On one fateful evening, Marie’s life suddenly changed for the better when she found out she won $188 million. At that point, it seemed nothing could go wrong, but then things went really wrong when her pastor decided to do something mean.
The evening that Marie Holmes’ life would change, she had no idea. She sat on her couch with her legs up on the center table as she watched the TV in front of her on a low volume. She was keeping it low so her children wouldn’t be woken up. She knew very well that her moment of tranquility and peace would be lost the minute they reopened their eyes. She really craved the rest; her day had been particularly hectic, and all she wanted was simply to kick back and relax for the night.
However, before she went off to bed, she had one more thing to tick off for the day, and that was the lottery whose show she was watching. On one hand, she held the receipt of the lottery ticket she had bought, and on the other, she had the remote. Her eyes were glued to the TV as the presenter rattled off the winning numbers. As time went on, sessions passed by producing more and more winners. By then, she was already getting discouraged.
She sighed with disappointment. She knew she shouldn’t have wasted her money on such a thing. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision because the salesperson had sworn that they had the best numbers to win. However, she didn’t change the channel. She figured that since she had already started watching it, she could as well complete it.
By the time the final segment of the show came around, she was watching with rapt attention. In the segment, the winner went home with a whopping sum of $188 million, and soon the raffle began. She watched as the balls danced around on the screen, and then, one after the other, the numbers they represented were revealed. As she watched the numbers, Marie felt her heart skip a beat as her mouth fell open in shock. Each revealed number was one she had picked. All numbers on a raffle ticket slowly fell into place, eventually making her the winner.
Marie sat on the couch for a few minutes; it was almost as if she was paralyzed. She couldn’t believe that she had just won the sum of $188 million just like that. She was a millionaire, and then, as the gravity of the situation began to sink in, she began to lose it. No longer tired or concerned about waking her sleeping kids, she jumped all over her living room, whooping for joy, punching the air with her fists as she screamed in delight. She thanked her stars that she had listened to the salesperson and bought the ticket. Thanks to that, her life was changed for good that night.
She was so overjoyed that she couldn’t keep the good news to herself. She called her pastor, Pastor Nick, and told him everything about her winning. He was extremely happy for her. He congratulated her and told her that indeed the status of her and her entire family had improved. She was gushing as she spoke to him, barely able to hold in her tears because of how emotional everything made her feel. Nick told her that God had answered her prayers and that she and her children would live comfortable lives from then on. Marie was so overjoyed that she thanked him for everything and promised to give the church 10% of her winnings when she got it.
The next day, Marie went to the lottery office. As she went, she was still harboring a bit of skepticism. She was still feeling like she would be turned down when she got there and told that it was all a mistake. She was terrified that after getting her hopes up, she would end up not getting the money. She didn’t know what she would do then. However, everything went smoothly, and soon she went home with about $88 million after taxes. She had chosen to receive a lump sum payment. As the piece of paper was placed in her hand, she felt giddy with happiness. It was almost as if the check weighed a ton while she was weightless. She took pictures with the staff of the lottery company and showed off the check to the camera, showing the world that indeed she was a millionaire.
For someone like Marie, such a huge amount of money was definitely new money. This was the first time she or anyone she knew was coming into that kind of money. Marie had always been poor and struggling. She grew up in a poor home. When she became a mother as well, things weren’t all that different. With four kids who were always over each other in their bid to get her attention, and also with a boyfriend who was always getting in and out of trouble with the law, life was just as bad as it could be for her.
Yet, she never let her circumstances bother her. She knew that she had a duty to her kids, and for them, she was willing to do anything at all. She worked multiple jobs just to make ends meet. It wasn’t easy keeping up with them all, but she made it work. It was tasking, but as long as her kids were happy, then she was happy as well. However, no matter how hardworking she was, she just never could make enough to see them through when the times became hard. There were moments when things were so bad they didn’t have enough food to eat.
During that period, Marie had suddenly been laid off from work because the company had been going through a crisis. As if that wasn’t enough, she also got fired two days later from another place she was working at. These losses dealt a big blow to her finances. She couldn’t imagine how she was going to see her family through until the next payday. She knew that if she didn’t do anything, they would starve. However, things changed for them in a way they would have never expected, and it was in the person of Pastor Nick.
