“Exactly. So, she’s really serious. She wants to marry that beggar. I didn’t even know they were dating. We have to go there. This is not something you keep quiet about.”
Cynthia lifted her phone.
“Don’t worry,”
she said.
“I have evidence.”
Before long, Cynthia and her friends were at the Adi family’s home, arriving with fake concern. They greeted loudly and entered like they had urgent news. Mrs. Admy was the first to face them.
“Cynthia,”
she said, surprised.
“What brings you here?”
Cynthia made her voice sound serious.
“Auntie, we came because we can’t pretend we didn’t know,”
she said.
“It’s about Felicia’s wedding.”
At the sound of that, Anita stepped closer.
“Auntie,”
Cynthia said,
“do you know that Daniel Amardi is a beggar?”
The room went still.
“What? Which Daniel?”
Mrs. Adami asked sharply.
“The same one Felicia wants to marry. He is a street beggar,”
Cynthia repeated louder.
“Now, we saw him with our own eyes. He was on the roadside begging for food money.”
Mrs. Admy’s face drained.
“No,”
she said, shaking her head.
“That can’t be true.”
Cynthia didn’t argue. She simply lifted her phone.
“We even recorded it,”
she said.
“Because we were shocked, Auntie C.”
She pressed play. The video showed Daniel sitting by the roadside dressed like a homeless man, repeating blessings, thanking people, and asking politely for food money. It captured everything: the bowl, the torn look, the way people ignored him. It was clear enough to break any doubt. Mrs. Admy’s hand flew to her chest.
“Jesus,”
she gasped. Then her voice rose.
“Thank God she hasn’t married him yet.”
She turned sharply to look at Felicia.
“Felicia,”
she called, her voice shaking with panic and anger.
“Is this true?”
Felicia didn’t flinch.
“Yes, Mommy,”
she said quietly.
“It’s him.”
Mrs. Adami staggered back.
“So you knew? You knew and you still came to tell me you are marrying in 2 days.”
Felicia nodded.
“I knew.”
Mrs. Admy’s face twisted in disbelief.
“Ah!”
she shouted.
“This is why I said this wedding is too rushed. I agreed because I thought you had found a rich man. I didn’t know you hadn’t found a rich man, haven’t even found a poor man, but a street beggar.”
She hit her palm against her thigh in frustration.
“Is that how madness starts?”
“Mommy.”
Felicia tried to speak.
“Shut up!”
Mrs. Adami snapped, then turned toward Anita.
“Anita, do you hear this? This wedding must be cancelled immediately.”
Anita’s eyes were wide.
“Felicia, is it true?”
she asked, stunned. Felicia nodded again, steady.
“Yes, but I’m still marrying him.”
Mrs. Adami’s mouth fell open.
“You’re still marrying him,”
she repeated.
“No, over my dead body.”
She pointed toward the door.
“Cancel everything. Call the people. Stop cooking. Stop invitations. Stop all of it.”
Then she faced Felicia fully, voice rising higher.
“And that beggar must not come here. Do you hear me? He must not come. I will not allow a street beggar to enter this house and marry my daughter.”
Felicia stepped forward, her voice firm but emotional.
“Mommy, no,”
she said.
“The wedding will not be cancelled.”
The room froze again. Mrs. Admy stared at her like she didn’t recognize her child.
“What did you say?”
Felicia’s eyes were wet now, but she didn’t back down.
“I said the wedding must happen,”
she repeated.
“I love him. He is kind. He is still a human being. If he is down today, it doesn’t mean he will be down forever. We can build together.”
Mrs. Admy let out a bitter laugh.
“Build together? With a street beggar. Felicia, you don’t even know what you are talking about.”
Felicia shook her head slowly.
“I know what I’m saying,”
she replied.
“I don’t care if he is a beggar. I cannot throw him away because life has touched him. I won’t be like people who mock him.”
Mrs. Admy’s voice cut through the room like a knife.
“You are crazy,”
she yelled.
“Do you want this village to finish us with gossip? Do you want people to laugh at your late father’s name? Your father worked hard and died with dignity, and you want to drag our family into shame?”
Felicia flinched at the mention of her father, but she still held her ground.
“Daddy would want me to choose kindness,”
she said, voice trembling.
“Daniel has been good to me, Mommy.”
Cynthia and her friends exchanged looks. Mrs. Admy wasn’t listening anymore.
“Kindness doesn’t feed a home,”
she shouted.
“Love doesn’t buy food. Felicia, you will not do this rubbish under my roof.”
Anita stepped forward, trying to calm her mother.
“Mommy, calm down.”
