you on the orders of my father and your father, my family is proposing to yours.
You are going to be my wife.
Come get in my car and let's go, this afternoon my family will propose to yours ».
Lucy shook her head: "First, only I decide who I am going to marry, and I assure you it is not you.
And second, although I am still going to go to dinner today to clarify all this, I will not get in your car, because I have never ridden alone with a man in a car, and I have my own car.
Lucy turned after saying those words, leaving a very annoyed and surprised Edward Robinson.
"Alex, tell me where you are going, I'll take you in my car." Lucy said, forgetting what she had just said about never being alone in a car with any man.
Alex King, who was upset at being treated like trash by those in power, did not want to miss the opportunity to get revenge on this Edward Robinson, albeit in a subtle way.
"I don't dare get in your car Lucy," Alex said, accentuating the tone when he called Miss Williams by name.
"Besides, you didn't just say that you don't share the car with any man."
Lucy looked surprised and didn't expect Alex King to say such harsh words to her, but after a second she understood that they were meant for that arrogant Edward Robinson.
Lucy with a mischievous smile on her face, which exalted her beauty, said hastily: "Come up, don't worry about me."
The two got into the car, leaving everyone behind very surprised, after a few minutes the young Edward Robinson also got into his car and went in the direction of his house where his father was.
Upon arrival, he called his father to speak privately, and he recounted everything that had just happened, greatly exaggerating the details.
As a second-generation rich young man, he had never felt so humiliated, and I swear he would do everything in his power to get revenge on Alex King.
Edward Robinson's father, Harry Robinson was a tall, handsome middle-aged man, he had always been in business, and was said to be a prodigy at it, he listened to his son, as he processed all this new information.
"Dad, you have to help me get revenge, that starving man made fun of me, in front of everyone, making fun of me is making fun of the Robinson family, we have to teach him a lesson, or we will lose our face throughout Rever City."
Don't worry son, there is no one in all of Rever City who dares to make fun of a member of our family, and who does not get what he deserves, only that, for now, there is nothing we can do.
With what you tell me, this Lucy Williams is strong-willed and very cunning, and perhaps she used that starving man to have an excuse to oppose the marriage of our two families. "
"Dad, what have the Williamses got to do with that Alex King, I don't think they even know if we do something to that waste."
"Perhaps in another circumstance the Williamses would not find out, but with the marriage between the two families just around the corner, the Williamses are very aware of everything we do in our family, if we start attacking the friends of the girlfriend, that won't look very good.
"I understand" A very annoyed Edward Robinson replied, "Then I will never have my revenge?"
«After the wedding you will have it, that will be one of my gifts, for now just find out everything you can about that garbage.
For now this afternoon, we have to define the date for the engagement banquet between the two families.
...
On the other side of town.
"Ms. Williams can leave me this way, I can continue from here.
"Alex, I can take you to your house, don't worry, besides, haven't we agreed that you would call me Lucy?"
"You don't have to, Ms. Williams, that's fine up to here, thank you very much for today."
"Well, since you insist, it's not like I can force you to be in my car, but Alex, listen to me, I know maybe you are going through difficult times, but you have to trust yourself, and in the end everything will be fine."
Alex's expression froze and he murmured, "Thank you Ms. Williams thank you very much, I will never forget your words."
Alex King has suffered for so many years, since he can remember, he and his mother have lived in poverty.
He never knew anything about his father, every time he asked his mother about him, she always said that it was not the time, over time he stopped trying.
Her mother fell ill, she has been hospitalized for more than a year. Since this year, Alex King has almost used up all of his savings in the family account. The hospital has persuaded Alex King to surrender more than once, but Alex King's persistence on this matter has been unchanged.
For Alex King, a mother's grace is worth anything she can do.
The money barely covered the costs of food and rent, and she could not afford good treatment for her mother to treat the disease, and she was getting worse every day.
Yesterday he went to the hospital to pay in advance for part of the medical expenses. If you can't keep your job, you can't even afford to eat.
Today was her 21st birthday, but she had neither reason nor time to celebrate it, instead she had to go out to work to support herself.
Everything that happened today was affecting him a lot, and he felt like giving up, he did not want to see his mother die, and with the problems that were presenting him today, by not being able to continue working, he had ended his life. But Lucy's words were for him, like water to the thirsty, giving him strength to continue fighting.
If she had not appeared today, he may, may not have continued with his life, but with her kindness and with those words of encouragement, she gave him what he needed to continue fighting.
And even if they were only words for her, for Alex they were worth his life, he swore that he would pay her a thousand times more than he had done for him.
As he got out of the car, Alex inadvertently dropped his cell phone into Lucy Williams's car, and walked home.
After dropping off Alex King Lucy Williams drove in the direction of the restaurant where her father was, but after driving for a few minutes, she heard a noise inside her car.
The light from Alex's phone screen revealed her location, Lucy realized that Alex had left her phone, and returned to where she had left it earlier to hand it over, but upon arrival, she did not see Alex anywhere. He decided to hand it over to her at the first opportunity presented to him.