Ten years earlier my life had looked completely different. At that time I was simply a poor girl from a modest neighborhood in Phoenix, Arizona, and the man who would later become my husband, Brandon Parker, owned almost nothing except an aging pickup truck and a stubborn dream of building a successful business someday.
Our wedding had been extremely simple because neither of us had money. The only food on the table had been roasted chicken, warm tortillas, and several bottles of cheap beer from the corner store, yet I remember smiling that entire day as if the whole sky full of stars had been wrapped around my neck.
Ten years later that dream had become real in ways neither of us expected. What started as a small grocery shop in a quiet residential area slowly expanded into the largest chain of neighborhood mini markets in the region.
Money began flowing quickly, and our lives changed along with it. We moved into a large house with tall windows, bought expensive cars, and attended elegant business parties where people discussed investments and growth plans.