The parents of a girl oppose her marriage to a good boy they believe is poor, so the millionaire father of the boy pretends to be broke and teaches them a lesson.
When Sam Stancu discovered an indestructible sealing type for engines that everyone wanted, he never imagined that this invention would one day influence the love life of his son, Vlad, who was just a baby at the time.
This discovery immediately changed their lives. Sam began to earn a fortune from the patent, and soon he moved with his wife and son into a beautiful house, bought a new car, and wanted for nothing.
Years passed, and the money came in amounts greater than he could have imagined. The little family lived comfortably, and that was all that mattered to Sam. The fabulous sums his lawyer informed him about seemed unreal.
Then tragedy struck. Sam’s wife, Raluca, fell seriously ill. Sam kept telling the doctors that money was not an issue, but they just nodded helplessly.
There are two things in life that money cannot buy: love and health. Sam learned the first lesson in the most painful way when Raluca died. And he was about to fully understand the second once Vlad grew up.
Being a single father to a growing boy is not easy, so maybe Sam made a few mistakes. Vlad was a good, loving, modest boy, so Sam gave him everything he could afford — and Sam could afford anything.
In high school, Vlad’s classmates quickly realized that his father was very rich and generous — so was Vlad. He became the most popular boy in school, not for his kindness or charm, but for his father’s money.
Girls swarmed around Vlad like bees to honey. At first, Vlad enjoyed it, but soon he realized that they didn’t want him, but everything they could get through him.
He told Sam, with tears in his eyes, that the girl he had fallen in love with didn’t truly love him. She just wanted to fly on their private jet to vacations in Brașov, Sinaia, or Greece.
Sam encouraged him to end the relationship. The last year of high school was quite lonely for Vlad, but he had a plan.
— Dad, I have a plan, he said.
Sam smiled.
— Oh! What plan?
— I will go to the University of Bucharest in the fall, but I want everyone to think I am a scholarship student.
Sam blinked in surprise.
— A scholarship student? You? But why?
— Because if I look poor and wear used clothes, people will be my friends only if they really like me. Girls won’t want to be with me for the money.
— You are absolutely right, Vlad, Sam told him. I think it’s a brilliant plan!
And so they put the plan into action. Vlad and Sam bought him all second-hand clothes and equipment, and Vlad looked like the poorest student you would ever see.
The plan worked. Vlad made sincere friends and met a girl he liked — and the feeling was mutual. By the third year, he was head over heels in love.
Her name was Eliza — short for Elisabeta — and Vlad decided he wanted to marry her. Sam was a little worried that Vlad was too young, but he had also married early and had been happy.
Vlad proposed to Eliza, and she said “yes.” Eliza took him home for Thanksgiving to meet her parents — and it was a disaster.
Eliza’s parents, Marta and Florian, were wealthy and proud of their social status. They wanted their daughter to marry a man as rich as they were, not a modest student, no matter how smart, handsome, or funny he was.
They treated Vlad politely, but cold enough to be insulting. Eliza, who had accepted the proposal, proudly wore the little diamond ring Vlad had given her, as if it were a royal jewel.
She insisted that Vlad and his father come to their vacation home in Constanța for Christmas. Marta and Florian were horrified, but they smiled, accepted, and made their own plan.
Vlad and Sam took a bus from their villa in Sinaia to Constanța.
Eliza’s father picked them up from the bus station, and the fun began. Florian looked Sam up and down and snorted disdainfully. (Sam had bought clothes from a thrift store and had exaggerated a bit.)
Not only did he look poor, but he looked almost homeless. Florian took them to their large villa and, on the way, boasted about his wealth, his villas, and luxury cars.
— You should know, Sam, that I have done everything for my family. We live in comfort — in fact, in luxury. Not everyone is used to this, but we hope you and Vlad will fit in. Christmas is important to us.
— It’s important to us too, Sam replied.
For Marta and Florian, Christmas meant towers of expensive gifts and flaunting success.
The following days were a nightmare. Florian and Marta missed no opportunity to humiliate Sam.
— Eliza is a young woman of means, Sam, Marta said. Her husband must provide her with the same lifestyle. I know you couldn’t offer Vlad much…
Eliza immediately noticed what her parents were doing and got angry.
— I will marry Vlad, she told them. And Sam will be part of the family, so get used to the idea.
— But, my dear, Marta cried, this man is a disgrace! Have you seen how he dresses? It’s embarrassing!
— You should know, mom, that YOU are much more embarrassing than Sam could ever be! — Eliza replied angrily.
She didn’t know that Sam had heard everything — and was smiling. He now knew: Eliza truly loved his son. She had found that unique girl.
On Christmas Eve, when the whole family gathered around the tree at midnight, Marta said with a malicious smile:
— Don’t feel bad, Sam, we know you’re going through tough times.
Marta and Florian gave Vlad a box with a car key inside.
— It’s a wedding gift, in advance. We thought you needed a better car. Your old clunker has long passed its twenty years, Vlad!
Vlad smiled and thanked them, and everyone went outside to see the Porsche in the garage, with a huge red bow on it. Florian shot Sam a triumphant look. He thought Sam couldn’t match that.
But Sam pulled an envelope from his pocket.
— Eliza, Vlad told me you plan to move to Bucharest after graduation.
— That’s right, Sam! He has an offer from a research center, and I have an internship at the National Museum…
— Well, it’s hard to find housing there, so I hope this helps… — and he handed the envelope to Eliza.
Florian laughed mockingly.
— What’s in there? A list of homeless shelters? A guide to social canteens in sector 2?
Eliza opened the envelope and froze.
— Sam! she whispered. Is it true?
She showed Vlad the documents from the envelope, and he ran to hug his father.
Marta and Florian looked stunned.
— But… but… but… — Florian stammered — you are POOR… Look at how you dress… You came by bus…
— Well, Florian, Sam said gently, I want my son to be loved and accepted for who he is, not for the 570 million euros he will one day inherit from me.
They had no more objections. In fact, they became Vlad’s biggest supporters and treated Sam with great respect.
That following summer, Vlad and Eliza got married and moved to Bucharest. When, three years later, their daughter, Raluca, was born, Sam bought a house nearby to be close to them.
What can we learn from this story?
Money cannot buy love and health. Sam knew that if people found out how rich he was, they would approach his son only for his wealth.
Do not judge people by appearances. Florian and Marta despised Sam for his modest clothes, without imagining that he was a millionaire.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to real events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher do not assume responsibility for the accuracy of events or for how characters are portrayed and are not liable for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed belong to the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