He refused to let her suffer and swore that as long as he was alive, she and her children would not starve. He mounted the pulpit and asked members of the congregation to help Marie pay her bills. He told them all about her struggles and how things were tough for her and her family. The month was coming to an end, and she had to come up with the rent, or she would be thrown out into the streets. Her kids had no food to eat, and the one person who could have been helpful to her was on the run from the law. Life was just unpleasant for Marie, and Nick urged the congregation to do their little bit to help her out.
His speech worked, and many of them were moved to donate, even if it was only a little. From the money that was raised, she was able to buy enough food to last them for the duration that she would search for more jobs. She was also able to pay off her debts and rent. She was able to sleep peacefully at night with the bellies of her four children filled up, thanks to the people of the church. However, just when she thought she was getting her life back on track, something else happened that nearly derailed her flow.
One of her sons fell seriously ill. He had woken up in the middle of the night with great abdominal pains. He wept profusely as he clutched his stomach, writhing in intense pain. His body was burning up, and he could barely speak coherently. Terrified that she was going to lose him, Marie rushed him to the hospital, and after a few tests, it was discovered that her son had developed an advanced case of an ulcer. He had hemorrhaged, and the only way to treat it was through surgery, where his condition would only worsen.
Marie had no idea where to start. She was still out of a job, and she spent almost everything the church gave her on food and clearing her debts. Her son’s ill health wasn’t something she had planned for. Terrified, she had no one else to turn to but Pastor Nick. And just as before, he was touched by her plight and promised to help her out. The next Sunday, he mounted the pulpit yet again and updated the congregation about Marie’s life and the next challenge she and her family were going through. He asked them to help out with the little that they could do to save the little boy’s life.
And yet again, the people of the church turned up for her. Within a few weeks, the money was raised, and Nick handed the check over to Marie, who immediately took it to the hospital. Eventually, the surgery took place, and it was a rousing success. Marie was so happy with how things turned out. She couldn’t believe that the people of the church had helped her out so much. She swore then that she would never forget them, and if she ever got the chance to do something similar, she would never hesitate to help out as well. And for that reason, the pastor was the first person she called when she won the lottery, even before she called her boyfriend. Pastor Nick and the church had done way more for her than her boyfriend, who was always in one trouble or another.
When Marie finally had the money in her possession, she felt like she had finally arrived, and the first thing she did was to change out her wardrobe and that of her kids. All their old clothes were gotten rid of and replaced with high-end brands that they could only ever have dreamed of before. The next day, she bought a house in one of the choicest parts of the city.
It was fully furnished and ready for them to move in. She and her kids moved in almost immediately. Life had changed for Marie, and she knew that it was only just the beginning. There was so much more to come. However, despite all her enjoyment and spending, she didn’t forget the promise she made to Pastor Nick and the church. She was ready to fulfill it. But the day before she went to visit Nick at the church, she got devastating news about her boyfriend. He had been arrested. This was a major setback for her because he listed her as his emergency contact, and she went to the station to visit him.
He begged and pleaded for her to get him out. He was the father of their children, and she couldn’t allow him to rot in jail like that. Eventually, his words got to her, and she obliged him. His bail was set at $3 million, and she paid it without batting an eye. However, she cautioned him to get his affairs in order because she wouldn’t spend another dime to bail him out if he got into another trouble. This setback also infringed on the plans she had for the church.
So when the time came to fulfill her promise, she gave Pastor Nick only $500,000 for himself and then told him that she wanted to run a project for the church. It could be any project at all; all the members had to do was to pick it out, and she would fund it so long as it wasn’t over $8 million. That was the least she could do considering what they had all done for her so far. Also, she wanted to use what was left of the money to set up college funds for her kids. She knew if she wasn’t careful, the money would all be gone, and it would be like she never had it to begin with.
However, Nick didn’t like this idea of hers at all. He was pissed because she had promised him 10% of the winnings, and she was giving him a miserly $500,000. This confused Marie because she had never said that. She had instead promised to give the church 10% of her winnings. The $500,000 she gave to him was just for him personally and wasn’t a part of the 10%. Nick called her a liar and told her she had no right to do that to him. After everything he had done for her, after everything he helped her achieve, he deserved more.