“No, Anita,”
Mrs. Adami snapped.
“This must stop now. She must not marry him.”
Then, Mrs. Admy’s face changed. She pointed at Felicia again, her voice becoming sharp and strategic.
“Since you want to marry so badly, I have an option for you. Kelvin. Kelvin Ken Badella, the son of a rich man. He has been asking for your hand. He wants you and he is ready. If you must marry, you will marry Kelvin.”
Felicia stood between love and family shame, knowing that whatever she chose next would change her life forever. The moment Cynthia and her friends finally left, the house fell into a silence that comes after shouting. Mrs. Admy sat down hard on the couch. Her face was tight with anger. Felicia stood near the wall, her chest rising and falling slowly. Anita moved closer to her, her voice suddenly soft.
“Felicia,”
she said gently.
“Don’t worry.”
Felicia turned.
“Anita.”
“I understand you,”
Anita said.
“And I know mommy is just angry because she’s scared of what people will say. But leave it to me. I will talk to her. I will convince her.”
Felicia’s shoulders loosened slightly.
“You will?”
she asked. Anita nodded.
“Yes. Go and continue your preparations. Don’t slow down. I will handle mommy.”
Felicia hurried to her room, thinking of her dress and the food arrangements. In her heart, she kept repeating: Daniel will come. Daniel will come.
In the living room, Anita turned and faced their mother.
“Did you see her stubbornness?”
Mrs. Adami asked. Anita nodded.
“I saw it. Mommy, don’t worry. Leave it to me.”
Mrs. Adami reached for her phone first, pressed it, then frowned.
“Ah, my phone has died. Felicia, my phone is dead. Give me your phone. I need to make one or two calls about the wedding.”
Felicia handed the phone over. Anita quickly added,
“Give it to her, Felicia. Let’s just settle everything.”
Mrs. Adami held the phone, then turned away. She searched and tapped the name she wanted: Daniel. The line rang. Daniel answered.
“Hello.”
“Daniel,”
she said, her voice cold.
“This is Felicia’s mother.”
Daniel paused.
“Ma, good afternoon.”
“I’m calling to tell you something,”
she said.
“Felicia doesn’t want to marry you anymore.”
Daniel’s world went still.
“What?”
he asked. Mrs. Adami continued.
“She doesn’t want to marry you again. So don’t come. Don’t come and embarrass her. She wants to save face.”
Daniel’s grip tightened around his phone.
“Ma, Felicia did not tell me this.”
“She doesn’t need to tell you,”
Mrs. Adami snapped.
“Just do as I said. Don’t come.”
Daniel’s heart beat once, heavy.
“Ma, let me speak to Felicia.”
“She doesn’t want to speak to you,”
she said immediately.
“And she will not take your call. Don’t disturb her.”
She ended the call. Mrs. Adami walked straight to the kitchen area, lifted the phone in her hand, and smashed it hard against the edge of the counter. The sharp crack sounded in the quiet house. Mrs. Adami stared at the broken phone.
“Now,”
she muttered.
“She can’t call him.”
Anita nodded, her face calm.
“She won’t even be able to ask questions.”
In Daniel’s car, he stared at his phone after the call ended. His eyes had turned colder.
“Something is wrong,”
he said. He sat back, his mind still inside the strange coldness in the mother’s voice. He tried the number again. It didn’t go through. He tried again. Nothing.
“No,”
he said quietly.
“I’m going. I’m going to pay her bride price. If she doesn’t want me, I will hear it from her mouth.”
“But her mother already warned you,”
his assistant said. Daniel’s voice hardened.
“Let her warn. I’m not marrying her mother. I’m marrying her.”
In the Adami house, that message reached her mother.
“So that beggar still has a mouth,”
she snapped.
“Bride price? Is it from the money he has been gathering on the streets? The coins people throw into his bowl? I don’t want his beggar money. Call the boys. The local tough men. Let them guard the entrance. If he tries to set foot inside, they should drive him away. Do you hear me? Drive him away.”
Anita quickly made the call. Within a short time, several men gathered at the entrance, some holding sticks, others holding tools. Back on the road, Daniel’s convoy moved quietly. To anyone watching from outside, it didn’t look like a billionaire’s movement. The cars were decent, but not flashy. Daniel sat in front like a simple man going to a wedding. Behind him were the tycoon friends who had begged to attend, dressed like ordinary people.
“Remember,”
Daniel had said.
“Felicia doesn’t know. Do not expose anything. Do not ruin this for me.”
The convoy slowed as men stepped into the road.
“Stop there!”
