Rich Groom’s Parents Posed as Poor to Test Bride’s Intentions. Her Reaction Stunned Them

Angela and Tommy Redford, a wealthy couple from the U.S., took a shameful step to test the real interest of their son’s less wealthy fiancée. They dressed like poor people to meet her and her family. The couple didn’t expect what the young woman would become shortly afterward.

Angela and Tommy Redford were considered quite wealthy business owners in the social circles they frequented. The fortune didn’t reach eight digits, but it was still enough money to provide them with a life without worries and a luxurious lifestyle. Though they liked their professional success, the couple took more pride in something else.

After 28 years of a harmonious marriage, they loved their children with all their hearts and considered them the most outstanding achievements of their lives. The two participated actively in the upbringing of the children and were never absent in their lives. Enzo and Arthur grew up and became tall, intelligent young men who inherited their parents’ best features. But at the same time, they were completely different personalities.

Over time, Enzo became prudent and perceptive, trying to be like his parents in everything he did. He prepared his whole life to assume his father’s business in the future. On the other hand, Arthur had more original points of view and always tried to stay true to his independent thinking without following anyone else’s ideas. Clear proof of his difference in personality was evident three years ago when Enzo married the woman his parents had chosen for him.

Angela and Tommy didn’t force their son to do anything, but knowing the girl’s sophisticated background, they pushed the two to get to know each other and encourage their relationship. The marriage strengthened Tommy’s business as Enzo’s father-in-law owned a chain of restaurants that became clients of Tommy’s. Not only was his son marrying a decent girl from a wealthy family, but he was now one step closer to having that eight-digit bank account he desired.

However, to the Redfords’ consternation, Arthur refused to follow his older brother’s example. He wouldn’t let his parents suggest whom he should date, and he was not about to transform his love life into a commercial strategy for his dad, as this would go against his convictions. The situation became even more delicate when Arthur announced to his family that he would marry a woman who had recently graduated in Business Administration and was starting in the demanding business world.

The worst part for Mr. and Mrs. Redford was that the young woman came from a family farm in rural Oklahoma. Angela had serious concerns about the humble origin of Arthur’s in-laws. For her, they were country hicks.

But on the other hand, Angela was a woman of refined taste, not accustomed to socializing with poor people who couldn’t accompany her lifestyle. She thought Arthur’s choice was a betrayal, as if her son had stabbed her in the back. She didn’t even try to get to know the girl but was in no doubt that she didn’t love her son. For her, the young woman was only after Arthur’s money and his part of his father’s company.

Angela discussed her concerns with her husband, and the couple decided that if they were going to stop their son from doing something stupid, they would have to invent something extraordinary and shocking so the barbarity wouldn’t happen. While his parents plotted, Arthur continued contently planning the engagement’s commemoration dinner, where he would present his family to his fiancée’s parents.

Ken met Eliana during post-grad. Her parents were, in fact, Oklahoma farmers, but Lincoln and Teresa Jones were not the least bit ignorant nor did they feel uncomfortable or inferior due to their future son-in-law’s family. They knew they were wealthy, so when Arthur invited them to dinner, they eagerly accepted, happy they would be included in the social events. Arthur was always polite and kind, so they imagined his parents were also friendly, good-natured people.

The problem was that Angela and Tommy were so determined to separate Arthur from the farmer’s daughter that they stepped down from their pedestal. Tommy’s idea was simple: they would go to the dinner dressed more simply than they would usually dress for such an event. Then, during dinner, they planned to lie about their financial situation, saying their fortune had its days numbered. This way, they would test the true intentions of that simple, money-hungry family.

The idea seemed absurd to Angela, who initially refused to consider using cheaper clothing in public. But when she thought the plan could work, she accepted her husband’s proposal. It would be a small sacrifice to save the Redford family’s name and morals. The two could not foresee how this joke, done in such bad taste, would soon turn into reality, like it was a prophecy.

On the night of the dinner, Lincoln and Teresa Jones arrived at the restaurant punctually at the appointed time. Approaching the table, they saw Arthur and Eliana were already there, drinking a bottle of wine. Now only the groom’s parents were missing. Time passed, and they drank their second bottle of wine as they waited for the Redfords.

Arthur checked the time on his phone every five minutes. The messages he sent his mom remained unanswered. Arthur was worried and thought his parents had left him hanging just to snub his future in-laws. Almost 45 minutes after the set time, Angela and Tommy Redford appeared in the corridor, very different from what their son had expected to see.

Arthur figured his parents would try to impress his in-laws with their best clothes and jewelry, but what was coming was the exact opposite. Angela was wearing old, low-cut sandals and a plain purse with no brand name. Meanwhile, Tommy had exchanged his Italian cut suit for an older, simpler one. He was not wearing a tie and wore a pair of faded jeans instead of dress pants. They weren’t poorly dressed, just not close to the high society couple’s image.

“Sorry, son. We had to walk here,” said Tommy, pretending to be as natural as possible.

