Girl Mocks Poor Guy Who Proposes to Her, Sees Him as Chef When She Gets Job as Dishwasher Later – Story of the Day

Valerie refused to settle down with her boyfriend Tom knowing he was struggling financially. Years later, she sees him as the head chef of the restaurant where she was hired as a dishwasher.

Since she was young, Valerie was the most popular girl in school. She was an honor student, the student council president, and a member of their cheerleading squad.

Because of this, she had many friends, and many of the boys at school tried to win her heart. She didn't pay any attention to her suitors, however, as she took her studies and extra-curricular activities seriously and was barely left with any free time on her hands.

One day, their homeschool teacher introduced a new kid to the class. "I'd like everyone to meet Tom. He and his family recently moved to San Francisco from Santa Barbara," Mrs. Wheeler revealed.

"Hi, Tom," the class said in unison.

The only empty seat was beside Valerie, so Tom walked up the aisle and sat there. "Hi," he smiled at her as he sat down.

If Valerie was being honest with herself, she actually found Tom attractive. He had light brown eyes, a fair complexion, and dark brown wavy hair, like the surfers she would watch every time she'd visit Ocean Beach.

However, one look at her classmate and she knew that he wasn't well-off. He was wearing a worn-out burgundy shirt, khaki shorts that looked as if they'd been with him for years, and dirty white sneakers that looked too small for his feet.

By her standards, Tom was poor, and she didn't want to be associated with him. So, she tried her best not to seem friendly. "Hi," she barely mumbled back, without looking at Tom at all.

For Tom, it was love at first sight. He thought that Valerie was absolutely stunning, and he was determined to win her affection one way or another.

The time for their graduation prom came, and because Valerie had turned down practically every boy in her class, everybody had partners except for her. She turned down the football player in her class for being too arrogant, the chess player for being too nerdy, and the baker for being too feminine.

Before she knew it, nobody else tried to ask her to prom, and every kid seemed paired up – except for Tom.

Only three days before prom, Tom decided to ask Valerie in a creative way. After noticing her love for croissants, Tom showed up to class one day with a box of butter croissants. "This is for you," he said, placing the box on the table.

Valerie was pleasantly surprised. "Thanks," she said, trying to keep her cool. "You can't become attached to him," she kept chanting silently, reminding herself that Tom was poor.

During recess, Valerie took one of the croissants and broke it in two. When she did, she saw a piece of paper rolled up inside the piece of bread. She pulled it out, and it read: "Will you go to prom with me?"

Valerie could feel her cheeks turn red. "Stop it!" she thought to herself. "You CAN'T feel anything for him."

"Well?" Tom asked her as soon as he saw her read the paper. "What do you say?"

Valerie wanted to say no, simply because she knew Tom was poor. But, a part of her also wanted to say yes, because she knew he was a nice guy.

Despite her conflicting thoughts, Valerie decided to say yes, also because she knew no one else would ask her to prom. "I guess I can go with you," she told Tom. "No one else in the class is single aside from both of us, anyway," she shrugged.

Tom grinned from ear to ear. He didn't mind that it seemed as if Valerie was just forced to say yes to him – she was still going to prom with him!

"Awesome!" Tom smiled. "I'll pick you up at five in the afternoon on Saturday," he said before waving goodbye.

"You better wear a nice suit! I won't be caught dead with someone wearing ugly clothes during prom," she mocked as he walked away.

On the day of the prom, Valerie wore an expensive designer gown that she and her mom bought at an atelier after Tom asked her to be his date. "Who is the lucky guy?" Valerie's mom asked.

"Just the son of some businessman," she lied. She knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from her mother should she ever find out that Tom was the son of their school cafeteria chef.

Valerie looked at herself in the mirror, and at the beautiful navy blue ball gown she was wearing. "This dress is so beautiful," she gushed.

"And so are you, sweetheart. Your makeup is gorgeous. You did a great job," her mom hugged her. She had put dewy makeup on herself, highlighting her natural beauty in the process.

A couple of minutes later, Tom arrived, ringing the doorbell. Valerie felt her stomach twisting, not knowing what to anticipate. Before she could reach the door, her mom already opened it.

"Why, hello!" her mom greeted Tom. "That seems like a friendly hello," Valerie thought to herself. "He must be dressed nicely."

"Hi, ma'am. Good afternoon. Thank you for allowing me to take Valerie to prom," he smiled, handing Valerie's mom a bouquet of three sunflowers.