One of them pointed at Daniel’s car and shouted,
“So, it’s you.”
Another laughed.
“Beggar dressed like a dog.”
A third spat on the ground.
“Toad wants swan meat.”
Daniel’s assistant stiffened. One of Daniel’s guards shifted his body. Daniel lifted a hand immediately.
“Nobody moves,”
he said quietly. The car door opened and Daniel stepped out. He simply stood there calm.
“Good afternoon,”
he said. They laughed harder.
“What afternoon? We don’t greet beggars here.”
Daniel’s eyes stayed steady.
“I’m not here to fight. I only came because I have an engagement with the Adami family.”
One of the men snorted.
“Engagement? You a beggar?”
Daniel nodded once.
“Yes. I’m supposed to marry Felicia.”
The men burst into loud mocking laughter.
“Marry? You want to marry a fine girl like that? Ogre, just turn back before you go home with an injury.”
Daniel’s voice remained controlled.
“I’m not forcing anyone. I only want to understand why. I haven’t been able to reach Felicia. Her mother called me and said she doesn’t want to marry me. That is not what Felicia told me. So I want to hear her refusal by herself.”
The leader of the men stepped closer.
“You want an explanation? The explanation is simple. She doesn’t want to marry a beggar, that’s all.”
Daniel shook his head slightly.
“I still want to hear it from her. Please make way.”
The men’s faces hardened. Behind Daniel, his guards moved slightly.
“Stop,”
Daniel said firmly.
“No violence.”
“Chairman, their behavior—”
“I said no violence,”
Daniel repeated. Then Daniel reached into his pocket and brought out thick envelopes of cash gifts.
“I don’t want trouble. Please take this. Let us pass peacefully.”
The men stared for a second.
“You want to buy us off? Which money? The money you begged on the street? You want to use beggar money to settle us?”
The insults grew louder.
“See him forming a rich man. Where did you get the envelope? You think you are somebody?”
Daniel’s jaw tightened slightly, but he kept his face calm. He offered again.
“Please. I’m not here to disrespect anyone.”
But the men refused to move. Daniel stood in the middle of their cruelty. He had disguised himself to test people’s hearts, but now he realized this was war against love fought with pride and gossip.
The air was thick with insults. One of them waved a stick close to his chest as if daring him to react. Another spat on the ground and laughed. Behind Daniel, his guards were tense. Even the ordinary looking men traveling with Daniel were struggling to keep calm. But Daniel’s hand was still raised.
“No violence,”
he said again. The leader of the hired men scoffed.
“Then stand there and collect your shame, because you’re not passing.”
Daniel didn’t answer. Then suddenly, a sharp scream cut through everything.
“Ah, my child!”
The insults paused. Just on the side of the road, a woman had dropped her bowl of water. A small child was coughing violently, choking. His face was turning red, then purple.
“Mama Ephe!”
someone shouted. The roadside food seller rushed toward her child with shaking hands.
“Ephe! Ephe!”
she cried, grabbing him, patting his back, panicking. The child coughed again, the sound harsh and frightening. Mama Ephe’s eyes rolled upward as she cried and then her body jerked. She fell hard. Her limbs began to shake. Foam gathered at the corner of her mouth. The seizure hit her fully. People jumped back.
“Ah, she’s having a seizure! Epilepsy! Hold her! Don’t hold her!”
Everybody shouted at once, but nobody actually helped. Mama Ephe’s child began to cry and scream. He dropped to his knees beside her, shaking her arm.
“Mommy, mommy, wake up! Please, somebody help my mommy.”
The road became a messy argument.
“She needs a hospital. Where is a car? Borrow a car from who? She will die. Don’t put her in my car.”
One man shook his head.
“The hospital is far. Who will carry her? Don’t bring trouble to yourself. Epilepsy is not your mate.”
A woman cried.
“Her child is still choking.”
The child’s cries grew louder. He crawled from person to person, grabbing legs.
“Please help me. My mommy will die. Please.”
“Leave my leg! I don’t want a problem.”
The boy fell back on the road, still crying. Daniel watched all of it, his face changing. The insult of a moment ago didn’t matter anymore. He stepped forward. His assistant grabbed his arm quickly.
“Chairman, don’t. Look at how wicked they are. They just tried to attack you.”
Daniel’s eyes stayed on Mama Ephe.
“A life first,”
he said quietly.
“Sir, we can leave them. They don’t deserve—”
“We are not like them,”
Daniel said. Then he walked past the thugs and knelt beside Mama Ephe. The crowd fell silent. The beggar they were mocking was now on the ground, sleeves rolled slightly, hands steady. Daniel spoke calmly.
