When Kim fell in love with Michael, she hoped her parents would support their relationship. Unfortunately, due to significant class differences, the couple was not endorsed by Kim’s wealthy parents. A few years later, however, the tables would be turned.
Kim and Michael met as teenagers in the city park. They were both with their respective group of friends when they first laid eyes on one another. Kim’s friends encouraged her to approach him, and despite Michael being shy, he could not help but walk up to Kim and all her friends just so he could say hello.
They were immediately enamored with one another, and because they met at the park, there was no immediate indication of how different their worlds were.
Michael and Kim spent almost every day together after they met. They both had a lot in common, and their friend groups got along well enough to hang out together because of the lovebirds.
Michael was a poor boy growing up on a farm, and Kim’s parents, Sarah and Harold, were wealthy business owners. For the first three years of their relationship, Kim’s parents believed that Michael and Kim were only infatuated with one another. “As soon as she realizes that he will not give her the life we have, she will leave him,” Kim’s father told her mother.
“I hope so; they cannot be together; he is not good enough for her,” Sarah replied.
But this would not be the case. Michael and Kim’s relationship became more robust over the years. When Kim’s parents paid for her to study abroad, they kept speaking every day after Michael returned from his daily duties on the farm. They both knew that Sarah and Harold were not happy about their relationship, but they hoped they would come around eventually.
When Kim turned 22, she graduated from university and moved back home. She could no longer bear living apart from Michael, so she asked him to move into her home. Michael refused, saying, “Your parents don’t like me. They would never want us to live in the same house.”
“They only say that because they don’t know you very well. They will accept you as soon as they realize how amazing you are to me,” Kim said.
Despite Michael feeling uneasy about moving in with Kim and her parents, he loved her and wanted her to be happy. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible but knew that she would never agree to move in with him at the farm, so this was his next best option.
The morning Michael moved in, Harold was at work. Sarah was surprised, but she had seen how excited her daughter was in the days leading up to his arrival. “Are you sure you want to commit to him?” she asked. He has nothing and will never give you all we have provided you.”
“Yes, mom, I am sure. We will soon get married, and we will be able to build our lives together,” Kim replied.
Sarah just wanted her daughter to be happy. She allowed Michael to move in, but she was afraid of her husband’s reaction.
When Harold got home, he pretended that Michael wasn’t there. He spoke over him at dinner, didn’t look at him, and even spoke of him as if he wasn’t in the room. “That farmer boy of yours will never be welcomed in my house!” he shouted.
The following months of Michael’s stay at Kim’s house were made unbearable by Harold. He would always mistreat him. He constantly called him insulting names, and despite his daughter’s pleas to stop, he would treat him worse. “You are not good enough for my daughter, and I will make sure you stay away from her,” he constantly told Michael.
Michael tried hard to ignore the insults and focused on keeping Kim happy and being helpful around the house. One evening, just before dinner, Sarah’s favorite bracelet broke, and she was pretty upset about it. Michael offered to fix it before she threw it out, and he succeeded.
“Thank you so much! I didn’t know you could work with jewelry; I thought you were just good at farming,” she said.
“Well, the life I’ve led with my family has taught me to fix many things before throwing them out,” he replied.
“That’s always a good thing to learn!” Sarah said as she reached out to hug him.
Unknown to them, Harold had been crouching on the staircase, watching and listening to the conversation. When he saw his wife and Michael hug, he quickly took out his phone and snapped a picture of them.
During dinner that evening, Michael noticed that Harold was restless. When Michael asked if he was okay, Harold quickly pulled out his phone. “Kim, I have something important to show you. Your so-called fiancé has been having an affair with your mother!” he said. “I told you he wasn’t good enough for you; he’s such scum that he went for your mother!”
Chaos immediately ensued; Sarah started screaming at her husband, calling him a liar. Kim stood up and ran upstairs crying, and Harold repeatedly shouted, “Get this farmer boy out of my house!” Michael was so overwhelmed with the chaos that he just sat in his chair, stunned.
When he finally managed to get control of himself, he raced upstairs to explain to Kim that her father was lying. But before he got to her room, Harold chased after him and tackled him to the ground, dragging him to the door. Sarah was still screaming at her husband and calling out his lies, but Kim was too heartbroken to believe her mom.
Michael was kicked out of the house with only the clothes he was wearing. He called out to Kim, hoping she would give him a chance to explain the photo. Instead, Harold called his security guards to remove him from the property altogether. He made his way back to his parents on the farm.
Four years after that chaotic evening, Kim married and divorced Barry. Their fathers were mutual friends and set them up. Their marriage lasted only two years after Barry cheated on her and refused to be a supportive father to their daughter.
Kim decided to move back home after her divorce, but her relationship with her parents was still tense over all these years.
One morning, Harold was preparing to meet with a new client to sign a new business deal. “We are going to make millions from this contract; I can’t wait to get the ball rolling,” he told his daughter as he walked out of the house. Kim reluctantly wished her father luck and went on about her day.
When Harold walked into the new potential client’s office, he was shocked to see Michael sitting in the CEO’s chair.
When Michael recognized him, he walked up and shook his hand. “It’s good to see you again, sir,” he smiled.
Harold was speechless; he could not believe that the poor boy he kicked out of his house years ago built such a successful business.
He was afraid that Michael would renege on the business deal after everything that night. Michael could see the fear in his eyes and put him at ease. “Don’t worry, sir, I will still sign the contract with you,” Michael said.
“But I ruined your relationship, I set you up and kicked you out at night, and you had nothing on you, no money or warm clothes,” he replied.
“I remember; I was devastated after that happened. But I realized that I would never earn your respect by only being good to your daughter. So I chose to study at the local college and start my business,” Michael said.
After a short meeting, Michael stayed true to his word and signed the contract, and the men were officially in business together.
Later that day, Harold had a long-overdue conversation with his daughter. He confessed that he eavesdropped on Michael and her mother and made it appear they were having an affair when her mother was simply thanking Michael for fixing her favorite bracelet.
“You know, mom has explained this story to me so many times,” Kim replied. “Which is why we have fixed our relationship. But I waited so many years to hear your confession because you set that terrible night in motion.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, Kim, I thought that boy would never give you the life you deserved,” Harold said.
“But look now, he is a CEO who just signed a valuable contract with you. And only now you think it’s time to confess,” Kim cried.
“I can talk to him and try to get you two together again,” he promised.
“No, don’t bother; the last person you set me up with was a terrible partner and an even worse father. I’ll fix this myself,” Kim said then walked out.
She drove straight to Michael’s office and explained what her father had told her. “I missed you all these years, and I’m so proud of everything you accomplished,” she said.
Michael was delighted to see Kim and he was flattered by everything she said, but he had to admit, he didn’t miss her as much as she missed him.
“After everything your family did to me, I don’t think I can trust them. It would be unfair to ask you to choose so let’s just stay friends,” he told her. They remained good friends, and Michael later met someone else to love.
