Then one night, everything changed.
We were sitting across from each other in the dim light of his study when he said it, calmly, like he was offering tea.
“Marry me.”
I laughed.
At least, I thought it was a joke.
It wasn’t.
“I’m serious,” he said.
I stared at him, my heart pounding.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough,” he replied. “And I know what you need.”
That part stung.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
I was struggling. Financially. Emotionally. In ways I didn’t talk about—not even to Violet.
“I can give you security,” Rick continued. “A future where you don’t have to worry about survival.”
For a moment, I didn’t breathe.
Because for the first time in my life…
I saw a way out.
No more counting every dollar. No more choosing between rent and groceries. No more living in quiet fear of everything falling apart.
Just… stability.
It felt wrong.
It felt like cheating.
It felt like the kind of thing people judged.
But it also felt like something I might never be offered again.
So I said yes.
