I Dumped My Poor Boyfriend, Became Rich—He Said Regrets Chapter 14

I Dumped My Poor Boyfriend, Became Rich—He Said Regrets Chapter 14

Ethan’s eyes were dark and wet, completely reflecting the vulnerable boy from our freshman year.

I sat there, letting his words settle into my skin before I could find my voice. “You got it completely wrong.”

“What?”

“Those were just angry lies, Ethan. I never treated you like a toy. I loved you with everything I had.”

“Then why did you say those things?”

“Because right before graduation, you told your roommates you would never marry me.”

Ethan went entirely rigid, his brain frantically scrolling through his memories before a helpless,

self-deprecating laugh broke past his lips. “I meant I didn’t have the financial capacity to marry you straight

out of school. Veronica… I had been secretly browsing engagement ring catalogs since junior year. I just

couldn’t afford a single diamond on the tray.”

We went through the timeline piece by piece, unearthing every single misunderstanding we’d built over the years. The root cause was simple: the massive economic chasm between our worlds back then.

Ethan had assumed my financial support was just a rich girl’s amusement, a way to keep a pretty boy on a leash. And I had assumed his compliance was born out of raw obligation, a crushing guilt because I’d paid his grandfather’s ICU bills. Neither of us could believe the other could actually love us for who we were.

Bringing the conversation back to the present, Ethan looked at me. “Why were you willing to accept Chad’s help, but you treated mine like a weapon?”

“Because I love you, Ethan. I refused to let our relationship turn into a financial transaction ever again-”

The realization hit me like a lightning bolt.

Ethan nodded slowly. “Exactly. That was the exact hell I was living in back in college.”

“Wait…” I whispered, my breath catching. “When I first cornered you after class… you already liked me?”

“Veronica, I loved you long before you ever noticed me.”