“But what are you talking about? Walking? All you had to do was get the car and drive here,” said Arthur exasperated.

“The car’s no good, son. You know that,” said Angela.

The two sat down, and dinner began. Tommy showed no interest in Eliana’s family, never asking what they liked to do or about their work. But he used every opportunity to mention how things were difficult at his company. “I don’t know how long we’ll be able to hold on. The accounts haven’t closed in months,” he said.

Throughout the entire dinner, the Redfords only talked about themselves and complained about how their business was not going well. Arthur grew tense and confused. At one point in the conversation, the young man begged forgiveness for the tenor of the conversation, but his parents seemed too worried to notice.

“Imagine if we lose everything. We would have to sell what was left and move to Oklahoma to be your new neighbors,” said Tommy, smiling.

Although he had expected his parents to put on some sort of show, Arthur never expected them to go as low as this. As the evening progressed, it became clear that the Jones and Redford families had nothing in common. The information and expectations that Eliana’s parents had didn’t match with the couple eating in front of them.

It was clear to Lincoln and Teresa that the Redfords were playing roles. Be that as it may, from the Jones’ point of view, the Redfords were being rude, while they themselves were being sincere. In the special events, out of respect for their future son-in-law, Lincoln and Teresa resolved to treat his parents with comprehension and respect until the end.

Before leaving, Lincoln shook Tommy’s hand, said he hoped he could recover the business, and gave him his business card, saying that Tommy could count on him if he needed anything. Tommy put the card in his pocket without looking at it and replied, “Thanks, Mr. Jones. But my problem is in the seven-figure range.”

When they got home, Arthur had a serious conversation with his parents. He asked if they were sick or if they had agreed that the best thing was to embarrass him in front of his fiancée and her parents. Angela aggressively removed her dress and threw the cheap purse to the garage. Tommy looked into the mirror and sighed heavily, not believing he had done such a thing.

“Listen to your parents, son. Don’t do something stupid like this,” said his mother. “If you continue dating this girl, your father’s business will have to be administered by your brother Enzo, and you know that’s exactly what he wants.”

Tommy chimed in with his wife, saying his fiancée and probably her parents as well were social climbers. They thought they would win a lot of money with this marriage, but his job was to defend their property. “So don’t do this, don’t go ahead with the wedding!” shouted the man, with a tone of voice making it clear he would not tolerate any objections.

But Arthur didn’t let them intimidate him as they did Enzo. His response hit Tommy’s pride right in the guts. “I don’t want your company if the price is being fake and a bad person. I love Eliana, and I won’t trade what I truly feel for anything,” he said.

Furious, the young man stomped off to his room and packed his bags. Then he left the house, slamming the door behind him. He ended up staying at his fiancée’s home. Angela and Tommy thought it was just a moment of anger, and the boy would return soon. After all, he had never slept alone outside the house. But three days passed, and it was becoming clear that he wasn’t going to return.

If this was a way to pressure his parents, it was working because the Redford couple began to think that they may have gone too far. Angela stared into her youngest boy’s empty bedroom once again, with broken hearts. For the first time in a long while, she regretted what she had done. She didn’t want that marriage, but now she thought she could have dealt with it better, not to have lost her son once and for all.

But Tommy thought it better to be tough on Arthur without going back on his promise. For this, he officially named Enzo as the new company director. He wanted to test how far his other son’s ideals would go now that he was about to lose everything.

To his father’s surprise, Arthur went forward with the wedding. The celebration wasn’t extravagant, in a cozy ballroom in Manhattan. The only guests who did not appear were Arthur’s parents. Even though it broke their hearts, they wanted to show how they disagreed with their son and would not tolerate his whims.

Four years later, Eliana and Arthur were still married and had recently moved to a house in a new neighborhood. During all this time, the couple had minimal contact with Angela and Tommy. Instead, most of the time, they visited Teresa and Lincoln on their farm. The older couple always appreciated their visits and loved their son-in-law, regardless of how much money was in his bank accounts.

For years, without depending on his parents’ money or influence, Arthur worked as a manager in a promising company, while Eliana did the accounting for her parents’ firm. They had no luxuries but could cover all their expenses and build up some savings. Despite everything, the young man held no grudge against his parents.

He still spoke with his brother and tried to include his parents in his life but always with caution, as he felt they still didn’t accept Eliana. Though they no longer showed animosity toward her, the definitive rupture of relations between the two families came when Eliana became pregnant.

Arthur was ecstatic and called his dad to tell him the wonderful news. However, what he heard on the other end of the line was his father’s controlled and cold reaction. “What’s wrong, Dad? Aren’t you happy?” he asked.

“It’s your mom, son. She’s in the hospital. She had a heart attack, but she’s already out of danger,” the man replied in a choked-up voice. “Now she needs to recuperate. It won’t be easy.”