He told her to send him the $8 million and that he was going to decide what he would do with the money because he was the pastor. However, Marie refused. She told him that she would handle the project herself and see to it that the money was disbursed to the appropriate channels the members of the church chose. When Nick saw that she wasn’t willing to budge on her stance, he decided to sue her in court. He told the court that he deserved a part of the money not just because of what he had done for her in the past, but also because she promised it to him. He sued her for the damages he felt emotionally when she made him believe she was going to give him $8 million, and then also for trying to undermine his authority as the pastor and head of the church.
This particular act shocked everyone. Marie couldn’t believe that Nick took the matter to court. It showed her just how badly he wanted his hands on that money. Even the church members were shocked that Nick was taking it that far. While some of them didn’t get why Marie was insisting on handling the project herself, they didn’t understand why Nick saw the need to sue her in court. The church became divided over the issue, and soon the membership began to drop. Some were in favor of Marie, and others supported Nick.
When the case finally went to trial, Nick went with loads of evidence about how he had helped Marie in the past. He produced receipts and tellers of all the money the church had gathered in her name. He told everyone about how he was instrumental in helping her son get surgery and also paying their rent. Without him, Marie and her children would have been kicked out into the streets and would have starved. His lawyer gave a compelling argument, ending with the promise she made about giving the money to the church.
Soon it was time for Marie to bring forth her defense. She started by thanking him for everything he did for her. However, she told them that all he did was talk to the members. The members were the ones who had donated their hard-earned money for her. That was the reason she wanted to run a project for them. However, she didn’t end there. She began to reveal some devastating truths about Pastor Nick. She told them about the real reason she didn’t want to send him the money. Nick had never been truthful to her and his flock.
The first time the church members contributed money for her, he took away more than 60% of it and pocketed it for himself. Then he gave her the rest to make do. Thankfully, it was enough to do everything she wanted, and that was the only reason she didn’t say anything even though she knew that the money was more. Also, when her son fell sick, Nick’s greed reared its ugly head again. The congregation had been so generous that they managed to raise more than three times the amount the hospital was demanding. But he pocketed most of it for himself and gave her the exact amount she needed for the surgery. Then he reported to his flock that he gave her everything.
Again, she didn’t say anything about it because, in the end, her son was fine, and she didn’t want to appear like she was fighting someone who had tried to help her. Besides, she had never wanted the extra money. She just thought it was dishonest that he would keep it for himself instead of giving it back to the church members. She knew the truth: he had only used her as a way to extort money from his members. She had considered keeping quiet about it all, but the lottery made it impossible to hide. Even Nick couldn’t mask his greed anymore. She knew very well that the only reason he wanted her to send the money to him was so he could pocket it all for himself and then disburse a paltry sum to the church’s account and say that it was her donation. She knew that his greed was going to get the better of him, and she wasn’t going to allow that. So she wanted to handle the project herself.
At this reveal, everyone was shocked. No one could believe that the pastor could be capable of such an act. When they thought about all the times in the past when he asked them to help out different people, they had no idea he had only been doing that for selfish reasons. They were all disappointed in him. They were let down because his real character had been revealed, and no one could recognize him anymore. The trial went on, and soon it was over. The case was ruled in favor of Marie while Nick lost the case.
When he lost the case, he was forced to deal with the blowback, and it was on a level he had never expected. He had used the $500,000 Marie had given him to hire really expensive lawyers, and he had also spent a significant portion of it on high-end clothes and accessories. However, with his defeat in court, he had nothing to fall back on. He had been banking heavily on getting the $88 million from Marie, and with that out of the picture, he was broke. Sadly, things got only worse for him. His members no longer wanted anything to do with him.
One after the other, they stopped coming to the church, and in the end, he was all alone. Meanwhile, Marie and her children thrived. She eventually funded the project the former church members picked, and they were all grateful to her. She also decided to open up a foundation that focused on helping poor people who needed assistance. She knew what something like that felt like, and she wanted to do her best to make sure that people who found themselves in such situations knew that they were not alone. She also built a park for the community, one where the children could play for as long as they wanted.
As for the rest of the money, Marie made sure that she used it only for what was best for her family. While Nick had disappointed her, she didn’t let it stop her. She would keep helping whoever needed her help, and she would do it not for herself but for the person’s well-being. That was more important.
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