It wasn’t fine. It was humiliating.
All through lunch with his family, I had told myself he was just trying to avoid confrontation. That he might have even felt proud that I was willing to defend him when no one else seemed willing to.
But now?
Now I couldn’t help but wonder if he had stayed silent because he agreed with them. I set my plate aside carefully, my appetite completely gone. The delicate china made a soft sound against the table as I pushed it away. I focused on that instead of the sting behind my eyes.
“I went on a date with you,” I said quietly, staring at the table instead of him. “Before you ever mentioned being a billionaire.”
He inhaled sharply like he was about to speak. I didn’t let him.
“I didn’t know about the company. I didn’t know about your net worth. I didn’t even know your name the first time I saw you, but I was smitten just the same.”
“Evania—”
“I liked you,” I cut in, finally looking up at him. “Before you confessed. When you helped me to change out of my heels, I decided at that moment to marry you.”
His jaw tightened. I could see the conflict on his face, but I didn’t care. Not right now.
“All of that clearly shows I liked you before you confessed to being rich,” I continued, my voice steady even though my chest felt tight. “Yet you still doubted me.”
“I don’t doubt—”
“Yes, you did,” I smiled slightly. “But don’t worry, now I have doubts about you too.”
20- callahan
I watched her walk away, and the second she turned her back on me, it felt like something lodged itself in my throat.
She was right.
That's what made this so much more painful.
She had agreed to go on that first date with me before she knew how wealthy I was. Before she knew about the company. Before she saw my bank account, the company, and the house she now lived in. She said yes to me when I was just Callahan.
And I had forgotten that.
Somewhere between my fear and my pride, I let myself believe she might only be here because of what I could offer. Not because of who I was. I stood frozen in the middle of the living room, watching as she all but ran out of the room. I wanted nothing more than to rewind the last five minutes and swallow every word before they left my mouth.
Instead, I exhaled slowly and forced my feet to move. I rushed after her, but when I reached the bathroom, the door was already locked. The sound of water hitting tile echoed through the space.
I dragged a hand through my hair and stepped back, pacing once before finally sitting down at the foot of the bed. My elbows rested on my knees, my hands braced there as if I needed something solid to hold me in place.
What the hell was I supposed to say?
Sorry, I let my insecurities accuse you of something you didn't deserve.
Sorry, I panicked because I like you more than I planned to.
I swallowed hard.
How could I even begin to explain that it wasn't that I thought she was a gold digger? It wasn't that I believed she calculated every move she made around my bank account.
It was that I was scared.
Scared, she didn't like me.
Scared that if the money disappeared tomorrow, so would she.