Arthur went immediately to the hospital to see his mother. As it turned out, Angela’s heart attack was provoked by stress. A week ago, the Redfords learned a series of bad decisions made by Enzo that had put the company at risk. Not only had the company lost a good deal of capital, but it also owed several suppliers and was in the sights of an IRS investigation. The company was doing poorly, and Angela and Tommy’s bank accounts were frozen as part of the investigation.

It took more than three weeks before Angela was released and able to return home. With everything falling apart so quickly, Arthur’s parents became paralyzed in the city’s business elites. Naturally, they were discouraged and sad. But when things looked like they couldn’t get worse, destiny decided to complicate things a little more.

A hard blow came in a phone call on an otherwise ordinary day. It was Eliana, while driving from Oklahoma to New York. Her parents had an accident on the highway, and neither survived. The news left Eliana distraught. Arthur, who loved his in-laws dearly, saw himself caught between two nightmares: his parents’ financial situation and now the death of his in-laws.

The first weeks after their deaths were hard on Eliana. She locked herself in her room and hardly remembered that she was pregnant. Arthur stayed faithfully at her side, and only two months later was the young man mentally ready to talk with the family lawyer.

The lawyer had tried to contact him numerous times, as everything that Jones possessed was to be transferred to Eliana’s name. From one hour to the next, the young man, who always had his feet on the ground, became the owner of a reasonably-sized farm and a savings account with more than eight hundred thousand dollars accumulated over the years, thanks to Teresa and Lincoln’s financial discipline. They never spent money on extravagance or luxury.

Tommy and Angela’s jaws dropped when they heard of their daughter-in-law’s inheritance. How did that family that appeared so simple have so much money? They quickly removed Enzo from the company’s leadership and offered the position to their younger son. With this, the Redfords planned to kill two birds with one stone: to provide a new direction for the business and, more importantly, to convince his wife to use the inheritance that just fell into her lap to save the family business.

But then, Mr. and Mrs. Redford had been forced to sell their enormous house to pay the interest on the company’s debts, which never stopped growing. It was a blow to their self-esteem. Arthur understood his parents’ suffering but explained that he could do nothing now. If he took over the company, it would only be to put out the fires caused by the previous administration since he had no money to invest in the company.

“What do you mean you don’t have it? You’re rich now, richer than us, my son,” said Tommy.

“You’re wrong, Dad. The inheritance is Eliana’s,” Arthur explained.

Even so, Arthur explained the situation to Eliana that night, without pressuring her. He said she needed some time to think and decide what to do with her inheritance.

Funny how things end up sometimes. Love, now your parents need money, made on a farm in Oklahoma,” she said with irony.

Weeks passed without a response from Eliana. Debts continued to mount, and the company’s liquidity was practically non-existent. Finally, Tommy called his son and said that Angela was on the brink of another heart attack. He asked what Eliana was doing and when she would make the necessary investments in the company.

Arthur remained quiet. The truth is, he had lost hope for help from his wife. She knew she was not obliged to help, especially considering how they had treated her and her parents all these years. But one hot afternoon, Tommy’s lawyer called, saying the couple had been saved. The company board had received a reasonable proposal, so they needed to go to the office to finish the negotiations.

After hanging up, Tommy and Angela cried happy tears. They were nervous but, at the same time, relieved. So they opened a bottle of champagne, as if they had won the lottery. Entering the legal department office, Tommy and Angela found Arthur and Eliana. They thought they understood everything. Eliana had finally decided to help her in-laws by loaning them the money they needed to bail out their company. So they thanked the young woman and hugged her, something they had never done before.

“Okay, now please excuse us as we need to get back to business,” said Tommy, his chest inflated.

“Not quite, sir,” said the lawyer, leaving Tommy confused.

Finally, the lawyer explained that Eliana Jones was not offering a loan to the company. She was proposing to buy 90% of its stock, which was priced incredibly low due to the recent problems. This would make her the company’s new owner but, of course, only if they were willing to sell their shares to save the company. The lawyer concluded, “Tommy, Angela, your shares, Arthur’s shares, and even Enzo’s shares have all been sold to Eliana Jones.”

Tommy became paralyzed and pale. The proposal would pay all their debts and other financial obligations, but there wouldn’t be enough left over to live the luxurious lifestyle they were accustomed to. Furthermore, even if their company returned to being profitable, ninety percent of those profits would be Eliana Jones’s. Even their son Enzo had sold his stock in the company.

Tommy and Angela’s heads were whirling. Tommy needed to sit down and drink some water. Now they bitterly regretted how they had judged and mistreated their daughter-in-law and her parents, pushing away the people they should have held close. But they had no option but to accept. Deep down, the Redfords knew they still needed to be thankful to Eliana, as no other person would have given that family business a chance to breathe. As a result, the couple would never have financial difficulties for the rest of their lives, though they would be far from the eight digits they had dreamed of.

Now, Eliana could put what she learned in the university to work to rebuild the company, with Arthur at her side. And who knows, they may even pass the company onto their child one day.