“I only have a year to live. Marry me, bear me a son, and your family will never have money problems again,” said the wealthy landowner. 

The poor milkmaid agreed out of desperation. But on their wedding night, something terrible happened, leaving her horrified. 

The poor girl was only twenty years old. Her hands smelled of milk and hay, and her boots were barely dry from the mud. She lived in an old wooden house with her loving mother. Her father was in prison due to debts he couldn’t pay.

There were various rumors in the village, but the fact remained: there was no breadwinner, no money, and sometimes they truly had nothing to eat.

The mother grew weaker with each passing month. Medicines were expensive. The girl rose before dawn and worked on the farm until dark, but it was barely enough to buy bread. Sometimes she sat by the window and simply looked out at the road, unsure of what to do next.