She Begged a Homeless Man to Marry Her

Chapter 1

Amelia dropped to her knees in the middle of the street and held out a blue velvet ring box.

"Marry me. Please."

The homeless man sitting on the pavement stared at her as if she had lost her mind. He looked wounded, exhausted, and suspicious of everything. His voice came out rough.

"Why me?"

A tear slipped down Amelia's face. "Please. Only you can help me."

He looked from her to the ring. It was too expensive, too deliberate, too strange. Nothing about the moment made sense. The silent line of black-suited attendants behind her made it worse. They stood perfectly still, like they were waiting for something to happen.

Then a black SUV tore past them.

A man's voice shouted from inside, "Amelia, stop!"

The homeless man flinched. He reached toward the box anyway, almost against his own will. When his dirty fingers touched the lid, he saw a name written inside the lining.

Raymond.

His breath caught.

For one terrible second, the street vanished. He saw a white room. Restraints. A man's voice saying, "Wipe it again." A woman crying. His own hand slamming against glass.

He jerked back and stared at Amelia.

"This name..."

From the SUV came another shout, colder this time. "Don't let him remember!"

The man on the ground began to tremble. His eyes widened with real fear now, not confusion. He looked at the box, then at Amelia, and suddenly understood that the proposal was not romantic at all. It was a test. A key. A trap.

Or maybe all three.

Amelia's face changed too. The softness disappeared. She looked over her shoulder at the men behind her and then back at him.

"Get up," she whispered. "Right now."

The black-suited men stepped forward at the same time.

And the homeless man realized they were not there to witness a proposal.

They were there to make sure he never answered.