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She failed to see his point. “And?”
“I grew up with a single dad with a lot of health problems. We barely scraped by financially. I will never be at your level, no matter how hard I try.”
“What are you talking about? I would never ask you to get tomy level,” she said, clearly still confused about what he was insinuating. Was he disparaging her because of her status?
“You’re used to a lifestyle that’s a lot more different from mine and, therefore, we will never be a good fit. It doesn’t seem obvious now, but it will cause problems later on.
“I’ve seen it happen. My mom’s family was wealthy,verywealthy. Like you. They didn’t approve of my dad, so my parents ran away and had me and Alex. When my dad got sick, she didn’t want to be the sole financial provider, so she went to her family.
“They said if she wanted back, then she had to give us up. So she did. She couldn’t deal without the money,” Rick stopped, his voice up in rage. “I can’t say I blame her. Money talks, but you have to give up your soul. I saw it with some of my friends. The ones who married rich, they signed their lives away. They’re no longer themselves, their identity just another branch of the big name they married into.”
The intonation in his voice was full of resentment, and she felt for him. Alex had told her about his and Rick’s parents’ divorce, but didn’t go too much into details about it, only that their mother had left them when they were young.
It was an awful thing to have happened, and she understood his anger and doubts, but this bitterness had grown into something much more. He took his mother’s betrayal hard and held it with him as an adult, and it was now manifesting in his approach to relationships.
“I’m sorry about your parents, and that your mother abandoned you.” She reached for his hand. “But you can’t possibly use it to generalize everything. Everyone’s different. You have to look at the person from inside.”
“I’ve seen them from the inside,” he said sourly. “They’re all slaves to luxury. Anyone could be bought, because everyone has a price, including you.”
She stared in shock. “So you think I’m like them? You think I’m just like your mother? Selfish and cowardly?Howdare you?”
“I didn’t say that,” he defended with a biting tone. “I’m saying it would be hard for us to work out in the long run when your world doesn’t accept mine.”
“It sounds more likeyouare condemning me before even giving me a chance. After our time together, telling you my feelings, my ambitions, none of it has made you see anything different?” she asked. “I work, I put in the time. I’ve gotten my business up with my sweat and blood, like everyone else.”
“Your business. The one that’s handed out to you by yourwealthyfamily?” Rick said so caustically, her jaw dropped. “Don’t look at me like that. Am I wrong? Were the expenses to start your business all earned from your hard work or did they come from parents’ and friends’generous donations?”
When she didn’t reply, too offended to speak, he nodded in discontented triumph. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This whole time spent together, she was wrong about him. He wasn’t a gentleman. He was a petty, misguidedjerk.
When she thought he was being supportive, he was silently judging and incriminating her! To him, she wasn’t good enough for a serious relationship because she grew up with money?
Pushing away from him, Charlie snatched her purse and dragged it up over her shoulders before getting on her feet.
“I thought of you as many things, Richard Min, but a bigot wasn’t one of them, untilnow,” she spat.
“A bigot?” he repeated, standing up as well.
“Yes. You’re so quick to judge that you don’t stop to see that we’re humans, too.” The hurt she harbored from tonight’s disappointment was quickly catching up with her. But she held back the tears, refusing to let him see her vulnerable.
“You’re so blind in your prejudice that you’ve grown ignorant of the world around you. You think we’re rich snobs? Well… you’re apoorsnob!” She cringed at her words. “Wait, not poor. Never mind. You’re just an asshole. And you’re right, I will be gravely disappointed if we continue this… whatever it is we were doing.”
His look of surprise was what she wanted to see, feeling successful in getting her point across. She wanted him to feel as hurt and insulted as she was.
“Thank you for your warning. I will take it to heart. Since there’s no reason for us to see each other anymore, I’m leaving.” She held her chest high. “I’m sorry about everything that happened to you, but you’re an adult now. If you’re going to let the past continue to dictate your life, then I don’t know how to help you. Take care, Richard.”
“Wait, Charlie.”
She spun on her heels and out of the bushes as fast as she could, not wanting him to follow her. Too weak and confused to think clearly, she couldn’t have him catch her with more to say.
Again, this was another letdown in her books. When will she catch a break? The universe was sending her a message. There was no one to rely on other than herself.
She was so done with romance. It never gave her any satisfaction.
Sixteen
“God dammit!”Rick kicked his couch the second he stepped inside his house. Throwing his keys against the coffee table, he fell on the couch and punched the cushions in frustration. What a fucking night.
The conversation with Charlie didn’t turn out the way he wanted. He went too far with his words, letting bad memories take over, but it was too late to take them back.
