He smiled slightly.

“That’s either wisdom or sadness.”

“Probably both.”

Violet noticed the connection.

“Grandpa likes you,” she said.

“He likes that I say thank you,” I joked.

But one night, Rick asked something unexpected:

“Have you ever considered marrying for security?”

I thought it was a joke.

It wasn’t.

“Are you proposing to me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

That should’ve been the moment I walked away.

Instead, I asked why.

“Because I trust you more than my own family,” he said.

When I told Violet, everything changed.

She didn’t laugh.

“I thought you had more self-respect,” she said quietly. “But you’re just like everyone else.”

That hurt more than anything.

“Pride is expensive,” I replied. “You’ve had the luxury of keeping yours.”

She told me to leave.

So I did.

Three weeks later, I married her grandfather.

The wedding was small, expensive, and uncomfortable.

There was a fifty-year age gap—and no romance.