"This is for me?!" she gushed.

"Yes, ma'am," he smiled. "And this is for Valerie," Tom said, looking straight at Valerie as she walked down the stairs.

The butterflies in Valerie's stomach grew more intense. She still couldn't see Tom clearly, but she had a feeling that he passed her mom's tests with flying colors.

"Well, aren't you sweet!" Valerie's mom told Tom. "Please, come on in for a few pictures before you two have a great night," she said, insisting that he come in.

When he did, Valerie knew it was over. Tom looked absolutely gorgeous in a blue-colored suit, which matched her dress perfectly. "Hi," she smiled, looking him straight in the eye.

"Hi Valerie," Tom smiled back. "You look beautiful."

"You don't look bad yourself," she replied.

They smiled for a couple of photos before heading out. To Valerie's surprise, there was a nice motorcycle waiting for them outside. "I thought we could go to the prom in style," Tom grinned.

"You own a motorcycle?" Valerie asked him.

"Nah, it's my older brother's. He allowed me to take it for the day. Shall we?" he replied.

Valerie nodded her head and rode the motorcycle with Tom. When they arrived at the prom, all eyes were on them.

"How unique!" one of Valerie's friends said. "You guys came on a scooter!"

"Sick ride, bro," another classmate of theirs told Tom.

Valerie was impressed and decided once and for all to give Tom a chance. She let her walls down that night, and she got to know Tom at a deeper level.

As they danced the night away, looking into each other's eyes as they did, Valerie could no longer deny the feeling she had for Tom. He was a handsome young man, and he was incredibly kind and intelligent, too.

Valerie didn't want the night to end. Tom took her back home with his brother's motorcycle and walked her to the door.

"Thank you so much for tonight," Tom told her. "I hope I didn't disappoint you, and I hope you had a great time."

Valerie smiled and gave Tom a kiss on the cheek. To Tom, that kiss said it all.

"Goodnight," Valerie said with a smile.

Months passed, and Tom and Valerie graduated high school. They attended the same college, with Tom on a full scholarship for low-income families, and Valerie on a full academic scholarship for her stellar grades.

Every day, Tom and Valerie would meet up after class to go on dates. He would walk her home to her dormitory before heading to the cafe where he worked as a barista. He needed to work to help his parents pay the bills, and in order to keep up with Valerie's lifestyle.

While his love language was acts of service, hers was giving gifts. She expected him to match her love language, which meant giving her gifts and taking her out on dates often.

During one of their walks to the dormitory, Tom proposed something that caught Valerie off-guard. "What do you say we move in together?" he asked.

Valerie was surprised because she knew that his parents still needed him to help pay the bills, and his salary was just enough to do that and save up a little. "You can't possibly afford to rent an entire apartment for us now that you're working part-time, can you?" she asked him.

"I'm about to take my internship at the Michelin-star restaurant I told you about," he reminded Valerie. "If I do well, they'll absorb me as one of their chefs and I'll be earning well for myself. But for now, we just need to be a little more patient. I'm sorry, Valerie. I promise to give you the best of the world one day..."

Months passed, and Tom would skip town every other week to do his internship at a famous restaurant. Meanwhile, Valerie started going out with her friends more, going to parties hosted by different school organizations.

At one of the parties, Valerie met a boy named Jeffrey. He wasn't shy to show his interest in her, but in the beginning, Valerie wasn't entertaining him for the sake of her relationship with Tom.

After a few more parties, however, she started to warm up to Jeffrey, and she realized she was starting to have feelings for him. Every time Tom was away, she'd spend all of her free time with Jeffrey, and one thing eventually led to another.

When Tom's internship ended, he was given the role of chef's assistant. He got a bonus upon signing his contract with the restaurant, which gave him enough money to buy Valerie a simple solitaire ring.

While they were hanging out in her dorm room one night, Tom surprised her with a wedding proposal.

"We've been together for almost four years now," he said. "I would love to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" he asked her, opening the ring box he had in his pocket.

Valerie looked at the ring and saw a diamond that looked nothing more than 0.3 carats. "You're joking, right?" she scoffed.

"I don't understand," Tom told her. "What's the matter?"

"You're proposing to me with THAT small ring? That's smaller than a penny," she mocked. "No! Absolutely not. If you can't buy me a proper ring, how can I expect you to take care of me for the rest of my life?!"