“Give her space. Nobody should be pulling her.”
He checked her breathing quickly, watched the seizure pattern, then moved with controlled speed. He adjusted her position carefully so she wouldn’t choke.
“Wipe the foam gently,”
he instructed one person.
“Don’t panic.”
People stared.
“How does he know this?”
Daniel’s assistant brought water immediately. Another man in Daniel’s convoy pulled out a clean cloth. Daniel used practical emergency care, steady positioning, and timed observation. His hands were firm but careful. The seizure began to slow. Mama Ephe’s shaking reduced. Her breathing steadied and then slowly her eyelids fluttered.
“Mommy!”
Her child screamed clinging to her. Mama Ephe blinked, confused.
“What? What happened?”
she whispered.
“You had a seizure. You almost died.”
Mama Ephe tried to sit up. Her eyes landed on Daniel.
“Who is this?”
she asked.
“It’s him,”
a child cried.
“He saved you. He saved you.”
Mama Ephe looked at Daniel’s plain clothes and his calm eyes. She struggled to her feet. Then she grabbed Daniel’s hand with both of hers.
“Thank you,”
she said, voice trembling.
“Thank you, my son.”
Daniel tried to withdraw politely.
“Auntie, it’s fine.”
“No,”
Mama Ephe insisted. She turned sharply to the men who had been blocking the road.
“All of you!”
she shouted.
“I saw everything. You were insulting him. You were stopping him like he was an animal. This man you were calling a beggar saved my life when you refused to help. If anybody stops him again, you will fight me first.”
The crowd murmured. People who were shouting before now felt shame. Even the thugs hesitated. Mama Ephe pointed toward the road.
“Open the way.”
A child joined in.
“Yes, open the way! He saved my mommy.”
The mood flipped fast.
“This young man is a good man. See kindness. Ah, it’s a blessing to marry a man like this.”
One of the hired tough men scratched his head. Another cleared his throat, forcing a fake smile.
“Ah, we didn’t know,”
the leader muttered. Mama Ephe snapped at him.
“You didn’t know what? You didn’t know you should behave like human beings?”
The men began to move aside. Daniel stood up calmly, dusting his hands lightly.
“Let’s go,”
he said. And the same thugs who had blocked the convoy now began to gesture with forced enthusiasm.
“This way, sir. Pass, pass. Please forgive us.”
Daniel didn’t respond to their sudden change. He entered the car again, his face calm, his heart heavy with one thought: Felicia, why are they doing this to you? The convoy moved forward. And as they drove toward Felicia’s house, the villagers around were already whispering a new story. Now they were saying,
“That man is a good man. If Felicia marries him, it will be a blessing.”
Daniel, still in disguise, rode quietly toward the storm waiting for him, knowing that the biggest battle was not on the road. It was inside the Adami compound. Mrs. Adami moved around like a commander.
“Add more meat,”
she instructed.
“Kelvin is coming. Rich people don’t eat like poor people.”
Mrs. Adami clapped her hands.
“Kelvin will bring gifts that will shock this whole area. When he enters here, people will know we are not a family to be joked with.”
Relatives began to arrive.
“This is better,”
a woman said.
“This Kelvin, he is the kind of son-in-law we are talking about. Not that other one.”
Mrs. Adami nodded.
“That one has already broken off the marriage. He has canceled it himself.”
Felicia standing in the corner turned sharply.
“What? That is not true. Daniel is not like that.”
Anita stepped in immediately.
“Felicia, enough. Don’t start embarrassing us again.”
Felicia ignored her and faced her mother.
“Mommy, let me call him. Give me my phone. Let me call him myself.”
Mrs. Adami’s expression changed.
“Your phone? It’s gone. I broke it. I smashed it. So you won’t keep disturbing yourself. And so you won’t keep disturbing that beggar.”
Felicia stared at her mother, not understanding at first.
“You broke my phone?”
she whispered.
“Yes. Because you don’t have sense. And somebody must have sense in this house.”
Felicia’s hands trembled.
“Daniel loves me. He will come for me.”
Anita laughed softly.
“Come for you? With what? With his begging bowl.”
“Don’t talk like that,”
Felicia warned. Anita stepped closer.
“Felicia, open your eyes. Guests are here. Food is ready. People are waiting. You want them to laugh at us? You want to disgrace us?”
Mrs. Adami joined in.
“You will accept Kelvin. If you don’t, you will lose this family. I will disown you with my two hands.”
The word disown hit Felicia like a slap.
“I don’t want Kelvin. I don’t like him.”
“Why? Because he is rich?”
