She smiled faintly. “Consider it a bonus. For honesty.”
As he turned to leave, she called out.
“Ethan… spend the night with me.”
He froze.
“I’m sorry… what?”
“One night. I can give you anything. A house. A car. Money. Whatever you want.”
“I can’t.”
“Don’t you want to save your mother?”
“One night isn’t worth my self-respect.”
And he walked out.
That rejection hit Victoria deeper than she expected.
Four divorces. Betrayed, humiliated, used. Her last husband had robbed her the night of their wedding. Men wanted her wealth—never her heart.
Yet this young, desperate man had said no.
That night, she called him.
“I’d like to take you to lunch.”
“I’m not available.”
“I can pay you.”
“It’s not about money.”
He hung up.
His best friend, Marcus, overheard and exploded.
“Are you insane? Your mom is dying. Maybe this is your miracle.”
Ethan lay awake that night. Was it pride? Or fear?
In the end, he called her.
They met at a private restaurant she had rented out entirely.
“Why me?” he finally asked.
“Because you’re honest,” she said. “You didn’t see dollar signs. You treated me like a human being.”
For the first time, she opened up.