"Valerie..." Tom said, hurt. "I told you that I'd make it up to you once I'm able to get a good job," he cried. "I'm still a student, so I don't have much money yet... but it won't be like this forever," he tried to explain.

Valerie shook her head. "I can't wait that long. I'm sorry, Tom," she apologized. "I think we should break up."

Tom was absolutely stunned by what happened. He left Valerie's dorm room feeling defeated and hurt that after all these years, she still couldn't accept his humble financial status.

After the breakup, Tom worked hard to complete his studies and moved out of town when he did. He worked for the five-star restaurant he once interned in, and did his best so he could one day put up his own.

Meanwhile, Valerie ended up dating Jeffrey. They moved in together, and at first, Jeffrey paid all the bills. They got married in a small, intimate ceremony, and all was well between the two of them.

Soon after the wedding, Jeffrey revealed that he was fired from his job. "I'm sorry, honey," he told Valerie. "You're going to have to provide for me while I decide what I want to do next... I'm sure you and your parents don't mind, right?"

Valerie felt her heart sink. She had a bad feeling about what was coming next, but she agreed to support Jeffrey so as not to upset him.

Instead of getting a new job, Jeffrey decided to open his own restaurant. He had absolutely no background in culinary, but he believed that putting up a restaurant would earn him a lot of money.

At first, the restaurant did well because Valerie made sure of it. She invested most of her money in the business, so she made sure that all her friends and family went and visited the restaurant to eat.

After a couple of months, the hype died down, and the restaurant didn't have many customers. Jeffrey tried to ask Valerie for money, but she said she no longer had any because she invested it all in his restaurant.

When Jeffrey realized that Valerie could no longer provide for him, he left her for another woman and mailed her divorce papers. Valerie was left heartbroken, because not only did she lose her husband, but she lost all of her wealth, too.

One day, however, one of the chefs entered the back kitchen to take a breather. Valerie's eyes widened as she saw that it was Tom.

Her parents were disappointed in her for letting Jeffrey get away, and they refused to help her bounce back. She needed a job to pay off her debts, so she walked through a strip of new restaurants downtown and applied as a waitress.

One particular restaurant was the only one with openings but for the dishwasher position. Desperate to earn money and pay off her debts, Valerie accepted it with no hesitation.

As soon as she entered the back kitchen, she realized how successful the restaurant was with the number of dishes she had to clean. The area was separated from the main kitchen, so she barely saw any of the chefs or their assistants.

One day, however, one of the chefs entered the back kitchen to take a breather. Valerie's eyes widened as she saw that it was Tom.

"Tom," she called him. "Do you work here? It's me, Valerie."

"Valerie? What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised. "This is my restaurant, I own it," Tom revealed.

Valerie could feel tears filling her eyes, and her throat tightening. "I...I work here," she said, lowering her head as her tears dropped to the floor. "I got a job as a dishwasher. I'm sorry, I didn't know it was your restaurant," Valerie said, ashamed.

Tom asked her what happened, and she told him everything – from how she met Jeffrey, to how he fooled her and drained up her savings. "I'm sorry all this happened to you," he said when she finished.

"I guess I deserved it," Valerie shrugged.

"When you refused my marriage proposal, I was given the chef's assistant position at the Michelin-star restaurant I interned in. After just a couple of months, I was able to save up enough to put up my own eatery. After a couple more months, that eatery became so successful, so I put up this restaurant," Tom explained.

"I was so heartbroken, Valerie," Tom admitted. "I used my pain and anger to drive me to success. I never wanted to feel that little ever again."

Valerie could only imagine how great her life could have been if she only chose to stay with Tom. Now, however, it was too late, and he no longer felt the same way for her.

Tom never asked Valerie to be with him again, but he did offer to help her pay off her debts. She repaid him by doing her job well at the restaurant until she was slowly promoted to a managerial role after about a year.

What can we learn from this story?

• There are some people who will only be there for you during your best moments and not your worst. Valerie did not want to stick around while Tom was struggling with money. She experienced her karma years later when her husband Jeffrey left her when she no longer had any money to share with him.
• Not all people are born with a silver spoon, so they work hard until they're able to live a comfortable life. Tom wasn't born rich, while Valerie was. In the end, it was Tom who ended up living a more comfortable life, because he used poverty as his fuel to do well for himself so that he could one day live comfortably.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a rich man who refused to help a poor little boy, only for them to meet years later when the man is in trouble.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.